Trip to South Carolina!

This past weekend we went to South Carolina for Ashlee & Gabe's wedding.  It was Kaylen's first plane ride, and she did so good! Everyone kept coming up to us telling us what a good baby she was.  On the way to South Carolina, she nursed at take off, slept for a few minutes, and then was a wake the rest of the time.  On the way back, she just slept on Patrick's legs the whole time.  We didn't have any problems at all, so we were really thankful for that! 

The wedding went really well.  We were glad to see everyone, and had a lot of fun.  Ashlee looked beautiful! We were especially thankful that my mom was able to go with us to keep an eye on Kaylen so we could go to the Rehearsal and out afterwards, and be able to stay at the Reception the whole time.  I'm sure Kaylen enjoyed her Nana time!

Lately, Kaylen has become increasingly more vocal.  She is making a lot of cooing and "ahhing" noises.  It is pretty much the cutest thing I've ever heard.  She will also burst out with a random laugh and this morning made an interesting screeching noise that I hadn't heard before.  She is such a happy baby, and seeing her laugh and smile just melts my heart! 

We went to Target yesterday and I bought Kaylen some new toys (since we were getting bored with the few ones we have).  She got a Baby Einstein turtle that plays different musical instruments, and a rattle that when you shake it it plays music and lights up.  She is a big fan of both.  I took some pictures of her playing with them.  When we shake the rattle and it lights up, she is totally mesmerized by the lights.  She will even hold it for a few seconds on her own! But the turtle was the biggest hit! She really likes the drums and the tuba sounds, and when they start playing she kicks her legs and starts moving her arms.  It's as if she's dancing! So cute! I managed to get a few pictures of her "dancing"!

It's hard to believe she is 9 weeks as of yesterday.  She is growing like a weed, and has so much personality! It's so exciting to sit back and watch her new developments and her change each day.

Patrick and Kaylen in front of the "Shoeless" Joe Jackson statue at Smoke on the Water.  (please notice that Patrick took his shoe off!)

Kaylen before the wedding.

Nana got her all dressed up!

Wedding pictures! 

Cutting the cake!

Kaylen putting her new rattle in her mouth.

Wondering why mom has to take so many pictures!

This is an action shot... she is throwing the rattle.

Dancing to her musical turtle! She was having SO much fun!

More dancing! It kind of looks like she's snapping! :)

8 week checkup

Today Kaylen is 8 weeks old! Unfortunately, that means shots :( We went to the doctor today for her 8 week checkup.  The doctor said she looked great, and developmentally she is right where she needs to be.  She weighed 9 lbs. 12 oz. (25th percentile) and was 22 1/4 inches long (50th percentile). After she was given the clean bill of health, we had to get the dreaded 2 month shots! I felt so bad because right before the shots she was in such a happy mood, smiling and laughing.  It just killed me because I knew what was about to happen.  They started off with an oral vaccine, which she promptly spit out. We did manage to get some of it down though.  Then the shots... they did one in the right leg, and two in the left leg.  The nurse did it really fast, so that was good, but Kaylen's face broke my heart! As soon as they put the shot in she gave me this look of shock, and then her face turned bright red, and she started crying (sticking out her bottom lip and all).  Then after a few minutes and the dust had settled she fell asleep.  Since then she has been in pretty good spirits, so I hope that means she isn't in any pain.  She is such a trooper!  After the doctor's office, we went and met Patrick and my Dad and Becky for lunch.  Becky and Dad were passing through Dallas on their way to Norman, OK so Becky can attend Camp Crimson.  It was great to see them even if it was for a short while.

Earlier in the week we went over to Patrick's cousin, Jenni and Greg Jackson's house for a family birthday party for Ali Jackson, Kevin Lynam & Tommy Reedy.  It was nice to see everyone and visit.  Everyone took turns holding Kaylen, and she was very cooperative.  I think she loves the attention! Other then the party, we didn't do much this past week.  We've just been taking it easy since we have a big weekend ahead of us.  We leave on Friday for South Carolina, and Kaylen's first plane ride.  We will let you know how that goes when we get back.

On a side note, Miss Kaylen is becoming a thumb sucker.  She's been sticking her fingers in her mouth for the past couple of weeks, but this week she started focusing on her thumb.  She doesn't suck on it for a long period of time, but I bet she will before we know it.  I figure, whatever is a comfort to her makes me happy.  :)

Daddy trying out the Baby Bjorn

Working on getting that thumb in her mouth!

More thumb sucking!

Greg and Ali Jackson holding Kaylen

Kaylen with Aunt JoAnn

Happy girl!

Too cute with her little head band.

SHOTS ARE NO FUN! Showing off her battle wounds.

How can you not love this happy baby?

This is a face I cannot resist!

Raise your hand!

We were playing the "raise your hand" game, and Daddy caught some of it on film! Isn't she cute and smart! :) 

7 weeks old!

Boy did we have a fun week!  We got to meet a lot of new people, and had lots of visitors! 

