Karsten is 4 months old!

I'm a little late on this post-Life got away from me again. I wrote this a few days before Baby K turned 4 months old and never uploaded the photos so I didn't post. 

Karsten turned 4 months old on the 8th. I cannot believe time has flown by so quickly. He has definitely made the shift from newborn to infant with personality.

Karsten is such a happy baby. He loves to kick, punch the air and smile whenever you walk by him. He lights up when you pick him up. This kid loves to be around people and is incredibly social.

He has found his voice and loves to test its limits. He went through this loud screeching phase last week-thankfully it didn't last long.

We went on an RV trip in August. Karsten did great while we travelled. He slept in a portable infant tent up in the front of the RV. Daniel slept right next to him on the pull out sofa.  Once we got back home, we moved Karsten out of our bedroom and into Daniel's room (which is now the boys room). Daniel didn't mind the transition to sharing a bedroom and both boys are sleeping really well.

Karsten started sleeping through the night. I put him down for the night somewhere between 6:30 and 7:30. I wake him up at 10 for a bottle and he'll sleep to 6:30 in the morning. Sometimes he starts to stir around 4AM. I can give him his pacifier before he wakes up (if I hear him) and he'll sleep a little extra. Even if I don't wake and give it to him, he's a great sleeper.

The week that Karsten turned 4 months old, I had surgery. My father flew out from NJ to help watch the kids. Daniel and Karsten had a great week with their Grandpa Gogo.

Shortly after he left, Karsten started sitting up on his own very consistently. He also has rolled over a few times. He's not too consistent about it, but he's trying so hard. He has rolled front to back. He flails his body all over the place when trying to roll back to front. He'll get it soon. Most likely by the time I write his 5 month update.

We started experimenting with solids this month as well. You've tried sweet potatoes and apples. You didn't love either. Daniel was having yogurt for breakfast and I gave you a tiny taste. You started smiling, grabbing for the spoon and were obviously wanting more. I went out and bought some of the YoBaby brand yogurt and you gobble it up!

This month was such a big month for change for you, Baby K. I love this time in your life-it's so neat to see all the changes and advances you made each day.

3 months old

Karsten turned 3 months old last week. It is so hard to believe how quickly time has flown by. Overall, K is an incredibly easy baby. (With the exception of this past Tues, where he cried the entire day long!)

Karsten and Kristylee

Karsten is 12 pounds, 4 ounces.

He is 23' long and has a 15 1/4" head.

Karsten is almost sleeping through the night. He still wakes up once around 4AM, after falling asleep at 8PM. Occasionally I'll wake him up at 10 when I fall asleep to give him a bottle.

(Since writing this post, Karsten has slept through the night 5 times!)

He spit up crazy amounts! I get soaked after every single bottle. And, it takes him an hour to finish spitting up. It's not just a "have a bottle, burp, then spit up" thing. It's a surprise spit up. I never know when it's coming. He always gets the hiccups once he's done spitting up. 

Karsten is learning to sit on his own. We do this fun balancing act where I prop him up, he tips over, I prop him up again, then he tips over again. He held himself up for about 45 seconds the other day. I cheered big time!  He likes to practice sitting in the Bumbo chair.

He laughed for the first time this week. It was a beautiful sound. I cried. Karsten is always smiling!

Karsten got sick the night before his 3 month birthday. He started coughing really bad and I knew the big ol' croup was coming. (It must run in the family "blood"-Daniel had croup so many times!) I took him to the doctors office the next morning and as I suspected, croup was the diagnosis. Hopefully a round or two of steriods will kick this quickly.

Next weekend we head off on our big RV trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. I was really hoping Karsten would be sleeping through the night. We are close, but not there yet.

Karsten, your smiling personality is starting to show through. You look so much like your Grandpa Gogo. 

I love you and seeing more of who you are going to become each day!

2 months old

Karsten, July 8, 2013

2 months old

You got your shots today-you were a trooper. You did the silent scream for about 5 seconds, then let out a huge wail that lasted 30 seconds. You then calmed down really quickly.

You weigh 10 pounds, 6 ounces. You grew an inch and now are 21 inches long. 

You started to smile! It's adorable. You have the cutest little smirk. You track me, your daddy and Daniel with your eyes and turn your head to look at us when we talk. 

