March 27, 2009

Karly and I are enjoying a quiet morning at home today.  It's been cloudy and rainy the last two days, so we've been at home most of the time.  My strollerfit group had mom's night out last night at Movie Tavern and Lance stayed home with Karly.  They were both sound asleep when I got home and Karly slept until about 5 am, but then went back to sleep until 8 am.  I took a few pictures this morning of Karly sitting up and playing.  I also have pictures that I took before our swim lesson the other day of Karly modeling her bathing suit.  We are looking forward to our next class on Monday!

Karly is doing really well with eating rice cereal.  I give her 1-2 tablespoons mixed with formula or breastmilk at dinner time (about 5 pm).  I think we are going to continue this for another week and dive into some solid foods next weekend.  She will be past the 5 month mark and by then she should be even better at taking the food from the spoon.  We're going to start with peas instead of sweet potatoes to make sure she likes things that are not sweet.  Lance and I are going to do some shopping this week for a steamer and ice cube trays so that I can make large batches of baby food when we try different vegetables.  We're looking forward to a weekend at home together.

Check out all the pictures (rodeo, eating her first cereal, Kerrville trip, swimming, and playtime)!

March 24, 2009

Karly is napping, so I have to use my time wisely but I wanted to get a post up today b/c it's been a pretty big day for me.  Today I officially resigned at Amegy Bank.  I have been there almost 6 years and I will officially be staying home with Karly full time now!  It's an exciting thing for us, but also said to say good-bye to all my co-workers and friends at Amegy.  I know that I will stay in touch with many of them, as they have become a lot more than co-workers to me.  On a positive note, Katrina did assure me I could come back anytime I wanted to and I'm happy to have left things that way.  It is a big relief for me that it's now officially over and I feel like I can really settle into my life at home with Karly.  We are going to make baby food this weekend and let Karly try sweet potatoes for the first time soon!  All the things I will have time to do now, although keeping up with her and the house is definitely a full time job. 

In other news, Karly had her first swim lesson yesterday!  She did amazing and she loved every minute of it!  She is the youngest in our class by about 3 weeks, but you wouldn't know by watching her.  All the other moms and babies are from strollerfit, so it's fun that we all know each other.  Sarah's dad even came to class and took tons of pictures of all the babies!  I have a bunch to upload today that Sarah's mommy sent to me.  The babies kicked, floated on their back, tried to blow bubbles, and we sang a lot of fun songs to them.  The water is warm, so it feels like a big bath tub!  The only bad part is getting out of the water Karly was cold and very tired so it made a pretty bad combination.  She took an earlier nap yesterday because she was exhausted right after class.  It's a lot of work for those cute chubby legs to kick around the pool!  Enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for more updates as we enjoy our time together at home!

March 22, 2009

Today was a day of firsts!  Karly has her first tooth in AND we fed Karly some rice cereal for the first time!  The pediatrician told us to feed it to her when she shows signs of really wanting our food or not being satisfied from the breastmilk.  Everytime we eat she is reaching and trying to grab our food and also whining and crying a little for it.  So we decided to go ahead and start with cereal since she is almost 5 months and then we can start introducing some solids before 6 months.  We got some great pictures of her first bites of cereal.  She ended up eating about half of it after we were finished and I'm sure the more she has, the more she will like.  Her doctor said to feed it to her by spoon and not in her bottle to get her accustomed to eating that way.  I am tempted to give her a little in her bottle to help her sleep a little longer.  She is still a little inconsistent in her sleeping.  If she is really tired she will make it about 9 hours, but sometimes she still wakes in the middle of the night.  On a positive note she is getting a lot better at putting herself to sleep now that we put her in her bed awake and let her "cry it out."  She can fight it for about 30 minutes sometimes, but she eventually gives in.

We also took Karly out to the rodeo yesterday and we all had fun.  It was the first time for Lance to be with us when we were out for an extended period of time.  Karly actually did really well until she started getting sleepy and hungry.  She fell asleep right before the concert and we left a little early to try and get her into bed by bedtime.  I got some cute pictures of her in her pink boots, cowgirl onesie, and denim skirt!  Check out all the new pics!!

