4 months old? No way!

Tavis is about 4 months old! He likes to suck on his hands, hold his toys and is sitting up by himself. He has shown some interest in cartoons, especially Sponge Bob and Cow and Chicken. He seems aware of his surroundings and recognizes familiar faces.

Who do you think he looks like?

Pictures from 1st trip to B'ham

Wearing a UW Huskie onesie, Tavis watched some football with the Carpenters...


then we went down the street to visit Great Grandma & Grandpa Heath.

Tavis's hair has gotten lighter but it's still "rockin'"...thanks to some help from Mom!

3 months old already?!

What's Tavis been up to lately? Well, we took a trip up to Bellingham to see his Great Grandparents. When he's not at knitting with Mom visiting the ladies in the family he likes to listen to Daddy's music and fall asleep in his skeleton sweat suit. His Mom went back to work part time and he loves hanging out with Grandma Koltz on Wednesdays and Great Gramdma and Grandpa Mason on Thursdays. He's a pretty busy little guy!

Photo Shoot

Is this Tavis or Ben?

Pretty amazing resemblance, huh?

Tavis is 6 weeks old-more pics!

How you doin'?

Morning Kisses


Trying to crawl?




Ben "fixed" Tavis' hair...

Tavis is 4 weeks old today!

Tavis modeling a sweater made for him by his great Aunt Randi

Tavis with Aunties Haylee and Karlee

Tavis with grandpa Heath



Tavis modeling his mother's first baby sweater; what a handsome little man!

Tavis with his great grandpa Koltz

Tavis with Grandma Koltz

T-A-V-I-S (no "R")

Tavis is 2 wks old! Since birth he has grown 2 inches annd gained 12 ounces. He has made it through all the week's events incuding the rehersal, rehersal dinner, pictures, wedding and finally the reception. Mom and Tavis are gioing to take it easy this week, we're pretty worn out!

First Dr.'s appt and more pics!

August 1: Tavis had his first check-up today and passed with flying colors! Most newborns lose weight the first week or two but because of a good latch (youch!) and an insatiable appetite, he only managed to lose about an ounce or so.
Here are some "artsy" photos taken at the hospital.

Tavis's First Photos of Life

Tavis with "Auntie" Dani


Rock Star Baby!

He's here

Hello All,

Tavis Luck Koltz was born on July 27th at 9:45 pm. He weighed in at 8 lbs 1.2 ounces and measured 19.5" long. So far he eats, sleeps, and poos just like a pro, and i've got to say he's a beautiful baby. Mom did an awesome job but i'll let her fill everyone in on the labor when she comes home. We also have lots of pictures to post but I left the camera at the hospital so those will have to come later. We'll keep everyone posted on any developments.

July 27th update (you've been so patient!)

Had a Dr.'s appt Tues the 26th and am dialated 4 cm. Started having contractions that afternoon. Called Ben home from work early, called Jenny (Ben's cousin, our doula) to come over and spent the evening working through some contractions and going on long walks. Went to bed around 11pm and water broke this morning at 4:30am. We're now headed to the hospital, things are looking good...wish us "luck"!!!!

Ummm...not yet

I know a lot of you are checking this daily so I want to keep you updated. My contractions leveled off in the evening of the 20th, and the baby has been super mellow since then. However, today I have had some signs of progress (sorry, no gory details!) and as most of you know, it's anyone's guess at this point!

Could this be it?

July 19th, Due Date: I had a Dr's appt today and she said that I am on my way past pre-labor (non-committal contractions for the last week or so) to early labor, the next stage. I am wary of this news as I don't want to get my hopes up, it seems too good to be true at this point! After a long walk in the sun on Alki I started getting stronger contractions in the evening around 7pm. (Ben said, "No kid of mine is going to be late" so baby did the best he/she could!) Soon they were 10 minutes apart and we called our doula, Ben's cousin Jenny. We were excited but knew that this is the longest phase and should try and get some sleep. It's now 5:30 am, Jenny is anxiously awaiting our next phone call, Ben stayed home from work and I continue to have contractions every 10 minutes. That's all for now, folks...next update will probably be from the proud daddy!

Ben & Karie (8 months pregnant)

As requested: a recent picture of us

As of today, July 2nd I am about 38 weeks pregnant. Studies say that 80% of all births happen between weeks 38 and 42. I'm still fixated on the magic date of July 19th but trying to have an open mind. We just hope that the baby isn't too late because the upcoming wedding of Ben's sister, Becca is on Aug. 13th. Of course we'll take what we can get because we have to. We better get used to being flexible, I'm told it'll make life with a baby much easier.

Our friend Tammy has created a pool for the baby's arrival; she's taking bets on the weight and length of baby Koltz as well as a birthdate. Let me know if you'd like a part of the action; 50% of the proceeds will go to the baby's savings account. Nothing like a little gambling to include everyone in the fun!

The Nursery

Here are some pictures of the nursery that Ben and I created. Ben drew the animals and designed the decor of the room and I picked out the colors. It was a really fun project, let us know what you think!



The nursery decor was inspired by John Lennon's Musical Parade.




This changing table was made from a dresser that was given to us by Grandma & Grandpa Mason, Ben made the top to match and cut the legs for a
more manageable height.



Lots of animals for the safari scene. The Pooh Bear was hand-made by Shawn Noble.