party hearty!

last week my mom swung in to pick up her girls and get us to abilene asap to celebrate our christopher's big 23rd birhtday.

we were all so glad it worked out that she could come get us that way andy and i wouldn't have two cars when he came and joined us on friday.

we did make on quick detour at our fabric wonderland on the way out of town. . . 

my seamstress is working on some patio stuff for us, i am so excited about our outdoor living room.

can't wait to show y'all our sweet little patio all dolled up for summer cookouts.

aren't those the best. . . summer nights outside and it can only get better with these adorable threads!

no rush mom.

:)

my brother's only request for his birthday was to see his niece.

we were thrilled to oblige him.

we celebrated him at lunch and dinner and loved every second spent with the birthday boy.

he loves it when i take pictures of him. . . proof seen below.

my poor dad only gets home cooked meals when andy and i are in town or when it's christopher's birthday (half-way joking) so both hall boys were super pumped about a little chicken fry birthday dinner with all the fixins'.

it's a shame my mom doesn't cook more often because when she does she always hits it out of the park.

never fails.

june was the entertainment for the party, such a doll baby.

she's so sweet and great!

i would take her for my birthday treat any day of the week!

then at the end of the week we got to celebrate tootie's 28th :) birhtday!
you can imagine that her birhtday wishes went a whole lot like her son's. . . just to have june there with her on her big day was all she really wanted.
your wish is our command.
we had a great dinner and loved celebrating our mom with a few little treasures!
here's to another year full of blessings, memories, love and joy for both of you april jewels.
love y'all so much and absolutely loved spending your days with you both.

christopher is headed to vegas with some buddies in a couple of weeks (scary!)

so andy was showing him how the big dogs roll at the poker tables with my mom's new shades from papa.

dreading the week that my baby brother is in vegas. . . just joking, they are going to have a blast!

we ended the festivities with some egg fun because the bunny was soon to hop over to our house the next morning!

it was such a perfect way to end our celebration, june lasted about one egg and was ready to hit the sack but one egg was enough to officially introduce her to our families easter traditions!

maybe next year she will be up for two. . .

7 month angel!

june darling, your mama is late 

getting this post up for you have been seven months old for a few days now.

the pictures were taken exactly on time but the words are late.

we live by the motto 'better late than never' right angel girl?

i can't believe you are seven months old.

yeah, yeah, yeah.

i know you get so sick of everyone saying they just can't believe you are getting

 so big

 so fast 

but it's true!

you are so perfect in every which way and you truly are getting more and more fun by the minute.

your personality has really come alive this past month.

you are dripping sweet, it's too much to handle sometimes.

you smile at us no matter what crazy thing we might be doing and we have lots of tricks up our sleeves to make you grin from ear to ear.

you do not go back to the doctor for a well visit until you are nine months old so 

we have no true idea of how much you weigh.

i am guessing you are still pretty close to your six month weigh- in of 17 pounds.

you're a solid little monkey girl with the healthiest thunder thighs known to mankind.

they are my favorite thing about you, 

that and your little baby breath. :)

i love to smell your little breath, i realize that is so weird but i love it!

daddy looks at me with the weirdest eyes when i do that, but he secretly loves it too.

you are a sleeping champion.

we are finally getting some solid sleep at night!

a long time ago you started sleeping through the night and 

then you decided to stop 

and then you would tease us and do it some nights but not every. . . 

inconsistency was your middle name.

but not anymore baby doll.

we are shooting to have you in bed no later than eight 

and you don't let us see you again until 6:45 or seven.

it is fabulous for everyone under our roof.

you are a good little napping girl too, i think you are about to cut out all of your little baby catnaps and transition to two good long naps a day.

mama has realized that life is so much better 

when she isn't such a freak out about your naps and silly schedules.

i know that works for a whole lot of people but our life is just kinda different from day to day.

so we are pretty much just sleeping when you want to, no real rhyme or reason, and

what a jolly little soul you are. 

you have no complaints about your life, that's for sure!

you are still nursing throughout the day and have a lunch and dinner consisting of either peas, pears and broccoli or peaches and bananas.

you also love pumpkin, apples, blueberries and sweet potatoes. . . i was nervous about that one but you gobbled it right up and begged for more.

i'm thrilled that you like to eat!

you had your first 'real' taste of grown up food two days after you turned seven months old.

tootie let you suck on an orange and you would have thought we had given you skittles or something equally delicious, you went crazy and wanted more, more, more.

you also had a tiny taste of bannana pudding at tootie's birthday dinner and on easter sunday.

of course. . . you were beside yourself.

you are this close to crawling.

that is unreal to me.

to imagine you scootin' a boot around our house makes me just about lose my mind

but i also cannot wait to chase you around.

 so come on little bug move those legs!

speaking of legs. . . you could be mistaken for a little froggy girl.

you love to kick your legs, when we hold you, when you are laying down. . . just all the time you are kicking just like a frog.

it's so cute.

another thing that is irristibly cute is your little voice, you have started saying ba-ba like a little lamb and a few other combinations.

we are still waiting on dada and mama but we know you have it in you.

