Five Months!

Today Kara turns five months. She has changed and grown so much this month. Every day she is doing something new. Yesterday we tried rice cereal mixed with apple/prune juice. At first she tried sucking on the spoon but within a few bites she had it figured out that if she just opened her mouth the food went in. Of course we videoed it. I have this week and the next two off. It has been so much fun these last three days just doing what we want when we want to do it. If we stay in our pjs until noon playing with toys and reading in bed then so what?! :) We went to a bookstore yesterday for the first time. She did not want to be reclined in her stroller. She wanted to be carried so she could see everything. Her favorite song-by far- is Itsy Bitsy Spider. So of course when I found the book and realized the song has SIX verses I had to buy it for her. She is so much fun to hang out with. She has so much personality and just makes me smile. My friend gave Kara this toy and she absolutely loves it. It is awesome to see her learn how to make it 'go' all by herself.

Growing Up

We have decided that Kara is growing up WAY too fast. Everyone tells us to enjoy every stage and we definitely have. Every second--even when she is screaming for no reason or she has spit up all over our freshly cleaned sheets. She is truly our happiness and our miracle. She is not even 5 months yet and has 2 teeth, A LOT of hair, is ROLLING OVER by herself now and is past what all the books say a 'normal' 5 month old should be doing. We haven't read about 6 months yet but good grief! She is absolutely perfect. She has completed our lives in SO many ways it isn't even possible to explain or understand. We are so grateful for the opportunity to have her be our daughter.

We are SO grateful for her wonderful birthparents for taking such good care of her before she was born. We think about them daily and feel so blessed by them choosing us to be her parents. She has changed our lives more than either of us could have ever imagined.

All Better

Kara seems to be feeling much better. She took her medicine very well and we have been giving her Pedialyte mixed with water throughout the day to give her extra hydration. Here are pics of her teeth taken today and some cute pics with her cousins. She is so aware of things going on around her and is grabbing everything and trying to get it in her mouth.

Evening in the ER

Yesterday Kara felt warm when she woke up. I gave her a little Tylenol and we went on with our day. After Bible study we were out at lunch with a friend and Kara still felt hot. I took her temperature under her arm. I know it isn't very accurate but it was high. I took her home, fed her, gave her more Tylenol and she then took almost a two hour nap. That told me there was definitely something wrong. Her fever broke about 4 and she was smiley and happy. Hmmm...teething? Since she seemed all back to normal we went out to dinner with my parents at a nearby restaurant to celebrate the end of tax season. She was very lethargic during dinner and started feeling hot again. Right at the end of dinner she threw up A LOT all over herself in her carseat. I took her temp. again---1o2.7 under her arm!!! We immediately went to First Care. She threw up again SO much more on the way. The Dr. saw her pretty quickly and then told us to take her immediately to the ER. Her temp. at First Care was 103.4. After what seemed like forever Kara was seen by a very nice doctor. We slowly fed her formula through a tiny syringe and then some Pedialyte. They gave her a bunch of Motrin and a Tylenol suppository. Come to find out she has a urinary tract infection. They said since she is teething so early and drooling like a faucet for so many weeks she just isn't getting enough fluids with the formula. Poor little thing. I had been adding extra water once in a while for the past few weeks to her formula thinking she must be needing it from all the drooling but it wasn't enough. She is back to herself today amazingly enough. She is on an antibiotic for five days and we are giving her some pedialyte along with her formula to keep her hydrated while she teethes. We got into bed last night at midnight. I took today off. Poor Aaron must be a tired dad today while trying to keep 150 seventh graders under control. Phew. What an experience.

Cruise

A quick post as usual. We had an awesome time on our cruise. Kara was definitely the star of the ship. We got SO many compliments on how beautiful she is. She also now has 2 teeth. The bottom front right came in on Apr. 4 (4 months, 4 days) and the second bottom front tooth came in on Apr. 10 in Ensenada, Mexico. :) She just spit up all over herself so it is bath time...

My Grandma

This morning my grandma suddenly passed away. We are all still in shock since it is my grandpa who has the health issues and memory problems. So many things to take care of. This is Kara with her great-grandma.

Quick!

Right after her shots!

Playing with Daddy after work.
Getting used to sleeping in her travel bed again. We are leaving for our cruise on Monday and we want her to feel comfortable not sleeping in her crib.

