Monday, September 7, 2015

Kai: 1 Month

Our little guy is already one month old!  That went fast!  Kai has been a great baby and doing what most newborns do best; eat, sleep, poop, cry, repeat.  Compared to the energy of a toddler, Kai is super relaxed and chill.  He loves to eat and eat and eat.  We call him our little tank because this boy can eat and can down a bottle in record time.  He is eating 120ml (4oz) bottles at a time and is having no problems in the growth department because of his healthy appetitie.  At 2 weeks old, he weighed in at 7lbs 11oz, 6oz more than his birth weight.  He will get weighed this week and I'm excited to see how much more weight he's put on.  He is also a pretty good sleeper.  We have been lucky to have a few nights where he sleeps 5-7 hours at a time, but most nights he sleeps 3-4 hours between feeds.  Kai is also extremely alert for a newborn.  He loves to play and kick his legs under his play gym.  He is also very strong and has managed to roll from his tummy to his back. While I am proud of this "accomplishment", I am in no rush for this kid to move, so lets hope he isn't crawling next month. When he is awake, his eyes are wide open and he is taking in all the new sights and sounds of the world around him.

We have all fallen in love with Kai.  Adalyn adores her baby brother and wants to help calm him when he cries and cuddle him after he wakes up.  She made him pinky promise that they will love each other forever.  Kai has made our family complete.  I know it's only been a month, but it feels like he has always been a part of our little family.

We have also been super blessed to have had a tremendous outpouring of love and support for our family.  We have welcomed all the help we can get this time around.  Jamie was awesome helping with Adi while we were at the hospital with Kai.  Sandy and Allison came the following week to help Eric and I adjust to being parents again.  Sandy was amazing helping take the night shift so we could rest and I could heal.  The next week Aunt Jo came and helped us keep Adi entertained and Kai well fed.  We are even lucky enough to have Auntie Julie visiting us from Australia for ten days.  Julie has been fantastic helping with Kai and Adi.  Kai loves to snuggle up on Julie and pass out.  He is going to miss her when she leaves.  We have also been well fed by our friends here in Austin, thanks to a meal calendar that was organized to help us in our first weeks at home.  Finally the visits, phone calls, gifts and love from around the world have been humbling.  We are all feeling the love for our sweet Kai.  Here are some pictures from his first month!  Enjoy
Little tiny feet


Hanging with his big sister...
Aunt Sandy and Kai
Aunt Sandy and Auntie Allison with Adi and Kai
Pretty sure it's impossible to take a family picture with a toddler and a newborn...
This pretty much sums up our life

Cade and Cara with the kiddos
Aunt Jo loving on Kai
This is how Eric goes to the park these days...

Tracy and Kai
Big sister love!  This melts my heart...she is so proud!
Kai has no idea what he is in for
Too big for baths in the sink
Go Blue!  Kai is ready for his first Michigan game

Kai is snuggled up on Auntie Julie
The Hartners all say "Go Blue!"

Kai and his momma
And a pinky promise to love each other forever...

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Introducing our Son: Kai Jacob Hartner

Our wonderful son, Kai Jacob Hartner arrived to the world on August 5, 2015 at 11:27pm in Austin, Texas.  After a challenging and very unexpected 16 hours of labor Kai finally decided he was ready to meet his parents. Kai weighed a healthy 7lbs, 5oz and was 21 inches long.  He was born with a full head of dark brown hair and deep blue eyes.  He came out screaming and hungry.  After 16 hours without food, this boy was ready for his bottle and hasn't looked back.  Eric, Adi and I are in love with our little guy and are so happy to have our family completed.  Jamie looked after Adalyn while Eric and I stayed in the hospital.  Adi and Aunt Jamie had a blast and Adi is super excited to be a big sister.  Here are a few pictures!
Kai and his momma
Kai and his daddy

Big Sister Adi meeting Kai for the first time.

Our little family
Aunt Jamie
Family

Sweet Sweet Cheeks
We came home from the hospital on Friday and Aunt Jamie and Adi were ready to welcome Kai to his new home!  


This is what life looks like with a 2 year old and a new born


Auntie Snuggles
Adi said to Kai, "Baby Brother, I love you already."
Good lord, if that doesn't melt your heart right there...
The super proud big sister

Monday, August 3, 2015

Before We Are Four

I wanted a few pictures to mark the end of my pregnancy with baby boy and a few last pictures of my family of three.  Our friend Tracy was our photographer and helped us capture our lives before they change again and we add our son next week.  Enjoy!




39 Weeks 4 Days Pregnant!  I still can't believe we made it this far!


This girl loves her slide!