June 14, 2002

Well, Elijah is 7 weeks old and has started gaining weight. He has been a thin little rail most of his life, getting longer and longer, but not putting any meat on his bones. Suddenly, a few days ago, he went into a feeding frenzy and the next we knew, he started getting heavy. I am amazed how fast this little guy changes. I haven't as much time right now. My family is getting ready to move to Utah, to live in a side apartment in the home of Kari's parents. Elijah remains one of the bright spots of my day. As I get sicker and sicker of a job that doesn't seem to mean much and getting antsy to move, it is always a pleasure to come home and hold my boy, have him fall asleep on my chest while I sit on the Lazy Boy.

We have started packing up and saying our goodbyes. People at work gave Elijah a baby shower that Kari and Elijah attended. They all just wanted to see the baby, and that's ok. It's funny to me how many people considered themselves experts at raising babies and such, despite little experience or whatever. That's ok. I take it all in stride. Oh, and I've learned a thing or two, as a result. I've decided I'm going to miss most of the people I work with, but not the job itself. I got to see Lourdes, my old boss at the English department. Like many people, she just adored him. Lourdes has always been kind to me and helped me out.

On June 2, Elijah was given a name and a blessing in the Linden ward, the same ward that was later split and renamed. The blessing went really well, although I was a bit nervous, doing it for the first time. All the Olson family came except Christian, who is on his mission. As many as could come from the Rutherford side came to support the blessing also (although I was sad some of my family couldn't come, I understand the difficulty of the long distances). Afterwards, we had a luncheon where friends and family ate and had fun. Perhaps some day, I will post some pictures of that day (depends on time constraints and interest, mostly).

Well, there is probably more I could put in this, but this is enough for now. We are moving soon and so we are busy. I get my braces off really soon, that will be nice. I also plan to go with Kari and Elijah for our baby's next pediatrician appointment, when he gets immunization shots. He's going to love that. We have a lot to do before we move.