2nd Annual Neighborhood Hunt

Our neighborhood held its annual Easter egg hunt today and this year I think Carson was much more successful than last year. It took him a few minutes to pick up on what he was suppose to do but once he did, watch out eggs! Then when he discovered candy was inside, the hunt was done and he was ready to eat his loot. I can't wait to see him show his little bro or sis the ropes next year!
 

(Last years hunt)

 

Happy Easter!

A long overdue update!

Well as many of you may already know our biggest family news is Baby Bertholf #2 is on his/her way! We found out we were expecting around the middle of January and it has been a very hard secret to keep! Our first doctors appointment was January 29th, and at that point I was 7 weeks along which makes our due September 17th. The doctor said everything on the ultrasound looked great and it was wonderful to see the little tiny heartbeat.

So far everything seems to be following the same path as Carson's pregnancy. I felt nausea from weeks 7 to 11 and extremely sleepy the first trimester. I think working with 21 7 & 8 year olds and keeping up with a 21 month old added to the tired feeling! I don't have any certain cravings but I can't recall having any certain ones with Carson either. But when I am hungry, look out because I am one cranky hungry preggo gal!

 

We went back to the doctor for our second check-up on February 28th and the second ultrasound showed a very active little baby! Even the doctor seemed surprised at how much our little bundle was hopping around. At that check-up we were 11 weeks. I hadn't gained any weight, which shocked me because I already felt I looked rounder!

As of today I am 14 1/2 weeks and feeling much better. We go back for our next visit Thursday. At that appointment we will also schedule the ultrasound to see what gender our beautiful number 2 will be!

 

There wasn't really too much to report about in the month of January. We all just worked on getting back into the swing of things after the holidays and winter break. However, one of Kyle's sisters welcomed their little baby girl into the world, and we are thrilled to have a new niece and cousin for Carson!

February was an exciting month full of interesting Oklahoma weather. One minute we'd be snowed in and the next we were taking walks and visiting the OKC zoo. I also had a few school holidays and breaks so it made the month seem even shorter than it already was.

 

 

March has been an exciting month for our little family as we took a trip to see Kyle's parents in Washington over Spring Break. I was a nervous wreck leading up to the big trip. Traveling with a 21 month old seemed like a really scary task! But Carson proved me wrong. He did great! Everything about the airport and airplane was soo exciting to him! He acted like the whole thing was a big ride. Of course with any toddler we had our moments but there was only a few! That being said it was still a lot work traveling with a young child and I may need a vacation to recover from the time changes and extra work I had to put in! Carson enjoyed getting to see his grandparents and show off his big personality as well!

My brother and sister in law welcomed their little boy in March as well. So now Carson has a cousin on both sides closer in age!

 

Carson is of course still growing by leaps and bounds. We haven't had an ear infection in months, thank you Lord, though the doctor felt for sure he'd see us again before the winter season was over. So if we continue at this rate we may not see the doctor till June for his 2 year wellness visit! Currently he loves music (especially playing guitar and drums and hearing daddy play guitar), animals (elephant seems to be his favorite), doing anything and everything by himself, fruit, books, cars, and of course still Sesame Street. He talks all the time and is starting to say more phrases and some sentences. Kyle and I love to hear him say his name, Thank you, o my goodness, excuse me, and sing. He has currently started counting to 11 all by himself. I'm not sure he knows what any of the numbers mean but its super cute to hear him count! He can also sing along to the ABCs but some of his letters sound made up and we've begun sitting on the potty (as long as there is candy involved) but nothing is happening just yet.

I would love to add more pics but at the moment its not letting me upload, so until next week take care!

 

 

 



 



18 Month Check-up

Thursday was Carson's 18 month check up and of course he has grown! He had a much bigger growth spurt than he did between the 12th and 15th month visits. Since his 15 month visit, his head has gone from 47" to 48" around, he has grown from 31" long to 33 1/2", and gained four pounds from  24lbs at 15 months to 28lbs 2 oz. He is in the 79th percentile for weight and the 76th percentile for height, so he is tall for his age and his weight matches his height. The doc says he looks great! But Kyle and I already knew that ;)

 

It's the Holiday Season!

The last of October got past me and so did the whole month of November without me being able to update the blog!! This is just one of the many signs that the holiday season is in full swing! So I will start with the end of October and hopefully can remember enough to update our friends and family!

 

 

This Halloween was so much fun with our little man! Last year, he hated being in his costume, couldn't sit up and his favorite treat was baby oatmeal! This year on the other hand, he enjoyed wobbling around in his dragon outfit, carrying his bucket full of suckers, trick or treating, and play games. We went trick or treating about a week before the actual day at my sorority house in Norman. We wondered how he would do walking up to strangers, but once he saw he could put stuff in his bucket he was in love! Then on actual Halloween we went to our church, Crossings Community, and did their trunk or treat activities. He really enjoyed the little games and the live band.

