tu-tu fun

what says GIRL more than a TU-TU???!!!!

we had so much fun with these pictures, I am finding it hard to pick which few I will post here. warning: picture overload ahead! :-)

once in a while, a girl kinda gets tired of all the fru-fru... and that makes adorable photos, too!

6 months old

oh my goodness, my precious little Joy is 1/2 year old! Time FLIES...

6/4/2009 -- I wanted to be sure to post the date these photos were taken just so you all could see, I was a little bit EARLY taking her 6-month photos, because she was not actually 6 months old until 6/9... so that is 5 DAYS early!!! woah! even I am flabbergasted! ha.

I guess the teeny weeny fact that I am nearly 2 MONTHS late posting them does sorta ruin the party... oh well... better late than never, that's my motto.

dedicated

May 31, 2009 ~ Baby Dedication Service ~ Calvary Baptist Church



we anticipated this service for a while, as we wanted to dedicate our precious baby girl to the Lord, just as we had dedicated Jax when he was just a wee one. the service was very nice, and special to us because our extended family was there. our children are definitely loved. we are so thankful that the Lord picked us to raise them up in his way here on Earth.



there were four other sweet babies (all girls!) dedicated on the same day as Joy. These girls will be friends as they grow up together, I'm sure.



here's a few pictures from the ceremony:

Jax is a wanna-be player...

an old wise man (who happens to have been my very first crush!) once said...

"Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be Cowboys...."

But, what about guitar-players?????

buddies

Jax calls him Davin 50% of the time. (He intends to say Gavin, it just comes out as Davin)

The other half of the time?

"Buddy"

they are cousins but Jax doesn't really seem to care to hear about the family tree.
Buddy is good enough for him.

they make me think of the Fox and the Hound... such good friends... and SO CUTE when they call each other "Buddy"

big taste made by the little folk

Jax is at the age where he sincerely wants to help. Help clean. Help cook. Help anything. Just help. He is excited to exert his growing awareness of his independence, and loves to display his skills by helping me or his Daddy do just about anything.

Sometimes, help is just a hindrance. Too much help can actually slow you down. But I try to remember what it was like to be in this wonderful age of discovery (yes, I can actually remember wanting to help my mom in the kitchen), and allow him the opportunity. I know, like so many other things, this won't last for long... so I better enjoy the help, whether desired or not, while I can. More importantly, I cherish the time spent during all of those occasions that I'm receiving the unsolicited help. They really are sweet times.

If your toddler is ready to help, try these for a fun supper one night. The kids can do practically all of the preparation themselves, and they are oh-so-proud of the resulting meal. And, it's something they will actually eat themselves! yay - everyone wins

Jax loves to make little pizzas. We take English muffins and cut them in half (we like the sourdough ones best). Place them on a cookie sheet (I always ask Jax to count them as he places them on the sheet.... you know, just to make sure we have enough!). He uses a spoon to spread pizza sauce (from a jar) on each muffin. Next, he adds other toppings that each person in our family will enjoy. Canadian bacon, pepperoni... Josh likes mushrooms and black olives, so we aim to please, and customize a few with those yucky-looking things. Sometimes. Sometimes, we make Daddy eat only the "normal" stuff. ha ha. Anyway, Jax also loves to sprinkle "white cheese" and "yellow cheese" on top. I help him put them into the oven, and we bake them until the cheese is melted... they are yummy. These are great snacks or appetizers. Sometimes, we make these little boogers for our main meal! (It's sad to say, but being the picky eater that I have always been, we aren't a very nutritionally-conscious family... these little pizzas are very "healthy" compared to some of the other junk foods I have suggested for our meals in the past!)

These are really quick (great for those little attention-spans!) and easy (no measuring; no right or wrong way to do it)... plus, what kid doesn't love PIZZA??? Even the big kids in your household will love them. Sometimes, you just gotta forget about the nutritional meal stuff and let the kid come out! YUM

an afternoon abbenture

"Momma?" he said, randomly, out of the blue, "Can we go on an abBENture [adventure]?"
Um, like what, Jax?
"An AbBENNNture! C'mon, Momma, it's a dreat [great] idea! Let's doe [go]!"

and, so, we spent the majority of the afternoon outside, walking around the yard, on an adventure. Jax, donning only shorts, and Joy, happy-go-lucky as usual, riding along in the wagon.
Where did our spontaneous adventure take us?
well, we never ventured out of the yard, but we visited every tree in this exquisite jungle. Our mission: to collect as many different leaf specimen as we could, and also to check for fruits and/or flowers ("gold" or "flags") before the squirrels ("sharks") eat them up. We let our imaginations lead us on this adventure... so much so, I honestly have forgotten all of the stops that we made.
But we had a blast all the while.
Thanks, Jax, for the wonderful abBENture.