December 08

We hope that everyone had a joyous Christmas season and is looking forward to a wonderful New Year!

Thank you to everyone who helped spoil Koen with presents this year. He was a very lucky little boy and got a ton of great toys and clothes. It was especially fun to enjoy Koen's facial expressions while the presents were being opened. He wasn't too impressed with what was inside, but the wrapping paper was fabulous!

Just after Christmas we had a chance to sneak away to Cascade with Jill and her boyfriend Joe for some skiing and snowshoeing at Tamarack. I wanted to make sure that Koen didn't get too cold snowshoeing so I put him in a LOT of clothes and, sure enough - mission accomplished - he wasn't cold at all. Instead he overheated and we had to strip him down as we went! Someday I'll figure this all out...

Now that the holidays are over, I'm left with a sense of relief and sadness. Relief that we can settle back into our normal routine and hopefully this will convince Koen to start sleeping again. The many events of the holidays have wreaked havoc with Koen's sleeping schedule and he's back to waking up every 3 1/2 hours at night. Sadness because the joy of picking out and giving gifts and the excitement of Christmas parties with families are over. Oh yeah, and we have to go back to work again :(

This month brought many memorable firsts for Koen - first Christmas tree, first snow, first Christmas, and first winter adventure (snowshoeing at Tamarack).

First formal pictures

Like every other first time mom, I was excited to get Koen's first formal pictures taken because my baby is the cutest baby in the world - sorry everyone, but it's true! :) Everyone suggested Kiddie Kandids, but oh no, I couldn't imagine paying that much for pictures so I decided to try the more affordable Target. I guess that the old saying is true..."you get what you pay for!"

The day we went to Target they were short staffed, frantic and rushed which must have rubbed Koen the wrong way because he wouldn't really smile and overall, the experience wasn't great. It wasn't a total loss though -- we did get two or three good pictures out of the experience.

November 08

The month started out with a bang when Kenn left for Florida for 5 days and I got to experience being a single parent. And wonder of all wonders -- I survived!! Actually the idea of it was much worse than the reality - my mom stayed two nights to help out, Koen slept well and we got lots of Mommy-Baby time!

On November 3rd, Koen turned 4 months and weighed in at 13 1/2 lbs and 24 1/2 inches. He's still a little guy (20%ile for weight and 50% percentile for height), but according to the PT and pediatrician he's very strong for his age. He loves tummy-time and is working hard on his rolling skills. No more leaving him on the bed or couch alone!

We introduced rice cereal this month with much anticipation of an exciting memory to be made, but it was pretty anti-climactic. Koen tasted it, made a horrible face, shook his head in disgust and spit it out. Oh well, our PT later told us that everyone starts cereal too early and that babies shouldn't be eating cereal till 6 months since their "systems" aren't ready for it till then. So, I guess we try again in two months!

Other events this month were a Coles family party for my Aunt Teresa's birthday, Thanksgiving, Festival of Trees and a Holiday Dinner with friends.

Firsts this month: first rice cereal, first professional photo shoot, first Thanksgiving, and first Festival of Trees.

October 08

At the beginning of this month, Koen decided that he wanted to spend more quality time with us so he started waking up every hour at night to make sure he got to see us a lot! We finally convinced him that well-rested parents are much better than grumpy, sleep deprived parents and now he's back to a normal baby sleeping schedule. Amen!!

Koen has started rolling from his stomach to his back and has also learned that he can stand with support. He loves to be held in a standing position and as soon as you lift him up he begins to bobble, smile and jabber! Another favorite activity is playing peek-a-boo and Kenn got the joy of hearing Koen's first laugh as they were playing peek-a-boo with a blanket.

Halloween night we dressed Koen up in his giraffe outfit, which only lasted about 2 minutes before he overheated and started screaming. We had to take him outside until he cooled down and calmed down. Our little man is one hot body! Once that crisis was solved, we took a million pictures (of course) and then Kenn and I left him with Papa and Susan while we had a date night. It's wonderful having family around that is willing to babysit so Kenn and I are able to get in couple time. As much as we love our little monster, sometimes we just need a few hours of adult discussion and some quiet time.