Must post quickly while Kara takes her 30 minute cat nap. So much has been going on and Kara seems to do something new everyday. She continues to sleep through the night--from about 9:30pm to 8am. She is amazing. BUT she doesn't take a 'real' nap during the day. She takes about six half-hour (to the second) cat naps. It is fine with me since she will pretty much still nap anywhere. Unfortunately, I don't get any good naps until Aaron gets home though. :)

She got her 4-month shots last Friday and didn't even cry for the first two! She quickly recovered from the last two and smiled the whole way home! What a trooper.

She has been teething for about 2 months now but it has been her back bottom molars! They are white and bumpy but haven't cut through the gums yet. The doctor said, "Hey baby, what is your hurry?" Her birthmother said that her family teethes early but good grief. And today it happened! She got her first tooth--though not a molar! Her front right bottom tooth is there! It is barely able to be seen but boy, is it sharp! 4 months and 4 days and already has a tooth. She is growing up WAY too fast. She weighed in at 14 lbs. 7 oz. and is 24 1/2 inches tall.

Last Friday night she started making the funniest sounds. She purses her lips and makes 'raspberry' sounds usually accompanied with bubbles. At my bible study on Tues. we stared the lesson and the first question was something about the rapture. Kara proceeded to make a loud raspberry and then smile at her accomplishment. It was hysterical.

A couple of days later she learned how to use her lips and tongue to make different sounds. She concentrates so hard and the funniest sounds (usually very loud) come out. It is like she thinks she is talking to us.

Yesterday I had a fever all day. Nothing else, just a fever. I felt awful. Today I feel almost back to normal. Weird.

Easter

Yesterday we literally took about 200 pictures of the kids for Easter. I took at least 100 just of Kara. In the morning, we got ready and tried a new church that is closer to our house. It was Kara's first church service so I had to get pictures of her with the pastor. She slept through all of the loud music and singing (thanks to Guitar Hero and Rock Band practice at home.) My parents went with us instead of going to our usual church. At 2, everyone in the family met at Aaron's parents house--even my parents. We had a wonderful meal, an Easter egg hunt and family time in the beautiful weather outside. It was so much fun to see all six cousins together. After everyone else left Katelyn and I colored eggs. What a fun Easter.

Spring!

It is spring! Today Kara visited Daddy at work for a faculty lunch. She got SO many comments on how cute she is. I hope it doesn't go to her head. But, wow, she IS cute!!!

Fun at Grandma's

I know I have said it before but I have to say it again. We are so blessed to have all of our family nearby. Aaron and I both had dentist appts. on Tues. at 3:30. I took Kara to Grandma K's house. She got to play with all new toys and THREE of her cousins. She was all smiles when she came home. Aaron's sister took these pics of her.

Date Night

Last Friday night Aaron and I went to the Staples Center for the Pac-10 tournament. We got to see UCLA beat USC (which was awesome) and Stanford beat Washington St. Aunt Nicole offered to watch Kara from 4 on Friday until pretty much all of Sat. too. Aaron and I got home late Friday night. (Nicole spent the weekend at our house.) She got up and took care of Kara on Sat. morning/afternoon as well. We had such a great time at the games. We know how blessed we are to have Nicole-believe me-but we still can't thank her enough. We can go out for an evening without ONE single worry that Kara is being taken care of possibly even better then WE could. Kara absolutely loves Nicole and has such a good time with her. We are counting down the days until our cruise. The 4 of us are going to have such a good time.

Alright Already!

Okay, okay! I will update my blog! Geesh. I have gotten several e-mails telling me to get to it!


Aaron's Open House for his school was last Thursday. Kara was dressed up SO cute because I knew all the parents would want to meet her. Aaron talks about her constantly to his classes and many of the families have sent us gifts. About half way through Open House a horrible smell wafted by...yep...my baby. Kara had her first MAJOR blow-out. I stripped her completely naked in the center core of the building. I used about 30 wipes. She had poop all down her leg and squished in her toes. The tights were covered, the onesie was disgusting. I was trying to get her cleaned up and hold it together while parents were STILL finding us and poking their heads in to see her. It was a mess.
This is Kara's first time touching grass. She was very unhappy being in the sunshine and did not want to watch me plant the daffodils that I had planned on putting in the front yard. Hopefully, as it gets warmer she will enjoy the outside a little more. The only thing Kara has seen on tv is UCLA basketball. She doesn't really watch it but she glances at it once in awhile when we have it on. The other night I propped her up on the couch next to Daddy and put the remote in her hand. She was really concentrating on the score (or gas possibly.)
This was taken yesterday. Ellie just loves to walk all over Kara and be with her. Kara doesn't even flinch most of the time. It is like puppies in a litter. They just keep on sleeping through the movement.