March 21, 2009

We are back from Kerrville and we had a great time.  It was Karly's first roadtrip and her first time to go to Nana's.  She did pretty good considering how long of a trip it is!  And we had some traffic issues getting there so it added about an hour to our normal 4 1/2 hour drive.  Karly's cousin, Janelle, did a great job of trying to distract and play with Karly in the car.  She also was really good with her Karly the whole time at Nana's.  Karly loved playing with Nana, she just laughed and smiled at her the whole time.  Even though she doesn't get to see Nana very often, she was right at home with her.  Nana just loved holding her and being with her.  Nana & Jim took great care of us and made a great dinner for us.  Then we all went on a long walk (even Nana) after dinner.  I'm amazed what Nana can still do at 80!  She goes and goes as much as she can.  Friday we went out to Paul & Lila's house (Paul is Nana's brother) and we saw some of our cousins.  Two of Paul & Lila's daughters (Vicki & Lauri) were in town with their families.  Lauri has a 14 month old named Mariah and Karly loves other little ones!  Karly was pretty tired by the time we made it to Paul & Lila's, so she didn't last long and she also left a little surprise on Janelle's lap!  We were all waiting for her to do that, so it was exciting (except for Janelle).  We made it home Friday evening and Karly was so happy to be home!  She went right to sleep at 8:30 and slept until about 5 am this morning.  She was really happy to see daddy this morning.  She was smiling and giggling with him.  We are going to enjoy our weekend together and go out to the rodeo today!  We have all gone, but not all 3 of us together.   

March 17, 2009

St. Patrick's Day!  I posted a few pictures that we took this morning.  Karly and her boyfriend, Lucas, were wearing the same onesie today!  They had fun playing on the mat together after class.  Then some of the moms and kids went to Lupe Tortilla for lunch.  The older kids played in the sandbox and the rest of us sat on the patio and hung out.  Even though it wasn't "irish" we enjoyed our St. Patty's Day celebration. 

Karly seems to be switching into a new schedule now, so I am trying to be more consistent about when we are home.  For the last week or so Karly has started to take a pretty long afternoon nap and just a short nap in the morning instead of taking 3 naps throughout the day.  The morning nap usually happens during strollerfit or afterward and is only about 20-30 minutes.  The good thing about this is that we are busy all morning and she gets good and tired by 1 pm she is ready for a long nap.  She is sleeping 2-3 hours and usually closer to 3!  It's been so nice for me b/c I really have a chance to get things done around the house.  We're also trying a new thing by putting her to bed at 8 pm and not letting her take an evening nap.  So far she's really fighting it, but hopefully if we stick to it she'll give into the routine.  I am waking her up at 10 to feed her a little, so that she can make it through the night without food.  We have to limit our night activities with her so that we can provide consistency and get her into bed early. 

We are off to visit Nana in Kerrville on Thursday, so it will be the longest road trip for Karly thus far.  Hopefully she will do OK!  Janelle will be in the back to entertain her, so I'm sure she'll love it.  We'll have an update when we get back this weekend.

March 14, 2009

I just posted some pictures from our playgroup on Friday.  Karly had so much fun!!  There are 5 babies in strollerfit that are all about 2 months apart in age.  Karly is the youngest of the group by 1 month.  All the boys are about 2 months older than her and Sarah is 1 month older.  But that doesn't stop her because she can do almost as much as they can.  She even started really sitting up on her own yesterday so we put her on the floor now with the boppy around her in case she falls.  She can only sit up for about a minute or so, but I'm sure that will increase as she gets stronger.  We were at Lucas's house yesterday and Lucas was Karly's first friend in strollerfit.  He has such a cute "surfer" themed baby room.  Karly does really well playing with other babies and even the mom's too.  Everyone loved Karly's bow, including little Sarah who wanted one too!  Karly is also spitting a lot these days, it's pretty funny to watch.  She had so much fun at the playgroup that she took a 3 hour nap yesterday!  It was so nice because I was able to finish my spring cleaning project (cleaning out my closet) and work on Karly's baby book.  I have managed to stay completely updated on her baby book and I've added pictures and other things to it now too.  Daddy enjoyed looking at it last night after I had finished updating it.  We're going to enjoy a nice relaxing weekend (hopefully), now that Lance is finally finished with rodeo!!

March 12, 2009

We just got home from our appointment with Dr. Knapick and lunch with daddy.  Karly did extremely well this morning and only cried at the very end when she got her shots.  She weighed in at 15 lbs and .75 oz, so she is just barely over 15 lbs.  She is still 75% for weight and her height jumped to 90% at 25.5 inches.  The doctor is very pleased with her progress and said the height stat is a good indicator of her growth.  He is amazed that she is sleeping 8 hours with just breasmilk and thinks we are doing a good job with her feeding.  He advises to stick to what is working and only give them solids at this point if they really need it.  Instead of going by a time table his advice is to let her tell us when she needs more.  So for now she will stick with breastmilk and we will add cereal when we think she needs a little more.  Everything else looks good and she appears to have all the signs of teething.  I have felt a tooth on the top that is about to come in.  She also seems to be slightly ahead on "strength" and progress of movement (rolling, wanting to crawl etc.)  She will go back to the doctor for her 6 month check up in May!

