Why is it...

that home improvement projects always take AT LEAST two times longer than expected...?
...And maybe even three or four times longer than it should when you've got one of these sweet things to love on and entertain?
(All I can say is thank GOODNESS she's not crawling yet...)

...More to come as soon as my house is back in relative order...

PURE cuteness!

I don't know how I managed to capture this completely adorable facial expression in this one short moment but I'm so glad I did...

Friday Favorites!

Favorite New Meal: Breakfast Wreath

I actually made this for a family in our church who was just blessed with a new baby girl. They had requested either Italian meals or BREAKFAST foods. Easy choice there, everyone loves a good brinner (breakfast + dinner = BRINNER!). This was super easy to make and put together and I assume it tasted delicious, as all of the ingredients (crescent rolls, scrambled eggs, bacon and cheese) are delicious on their own!
Favorite Momma Moment:
Twice this week I've walked in upon the most adorable sight ... Jed has started building Lainey what he calls "forts" which are really more of an enclosure of pillows or items all around her with her and some toys in the middle but it's just the sweetest. He says his dad used to build him forts all of the time. I love watching Jed and Lainey interact. She completely ADORES him. The picture below is proof:
Favorite Verse:
In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. [psalm 18:6]
I wouldn't say I was in any great distress this week or anything, but I am just really thankful for the fact that God hears my voice and I like how it's worded here - my voice reaches his ears. So awesome.

Our little Valentine

Nom nom

Lainey + sloppy mush (aka rice cereal mixed with breastmilk) = a great match! She LOVED sitting in her high chair, wearing a bib and eating the sloppy mush from a spoon like a big girl! I seriously couldn't shovel it in fast enough!
"Okay people! Let's get this show on the road!"

"Ooooh. YUM!"
"Let me help!"
"Delicious!"
"Really you guys, this stuff is so good!"

6 MONTHS!

My baby isn't so little anymore. Lainey is 6 months old today. That seems and sounds so old to me, like she's not just a little baby anymore, she's a BIG baby! Well, that's always been technically true size wise. She's a healthy girl. 6 months just means she's closer to crawling and walking and talking and having opinions and running around the yard and I'm sure before I know it she'll be driving and going off to college! It will all probably seem like a blink of an eye!

Here are some facts about Lainey at 6 months...

• She is a great sitter and LOVES to play sitting up
• Her favorite toys right now are her blocks, keys and her baby doll
• She is consistently sleeping around 10 hours at night
• She is SO sweet and smiley!
• She loves being in front of a mirror
• She is finally decently taking a bottle and likes to play with a pacifier as a chew toy rather than a soother
• She is very social and loves watching other people, especially kids
• She loves Skyping with her grandparents and aunts/uncles/cousins

...there's so much more but I know what you all really want is some pictures...

Look at my sweet girl. She is such a blessing.
1 day...................almost 6 months

I wanted to do a comparison to see if Lainey looks more like her Dad (top picture) or her Mom (bottom picture)...
What do you all think?
I think Lainey looks MUCH more like Jed at 6 months. Maybe that will change, maybe not. It doesn't matter, she's adorable.
Here are some special pictures I took today to celebrate Lainey being 6 months old!




These pictures with the foam letters keep getting tougher and tougher...


It has been such a sweet 6 months. We are so incredibly thankful for the blessing of being Lainey's parents!

Lainey's First Job

One of our desires as parents is to teach Lainey many things ... how to be kind and compassionate, generous and loving, etc. We also want Lainey to be a hard worker. This is why we made Lainey get a job at the ripe old age of 2.5 weeks...

When Lainey was about 2 weeks old I got an email from Mercy Hospital's marketing department saying they needed two newborns ages birth to 4 weeks for a photo shoot to highlight the Mother and Baby facilities and birthing experience at Mercy. I remember forwarding the email to Jed, mostly as a joke, saying that more people would probably choose Mercy if they saw a picture on a brochure or website and knew they delivered the most beautiful babies in town! (Just kidding - I have lots of friends who have gorgeous children who have delivered at other local hospitals.) Like I said, I mostly sent the email to Jed as a joke but he told me to go for it. I figured if nothing else, it would be a fun outing and would give us something to do for part of a day. I had to send in a picture of Lainey and the PR and Marketing person responded right away and told me what I already knew ... Lainey was (and still is) adorable and that I could plan on participating.

