Nine Months of Sweet Baby Judson!

Nine whole months of sweet baby Judson – and it’s so neat to think that I have now officially known my sweet baby boy “on the outside” just as long as I got to pray over him growing “on the inside”

during those 9 months of pregnancy!

What a miracle babies are!!

I know, I know, I know… I say this every month… but this month has been my favorite yet!!

Every single day and month gets better and better with you, sweet baby J, and you truly are a dream come true!

The most happy, joyful, chill, cuddly, giggly, and adorable little baby bear cub -

and it has been SO fun getting to see your personality shining through this month!

You are officially “on the move” and crawling all over the place - it is so fun getting to explore with you as you take in the big and exciting world around you!

You are best friends with your puppy dog, Red, and love getting to play and crawl after him these days and share all of your toys (and food from your highchair hehe) –

y’all are the best of friends...

and it is the sweetest thing ever!

You love to clap and wave, and are talking all the time and said both “mama” and “dada” this month, and this mama’s heart just about melted!

We have had such a special month – full of lots of family walks, a trip to the beach for Valentine’s Weekend, and getting to celebrate baby Judson’s very first Valentine’s Day (he actually said “mama” for the first time on our way to our Valentine’s Dinner tradition at Waffle House – and it was the best valentine’s gift ever)!

During my quiet times this past week, the Lord led me to Luke 2:40 - “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.” and Luke 2:52 - “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

– and I definitely don’t think this was a coincidence - and know that this is my prayer and desire for sweet baby Judson… that he grows up one day to be exactly who God has called and created him to be - for God’s great glory!!

(Also, peep my worn and torn Summit Church bookmark - from back at my freshman year of college at UNC Chapel Hill, when I first came to truly know the Lord! It's so wild to step back sometimes and see how God has moved and grown my faith since those days - thank you Lord!!)

I am so excited and expectant to see what the Lord has in store for this special baby boy’s life - and being his mama and biggest prayer advocate is the absolute greatest gift and calling!

9 whole months of getting to love on and cuddle this precious angel baby boy of mine – thank you Lord!!

Becoming a mommy is, hands down, the best thing that ever happened to me -

and watching my sweet hubby be the most supportive and hands-on daddy to baby Judson has just made me fall in love with him all the more… truly #thesearethedays !!

I feel like I find myself cuddling Judson a little extra and just soaking in every little moment,

all the while thinking to myself, “These really are the days… the very best days.”

I don’t take a single moment for granted with my sweet boys and am soaking it all in!

To start off this past month, we took baby Judson on a fun walking adventure to one of our favorite walking trails out in Tryon, NC (after eating at our favorite restaurant – The Hare & The Hound – of course)!

I am so thankful for this simple and sweet life with my boys – today and everyday – and always love getting to do some wintertime exploring with our tag-along baby bear!

We also had the sweetest time getting to celebrate our sweet friend, Baby Brewer, at his first birthday party!

And I am so thankful for the sweet mommy friend in Brewer's mama, Kristen!

And for this sweet group of people right here!

Baby Judson had so much fun playing in the ball pit with his friends Brewer and Tucker!

And then, SURPRISE! Valentine’s Day came a little early this year for this mama and baby bear, thanks to my sweet hubby – who surprised me with my dream car!

If you know the story… I had basically been driving around without air conditioning in my old car for 2+ years, so this was such a sweet surprise, and I was so overwhelmed with gratitude – to have a safer and newer car to drive baby Judson around in! What a gift!

Sweet baby Judson got lotssss of kisses from mommy this month hehe!

Mommy’s little valentine! I could kiss those little cheeks all day long!

The weekend before Valentine’s Day, we took baby Judson back to the restaurant in downtown Greenville where Wes took me on our very first date (Cantina 76!)

and then to see the church where we got married and it all began!

Just so thankful for my boys – especially this time of year during #lovemonth!

Wes watched Judson so I could go out for a fun little “Galentine’s Dinner” (aka our monthly “supper club”) with my girlfriends!

Such a fun girl’s night out!

And then our favorite tradition – Valentine’s Day Weekend down at North Myrtle Beach – got a whole lot sweeter this year as we got to bring baby Judson along!!

The absolute sweetest Valentine’s Weekend down at the beach with my boys…

and our sweet and strong baby started crawling while we were there! Such a sweet beach memory!!

And the funny part is… I had just told Wes (a few days prior) that I had a feeling Judson would start crawling while we were down at the beach… and we both laughed out loud when new got home from dinner to look down and see him moving and grooving across the floor!

Go little buddy go! We are SO proud of you!!

