What Little Girls Are Made Of

We've been having tons of fun with our sweet little baby girl. The picture above is Lailey (1 month) and Davey playing. She loves to watch his crazy faces, and he makes some good ones! According to Daddy, this is her "favorite spot" on the couch. They play a lot in that spot. Below is Lailey taking a nap with me on the same day. I love the way she sticks her little bum up in the air.

Can you see the resemblance between them? Of course, Davey's posing for this silly picture, but Lailey is really asleep in her swaddling wrap.

Again, in their favorite spot, Davey got Lailey to hold on to the Bunny Book.

Lately she has really taken to her activity center that her Grandpa (Jim) bought her. She likes to listen to the music and kick around. Just this week she seems to be batting at the toys hanging down, and every once in a while will grab onto one.

On this morning, I brought Lailey in to Daddy to snuggle. It was so sweet, I went and got the camera and started snapping pictures. This is my favorite.

Here's Lailey laying in the papasan chair in our room.

At the beginning of May, my Grandma Cele came to visit all the way from WA. We had a wonderful visit and she got to spend a lot of time with her great-granddaughter. It was a very special time since we don't see each other often. I miss you already, Grandma! Oh, and Rudy misses you too. He told me.

At Lailey's last doctor's appointment (she was 5 wks. old), she weighed 9 lbs. 10 oz! This puts her in the 57th percentile for weight. She's probably close to 10 lbs. now. Every time I think about weighing her, I'm either feeding her or she's asleep. It still amazes us that we were told she "measured small" and look at her now! God knew what he was doing with her. It's proof that every kid grows at different rates, even in the womb.

Bath time has become VERY fun for us. She's quite happy in the warm water, but usually cries once we take her out. We thought it might be because she got too cold, so today I stole her Grandparents' idea (David and Lagene) and warmed her towels in the dryer to see if it made a difference. Well, she still cried. Oh well. I figured I'd try.

This week a VERY wonderful thing happened...dun dun dun...Lailey slept through the night!!! I didn't want to get my hopes up thinking it would happen continually from now on, but she did it the next two nights as well! Three nights of 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, I feel like I could do anything! Well, not really. But it sure has helped. She's also getting better at falling asleep on her own. She's found her fingers and will suck them to soothe herself to sleep. It's so cute! We peek in and watch her sometimes as she drifts off. Ah, she's such an angel.

Sometimes I just cry when I hold her and thank God for how beautiful and amazing she is. Every day is a new adventure and it's incredible to see her learn things and change. I don't want to take any second for granted.

Some FAQs...a little late

Lailey on Davey's lap

Daddy reading the "Bunny Book" to Lailey

Grandpa and Lailey

Granddaddy and Lailey

Okay, so I know we haven't talked to a lot of people lately due to the excitement and busyness in our life lately.  But I wanted to try to get another post up here.  I figured I'd do another round of FAQs to answer the questions people have been asking.  If you think of anything else, let me know.  Oh, and someday I will eventually get my birth story posted.  

To begin, Lailey Claire Akin was born on April 7, 2009.  She was 8 lbs. 0.4 oz, and was 20.5 inches long.  So much for "measuring small!"  See, petite people can have normal sized babies.  

WHERE DID WE GET HER NAME?  "Lailey" was Davey's great-grandmother's name.  We loved the name when we heard it, but we changed the spelling a little.  "Claire" was a favorite of ours and fit well with "Lailey."

IS SHE SLEEPING AT NIGHT?  Right now she's doing a pretty good stretch at night, especially if I keep her feedings on a pretty consistent schedule during the day.  She eats REALLY well.

HOW'S RUDY DOING WITH LAILEY?  Well, as you can see from the video I posted previously, he really loves her.  He hasn't shown any jealousy or over-protectiveness.  I think it stresses him out a little to have her cry.  He sort of looks at me like, "Can you fix it?"  He still gets really excited when we have visitors, but other than that he's doing great.  We've tried to make sure his life is still fairly normal.  In fact, Davey took him on a good run this morning.  

ARE WE ENJOYING BEING PARENTS?  Totally.  We're in awe every day of how beautiful, sweet, adorable, cute, precious, and incredible she is.  We can't get enough kisses and cuddles.   

ARE THE GRANDPARENTS LOVING THIS?  Haha, to say the least.  

WHO DO WE THINK SHE LOOKS LIKE?  Hands down, she looks just like her Daddy, especially when she's sleeping.  She's like a little girly version of him.  Everyone says she has his nose and lips.  But, she has my hair.  I'm happy I got something!  Davey says he's starting to see more of me in her when she's awake.  

DID WE EVER THINK WE COULD LOVE SOMEONE SO MUCH?  No.  It's just one of those things you have to experience to understand the feeling.  It almost brings tears to my eyes.  

So, I can't think of anything else at the moment.  

Puppy Love

I can't believe we captured this much cuteness on our camera.  I hope it warms everybody's heart, because it does mine!  Sorry we haven't posted anything lately.  I need to get some new photos on here of our girl because she changes so much every day.  But all you parents out there know how hard it is to find time to balance everything.  

In short, we are doing great.  Lailey is growing and eating really well.  We're getting some sleep, which is better than nothing.  Basically, we're loving being parents, challenges and all.  I try to enjoy every moment because I know she'll be grown before we know it.

WOW

http://www.ponderedmomentsphotography.com/

http://jenniferbreinig.typepad.com/my_pondered_moments/

Wow is all we can say.  A dear friend, Jennifer Breinig, came to our house on Tuesday and transformed our tiny living room into a studio.  She worked her magic for hours to get these amazing pictures of our dear little Lailey- who we now know does not like to be naked or messed with...or both at the same time!  This is just a preview of the session, so there's even more to come.  I cried when I saw them.  Davey and I are so in love!

Check out Jennifer's blog and website to see more of her incredible work.  When we find something great, we like to pass the word.  

Happy Resurrection Day

Happy Resurrection Day from Davey, Sarah, Lailey, and Rudy.

Thank you, Uncle Eli, for taking the beautiful pictures.

We have all been doing well, enjoying the visitors, trying to catch some sleep, and falling in love with our baby girl. She's beyond beautiful, and we are so captivated by her. She is most awake in the afternoon between feedings. She will keep her gorgeous blue eyes open for a long time and appear to check everything out around her. It's incredible how alert she is. Also, she loves to eat! In fact, she's doing that right now. Talk about multi-tasking: I've got a very happy baby, a Boppy pillow, and a laptop all on my lap! Picture that one.

Last night we gave Lailey her first sponge bath. As I suspected, she did not like it and let us know about it! She has good lungs, that's for sure. Once we were done she and I cuddled for a little while to calm her down, and soon all was well again. Today we are headed to the pediatrician for Lailey's newborn check-up. The weather has been beautiful since we brought her home, but today it's pouring down rain. It should be an interesting first outing.

Sweet Moments

I only have a second, but I wanted to post a picture of the world's most beautiful baby girl.  She is laying on her Daddy's chest right now before I get her back to finish nursing.  It's funny how at 2:40 am in the morning, nothing else really matters.  

IT'S A GIRL!!!

IT'S A GIRL!! Announcing the birth of Lailey Claire Akin, born 4/7/09 at 2:39 pm, 8 lbs. and 20.5 inches. We're all doing great!