Sweet Summertime

Summer has officially arrived in North Jersey!

The high today was 91 degrees! After rainy days of barely hitting 60 late last week, it was quite the change! We are headed to Florida for our first vacation as a family of three next week and thought we'd have to save Londyn Grace's rompers and bubbles for our days in the sunshine state, but we broke one out today!

I can barely handle the cuteness! I am so excited about this summer! I love not having to cover up her sweet chubby legs with tights and leggings!

This morning after Goosey woke up from an hour and forty five minute nap {in her crib!!}, we headed outside to snap a few pictures of her in her summer attire!

We've spent most of the week getting caught up on laundry since we were home in Maryland for a few days last week and then had a super busy weekend at church. It had been a few day since we had the time to do a photo session. I love my iPhone for daily picture taking, but I don't want all of Londyn's baby pictures to be iPhone pictures especially when I have my Canon. 

She was determined to get that stick!

Then she was distracted by the neighbor's dog barking!

I think my days of getting her to sit still for pictures are numbered as she is starting to rock on her knees and lunge forward! AHH! This mama is not ready for a crawler! 

Londyn Grace's smile lights up the room, but I also love her serious look!

 I think she gets prettier every day! I simply cannot get enough of this little lady!

She was tired of all the picture taking just in time for Daddy to come home for lunch! We love that he gets to come home to see us! {It's hard to believe that our first date was four years ago, today! We also got engaged on May 30th, two years ago! That seems like a lifetime ago!}

After lunch, we went shopping for a few new outfits for Mama! I don't shop for myself much anymore because I love buying LG clothes, but I wanted a few summery things for our trip!

We are looking forward to next week and enjoying sweet summertime together!!

Join us for Mommy & Baby blog hop, week 4! Link up with us below to share your mommy, baby or pregnancy related blog post and to explore new blogs.

 

 

Last weeks most viewed post...

 

 

Alyssa from,At Home with Avery

Check out her first Mother's Day Post, sharing her special day with her beautiful daughter, Avery.

The Rules

1. Follow the two hosts

2. Follow our weekly guest host

3. Link up your blog post!

Follow the Hosts

Follow along with Angela at Harper, Home and Happiness

 

Follow along with Katie at My Blossoming Bud

Follow our weekly guest host(s)

This week we have two!

 

Welcome Hollie, from Timing is Everything

Stop by her blog and say hello!

 She's got a great baby blog! Documenting her experience as a new mom to baby girl, Aubrie. and LOTS of baby DIY projects :)

 

Our other guest host...

 

Sara from, Newlyweds in New Jersey

Sarah also had the most viewed post in last weeks blog hop! If you didn't check her blog out last week, do it :) She's a first time mom to sweet baby girl, Londyn.

 

 

 Linking up is a great way to meet other bloggers, gain new followers, share ideas, stories and life experiences.

If you want to guest host one week, contact Angela at

angelamelsey{at}gmail{dot}com 

We'd love to feature your blog!

 

Lets Link Up!

Just click on the "add link" button below



 

   

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm linking up with Jamie from Little Daisy May for my first ever What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I am loving decorating for the season! After a long, cold winter it has been nice to spruce things up a bit on the front porch! I made a new wreath combining three of my favorite things, hydrangeas, chalkboards, and burlap!   

                           I'm loving my new chalkboard verse!

{excuse the iphone picture!}

I'm loving the pretty necklace Daniel and Londyn Grace got me for Mother's Day!

I'm loving Simply Lemonade with blueberry! I am a water drinker. It's usually the only thing I drink, but this stuff is super yummy!

And of course, I'm loving this sweet thing styling in her leopard print skirt and headband!

What are you loving today?

Mother's Day 2013

It is still so surreal that I am Mama to this sweet baby girl! I look at her and see the goodness of our God and the reality of my life verse, Ephesians 3:20! He is truly able to do exceeding abundantly above all I could ever ask or think!

Although we did not go through the painful struggle of infertility as many do, I spent many of my single years longing to be a wife and mama. For as long as I can remember I've wanted to be a mom.