It was a really fun experience! I got to see Mercy West Lakes (which is WOW, so nice!), enjoyed a free lunch and met some new people. It was so interesting to watch the process of the photo shoot. Every detail was given special attention: from the models' hands, clothing, and hair to where the flowers and balloons were set in the background, the blankets on the bed, etc. Everyone was impressed with Lainey's work ethic - she slept through the entire shoot, which was exactly what they wanted. Here is a picture I took with my phone during the photo shoot:

And this is what I found on the Mercy website today ... I did some photo shopping to help you navigate:

Yes, they used models for the parents in the photo shoot. No, I wasn't offended. The casting call was for BABIES for the photo shoot, not the entire family. And besides, who wants to be in a photo shoot 2 weeks after having a baby?!?
Why they would cover up her sweet face with that ugly green line is beyond me... It was still a fun experience and a funny story to tell Lainey about when she gets older!
Here is the link to the actual website if you want to see it LIVE for yourself or if you want information about Mercy. We had a really great experience there and would recommend them to anyone!

UPDATE!
**GREAT NEWS EVERYONE!**
Thanks to a Facebook friend who works at Mercy, they changed the picture so Lainey's lovely face is no longer shielded by the ugly green line! Here's what it looks like now:
Sweet, sweetie pie!

wordless wednesday [who needs a pacifier?!?]

Finally!

I can FINALLY say after many months, multiple brands of bottles and dozens of attempts, Lainey is finally taking a bottle. Evidence shown here:

Lainey figured this out last week JUST in time for me to spend my first night away from her. Some fabulous women from our church organized MOM'S NIGHT OUT and it was a TERRIFIC night! We dined out, hot tubbed, swam, did LOTS of talking and laughing, played games and SLEPT. You'd think we'd have been a little smarter and taken full advantage and gotten LOTS of sleep but we were having too much fun. My room was up WAY past my normal bedtime but it was totally worth it! It was such an encouragement to me as a woman, wife and mom! Huge thanks to Meg Rude and others who were instrumental in organizing this event. And huge thanks to my great husband who had a great attitude about potentially being up all night long if Lainey really missed her Mom. Luckily, he wasn't up ALL night... just a few times but I think they had a nice time together! Unfortunately, I took zero pictures so I will just have to relive the fun memories in my head...

And on an unrelated note...

Is it just me or does Lainey get cuter and cuter every day?
Notice how little miss' pants are too short. All of them are like that - they FIT all over, they're just too short. I'm afraid this is a battle I'll face the rest of her life... Time to move up to 9 month clothes I think. I refuse to do so until she's 6 months on Sunday.And because everyone loves a sleeping baby...
Precious side sleeper... just like her Momma!

Friday Favorites!

Favorite Meal (AND dessert :): Bubble Enchiladas and Peanut Butter Cheese Ball

I made this for our girl's dinner on Wednesday night and it was a hit! I used one can of refrigerator biscuits and divided them between two 8x8 pans. In one pan I used 1/2 lb ground turkey and in the other I used probably a cup and a half of shredded chicken (from my first WHOLE chicken I made on Tuesday!). I served it with Spanish rice. It was super yummy and very easy!

The dessert was so so SO good! We could barely stop ourselves...but we did. And of course I went home with it... and snuck a little during Lainey's nap... true story.

Favorite Momma Moment: I have 2... is that okay?

Lainey started reaching for me this week! oooooh, it's the sweetest thing! She's so quick, this was the best shot I could get...

My parents generously bought us a high chair for the Lainster (and future Johnson kiddos). I think she will spend many, many hours in this chair! She was very excited!

Favorite Verse:
The LORD makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
[psalm 37:23-24]