The new year

Well we all survived the holidays and things seemed to go pretty well! Karsen was sick for a portion of them but we caught it early, and got the meds we would need to get it taken care of quickly. We all finally got back into a routine now that I was back to school and Karsen was back to daycare. It has been a total whirlwind getting back into a groove, but it sure feels good to be back in the swing of things. Truthfully, this kid is all about routine...and that makes life a little easier for us all!

Last weekend we celebrated my dads birthday by enjoying some din din out at the OP in downtown Overland Park. I sure do miss that area. Of course I didnt take many pictures but I did get a shot of Karsen enjoying some time with Uncle Jim!

The rest of these pics are just some random ones we have taken over the last few weeks. It is so hard to believe Karsen is 7.5 months old. Again, like I always say, the time is just flying by! 

It is rare if I get a picture of him without something in his mouth. 

But he sure is a happy dude!

Showing off his new toofers!!

Blurry but he just loves his jumperoo!

He started on the blanket, but has now figured out how to scoot around the room! He is so close to crawling. 

He is such a cheeser for bathtime!!

Kind of getting in the crawl position...but then gets frustrated and hits his stomach hoping he can just reach far enough.

This picture says "Hey ladies" to me because he just seems to have a little smirk.

We are still doing daily breathing treatments but luckily they will be strictly just at night from now until March when we go to the doctor for his 9 month appointment. Truth be told, I think the cold weather disagrees with his lungs, so spring cant come soon enough...but now that I say that, he will probably get his mothers allergy issues. Thanks, genetics...

Christmas updates!

I was so excited for Christmas this year...so much so that I wanted to set up the decorations shortly after Halloween. Of course, with a husband like Bruce, he wanted me to wait until closer to Thanksgiving. :) Sooooo, shortly after Thanksgiving, all of the decorations were set up and I think Karsen was amazed with all of the fun lights!

Christmas this year was so special because we spent it with my grandparents, Bruce's parents and my parents. I know they all wanted to spend time with Karsen and it was so great that we could make the effort to get to all of those places.

First stop was Vienna, Missouri to visit my grandparents. I left town Friday after with Karsen and my mom and we stayed until that Sunday. When we first got there Friday, Karsen enjoyed spending time with his Great-Grandma! He sure was spoiled but I think we were all loving it!

As the excitement was building on Saturday, to open presents with all of the extended family, Great-Grandpa spent some time with Karsen. I think Karsen loved Grandpa's super cool suspenders! Soon enough kid...I bet he gets you a matching pair! 

Karsen also got some great play time on the floor as people hurried around him getting lunch ready. Props to the photog, Great Aunt Traci!

And possibly the most exciting time of all...opening his first gift!! Of course his favorite part of it was trying to eat the paper...but he did get a Little People Nativity Scene which will make a nice addition to his Christmas set up in his room next year. Shhh...dont tell Bruce! 

After everyone left, we packed up the car and headed to mass. Of course I had to get a picture of Karsen with Great-Grandpa because they looked like twins! Matching red shirts!

Bruce, Karsen and I headed back to KC that Sunday and got everything unpacked just in time to get it all packed up again to head to Little River and spend Christmas with Bruce's parents. 

I dont think he quite knew what all of the gifts were, but he would soon find out! Of course as you can see, he again tried to eat the paper...focus on the gift on the inside kid!

We headed back to KC the day after Christmas so when we got home we got Karsen's gifts out so he could open his gifts from mom and dad. Yes...mom and dad accidentally left his gifts behind, but they had every intention of taking them out of town with them...again, they just forgot. At least we remembered diapers and formula...the important stuff!

Again, more focused on eating the bows than actually opening the gift. 

Our last Christmas of celebration occurred in Prairie Village with my parents and brother. 

I am hopeful that after all of these Christmas celebrations, he will start to get the idea that the paper needs to come off of the package and enjoy what is on the inside! Haha. Like I have heard people say...dont even worry about giving the toy; give the box the toy came in!

What day is it?! UP-day-te

Ya see what I did there?! I crack myself up.

Good Lord...here we are...almost a month has gone by without another update. Sheesh...I have some 'splainin to do...

About a month ago, we finally started feeding Karsen some solid foods. It has been an exciting and MESSY time! Of course, his favorite food seems to be avocado, but it is also the messiest. It always leads to bathtime but that is ok! He is having fun and getting to try some new flavors so I am ok with that.

In this picture above, we are out at the Yard House and he is enjoying some steamed carrots! He made quite a mess but his dad helped clean it up!