March 11, 2009

Wow what a BIG day we had today!  I took Karly out to the livestock show with our other strollerfit moms and friends.  It was quite an experience taking a 4 month old to an outside event all day!  She did really really well considering it was hot and humid, as well as being out of her element and off her schedule.  We ended up staying for about 4 hours.  Karly looked so cute in her pink John Deere overalls and cowboy boots!  She got so many compliments and it was just adorable.  We had the stroller with us, but she spent most of the time in the baby bjorn.  She was so happy being able to see everything, although after an hour we were both soaked in sweat.  She got to see some cows, pigs, and bunnies.  It was really cute when we first entered one of the buildings and there was an overwhelming smell of cow manuer and she definitely made a funny face!  Needless to say when we finally got home she was ready for food, a bath, and bed. 

Speaking of sleep Karly is doing pretty well at night these days.  She's sleeping on average about 8 hours a night.  I am starting to put her down a little earlier and then wake her up for some food about 10ish and she goes back to sleep until anywhere from 6-8 am.  Today she slept until 8:15 am and she went down at 8:45 pm!  So this is definitely a big improvement for us in the sleep department.  Lance is also adjusting to his new schedule, as he is now closer to home and we can't be more excited about the move.  This means no more 4:30 am days which also means no more going to bed at 8:30!  He just couldn't keep up with that schedule, so hopefully  now that Karly is starting to need more sleep and going down earlier Lance and I can actually have some time to hang out at night.  Tomorrow is Karly's check up, so I'll post another update with her new weight and height stats! 

March 9, 2009

We are back from Rockdale and have already had a busy day.  Lance is working out at the rodeo, another 20 hour shift!  So we won't see him again until Tuesday night.  Karly is feeling much better today than she was this weekend.  She had a pretty upset tummy because she hadn't had a poopie diaper in 3 days.  She was really crabby all the way home yesterday in the car.  When we got home Lance went up to Walgreens to get something to help her and before he came home she had a dirty diaper.  Thank goodness!  We were all relieved, but probably not as much as Karly.  She played for a little bit and fell right to sleep last night.  Then she ended up sleeping until almost 10 am today!  I think it was a combination of the time change and how tired she was from the weekend.  I'm sure she was happy to be back in her bed too. 

We took some pictures of Karly on Saturday, although she wasn't in a good mood but she loved the live bunny!  She looked so cute in her Easter dress, but she definitely prefers to be in "comfy" clothes.  Karly had fun with Nonnie, Poppy, & Granny this weekend and we have a few pictures from the weekend.  We had fun going to Bealls and getting Karly some cute, casual summer clothes.  I can't believe how fast she is growing and that she is already wearing some 6-9 months stuff!

Thursday is Karly's 4 month check up and I'm anxious to see how much Karly weighs and how tall she is.  We will be getting back to strollerfit this week and going on a field trip Wednesday after class with the other babies.  We'll be going out to see the livestock show and the petting zoo.  I'm sure it will be fun to see all the animals and enjoy lunch with our strollerfit friends. 

More updates coming later this week!

March 5, 2009

I took some pictures of Karly playing in her bumbo today and I got some cute expressions!  I didn't worry about dressing her up and trying to prop her and take the picture, so I could actually talk to her and get some cute faces.  I also realized out of the thousands of pictures I have I don't have very many in her jammies b/c now I always dress her up before a picture.  So now you can see what she normally looks like at home!

Lance and I had 2 nights out this week at the rodeo and it was a lot of fun, but also exhausting!  I can't even imagine how Lance will feel tomorrow after his 20 hour shift at the rodeo today.  He is a captain on the safety committee, but it's great b/c it allows us to go to the rodeo anytime we want at no cost!  We went to Rascal Flatts on Tuesday night with Chris & Kim and then Alan Jackson with Corey and Jonathan.  They were both good performances and great people watching!  It was nice to have some time out, but also a lot of work getting Karly where she needed to be with all her things/milk etc. 

Tomorrow we are off to Rockdale for the weekend, so I spent my free time today (which isn't much) packing everyone's bags.  We've missed stroller fit a couple days this week, but I went for a jog today with Karly and she just loves being outside with the wind in her hair.  It's really cute to watch her facial expressions when we are outside b/c it is still so new to her.  Next week we have a fun week with our stroller fit group field trip to the livestock show and Karly's 4 month check up.  More updates coming soon!

