Aiyana's Baby Blessing

On July 1st, Dan blessed Aiyana in our ward just before her 7-weeks-old mark. He wasn't nervous at all -- just "excited", he said. I loved how much the blessing mentioned love and family, and little Aiyana looked beautiful in her first white dress. She didn't make a peep during the blessing, and managed to only spit up on one sleeve afterwards! Many family members and friends attended and returned to the condo for a light lunch. We had a variety of food: pulled BBQ roast beef sandwiches, sweet & sour meatballs (kind of), a yummy corn-bean salsa (that I discovered has a fancier name of "Cowboy Caviar"), pumpkin cobbler, strawberry shortcake, and pinwheels that were too frozen to serve because a certain husband forgot to pull them out of the freezer. . . But it all must of been delicious because every bite disappeared within minutes, like a whirlwind stopped by and swept it all up! It was fun (and maybe slightly chaotic!) to have so much family and friends in the same room.

 I didn't get the best angle to take pictures of her dress, but at least you can see the embroidery on the bottom. That's my favorite part. I also like how she's pumping one fist in the air. She does that all the time. It's pretty cute. (Dan always says, "Fight the power!")

 I love this family shot. I can't believe she actually smiled in her sleep just perfectly. (Thanks, Thomas!)

 Most people say Aiyana looks like Dan, which I agree. Lately, a few more people have been saying she looks like me the chubbier she gets. What's that supposed to mean??

I had to throw in some of her funny faces. Her expressions crack me up!

 I can't get over these wide eyes she so often does.

 As she's getting chunky, we think she looks more like Ty, especially when she's sleeping because their eyes are different. But the face shape is similar. I can't pinpoint it, but their connection as siblings is showing itself as she grows. She is definitely bigger than he was at her age though! Maybe it's all the desserts I've been eating, sneaking their way into her milk. . .

 Love this girl! We're enjoying discovering and getting a feel for her personality. She doesn't grunt quite as much as she used to and is an easy baby, overall. The only time she has screaming fits is occasionally in her car seat. She hates being strapped down. But otherwise, if she's fed and changed she's a happy, easy-going girl and easily consolable.

She's a great sleeper, too. At around 4 weeks I implemented a night-time routine: Bath around eight or eight-thirty, lotion her up with a new diaper and nurse her one last time, skin-to-skin. Then I swaddle her and sing a primary song or two while rocking her, and then rock her a few more minutes before laying her in bed with the vibration noise on. Most of the time, she's not quite asleep yet so I'll leave her laying there, looking around or sucking on her pacifier. When I check on her just minutes later, her eyes are closed and she soothes herself to sleep, usually without her pacifier. I feel really blessed that she can do this on her own! She sleeps from 9pm to at least 2:30am, and then wakes up around 6 or 6:30am to stretch and snuggle with me. Then we both fall back asleep off an on for the next couple hours. Two nights ago, she slept from 9pm-6am straight! I'm hoping that wasn't just a fluke.


In the mornings, she takes a 40 minute nap around ten, and then if I'm home in the afternoon, a 2-3 hour nap if she's swaddled. I hope this routine sticks, though I imagine it will get harder as she gets older.
 
She'll be 8 weeks old on Tuesday.