i am your bff, you love me so very much and do not like to be left out of anything i'm doing.

if i leave you on the floor to play you have a big ole time as long as you can keep your eye on me and never let me out of your sight.

another thing that daddy and i love about you. . . you are our own little curious george.

i mean, my word june, you are a determined little nosey newt when your curiosity has been peeked.

you will squirm nearly out of our arms until we turn you in the direction of whatever it is you want to see or touch.

it's so funny and so great that you are trying to be so smart!

you are a truly delightful little darling girl.

i praise the Lord for how incredible He was to give us you.

we are thankful for your life, your health and all the joy and love that we have experienced since you came into our lives seven months ago.

what would we do without you?

sweating the small stuff.

wassup world.

i feel like that's what she's saying in this picture.

just waiting for her food, chilled out, maxin' and relaxin'.

quite the little life, little girl.

we love love love you.

i feel like we have been going non-stop.

as i'm typing this i feel absolutely exhausted, probably because june didn't take a nap this afternoon. . . she really wanted to but was also so exhausted that she never could quite give it up.

i really stress out when june doesn't take a nap and not because i need time to myself.

i like really stress out.

it's pyscho and i know i shouldn't let it get to me but it is what it is and i continue to stress over it.

i want her to be so rested and happy and it's amazing that she is so incredibly happy 99.99% of the time even on days she manags to get in only one nap.

i hate those days, i feel guilty and responsible for her sleep and well being.
 she on the other hand could care less if she only gets one nap.

my mom and andy both tell me it's' not a big deal.

she'll get naps when she can, she's happy and healthy and 'relax jessica'.

most days our schedule really does allow for her to take three or four naps a day and i really do think that the more she sleeps during the day the better she sleeps at night.

i don't know.

i've got to give it up.

look at this angel girl. . . who cares if she sleeps right?
she's so stinkin' cute and sweet that i honestly do miss her when she is asleep so why am i stressing out!

here's what i've got to decide.

sometimes i feel like we are doing too much.

too much go.

not enough stay.

do you know what i mean?

june loves her naps.

she loves to sleep just like her mommy and daddy.
she does wonderfully at night, puts herself to sleep for naps during the day3 times out of 5 and

 when given the oppurtunity to be on a schedule and get regular naps around the clock she does awesome.

even on days that are 'off-schedule' she does awesome.

i want my life to be very scheduled.

i like routine, i thrive on lists and being organized.

i'm realizng that alot of our life is very unscheduled. . . by choice. . .which is so contradictory to my type a pyscho mama self.

we are traveling, we have places to be and people to see during the day, we have visitors, we have errands, we have just life to live and it's these days that are the most fun of all.
these days where the memories are made and i wouldn't trade them for anything.

i don't want to be a hermit.

i don't want june to be a hermit.

i really do want to be on the go and i just want june to get like six naps a day, just kidding. . .
at least two naps a day.

i'm living the dream at home with my little angel baby,
so i'm sure you want to slap me for even whining about naps.

get a grip jessica.

naps, shwnaps.

i really want to be that mom that's like so laid back,
not a germaphobe and who like doesn't freak out at all at every single head bump
 or dropped paci on the nasty, disgusting floor.

right now i'm that crazy mom that would totally feel ok putting june in a bubble and never letting her out.

 i can just see things getting a whole lot worse as she gets older.

i'm trying to learn how to be a little more 'go with the flow' and a little less sweat the small stuff kind of girl.

because i do sweat the small stuff
and i want to stop.

so here i am.

laid out for all the world to see.
huge confession hour.

i'm a big freak mom that only feeds her child organic baby food
 and like sprints to the sink every single time a paci hits the floor. . .
even in our own home.

proof of my well balanced baby,
laying in her crib,
having the time of her life
 just seconds away from putting herself to sleep
without an ounce of help from me.

why again am i such a freak out?!?

motherhood is the greatest thing on planet earth.

it's also the strangest out of body experience ever.

i know that ultimately none of my stress or worry warts or rinsed off pacis matter one tiny bit.

thankfully, the Lord holds this baby safer in His hands than i ever could so all of my anxiety is a big, fat waste of time and honestly, that really is the sweetest relief for any mama out there.

i pray that every second of her every day is covered with the Lord's mighty hands of protection and love and i rest easier at night knowing that He does cover her.

thank you Lord!

i've learned that being a mommy means you literally ache, like your whole body hurts because you love these little people so much.

it's wonderful, so very wonderful.

naps or no naps.

schedules or no schedules.

my love overflows,

over and over again

whether we are booked solid busy or just hanging out around the house.

both are good,

both are necesary

 and if you're still reading know that this was very theraputic for me so thanks for hanigng in there.

maybe tomorow i'll wake up a a totally relaxed,

chilled out,

non-sweaty mom.

we can only hope!

:)

spring time love.

these are all pretty much just a showcase of our sweetest love.

you truly are the light of our lives little girl.

junie bear.

darling girl.

my little love.

june cub.

precious girl.

little angel.

sweetest love.

little pumpkin.

stinker girl.

precious love.

junebug.

baby june.

my darling.

we love calling you all of these names.

you are so dear to us!