Happy 2 months, Mollypop!

Happy 2 Months, Mollypop!
Molly turned 2 months yesterday!  Poor girl had to get three shots and had to drink something (which she loved!).  She slept most of the day yesterday and today.  But she did give me plenty of smiles for the camera.  Here are a few of my favorites.  :)

Cutest little tongue!! 

Looks like she's pretending to be driving!

Falling over Dancing!

Rockstar!

Molly weighed in at 9lbs 15oz at her two month check-up, putting her in the 14th percentile.  Funny how the doctors predicted her to be this giant baby when she was born and now she is growing a little slower than average.  She is growing height-wise...over three inches!  She is now 22.5 inches long!  She is still fitting into newborn clothes and diapers.  But we are wearing 0-3 months for the most part.

She smiles and giggles a lot!  She has been initiating a lot of the smiles these days, which makes my heart melt!  My heart becomes overjoyed when I walk up to her crib and she is smiling up at me.  Most of the time her smile is crooked with one eye winking - sooo presh!!!

She is able to hold her head up for longer periods of time and enjoys "sitting up".  Molly and I spend several minutes just talking to each other - coos and ahhs of course.  But, I can tell she is going to be a little chatter box!

Molly is sleeping through the night with no problems!  We've been fortunate from the start.  She sleeps 7-8 hours, sometimes up to 10.  Then she takes a three hour nap.  This girl loves sleep (like her mama!).

She spends a good hour or so just happily taking in her surroundings.  She loves her mobile and her swing.  And she still LOVES cuddles!!

On the other hand...

Josh and I ...
 - take two-three days to finish a movie
 - walk around with the burp cloth still on our shoulder
 - leave the house with spit up still on our clothes
 - have been eating in a lot more often
 - have not lost much sleep (knock on wood)
 - talk A LOT about baby poop, feedings, and naps
 - take a lot of pictures of Mollypop
 - went to the fair without Molly and couldn't wait to get back to her!  We talked about her the whole time!
 - find pacies all over the house
 - sometimes forgets to let Maddux out (mostly me)


I can't wait to see what this third month brings us! :)

Raising Molly

    When we first found out we were pregnant, I was overcome with the responsibility to raise our child to love the Lord, to serve Him, and to serve others.  I immediately began wondering how I was supposed to do this when I am so imperfect and struggle with sins daily.  I began to doubt if I could take on such a task.  How could I ensure my daughter would accept Him as her Savior?  How do I show her how to live a life pleasing to Him when I, so obviously, struggle with things in my life?

    Molly is a gift from God.  It is so evident that He brought her to us at just the perfect time in His will.  Our responsibility is to teach her Biblical truths and demonstrate a love for God's word and for lost souls.  If we continue to show her Christ's love, He will reveal Himself to her. Our prayer is that Molly will receive Him and revel in His grace and mercy.  That all the things she accomplishes will be to His glory.  That she will dedicate her life to pleasing Him rather than man.  That she will commit to a life of service.  That she will always put Him and others above herself.  That He will fill her heart with so much love and compassion.  That she will have a heart for winning lost souls and encouraging fellow believers.  

    Then it hit me.  The prayers I am praying for Molly should also be prayers for myself.  If I want these things for Molly, I should want and exhibit them in my own life.  Woaw, the level of conviction on my heart right now!  My prayer life is certainly changing...  That I will revel in His grace and mercy.  That all the things I accomplish will be to His glory.  That I will dedicate my life to pleasing Him rather than man.  That I will commit to a life of service.  That I will always put Him and others above myself. That He will fill my heart with so much love and compassion.  That I will have a heart for winning lost souls and encouraging fellow believers.

    Sunday, October 14th was Baby Dedication at church.  We dedicated Molly unto the Lord and made a commitment to raise her in Biblical truths.  It was a very special day as we made the verbal commitment to the Lord.  I also made a commitment to the Lord for myself.  That I will be a Godly mother and wife to my family.  They are my mission field and I vow to love, serve, and encourage them.  That I'm never too prideful to admit my sins and plea for repentance, because through that, Molly will learn about Christ's forgiveness and will learn to forgive others.  It is a heavy responsibility, but one that will reap rewards and leave a legacy that was started by my ancestors.

Starting off the weekend!

We met Josh for lunch today at Fuddruckers.  They have the best hot dogs!  It was a nice treat and super fun getting out of the house.  What a beautiful day to get out and enjoy God's creation!  We have the middle school fall retreat this weekend at the YMCA.  Of course, Molly will be tagging along with me.  I hope she behaves herself.  ;)  I pray that the Lord will work in the hearts of these young teenagers and will reveal Himself in a mighty way.  I pray that the Lord may use me, despite the distractions, to encourage my young girls in their walk with Christ.  Looking forward to a wonderful weekend!