We took lots of walks

(& naps in the baby carrier) on the beach,

ate yummy seafood after seeing the prettiest sunset outside the restaurant,

went swimming in the indoor pool,

and just spent so much quality time together as a little family!

So thankful for so many sweet memories with both of my valentines down at the beach (aka, my happy place)!

These truly are the days!

And for actual Valentine’s Day, I woke up to the sweetest surprises from my forever valentine...

and had a special delivery of roses from my sweet valentines, too!

And then we went to Waffle House for a fun little Valentine’s dinner – just like last year –

and that may be one of my new favorite family traditions!

And baby Judson said "mama" for me (and reached out his hand for me) on our way to dinner - the sweetest valentine's gift of all time!

This sure was special and memorable Valentine’s Day – and by far my favorite one yet! Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with both of my cutie valentines – it sure is a gift to be loved by my sweet boys!

And also, such a gift to have these sweet "galentines" and fellow #boymama friends in my life as well!

We had the prettiest weather this weekend and last, so we took baby Judson out for a picnic at one of our favorite local spots – Glendale Shoals!

And baby Judson in his cute Carhartt baby overalls is a whole new level of cuteness, y’all!!

He truly is the most happy, chill, and go-with-the-flow little real life teddy bear and we love him to pieces!

And this past week, we had a fun little playdate with some of our friends!

I am so thankful for these mamas, their sweet babies, and community here in Spartanburg!

And just this past weekend, we took baby Judson to the park at Lake Bowen -

for a picnic by the lake, swinging overlooking the water, and soaking in the beautiful sunny weather!

Another super fun weekend with our sweet and strong cutie pie!

And with it being “love month” this February, I have loved remembering that we love because God first loved us!

It is such a sweet and precious gift that we get to know the love of friends and family in our lives all because Jesus made a way for us first through the compassion and grace of our loving God!

“We love because He first loved us.” // 1 John 4:19

Being a momma to my sweet baby Judson has shown me a whole new kind of love – and taught me so much about the Lord’s gentleness, care, and compassion for His children – and boy, I never knew it was possible to love someone so so deeply!

But it is so comforting to know that my angel baby boy is loved even MORE by Jesus – for all of his days!

Just like we read to our sweet angel baby boy every night out of his “Jesus Storybook Bible,” God’s love for him (and all of us) is a “never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love” –

thanks be to God!

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” // Romans 8:38-39

9 months of you on the outside, my sweet baby Judson!

It was always you….

And you are even sweeter than I ever dreamed of all those months while you were growing in my belly!

And onto a little EMC sidenote, y’all… this sweet lettering art business over here at EMC has continued to be such a dream come true to our family – and I appreciate all of your love, orders, and support more than I can ever begin to express! I am so grateful for the opportunity to get to stay home with baby Judson while helping support our little family as Wes is now walking in his calling of full-time ministry at our church!

It is such a gift getting to have sweet baby Judson here as my little baby bear helper as we print, pack, and ship out lots and lots of EMC orders together!

And with spring and graduation season coming up before we know it, I am so grateful that so many of you are already placing your orders for EMC City/Town/School/Place and Bible Verse/Encouraging Art prints as perfect gifts and stationary to share with friends, family, and loved ones!

I hope and pray that lots and lots of love, light, and joy will be spread this upcoming spring season through EMC cards and designs!

And for those of you who are new around here to the EMC Blog, you can also find me and “shop with me” over on the LIKEtoKNOW.it app. So if you haven’t already, make sure to download the app and “follow” me there (I put instructions over on my LIKEtoKNOW.it story highlight over on my personal Instagram page @emilyjoannemabry) - where I’m sharing all my favorite lifestyle products, baby items (and cute clothes, of course!), mommy items, and finds!!

You can download the app and follow me here:

https://www.liketoknow.it/emilyjoannemabry

I have also added “links” in the captions below (and throughout this blog post!) where you can click and it will take you to be able to “shop” that specific photo & what you see!!

Now onto some more sweet photo memories over this past month with our sweet baby Judson… precious memories and moments that I hope and pray I will always remember!

Bath time is Judson’s favorite part of every day!

I sure do love post-bathtime snuggles with my squeaky clean baby bear!

My sweet and handsome boys!!

Such a fun winter walk out at FENCE!

Baby Judson is such a fun little “tag-along” bear in the baby carrier – and it’s the best!

Judson had the best time at baby Brewer’s first birthday party!

And the mamas did too!

The baby boys especially loved the ball pit!

And baby Tucker and baby Judson had an absolute ball!

Judson got to experience his very first “car wash” on our way to Charlotte to get the new car, and he slept right through it haha!