 

 

From the picture it may be hard to imagine but he is a very lively dancer. You can tell that the music takes over his entire little body!

Also, in October we visited Downtown OKC's Pumpkinville. They decorated the children's park at the Botanical Gardens with hundreds of pumpkins and all sorts of fun activities for the kids to do. While we were there we got to try fresh pressed apple cider and listen to a story in a gigantic candy corn tepee. Carson seemed to really enjoy all the climbing around on the pumpkins. That was one of my favorite October memories so I hope it is something our city will continue to do for many years!

 

 

November was extremely busy at the Bertholf house. We had OU games or other activities every weekend and during the week either I had school activities in the evenings or Kyle had to work a few extra hours. It felt like we were always on the go! Between all the busy we did get to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving. We stayed here and went to my mother's and grandparents house for dinner. My brother and sister-in law and sister and brother- in law also got to join us for the holiday and holiday weekend. It was so much fun to have them in town and to spend so much time with them. Adam and Devan are expecting a baby boy in March and we were thrilled to get to see her little baby bump! It'll be so fun for Carson to have a boy cousin close in age.

Right before Thanksgiving we also had some family pictures taken. A sweet first grade teacher at my school has started doing photography on the side and had a little photo shoot near Lake Arcadia. The entire time Kyle and I thought we'll be lucky to get one good shoot because busy one year old was being a ONE year old!! He either wouldn't smile, wouldn't look at the camera, or wanted to be left alone, but she managed to do it!

 

 

Carson turned the big 1-8 (months)  Dec. 1st! We have his 18 month wellness visit next week so I will definitely update you on his growth next week. He is very much a boy and loves doing all things boy, playing in the dirt, wrestling daddy and doggies, and playing outside. He has started repeating everything he hears and holds little conversations with himself or whomever will listen. He loves books, music, Jake (our dog), Elmo and most the gang, any ball he can throw, playing in the backyard with his fake mower, and helping around the house (pretend sweeping, dusting, feeding the dogs, and throwing trash away). He doesn't like to stop, so any activity where he may need to stop you'll hear a little bit about it from him :) It is really fun to see his toddler personality come out the older he gets.

 

Until next week take care!

 

Happy Halloween!

Oct. 7, 2012 After getting his pumpkin

 

Happy October! There really hasn't been too many exciting things this past month in our little household, which is a good thing! We needed a little time to slow down!

Now we are starting to get ready for all the holiday fun! We started off the soon-to-be holiday season by visiting a pumpkin patch. We visited TG Farms in Newcastle. It was probably the least attractive pumpkin patch we could have picked but I had a Groupon and Carson LOVED it anyway. While there we got to pet a baby cow and baby goats, run through a hay maze, play on the playground, and pick our own pumpkins right off the vine! I think Carson enjoyed running free, rolling in the hay, sliding, and riding in the wagon the most. It was a very cold weekend and we were unsure how long Carson would last but the weather didn't seem to bother him a bit. There are several pumpkin patches in OK so we hope to make trying out new ones till find our favorite each October a new family tradition.

 

 This was his initial reaction to the tire pony swing. Once it started swinging he was all smiles :)

 

This past month we went and saw an ENT about Carson's ear infections. Thankfully when we went in his ears were clear! We met with an ENT that Carson's dr. had recommended and we really liked him. He basically said we could go either way right now, tubes or no tubes. Since Carson has just had his 4th infection and his ears looked great the day of the appointment he really couldn't say he definitely needed them. So he gave us some information about the pros and cons and all about the two different procedure options and told us to think on it. He didn't feel that the infections now or in the future would cause Carson any type of developmental delays, which is what we were most worried about,  so we have decided to wait on tubes and see if what we are doing now works for our little guy. But after meeting the doctor and really liking him, if tubes are in our future we are happy we found such a great ENT. I really feel kind and caring doctors are kind of rare!

 

This month Carson and I will get to enjoy Fall Break, and as a family we will be enjoying some (hopefully) Sooner wins, Halloween candy, and lots of snuggles!

 

Happy Halloween!!

I look forward to sharing what Carson will look like in his Dragon Costume next month!

 

 

 

 

It's Football Time in Oklahoma!!

Carson and I Aug. 30, 2012

 

Carson and I Sept. 3, 2011

(We haven't successful gotten one of Kyle and Carson or of the family in our OU attire yet, its not as easy as it was a year ago ;) )

 

It's Fall!! This one of my most favorite times of the year! I love the cooler weather, football season, great food, and the upcoming holidays, there is just so much fun to be had!!