March 2, 2009

We've had a lot of fun the last few days, so I thought I should update with a new post.  Plus Karly is officially 4 months old now!  Last Thursday night the moms of stroller fit had a really fun moms night out and Karly enjoyed her time with daddy.  They were both sound asleep when I got home.  The next day was super busy, but Karly had so much fun.  We went to stroller fit in the morning and then went to a play date at Sarah's house (I forgot my camera so you can't see who Sarah is) but I will try and get a few pictures from the other moms.  Now in stroller fit there are 4 other babies almost the same age as Karly (slight older) and then one a little younger so we started a little mini playgroup so they can all play.  Karly is pretty active with the other kids and wanting to touch them and of course play with all their toys.  She had a lot of fun and then we both came home to take a much needed nap.  Friday night we went into town for a girls night at Brooke's.  She got to see all mommy's girlfriends and play.  She cracks me up because she refused to give into sleep until she was just completely exhausted.  She did not want to miss anything, so I had to put her down in Brooke's room (away from the excitement) for a nap. 

Saturday we headed out to Sugar Land to see Kma, Gpa, and Kelsee (again I forgot the camera).  Karly enjoyed herself and didn't want to take a nap there either.  Both days resulted in great sleeping!  Actually she's slept through the night now for several nights in a row and even made it until about 6 am each time.  She had fun playing at her grandparents house and zonked out on the way home as soon as we got in the car. 

I updated her pictures this morning with some fun we were having putting different outfits on to decide which to take pictures in.  We also got Karly's Easter dress because we are going to do some Easter pictures next weekend in Rockdale with live bunnies!  We signed Karly up for her first swim lessons!  So we were trying on the bathing suits we had and the new one we bought this weekend.  She is so cute in them.  We are taking a class with some of our stroller fit friends at Fleet which is an indoor swim academy nearby.  I am excited to get her in the water and see how she does.  I hope to expose her to the water a lot, so that she can swim on her own by 2.

Enjoy the pictures and I will get on here again this week to put some of the baptism pictures on the site as well!

February 26, 2009

I can't believe Karly is almost 4 months old!  Sunday she will officially be 4 months and we'll be going to the doctor on March 12 for her next check up.  I haven't weighed her in a couple weeks, but I feel like she gets heavier all the time.  She is still wearing 3-6 and 6 months clothes mostly.  It's the longest she's been in a size so I feel like she is getting more wear out of her clothes right now (especially the sleepers).  Karly has changed a lot recently and is constantly wanting to be entertained or stay busy.....I wonder where she gets that from?  We got the exersaucer back out and she LOVES it!  It allows her to stand (but she can't touch yet) and play with all the toys.  She is still rolling around on the floor and playing with her baby einstein floor gym.  She is getting closer to being able to sit up and can with the help of her boppy but she flops over pretty easily still.  We can now get her to laugh which is really fun to watch. 

Lance and I just celebrated our 2nd anniversary on Tuesday and enjoyed a dinner out at Taste of Texas.  We are back into our normal routine again after being gone and getting off track.  We've been going to stroller fit everyday and had a couple lunches out this week.  Karly also went to her first Ash Wednesday service yesterday.  Lance went into work a little late and we all went to mass together.  It was harder to keep her quiet during mass, but she did pretty good and we only had to go to the cry room once. 

Tonight I have mom's night out with the stroller fit moms, so daddy gets to stay home with Karly.  And tomorrow Karly will be coming with me to girls night at Brooke's, while daddy heads out to the rodeo cookoff.  Lance is a captain on the Safety/Communications Committee at the rodeo, so he's about to get into all his duties with the rodeo starting.  We'll be attending the rodeo a couple times next week and I'm hoping to take Karly one day also. 

I've been taking pictures this week so that everyone can see how much she is changing!  I might need to take a break on here and pictures so I can work on Karly's scrapbook that I am getting behind on.  Karly will have a baby book, scrapbook, and professional album for her first year!  I am so thankful I've had the time to be able to take so many pictures and document everything for her to one day look back on.  More to come soon

February 23, 2009

I know it's been awhile since I posted an update, but it's been pretty busy since we got back from California.  Last week was very exhausting because I had to feed Karly every 2 hours in order to get my milk supply back to normal.  Apparently when we were in California because the demand for milk went down so did my supply so that when we finally got back very late on Monday I had virtually nothing left!  It was a litte concerning, but after talking to the doctor it would go up but only with feeding or pumping every 2 hours.  I did this for about 4 days and it was like having a newborn again!  All of this also totally ruined our schedule we worked so hard to get on.  The good news is that we are starting to get back on the schedule and the milk is back to normal! 