I have started looking at holidays through a different lens now that Karsen is around. I realize there are things I need to start doing to develop traditions with the little dude. One OBVIOUS tradition I wanted to implement was the yearly visit to Santa. Bruce's work organizes a Santa day and all we had to do was sign up for a time slot! It was super easy and even better that we didn't have to stand in line for hours on end. I especially liked how this Santa had a real white beard and not one of those fake ones. As you can tell, this was Karsen's least favorite visit. He was doing just fine until Bruce put him in Santa's lap...and then he started crying. It is the saddest looking face but it makes me giggle because it is just so cute! Hopefully next year goes a little more smoothly.  

The pictures below are just some fun random times we have had around the house. In this first picture, we had just gotten done reading his two books before bedtime. He can occasionally get fussy in anticipation of bedtime, but the second we sit down and start reading, he calms right down and follows along. I love that he "gets" the bedtime routine! Check out those cheeks! Ugh...MELT. MY. HEART.

In this picture, we were just sitting on the floor playing with some toys. This kid already has way too many toys. The best part...toys have all kinds of lights and sounds, but his favorite toys are a ball and a stack of cups. Simple.  

I just love this last picture because if it had sound with it, you would know that he was talking up a storm! This kid loves to talk. I cant wait to hear what he has to say when it actually makes sense! Looking at this picture one might think he is crawling, but he isn't quite there. He has all of the pieces, but hasn't quite put it all together yet. I am totally ok with that. I am still so comfortable setting him on the floor and expecting him to stay there. I know those days are almost gone. 

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

6 months!!!

If you are friends with me on Facebook or Instagram, you know I have been hitting the pictures pretty hard lately. Oops. This kid is just so happy and smiley...how do I not share?!

Today, Karsen turns 6 months old. It seriously feels like yesterday that I was in the hospital with him telling him all about this older fur brothers, and his grandparents. Now he is talking (cooing, humming), rolling over, sitting up, starting finger foods and laughing up a storm! Below are some pictures over the last few weeks.

Over the weekend of Nov 21-23, we packed up the CRV with Karsen and the pups, and headed to Little River for another visit with Grammy and Papa! It is so hard to believe that the last time we were there, Karsen was just getting good at tummy time, and now he was sitting up and loving life! Karsen spent a lot of time hanging out on the floor and playing with his toys. He was fairly annoyed that I was bothering him to take pictures. Haha.

He loved hanging on Papa's belly for some of the trip too!

On Saturday afternoon, we made the trip over to McPherson to have dinner with Aunt Jeanie, Uncle Dave, Cousin Missy, and her son Owen. Karsen had a great time and it was clear that Owen enjoyed playing with Karsen. As you can see from the picture, Karsen has more than his fair share of toys to keep him busy. 

This last picture I HAD to take to show how exhausted Karsen was from the fun weekend! He slept the entire drive home (3.5 hours) and hardly made a peep. He had a great time from the weekend!

On Sunday, November 23, we started Karsen on solid finger foods! We decided to skip the purees and oatmeal and dive right in to solids. Of course, Karsen has no teeth, so we are starting with veggies that are steamed so they are super soft and he can gum them. So far, he has swallowed none of it, but he is having fun trying out the new textures and flavors. Below are some pictures from the first couple of sittings. We are only feeding solids in the evening, but soon we will add a breakfast sitting. We started with carrots, but now he has had sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and some turkey!

Karsen got sick about a month after the first time he came down with a bad cold. Luckily, the cold wasnt as intense as the last time, but we still had to get to the pediatrician office for some help clearly his nose and lungs. This time, we were sent home with a nebulizer to give treatments at home. Ugh. Such a pain. Luckily, we are just giving them to him as needed (which is usually right before bed) and because of the loud noise it makes, he tends to fall right to sleep. I guess it soothes him!

Now that Karsen is able to sit up on his own, we went grocery shopping and decided to leave the carseat in the car. He sat up in the cart with a little assistance from my coat. We just wanted to make sure he was good and wedged in there. The second grocery trip didnt require that kind of help! He is growing up!

This is just a picture of my happy dude! Clearly I was doing something too funny because he was just giggling and laughing so hard. I love that toothless grin!

Karsen had a blast celebrating his first Thanksgiving! He got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa playing on the floor and he was eating up all the attention! He also got to experience more than just carrots. We sat him at the table and he "ate" sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and some turkey! Of course he swallowed none of it but he enjoyed sucking on them and getting a feel for their flavor. 

This last picture pretty much sums up the excitement of the day. He was passed out after everyone left for the day. 

Whew. Picutre overload. Maybe if I wrote a post more often than once a month, there wouldn't be SO many in one post. 

I am so excited Christmas is right around the corner! It should be a fun time with the little man. 

Finally, here is Karsen's 6 month picture! His shirt says "off to Grandma's" because he is headed to Grandma and Grandpa's for his FIRST overnight visit!! Yahoo!!!

MB