Judson loves to “kick kick” his feet when you carry him up in the air – and it is the cutest little thing! He especially loves to do it right before bath time (when he's in just a diaper) - because he is just soooo excited for bathtime - SO CUTE!

The sweetest little snuggle bug – and he sure does love mommy’s Barefoot Dreams robe (that I got for Christmas) – truly the softest thing ever!! And the matching slippers are heavenly, too!

Having so much fun doing a little “kiss kiss” valentine’s themed photo shoot with mommy hehe!

Post-bathtime snuggles with our little baby bear!

Loves to say “dada” these days!

Those eyes melt me every time!

Good morning sunshine! So happy after waking up from a good, long nap!

Baby Judson loves to eat!

A little valentine’s baking with mommy (and the cutest tiny feet)!

Baby Judson has the sweetest little bedtime/naptime routine – where he “kisses Mr. Giraffe goodnight, says goodnight to his animals (on his crib mobile), and turns on his sound machine! It’s adorable!

My boys!

A little rainy day picnic fun!

Took Judson back to the restaurant where Wes took me on our very first date – Cantina 76 – in downtown Greenville! He had a blast!

Baby Judson loves going to church with mommy and daddy!

And especially loves worship!

Having so much fun playing on his new mat with Red!

He LOVES to “clap clap” his hands and it is the cutest thing ever!

My little sugar pie…

Honey bun! You know I love you!!

Loves going on lots of jogs with mommy!

My sweet sweet baby bear!

My happy and giggly little buddy!

All dressed in his fishy pajamas for the beach trip!

Valentine’s Weekend beach trip… here we come!

Judson is such a good little traveler and we are so thankful for that!

The sweetest morning snuggles overlooking the gorgeous beach view!

Nothing sweeter than beach walks with our little love!

And he sure does love playing with Daddy’s sunglasses!

Baby J was waving and flirting with everyone when we went shopping at the outlets! Mommy's little heartbreaker!

And so sweet that he started crawling while we were down at the beach, too!!

We took baby Judson back to one of our favorite beach restaurants and arrived just in time to see the most gorgeous sunset!

Nothing better than slow mornings at the beach – especially with Duck Donuts coffee and donuts (another favorite North Myrtle Beach tradition)!

Judson had the best time swimming and kicking around in the indoor pool at the beach condo!

He will forever be our little “water baby!”

After saying “mama” for me on Valentine’s day, baby Judson just loves to say “mama” all the time as he’s bouncing and playing around the house – and it makes me smile!

Got to go walking on the Rail Trail and eat at Flock Shop with my bestie, Emily Tisdale, to celebrate her birthday!

Showing off his “new crawling trick” for Red – the best of friends!

My favorite blue-eyed running buddy! Looked down from my jog to those sweet eyes staring up at me – just melt my heart!!

These two are truly my “sunshine on a cloudy day!”

Having so much fun at our picnic at Glendale Schoals on the most beautiful sunny day!

Such sweet memories!

Storytime with my boys is the sweetest time of the day!

Truly can’t get enough of baby Judson giggles and snuggles!

Judson and Red…

The best of friends and always playing together these days!!

Always trying to share his food with “Dada” and Red haha.

I love you more than you will ever know, sweet boy!

Judson had so much fun playing with his friend, Wyatt, at our little playdate last week!

The cutest little bath time video you ever did see – click to watch!

The weather was so pretty the other night, so we decided to eat dinner outside in the backyard!

And it was the sweetest time!

Oh boy oh boy…

And mommy sure does love YOU!!

Loving the fresh daffodils daddy picked for me out from the backyard! I love seeing them pop up all around our house this time of year!!

Picnic at Lake Bowen fun!

Such a beautiful day to go look out over the lake!

He sure does love his daddy!

Barefoot, happy feet on our Friday afternoon walk in the gorgeous weather! Soaking it in while we can!

Giggle sesh with daddy! The best!

And spent yesterday going on a fun nature walk through the trails!

Judson loves to tag-along in the baby carrier, and we had the best time!

And finally… Judson’s nine-month-old photo! So incredible that we have been able to love on you just as long on the outside as we got to pray over you while you were growing in my belly! Time is flying by, but it truly just gets sweeter and sweeter as we get to watch you grow and explore the world around you! We have continued to be so blessed by your happy, joyful, cuddly, loving, and content little personality these past 9 months, sweet baby J, and we love you more than you will ever know!

Thank you, Jesus, for blessing us with another month filled with so much joy, fun, giggles, and LOVE with our sweet baby Judson! I am so grateful for these precious days, moments, and memories – and never taking any of it for granted! Getting to have you here to experience your very first Valentine’s Day was such a treat and I am forever grateful for BOTH of my sweet valentine boys – who make life just so very sweet!