 

August was an extremely busy time here at the Bertholf residence. I went back to work and forgot how to manage a child, house, and classroom, but I believe I have somewhat settled back in now. On top of that Kyle's company has continued to grow which equals him being extremely busy as well! And it seemed we had a birthday party or baby shower every weekend in August. Now that we've gotten back into a routine all the busyness feels manageable!

 

Carson turned 15 months on Sept. 1, I waited to update you till we had our wellness visit which was Thursday. His month was equally as crazy as his mom and dad's. Carson recently had to switch classrooms at daycare because he had become the victim of a serial biter!! It started repeatedly occurring the 1st day I went back to work, so needless to say I wasn't happy to go back to work at first. Long story short the incidents kept occurring and I kept picking up Carson with bite marks that looked like his arm was a corn on the cob. So I asked if possible to switch rooms and we did! The daycare was nice about the whole thing and extremely sorry Carson was on the receiving end of the whole deal. As for the biter, don't worry interventions have been put in place. I actually prayed for that poor family too, I know I would be heart broken if Carson was the biter and worried sick about what I'd have to do if the daycare would have to ask me to leave. So hopefully things work out for that little nibbler and Carson will eventually adjust to his new room too.

Right after starting his new room Carson came down with a throat infection of some kind (they tested for Strep and it was negative) that then turned in to an ear infection. When it rains it pours around here. The doctor has now suggested we see an ear, nose, and throat doctor since Carson has had the max number of infections in his first two years of life. I am not sure how I feel about tubes for several reasons but I am praying God will lead us in the right direction, and I'll keep you posted on the outcome.

Now that he is fifteen months he weights 24 lbs, is about 31 1/2'' long, and his head is 47" around. In all those areas he is in the 50% group. He now has 12 teeth, four front on top and bottom and two molars on top and bottom. He loves playing with his blocks, trucks, books, and bat the most, but he'll play with anything he can get his hands on. He still really enjoys all food, especially fruits, veggies, and breads. He can say apple, more, Elmo, shoes and of course all the same as the previous month. He has fell in love with Elmo this month. I bought him an Elmo pop up book last school year and it quickly became his favorite book, but within the last month he started saying his name and loving to carry the book around. So he now will sit and watch a little Elmo and he now has an Elmo stuff animal to tote around. He can say Moo for a cow and say cow, point to his eye and say eye, and he is starting to point to his nose but doesn't say nose. And during Labor Day weekend he learned to slide down the slide at the neighborhood pool while seating up (Thanks Brett). Usually he'd lay back and go down. To bad the break through happened the last day to pool was opened. I feel like there is probably a million more things I could tell about our little man but it all just happens so quickly, within a week a new thing can happen, that these are just some of the highlights!

 

I hope you all have a wonderful September and until next month, Boomer!! Sooner!!

 Both were taken Sept. 7th, he enjoys going outside with the dogs! Anytime they need to go outside he feels he must too! 

 



The End of Summer Vacation :(

Kyle and I had such a great time in San Diego! We stayed at a beautiful hotel in Downtown San Diego and it was right by everything we wanted to do. We got to send time on Coronado Island, see a Padre's game, the San Diego Zoo, hang out in the Gaslamp district, sun bathe at the beautiful pool, and Most Importantly send time with each other! It was a quick trip but we did so much and really enjoyed taking time to be together!

Our trip was also my first time away from Carson, and he did great (So did I ;) )! My mom, Grandma Lynch, stayed with him. They had a lot of fun running around together. He was so excited when he saw us walk in the door after our trip, but I think he was equally sad to see Grandma go.

Right after we got back we also had Kyle's 10 year high school reunion. I can't believe he has been out of high school for 10 years, I still feel we are like 23!! It was really neat to see his high school, which has changed a lot he said since he was there, and meet many of his classmates. It was just another reminder how time really does fly by!

Carson turned 14 months August 1st, and he continues to get bigger and busier! He has 10 teeth, and I noticed the 11th one coming in today, talks all the time, loves to do everything on his own, runs and starting to climb, sweeping the floor (random I know), and loves playing with his toys. He currently is saying NO, bubbles, dog, mama, da for dad, eye and points to your eye or his, hot, ball, and mine. He is getting better at using his spoon and fork while eating, which I am thankful for because he refuses to let us feed him most of the time! He also got his first pair of Nike tennis shoes and when he has them on look out because he forgets to walk and just runs!! We also had his hair cut, the used the clippers and everything so I feel this is his first real hair cut. And it makes him look so much older!

July really flew by and Kyle continued to stay busy at work and we all continued to stay busy do things around the house, seeing friends, and enjoying the last leg of summer break.

And so today marks the last day of my summer vacation and being a summer stay at home mom
:( We have had such an amazing and eventful summer and I am soo grateful I get to have so much time with my little man. I am looking forward to a great year with a great group of students and all the wonderful adventures my little family continues to take.