Joy Lynn { six weeks }

She is 6 six weeks old now. 
Zoom.  It is going so very fast.

I feel like I am constantly in motion these days – always taking care of something or somebody; loving to hear Emma Lee say “Baby Joy whine, Mama”; tons of snuggling and adoring; finding time to do a little bit of housework around here in between the feedings and naps; watching my love grow for this precious baby girl as she literally grows right in front of my eyes; carting kids to and from doctor’s checkups (both theirs and mine); going grocery shopping or out for errands with just the right timing so that I can get back for another feeding; feeling so very blessed to have a very loving, involved husband (and a new baby that is fairly easy and mellow overall).  All of these are the current reality of my every day right now and the joys of having a newborn in our house again.

These are just a few things that Joy Lynn has been up to these past 2 weeks…

  

 

But most of the time, I just hang out and look cute…

 

Joy Lynn,

• Your cheeks grow in awesomeness every day.
• You also seem to just be “growing” in general.  You are so long and chubby (at least for my babies).  I love those rolls on your legs.  You are still in size 1 diapers and have recently moved up to 0-3 month clothes. 
• You survived your 1st trip to Gordo.  Just like your 2 big brothers and big sister, you were a completely different baby on this 1st trip.  I was so thankful to get back home and have my sweet, mellow baby girl back again. 
• Speaking of those sweet cheeks, you have been dealing with a bad case of infant acne.  My theory is that being out in the heat and that initial car ride to Gordo did it.  Despite the sun shades in the van, you were in the sun quite a bit on the trip.
• You are smiling more and more these days and did I hear a sweet coo?
• I believe those beautiful blue eyes are turning colors.  I think I see a hint of that Elmore Brown along the outer edges. 
• We are definitely getting into a schedule these days.  You slept 6 hours for the 1st time and you seem to prefer waking up at 3:47 am for your early morning breakfast. 
• Since you have turned 6 weeks olds, we are getting out more and more these days.  You made your debut at church and Mommy has enjoyed getting out of the house once again.

Tackle It Wednesday – Plan B

Well I had other plans for this afternoon but I had a sweet little request from Nate this morning to work on our “Mickey Mouse Scrapbook”, so how could I resist? 

So here we sit this afternoon working on our Disney World album…

We are sorting our photos, telling stories from our trip, and uploading them to order for our album.  It is a project that I have not gotten around too yet so I guess it will work for this week’s “Tackle It Wednesday” project. 

What project have you been putting off?

Lip ‘n Guide

Well Summer is officially here and according to Nathan James, we had a lot of fun on our “Lip ‘n Guide” this past weekend.  He also likes to wear his “Lip Gops” too. 

I am pretty sure that they all had a blast but I will let you take a look at the photos and decide for yourself…

First up is Caleb Davis…

  

Next up is Mr. Smiley Face Nate…

And we could not leave out little Miss Firecracker Lee…

 

As you can tell, she loved it and went back for lots more…

Although she finally decided that it really is more fun when you can ride on top of Big Brothers…

 

 

Of course, Joy Lynn just enjoyed staring up at her Mommy the entire time…

And for the grandparents, here is a tad bit of all the action…

Menu Monday

Whew!  This week has already started off with a bang and I know that it is only going to get busier (and better).  We have dentist appointments, 5 year old birthday check ups, taking dinner to some sweet friends, summer concert in the courtyard, a trip to EarlyWorks, and ending the week with a fun pool party. 

I am also wrapping up organizing our school supplies for this fall.  I am not sure why I thought that I just had to start that little project on Saturday but I did and it feels really good to have it done.  I still cannot believe that Caleb Davis is going to be starting kindergarten and Nathan James will be in preschool this next year.  Oh and I just looked it up and it looks like we are 30 days away from our 1st day of school. 

Now on to the cooking this week…

• Monday – Sausage Jambalaya + Corn on Cob + Steamed Broccoli
• Tuesday – Chicken Spaghetti + Green Beans + Rolls
• Wednesday – Toasted Ham and Cheese Sandwiches + Chips + Salad and Fruit
• Thursday – Pizza + Salad
• Friday – Chili Cheese Dogs + Fries + Fruit
• Saturday – Leftovers or Grill Out.  We have not decided yet.
• Sunday – Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo + Salad
  Never tried these before but I was looking for something quick after church. 

And here’s a peek at our day yesterday…

Father’s Day Celebration

And Joy Lynn made her debut at church…

 

Mommy was pretty excited to be going back to church too…

 

Hope your week is off to a great start,

Look at what I made…

 

Aren’t the girls going to look so cute for Independence Day? 

Ok, so technically my Mom did most of the actual sewing (due to the fact that Joy Lynn would not let me put her down while we were in Gordo) but I did learn a lot and I have to say that my 1st sewing lesson went really well.  I enjoyed watching my mom and trying to think through the process with her was a huge help.  I am definitely not going to turn into Martha Pullen anytime soon.  I love you Ms. Martha but I would rather talk about baking pies again at our next Independence Day gathering because I am still way out of my league when it comes to all this fabric and bobbin stuff.

I will give myself some credit though because I was able to understand just “how” to put these 2 little skirts/dresses together.  The hardest part for me was understanding just how much fabric to buy, how to cut the fabric, and threading the machine.  I swear those beginning stages require a Master’s Degree and I am no where near ready to do that part on my own yet.  All in all, I would say that my 1st sewing lesson was a success but my fabulous instructor says that I still need to come back for a few more lessons – perhaps even sewing boot camp.  Oh my! 

  

Since we were in the sewing mood this weekend, we decided to keep going and whip up a few more for the girls…

I guess sewing is just like anything else and will just take some practice because this 2nd set was so much easier to put together and even though we did not make them “exactly” like the 1st ones, they went a lot faster. I guess now all I need is to get a machine of my own, some more cute fabric, and then start whipping up more polka dot cuteness. 

Thanks Mama for spending your Saturday afternoon showing me the basics of sewing.  I just know that Emma Lee and Joy Lynn are going to look so cute in their matching outfits this summer.  I know you would have much rather been snuggling with Joy Lynn or splashing in the pool with this bathing beauty…