Joy Lynn {two weeks}

It is hard to believe that just 2 weeks ago that we were meeting Ms. Joy Lynn for the first time.  She has been such a sweet little baby.  Nearly perfect.  Well at least we think so!

At two weeks, Joy Lynn is starting to fill out her newborn clothes and she has moved up to size 1 diapers.  I still find it so funny (and sweet) that she seems to get the hiccups every evening around 9:00 pm – this was the exact same time that she would get them in my tummy every night as I would lie down to sleep.

We went for her newborn check-up on Friday and got a good report on our little girl.  She is weighing in at 8 pounds, 12 ounces (50th percentile) and 22 inches long (95th percentile).  I know this might sound silly but I feel like my baby girl is getting so big already!  *sniff*  *sniff* 

Joy' Lynn’s main activities these days are sleeping, pooping, and eating like crazy.  Speaking of sleeping…  We are still eating about every 2 hours during the day AND at night.  Not really the ideal situation but she is happy, healthy, and growing so no complaints here.  We had to watch weight gain with the other 3 (especially the boys) so this is a nice change but I will be thrilled when she hits that 6 hour mark sleeping through the night. 

Someone asked me if the “new baby” novelty has worn off for the other kids and the answer to that is “No”.  All 3 of them are still so in love with their new baby sister and want to kiss and love on Joy Lynn ALL the time.  Of course, this so so sweet but I find myself being the referee and volume control police quite often.  Fun times!

I really do not have anything else to report right now.  We are just enjoying Joy Lynn and taking it easy during this long holiday weekend.  Who cares if it takes me all morning to get us all dressed and get the laundry started.  That is what summertime is all about, right?

Have a great holiday weekend,

My Little Polka Dot…

 

Yes, yes…  I know she is super cute but I could not leave her alone.  I just had to go raid my scrapbook stash and add some bling to her outfit. 

I mean come on…  How super cute is that? 

Although, I am not 100% sure that Joy Lynn liked it…

Happy Thursday!

The Big 3-0!

Yes, today marks a pretty big milestone in my little ‘ole life…  My 30th birthday.  Wow!  How did that happen?

In some ways I have been dreading this day, you know…  just feeling old and sad to be out of my twenties.  But as I have gotten closer and closer to this point, I am feeling more and more ready to embrace this new decade and all that life has to offer.  I have heard that “30 is the new 20” so I am going with that! 

It is kind of sad to see my 20s go…  In many ways, they defined me as a person and truly made me who I am today.  I graduated from college and graduate school, I worked professionally as an accountant and through my own business, I got married, we became homeowners and moved away from the only hometown that we had ever known.  Oh and I had 4 children…  it has kind of been a busy decade.  On top of that, I feel like I truly accepted Jesus into my heart and I have grown so much in my relationship with Him.  When I look back and think on who I was at 20 and who I am today, I just feel like I have learned so many life lessons and I am so very thankful for where I am right now.

Life is good. 

I have an amazing, wonderful husband.  He knows me inside and out.  It really is kind of scary sometimes!  I know that he loves and supports me no matter what.  We have been dating each other since we were both 16 and it is so crazy to think that we have almost been together more years than we have been without each other.  I love where we are today…  just the best of friends and enjoying this crazy, blessed life that we live together. 

I also have 4 perfect little babies.  They truly are the reason why I get up in the (early) morning and I absolutely cannot imagine my life without them.  The 4 of them have taught me what selflessness means and truly what is important in this life.  I would not trade my role as Mommy for anything. 

I know this might sound corny but I truly feel like one very lucky gal today. I get to spend it with some of the people who I love the most and that makes it so very special to me. 

So I guess turning 30…  well it ain’t gonna be that bad and I plan on making this my best decade yet. 

