Bloopers

Here are a few out takes from Jensie's two-month photo shoot:

 No, we are not serious about that bow.

And some keepers: 

Best two months ever. 

Motherhood is, hands down, just the best thing ever. Jens and I spend our days cooking, cleaning, running errands, babysitting Jane, and making videos to send to her dad while he's at work. I get in major trouble if we go a couple of hours without a picture.

I find myself being in a constant state of anxiety that I'm going to forget something. I want to remember every single little thing about her. I want to remember how her little hand holds my finger when she's nursing, how her long skinny legs are constantly moving, the calmness in her face the instant that we swaddle her, her cute precious perfect booty, and the smell of her sweet milk breath. I wish there was just some way to bottle all of that up and keep it forever.

Things to remember about our sweet 6 week old...

- She has slept in her own bed since Day 1, and is so great at it! We still get a little sad every night when we put her to bed away from us, but we know we'll be glad in the long run.

- She LOVES to be swaddled. The second we wrap her up, she becomes so calm and relaxed.

- Everyone says she looks exactly like her dad.

- She's almost out of her newborn clothes. People's first comment is usually how tiny she is, but she's looking huge to us!

- She is so good at sleeping! Just last night, in fact, she slept 7.5 straight hours. So thankful.

- The last couple of days she has started "talking" a lot and smiling. It completely melts my heart every stinking time.

1 month old!

Ben is really worried that I'm going to turn into one of those moms that post pictures of their children on facebook nonstop. However, people don't have to subject themselves to this blog, so I don't feel one bit bad bombarding it with pictures of my daughter.

Last Thursday, Jenson turned a month old. The past month went by way too fast. I die a little bit inside every time we put something on her and realize she's outgrown it.

 1 day old

1 month old

Also! Kerri AND Ashley are getting married! I cannot even believe how lucky I was to somehow end up with these girls as my best friends. 

A night with the boys..

My mom and I had tickets to see Brad Paisley and The Band Perry for months. I guess it had slipped my mind a little bit that I would have a 4 week old when the time for the concert rolled around. The concert was last Thursday and I left little Jensie Girl for a few hours, in the very capable hands of Dad and Pappy. I had so much fun with my mom, and being away from Bumblebee was made bearable by these picture texts sent from Ben. 

The poor girl had to drink from a bottle!

They let her just walk around without a bow!

Snuggled up, ready for bed, and I'm sure thinking "Where's my Momma?!"

It doesn't seem that any permanent damage was done.  

My best friend moved away...

One of the greatest blessings to come out of marrying Ben (and believe me there are lots of them) was Meag. Now to say it was love at first sight would be a complete lie.  But after living together in a foreign country, we were forced into becoming friends, which resulted into her becoming one of my most favorite people in the entire world. 

Meagan decided to leave the comfort of her family and friends and life in America, to follow God's crazy, radical will for her life. Meag is off to Zambia to be a mother for the motherless... and we're left here - missing her like crazy, but being proud beyond belief. 

Haven on Earth

We had a baby!

3 weeks ago, today, to be exact. There's been way too many important things to do (hence the blog abandonment). Our days have been spent staring at her, feeding her, changing her, kissing her, holding her, but mostly just staring at her. I just can't get enough. I seriously, honestly, just can't wrap my head around the fact that she is ours - that God blessed us with such a sweet and healthy little being.


We just knew she was going to come early. I had been having contractions for weeks. I had been dialated, effaced, blah blah blah, for weeks. The doctor told us she would "be here this week!" Two weeks later, still not here, she was induced on her sweet Aunt Meagan's birthday, July 23rd. Ben and I checked into the hospital around 5am. Pappy, KK, Uncle Grant, Chief, Sassy, and Aunt Meag got there around 9:00. Doc broke my water around 9:30. My hero, I'm not even sure of his name, came and gave me the epidural about 10:00. And Jenson Kaye Hawley arrived at 12:35. She was 6 pounds 15 ounces and 21 inches of perfection. The rest of the day was a blur, with lots of family visiting, and picture taking, and passing around of our little girl.

Ben, Jenson, and I are so incredibly blessed with the abundance of sweet family and friends in our lives. Here are some pictures of Jenson meeting some folks that are bound to be her favorite people in the world.