Lucy is 6 months! (HALF A YEAR! WHAT?!)

I can't even handle my emotions of our baby turning into a little girl!  I can't believe she is 6 months old!  Again, I will say it... This is my favorite age!  I love this little girl oh so much!  She is SO fun!  She really is such a happy dream baby!  She loves to sleep, loves to eat, loves to smile, and loves her mama.  So, what's new this month?  A LOT!

New things about you Lucy:
-You have cut 2 teeth! Your two front bottom teeth.
-With these two front teeth you have eaten your monogram off of your pacifier.  So, I have loved the joke that you are so southern that you are pooping monograms!
-You have celebrated Thanksgiving and slept through most of lunch in your highchair.  But, you have met so many family members!
-You set on Santa's lap and were super smiley and happy!  You asked for new pacifiers, paci straps, and then surprises.
-You can feed yourself your bottle!  And you get very excited when see it!
-You love your toes!  Sometimes they are what cheer you up the best when you are upset.
-You can sit up, as of 4 days ago.  You still topple over sometimes, but you are getting better each day!
-You are on a great schedule of sleeping through the night (up to 12 hours some nights!) and you take a 2 hour nap each afternoon.  Lucy, I love playing with you all day, but I look forward to nap time I have to confess!
-Your Mama had her first weekend away from you.  You had a BIG weekend with your daddy including going deer hunting with him!
-You haven't started reaching for us yet, but when we are holding you, you reach for our faces!
-You are great at reaching for objects and moving them from hand to hand
-You had sweet potatoes for the first time.  You LOVE them!  It is so fun to see you grow up and eat real food!

You Love:
-Your toes
-Any motorboat noises
-Dad's chin on your chest
-Sitting in your bumbo seat
-Sophie the Giraffe
-Your Paci and Paci strap
-you love any face smiling at you!

You Hate:
-being hungry
-being sleepy
-being alone (you have a serious case of F.O.M.O. >>Fear of Missing Out)

You are a little wiggle worm!  You love being independent!  When you are walking one day, you are going to be a hand-full always wanting to be put down!  So, I will cherish these stationary days.

Here you are sitting up so pretty!

Reality: everything in mouth!

Dear Little Lucy,

You are so precious and created SO uniquely!  I love everything about you!  I love your smile when we make eye contact, it does something in my heart that words can't describe.  It is such an honor and gift to watch you grow from a baby to a little girl.  I love watching the world through your big brown eyes.  I look forward to each day with you Lucy.  I love you Little Lu!  Happy half a year of life, I can't imagine mine with out you!

I love you!

Your Mama

Lucy Rouse is 5 Months! (AKA my fav. age so far!)

Can you believe it!?  This sweet child of mine is FIVE MONTHS OLD! What!? Wow, what a gift and pleasure it is to watch this little girl grow!  This month has been my favorite for so many reasons.  She is really developing her personality, she is going to be one strong willed I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T girl.  She loves to stand and to sit, not many snuggles from this girl unless she is sleepy.  But, I LOVE IT!  She is very observant and loves people and loud places, it is where she thrives the most... or sleeps the most!  So, I think Clint and I have an extravert on our hands.

My favorite memories with Lucy this month:

• each night she and her daddy have their sweet bedtime routine that includes them praying for everyone they have encountered that day.
• cheering on the Wolfpack vs. Clemson!  She did such a great job!  Like I said, she loves people and loud places!
• she can put her feet in her mouth!
• The way her face lights up when she sees her Mama or Daddy! I mean, does it get any better?
• That she sleeps 12 hours on the REG.!
• Cheering on the Patriots at several Field Hockey, Volleyball, CrossCountry, Football games!
• SHE WENT TO HER FIRST YOUNG LIFE CAMP!  What a gift to put our sweet little girl's ears before the truth of Jesus at a YL camp at such an age!  Oh, I hope and pray this is the first of many memories for her at camp with her parents and her friends!
• Lucy found out she is getting a BOY cousin!  Congrats T and Rad!!!
• She dressed up for her first Halloween!  Dressed as a Lion like her daddy was when he was 1!

Here are a few pictures of her 5 month photo shoot!

 I mean, can you even handle this gummy smile!