I LOVED teaching. The 8 years I spent in the classroom are so precious to me! Teaching struggling readers and children with ADHD, Aspergers, and other challenges was amazing. I was blessed to teach at a wonderful school with co workers (and a supervisor) that were some of my best friends, a principal who was behind his teachers 100% and students who became "mine" (If you teach, you probably understand why I refer to them as mine!) I absolutely loved what I did, but would often daydream of staying at home with my own babies!

I know that most of my desire to be a mama came from watching my own Mama! She always stayed home with us growing up and though she had a successful home business we were her first priority. She packed hundreds of lunches (and brought them to school when they were forgotten on the kitchen counter ;) ) She stayed up late helping with projects and walked around the mall for hours while I searched for the perfect outfit. She was an amazing decorator way before Pinterest or even HGTV became popular. She painted clouds on my baby blue bedroom walls without a blog tutorial to follow and when I tired of them she handpainted a pink and white striped accent wall to match my shabby chic theme! She made our house a home, but even more than that she taught us about Jesus by serving her family so faithfully! She was our church pianist, made the bulletin and taught Sunday School, but made sure we saw Jesus lived out everyday of the week not just on Sunday! She not only taught my sister and me how to sing harmony, but the importance of praising Him with our lives not just with our song!

I don't ever want to take the gift of motherhood and the privilege it is to stay home for granted. My sweet hubby works so hard so that I can be here with Londyn Grace! It is truly my dream job. It has been more challenging, yet more rewarding than I ever imagined! There have been so many days when I've wondered if I'm doing it right. Times when the dishes were piled in the sink, the laundry baskets were overflowing, my itty bitty baby was nursing constantly and I would sit overwhelmed by how much work being a mom is. There is no time clock, no punching in or punching out, but it is an amazing calling that requires all of me at all times. A calling I can only fulfill with the help of the Lord! I'm still very new and inexperienced and have SO much to learn, but I'm so grateful for answered prayers and the blessing of serving Jesus by serving my family! (I know many of you work outside the home, too, so you are pulling double duty! You are AMAZING and I don't know how you find the energy to do it all!)

For my first Mother's Day, Londyn Grace picked out a gorgeous necklace from Zales and the sweetest card! I think she may have had a little help from her Daddy! After church, Daniel took a picture of me and my Lovey Lou! It will be neat to see how much she grows from one Mother's Day to the next. We had dinner at the EuroGrill, a yummy restaurant in town. I ordered barbeque ribs! When we got home, Daddy rocked LG to sleep and skipped his afternoon nap so I could take one! It was wonderful! {Thanks, Babe!}

my heart. my love. my daughter. my londyn grace.

Since Daniel is a pastor, we have a lot of responsibilities at church on Sundays which make traveling for Sunday holidays nearly impossible. It was hard not being with my Mama, but FaceTime is such an awesome invention! We were able to "visit" for a few minutes! I mailed her new Vera Bradley purse and several prints from Londyn Grace's six month shoot earlier in the week so she got her present in time!

We ended the day with our evening service and then Daniel's family arrived for a visit! We were able to give his mom her gift in person and spend time with her on Monday!

It was so special to celebrate my first Mother's Day as a mama to my Little Goose! I am so glad I get to keep her!

Seven Months...

entertaining her audience
 (mimi, pop pop, auntie m, and lyssa!)

Lovey Lou, you are seven months old! This means you are closer to being one than you are to being a newborn! Ahhh! I'll try not to think about that!

At seven months old, Londyn Grace is weighing in at 14 pounds 8 ounces and measuring around 27 inches long! She is still a peanut, but her little thighs are getting chunky and her feet now touch the bottom of her exersaucer! She used to be able to curl up next to Mama while nursing and her feet would press into my belly now she  has to bend her  legs because she is so long! She has officially outgrown most of her 3-6 month clothes. She wears mostly 6 month dresses and 6 month pjs! She's even moved up to 6 month skirts!  I spent some time this month packing away things that don't fit her anymore and found it to be quite hard! Why do babies grow so fast?!

The past months was full of firsts for Sweet Pea! She had her first taste of solids on April 4th! Daddy made her sweet potato purée and she loved it! We've only tried a few things since we want to make sure she's still getting her main nutrients from Mama's milk, but she also likes carrots and apples! She was NOT a fan of avocado! She is doing a lot of snack nursing but is still eating every three hours most days.

