First overnight visit=Date night for mom and dad!

Karsen has his first overnight visit without mom or dad around and I think he loved it! My parents agreed to take Karsen for the evening and overnight, so Bruce and I could enjoy a slice of life as it was before Karsen. Grandma got some great pictures with Karsen.

Here Karsen is enjoying some dinner! Clearly he was annoyed they were interrupting his meal for a picture.

This kid always has his mouth on these rings. We have a set at our house, and thank goodness Grandma has a set too!

The weather was crazy nice that afternoon, so they went on a walk!

Again, always has something in his mouth. 

Sometimes, plastic lids are more fun than all those fancy toys!

Taking a nap on the floor while grandma decorates the Christmas tree. 

Bruce and I spent the first part of our "single" life at a movie. We havent done that in quite some time (mainly because I hate going to movies...people are too loud and stuff) but we went to see Mockingjay Part 1 and it was REAL good!!! We then came home and Bruce made dinner while I sat and watched. Haha. Trust me, that was quite relaxing! Look at how fancy Bruce got!! He made scallops, swordfish (yum!!), mushrooms and asparagus. It was super tasty!!!

We both went to bed at 9p and probably got the best nights sleep either one of us have had in quite some time. The next morning we woke up, headed to breakfast and then back to my parents house to pick up the little guy. It was so nice to have a small break but I sure did miss the kid!!

MB

Growing up

Karsen had his 6 month appointment on Monday and it was an exciting time. Of course he got his normal shots, but we also had a few good conversations with the pediatrician. I had two big questions I needed to ask before we left. 1) Can we start solid foods? (spoiler alert...we already started BUT I wanted to really make sure it was ok...basically I wanted to hear what she had to say) and 2) I dont mind him waking up once per night...scratch that...I DO mind, but I know it could be worse...BUUUUT should he be waking? Shouldnt he kind of be sleeping by now?

The answer to my first question is what I expected to hear...the fact I was feeding him finger foods was probably no good and I should smash up the food before he feeds himself. Eh...thats kind of the answer I wanted to hear, but kind of not. Oh well. I still prepare the sticks of veg as normal, but I do smash them a little so they might be easier to eat. I DO NOT ever feed him myself and he doesnt get purees.

Question 2. Yes he should be sleeping through the night...is what she said. She said "He is a very healthy boy and he most certainty does not need to be eating in the middle of the night." She said "If you are comfortable with it, he needs to learn to self soothe otherwise you will be getting up with him until he is 5+ years old." YIKES! No thank you! But I am hopeful we all know what "self soothe" means...yea...Cry it Out. Ugh. I wanted to avoid CIO like the plague, but if it needs to be done...better now than later. Right now he isnt too mobile so he cant stand up in the crib and scream. Ugh.

Let's focus on question 2. I REAAAAALLY didnt want to do CIO but I just knew it had to happen so I annoyed my friend Lauren, all evening Monday night in preparation for the night ahead of us. I even did some research on my own so I could be mentally prepared for this switch. Even though it was Bruce's night to get up with Karsen, I knew there was no way I could sleep through it so I would be there with him through it all. To our surprise, Karsen slept from 8:30p until 6:30a the next morning. SAY WHAAAAAT?! We were both shocked. Did Karsen hear us talking about and decide it wasnt for him...so he just slept the whole night?! No no certainly not. We were convinced it was because of the shots he got earlier that day at his appointment. No way this would happen two nights in a row. Tuesday night comes and goes and sure enough...he slept from 8:30p-5:30a...but ooooh, 5:30a was really early, and technically that was only 9 hours. Doc said he should be getting between 10-12 so Bruce said "just let him figure it out." Sure enough, 20 minutes of tossing and turning and the kid put himself back to sleep until 7a! WHAT. IS. HAPPENING?! Night number 3...certainly we cant get lucky enough for this to happen on its own 3 nights in a row, but sure enough, we put him down at 7:45p last night, and he woke at 6:15a this morning. Bruce and I are not holding our breaths...we are SURE this cant last forever. I am hopeful it is a new trend, but I cant believe we might get off this easy. I have told my kids at school to pray for us...as well as some of the teachers. Haha. Anything to avoid the CIO method is ok by me...but I am sure we will have to deal with it at some point.

The good news though?! He still has those lovable cheeks!!

Until next time!

MB