In other news, on Thurs. I fell for the first time with Kara. It is amazing how the body does everything possible to instinctively protect the baby. She barely jostled and didn't even grunt. I am sore all over. My knees, and pretty much the whole left side of my body. Luckily I fell on the carpet. I didn't see the ottoman upstairs in Kara's room and just bailed right over it. About 2 hours later I found a huge, very painful welt on my left forearm that has now turned into a nasty bruise.

I have another post in the works about our first real 'date night' last night. I will save that for later.

Calling all Moms

If you have any experience with babies that have issues with sleep, acid reflux, gas... can you please click on my link on the right to Jamie's blog and give her some advice? Thank you.

Cruising!

I am so excited I could burst! Before Kara was born we planned a cruise for spring break. As I mentioned a few posts ago I was beginning to get quite nervous about getting her passport in time since we still had not received her birth certificate. Her amazing, wonderful, and incredibly selfless birthparents went to their courthouse in Michigan and ordered us a certified birth certificate. We got all of the necessary legal paperwork (a lot) and got it all turned into the passport office here in CA last Saturday. Our postman (postwoman) just delivered her passport to our door. WE ARE ALL SET TO CRUISE!!!

Disneyland!

Yesterday we took Kara to Disneyland. It was SO different being there as a parent rather than a couple. Struggling with the stroller on the tram was hysterical. People could definitely tell we were first timers. We weren't planning on going on any rides except Small World about 10 times. Small World was closed...bummer. But we had an awesome day. Kara saw Mickey, ducks in the pond, and so many new things. The only time she was unhappy was when we were stuck in traffic on the way there for the last 30 min. of the drive.

Some Quick Pics

Kara is doing great. Just a few pics from yesterday and today.

Birthday Party

Tonight was my nephew's 6th birthday party. All of the family is healthy again and we all got together. Just wanted to put up a few pics.

Friday!

It is Friday! Kara is in a mood for a party! The teething is hopefully passing for now. Every day she seems to be a little happier and a little less in pain. Today (with constant love and entertainment) she hasn't cried a bit. Oh, and a teeny bit of Tylenol at 3. She has been in a great mood and so smiley. Aaron loves her hair right after her bath so today I put some gel in it and let it do its thing. He thought it was great when he got home from work and saw it.

Ellie

Yesterday I put Kara on the couch for a little catnap while I washed bottles. Phew...a few minutes to get something done. Usually Ellie just follows me around or sits by the fireplace if it is going (which it wasn't.) The house was a bit chilly--especially for a Min-Pin who is always cold. While I was in the kitchen I realized that Ellie hadn't walked by in awhile and I couldn't see her anywhere in the dining/family rooms. Hmmm. She found the only warm, still spot in the house.

Teething

I thought I had at least a few more months before we needed to deal with teething. Nope. Poor little Kara has been drooling like crazy for about two weeks and has been chewing on as much of her fist as she can fit into her mouth. The past four or five days she has been sleeping more than usual and having horrible pain in her gums. It is evidently "pre"teething which is deeper below the gumline. Baby Orajel...etc. does no good. Chewing madly on her pacifier helps a little but it is more where the molars will be. It is so sad. She screams out of pain and frustration. Today was about 35 minutes. Then I stripped her down and gave her a warm bath. During the bath she smiled and just looked at me with pure love and happiness. I felt awful for her. When I got her dressed again she started the screaming again for another 35 minutes or so. She finally fell asleep on my chest probably just worn out from the work. We have been doing all we can with the Infant Tylenol but it doesn't seem to help much. The cold teethers don't get back far enough. :( To top it off, my mom can finally drive again and tomorrow should have been a normal work day for me. My mom has a fever tonight. I will be staying home with Kara tomorrow. AND, I just got a migraine and can barely see the screen. More later...