My Little Sunshine

Here are some fun photos that I took of Emma Lee over the weekend…

I probably say this all the time on here but this little girl has done nothing but totally turn our lives upside down since her arrival.  Of course, I mean that in the best possible way imaginable.  She is definitely in her 2 year old stage, which is so fun and at the same time just barely tolerable on those “no nap days”. 

Emma Lee hangs right in there with her 2 older brothers and is also sweetly embracing her new role as “Big Sissie Lee”.  Her vocal skills are great and she has no problem telling you what she wants or one of her favorites is running to Josh to tell him “Me Pretty Daddy” while she twirls her latest fashion. 

Speaking of Emma Lee’s fashions…  She is still fond of her socks. bracelets, and “bairbows”.  That reminds me, I simply must get some photos of her and the “purple shoes” that she wears all day long.  She would sleep in them if we let her. 

She also loves to sing and dance.  2 favorites are “You are my sunshine” and “Jesus loves me”.  Josh and I both love how passionate she is when she sings the “they are weak but He is strong” part.  So precious!

 

Most of all, I simply love her fearless personality paired with those big dark, brown eyes.  There is no doubt that she has her Daddy, me, and those 2 big brothers wrapped around her finger. 

 

I would like to frame a few of these but I have not decided yet which ones.  Did you have a favorite?

Joy Lynn {One Week}

 

Joy Lynn, I am so in love with…

The way you tuck your arms so sweetly by your face when you nap and put your hands together (praying position) while you nurse.  I imagine this is one of the ways you hung out in my tummy before you were born. 

The way your big blue eyes are starting to open up wider and wider each day.  You are already so good at tracking Daddy and Mommy when we talk to you. 

The way your hair curls up right after your bath. You have the cutest little fuzziest head of hair. 

The way your eyelashes are growing and uncurling just a bit at a time.

The way you hold your thumb between your pointer and middle fingers as you make a fist.

The way you have started to give us those beautiful smiles while you nap. 

The way you are making things easy on me with your easy, calm personality. 

The way you fit right in with our little family.

You = Love

Oh and just in case you do not check out my scrapbook site, you might want to head over there to see a few birth announcements that I made this afternoon.

Life with Joy Lynn…

 

Just a few random thoughts as we adjust to this new and wonderful life with Baby Joy Lynn…

• I had forgotten just how much time you spend on the couch with a newborn.  I am definitely catching up on my list of movies while the baby eats and then lots of cuddle time after that.  I love it. 

• The older kids are adjusting very well to the new baby.  The boys love to hold her and big sister loves to cuddle with Joy Lynn in the morning in our bed while I take a shower – it is the sweetest thing to watch Emma Lee “take care of baby”.  I did not quite know what to expect - especially from Emma Lee being the little firecracker that she is – but I have to say that everyone has done so well with the new baby. 

• Diaper changes have been an adventure.  I always heard that boys were the “sprayers” but this little girl has gotten me so many times already.  Oh and I had forgotten just how much little newborns poop…  and just when you get them all cleaned up, they poop again!

• I am feeling surprisingly mellow this time around.  Just really trying to go with the flow and enjoy every minute with our little family.

• Oh and I probably would not be feeling so mellow if it was not for all the help that my sweet hubby + family + friends have been showering us with.  Thank you all so very much!

 

• I know I am her Mommy but don’t you want to just smother her in kisses?  I do.  I pretty much never put her down.  She is either in my arms or I am working to get chores done as quickly as I can so that I can snuggle with her again.  I know that some disagree but I do not think you can hold a newborn too much.  Who cares if she wants to be held all the time or sleep beside her Mommy during the wee hours of the morning?  These days are all so sweet and I know that they will pass much too quickly.  Besides I just cannot get enough of her sweet baby smell. 

• I am remembering life with my other 3 babies as we slowly adjust to this new life with Joy Lynn – all the little newborn diapers, burp clothes, taking care of her little belly button, perfect timing for her to nurse right when we all sit down for dinner, lack of sleep, and learning to multitask my entire day.  It is amazing how quick you can just jump back into baby mode and how it is exactly the same as it was with the other 3.  I love that!