 So, everyone always remarks of how much she looks like her daddy, which I LOVE btw!  But, I have to take ownership of these lashes... the ONE thing she got from her Mama! haha

Letter to Lucy:

Lucy,

Oh, sweet Lucy!  It bring tears to this Mama's eyes of how precious you are.  You are SO loved by your Mama, Daddy, family, and so many dear friends.  But, this love is NOTHING compared to how much your Heavenly Father loves you and is infatuated by you.  Sweet Jesus created you for a purpose, He created you for BIG things, and most importantly He created you to know Him.  Your Dad and I pray every night for you to come to know this FULL life that Jesus offers at a young age.  Lucy we pray that you will be a blessing to others as you learn to love and serve others.  You have already been such a blessing to us, it is unreal of how much you have already blessed our little family.  You make life so fun, like Christmas morning every morning, kind of fun!  I mean it Lu, you are such a JOY!  Thank you for loving us with your smiles and snuggles.  I pray that we can lead to a path to know Jesus and for you to completely and confident in YOU!  We love you!  Happy 5 month birthday little Tallulah Elizabeth Rouse!  The Lord nailed it when He created YOU!

Love through HIM,

Your Mama

Lucy is 4 months!

Oh, I love this child!  Each day, week, and month gets sweeter and sweeter with Tallulah Elizabeth Rouse!  You are such a gift, the greatest gift I have ever received other than the grace Jesus daily gives me.  This month has been my FAVORITE!  

Oh the new things you have done: 

-You role over from your back to your belly like a pro!

-You laugh and smile and talk (especially after you eat)

-Speaking of eating, you are no longer having your late night meal.  So, you are just eating 5 time a day, about 25 ounces a day!  Which means now you are sleeping 10-11 hours at night!

-People in public now comment on how healthy and chunky you look!

-You LOVE your toes!  I love your double heal stretches that you do on the reg.

-You are a drooooollllling queen!  Those teeth will be here soon!

Things you love:

-Your Paci!

-Your Swaddle!

-Your swing!

-Your sling carrier!

-Having a bow in your dark curly hair!

-You love being held by your daddy!

-Any attention people give you

-You love your hands, hence why you still sleep in your swaddle at night because your hands keep you awake!

Things you hate:

-loosing your paci

-making wet diapers

-not being able to fall asleep, you fight it SO hard! 

-an hour after each bottle you have a mini melt down because you realize how tired you are!

-being stuck on your belly and not being able to role back over.

New places you have been this month:

-You have celebrated your moms birthday!

-You went to your first NCSU game.

-Freshmen Young Life trip at the Refuge

-Ocean Isle Beach

-Coffee Shop in Kinston (mama loves this place!)

-Mama and Daddy left you for the first extended amount of time (the longest 8 hours of my life!) to go to a wedding in Wilmington!

-You met daddy's best friend David Hook

 Here she is modeling one of her mama's outfits from when she was a little girl!

 Oh I wish these pictures had volume so you could here this laugh!  It is the sweetest noise to my ears

 Her big brother Reynolds still loves her and followers her around wherever she goes, truly precious!

 "Love God and follow Him.  Really, nothing else matters.  If you are ever unsure what to do, remember how Jesus loved people.  He was the best at it.  You can trust Him because anywhere he asks you to go, He has been there too.  This is not an easy path, Lovies.  Jesus went to hard places and did hard things; He loved folks everyone else hated or despised.  But if you trust us at all, believe me: this is the life you want, this Jesus life." -Jen Haymaker

 "So these are my dreams for you:

Be kind.

Be you.

Love Jesus."

-Jen Hatmaker

Lucy is 3 months!

Okay... I will join the train... TIME SLOW DOWN! Lucy is getting so big and grown. She has really developed from a new born infant to a little girl. It has been an eventful month! We have spent a week at the beach with Lucy and she has had her first cold. As we speak (or type) she is still getting over an Upper Respiratory Infection. Sweet little girl has the loudest cough, but it is still amazing how the Lord created Lucy to be able to sneeze and to cough when she is sick. So, pray with me  her lungs and chest stay healthy! Other new things this week:

-lucy can role over from her stomach to her back!

-she recognizes and smiles really big when she sees her mom or dad!

-she is sleeping about 7-8 hours a night!

-she is on her way out of wearing newborn clothes!

-Lucy is chatting more and more each day! And it's so cute to hear her hit new octives!

-we are leaving her for the first time this weekend for more than 2 hours! Pray for us!

-lucy is now wearing size 1 diapers!

-she is on a great little schedule (minus a few weeks of growth spurts, but for the most part...) she wakes up about 7am, has a bottle, plays for an hour, and then sleeps for an hour and a half. Then we just repeat this until 10:30pm every 3 hours and that is our day!

Here are a few pictures of our precious little girl! Bring on month 3! 

Oh sweet Lucy! Not so Little anymore! You are so loved! My prayer for you always is that you will be strong, courageous, and kind!! May the Lord continue to reveal himself to us through you and may he continue to bless you Tallulah Elizabeth Rouse!

