Forgot to post the ADORABLE thumb sucking pictures

Okay, so I forgot a few things in the last update. Not sure how I neglected to mention the most exciting thing... MJ is sleeping through the night in her crib! Okay, so it doesn't happen every night but we've seen a huge improvement! It sure is nice to have our bed back and to get some decent blocks of rest. Last Sunday we decided we were too exhausted from MJ's nighttime feedings every couple of hours and we were going to let her "cry it out." Well, we were preparing ourselves for hours of heartwrenching sobs but to our surprise she cried for about 15 minutes and was out like a light. She woke up one other time that night crying for another 15 minutes and then she slept until morning. Since then she has had a few nights where she sleeps the entire night through and others where she needs some sort of attention once or twice. All in all, we're getting there.

MJ's new coping mechanism is thumb sucking. Now that she is finding her hands she's got her thumb in her mouth almost non-stop. Good news is... its always her right thumb so hopefully that means she will be right handed (no offense to you lefties but the world is just built for us right handers).

Also, while we were home at Grandma Leonard's we learned that MJ loves Baby Einstein movies. Not that we approve of the TV as a baby sitter but sometimes it sure does come in handy to be able to plop her down in front of it and get some housework done. Not only does she like the Baby Einstein DVDs but she has now expanded her cartoon tastes to shows on regular TV as well.

MJ with the thumb

Drifting off to sleep

MJ sucking thumb and watching TV

"Okay seriously, you block the TV one more time and i'm gonna throw a major fit!"

Finally an update!

Okay, so it has been way too long since our last post. So in an effort to avoid any further tongue lashings by Grandmas or Grandpas here you go. Our last post was a little over a month ago and a lot has happened since that time. MJ is now 3 months old and sooo much fun. She is no longer the little blob that just wiggles on her back , eats, sleeps, and poops. She is beginning to become "self aware." Recently she found her hands and while she doesn't quite get how to use them yet, she sure does try hard. We often see her trying to stick her pacifier in her mouth... except its upside down and backward and is hitting her forehead or cheek. She is also discovering her precious little voice and has begun "talking" a lot.

At the beginning of March Mommy and MJ flew to Baker City for a week with her family and friends back home. MJ did amazing on the plane, fussed a little but for the most part she just slept. MJ got to meet all her Baker family including Great Grandma and Grandpa Henry, Grandpa Dennis, Aunt Josie and cousins Jade and Jocelyn, and Aunt Stephanie.

Daddy met Mommy and MJ in Portland a few days later where we spent a week with the Hailey and Leonard sides of the family. There were so many new people for MJ to meet that I couldn't possibly list them all. Grandma Leonard threw a wonderful baby shower and Grandpa Hailey had a Hailey family get together that was so much fun!

We also spent part of our Oregon trip house hunting! We looked at around 12 houses and ended up falling in love with one in Oregon City. We put in an offer and found out a few days later that someone had outbid us and we lost the house. However, we were ecstatic to find out last week that the house was back on the market so we resubmitted an offer and things are looking promising for us so far.

Well, that's it for now, here's some pictures of recent events.

Here's our dream home, keep your fingers crossed, pray for us that this all works out and our offer is accepted.

Never wake a sleeping bear!

Or else..... ROOOAAAARRRRR!

Grandpa Hailey and MJ snuggling and bonding.

Grandpa had Aunt Tara "fix" his beard to get it out of the way of the babies.... good compromise.

MJ LOVED Grandma Leonard's bouncy chair... her own little throne.

Mommy's friend Lauren with MJ. Looks like she's getting a little tired of being passed around.

My Daddy is comfy.

Mommy's friend Erin with MJ.

Hi Grandma!

Great Grandma Mary Jean Henry (MJH) and Makayla Jo Hailey (MJH).

Great Grandpa Henry and MJ.

Mommy's robe is soft on my face.

Oh yeah, that's the spot... wait, little to the left, too far go back... ahhhh

This is the life.

Auntie Steph and MJ

SMILES!

This week's post is all about smiles. Makayla is seven weeks old now and her new thing is smiling. It used to be that she would smile alot in the morning after waking up... now she seems to be smiling all day long. So here are a few pictures of MJ grinning at her mommy and a video of one of her morning smile sessions. Oh and there is a video of her sucking her thumb too, another new trick she's learned recently. Enjoy.

If I knew how to laugh I would!

You're silly Mommy, I like you.

That's right, the shirt says "Cutie." Fitting if you ask me.

MJ in a chow-coma. HaHa look at the milk still on her chin!

