A little scrapbook of Hailey's week

Okay, we know the reason most of you are checking the blog is for new pictures of her highness. Maybe not. Maybe you just really care a bunch about what's going on with us. But here are pictures of her anyhow since she is much more attractive and charming than we are. Plus we figure that since we like staring at her all day, there might be some other folks out there that would like to do the same. She changes so much everyday so we'll try to post pics more often. It's tough since she refuses to be set down for much longer than it takes for her mom to pee. In fact, she is physically attached to me as I type this. Thank heavens for the inventors of Hotslings and the Baby Bjorn! Once she reached 12 lbs., carrying her unassisted for hours on end was out of the question!

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We study her closely waiting for her to resemble one of us.

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This picture looks like she should belong to one of the Beastie Boys or something.

She almost always has this look of concern on her face. I think she figured out the bum deal she got when they were giving out parents & now she's contemplating how to deal with our complete ineptitude. Of all the qualities I desire for her, I think PATIENCE falls pretty high on the list.

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I don't know why I'm posting such a bad picture of her except to tell you that we call this look the "Fat, angry marionette." I'm going to try sleeping like this tonight. Looks fun!

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And now the moment we've all been waiting for (Aaron & Amy included) --

She's AWAKE and HAPPY! We just get very small glimpses of this each day but it keeps us plugging along.

So I've discovered the dirty little secret of motherhood ... something that your "good mom" girlfriends don't like to talk much about before you have your own kids. It's the fact that the first few weeks with a new baby are so tough and lonely and unrewarding ... generally miserable ... not at all the way they make things look on the Johnson & Johnson commercials!

It has been really difficult to know if I am having any "success" at all. I wake up every morning to complete chaos in the household, a baby that's covered in spit-up, pee, you name it despite the fact that I just bathed and changed her. After several days of that, you can see how I might feel a tad hopeless.

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Anyhoo, I was feeling like a particular failure today when suddenly I realized that my only real job right now is to keep this little angel alive and thriving. If she is alive and relatively well fed at the end of the day, I have accomplished something. Looking at the picture below, I saw distinct ROLLS OF FAT on her sweet little arms as well as MULTIPLE CHINS below her tiny cherubic face. Then I made Aaron weigh her to confirm that she has indeed gained 1/2 a pound over the past couple of days. And for the first time so far, I felt like I've done by job ... at least one of them ... the important one anyway. So until there is more expected of me (like helping her get a decent score on the ACT or behave appropriately in a restaurant) I will count this as VICTORY for our little family, however small it may be.

It's Hailey's world. We just live in it.

Yeah, we know we’ve been slow to update & post some pics of her highness. But I’m going to play the “just gave birth” card for a free pass on this one. Anyone who has created, birthed and then attempted recovering from birthing a 10-pound baby will give you the list of reasons why I'm justified in loafing around for 2 weeks before posting anything. I think all of that combined with her refusal to recognize night as the time when the Oakeson family SLEEPS has taken its toll. Things are looking up a little now and I am starting to believe that it won't be like this forever. Aaron & I just may be able to get back to our crazy work schedules including his regular 14 hour workday. And I just might set foot back in the beloved gym sometime before Christmas! Here's hoping!

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So here is what you all really want -- pictures of our benevolent dictator. Sorry she is sleeping in all of them. But she has 3 main activities right now: Eating, Sleeping, Pooping. We didn't think you wanted to see her eating or pooping so this is what you get.

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Wakin' up is hard to do

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Being boss of the house is EXHAUSTING! .

I don't know what I was thinking with this hat. Oh, I know! I was thinking she might be cold & hats on babies are so cute. But looking back, this is kindof a stupid hat. She looks like a baby pope or something.

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It's all good in da' hood.

Hailey and Dad are best friends! They love their naps!

So much fun it's SCARY!

This week was the 5th annual Family & Friends Halloween party. Since this is pretty much all about the kids, we posted a few of the kids' pics for your viewing pleasure.

Owen was our pick for brightest/funniest kid of the evening.

Here he is being particularly cheesy!

Glad to see a costume from Aaron's childhood is getting a new lease on life.

The pinata was a big HIT! he he

What an appropriate costume for this activity. Go Dean!

Looks like Mandy was having a great time!

The perfect Natalie moment. Later on, she did an awesome Karaoke performance of "I'm a Believer" complete with a few dance moves.

BUDDIES!

Aw, Sydnee! You just want to squish her little face, don't ya?

Overall, the party was pretty fabulous! The food was great, too. In fact, if you want any more chili, talk to Mark & Marion. We think they have about 10 quarts left and it's really good! I'm sure they'd be more than happy to give you some.