Layla Grows {5 months}

It's so hard to believe that my baby girl is five months old already. It seems like she just arrived & made our lives so beautiful. It also feels like she has been a part of our family forever. 

She is an amazing, hilarious, emotional, beautiful, joyful, precious little girl. And she has stolen every bit of our hearts. 

The first five months have been amazing & it is such an honor being your momma. 

I love you baby girl.

You can find previous months of Layla Grows here.

visits

This summer has been full of visits from family & friends. It's been pretty wonderful. Layla gets to see the people who love her & we get to spend time with our dear friends who live so far away!

My parents were here around my birthday. It was such a blessing watching them with Layla. They love her so much & she loves them so much she cried when they left!!

Our sweet friend & Layla's "Aunt" Erin will be in town this weekend & we are so excited to see her.

My M-I-L {who hasn't seen Layla in three months} will be here in two weeks! So excited to see her & watch her enjoy her granddaughter who is now beginning to explore!!

My two best childhood friends {Alicia & Hillary} will be here at the end of July & I am SOSOSOSOSO ready to see them & play & watch them with baby girl. Every time Hill has been here the weather has been bad or something has happened that caused her trip to be cut short. Very thankful for FOUR FULL DAYS of fun with them.

Then we go on our trip! WOO!

I love visits. I love friends. I love conversation.

If anyone else would love to visit please don't hesitate.

I'm sure there'll be plenty of updates as all these visits occur. Seriously, I love these people.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

what she wore inspiration

I just inspired myself with my previous post to do a What I Wore {Layla version} titled "what she wore". I think this will give me a better opportunity to be sure Lay Baby wears all of the precious clothes she has! I'm sure that I will be in a portion of the pictures taken of her so it'll give me an opportunity to show you how often I wear clothes from Free People, how often I wear stripes and how often I wear American Apparel v-necks. This will be fun. 

 Get ready y'all. My baby's cute.

:)

planning?

I have a strange habit. 

I like to write out & plan ahead for what I am going to wear. For instance, I have already "packed my bag" for our anniversary trip that is a month away. From today actually. I plan out what I will wear for significant events. I plan out what I will wear to work. I plan out what I will wear to lounge around the house. A lot of the time it changes. Sometimes due to weather; sometimes due to change in opinion. 

Well, this strange habit has become even worse because I now have a daughter. She is too pretty to not look cute in the thousands of precious clothes we have been given. That fact provides a lovely excuse for me to plan & make certain she wears all of the clothes in her closet//drawers//lockers//baskets AT LEAST once. 

Last night, J & I were walking around Baby Gap {thanks to a gift card from a sweet friend} & I was drooling at all the cute potential clothes for our baby girl. We discussed the truth that most of what we dress her in is so that other people will tell us she's pretty & cute & precious & adorable & all of the other kind words people use to describe babies. It's so true. But it's so much fun.

I tell you this because for the last half hour, I have been planning out {using an actual calendar} what I want Layla to wear during this holiday weekend, for her monthly pictures, for any significant events, while she is with my Momma during our anniversary trip, etc. It's strange, I tell you. But, it's so much fun. I think I also do it because if I didn't I would wear the same eight shirts over & over & over. 

Do you like to plan anything specific or strange?

life.

It's been a Monday. Not a bad day. Just a Monday.

I feel like that has become an excuse for me, though.

"Oh, it's Monday."

'nuff said, right?

Wrong.

Life is full of Mondays.

Life is full of weeks we aren't ready to get started.

Life is full of things you're always ready for & days your always ready to end.

Life is good when we are "happy" & we are only happy when life is good.

Does that make sense? Happiness tends to be circumstantial.

Sp, I'm going to choose joy. Even on Monday. Joy is always ahead of us. Always. 

Even when life is not good.

This week I am going to try to live for the moment at hand. THIS one.

Hopefully this pseudo trend sticks for me.

There are always things to look forward to & there is always something more fun better to do.
There is also always something beautiful in each moment you are in.

I'm going to press on through my Mondays.

I will press on & trust in the fact that God provides.

I will choose joy because joy is always available.

Just so you know...It's pretty easy for me to choose joy right now. I've got my beautiful baby girl smilin' at me & a wonderful husband right by my side.

:)

Just in case you need a reminder:

I think I'll link up {again} today with yellow songbird: learning. Apparently I'm not the one who's always learning things.


