Anna Joy's Baptism

May 19, 2013

Rev. Raigan Miskelly

FUMC Columbus

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."
Psalm 139:13-16

I turned 30

My actual birthday, on a Sunday, was kinda the pits. My mom and sisters made plans to take me to brunch at Restaurant Tyler after church since Sunday is a working day for Trey.  I woke up Sunday morning sick at my stomach.  It went from bad to worse and I ended up spending the entire day in bed.  Beyond thankful for my family for coming and spending the day with the kids while I was laid up in solitude!

 

So while my actual birthday was not so fun, my daddy quickly reminded me that we I am a Tomlinson and Tomlinsons celebrate birthdays for a month.  Good news for me!

The next weekend we grilled out at my parent's house. It was perfect weather, and after a week of all family members being sick, we were all feeling well.

30 has been pretty good to me so far!

Dad's 60th

Again, I am playing catch up.

Daddy turned 60 in April and my mom planned a wonderful surprise party for him.  For months leading up to his birthday, she contacted old friends, family members, co-workers, former teachers, classmates, teammates, etc. and had them write a memory of daddy.  She received so many! She put them all in a book for him to received at his party. We all roasted and toasted him - and all laughed at old stories!

He is one loved man and I consider myself and my family very blessed to have him as the head of our home. 

Anna Joy - 4 months

I am a little late, Anna will be 5 months next week, but I wanted to post her 4 month picture and stats.
Poor baby girl - I blogged so religiously with Jones. I am determined to do better.

Here she is on May 8th....

She is seriously the happiest baby! Lives up to her middle name - JOY. She discovered her voice this month and loves to 'talk'.  Jones finds this hilarious and says things like "Baby sister said she wants to go outside" whenever she squeals. Maybe he understands her in a way only big brothers can?


She has mastered rolling over from her tummy to her back but has no desire to roll over from her back to her tummy.  She doesn't love tummy time!

I can't get enough of her. From the moment I get home from work until well after she falls asleep, I just want to hold her.  She is my little love and I am desperate for her to stay my baby forever.

Jones' birthday morning

3 years old - April 17

We celebrated with a party a couple of weeks before Jones' actual birthday, so when the 17th arrived and we sang to him, he interrupted us and said "I already had an animal birthday!". Fair enough.  His birthday fell on a Wednesday, so we celebrated that morning with a special pancake breakfast. He was in heaven. It may have been his first pancake, which makes me feel like a not very fun mom!

At three Jones:

• is super strong-willed and very busy. The kids loves life!
• is hilarious
• sleeps great in his big boy bed, though he rarely naps on the weekends
• is a picky eater, which breaks my heart
• still loves animals, but getting more into super heroes and cars as well
• loves to read and goes through at least 5 books at bedtime
• loves to take bubble baths, but also takes showers, which cracks me up
• is potty trained!!!!! He still struggles with #2 in the potty, but never wets his pants anymore. He still sleeps in pull-ups, but they are often times dry in the mornings
• knows his ABCs and can recognize every letter - upper and lower case
• can spell his name
• goes to speech two times a week now with a new speech pathologist, Mrs. Jennifer. Still has what we call "Jones language" and Trey and I still interpret a lot of his talking, but it is getting so much better.  When they did his 3 year old evaluation, they determined that he has the vocabulary of a 5 1/2 year old and the articulation of a 24 month old.  This explains the long sentences and full conversations! It is hilarious - he says things like "You need to obey" "You need to apologize" "I don't think that is a very good idea" and "Be careful! It is very dangerous!"
• loves his teacher, Ms. Linda, but knows that he gets to go to the BIG KID room in the fall with Ms. Essie.  He is very proud of this
• loves Anna Joy so much. No jealousy there, thank the Lord
• is my biggest accomplishment, biggest joy and biggest challenge...all rolled up into one.

LOVE this kid!

Jones three year old school picture proof - we say it is his fraternity composite. I die!!

April days

April brought warmer temperatures and a beautiful, colorful yard.  I love having longer days and outdoor play!

Anna Joy - three months

April 8
3 months

At three months, Anna Joy:

• is the sweetest baby ever
• is sleeping through the night (WHAT?! Jones nursed through the night for almost a year!)
• rarely cries
• smiles all the time
• is so laid back; I can put her on a blanket or in her swing and she is content with life
• puts up with Jones so well! He has no concept of personal space, bless her heart
• loves to cuddle
• is a thumb-sucker, which I find incredibly adorable
• is fat and happy, I like to say!
• wears size 2 diapers
• nurses at 7 am, takes a bottle at 11 and 3, then nurses to sleep around 7 pm.  I pump three times a day at work.  On the weekends we don't follow a schedule - I just nurse whenever! She is so go-with-the-flow that it works for us. I do this mainly for me.
• eyes are still blue. I am thinking they may stay blue, just like her brother's.
• is starting to lose her hair. Again, like Jones did at this age. I have no fear that it will come back thicker than ever.  With her genes, she has no choice!
• brings so much joy to our family - we are just over the moon in love

 Big brother wanted to be a part of her photo shoot!

Jones' animal birthday party

We did a low-key family party this year for Jones' 3rd. We had it at our house on my last weekend of maternity leave.  The whole family came over, minus Adam and Melinda in Baton Rouge and Clay, who had company in town. It was so fun and so relaxed! I made a zoo cake that I found on Pinterest.  Jones loved it, which made me feel like a super mom for about 2.5 seconds.

He requested two things for his birthday - animals and party hats. I was happy I was able to deliver!