Lance & I had a great time on our trip to Sonoma Valley.  We drank a lot of good wine and had some really nice meals as well.  I will put up just a few pictures from our trip since this is Karly's site after all!  Karly really enjoyed herself while we were gone with her grandparents.  She stayed on her schedule really well and even slept better at night then she does for us!  Before we left she wasn't very fond of the bottle, but now she will even take it from me!  So we are trying to do a bottle now with her late night feeding to make sure she is getting 4 oz. before she goes to bed. 

Karly is changing so much everyday and has really matured a lot recently.  She is very aware of her surroundings and constantly wants to be "entertained."  She loves to play on the floor and rolls all over the place.  She is trying to figure out how to crawl and gets very frustrated that she can't do it.  We have seen her inch herself around on her stomach, so it could be anytime now which is scary b/c she isn't even 4 months old yet!  Lately she is putting anything and everything in her mouth, even her entire fist which she managed to get in her mouth Saturday night.  We had a playdate night with Haylee & Chase Watral, Haylee is about 5 months older than Karly and it was fun to watch them play together. 

We are enjoying stroller fit and being back in our routine now.  I will try and take pictures this week and post since I was too tired last week from all the feeding to get to it

February 11, 2009

We have settled back into our routine this week and Karly has caught up on her beauty sleep!  I weighed Karly this morning on the scale with me and she came in at 14 lbs. 4 oz!  I was shocked that she has grown so much in the last 6 weeks.  We will have her weighed and measured at the doctor at her 4 month check up. 

This is a big weekend for us because we are going to be leaving our sweet angel for 4 days.  I know it will be hard to leave her, but we are excited about our trip.  We miss getting to travel since I've been pregnant and then having Karly has held us back a bit.  We are going to celebrate our 2 year anniversary, time has flown by!  We are heading out to the wine country in California and staying in Sonoma.  We've gotten some great recommendations from friends on places to stay and visit.  We both love wine, so we're looking forward to seeing some of the wineries and tasting lots of good wine!  Our parents are going to be watching Karly, each for 2 nights and I know they are all looking forward to their special time with her. 

I took some early Valentine's pictures since we aren't going to be with her on the day and uploaded them.  Karly is spending more time on the floor playing.  She has mastered rolling from front to back and also back to front.  She is already wanting to crawl (a little scary) and gets frustrated that she can't yet.  I can't believe how fast she is growing and how much she has changed in such a short amount of time.  I will update the site after we get back from our trip....HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL

February 9, 2009

Wow what a big weekend for Karly!  Karly was baptized yesterday (Feb. 8) at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church.  It was a very LONG ceremony b/c there were 22 babies getting baptized.  Of course Karly was the prettiest baby and had the most spectators!  Her gown looked great (made by Kma) and she did very well considering we were there for 3 hours!  Her favorite part was probably when the deacon rubbed the oil on her chest and hair.  It was calming to her and the pouring of the water stopped her from crying!  She had a slight meltdown right before it was her turn to be baptized.  She was hot, tired, and hungry so I can't blame her for showing her frustration. 

We had a reception at our house afterward and had some family and friends over to visit.  Karly didn't make it very long and took a well needed nap during most of the reception.  She actually went to bed at 7 pm (about 3 hours early) and slept for 9 hours straight!  She was obviously very exhausted.  Today has been very relaxing for her and she seems so happy to be back in her routine.  Karly received many wonderful gifts and cards, something she will be able to have one day since she won't remember the actual day.  Her cousin, Jordan, made a GREAT video the captures the day and some other memories we previously recorded on video.  If I can figure out how to upload it to the site then I will b/c it's amazing! 

I have a few pictures from family and as soon as I get Amy's pictures I will upload them!  I can't wait to see how beautiful Karly will look in them. 

February 6, 2009

I thought I would put a quick update since we'll have a busy weekend with Karly's baptism on Sunday!  We had a pretty rough night last night when we attempted to have Karly sleep in her own room for the first time.  She went to sleep just fine, but she woke up at 1 am (earlier than normal) and did not want to go back to sleep.  I finally got her to sleep with the blowdryer and then I couldn't go back to sleep.  Unfortunately she was up again at 3 and Lance tried to get her back to sleep.  I ended up feeding her at 3:30 and then she fell asleep again until 6 am.  I am hoping that it will get better and easier for all of us, but we were all tired this morning. 

We had Karly's 3 month pictures on Tuesday and she did AMAZING!  It was a 2 hour photo session and she didn't cry or fuss once!  We gave her several breaks and in one of the breaks she fell asleep so we took some sleeping baby pictures also.  Her baptism gown was adorable, although she kept getting scrunched up because she can't sit up yet.  She also wanted to eat the dress or her hands constantly.  We will see the pictures next week and I can't wait to see them. 