Little Lucy Rouse Month Two Photo Shoot

So, it has been my goal to take pictures of Lucy each month with my new camera in the Manual setting.  Yes, MANUAL.. very scary and uncharted territory! This has been SO fun to play with my camera and to capture some sweet pictures of our Little Lady!  So, enjoy these pictures starring Tallulah Elizabeth Rouse with a special appearance from her furry 4-legged brother Reynolds Rouse.

                        

I love that in these pictures it was just my goal to take them of Lucy, but this is proof that Reynolds can't stand to not be by his sisters side.  Reynolds, oh our sweet Reynolds.  It is hard to even write these words... Just as of yesterday we found out the sad news that Reynolds has hip dysplasia.  This is a common thing in Golden Retrievers to get, but it is so sad to see our precious 3 year old walk loving, ocean swimming, ball fetching furry friend not be able to do these things he loves.  The past 8 months we have been investigating his weak legs and knees.  We have rested, we have medicated, we have been taking joint vitamins, but things just kept getting worse.  So, we did x-rays yesterday and Dr. Brad confirmed our fear that he has weak hips with hip dysplasia.  I haven't been this sad in a long time.  No, he isn't going to die, but it is just as painful to watch our 101 pound son struggling to stand from sitting or laying down.  So, here is to our new favorite past time with Reynolds being snuggling, petting, and laying down with him to prevent his hips getting worse.  Let us pray that these precious joints won't get any worse and they will plateu right where they are.  Praying that medicine and joint supplements make him strong and to not have any pain.  Reynolds, you have a good 15 years of life ahead of you to grow old and gray with your Mom, Dad, and little sister Lucy!

Lucy is 2 months!

What the heck! People always told me that it goes fast, so enjoy it now! And wow, I truly cannot believe that Lucy was born 2 months ago! What a blur! The best and hardest blur of my life, but wow.. What a blur!

Today we celebrate you Lucy! The tiniest little human that I have such a HUGE love for! Everything about you is precious! The way you sneeze, yawn, hic-up, burp, snore, poop...and new this month the way you babble, laugh, and smile! Oh there has been nothing else so sweet that melts my heart and brings me to my knees in adoration of our Creator for how he created you so uniquely! 

Things Lucy loves:

-To be held tight on her side against your mom or dads chest!

-you LOVE your paci! I already dread the day of when we will have to take it away...

-you love your changing table! This is where you laugh and smile the most!

-you love to have your diaper changed!

-you love your car seat... Whether it is in the car or your stroller! As soon as it clicks in you are out for the count!

-you love being outside!

-your daddy makes you laugh and smile the most!

-you love the beach! A combination of the warmth, the sound of the ocean, and the breeze makes you snooze!

-you love the boat! 

-you love the bath! But, unfortunately your new favorite thing is pooping in your tub! 

Things Lucy hates:

-being hungry! You now eat 3 oz ever 2.5 hours! And now weighing 9 lbs!! Almost as big as your daddy when he was born... Pray for me yall when our next child is being created in me...

-still hates wet diapers! And you make atleast 10 a day!! So, we are flying through your newborn diapers!

-you hate not being able to fall asleep! And hate being woken up! I think you get this from your mama...

Places and new things Lucy has done this month:

-you saw your first movie... Jurassic World!

-you went to your first funeral. Mr. Finan will be so missed and you will hear stories about him for the rest of your life!

-you went to your first wedding! Cameron and Malissa! Your mom cried the whole time thinking about your daddy walking you down the aisle!

-you have been to the beach 4 times in the 2 months of your life! 

-you had your first trip to Raleigh! And went to your first birdal shower for Casey!

-YOU SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT! (My favorite milestone!) you slept 6 straight hours at 5 weeks and your record to date is 7.5 hours straight!

-you are able to track faces and toys back and forth!

-you make different noises than just crying and silence!

-celebrated 4th of July with a cook out and watching fireworks! You slept through them!

-loves the sunshine and any kind of light!

-you take a bottle like a PRO! 

Oh Tallulah Elizabeth Rouse you are such a gift and such a joy! Happy 2 months of life Little Lucy! Or other little nicknames we've called you like Lu, LuLu, Tulu, Tullaru, Darlin'...

Little Lucy Rouse One Month Photo Shoot

I mean... I know I am a little bit biased...but, isn't she SO beautiful!  I am overwhelmed by the Lord's creativity and design in this sweet little baby!  You are SO loved Lucy Rouse!

(Real life y'all!)