my favorite part of yesterday

my favorite part of yesterday occurred at 6am.

after an early morning awakening at 4am by our little one and our attempts to help her fall back asleep I finally caved and brought her into our bed at 6. She nestled down next to me and snuggled up beside me. She sighed and immediately began snoring. She stretched her arms out above her head and in her sleep searched for my hand.

it was such a beautiful moment. I was struggling to keep my eyes open but I really wanted to remember everything. The look on her face, the soft pajamas and the paci moving up and down with each suck. Her tiny fingers curled around my hand and the way her wispy hair fell across her face.

oh my goodness I am so thankful for that moment. it has been etched in my heart forever. being molly's mama was what i was made to do.

almost one ....

happy 11 months today molly macrae!

we love you with all our hearts and can't believe that we get to be your mama and daddy

xoxox

* last night i snapped this while she was in the tub (why it says 10months)

a present

lately i have had birthday party on the brain. not mine but miss molly's birthday party. should we do only family? what about families with children? smash cake or cupcake? color scheme? what about molly's nap schedule? etc.

the other day driving home from work i thought about gifts for her and trying to zero in on "needs" not "wants."  as a parent i want to give molly the world. i really really do. i want to lavish her with baby dolls and toys that spark her interest and imagination. i love seeing her eyes light up at a new "thing" even if that thing is a paper towel roll or baby doll hairbrush.

looking on Pintrest the other day i spotted THIS and i really wish that i could purchase it for her birthday. i know she is too young to appreciate it but it would be really awesome to have.

do your remember them?

i want to...

i want to do so much more than I am doing now.

I want to know the Lord so much more than I do now.

I want to be so much more than I am now.

I want molly to know that she was chosen before time began and has always been loved.

I want her to thing of her future as shiny and bright and full of opportunites.

I want her to travel the world, to make good lasting friendships and to believe in Jesus.

I hope that I can model those things for her. I hope that the Lord will help me die to myself because otherwise, she won't learn a whole lot from me.

Because this morning I had to ask God to help me not value fortune, or things, or popularity. I had to tell Him its hard not to want those things.

Its awesome living on this earth. Last night I might not have said that. This morning on my way into work I might not have thought that. But right now, right here I believe that. Because living on this earth is so easy. It's so easy to  buy into temptation and its so easy to not ask Jesus for help. Its so easy to be in the drivers seat and to forget to pray. But I believe that is the beauty of it. Because if it was all easy then it wouldn't be different. It wouldn't be a challenge. You wouldn't see growth. I wouldn't see the fruit of the hard work, the discipline and the change.

God is good all the time. All the time God is good. the end.

they change your life. forever.

God is so amazing that he has given me the honor of having molly as my daughter. Its hard to imagine that HE loves her more than me because my love for her is deeper than any ocean. I pray and hope with all my heart that she will know the Lord personally and that she will be filled with His compassion for others in need.

i had no idea how much this girl would change my life. no idea.

weekend photos....

 My beautiful baby girl

 Molly jealous of my hat

 Molly and her silly face

Molly exploring 

Monday

Where did my house go?

It has been over taken by boxes of diapers, high chairs, contraptions to keep baby entertained when you are not holding her/she is crawling, johnny jumpers for the doorways and lots and lots of puffs.

I was a little worried during my pregnancy that I would not be able to handle the mess that comes with a little person. Thankfully, I have been surprised at how easy it is! I don't mind picking up her bunny stuffed animal or little plastic cups she likes to drink out of or half chewed puffs or pieces of papers she rips up. Its a JOY. Now why can't that transfer to picking up after yourself or your husband?

Baby got back

whoa.

where did THAT come from?

hahahaha

no special effects i promise.

molly mae, you are awesome

even when your not doing anything you put a smile on my face.

you are my dream come true sweet girl.

Seperation Anxiety

Is taking over my life. Seriously.


I might as well put up a tent in Molly's room because I figure that is the only way I can get a good solid nights sleep.

Dear Sunday

So far you have been so good to me! Thank you for your beautiful weather this morning so Molly and I could enjoy walking around the neighborhood and enjoy God's beautiful creation! Dear Molly, you are the cutest baby I have ever met. I love your giggles and how excited you get when you discover new things. Dear baby crib, I suspect some chewing in your future. Molly discovered how to pull up on you and here gums were very happy. Dear Husband, thank you for cleaning the shower yesterday! It was sparkly clean! Dear bathroom steam, I got out of the shower and thought I saw writing on the mirror. My mind for a minute totally believed that there was a ghost in the house like in the movie What Lies Beneath. Dear sleeping baby, I loved you before I ever saw you and I will love you forever and ever.

My little reader

My little reader....

Playing with Saturday's purchases:

A sealed bag of dog raw hides

A Bible story book

Butternut Squash baby food

Da Da

My heart loves this photo

I know Molly is going to love it to when she is my age and she looks back at photo albums.

I can just hear her now " look at dad! he was so handsome when he was young! I was such a cute baby too. That cell phone is huge! Now cell phones are just little buttons we pin on our clothes."

love to dada and molls

xo

mama

Dear Sunday

Dear Sunday,

I am gonna be honest. I am not always a fan of you because you signal the weekends' almost over. Dear baby girl, thank you for being a rock star. I love that you slept for an hour and a half this morning I got a lot done. Dear yellow munchkin inflatable duck, you provide so much fun for molly I can't believe it. Dear mama, thank you for being my mama. Dear husband, you are so sweet. I love that you told me I was prettier than the sunrise today.

Love,
me

small things

Its the small things. Molly smiling at me with her gums. Molly scooting to me when Allen lays her down on our bed. Molly waving her arms in excitement at the sight of a slice of watermelon. Molly reaching out to pet Eli's scruffy face when he comes near.

Its love. Pure love. Head over heels love. Its love that is given freely and expects nothing in return. This summer has been such a GIFT to me and I am really sad to see it go. Two more weeks of fun with my darling daughter and I intend to soak up every moment and every memory.

Growing up so fast...

The early days/weeks where we were still learning what it ment to breastfeed

Trying oatmeal out for the first time...how time flies!

Let's decorate Molly

To celebrate Easter

And...to celebrate Spring!

Beach Trip Part I

If I had to describe our first family vacation in three words I think I would use: unorganized, amazing, successful!

We left in the later afternoon on Tuesday and arrived around midnight. We stopped and had a nice country dinner at Cracker Barrel and also stopped to have Allen's tires checked. Those two stops really held us up and made our 5 hour trip much much longer. Molly did great! She took a bottle at dinner and then again when we made it to St. Simon's. Mom and Dad were happily awaiting us and it was so wonderful to see smiling faces after a long drive.

The next few days included Allen sleeping in, Mom making breakfast, everyone playing with Molly in the morning and enjoying many cups of coffee. We met family members for lunch at some of our favorite places and talked with friends over coffee. We went down to the village and walked Molly around the pier in the afternoon and hung out at home.

I think the main reason that I chose the word "unorganized" to describe our vacation was because Allen and I had very different expectations of what this time would look like. Next time we make a big trip we will definitely try to talk about that before hand so everyone feels like they got to do what they wanted and no one feels as if time was wasted.

Thursday night Allen went on our first "real" date since having Molly, meaning Molly was not with us. It felt kinda like we were back in high school though because my mom dropped us off and picked us back up. We enjoyed a fun dinner at a local sushi spot and then walked over to Allen's favorite coffee shop. We were able to make it back home in time for Molly's bathtime routine. It was a great night with my husband and my daughter!