The Gerda Family: April 2011

April 27, 2011

One year ago...

It was one year ago today that Jensen wore his Big Brother shirt for the first time to share the great news! We've been blessed with a sweet little angel and a wonderful big brother:)

April 24, 2011

We had a wonderful Easter! We spent the morning together at home and the afternoon with the Mastersons. The weather was beautiful - Jensen hunted for Easter eggs in the backyard and we enjoyed a delicious meal! We finished the day with a fun walk to say hi to the goats, cows and horsey!

Keaton is 4 months old!

It's hard to believe our little baby is already 4 months old! We got a great report from the dr. at Keaton's 4 month well visit. She weighs 13lbs. 12 oz. (50th percentile), 25 1/2" long (90th percentile) and head is 16 1/2" (75th percentile). She was very interactive with the dr. We got a few little coo sounds from her....that is until it was time for shots....then there was some screaming!

She is continuing to do well at school. Every time I've gone to pick her up, she's happily playing with toys or one of the teachers. It feels so good to know she's well cared for and is having fun on the days she's there.

I'd like to say we've made great strides with Keaton's sleeping habits in the past month, but unfortunately we're at the same point. We got in a good grove where she was eating around 7pm, going to sleep around 7:45 pm and then waking up at 4-4:30am to eat. That schedule still occurs, but every few nights, she gets into a pattern where she wakes up every hour and just wants to be held. She gets very upset when she breaks out of the swaddle (and I've tried everything - Miracle Blanket, Kiddopotomus, Sleep Sac) and then has a tough time putting herself back to sleep. In fact, there have been a few nights and naps where we've let her cry it out for about an hour and she never put herself to sleep. I'm reading a few different sleep books and welcoming all suggestions! I'm being very conscious of putting her down awake at night (it went really well tonight- yeah!), which will help her teach herself to soothe herself to sleep. I wake up hopeful every morning that the coming day and night will go well! Her days and nights of consistent sleeping are coming, I know it!!

Other development updates: She started sitting in the bumbo this week. She loves sitting on the kitchen counter (I'm standing right there in case she should fall out) and watching me cook dinner. She's got lots to say and she's really starting to tune in more and smile at Jensen! She rolled from her back to her belly this morning.

Life is crazy and our days are full! We're often tired, but everyday we look at our kids and smile with love and gratitude!

April 13, 2011

Keaton's first day of school

At 16 weeks old, Keaton started school on Monday! I have to admit, I was a little more anxious about her starting than I was when Jensen started. She seems to be a little more finicky and has a bit more of a temper than Jensen did. Luckily, things went really well! I was relieved when her teacher sent me an email in the middle of the day with pictures of her smiling and playing in the exersaucer. When I arrived to pick her up, she was sitting in the table (it has little cut outs for small seats within the table) playing with one of her teachers and another baby with a smile on her face! The teachers said she had a great day, loved playing in the exersaucer and watching the other babies and smiled a lot! Sounds like she may need to go to school everyday:)

Jensen was also 16 weeks when he started school. Here is a picture of both of them from their first days - see a resemblance?

Keaton - 16 weeks - First day of school

Jensen - 16 weeks - First day of school
(Actually I think he was a few weeks younger in this picture. We did a trial day at school and this was taken at the end of that day.)

Keaton

Jensen

April 8, 2011

Our First Family Vacation!

We just returned from our first family vacation in Destin! We had such a great time!! In fact, I met a woman on the beach one night and was telling her we were on a family vacation and she said, "Isn't it magical?" She summed it up perfectly! We so enjoyed watching Jensen's eyes light up when he saw the beach! Everyday he ran around nonstop in the sand and water. He couldn't get enough of the beach and was worn out everyday by the nap time. One day he napped for 4 1/2 hours and another day he was asking to take a nap! Keaton also enjoyed her time at the beach. She had a great setup with her swing, a cool breeze and a giant ocean sound machine!

We had so much fun and enjoyed our time together as a family! It was A LOT of work and brought a whole new meaning to vacation, but was so worth it! We were up at 6:30 everyday, took afternoon breaks during nap time, had dinner at 5:00 and went to the beach for sunset....Just the way vacation works with a toddler and an infant! We're loving our new reality and looking forward to making many more wonderful spring break memories in the future!

An update on both kids: Jensen's vocabulary continues to grow daily...tunnel, dolphin, ok, Here I am...It's amazing to watch him change everday right before our eyes! Keaton is still working on finding a schedule...She's regressed some with her sleeping habits and is having a tough time going down at night. She starts school next week so we're hoping that will help her settle into a schedule that will work well for all of us:)

Jensen loves the beach!!

On the first day, Jensen ran right into the water and was quite surprised by the taste and temperature of the ocean! He popped up with his eyes wide open!