Oh yeah... it says right on the tag to this boppy pillow NOT to allow your child to sleep on it. We do what we can to get her to sleep and count our blessings where we can get them.

Here's a sample of what we wake up to every morning. She is such an amazing little girl!

MJ found a new source of comfort

Meeting Auntie Tara, Showers with Daddy, and Valentine's Day

Okay, so we missed a week of updates. Sorry about that. We blame it on Auntie Tara. Makayla is getting so big. We can't believe she is 5 weeks old already! We've had to start putting her in 0-3 month clothes as her newborn outfits are getting a little tight. We had so much fun when Auntie Tara and cousin Jaden came to visit us. We didn't do anything exciting, just a lot of lounging around the house, but it sure was great. Jaden looked so big to us after holding tiny little Makayla for a month. Also, we are pretty sure that Jaden moonlights as the E-Trade commercial baby (google it if you don't know what we're talking about).

Bathtime for MJ has been quite a stressful time for parents and child alike so the other day we decided to see how she would do in the shower. Surprisingly she really liked it. So for the time being, bathtime is now showertime.

Mommy bought MJ a cute little hearts Onesie with matching pink pants for Valentine's Day. She looked so cute! We snapped a couple pictures of her in her outfit sitting with the teddy bear and card that Grandma Leonard sent her. She's wearing the "1st Valentine's Day" socks too Grandma, but Daddy didn't do too good with the photography and cut them off.

So here's some pictures, hope you enjoy them.

Here's Cousin Jaden setting such a great example of how to be a good eater!

Auntie Tara loved holding MJ, and Mom and Dad loved the break.

MJ smiling big at Mommy.

MJ's favorite place to hang out.

Mommy loves it too.

Soapy babies are slippery! Be careful Daddy!

Seriously, she pooped on Daddy about 2 seconds after this photo.

Okay Dad, less picture, more shower...

Oh yeah, I'm the cutest... I think this is gonna be a good hair day.

Valentine's Day outfit (check out that belly)

I like it when Mommy makes faces at me.

Adorable

WOOHOO, we've got video!

Just figured out how to load videos into this thing so hopefully we'll have more of them on here in the future. Enjoy!

Mommy being goofy with MJ during the Superbowl halftime show.

Last night MJ woke up from a "nap" at about 11:30 PM. After a quick diaper change she was so awake, calm, and alert that Daddy couldn't help but break out the camara. She is so beautiful! Advanced warning: nothing exciting or funny happens in this video but i know many of you will enjoy it just the same.

Another Week of Firsts...

Believe it or not, Makayla is approaching her fourth week of life. This week she hit a couple of milestones. The first, and one of the most exciting, is her acceptance of a pacifier! As you may have noticed from her pictures, her cheeks (and the rest of her) continue to grow plumper and plumper. We figured out that she was not always nursing out of hunger, but often for comfort. It took us a while but we finally got her to accept a pacifier for those times that we KNEW she couldn't possibly be hungry. Also this week we decided that we would try to give Makayla a bottle. Holly has been putting her breast pump to good use and we have a few days supply of milk in the fridge for those times when she is too sore to nurse. Daddy being able to feed Makayla takes a little pressure off of mommy and allows her to have that much needed cocktail every now and then :) Daddy has also realized how special those feeding times are now that he is able to contribute to MJ's fat little belly. Yesterday we took Makayla to get professional newborn photos done. They will be available soon to order so we'll let you know.

Just chilaxin' (chilling and relaxing) on the new blanket that Great Grandma Mary Jean made for me.

My first time "accepting" a binky... hmmm.... I might be able to get used to this.

I also found my thumb this weekend, which will suffice in an emergency.

Aren't I precious? Mommy sure does think so.

My very first bottle! Well Daddy, you don't smell as nice as Mommy, but this tastes good so I guess you'll do.

Blue eyes, brown eyes... I'm thinking blue.

NO MORE CORD! Woo Hooo!

Makayla's near constant nursing is beginning to show. She's starting to look like a little chunk, with more and more rolls on her thighs and a little bit of a double chin. At this rate it won't be long and she'll be giving Jaden's thunder-thighs a run for their money. HAHA! Last Thursday her umbilical cord stump fell off. That means tummy time and baths. She had her first real bath last night which she enjoyed much more than the sponge baths she had been getting.

Daddy's beautiful girls

Daddy loves naptime... Choxie thinks its okay too

Oh my gosh! I'm on my tummy, this is so great!

Num Num Num

More tummy time

My very first bath... okay, this isn't so bad, I think I can handle this.

Just like a day at the spa