So Much to Tell!

So much has happened since our last update. Mommy and Daddy's first nights away from their baby, Thanksgiving, Christmas, crawling, and first words! Mikayla has spent several nights away from Justin and me now, but only one night at a time. We went to Chicago the day after Thanksgiving and left Mikayla with Grandma and Grandpa Long. Of course I had to have a practice run before being 3 hours away from her. Mamaw and Papaw Durbin kept Mikayla one night before the "big trip" to see how I would do. I knew Mikayla would be fine, it was myself that I was worried about. Since then she has spent night away here and there just to give us a little extra rest. Next weekend Mikayla gets to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Robinson for the first time. Grandpa is on cloud nine! Mikayla may come home with her first woodworking project in hand!

Thanksgiving was great! Mikayla got to meet a lot of the extended family for the first time. She absolutely loved all the attention. Mikayla was much more interested in her first Christmas than I thought she'd be. She loved unwrapping all her gifts and plays with them all the time. We entered a picture from Christmas morning in the Regis and Kelly baby contest. I think she should win hands down, but I guess I am a little biased!

Mikayla has officially mastered crawling and is an ever moving target these days! She first started crawling on her 7 month "birthday". We'd been trying to get her to crawl to Mommy, Daddy, her toys, bottles, and anything else within reach. Of course she decided to take off to the dog toys the first time she crawled! Should have seen that coming. Now, she never stops! She's exploring everything. A couple of her favorite places to play... on the dog bed and in the dog toy basket! I guess Mikayla thinks everything's better with a little dog hair!

Well, Mikayla is now 8 months old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. She just started saying her first word... mamamamama! I'm thrilled! Justin of course is jealous and thinks its' "sickening" how much of a mommy's girl she is. She gives mommy kisses... not daddy. She crawls out of daddy's arms to get to mommy. She eats baby food better for mommy than she does daddy. And now, she's saying mama! I keep telling Justin that his time will come.

I guess that about does it for now. Enjoy your weekend and cheer on the Colts!

Where do I start with this update? Mikayla went on her first family vacation for Labor Day. We went to Patoka Lake with Grandma and Grandpa Long, Uncle Austin, Uncle Ryan and Aunt Amy. Mikayla didn't spend much time on the boat as her life jacket just looked way too uncomfortable. She didn't seem to mind the boat as long as we were moving. The highlight of the trip... Mikayla tubed for the first time! Now don't freak out, she was in mommy's arms the whole time. Grandpa Long was good too. He only took us at idle speed. Great Grandma Long and Great Grandma and Grandpa Swank were all down there part of the time too so we had lots of help with Mikayla.

We had Mikayla's 4 month check-up last week. She is now 12 lbs 13.4 oz and 22 inches long! She's really reaching for her toys and playing alot. She's even rolling from belly to back and sometimes back to belly! We can tell she's ready to start getting around too because she's trying to crawl, but definitely needs more practice! It won't be long before Mikayla's chasing Lexi and Mackenzie around the house!

I guess that about does it. Oh, she's also teething. She's wiggling around on my lap right now trying to chew on my arm!

JCPenny Studio Portraits

Mikayla modeled for the JCPenny cameras again on August 8. Some of them turned out pretty darn adorable. For those who haven't seen these on Facebook, we created a Picasa album of the low-res versions below.

2 Month Check-Up

I can't believe Mikayla is already 2 months old! We went for her two month check-up and shots today. Mikayla is now 10 lbs 6.2 oz and 20 1/4 inches long. That means she has gained exactly 2 lbs since her last visit. The doctor broke it down even further by pointing out that she has gained 32 oz in 32 days! He was very happy with her growth and said she is "perfect". Of course, we already knew that! Mikayla also got two shots today. She cried for a few minutes and then was fine. The worst part was that she looked at me with her precious little eyes and had her lip out like she was pouting. That look just breaks my heart! Thankfully, the nurse was quick to tell Mikayla that it was her that poked her, not Mommy! Anyway, our precious little one is growing like a weed and getting cuter every day! Mommy and Daddy are enjoying 6 hours of sleep at a time on average. Mommy is in heaven! Daddy just can't wait for 8 hours at a time! Here are some of the most recent pictures. Thanks for checking in on us!

Overdue Update!

Wow! How time flies! I started to post all these pictures several weeks ago, but never got around to it. So, here are some now "old" pictures of Mikayla. We have all kinds of new ones since these, but I'll get those posted at a later time. Things are going well. Mikayla is growing like crazy. All the grandparents keep saying, "She looks so much different than the last time we saw her." Which is normally a matter of days. I think they're exaggerating a bit, but oh well! Mikayla is now 2 months old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I have to go back to work part-time this week and will return full-time the first week of August. I don't know how I'm going to handle being away from my baby girl. I can't stand the thought of missing all her "firsts". I get teary eyed at just the thought of leaving her! Anyway, take a look at the pics below. We'll post another update after her 2 month doctor appointment this Friday. Thanks for checking in!

Studio Portraits

Yesterday, Mikayla had her first studio portraits taken at JC Penny. She seems to be a natural in front of the camera. See pictures below.

Update and New Photos: Day 3 through 6

Well, we brought Mikayla home on Friday. The first night was a little difficult as we found that she positively will not sleep on her back. Justin got around 2 hours of sleep on that night, while I got about 45 minutes. Thankfully, Grandma Long (Janet) came over in the early morning to watch her while we caught up on a few more hours. The second night at home we found that she slept slightly better on her side but not for long. Finally, at 4 am we discovered that she slept for long stretches if we strapped her into her infant car seat. The third night, using this discovery, we were able to get around 8 hours of sleep, with feedings about every 2 hours. This felt amazing compared to the first night! When not trying to sleep at night, we took quite a few pictures. Check out the slide show below of the some of the best!