On Friday, I took Kaylen up to the office to meet everyone.  Of course everyone said she was so cute.  The top three comments made about Kaylen were: (1) She's so alert (2) She's so wiggly (3) Look how long her toes are! haha :) It was really great to see everyone, but it's still nice to know I get another month at home with my baby! I won't be going back to work until August 17th.

On Saturday, we went to Carrollton to see Tanner's indoor soccer game.  However, when we got there Tanner's game had been cancelled. So, Kevin, Erinn, Tanner, Patrick, Kaylen and I met Grand and Granddaddy at Abuelo's, and had a nice family dinner.  Right when the food arrived, Kaylen started getting a little fussy.  So, Grand ate (for the second time this week) with Kaylen on her lap.  Grand said she has eaten with lots of babies on her lap over the years... she's a pro! She definitely has the magic touch! 

On Sunday afternoon, our friends David and Kelli Dowdney came over to meet Kaylen.  They even came with a present! We were so excited to see that they had gotten Kaylen a Bumbo seat and play tray.  Although she can't use it yet, before we know it she will have complete control of her neck muscles, and will be able to sit in it.  They only stayed a little while, but it was great to see them and we had a nice visit.  Kaylen really liked being in Dave's arms! After Dave and Kelli left, the Lynam's came over for lunch.  Shortly thereafter, Grammy got here from Tulsa to stay with us for a few days.  We just love having family in the area, and we had a really great little cookout!

On Monday, Grammy kept Kaylen while I went and looked at a few more child care centers.  I liked both of the ones I looked at, and I'm going to need help making a final decision! Later that evening, Grand and Granddaddy brought dinner over. We had a nice lasagna dinner with them, and it was great that we've gotten to see them 3 times this week! After dinner, Patrick and I left Kaylen with Grammy (and Grand and Granddaddy for a little while), and we went on a date to see The Hangover! It was pretty funny, and nice to have a little bit of alone time together.

On Tuesday, Erinn, Addy, and Tanner came over for a little while to just hang out with Kaylen and Grammy.  This gave me an opportunity to go run some errands, and get out of the house for a little bit.  They were bringing Tanner over to stay the night because he is going back to Oklahoma with Grammy.  That evening Grammy took Tanner, Pat, Kaylen and I out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory! YUMMY! :) We even got cheesecake to go, which Tanner and I pretty much devoured! Kaylen was really good while we were out, and slept through dinner.

Today, Grammy and Tanner left to go back.  It was really great having her here to help out.  She did laundry and the dishes, and of course played and watched Kaylen! Thanks Lina for all your help! We really appreciate it.

Earlier in the week my friend Courtney told me that she used the "Eat-Play-Sleep" method to get her son into a routine.  So, we decided to give it a try since we were having problems at night with Kaylen being fussy.  I'm so happy to say that since Friday Kaylen has slept in her crib every night, and only wakes up to feed and then goes right back to sleep! The new method must be working.  So, I really only have to get up a couple of times during the night to feed her.  And then a miracle happened last night.  She woke up once around 2:00 am, and then was back asleep before 3:00 am.  Then she didn't wake up again until 9:00 am!! Around 7:00 am I was going in there to make sure she was still breathing... I couldn't believe she could still be asleep.  Then a little before 9:00 am, Lina heard her moving around, and she was awake, quietly laying in her bed.  What a good baby!  I just hope it keeps up! Also, Kaylen's baby acne went away.  It basically dired itself out.  The bad news is that now she has "craddle cap", which is really bad dry skin on her head and scalp.  I hear it's pretty common for babies, so I'm not going to worry about it.

So, that's the last week.  We had a really good week, but a busy week.  Luckily, we have nothing planned the rest of the week until Sunday.  We're going to take it easy the rest of the week!

Dad makes funny faces!

Taking a break from tummy time!

So cute! Look at her proud daddy!

Meeting Dave Dowdney

I love it when she sleeps like this! She has such a rough life :)

This is her senior picture pose!

Looking in the baby mirror with Grammy while listening to Baby Einstein!

More mirror fun.

Her new favorite position is with her arm or arms over her head.  She has been sleeping this way too!

Kaylen is 6 weeks old!

It is so hard to believe Kaylen is already 6 weeks old today!  Time is just flying by... and I guess everyone warned me that it goes by too fast! It amazes me all the cool stuff she learns every day, and it is so fun to be there to watch.  She is still a little bit of a bobble head, but is holding her head up better every day.  And she is strong too! We put her on the floor for tummy time and she kicks her legs so hard that she can move herself in a circle.  It is so funny! Nighttime is getting better, although we still have our bouts of fussy nights too.  Last night was actually pretty good.  She only woke up to eat, and then would go right back to sleep! We have discovered that she sleeps so much better in her crib than in the Pack-n-Play.  We tried to go back to the Pack-n-Play earlier this week, but the most we could get her to sleep was one hour, and she would wake up really fussy.  Needless to say, last night she went back into the crib, and did great. Also, one of Lina's friends told me to try putting a heating pad in the bed, and then remove it right before we lay her down so the bed is warm, and it has worked like a charm!  Thanks to Suzanne Bloyed for sharing that wonderful trick!  So, everyone knows that one of the best tricks to getting your baby to sleep is to swaddle them.  Well, Kaylen likes to be swaddled, but doesn't like the fact she can't move her arms and legs... which is the whole point of swaddling! We have a Miracle Blanket, which is supposed to be the best swaddler out there and is basically a baby straight jacket.  It has a bunch of different pieces of fabric that you use to make sure the baby's arms are secure and a little pocket that her legs go into.  Then you wrap this other piece of fabric several times around the baby to make sure they securely swaddled.  Let's just say, Pat and I had to watch a video to learn how to use the thing! Anyway, so we swaddle Kaylen in the Miracle Blanket good and tight, and put her to bed.  When she wakes up a couple of hours later, the kid has managed to get both legs and both arms out of the swaddle! It is hilarious... I have a baby Houdini! So, if you can imagine, she will just have the blanket wrapped around her middle like a tutu.  Next time she does it, I will make sure to take a picture.  It is the funniest thing. 

