Our JennEric Life

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Adalyn Goes to School

In September, Adi started "school". She is attending a Mother's Day Out program at a nearby church two days per week. This has been a welcome and needed change for all of us. Adi was ready to start school and make some new friends, and I was ready to have some one on one time with Kai. As they say in Asia, good for me, good for you. As expected, on her first day of school, there were no tears, from either of us. Just a quick hug and off she ran, joining her new classmates at the playground. She never hesitated or looked back, she just went to school. Since she has started she loves going to school. She plays in playground, sings songs, loves art and overall has been a very good student. Her teachers, Ms. Theresa and Ms. Amber love Adi and generally sing her praises. Adi gives me a report every day on the way home, generally about which of her friends was bad and sat in time out. So far, Adi hasn't been sent to time out and comes home every day with stamps on her hand for being a good listener. I am so thankful that she loves school and I know this is one step in her being a life long learner.

Smiles all around

Off to play with her friends

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Kai: 3 Months

And with a blink of an eye, Kai is 3 months. This guy is an eating and growing machine. He continues to be a good baby, sleeping well, eating well and overall being pretty darn happy. We are getting closer and closer to having solid sleep at night. He is still a tank, eating and eating and eating. Kai is enamored with Adi and they love hanging out and playing. He is a proficient roller from his tummy to his back and when he really tries he can push himself forward on his tummy with his feet. He will probably be an early crawler...joy. He has almost completely mastered his head which makes life a bit easier. Besides the bottle, his fist is the second most delicious thing in the world. Kai was lucky this month to spend time with his grandma and grandpa Hartner and his Aunt Jo and Uncle Inayat. He also celebrated his first Halloween as a spider. He tolerated his costume and loved going trick or treating. We look forward to seeing how much our little bubba changes this month. Here are a few pictures. Enjoy.

Because this is what you do when it rains all day....

Friday, October 9, 2015

Kai: 2 Months

Our not so little anymore, Kai is two months old. Another quick month in the books full of bottles, diapers, smiles, visitors and a bit more sleep. Kai is doing what babies do, he is growing. This boy has a healthy appetite and is a very solid eater. He started this month at 8lbs 15oz and ended it at 11lb 4oz. We call him our little tank because he can put down an entire bottle like nothing. He is already able to eat a bigger bottle than Adi was ever able to eat, ever. As long as you keep his stomach full he is a happy guy. He does not like to stop eating to burp and will scream the entire house down until he either gets out a burp or gets his bottle back. While we are still waking up 1-2 times per night for night feeds, Kai is an easy sleeper. If he is tired he just goes to sleep. No rocking, patting or crying for this one. All he needs is his swaddle and his crib, he does the rest himself. I think he might be narcoleptic...it's a bit ridiculous. Kai is also an active baby. He likes to kick under his play gym, go for walks in this stroller and chill in his swing. He loves Adi and she loves him, too. Her voice can soothe him when he is crying and he likes laying and playing with her on the bed or under the play gym. We have been fortunate enough to have a lot of visitors this month. Auntie Kayla spent the week with us and Grandma and Grandpa Hartner came down for a visit. It's been great to be stateside so our family and friends can meet and love on Kai. Here are a few of our favorite pictures of Kai!

BIG Sister LOVE!!

Aunt Kayla

Grandma and Grandpa Hartner

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!