 

• Joy Lynn is a champion sleeper.  We had a couple of rough nights the beginning of this week but the latter part has been much better.  I am really trying to enjoy all those sweet naps and cuddle time while they last. 

• Joy Lynn had lots of firsts this week – prescription (eye infection), bath at home, family walk in her stroller, naps in the swing, losing her umbilical cord, and meeting all 8 of her 1st cousins. 

• Oh and another first was watching Pride and Prejudice with Mommy.  You are never too young to meet Mr. Darcy, right?  There are several perks to this whole “recovery with a newborn” thing.  Most people probably think I am old fashioned but we like to keep our little newborns close to home those 1st six weeks.

 

• I am not quite sure how I will ever get anywhere on time with 4 kids by myself.  Thankfully we have no plans for the next few weeks and we will just get to that little milestone later when the time comes.

• Still not used to the thought process of “family of 6”.  That just seems like such a huge number to me right now. 

• Joy Lynn just reminds me so much of my other 3 when they were babies.  Caleb Davis’ lips and skin tone + Emma Lee’s eyes and cheeks.  The rest of her is totally Nathan James.  I glance over at her sometimes and just think that I am having a flashback of life with newborn Nate – only this time around he is wearing a big ‘ole pink flower on his head. 

To sum it all up, we are just so thankful, happy, and I know this sounds corny but truly full of joy.  I am feeling really, really good this 1st week as I adjust to life at home with 4 kids.  It can be kind of tricky as you learn to spread yourself between everyone’s needs and enjoy my little ones all at the same time.  And thank goodness for Daddy…  he is really the one holding us all together and doing the dishes too! 

Ok…  Off to get some sleep!

April Showers…

Bring May Flowers.

Josh and I were both so convinced that this little doodlebug was going to arrive in April.  I even think our doctor was surprised that I was induced 8 days late and what seemed like it was well into the month of May.  Looking back we see God’s hand and perfect timing in all of it and we would not have had it any other way.

This past week was so full of blessings – Mother’s Day, Caleb Davis’ 5th birthday, followed by Joy Lynn’s arrival – and that was just Sunday and Monday.  It was great to just sit back the rest of the week and reflect on all that God has blessed us with. 

 

Could you not just gobble those cheeks up? 

 

This next 2 pictures crack me up…

 

 

Oh and speaking of May flowers, this beautiful arrangement arrived at our house on Saturday from Paw Paw Frank and Mama June in honor of Joy Lynn’s arrival.  They are so pretty and I wish I could keep fresh flowers like this in my kitchen all the time. 

Thank you so much for the flowers!
We Love You!!

Well I better run…  We have Joy Lynn’s weight check this morning.  I am praying that she will be back up to her birth weight so that we do not have to keep going back to the doctor’s office for re-checks. 

The Name…

Josh and I had a hard time picking out names this time.  We really wanted the name to be significant and have meaning but let’s face it by the 4th time it gets kind of hard to pick out that boy and girl name.  This time around it seemed to take us forever to decide on that “perfect name”.  Well I should probably say that it took me a lot longer than Josh to settle on the name.  (This is pretty typical of how different we are in our decision making skills.)  But now we love the name and it is just right for our sweet little girl. 

We have both liked the name Joy for a while now and after such a rough start to this pregnancy and still feeling the loss of our last baby this name seemed so fitting for the new blessing that God had given to us. 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.
James 1:2

We have made it through the valley and truly do feel that pure joy and peace that can only come from God.  We are continuing to claim this verse as we transition to life with 4 kids. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,
so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

Lynn is after my mom – Linda.  We have always used family names for the middle names (both family names for Emma Lee) and so it just seemed right for Nana to get her turn at a little namesake. 

Here are a few more sweet photos of Joy Lynn.  These were taken on Thursday during her 1st full day at home.