You are getting into a sleeping routine. You wake around 6AM, stay up until 8 when we typically leave the house for the day. You nap for 2 hours or so while we are out and about. You'll be up for a good part of the mid day, taking a 45 minute catnap. You fall back asleep for a long nap around 4pm and you like to wake up just as I'm sitting down for dinner. You and your big brother read a book with me before bedtime then I'll feed you a bottle and you'll go to sleep. 

I'll wake you up at 10 or 10:30 for a bottle. You'll then sleep to 3AM. After another bottle, you'll sleep again until 6 or so. 

You are taking 4 ounce bottles of formula throughout the day. 

You went swimming for the first time this month. We turned down the temperature in the hot tub a few days ago this month. You loved it. Then, we drove down to Mt. Princeton hot springs with some friends and went into the pool. It was a great day for everyone. 

Karsten, we love you so much! 

Happy Daniversary!

July 20th marked the Annual Daniversary, the day Daniel physically joined our family. We intentionally spend the day as a family, doing something fun that Daniel would enjoy.

This year, we rented a motor boat and spent a few hours on Lake Dillon. It was a beautiful sunny, typical Colorado day. Absolutely lovely!

TJ, Kristylee and her boyfriend Tracy joined us for the day.

After the boat and lake festivities, we drove down to Denver to see some wonderful friends for dinner.

It was an absolutely perfect day.

The newest Delahoz

Since I'm a horrible blogger lately, I'm 2.5 months late in introducing the newest member of our family. Karsten was born on May 8. He took FOREVER to be born (seriously, it felt like the longest labor in the world), but once he arrived, it was all worth it.  My recovery from the delivery was fairly brutal-maybe one day if I can keep up on the blogging I'll put it all down into words.

Karsten David

Born at 11:22AM on Wednesday May 8, 2013.

7 pounds, 9 ounces. 19 inches long

Regardless, the same as any mother tells you, once the baby is placed into your arms, every bit of the pregnancy and delivery makes it all worth it. Same with adoption-once that baby is placed in your arms, the long wait begins to fade away and it is so worth it.

3 weeks old

6 weeks old

Big brother Daniel is amazing with his little brother. He is tender and sweet with him. He shows Karsten his cars, toys and books. Daniel is always attempts to calm Karsten down when he is crying. He says, "That's ok, that's ok, Karsten. Mommy's coming". It's the sweetest thing. 

Kissing Karsten good night

8 weeks old

It's amazing how our little family feels so complete. Karsten has rocked our world in a pretty big way-but we are managing and learning to adjust to 2 kids. All in all, we are amazingly blessed!  

21 Weeks

I'm past the halfway mark with this pregnancy. We learned a few weeks ago that we are having a baby boy! I'm so excited to have two boys. I always wanted to have two of a kind. Dave and I had talked about if we were to adopt again, that we would want another boy. I love the idea of two boys growing up as playmates, best childhood friends and wrestling partners. Of course, the logical and pragmatic side of myself says another boy is so much easier because of hand-me-down clothes, sleeping arrangements, toys, etc.

When we went to the doctors, it was a few days before my 20 week mark. Everything with the baby was tracking wonderfully. He is an active little fellow, flipping somersaults in my belly, punching me, kicking me. He's a little bigger than what the books and websites say he should be right now. The doctor estimated he was about 13 ounces.

The best part of the doctors appointment was seeing the little guy's face! He has Dave's profile completely. I cannot wait to see my handsome little baby boy next May.

Overall, I'm still feeling really good. I can still see my big toes (just a little bit of my nice pedicure is visible) and will most likely only be able to see them for a few more days. This past weekend I did come down with a wicked cold/flu. I've been down for the count all weekend. Thankfully, Dave is amazing with helping out around the house and with Daniel. I hope I can kick this pretty quickly and start feeling more like myself!

--For some reason, I'm not able to upload any photos, weird!

iPhone Upload

Wearing Grandma Gogo's eyeglasses

 

Mashed potatoes

 

 Skiing with Daddy

Showing up in Mommy's bedroom with toys

 

Handsome boy

Too tired while trick or treating. Needing a break.

J. Crew model