This past weekend Kaylen celebrated her first Fourth of July! We decided to take her to the Frisco Freedom Fest, which is an outdoor party in the Plaza in Frisco with games, music, and food.  We went around 8 or so, but it was still really hot! We only lasted about 30 minutes.  So, we went to Sonic to get Ice Cream, and then parked in a parking lot to wait for the Frisco fireworks.  Once the fireworks started, Kaylen slept through the whole thing.  She didn't mind the noise at all.  So, mommy and daddy got to enjoy the fireworks, which were really great!  Also, this past weekend my friend Kimberly Moon came over to meet Kaylen.  It was great to see her, and have some girl time... grown up girl time that is!

On Tuesday, Erinn and Addy came over and babysat Kaylen for the first time! I asked them to watch her so I could go see some child care centers for when I have to go back to work.  Touring the centers was so hard... just the thought of having to leave her in someone else's care makes me so nervous and sad! When that day comes... I am probably going to be a wreck.  I only went to two centers, and quickly ruled one out.  I really liked the other one, and it will probably be the one we go with.  However, I still want to see a few more before I make my mind up.  I feel like this is one of the most important decisions I could ever make, and it's hard because Patrick can't take off work to come see these places with me, so I'm flying solo on this one.  I will keep you updated on which one I decide to go with.  Later that night, Kevin put together a surprise party for Patrick's sister, Erinn.  Her 40th birthday was June 23rd, but he wanted to wait a while to have the party so she would be really surprised! I think it worked because the look on her face was priceless when all of us yelled "surprise"! Before the party we got Kaylen all dolled up in a little outfit that Erinn got us.  It is still a little big (as are most of her newborn outfits), but we wore it anyway.  As you can see from the pictures she looked adorable!  

So, that has been our week.  We don't really have anything planned for the rest of the week, which is nice. We are just going to take it easy and enjoy each other!

Trying on hats for the Frisco Freedom Fest! Although she isn't screaming in this picture, she was not very happy to have that hat on!

Sleepy baby!

Meeting Kim!

More hats! She looked so darn cute!

She's grown so much!

At Erinn's party--Grand got our fussy baby to sleep! Thanks Grand!

Saying hi to Grand and Granddaddy!

Getting ready for Erinn's Surprise Party! 

Absolutely adorable!

Baby Acne

So, Kaylen's baby acne has gotten progressively worse.  Since I wasn't sure what it really was, or what I can do to get rid  of it, I poked around on the internet to learn more.  This is what I found for those that are curious. It looks like we have to just leave it alone and hope it goes away on it's own.

Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

Sure, you expect your teenager to struggle with acne. You might even experience a few pimples yourself. But what about baby acne for your newborn?

Many newborns develop baby acne, usually on the cheeks, chin and forehead. Baby acne isn't pretty, but it's common — and temporary. There's little you can do to prevent baby acne. The best treatment for baby acne is usually none at all.

Symptoms

By Mayo Clinic staff

Baby acne

Baby acne is usually characterized by small red bumps on a baby's cheeks, chin and forehead. Baby acne often develops within the first three to four weeks after birth. Baby acne may look worse when your baby is fussy or crying.

Many babies also develop tiny white bumps on the nose, chin or cheeks. These are known as milia.

Causes

By Mayo Clinic staff

Baby acne is usually caused by hormonal changes that occurred during pregnancy. Baby acne is more common in boys. Rarely, baby acne is a sign of a hormonal problem.

Treatments and drugs

By Mayo Clinic staff

Baby acne typically disappears on its own within several weeks. In some cases, however, baby acne lingers for months or even longer.

In the meantime:

• Keep your baby's face clean. Wash your baby's face with warm water two or three times a day.
• Dry your baby's face gently. Simply pat your baby's skin dry.
• Don't pinch or scrub the acne. You may cause more irritation or an infection.

If your baby's acne is particularly stubborn, your baby's doctor may recommend a medicated cream or other treatment. Rarely, any underlying conditions may need to be treated as well.

Prevention

By Mayo Clinic staff

There's little you can do to prevent baby acne. Simply wash your baby's face with warm water and look forward to the clearer days ahead.