Four Months

Our big boy is growing up so fast! I can't even believe that he is already four months old! He can now roll from his belly to his back whenever he wants to of course and has rolled once from his back to his belly. He has found his tongue and loves to copy what we do. He loves being talked to and tries to answer back when you stop talking. He loves moving around on the floor, especially when he has a blanket to play with. He has started playing with his favorite football and holds on until you take it away. He loves to put everything in in mouth and when it doesn't fit he gets frustrated. It is so fun to watch him try new things and brings joy into our lives everyday. At his four month appointment he weighed 18 pounds 2 ounces (93rd percentile), 27.5 inches long (98th percentile), and his head measured 46 centimeters (99th percentile).  He is already wearing 6-9 month clothing. He is a big baby and we love it!

Playing Mary and Joseph in our ward nativity scene. We learned that we are
a sports family, not an acting family! 

Blake and Kaden on Thanksgiving

Cutest Aggie Fan

It is so fun to see how much he has changed in only four short months

Three Months

This is a little late. I always say better late than never right? Kaden is growing so fast and we are loving every minute of it. He rolls over from his tummy to his back, can now grab his toys on his play mat that hang above him, he giggles and smiles now which makes our jobs so much more rewarding, loves when daddy plays beat box and pretends to punch in the air, he coos and makes other cute baby noise he has officially found his voice, and best of all he sleeps through the night! Here are a few pictures from the past month of the cutest baby in the world. 

Logan and Kaden (Kaden's best friend)

The Pumpkin Patch 

Grandma Jane's Winter Hats  

Two Months

Happy two months! This kid can't stop growing. We took him to his two week appointment and he is bigger than we thought. He was 25.5 inches long and 13.9 pounds. That is the 93rd percentile for weight and 99th percentile for length. He has started making cute baby noises, still loves baths and showers, his favorite sound is still running water, he loves sleeping on my chest and doesn't want to be put down to sleep during the day, but the best part of the day is in the morning when all he can do is smile. We don't care how silly we look as long as we get a smile out of him. We love him more and more everyday and forgot what our lives were like without him. He brings so much joy to our family.

First Aggie Football Game 

One Month

I can't believe this kid is already one month old! He is so fun to hang out with every day and see the little things that he does. I swear he does something little like move his arm and I think that my kid is a genius! He has already brought us so much joy and happiness. At his two week appointment he weighed 9 pounds 2 ounces and was 22 inches long. His favorite sound is running water. That is what he had to have in order to sleep the first few weeks. He has a setting on his swing for sounds and that is the only one he likes. We had to get used to sleeping with it on so that we could all get some sleep at night. I guess that is the reason that he likes baths and showers so much. He gets mad when he hears the water and he thinks we forgot to bring him in with us. He is a social baby and hates to go to sleep when there is something going on around him. He has already had a few first. He went mini golfing for the first time and helped his dad get first place as usual. He also went to his first parade. He loves his car seat and will go anywhere as long as he is nice and warm with his minky cover! I don't know what I used to do before this sweet kid came into my life. He is growing so fast and we are loving every minute of it!

First Bath 

Taken August 10, 2013. Kaden's actual due date.

Mini Golf in Roy, Utah

Peach Days Parade 

Kaden's Baby Blessing

We blessed Kaden on September 1, 2013. It was a perfect day, not too hot, not too cold and everything went as planned. I felt like we were running from place to place, but I feel like that is normal on days like this. Kaden was so calm during his blessing. I was so worried that she was going to start crying because he had been awake all morning wondering what was going on I am sure, but he did great! We usually just sit around on Sunday mornings and slowly get ready, but this time we had a lot to do before church started. Kaden was given a beautiful blessing by his dad and was blessed with many things to help him throughout his life. It was short and to the point with all the most important things that he needs. Here are a few things that stuck out to me:

• You have bought much joy into our home
• We are grateful to have you become a member of our family
• You have been born healthy and we bless you to remain healthy as you grow
• Gain your own testimony 
• Serve a mission 
• Get married in the temple and start your own family

We had a lot of support from family and friends and are grateful for everyone that was able to make it. Here are a couple of pictures to remember the day.