Oh, yes, it's ladies night...

The ladies got together Tuesday night over at my parents house for a ladies' craft night.  We made scarecrows from timber.  I saw the idea on pinterest, except it was snowmen.  We decided we wanted to do scarecrows now and maybe something wintery/Christmasy next time.  Here are some photos of our night.  There are not many as I was busy crafting away and taking care of Molly to get too many pictures.  

He spoils me!

Steaks in the backyard!
Prepared, cooked, and displayed by my man!

First Apple Pie!

I made my first, yes, first apple pie, eva!  I am 28 years old and made my first homemade apple pie.  I am kind of a loser in the kitchen.  So... this was a BIG deal!  I followed an award-winning recipe with awesome reviews!  It totally lived up to the hype!  Here it is with it's lattice crust...holla!

I also made some new pillows for our couch and loveseat.  I used napkins and placemats from World Market.  It was sooo easy and sooo cheap and really brightens up the living room.  

Molly is ready for the game tonight!!!

  
I think this is how she REALLY feels about UGA....  

AppleFest 2012

Let me first start off by saying that my sister, Kerri, and her husband, Jonathan, are the best host(ess) ever!  They always make things extra special with sweet homemade gifts, great food, and even fresh fall-scented soaps in the shower!  They were so accomodating to us this weekend by even purchasing a fold away crib and portable changing station!  It is always such a treat to visit them.


Josh, Molly, and I met up with Melanie, Greg, and their daughter, Avery, Friday morning and headed up to Waynesville, NC to visit my sister and her husband.  We were greeted with gift baskets full of apple goodies, including a handmade AppleFest onesie for the girls with pants and a jacket..  Melanie and I got apple aprons, notepad, pen, and some smell good stuff.  We enjoyed lunch at a hole-in-the-wall place called Clydes.  It was really good.  We did a little shopping at Wal Mart then waited for Jonathan to get off work to head out to Apple Barn.  If you've never been, I highly recommend it!!!  It took us about an hour to hour and a half to get there but it was totally worth it.  So much apple goodness!

Saturday, we woke up and enjoyed breakfast then headed out to J.H. Stepp Apple Orchard.  Of course, our first time apple picking has to be after the Easter Frost which destroyed most of the crop.  But, we still had a great time!  And me, being the nerd that I am, researched all different kinds of apples and what they are good for (i.e. baking, sauce, butter, tart, sweet...).  So, we knew when we got there what kinds of apples we wanted to get a lot of. 

As soon as I said that the Arkansas Black is said to be tart like wine, Josh wanted to give it a try.  Now, Josh and I do not drink alcohol...not anywhere close!  But this intrigued Josh so he just haaaaad to find one to try it out.  I guess that's as close as we'll ever get to drinking wine! bahaha!  It actually wasn't bad tasting.  But we all voted on the Mutsu as our favorite.  It's a little sweeter than the Granny Smith.

Anyway, we've made apple pies and apple crisp.  Planning on making apple butter at some point.  :)

Saturday evening, Andrew and Angie Sutton, along with their two daughters, came up to join us.  We hung out and chatted Saturday night then headed to church Sunday morning.  It is such a sweet ol' country mountain church.  Teeny tiny!  But they were so sweet.  There was no nursery, so all babies and children were kept in service.  My ADD was going crazying trying to listen to the preacher and all the babies crying... and sweet Avery crawling over my lap every few minutes to give "Mowwy" kisses.  :)  It was a sweet time.

We were heading home on Sunday and it hit me how exhausted I was!  I mean, really!  I really should get out more!  But what do you do with an infant?  I mean...we can't just go to the zoo or Monkey Joes...  Perhaps I should just go for walks with her.  We do run errands on occassion.  We do a lot of playing around the house.  I just need to get out more.

An Insight into Molly's Future Dating Life

If Mr. Butterfly is like any of Molly's future beaus, we may be in for a drama-filled dating adventure.

She loves him.  She hates him.  She loves him.  She hates him.  Or maybe... she is playing hard to get.

One minute, she is gazing into his eyes for what seems like forever.  She flashes a huge smile and what sounds like a little flirtacious giggle.  I've even caught her winking at him a few times.  She leads him on by acting interested in all his high-tech gadgets.  She is particularly fond of his mirror and noisy wing.  Mr. Butterfly is feeling good about himself... like he actually has a shot.

Then out of nowhere, Molly gets angry... really angry.  Her smile turns to a grimace.  Her wink transforms into an evil glare.  Her giggle becomes a monstrous scream.  She doesn't stop there.  She clinches her fist and starts pounding Mr. Butterfly.  This continues for several minutes.  Was it something he said?  Was she getting tired of the mirror and noisy wing?  Not even a binky can fix this one!

