State of the Family 2017

It's that time of year again ... the time of year I remember that I'm terrible at blogging. ;) But seriously, it's been a crazy year.

Kaleb is now 6 months old, happy and healthy. He does baby stuff.

Jaedyn is enjoying being a big sister. We love watching her learn and grow every day. She is involved in gymnastics, dance, soccer, and Mandarin classes. She attends a curriculum-based daycare on weekday afternoons.

Kyla still enjoys working weekday afternoons at a pediatric clinic and being home with the kids in the morning. She is on her way to becoming certified as a lactation consultant, which has been a goal of hers for a long time. I left my job a startup to be a software development manager for a social media web application at Oracle, a well-known software giant. I'm gaining valuable management experience while helping to solve new and challenging problems. This past year I also got more serious about my health and lost over 100 pounds. Let's hope I can keep the weight off this coming year!

Kaleb Emannouel: Born 6/16/2016

Kaleb Emmanouel Carlson was born at 3:57pm on June 16, 2016. We almost made it to 6-16-16 16:00. He was 8lbs 13oz, 20.25 inches long.

We did things a little differently this time around. We hired a doula who coached Kyla to a successful natural birth. We had a bit of a scare as his shoulder got stuck during delivery (shoulder dystocia), but we were fortunate to have great doctors that were able to safely deliver Kaleb. It all went waaaaay faster than Jaedyn's birth.

And now for the pictures!

Already a prima donna. He was happy to meet his big sister, though.

If you've been following along, you know that we take naming our children very seriously. While we didn't follow as rigid of a process this time around, we did adhere to the same rules -- well, mostly. Kaleb is another form of the Hebrew name Caleb, which means "courageous." Emmanouel is the Greek form of Emmanuel, and it means "God with us." So taken together we have something akin to Joshua 1:9:

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.