Firsts this month: rolling over, first vacation and visit to the beach (see Portland post below), first laugh, and first Halloween.

MyPersonality.info Badge

My friend Jennifer recently shared the results of an online personality profile test she took and I thought it looked fun so I took it myself. In case you are curious, my results are below. Interestingly, it said a good career for me would be a Speech Pathologist! Kenn took it too and his results were almost exactly the opposite of mine -- I guess that it's true, opposites attract :) Try the test if you've got some time -- a little insight into the psyche never hurt anyone....

Portland

We just got back from a 4-day weekend to Portland and the Oregon Coast to visit our friends, Dieu and Sena Dinh and their little girl, Aria Lane, who was born 2 days after Koen. It was our first big road trip with Koen and I was nervous about the long car ride - but he did wonderful!!

As is typical with the coast, it rained most of the trip, but luckily it cleared up just as we got to the beach. The coast is Kenn's favorite place to be and he was in heaven walking on the beach and looking at the ocean - I think he must have been a pirate in his other life. We also had a wonderful seafood feast at Sharks in Newport. It's a little hole in the wall but the owners are unique and enthusiastic and the food was fabulous (or so say the three seafood fanatics - I hate seafood and ate vegetarian pasta).

Our last night, Sena and I couldn't resist celebrating Halloween a little early and dressed the babies up in Aria's Halloween costumes. The guys thought it was mean to subject them to such torture, but they looked so cute we couldn't resist! :)

Although it was a lot of driving for a quick 4-day trip, it was well worth it and Koen traveled like a champ. It must have worn him out because he slept 5 1/2 hours last night - that's a first for him!! We should travel more often...

September 08

It's amazing how much Koen has grown! He's finally in 0-3 month clothes and weighs in at approximately 11 lbs. He's a little squirt - 25th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for heighth - but he's developing a big personality! He loves cooing with anyone who'll talk to him, is the most smiley in the morning, and loves looking at himself in the mirror. I am back to work full time and now Koen's spending two days each week with each grandma and Kenn has him on Friday.

At his 2 month checkup, his pediatrician was concerned about his tendency to always look to one side and sent us to a physical therapist to make sure that he's not going to develop a flat head or torticollis. The PT, Pat, decided that he's got a mild case of torticollis and recommended a few sessions of physical therapy to improve the range of motion in his neck and mouth. He's not a big fan of his exercises, so we keep telling him that it's better than a helmet, but I don't think he cares! :)

Firsts this month: first hike (to Blue Lake in Cascade), first cold, first physical therapy appointment.

August 08

Koen's staying awake longer during the day and enjoys watching his mobile, marveling over the toys on the rainforest bouncer and relaxing in the swing. He's still waking every 2-3 hours at night, but feedings only take 30 min (rather than 1 hour), so we're getting a little more sleep! We've also discovered that Koen's a great traveler and is easy to take out so we haven't felt the cabin fever many new parents complain of.

I had to return to work part time August 19th (when Koen was almost 7 weeks). It's wasn't easy to return to work, but it's a relief knowing that he's being cared for by family. He's watched one day by Grandma Kathy, another by Nana Mary and Kenn gets him on Fridays. He took quickly to the bottle so the transition was seamless. He now is bottle fed during the day and breastfeeds in the evening.

Firsts this month: First night sleeping in crib, first smile, first pool party, first bottle, and first trip to the lake.

July 08

What a life! Koen eats every two hours - day or night. In between feedings, I rest to recover from the C-section and Kenn tries to catch up on sleep. Thank goodness for family coming over to feed us and clean the house! Koen is proving to be a wonderful baby and only cries when hungry. We've been told that we're lucky to have such a happy baby and we agree!

A busy summer

This summer passed in a blur after we welcomed Koen Anthony Hardin on July 3rd at 10:38 pm. Koen weighed in at 6 lbs, 5 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long. He was born two weeks early via emergency C-section because the doctor didn't like how his heartbeat was responding to Jaime's Braxton-Hicks contractions. Overall, it was an amazing experience and we're thrilled to finally meet the little man!