Love.

sisters

So. Last night, J, Lay & I were privileged to hang out with three precious sisters. 

We had so. much. fun.

Bridget {5}

 Lydia {3}

 Pippa {2}

  These are three of the sweetest, funniest, most imaginative girls I have ever met.

 & they've decided that Layla is there little sister 

{she could really pass as their sister - very similar features}

They love each other & they love my little girl. 

If she learns how to live & be as joyful as they are then they can pretend she's there sister for as long as they'd like :)

So, here's to sisters.

Here's to sisters {in law}.

Here's to life long best friends {LYLAS}.

 & here's to the many blessed friends who are as dear as sisters.

I love you all so very much.

I was blessed. and I mean BLESSED with an amazing brother. God didn't choose to give me a sister.

BUT - He's blessed with friends & other beautifully godly women who have impacted & changed my life in countless ways.

Thank God today for all of the "sisters" in your life.

Love.

{just so you know - i linked up today with yellow songbird's saturday snapshot}

She's great...& if you'd like to take a look at her list of sponsors, you'll find that I'm one of them. There's a link to my Etsy shop on her blog :)

On Monday afternoon my dear friend, Valerie Hammond took a few MANY photos of me for promotional stuff for the blog/business end of my life. 

I am VERY excited for the final result of these images & am encouraged by her support in what I am doing. I know these pictures will be a great step. Etsy shop is gettin' closer to completion!! 

So, here's a sneak peak...

Also, if you'll notice a couple of new pages at the top of my blog. You'll see CHOOSE {hope//joy//peace} & an about page. These offer some info on what's on my heart. I am pleased to introduce the CHOOSE line to you all as my first step in making a difference in the lives of others through designs by abby lynn.

Please check it out here.

Thanks!

father's day

On this {first} Father's Day weekend for the Saunders trio, the one to be honored is out of town playing pretty music. 

So...this is a tribute to the greatest dad{s} in the world :)

You are so sweet & gentle with our darling baby girl.

 

From the moment you saw her, you there was nothing you wouldn't do for her.

You are her protector.

 

You have taught her how to make silly faces

 Seriously, you melt me.

You want the best for her.

She loves being in your arms.

You get stronger & stronger as she gets bigger & bigger.

{good thing cause that car seat is HEAVY}

You are so stinkin' proud of her stroller. 

I don't blame you, though. It's awesome.

{sigh}

 You are patient during four hour flight delays.

I LOVE watching you with our Layla. She loves you SO much & you make her laugh.

It is an honor being a parent with you. You are my best friend.

I love you, Justin. Happy Father's Day!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

&

Happy Father's Day to the amazing men Layla will call her grandfathers.

 

P.S. I linked up today with Saturday Snapshot over at Oh, Sweet Joy.

CHOOSE {hope//joy//peace}

You have the power to wake up each day full of hope, full of joy & full of peace about life's situations. It's not always easy. But, it is always possible. You get to CHOOSE how you will feel.

What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.

:)

BANGS

bangs. many of us have them. a lot of us hide them. some of us embrace them. most of us accessorize them.

About a month ago I decided that after a three year hiatus, I wanted bangs again. I first cut them my freshman year of high school and had them for about six years. I truly had a love/hate relationship with my bangs. If I didn’t feel like fixing them they would end up pinned back. Sometimes when I did want to fix them, they would end up pinned back because I lived in the TX heat and they never quite did what I wanted. Then there were days when I literally had the most amazing bangs on the planet. 

Fortunately for my hair, I now live in Tennessee.

Tennessee really isn’t that much different from Texas weather wise, but it’s a step up. A small step, but a step nonetheless.

Also, fortunately for me, there are a ton of cute hair accessories out there for the days when my bangs aren’t quite what I had hoped for.

Here are a few of my current favorites:

BonjourMaeMae’s Dogwood Blossom

   

 and her Marianne Posy which I was able to switch to a clip. 

I got it for Layla...but until she has more hair, I get plenty of use out of it :) It's also fun to clip it to a lace headband for Lay!

 

This headband from Just Lovely Things is next on my list. I love neutrals and this will definitely hit the spot & give my hair some fanciness…

I LOVE my headband and clip from Oh, Sweet Joy. I went to school with Kim & she is simply awesome. Lay can almost wear the clip, too!! Her hair is gettin' thicker! 

