Love this guy!

Dustin has been my saving grace since Mikayla was born. I am so lucky to have him home a lot of the time right now as he is working on his thesis. We try so hard not to bug Dad when he's working, but sometimes I just need a little break and he happens to walk in and just takes her from me for a few minutes at just the right time without me even asking. He is so wonderful with Mikayla and she sure loves her Dad. She always follows his voice when he is in the room and likes to stare at his cool spikey hair. :) I love to watch him "play" with her as he makes forts for her in her bouncy swing or he will try and get her to notice the toy he has put in front of her (and later determines "okay she's still not old enough to play yet!"). I love that he loves her to be all dressed up and girly and spoils her rotten with dresses. I love watching them snuggle as she lays on his chest to take naps. I love when she gives him "kisses" on the cheek. I love when he takes her on his runs, especially when she is in a nightie and beanie (super cute!), just to spend time with her. I love that he is so excited to be a Dad. I just love HIM! Mikayla is just starting to smile and will smile at Dustin more often than anyone else and it is so neat to watch them interact with each other. I can already tell that they have a special bond and I think it will only grow stronger as she gets older. Things haven't been going super easy for Dustin lately, but he still puts Mikayla and I first and I am so grateful for him for that. I couldn't ask for a better life because of the amazing man I married. We have been so blessed because of the good life he lives. Life truly is wonderful! Love you, Dustin.

Little Miss Pee Pot

There's a good reason that's Mikayla's nickname these days...she has been peeing and pooping all over EVERYTHING! Her diapers explode and leak everywhere, then we go to change her and she pees and poops all over herself and the changing table after the diaper explosions have already taken place. ALL the time. It is seriously making us crazy! Thank goodness for Spray and Wash and OxyClean (the combo works every time!)! All this nonsense means a lot of quality time with Mikayla and I and the jungle bathtub. Mikayla is actually starting to enjoy her baths thanks to the tons of baths the Little Miss Pee Pot has earned lately and yesterday she just chilled in the tub forever. Thanks to Dustin for these marvelous pictures of all the exciting action! ;)

Confession: I discovered a new towel of Mikayla's that we haven't used yet and I thought it was really cute and wanted a picture of her in it, but by the time baths are done and she's in the towel, there has been so much crying that pictures are no longer cute. Easy solution. Take a "fake" picture of Mikayla in the cute towel before the bath. I'm crazy, I know.

And, for the Grandmas here are some random pictures...

In Honor of the Rodeo

BOOTS!

Tipping the Scale

Our little Miss Mikayla has had a hard time gaining back her birth weight even though we've been feeding her and feeding her. She only been gaining about 1/2 of what she needs to each week. We had to resort to supplementing with formula to give her a little extra boost, but the stinking formula gives her awful tummy aches. It is horrible! On Sunday we were at my parent's house watching the Olympics and I remembered my Mom had a food scale and I decided we should try and weigh her on it because the regular scale just wasn't working and I was dying to know if we were getting anywhere with the formula. So we stuck Mikayla on a cookie sheet and weighed her on the kitchen counter. Amazingly the scale was pretty accurate, but it was a pretty funny scene! At the official weight check at the doctor's office yesterday she weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs 4 1/2 ounces and at one month old FINALLY gained back her birth weight (her birth weight was 8 lbs 3 oz)! Most babies gain their birth weight back by 2 weeks so she was a little slow getting chubby again. Yeah to some progress!

One Month!

(warning...long post with lots of pictures thanks to a sleeping baby!)

Our little Miss Mikayla is a month old already! I cannot believe how fast time flies! What did we do to celebrate? We got to play dress up and go to church for the first time! Mikayla screamed right when the meeting started, but was happy to sleep the rest of the time while she was being held. She was NOT in the mood to have her picture taken today, but here are some attempts. We thought she was pretty darn cute in her little dress!

Some things I love about Mikayla at one month:

-Her big deep blue eyes that love to take in everything around her
-Waking up in the middle of the night to her grunting (pretty much a constant these days and all you can do is laugh!)

-Soft peach fuzz hair
-The way she looks up at me as she's about to fall asleep
-Her dramatic flare to life...the many faces say it all
-The way she cuddles up to me when she sleeps on my chest
-The way she melts into you as she falls asleep
-Her little bird mouth and panting noises that accompany it when she's hungry (this is a love-hate kind of love! It could make you batty, too!)

-Baby sneezes
-Smiles (even if they are "fake")

-Her "yummy" newborn baby smell (the good kind, of course!)

-Crinkly ears

-Sighing in her sleep...it must be a good life
-When her tiny hand holds my finger
-Her long blond eyelashes
-The wrinkly skin on her knees

-Her unconditional love for me...this is a whole new adventure for me, yet she doesn't seem to mind when I "mess up". She forgives me so quickly and I love that when I hold her in my arms the sadness disappears and the tears stop flowing. What wonderful moments!

This is just a random list for my own memory, but oh boy do I love everything about her! I am amazed at the joy this little girl has brought not only us, but everyone around us! She is such a blessing and we love her to death!

Mikayla's First Vacation!

Does this look like a face that has had enough of Tucson in the same old apartment day in and day out?

We thought so, too. Mikayla and her Mom decided we needed to get out of town so Dustin took us on a little vacation to go see Mammy and Pappy in St. David and we had a wonderful couple of days! Mikayla was absolutely spoiled and I don't think she was put down for more than a couple of minutes the whole time we were there!

Her cousins, Garth and Colt, loved loving on Mikayla with Mammy

Colt was so cute once he discovered Mikayla because he would look around for her and then get the biggest grin when he found her. Hopefully they'll be good buddies when they get a little bit older! We love cousins!

Garth liked pushing "Baby Olivia-kayla" (it's really hard to remember one baby girl cousin from the next!) in the stroller.

Dustin, who was inside the house, gets a call from David outside saying that they needed him to come outside and "do something fun". It got quiet for awhile, then we heard the guys hollering and we went outside to find them doing this...

Tractor tire bowling down the big dirt hill...over people. Nice. They had a blast, though. What can you do? Never a dull moment! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dustin insisted we dress up his little "Pink Crusader" just for the occasion!

I woke up to my great hubby making me Valentine's Day heart shaped pancakes...he is such a great Dad and husband! Thank you, Dustin! We love you!

Tummy Time?!?

The pediatrician said it had to happen, but Mikayla HATED it! She kept us very entertained, though! Welcome once again to the many faces of our funny kiddo!

She started kicking her legs in frustration and next thing we knew...

She was trying to nose-dive off her little Boppy lounger! She is way too strong!

Attempt two on the ground wasn't much better...

We were laughing so hard at how stubborn she is! Tummy time is not happy time at our house!

Here are some cuter pictures of her, too...