Tuesday, April 30, 2013

First real bath!

Once Layla's umbilical cord (or tummy plug as Mike called it) fell off, we gave her a real bath.

I tried to take some pictures during the bath, but as it turns out, wiggly babies are very slippery when they are wet and soapy. So, all I got was when we were drying her off. Apparently, it was pretty traumatic for Layla, but she made it.

Mike did her hair after the bath in a very stylish faux hawk.










Here is her 1 week and 1 month pictures. She was really mad in the 1 month picture, so she's pretty stretched out, but you can see how much she's grown already, especially her little leggies!!



Thursday, April 25, 2013

Grandparents visit 2

We had our second wave of grandparent visits- Mom and Ray were back and then Dad and Jen came. Mom and Ray were only here for a few days, and we had fun playing games in the evenings and Layla showed her prowess in the eating and pooping arenas.

It was wonderful to have Dad and Jen for the weekend, even though the visit was short. Dad was preaching in Manassas, at the same church where he was first called, and where I was baptised. Jen made some delicious dinners and Layla got lots of quality time with Grandpa and Mammy both.





We are so thankful for the family visits. It was lovely to have everyone. It's really weird now to be here just Layla and I, but I am trying to make the most of the time and really treasure it. Our next big adventure is going to Salem on the weekend of May 3 to celebrate Roanoke College's graduation and Dad's retirement. The entire Henrickson family will be there, so Layla will get to meet everyone!

Today we had a big adventure. First, I went to the doctor today, and since I was there I asked them to weigh her and check her height. She has gained 2 pounds since she was born, making her 9 pounds 13 oz. She has also grown 2 inches, so she's 23 inches long! Then we went to have lunch with my work colleagues, all of whom were very excited to meet her. Layla has outgrown her newborn pants. I think her onesies will still fit her, but the pants are now capris.


Mike and I have been attending a local church that we really like. They had a young families event on Saturday, so Layla, Dad, Jen and I went. We had a great time. Layla looked very beautiful. 


We go on a walk at least once every day. Layla has gotten more and more used to her Bjorn and I think she actually likes it now. Mike says it makes her look like a bionic baby. She usually passes out in the time between when I put her in it and when we walk out the door. 



Layla developed a game the other day with her little socks. The elapsed time between these 2 pictures is 35 seconds. I put the sock back on about 10 times. 





Thursday, April 18, 2013

Grandparents visit 1

Since last Tuesday we have had our first two sets of grandparent visits! My mom and Ray came first, then went to Salem for the weekend, so Mike's mom, Karen, came for a long weekend. Then my mom and Ray came back, and leave tomorrow. Dad and Jen come on Friday for the weekend.

The sweet girl has extended her schedule slightly- she's eating every 3.5-4 hours during the day, and about every 3 hours at night. The sleep deprivation has caught up with me a bit, but I think we're doing ok. I have been reading some of the books that we got for our shower to Layla during the night- mostly because it keeps me awake.

She is a really really good baby. We are veh-hery lucky.

sleepy ladies
During Mom and Ray's visit, we laid pretty low, making sure Grams (mom) got lots of time with the kiddo. Mom sent along two boxes of books for the Blueberry and going through them brought back lots of memories from my childhood. I was really surprised to see how many children's books Mike and I had in common!

Grams and Layla, enjoying bath time

Pappa Ray 

 Karen brought along two rocking chairs for Layla. The first was an adult size one that has been used for five generations of Parkers. It was originally his Grandmother's mother's- so his Grandmother was rocked in this chair as a baby, Mike's dad was rocked in this chair, Mike was rocked in this chair and now Layla will be rocked in this chair. Karen also brought a tiny rocker that used to be Mike's so Layla can rock too.

Singing along to Daddy and the Eagles
Mike played the piano in the evenings during Karen's visit. It was lovely to fall asleep to them singing and rocking.

Snug as a bug

Rocking out with Nana K
Matthew made Layla the most beautiful name plates for her wall. Yes, you read that right. MADE. As in, cut from wood. Amazing. I can't wait to get them when we see him in a couple of weeks. I really want to hang them in her room.






Layla will never be at a loss for love, that's for sure. 

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Homemade photo shoot!

The second week has been excellent. Layla Ruth is on a 3-3.5 hour schedule of eating and hanging out or sleeping. She is a really good baby. She is not very fussy- if she cries, it's because she needs something. Last week, Mike and I decided to do a homemade photo shoot, using this lovely lamb chair that my friend Debbie from Minnesota got Layla.

She managed to stay awake for about 2 minutes of the photo shoot. So obviously she is better cut out for secretary of state rather than modeling.

We went to the doctor on Friday, and Layla has regained her birth weight plus some! She's now 8 lbs 2 oz. She is 97th percentile in head circumference, 97th percentile in height (21.5 inches) and 50th percentile in weight. So we're working hard on getting her to put on some extra ounces. She certainly loves eating (like her mommy), so hopefully we'll continue to improve!

Family visits start tomorrow, which will be great. The grandparents have been so understanding about us needing some family time for these first two weeks. We are looking forward to Layla meeting all her grandparents, and starting to integrate more people into our little world!