But Mr. Butterfly holds his composure.  His smile never leaves his face.  He doesn't fly away.  He stays there and takes it.  He takes it because he knows that in a matter of minutes she will fall in love all over again.

And he's right.  She remembers why she loved him in the first place.  Her smile returns, along with her giggle and wink.  She's back to admiring the mirror and noisy wings.  Everything is happily ever after... for now.

Molly has already mastered the dating game.  I'm not sure who she inherited it from.... actually, I do.  But,  I'll let you decide which one of her parents she gets this from.  ;)

Happy News and Sad News

The sad news first...

          My favorite newborn sleeper that Molly looks so cute in is too small!!!  She is getting so big way too fast! 



The happy news...

          Molly slept for NINE hours straight last night!!!  Not a single cry all night!!! That's the longest she's gone.  We put her to bed earlier than usual last night because she seemed extra fussy because she was so tired.  We put her down at 9:30pm.  She went to sleep instantly and slept till 6:30 this morning!  Bravo, Molly!


Josh is working from home today to keep an eye on Molly while I go to the doctor this afternoon for my 6 week check-up.  He was spoiled with eggs, bacon, and toast this morning.  I told him to not get used to this kind of treatment! :)

Missionaries and Mirrors

Andrew and Angie have always been such wonderful friends of mine.  It has been amazing to know them before they even dated to knowing them now as a Godly family with two beautiful daughters serving in Haiti. I love when they come back to the states to visit and hear how the Lord is working though them in Haiti.  Faith has grown so much and I can't believe how well she is walking around.  She knows the Haitian language so well and even taught me a few Creole words!  This was our first time meeting Glory and what a treat it was.  She is so sweet with the most gorgeous eyes.  She was so alert and focused in on everything.  She is so fortunate to have such a nurturing and caring big sister!  Faith just adores her.  And both girls are so fortunate to be blessed with such amazing parents!  Here are just a few pictures of our time together.  I thought we got one with Andrew but I guess not... we will get plenty more this weekend with them in North Carolina!

Faith and Glory lovin'!

Kisses from Faith!

Now here are just a few pictures of Molly when she FINALLY noticed the mirror on the back of the stuffed apple.  I think it scared her at first... then she loved looking at herself!

Total giggle box here!

Then she couldn't take her eyes off herself and all the faces she was making!

Our big weekend!

This has been a BIG weekend for Molly.  We hit three big milestones.

1 - She met her great-grandmother, great-aunt and great-uncle! My grandmother, aunt, and uncle drove up from Warner Robins, GA to meet Molly.  We spent Friday evening with them.  Then this morning, we all went to the Brooklyn Baptist M.O.M (Moms Of Multiples) consignment sale and the trunk sale at Springdale Baptist.  We had a great time.  While most of the Moms there shopping were by themselves or with their husband, I had with me Molly, my mom, my dad, grandmother, Aunt Marsha, and Uncle George.  We had quite the posey walking around.   This evening we celebrated my grandmother's 92nd birthday!  She is such a sweet, Godly woman.  This was her 2nd birthday since she lost her husband (my grandaddy) in February 2011.  We miss him so much.

 Molly loved spending time with them and I'm pretty sure the feeling was mutual.

2 - She slept through the night!!!  Since day one, I've had to wake her up to feed her in the middle of the night.  I hated it.  I knew she needed to be fed but I hated having to wake her up when she was sleeping so well.  After getting the "okay", we tried it last night.  We put her to bed around 10:30 after her last feeding.  As usual, she went to sleep with no problem.  I rejoiced in not having to set my alarm clock.  Which was good because I didn't even know where my cell phone was last night.  We slept allll through the night.  I woke up at 5:30am and decided to pump.  One not-so-bad problem I am having is that my body is overproducing milk.  So, I shouldn't be pumping much since my body doesn't need to produce more.  But they were so sore, I decided to pump anyway.  As soon as I get back in the bed just after 6:00am, Molly starts stirring.  I decided to go ahead and feed her.  After that, I put her back in her crib and she went back to sleep... and so did I!  Great success!!! :)  Can we do that again tonight, Molly???

3 - She had her first bottle!!!  Josh and I have been trying to set a time to give her her first bottle this week but things kept getting in the way.  So this afternoon, we had the time to try it out.  I pumped and Josh gave her the bottle.  She took to it right away.  I was so proud of her but inside it was a wee bit sad to watch her feed from somewhere other than my breast!  I guess it's that feeling you get when you realize your daughter has outgrown Barbie dolls or your child starts driving.  But that's just my hormones going crazy... ha ha!!

Our little 5 weeker is getting so big and so active.  She will fixate her eyes on just about anything.  She will always win in a staring contest.  She smiles so much now and it makes our hearts melt everytime.