She went to the playground for the first time and really liked the swings! (I blogged about it here!)

She rolled from her back to her belly for the first time (but hasn't done it since!) I was changing her diaper, and she wanted the wipes container so she rolled over to get it!

She had her first fall that resulted in a bloody nose and a terrified mama! I was sitting on the floor, she was sitting on my lap when she fell forward into a pile of wooden puzzles. She cried hard but only for a few minutes! I think it hurt me more than it hurt her.

She saw her first play at Sight & Sound Theatre. She sat so well watching the actors and live animals in Noah! She also visited Carlo's Bakery (from TLCs Cake Boss) for the first time! She didn't have a cupcake but we assured her that ours tasted pretty yummy! :)

gorgeous girl

On our walk last night, Londyn Grace waved for the first time! It is so precious!

She is also saying "Ma. Ma. Ma." over and over again! I know she doesn't know what it means, but I sure do love the sound! She's working on "Dada" too!

We have really established a napping schedule that works well for us and if she stays on it, she is such a smily happy girl! She takes three naps a day,  mid morning, afternoon and another in the early evening! We are also able to put her down for naps (after rocking) and she is staying asleep! (this is a pretty big deal since she was needing to be held to stay asleep for any length of time!)

For the last two nights, sweet Londyn girl hasn't wanted to nurse to sleep. Instead she prefers Mama to stand with her, bouncing and singing. She "sings" along with her eyes closed until all of her extra energy is gone and she drifts off. I lay her in her crib and she sleeps in her room for the first half of the night. (From 10:00 until she stirs usually around 1 or 2) Then she nurses and stays with Mama and Daddy for the rest of the night. She is still a fan of sleeping until around 9 each morning which is fine with me! On Sundays, I usually have to wake her in order to be ready for church on time!

Since the weather has warmed up, we've been taking walks! It has been so nice to get out in the sunshine! She loves sitting in the grass!

She loves looking at books and is still putting everything into her mouth. She likes to chew on empty water bottles and anything she can get ahold of! We are working hard trying to teach her not to touch glasses, remotes, cell phones, etc!

She has also started chewing/sucking her thumb!

We've had lots of drool, but still no sign of a tooth!

our world

She has been sitting like a champ since the beginning of the month and can now get from a seated position to her belly on her own! Once she gets there though she gets frustrated because she is definitely not mobile yet! I'm okay with that! I'm not ready for a crawler!

She is still very very attached to me, but does okay with others as long as I'm not in her line of sight!

She's also making a new "Ah ah" sound when she wants someone or something! She is reaching out for what she wants!

It seems like she is learning something new everyday and I'm so blessed to be able to be home with her! My lifelong dream of being a stay at home mom is reality and more wonderful than I ever imagined it would be! Londyn Grace loves seeing Daddy when he comes home for lunch! Her face lights up when he walks in!

She is our world and we are so glad we get to keep her!! The last seven months have been the best of our lives and we can't wait for the month to come!

Packing for PERU

No, not me! But my friend Katherine along with her hubby and sweet little boy have spent the last year and a half raising support for their first term as missionaries to the country of Peru!

The Lord has blessed them with many supporting churches and they have purchased their one way tickets planning to leave the US on June 10th! As they have done throughout the deputation process, they are trusting God with the final expenses moving entails!

A friend of theirs has offered to do a Thirty One fundraiser to help with moving expenses which include shipping a container full of their belongings to Peru. If you're not familiar with Thirty One it is a Christian company that sells cute totes, lots of fun organizational bins and a ton of other adorable things most of which can be monogrammed! The special for May is for every $31 you spend, you can get ANY of their thermals, including the brand new ones that came out today for HALF OFF. You can also have your purchases delivered directly to your door for an extra $4 shipping! 

So click here to shop (then click my parties on the left side of the screen and select Compton fundraiser) and bless a family headed to serve Jesus in Lima, Peru! You can also like Impact Peru's Facebook page and find the information there regarding the fundraiser! 

Thank you in advance for your help in getting the Gospel to the people of Peru!

"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" Romans 10:14