Poppie's Girl

Karis's job at my parents house is to help her Poppie collect pecans in the backyard. She does a great job filling up the brown grocery sack that he sets out for her.

Poppie's Backyard

Today we were at a birthday party. All of the children were given a brown paper sack to gather their candy from the pinata in the yard. Karis was right there with all of the other kids, cleaning up the yard. Their bags were filled with candy, but Karis's bag had no candy... Can you guess what her bag was full of?

Pecans!

I love that precious girl.

Bounce House at the Party

Family Pic

The Comedian

Every day with Karis is full of fun and laughs.
Yesterday, Karis was whining and pulling my leg. I said, "Holy Moly! Are you having a cow?" Karis replied, "Moo."
Today, she pointed to Michael and said/signed, "Daddy." Then, I said, "and that's uncle Joe." She said/signed, "Uncle Daddy," and pointed to Joe. So silly!
We are amazed how quickly she is learning language. Karis can speak about 26 words, and she can sign about 35.

One Year Portraits

Karis's one year portraits were done in July. Ashley Cox Photography did a wonderful job!

Beach Vacation

We had a wonderful, relaxing week at the beach with Mae Mae and Poppie!  Michael was with us for the weekend.  My sister, Beka was there for the weekend too.  We got to celebrate her birthday.
Michael left Monday evening to go to work, but he surprised us Thursday evening.  What a wonderful husband and daddy!  We even got to go on a date at the Strand in Galveston.

Karis and Poppie Relaxing by the Beach House

Karis, Excited about the Wave that is Coming

Karis and Daddy

Playing in the Sand, Her Favorite Thing to do at the Beach

Family Photo

Karis and Mommy

Playing Inside the Beach House

Happy 1st Birthday, Karis!

Karis’s 12 month check-up felt like a celebration.  The doctor was pleased with her language development and motor skills.  His only concern was weight (surprise), and he suggested we give her whole milk in addition to the almond milk that she’s been drinking.  He’d like her to gain one pound.  The doctor also wants us to work harder to enforce the use of a sippy cup instead of a bottle.  I’m not concerned about that.  I’ll keep offering her sippy cup every day, but Karis will use it when she’s ready.  She does drink her juice from a sippy, but she likes her milk in a bottle.  Karis cried for her four vaccinations, but she was fine for the remainder of the day.  Big girl! 

Karis is 28 ½ inches tall and in the 30^th percentile.  She weighs 17 pounds, 14 ounces and is in the 15^th percentile. 

Karis’s new skills: 

stands independently

can take two steps

signs correctly: more, eat, milk

locates belly button and nose

pushes chairs and toys across the room while standing

Karis had a blast at her birthday party.  The guests were also entertained by her silly antics.

Playing with friends, Holly and Caleb

Daddy and his Birthday Girl

GIRLY cupcakes

Breaking in the New Toys

Party's Over; Time to get Crazy!

Fangs

The top, middle teeth have started coming in by now. Here's a picture that was taken a couple weeks ago. You can see Karis's fangs well! Her Uncle Jacob gave her some good tickles, and he got this great photo.

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"Oof!"

I wanted to wait until Karis’s birthday to brag on her, but she’s been doing so much lately.  I’m super proud of our little girl!  

Karis aced tonight’s quiz!

Karis, what does a horse say? “neigh!”

Karis, what does a duck say? “qua, qua”

Karis, what does a doggy say? (pause, think) “oof!”

Karis, where’s Mommy’s nose? *looks up, touches my nose*

Vampire Baby is 10 Months Old

Karis is 10 months old today.  Happy birthday, baby girl.

When she was a fetus, I used to say, "This kid is a vampire.  She's sucking the life out of me."  Well, today I discovered evidence that shows she really is a vampire.  Karis was in her swing giggling like crazy.  Giggle time is the only opportunity I have to see Karis's upper gums.  Today, I noticed two teeth coming down, fangs!  I'm not sure how I missed this.  Clearly, these teeth did not just sprout during the last couple days.  They've been there at least a week.  Now, Karis has a total of four teeth:  two lower central, and two upper cuspids (had to look that one up).  I wish I had a picture to share, but like I said, it's hard to get a glimpse of Karis's upper gums.  I'll work on that.

Karis has improved on her skills since my last blog.  She is "cruising" along furniture a little more, and she will (very cautiously) move from the ottoman to couch.  Cheerios really encourage her walking development.

In the eating department, Karis is busy!  One day I gave her some chunks of avocado from my salad.  After that, she didn't want pureed food anymore.  She wants to feed herself.  Karis still eats pureed food sometimes, but she mostly eats table food: mango, pear, banana, peas, carrots, beans, crackers, ... really anything.