We had lunch with Kim & Larkin on Wednesday and we've been running errands for the baptism all week.  We're excited about Karly's big day on Sunday and will definitely post pictures as soon as we have them.

January 25, 2009

We had a busy week, I meant to get on here last weekend and I can't believe we're already to the end of the weekend now.  After our trip to Rockdale and Austin, Karly and I got back to our normal routine.  We went to stroller fit, she came to a couple appointments with me, and even to the hair salon which she did really well with. 

I can't believe how fast she is growing and how much she has changed in such a short time!  She has now mastered rolling over from back to front and a little bit from front to back.  She loves to talk, smile, and kick all the time.  She also enjoys time on her baby einstein mat where she has learned to turn herself to see the TV.  Apparently she likes the TV as much as we do, lol. 

We had our first family night with Stroller Fit last Thursday so Lance got to meet all the mommies, babies, and husbands of the group.  It was really fun and Karly got to see all her friends outside of our class.  Lance enjoyed meeting everyone that I always talk about. 

We're getting ready for Karly's baptism which is February 8th.  K-ma made Karly's gown and bonnet and they turned out perfect.  We're going to have Karly's 3 month photos taken in it and I can't believe it's already time for those! 

Stay tuned for updates and pictures!

January 20, 2009

We just got back from a long weekend in Rockdale & Austin.  It was a bunch of firsts for all of us....Karly's first trip away from home and our first night away from Karly.  We headed to Rockdale Friday evening and went to dinner with Nonnie, Poppy, Granny, and Mrs. Caffey.  Karly was a hit at dinner in Rockdale and everyone recognized her from the announcement in the paper!  We enjoyed some r&r on Saturday and then left Sunday afternoon for Austin.  Aunt Donna (Snookie) & Jeff also came to Rockdale to see Karly.  Karly enjoyed all the attention she got from everyone and she did great both away from home and away from us. 

Lance and I had a hard time leaving her, she was in great hands, but it was our first time to leave overnight.  Once we got in the car and on the road to Austin we were OK, but we did call 3 or 4 times to check in on her.  We stayed at the Driskall in downtown Austin and enjoyed a night to ourselves with some good food and good drinks.  We got to see Matt & Leslie Ormiston and enjoyed dinner at the bachelor party favorite, Eddie V's.  Lance had raved about it since his bachelor party and the food was amazing.  We listened to some jazz music at a local bar and enjoyed a nightcap at the bar in the Driskall.  Of couse Lance couldn't leave Austin without some Kim Phung's so we had lunch on our way out of town there.

Karly had a super time without us and took her bottles well from Nonnie, Poppy, and Donna.  She even slept in her same usual pattern, so she definitely felt at home.  Nonnie took lots of pictures while we were gone and I've posted those to the website.  Stay tuned for more pictures and updates!

January 9, 2009

Pictures are online!!  Karly's 6 week pictures are up on Teri's website.  We narrowed it down to our favorite 15 and those are the ones posted online. 

Go to http://www.quancedesign.com/index.html and click on clients, then enter schielack in lowercase as the password. 

Enjoy!!

January 15, 2009

We've been out and about a lot this week.  We've been to stroller fit twice this week and Karly is doing better at each class.  She makes it to about 45-50 minutes and then gets pretty fussy.  Today she did much better because she had a good nap before we left, so maybe that's the key!  She seems to enjoy it, but she prefers to be moving the whole time and we often stop to do different arm exercises or sprints etc.  I have lost about 4 lbs since we started doing stroller fit and weight watchers.  I hope to be back in my regular clothes soon! 

We've also been out to visit some of my co-workers one day that I used to work with, although Karly hadn't had a good nap so it was a quick visit!  We also ventured to the mall one day, where she did OK once she fell asleep in the stroller.  She's pretty good about being on the go and getting her naps in while in the car or stroller. 

We're getting ready for our first little trip with her this weekend.  We're heading to Rockdale and Austin.  We'll be visiting Nonnie, Poppy, & Granny in Rockdale.  Then on Sunday Lance and I are going to have a night away in Austin which will be our first overnight trip away from Karly.  I think it will be good for all of us.  Lance is taking me to the restaurant he went to during his bachelor party weekend that he's raved about since and we're going to stay downtown so that we can go out on the town and not have to drive anywhere.

Check out the new 10 week pictures, Karly is growing up so fast we can hardly believe it.  I love spending every minute with her during the day and I know Lance enjoys spending time with her as soon as he's home from work.

