Here is the long awaited baby post. Maylee is already 6 weeks old but it has taken me a while to get around to getting this all written down. As most of you know, Maylee Koecher was born on July 6, 2012 at 1:04 pm. She was 9 lb 8 oz and 21.5 inches long. I was suspecting that she might be a little on the bigger side, but was really surprised when they told me her weight. She was a full inch longer than Jackson was when he was born so maybe she'll be a tall basketball or volleyball player. Be prepared for a picture overload. I'm still not very good at blogging, so the pictures aren't exactly in the order I would like, but it will work. Meanwhile, we are adjusting to having 2 kids and being a family of 4. We couldn't love Maylee more and are so happy that she is finally here. She is a very easy going baby and Jackson loves his baby sister so much. He is already her little protector and will say, "That's MY baby sister," when he thinks another child is trying to claim her. I absolutely LOVE seeing how cute they are together. What a cute sibling bond!
Since I had a scheduled C-section, we knew exactly what day Maylee would be born. So we made a paper chain to count down the days. It was cute to see how excited Jackson got to break off a link every day. Here's the last link.
Anxiously waiting....
....and being entertained by Dallin in his stylish jumpsuit.
Some of the very first pictures of my little baby girl. Her hair looked red and curly immediately (as you can tell) but I didn't really believe it because we thought pretty much the same thing about Jackson right after he was born. But, after a bath, I realized that we had a little curly haired red-head on our hands. Reminds me of someone else I know.... ;-)
Not too happy to see the world.
The first time I got to see my baby girl. I can't explain how much love you instantly feel for someone. I still am amazed at the precious little ones that I am blessed to raise.
Jackson finally got to meet "Baby Sister". She still didn't have a name at the time. Throughout my pregnancy, Jackson wanted to name her Molly (long story). Dallin and I had three names that we liked that we hadn't told anyone. It took until her second day of life for us to pick Maylee. It fits her perfectly. We actually thought we made the name up, but have since heard of a few other people with the name Maylee. Dallin's grandmother's middle name is Mae and Lee is a family name on my side. My grandma is Sandra Lee and my mom is Candace Lee and I am Amberly. So we decided to make it easier to spell and name her Maylee after some of the amazing women in our lives and some of the people we hope she looks to as role models.
Our first family picture. I'm not sure why he's doing it, but it looks like Jackson is putting his hand over his heart (for some reason he thinks his heart is just below his chin). It's amazing being a family of 4. And still really surreal.
Daddy and his little princess.
Our little Maylee girl. A newborn shot before she even got her first bath.
Wide awake and checking out what the world has to offer her. She definitely has some kissable cheeks. They look pretty big in some of these newborn pictures. Her eyes were such a beautiful dark grey right after she was born. They are a beautiful light blue now. We'll see what color they end up.
Mommy and Maylee.
She had quite a bit of hair right after she was born. Looking at these pictures makes me realize how much of it she has already lost. I'm sure it will come back. Just look at the mop Jackson has in the picture below. ;-)
Giving his baby sister a kiss.
Leaving the hospital and heading home.
The first day back at home with both of my kids. We appreciated having my parents watch Jackson while I was in the hospital, but we really missed our little munchkin. It was nice to all be back together again.
The first granddaughter on the Bown side. Thanks for coming up to stay with us Grandma!
Reading books.
It sure is nice to have a house with some extra space to accommodate a family of 4. She may be small but between her, her stuff, and a tornado toddler, we sure appreciate the extra space.
Maylee looks just like my baby pictures. It's a little hard to tell in this picture but you can probably see the resemblance.
Because Jackson adores the game Candyland, Maylee got some pretty early exposure to it. She's now a regular participant.
She also had some jaundice right after she was born and had to have the bili bed and the lights...this explains the reason why she currently has no clothes on...it was one of her brief breaks from her tanning bed.
Jackson and Daddy have been having a lot of fun too. We took Jackson to the store to pick out a special big brother toy which ended up being an action figure. Daddy ended up "needing" to buy an action figure for himself too so they can play together. How many children do I have again? ;-)
Sunday nap time.
I still can't believe that just a week earlier, she actually fit inside of me. The human body is an amazing thing.
Jackson and Daddy decided to amuse themselves with one of our big moving boxes that we had stashed downstairs. Hours of fun...
Not sure what to think of the prospects of her first real bath.
One month old already! The time has gone so fast! I can't believe how grown up she already is and how different she looks from her newborn pictures. We already can't imagine life without her.
Thanks to Dallin's aunt DeNai and his cousin Stacy, Maylee has her very first tutu. She may look a little tired in this picture, but she is the cutest little ballerina I've ever seen. There are definitely some fun things you can do with a baby girl that you can't (or shouldn't) do with a baby boy ;-)
Kisses.
We also went to Uncle Michael's graduation from BYU. He received his Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. Way to go Mike!
Dallin and his brothers.
My favorite family picture so far. We have to give thanks to Uncle Mike for being our impromptu photographer. He does a good job though.
And here is the emergency button that Jackson decided to push while we were taking pictures after the graduation. In case you're wondering, it really does go to 911...and no....this is not the first time he has called them.
Sorry this picture is sideways, but I forgot to rotate it earlier. It's a little easier to see the resemblance between Maylee and my baby pictures in this one.
And here are some pictures from a newborn shoot that my sister-in-law Bethany Bown did with Maylee when she was just 6 days old. I think they turned out really good. Here are a few of my favorites. Thanks again Beth!
We sure love you Maylee!!! Welcome to our family!!!
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