Braelyn's changing daily

Since the last post, which has only been 15 days, Braelyn has done a few new things....to start out, she is now rolling from her tummy to her back in both directions...i can lay her on the floor in the living room, and she rolls all over it, she is usually on the other side of the room the next time i look at her:) We really have to keep our eyes on her at all times now....she is just a busy body:)

Braelyn has also gotten her first tooth....it popped through this past Friday, so April 23...we didn't even know that she was teething...she has been drooling like a faucet over the past few months, but nothing ever came of it, and she was also waking up in the middle of the night, often 2 times, which is not normal for her....So now looking back, it must have been because her tooth was starting to come through....
She is such a sweetheart....growing and changing daily....she is such a fun little girl....We are really starting to see her personality come out, which is the best...
Braelyn and i are heading to Michigan next week, to visit my family, so that should be fun....Shaun will be joining us too:) Should be a blast..It is Tulip Time, which is a festival that I have celebrated since i was a little kid....so it will be fun to bring Braelyn to it...I will post pictures when we get back...until then...
Melisa

Braelyn is 6 months old

Can you believe it, it has been 6 months since Braelyn was born....she is just the sweetest little girl ever! She has the best disposition, and greatest personality, she is just a go with the flow kind of girl..my parents we hear this past week. Braelyn and I took my mom and dad to Disneyland, and she was such a trooper. We were there from 9am til about 8:30 pm...seemed like every time she fell asleep in the stroller, we would have to take her out to go on another ride, but she didn't care...she usually gave us a big smile when we picked her up, or she continued on sleeping....its so nice that we can take her wherever and whenever, and it doesn't even bother her...what a GOOD baby she is....

Braelyn has had a lot of "first's" since my last blog post (sorry for not blogging sooner)...where to begin..Braelyn is jabbering non-stop...most of the time when she has her fingers in her mouth, she is jabbering...she has also tried rice cereal, baby pears, baby sweet potatoes, baby carrots, baby peas and baby apples.....she is not so sure about this baby food stuff...she makes some very funny faces...in fact a week or so ago, she fell asleep in her high chair while i was cleaning up her food, sweet baby girl.

Braelyn is also loving her jumpy, is one of those exersaucer thing that she can jump in..she would spend hours in it if we let her...she really knows how to jump in it now, and just laughs and giggles while she is in it...

Braelyn has been rolling for her tummy to her back for a few months now, but in just the last week, she has now figured out how to roll from her back to her tummy, so she is really becoming mobile..it won't be long now, and i bet she will be crawling...its just crazy how fast they grow, but so fun watching them grow, cause you know as a parent that you are doing the right thing.....

Another thing Braelyn has mastered is belly laughing...it is just the cutest thing in the world...it is so easy to make her smile, and now to make her laugh is just the greatest...

Overall, Braelyn is just the best thing that has ever happened to Shaun and i, as well as so many other people...she really is a joy in our lives...i just can't imagine life without her...when she wakes up in the morning, she gives you this big grin, and it just makes my day all the better...there is just nothing better than starting your day our with a big smile from your sweet baby girl...we love you Braelyn Joy....i will leave you with some recent pictures of her..enjoy!!!!!

Melisa

Christmas 2009--Braelyn is almost 3 months old!!

Braelyn is almost 3 months old already...where has the time gone...she is such a huge blessing in our life...she is the best baby in the world....she is so happy, and now, as her parents, we are able to figure out her cries....its the best!!! she is really starting to talk to us, and she smiles all the time...she just melts your heart, and she has her daddy, as well as her mommy, wrapped around her little finger....along with all the smiles and talking, she is really starting to hold her head up well...i will post some pictures of our christmas blessing:) enjoy!

melisa

Braelyn Joy is 7 weeks old!!!!

Sorry for not posting sooner, but it's been crazy around the McDougall household:) Braelyn Joy is 7 weeks old already. So hard to believe. Everyone says the time goes by so fast, but i didn't believe them. She is getting so big, you can definately tell she is gaining weight. Her cheeks are really filling out:) She is so cute, and such an amazingly good baby!!! She is now smiling and cooing at us, which really makes parenthood fun because she is starting to respond to us!!! She definately knows when i am in the room, cause when she hears my voice she looks for me and tries to find me:)
She is such a great baby! About a week ago, she started sleeping through the night!!! How nice for her mommy, lol. She usually goes to bed between 9 and 10 pm, and gets up at around 5 for another feeding, and then goes back to bed until about 8am or so. I do have to get up a couple times to put her pacifier back in her mouth, but thats not too bad at all. She has been such a blessing!! She has a such a great deameanor. So easy going, and just goes with the flow, which makes life so much easier. She will be 8 weeks next week, and goes to the doctor on Dec. 18 for her 2 month check-up, and shots, so i will post after that to let you know how much she weighs, and all the statistics from her 2 month appointment....until then, enjoy these pictures of her!!!!

Melisa

She made it!

Melisa and I met Braelyn tonight! We only had about an hour or so tonight with her, but we are hoping for more tomorrow. Everyone is healthy and we are still on track with the adoption! Lots of prayers please!

We will blog more after we get her :)!!!

Braelyn's due date is getting close:)

Well, it's official, Braelyn's room is DONE. I finished it last night. I put the finishing touches up, like her name above her bed, and the flower stickers around the room. It's so hard to believe that the time is getting very close now. We have waited so long for this moment to get here. We can't wait to finally meet her. We have been preparing for her for almost 7 months now, hard to believe. It will be great to finally see what she really looks like, and to be able to hold her in our arms. It is so amazing to think that she could be here in 3 1/2 weeks, that is, as long as she decides to come out on october 12. We are so excited and can not wait. We just continue to pray that everything continues to go smoothly, and that she is healthy. I have posted some pictures of the final touches i have put on her room. ENJOY:) Let me know what you think:)

The next time we blog, there should be pictures of Braelyn Joy:) Looking forward to sharing her with you soon! Until then.........

Melisa

Baby's Name and Nursery

Well, with it being less than 2 months until our baby girl is born, I decided that now would be a good time to fill all of you in on what we have decided to name her...so the moment you have all been watiting for....her name is going to be Braelyn Joy.. Joy is after both my middle name, as well as my mom's middle name...so we will have 3 generations of Joy:) We can't not wait for her to get here....
On another note, my mom was out here July 18-25, and we were able to get the painting done in the nursery....it was great having her out here to help paint the room...the room is going to be so full of love! Along with the painting, Shaun and his dad put up the chair rail last weekend...the room is really coming together. There is just a few more thing that we need to get done in the room, but for the most part, it is almost complete....until next time:)

Melisa