Kaden Dalton Hafer

We welcomed Kaden into our family on August 10, 2013 at 11:22 p.m. It was a very long week and labor, but it was all worth it when I saw him for the first time. On Monday I went in for my regular doctor's appointment and my blood pressure was high. They decided that I should do a 24 hour urine test to see if I had protein in my urine to determine if I was preeclampic. I decided to put it off a few days because Spencer was going to San Francisco that Thursday through Friday for the 49er game. I knew that they wouldn't be able to do anything until he got back. I did the urine test all day Wednesday and went to take it in on Thursday and it spilled all over my back seat. When I took it into the lab that were grossed out (as I would be also), but I had gone to the bathroom and cleaned it off before taking it there. They said they couldn't take it and I almost started crying right there. I was not starting over and doing that for a whole day again. She took it and said that they would call my doctor when she got in, but she might have me redo it. I had only lost a cup and it there was so much pee still I just didn't understand. 

I got a phone call on Friday morning from my doctor at 8:30 in the morning saying that they needed me to go to labor and delivery at 10:00. I told her that Spencer didn't fly in until around 10 and we would get there as soon as we could. We had a good lunch at Apollo Burger and headed to the hospital. Good thing I wasn't actually in labor we had no idea where labor and delivery was located in the hospital and it took us awhile to find it. They checked us in at 1:00 p.m. and started the pitocin. My doctor wanted to start it slowly so I could go natural like I had already planned on. I was in labor all night and all the next morning. At that point I was dilated to a 4 and 90 percent effaced. 

I changed rooms so that I could get into the tub and relax a little so I could get my mind off of the pain and help my body relax. After I got out they checked me again and I was at a six. Then active labor started after about 25 hours of labor. After three hours of intense pain I was so tired I didn't know how much longer I could go without eating and my energy was running really low. Spencer was also getting very tired from doing counter pressure for all the back labor I was having. I started to cry and didn't know what to do at that point. Spencer called my doctor in so that we could talk about my options and figure out what we should do next. I just didn't want it to end in a c section because I ran out of energy. She told us that on average with pitocin you will dilate about a centimeter every 12 hours. That was about the rate I was going seeing how I came in when I was 2 centimeters and 80 percent effaced. She said why don't we go ahead and check you again and see where you are at. If you are still at a six what do you want to do? She said something that has stuck with me ever since: The prize is the same no matter what you do and you can always try going natural again with your second baby. At that point I said he is going to be an only child I am never doing this again! We decided that if I still had a long time to go I would get the epidural so that they could break my water, up my pitocin, and see if my contractions would become normal if my body could relax a little. I was still at a six after those three hard hours and did all that work for nothing. 

They gave me the epidural and within three hours I was ready to push. I was in charge of how much I could feel and made it so the epidural just took off the edge so I could still be a part of my birth and know what was happening. I pushed while falling asleep in between contractions for two hours long hours and he was here. The second they put him on my chest I was in love! I think after 34 hours of labor I was so happy to see him and had an instant connection with him. I thought that I would for sure sleep that night, but I still couldn't. I was so excited to spend time with him and just held him most of the night. He was 8 pounds 10 ounces, 21 and a half inches long and had his mom's and dad's big feet! He is such a sweet baby and I can't imagine my life without him now. We love you Kaden!

All ready to go home in the nice, warm car seat!

On Friday I went to the doctor for his check after three days of being home. They sent us to the hospital to do a check on his level for jaundice. He was at a 17.8 which is pretty high for how many days old he was. It was back to the hospital for us. We had to go to Primary Children's Hospital and he had to be under special lights from Friday afternoon until Saturday morning. I was so scared that he was going to hate it, but he actually loved it! It was hard to feed him because he was so relaxed and couldn't wake up because he was so warm. I was so done sleeping on hard beds and wanted to go home. I was so happy we only had to stay there one night. There were several babies there that had been there for a long time because they were very sick. I just needed to count my blessings that Kaden didn't have anything serious that would make us stay there long term. We so happy to be home and just love every day trying to figure out new things together. His cute little smile makes everything worth it.