Spring Training with Daddy

With the weather beautiful and baseball season 40 days away, Karmann and Kris spent one afternoon at the ballpark watching the Braves down at Disney. I don't know if Kris took any photos, but if he did, I'll have to upload them later. He said she was great in the Bjorn carrier and all the ladies were raving over how cute she was (of course!). It was a surprise to me that he was going to take her, so she wasn't dressed for the occasion, but she was still a cutie pie in pink - since the month is not over yet! We will probably revisit the ballpark this weekend, so I'll be sure to make it up! 

Also this week, Karmann had her second follow-up appointment with the "speech" therapist. Beside the fact that a fire drill went off while I was feeding her, she showed improvement. She's been giving Kris attitude while eating from the bottle, so we still need to work on that, but she's grown another 5 oz! The therapist (her name is Keri) is also a physical therapist, so I asked her about Karmann's head and neck strength, which our pediatrician told me needs to be stronger. So Keri gave us a few more exercises to do. She also recognized Karmann's preference to hold her head to the left (I can't remember what its called) so she showed us a few more exercises for that as well. Karmann is getting stronger but I can't really say she likes it! 

Well, we are looking forward to a great weekend and hope you have a good one as well! 

Posted for fun

Karmann and I are watching the Oscars, but had to post photos from the weekend of my little star! Enjoy!

2 month check-up!

My little pink munchkin!!

Look how much Karmann has grown!!

Gotta love the little tush!!

Karmann and I both had doctor check-ups this week and all went well. She went to see her doctor today and she has grown 1 inch since she was born, gained 3 lbs, and her head has also grown! She's in the 5oth percentile for weight and between 50 and 75 for height!! She was a trooper again as she ended up getting 5 vaccinations today - 4 shots and one oral. She was really good in the office and has been really sleepy all day. She only got a little cranky this evening because she had a slight fever, which infant tylenol lowered quickly. She has been eating off and on, but that was also expected. She's asleep now and I hope she sleeps well tonight! Next check-up in two months.

She has really started to get a personality since she smiles and reacts to both Kris and my goofy voices and faces. She really pays attention to me when I'm in the same room or if she hears me talk. I love that! She does the same to Kris, but not as much :). Kris is a great father as they have a great time together in the afternoons. She's usually a happy girl when I get home, so he's doing something to keep her in a good mood! We are looking forward to getting her out and being more social now that she's had her first round of shots. Kris already wants to take her to Cardinal's baseball Spring training practice this weekend, but I don't think 6 hours in the car sounds like a great idea with her just yet. But he's anxious for the new season and to take her to meet the players and show off all her adorable Cardinals gear. 

Well, I'm going to take advantage of Karmann sleeping tonight and sign off. More photos to come soon! Have a good weekend!

Valentine's Day and Pitchers and Catchers Report today

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ViewSlideshow.action?&collidparam=96446290305.366669754705.1234664285310

Finally a photo of Karman smiling! She had another "photo shoot" today in her Cardinal's outfit to celebrate pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training today, plus it works with red for Valentine's day! There's a ton of photos at the link above if you haven't seen them already. I warn you again, there's about 20 of about the same photo because I was trying to catch her smile. Anyway, enjoy! I hope you had a great valentine's day! XOXO, Holly, Kris, and Karmann

All smiles for Valentine's Day (8 weeks old)

I haven't been able to catch a real smile on the camera yet, but oh my goodness, just when I though she couldn't get any cuter - when she smiles she is adorable!!! I can't wait to share it with you! Last week she was trying to smile and this week she's been practically laughing! So she is adapting to the work transition fairly well! She is also sleeping a little better - once I get her to sleep, that is. She is pretty much a night owl like me, and likes her nap in the morning. She's changing in other ways, too. For example, she has lost a lot of her hair and I can't tell yet if it is going to come in lighter or stay dark. I don't have a preference, though I do hope it is a little curly - she's got to have at least one genetic trait of mine - right?! Its been 8 weeks today since Karmann was born - though her two-month birthday isn't till next week. Time is going by too fast! She's pretty much grown out of all her newborn outfits, but she has plenty of clothes still to wear! 