The professional pics will only be up for another week, so I have kept the link on the home page above.

January 8, 2009

I don't normally make posts so close together but we have BIG news today!  Last night Karly slept through the night and slept for 7 hours!!!!!!  I know she was extremely tired because I took her to girls night at Corey & Marisa's and she didn't have a nap the entire evening so we'll see if the trend continues.  I kept waking up and going to check on her because she hadn't woken up yet, so I didn't sleep for 7 hours but I am thrilled that she did.  She is also holding her head up a lot more and she loves to stand up and look around.  She had a great time with the girls last night and she can't wait to have another night out with just the girls

We also went to our first Stroller Fit class today and we both loved it!  I was running a little late so I ended up running to the class from our house which is little less than a mile away.  So I started out a little winded, but it was a great workout and I met a bunch of moms in the area.  We did everything from running up hills to strength training and doing exercises while singing to the babies.  They loved it, although Karly slept through most of it, I think she enjoyed being outside.  The weather was perfect today, sunny and cool.  I think we're going to join Stroller Fit and go at least 3 times a week. 

Maybe we'll get another full night of sleep tonight, I'll keep you posted!

January 7, 2009

We had Karly's 2 month check up last Friday and if you've checked the site then you can see that she weighed in at 12 lbs, 1 oz!  She is also 23 inches long and is in the 75% on both.  The doctor is very pleased with her growth and she is doing really well overall.  She didn't enjoy the shots, but neither did mommy and daddy.  Karly did fine afterward and they didn't seem to effect her over the weekend. 

This week things are back to normal and we've stayed busy with different activities.  I have joined weight watchers to try and lose the rest of the baby weight, so Karly was a big hit at the meeting.  All the ladies loved looking at her sleeping in her carrier.  I'm also trying out a new group called stroller fit that works out in our neighborhood a few times a week.  It allows the moms to bring babies and kids in jogging strollers to get a good workout and not have to leave the kids with someone or at a daycare in a gym.  I am going to my first class tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes!  We also took a tour today of a nearby Lutheran dayschool for Karly.  They take infants, where the other school we are on a waiting list for only starts at 18 months.  We're exploring our options for my return back to work in March which will only be part time. 

We are doing better on sleep and she had 1 night that she slept for 5 hours without waking, it was great for me!  Last night she woke up again in the middle of the night, so she didn't make the 5 hours but she is not eating at the middle of the night wake up period.  Hopefully she will catch on and sleep straight through the 5-6 hour period soon!  Daddy has been getting up at 4:30 to get his workout in before he commutes, so we actually see each other in the morning b/c it's about the time I am feeding her also.  This seems to be working better for us because then Lance gets the whole evening with us instead of getting home and then going to workout.

That's all I have for now, I will try to keep posting regular pictures and updates as often as I can!

January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!!  We have enjoyed the last couple weeks of holiday time with all the family.  I think we had 4 Christmas celebrations and enjoyed all of them.  It's been a busy week for us as we've been doing some "baby boot camp."  A term my sister (Aunt Jenn Jenn) used with her babies to get them to sleep in their bed!  Karly has gotten attached to sleeping with me or on me and also sleeping in all kinds of places (swing, carseat, etc).  We started this week putting her in her bed for scheduled naps during the day and it seems to be working!  She now goes to sleep in her bed after we put her down and although she wakes several times we have been able to coax her back into sleep to have a better routine.  Karly is also doing a little better at night and has gone 5-5 1/2 hours the last few nights which has been huge for mommy!  She wakes up in the middle of the night still, but I have been able to get her back to sleep and not feed her until the very early morning.  I hope this will only begin to improve.  She has made great progress this week with sleeping in her bed, taking better naps, being on a regular schedule, and sleeping more at night without food!

She also smiles and laughs all the time now and likes to "talk" back to us, especially in the morning.  She has been smiling for a few weeks now, but she continues to get more and more lively.  I've also seen her roll over twice, both times she was a little mad so I'm sure it was her strength building up to push her, but I was shocked to see her do it.  She has had so many milestones recently, it's amazing!

On Monday we had our first playdate with Cooper, who is the baby of one of my friends from Amegy.  Telisa and I started as analysts together at Amegy and just happened to have babies within 4 weeks of each other.  We got a few pictures after lunch at Emily's (another friend from work).  The babies were ready to go home by the time we got the camera out but I was able to get a few good pics.  It was fun seeing them together and such a huge difference in the two at just 4 weeks apart!