Eating a Chunk of Pear
(Mommy doesn't want to change my clothes 100 times per day, so she just  takes them off for breakfast.)

She's also getting great at peek-a-boo.  She likes to put her Easter basket over her head and pull it off to get Mommy to say "Boo!"  

Karis LOVES to read books.  When I'm trying to get some chores done, she often cries for me to come join her on the living room rug.  Reading books calms her immediately.  She's good at turning the pages of her board books.

Reading with Mae Mae

I look forward to the day when Karis can dress herself, but for now, I can count on her ability to UNdress herself.  When I got her from her crib after today's nap, she had taken her pants off.  Oh boy.

Swimming at the Big Pool

We love our silly girl!

9 Month Check-up Update

I said I'd update you after Karis's 9 month appointment with her pediatrician.  I've put this update off, because unlike usual, we didn't have a happy visit.  Usually I'm excited to report all her new stats to you.  This time, Doc had some concerns.

Here are her current stats:

Head Circumference: 16.5 inches/10th percentile

Length: 27 inches/25th percentile

Weight: 15 lb. 12 oz. /5th percentile (I read one chart that said 10th)

Karis's head and length continue to grow at a steady pace.  Her weight, on the other hand, is increasing very slowly.  If Karis had always been in the 5th percentile, the doctor would be fine with her staying that way, but since her percentile continues to decline, that causes concern.  Doc said, "Let's wait until her one year appointment to make a decision."  I quickly responded, "I don't want to wait.  This has been a concern at her last several appointments.  If she is malnourished, I don't want to continue to starve her.  I'm worried that my milk supply is too low."  He suggested weighing K before and after feedings to see how much milk she is getting.  He also increased her solid meals from 2 to 3 per day. 

A couple of days after the appointment, Doc called Michael at 7:30 in the morning.  I was worried immediately, because usually the doctor's office calls me.  Doc informed Michael that Karis's blood count came back showing that Karis has elevated liver enzymes.  He will see her in a month to retest.  I did some research and came to two conclusions. 

1.) The medication that I take for IC, Elmiron can cause liver problems, so maybe it was affecting her.  Decision: as long as I am nursing or pregnant, I will never take Elmiron.

2.) I read some scary things on the Internet, but the one that sounds most probable: low weight and malnourishment can cause an elevation of liver enzymes.  When weight and nourishment improves, the liver heals quickly.

So, I increased Karis's solid meals immediately.  I also tried supplementing with soy formula, but Karis threw it up the first time.  After doing a weight check, we learned that Karis was getting 5 ounces of milk during her first feeding and 2 ounces during the others.  Yikes!  She is supposed to get 6 - 8 ounces per feeding.  I tried some regular formula, and Karis did well with that, but we want to be careful with the milk, since Michael has a milk allergy.  This dilemma has left me stressed, worried, and panicky.  What kind of formula am I supposed to give her?  How much?  When?  How much is this going to cost?  Is breastfeeding really coming to an end?

After much prayer and research, my worry has calmed, and we have a good plan for baby K.  Research shows that breastfed babies slow down on weight gain after about 3 months, and this tends to alarm doctors.  Often, they recommend that mothers supplement or stop breastfeeding all together.  No way am I going to stop breastfeeding.  If I've still got some milk, why stop?  I am slowly introducing organic soy formula.  Karis is doing well... hopefully Doc will agree in a few weeks. 

Tiny Cutester in her Toy Box

9 Months Old

Baby Girl is 9 months old!  We hung out with a friend and her 3 month old baby a few days ago.  I couldn't believe that Karis used to be that small.  She is learning new things every day.

Things Karis can do: (you can tell what I used to do...)
- uses thumb and index finger to pick up cereal and feed herself
- passes toy from hand to hand
- waves "hi" when prompted
- points
- crawls!!!
- pulls up on furniture and stands independently
- walks all over the place in her walker
- pulls magnets off of the refrigerator
- babbles while playing independently
- says "da-da" "ma-ma" and many other repetitive syllables
- chooses desired toy when 2 are presented
- reaches up or towards the person she wants to hold her
- enjoys looking at and touching pictures of a story when read to

We'll go to the doctor this week, and I will report back with all of Karis's new stats.  Enjoy a few captured moments of Karis lately...

First Trip to Wimberley, TX

Karis loved playing in the river.

First Spring in Texas

Cutest Easter Bunny Ever

Showing off her swimsuit