Anthony and Liv love their daddy-daughter time. They usually hang out when dad comes home from work, but sometimes Olivia hasn't had enough time with him, so they spend time at 4am in the rocking chair or at 6:45am in bed before the alarm goes off. No matter the time of day, Rode just dotes on her and eats up every cute thing she does. She especially loves to sprawl her little body across him and fall asleep. 
This is Anthony's nephew, who people regularly mistake for being his son. Any resemblance between Olivia and Taycen? I think they could pass as siblings.
Uncle Denver's innovative drop cloth for eating chips and salsa over Olivia
Olivia's first doctor's appointment was Monday August 4th. She weighs 8 lbs. 1 oz., so she has gained 3 oz. in the first week. Dr. Tayler said she is healthy and growing well. Olivia did a great job during her appointment- no crying, just squirming. We had to wait for an hour and 15 min. to get in, so she had time for two diaper changes and one snack.
Last Saturday, Olivia had her first outing to the Heber City Fair Days parade. She slept through the whole thing, but it was nice to get out and get some sun. Since mom and dad are a little slow at outfitting a baby (mostly mom), she still doesn't have a stroller so we just team carried her the four blocks in her car seat. It wasn't the most efficient way to travel with a baby, but it worked. 
When Rode saw this next float, he turned to me and said "Hey Katie, there's a bra for you!" His comment actually wasn't that outrageous on this particular day.
We came home from the hospital on Thursday July 31st. It is SO nice to be home. Everyone at the hospital was wonderful, but there is something so nice about rocking in your own chair, sleeping in your own bed, and eating your own food. 
Our house was all in order, thanks to Mama Pedersen and Mama Kane. Olivia enjoys her bed, except at night when she would much rather be eating. It appears she has inherited her mother's midnight snacking habits. Last night, she woke up 2 times within a one and a half period of time for a quick 3-5 min snack. Maybe this is because when she was in utero she got a snack everynight at about 3am when mom got up to go to the bathroom. We love her, and I guess I can't fault her since I taught her the bad habit.
Olivia Kate Pedersen has arrived! On Tuesday July 29th at about 5am my water broke. I didn't realize it and since I was not having any contractions, I just went back to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, I was feeling just fine with no more signs of a baby coming, so I went to the gym. It was about 10 min. into my workout that I started to become a bit more suspicious because the same sensation I had experienced at 5am happened again. Not wanting to be an overanxious first time mother-to-be I continued my workout for a few more minutes, as the feeling continued to come a few more times. I finally decided that it wouldn't be too presumptuous to think that my water had broken, so I left the gym and called Anthony. He suggested I go to the hospital, which is right across the street and see what they thought. The nurse tested for amniotic fluid and said it was a definite yes. The doctor came in to check. I had dilated a centimeter from the day before at my doctor's appointment. Dr. Tayler said we had about 24 hours to have the baby and instructed the nurse to go ahead and get me started on pytocin. This is about where I started to panic. I had not showered, I had nothing with me, my house was a mess (no clean laundry, dirty dishes, house in disarray) and they were going to keep me at the hospital until the baby came. After a little convincing, the doctor said I could go home for 1 hour to take a shower and pack a few things. I called Anthony, who came right home. I called mom to let her know the status. She was still at my sister Kelley's house, who had a baby 9 days before. Mom was not scheduled to fly to Utah until August 8th, a day before my due date, but within an hour, she had showered, packed her bags, changed her flight, and was headed for the airport. She was scheduled to arrive in SLC at 8:45pm, with hopes that the baby could wait until then to come. Anthony's mom came over and we all dashed around, showering, packing, cleaning, etc. As I was giving Anthony a list of things he needed to do to get the house ready for our new baby, he pointed out that perhaps it was a bit too late to start nesting. Very valid point, but I just couldn't stand the thought of coming home to a dirty house! We headed back to the hospital at about 12:45pm, and by about 1:30pm they had me hooked up to an IV with pytocin. For about the first 5 hours or so, the contractions were bearable. I walked the one hall of the hospital, finished up graduation stuff, blogged, and shopped for a car seat online. My sister Heather was planning on stopping at Babies R Us on the way to the hospital to buy one, since that was on my list of things to buy this week before the baby came. 
At about 7pm, I got an epidural, which was the most eventful moment of the whole day aside from the actual birth. I was having intense contractions by the time the anesthesiologist came. The thought and feeling of something going down beside my spine along with the crazy pain from my contractions was too much for my body at once. I promptly felt like I was going to pass out. My blood pressure dropped to 60/25, my heart rate was 41, and the baby started to freak out. Rode just kept telling me to open my eyes and look at him. Because the baby was in distress they had to stop doing the epidural and give me oxygen and epinephrine. We finally made it through the whole ordeal and within about 15 minutes I was feeling great. 
Friends and family started to arrive: Anthony's mom (who watched the whole epidural episode from the couch across the room), Anthony's sister Holly, one of my best friends Anita, Mama Winterton, and finally Heather, Denver and my mom. I was ready to start pushing by 9:30pm, but the nurse asked if we wanted to just wait until my mom got there at 10pm. Mom walked in at 10:05pm and by 10:15pm I was pushing. We had a crowd in the room who watched quietly from one side of the room and welcomed Olivia into the world with pictures and cheering after about 1 hour and 15 minutes of pushing. 
It was such a calm, happy experience. The doctor was great, everyone was very encouraging, and we ended up with a beautiful baby at the end of it all! Olivia weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 inches long. She has a delightful personality. Already we are learning about her sweet, calm disposition. Everything she does makes us smile. We love her more and more everyday!
Olivia with her proud Dad...
and her tired Mom
