A week ago, we celebrated Connor’s 9th birthday. That cute boy was just a tiny little 5 month old baby when I started blogging. (How the heck does time speed by so quickly?!?!) On the same day, we also celebrated Father’s Day AND Max had his Baby Blessing at our church (kind of like a baby dedication? or christening? or confirmation? I’m not sure which one is most similar…). It was a busy day, but such a sweet one. So many people to celebrate…..and I couldn’t help but think about how much our family is growing and changing.
I’ve actually had every intention of sharing so much more around here the past few weeks since Max has been born and is home from his NICU stay, but we’ve had some adjusting to do. And by we, I mean mostly me. Ha! That little Max has not been the best sleeper and is kind of a colicky little guy…..especially in the evenings. Chloe and Oliver were both AWESOME sleepers, so Max has been reminding me that not all babies start sleeping through the night super early and never fuss throughout the day. (I don’t know how I got so lucky with Chloe and Oliver!) So, I’ve been napping whenever I can….which means my normal creative time has been bumped. Darn. And you know, I am REALLY missing it. Spending time in my craft room and making things kind of rounds me out and helps me feel happy and complete.
But until I finish up some of the projects I’ve been working on (and am really excited to share)…..here’s a little peek into what’s been going on in this ol’ Johnston house!
First of all, when our babies are only a month or two old, they receive a special baby blessing at our church in front of the whole congregation. Like I mentioned above, it’s kinda like a baby dedication. Or confirmation maybe? (Someone school me on that!) And little 7 week old Max was awesome. Not one bit fussy during the whole thing. :)
For those of you reading who have been around for a few years, you know I always dress my babies in white (which is traditional, but not required) and have always made my kids’ blessing outfits. (Here’s Chloe’s blessing dress tutorial and Oliver’s Sailor romper tutorial.) However, life became a little more hectic towards the end of my pregnancy with Max and even more complicated after he was born and in the NICU for a while……so that little handmade outfit tradition didn’t quite happen for Max. I was a little (ahem, a lot) bummed by that but found a cute little white outfit for Max on Amazon (HERE) that worked well. I’ll have to explain to him one day that he is still just as loved….but this momma just couldn’t quite make it happen! ;)
Oh, and if you remember Max having dark hair and are wondering why in the world he’s so bald in the pictures above…..well, the strangest thing happened. When Max was about 2 weeks old, it started falling out….but only on the top. And not just kinda falling out….but the top of his head was shiny bald, without a single hair on it. But the sides and back still had plenty of dark hair. He looked just like an old grandpa! Ha! (The picture below is from my Instagram account…..and those wires are for some heart monitoring he had to do a few weeks ago. But it gives a good view of the hair situation.) Kinda funny, right?! :)
Anyway, his hair was pretty funny, but also ridiculous……so we buzzed the rest right off! And now it’s all coming back in about the same length, even on top!
And even though Max is a colicky little guy……he still has plenty of happy smiley time! He really is such a sweet baby boy, and loves smiling back at whoever will give him any attention at all. (I kinda joke with my husband Steve that being colicky is Max’s way of getting some extra attention….since he’s the 5th child and all. Ha!)
For some reason, I completely forgot to have someone snap a few pictures of us as a family after Max’s blessing. So, we took a few pictures of us at home….but not all together. Seeing these sweet faces all together in one picture makes my momma heart swell about 7 times its normal size. :)
Steve gave Max his baby blessing (along with a circle of great men who have become our family here in Oklahoma) and did such a wonderful job. So many beautiful things were said that morning. This guy sure loves his babies….and has such big dreams for each one of them! (That crocheted blanket is one my mom made and has been used for all 5 of my kids’ baby blessings.)
And oh this boy. He has me wrapped around each of those sweet little fingers of his. I’m not sure any of my babies have been held as much as this one…..and I am more than okay with that! :)
I still gasp a little when I think about us having 5 children. FIVE!!! And oh how I love them each so dearly! (And after we took a few pictures of them standing…..Ellie about died and begged us to take Max from her. She said he’s way too heavy to hold for too long while standing. Ha! Yep, all 13 pounds of 7-week old Max, gets pretty heavy!!!)
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The rest of the day was spent celebrating Connor’s 9th birthday! This kid has been pretty excited to be another year older and keeps asking when he’s going to start needing deodorant. Ha! Soon enough, kid! ;)
Connor has always had such a kind soul and loves seeing people happy. He definitely has a gift for sensing the needs of others and man, this kid can snuggle right up to me and change a bad mood into a good one very quickly! :)
He loves pretending he’s super tough though and wants so badly to be big and strong like his daddy! (He just came up to me this morning and said while flexing, “hey momma, do you think my muscles have gotten any bigger?!” He cracks me up!)
For his birthday, we followed tradition and made a simple cake and decorated with toys. (We’ve done that for each kid, every year for their birthday…..and they always get excited to see what simple toy or trinket was placed on top of their cake.) This year might be Connor’s favorite thus far.
Does anyone else have kids who love the game “Plants vs Zombies”? Yeah, it’s not my favorite game AT ALL….but these kids love it! So, Connor was extra excited to see all the figures on his cake! Haha….kinda cracks me up! (We found the plants vs zombies toys HERE.)
Max was napping during this picture…….but Connor was excited to have cake and open presents with his other favorite pals!
Happy 9th birthday Connor! Love ya kid!
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And because it was Father’s Day on this same day…..we also celebrated Steve, our favorite daddy! So he got to relax while I prepared a yummy favorite meal of his and the kiddos gave him cards and plenty of love.
Such a busy day, celebrating 3 different people……but also a really good one, spent with this little (big) family of ours! :)
Thanks for reading, sweet blog friends! I know there wasn’t a single tutorial or any fun project idea shared here, and I apologize for that…..but this is what we’ve been up to these days. I promise this blog has been on the brain….as well as a few projects that are sitting in my craft room, begging me to finish them! But we are finally getting into a routine and I will be back soon to share. In fact, I have a contributor sharing something fun this week and I’m hoping to have a new tutorial of my own up by the end of the week! :)
Talk to you soon!
Ashley
Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!