{I have the doubled up rosette in cotton candy & a clip in vintage aqua}

Kim from Oh, Sweet Joy posted this on her blog a few weeks ago & I instantly knew I wanted one. I decided I would order myself one for my birthday so I've been waiting to receive some b-day $$ before I picked. Now I can't decide. Thoughts??

 

tra la la??

or 

muffy??

A solid straw fedora does the trick for a bad or good hair day. It's just a great summer accessory.

My small silver hair clip has been worn at least three times a week for the past few months. If Layla's not wearing one then I usually am. I love it.

My large teal headband has been a really fun accessory for pulling my bangs back, or wearing with my curls. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture. But I'll get one soon. Promise :)

My bobby pins have been really great if I want a lovely & simple way to pull back my bangs.

What are some accessories you like to use to pull your bangs back?? Or what are some accessories you favorite for your hair in general?!

Happy Tuesday!

Things Layla Loves Edition

So, Layla turned FOUR MONTHS OLD on Tuesday, May 31, 2011. Each month I have taken a picture of her on the same spot on the rug in her nursery. It is amazing to see how she has changed and grown each month. 

We are also realizing how much she is changing with her personality, interests, emotions, reactions, etc...

For example...she cried for me this weekend! And she was in her daddy's arms. She has never done that. It was a sweet moment for me. Daddy may not have felt too good, though :)

Another example...She has always enjoyed looking in the mirror {she gets it honestly}, but she laughed at herself the first time this weekend. She LAUGHED. At HERSELF. 

Example number three...& after this I'm done...she rolled over A LOT this weekend. She's done it in the past...probably accidentally. But, she did it on her own a whole lot. Unfortunately, I have no proof because every time we would pull the camera out she would freeze. It was funny. Frustrating. But funny.

Ok...so I've put together a "list" of things that Layla currently loves. I hope to do this every month or so {if things change} as a record for us to remember what she was doing & what she enjoyed during that time of her life. 

We think she's pretty darn awesome. and cute. and beautiful. and funny. and I'm sure you do too. I mean, look at her :)

I hope you enjoy the Things Layla Loves edition of the blog. 

Note to self: put her in more of my products next time :) Daddy has a tendency to take her headbands off if we're at home! Oh well...You can see a really super cute headband on her in pictures 2 & 9. Check out BonjourMaeMae's products here

Have a great Monday, y'all!

a few of my products

{Miss Pippa Lou wearing a small silver snap clip with felt leaf}

This is probably my favorite accessory - for myself and sweet girls. I love it when I'm having a bad bang day or just to add a simple pop of color to a neutral outfit or to add a little flair to a t-shirt and jeans.

{large red alligator clip}

This item is an excellent addition for all ages. Looks great pinning back those flowing locks & for those who prefer headbands - easy - just attach to your favorite headband! 

{Miss Layla wearing a small turquoise elastic headband}

This (in many, many colors) is definitely a staple in Layla's wardrobe. I am pretty sure we have one to match every item of clothing she has. Since baby girl doesn't quite have enough hair for a clip yet, headbands are an excellent way to add that perfect girly touch to any outfit. 

{baby girl wearing a medium lavender lace headband}

I got this lace in the mail last week & absolutely love it. I'm pretty sure we're gonna have a lace headband obsession for a while. I really love how the lace allows her little head to stay cool! It's very gentle and doesn't put pressure or leave lines like others do when worn too long. She hardly seems to notice she is wearing it! 

 

{large teal black elastic headband}

This has probably been one of the most popular summer accessories so far! The black & teal coordinate so well & go well with every hair color & outfit! Teal is pretty much a neutral, right?? Of course, it is offered in almost every color. Almost. :)

{large black pin}

Hello. I used to be pregnant. Surprisingly, I haven't worn a pin since I was very large. I love them though & as soon as this post is done I am running upstairs to find them!

I really loved adding these to a cardigan or scarf [which are often worn in the winter...which is when i was pregnant] but will definitely be pulling them out to attach to a sweet summer dress! I'll post a more recent picture once that happens :)

{eggplant hair pin}

This is a truly great item for someone who loves a really simple hair piece [like my beautiful sister (in law)]. They are the smallest piece I offer and can be worn just like a normal hair pin. This is also a great item to wear in multiples in an updo at a formal [or not so formal] event.

 {summer color display}

So, there you have it. I love my products & I know you will too.

:)