Tomorrow is Karly's 2 month check up, she is almost 9 weeks so I will be able to update the site with her new weight and height.  We found mommy's baby book and I was 14 lbs, 14 oz at 8 weeks!  I apparently loved to eat and was quite the chub.  Karly looks tiny compared to my baby pictures.  More updates to come soon and check out the Christmas pics!

December 24, 2008

Well hello everyone...Daddy here again!  I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and getting their last minute shopping done.  We have really enjoyed our first Christmas with Karly as she is the best gift we could have ever asked for.  Karly has had and will have quite a busy schedule during this holiday season.  This past Sunday we all went to Grandma Schielack's and Chico's for the Schielack side family Christmas.  Karly really enjoyed meeting the entire family!  She mentioned on the way home that she really enjoyed all the gifts. 

Our dogs, Chloe & Zoe have been with Harry & Connie and we now have them back full time.  It's actually gone quite well and they have adjusted just fine.  Chloe is always watching out for Karly and everytime she cries she runs over to check on her.  Zoe is a little lost, we're not sure if she knows she is back home or not.  We are enjoying have the house full again! 

Last night, we traveled down to College Station with the Pierson's and drove through Santa's Wonderland (a spectacular drive-thru light show).  Karly really enjoyed the lights in the small amount of time she could stay awake.  Aunt Jenn-Jenn made some kettle corn, which was to die for and Lance & Katie made the old-fashioned Christmas sugar cookies that everyone enjoyed. 

Today is Christmas Eve, so we are planning to go to church around 4pm and enjoy the Christmas carols.  Then we are going over to the Pierson's for some yummy fried chicken.  Tomorrow we plan to get up and open gifts and have some breakfast.  Katie is going to make an awesome breakfast casserole and Lance is planning to make mimosas and sparkling mistletoes (cranberry juice and champagne)... ;-)!!!!  We are heading out to Sugar Land to visit the Jahns' around 12 noon for some Christmas Day lunch (roast) and some of G-Pa's famous egg nog (which Lance is really excited about).  On Friday, the Schielack clan (Nonnie, Poppy, GiGi (Granny), Uncle Kyle & Allie) are all heading over to celebrate Christmas.  We are going to grill some steaks, have some drinks, and open gifts.  Oh, and we will have to watch the famous Christmas Vacation movie as the Schielack's always do.  Lance is going to try and make some wassail for the first time so that everyone can enjoy it with dessert.  It should be an awesome holiday for all of us. 

We will keep updating pictures throughout the holiday as we can so keep checking back for updates!

I have not been very good about updating the site, so I wanted to give some additonal updates (other than Christmas news).  Karly and I have stayed quite busy the two weeks before Christmas and Lance being home.  We got some shopping done, wrapped gifts, and visited some friends.  We had lunch with some of mommy's friends on different days and also spent a day with Grandma Pat and Aunt Jenn.  She enjoys being out and about, and she sleeps really well after some busy time!

We also had Karly's hip ultrasound done that we mentioned in previous posts at Texas Children's Hospital.  She didn't quite like it, but she did really well.  The best news is that we found out she's perfectly normal!!  We were very glad to know that she doesn't have to wear the hip brace.  She is growing like a weed and she is very strong.  She holds her head up very well and when she is on her stomach already starts to try to crawl.  I think she will be rolling over soon, as she can turn herself on her side.  She loves to sleep on her side or stomach and it's very cute to watch as she breathes heavily during deep sleep.  Karly is a very happy baby and smiles at us often.  She also has started to "talk" to us!  It's very funny to listen to her go on, although we don't know what she's trying to tell us we talk back to her. 

We've had a great time getting ready for the holidays this year and we're looking forward to next year when Karly knows what is happening!  Her daddy LOVES Christmas, so I know that she will love it too. 

December 9, 2008

Karly is growing so fast!  She seems to be getting much chubbier and longer by the day.  It's amazing to look back at pictures and see the difference.  She is doing really well and loves to cuddle with mommy and daddy every second she can.  We are looking forward to her sleeping a little more at night, but other than that she is a really good baby.  She has started to smile and laugh a lot more and makes noises back at us when we talk to her.  It's really cute to see her facial expressions as she discovers things.  We can tell she knows who we are and knows our voices and smells. 

This past weekend Karly got to meet Santa for the first time!  She did so good with him and we have a couple really cute pictures.  Karly won't remember her experience so one day we'll have to show her the pictures of her first Christmas and her first meeting with Santa!  We are looking forward to the holiday and having some time with daddy at home.  We have most of our shopping done, the house decorated, and our cards are finished. 

We will keep updating pictures as we can (I can only get on here when Karly is napping) so keep checking back for updates!