This Valentines day sure is going to be special - lots of love to share with Karmann! I admit that I haven't really figured out what to do for Kris, but it will probably have something to do with Karmann! I guess I have less than 24 hours to figure that out. Hmmm...Anyway, I hope everyone has a great Valentines weekend and Karmann sends you lots of hugs and kisses! XOXO

Melbourne Marathon

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ViewSlideshow.action?&collidparam=96446290305.420691834705.1234147936389

So now that I am somewhat rested from the weekend...Congratulations Kimmi for a great half-marathon and to Kris and Abre for another full marathon under the belt! Kris, Karmann and I got up at 4:30 am Sunday to drive over to the Florida Coast for the Melbourne Marathon. The weather was absolutely perfect for the day. It was chilly and a little overcast in the morning, but once the sun came out, it was still cool, but beautiful. Karmann was a trooper, as we went back and forth to the car when she wanted to eat, and she cheered Kris, Kimmi and Abre on at the finish line! After the race, Kimmi's mom invited us over for an awesome Thai lunch with their family. Karmann had a great time there too! But, we had to leave before Daddy fell asleep on the couch, and I almost did too! But we made it home safely, fed Karmann again and then crashed till the evening, and then went back to bed early. Click on the link above to see the slide show of the day. 

I'm headed back to work this afternoon - starting week 2. I hope that this week is as smooth as last week. Karmann went back to speech therapy on Friday and there was much improvement! She weighed 9 lbs. 9 oz. (with a little onesie on) so she gained about 12 oz. in about 10 days, which is really good! So, we scheduled a follow-up for three weeks, but may not need it. She sees the Pediatrician at the end of next week for her 2-month check-up (already!) so if there's any issues, we can deal with them then. Karmann doesn't know it, but she'll be getting her shots at that appointment. I'm not looking forward to my little girl getting poked with needles, but I will be glad that I won't have to be as cautious about taking her places in public! We'll still be cautious, of course, but won't have to be paranoid. She is definitely maturing and growing! She is even starting to smile and act like a happy little girl! Its not frequent enough or on-cue yet, so I haven't got a good picture yet, but I hope to capture her pretty little smile soon! 

Enjoy the photos!

Taste of Cold Weather

So I know for the majority of the audience, you are probably freezing your butts off and have been for a while now, but Orlando is just getting a spell of cold weather, and we've had to have the heat on at night for two days now. It has been getting into the 20's!! So Karmann and I have been bundled up in our fleece the past couple of days. The cold hasn't bothered Karmann, and I think she actually likes being bundled up - as she is a cuddle bug! 

The thought crossed my mind that since it is February, that I may just have to dress her in pink for the entire month! Just to celebrate Valentine's day everyday because I love her soo much! This task would not be difficult, since almost every gift we have received since she was born has been a cute little outfit - in no other color but pink! Which at this age, if I have her dressed in any other color, she could be misidentified as a boy anyhow! So, we shall see how long that task lasts. 

Tomorrow will be one week down for me being back to work. We are no where near a schedule, but I at least have a little bit more confidence to get what I need to get done in the morning - including taking a shower when she sleeps - to not fret for next week. We also go back to "speech therapy" tomorrow morning, so we hope to see improvement! And, I think we will. 

More pictures to come soon - Kris has another marathon this weekend, so Karmann and I will try to get up early with Daddy and cheer him on. Hope to get some good photos there. In the mean time, have a happy Friday and weekend too!

Part-time professionals

Kris and I just finished day #3 as part-time professionals, part-time stay-at-home parents. So far we are getting the transition of Karmann from me to Kris around 12:30 pm down. Though, it is a challenge to get ready for work by myself. I haven't yet committed to giving up sleeping-in to be able to get a shower in before Kris leaves for work! Though, I need to think about that soon so when Karmann does have to go to daycare, we can all be ready to leave the house before 8 am! Hopefully by then, she'll be on a better schedule and sleep longer at night. For now, we are still on a 2 - 3 hour feeding schedule which makes it a challenge. Today I came home to find both Kris and Karmann asleep in the bedroom. Come to find out they had been napping for 3 hours! Of course Karmann was very hungry, so I got home just in time. So really, Kris only had to spend 1 hour with her awake. I thought about it, and realized that though Kris is doing an awesome job with Karmann for the 4 hours a day, I'm actually with her for the other 20! Not quite a 50/50 share of the responsibility, but it could be worse. And I wish I had her for the 24 everyday anyway so I'm not complaining!

Being back at work has brought me back into the real world a little bit. Though I still think of Karmann every minute (especially when I have to pump around 2:30 everyday). But its probably good for me to get out of the condo (aka "the cave") for a few hours and make a living.  Everyone has welcomed me back with open arms and I am greatful for that. Things are much slower now that its the new year, so we actually have time to do what we put on the back burner for so long. Hopefully my creative side will come out again and my brain cells I gained from school will wake up a little bit. 

We go back to speach therapy on Friday and see if progress has been made. I think she has, as her little face is filling out a lot. Also, she is growing in length because her newborn clothes are almost too small already. We are still supplementing the bottle during the day, so we know she is eating - and pooping too! We'll still work to make sure she's getting enough from me, as she has her good feedings and not so good ones still. 

Well, that's about it for now. I hope to get to bed a little earlier. Hopefully the next blog will be more interesting!!