“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” // James 1:17
Today marks 3 whole months of holding you in our arms and loving you to pieces, sweet baby Judson!
We are forever smitten by you and your sweet and adorable little personality – and even when we don’t think it’s even possible… you somehow get cuter and CUTER every single stinkin’ day with your bright blue eyes and smile that lights up a whole room!!
As my best friend so perfectly described you the other day… you are so full of LIGHT, my sweet boy, and bring your daddy and I more joy than we ever knew was possible! It is the greatest GIFT getting to be your parents!
You are getting so playful and talkative these days and, I know I say this all the time, but it truly does keep getting sweeter and sweeter with you!
I have dreamed of being a mommy ever since I was a little girl taking care of all my stuffed animals and baby dolls, and it is surreal to me that I am now a mommy to my sweet little baby boy. After all my summers and years as a camp counselor (always wanting to be with the absolute youngest little campers), working as a kindergarten and pre-K teacher my first few years out of college, and my time teaching 3-year-olds while living overseas as a missionary in Uganda, it is so so sweet now having my own little baby to take care of!
I have told multiple friends this, but I truly do believe SO many of the lessons upon lessons I learned during my time working with so many little ones as both a counselor and pre-K teacher have blessed me in motherhood thus far – and has reminded me, yet again, how God truly does use each season we walk through to prepare for what is up ahead!
I am the kind of person who has always loved to nurture, build up, and encourage others, so I can’t even tell y’all how much JOY I find in being a mommy and getting to watch this precious baby boy grow daily right before my eyes!
One of my very favorite things of all, so far, is during Judson’s bedtime routine when I am rocking him in the glider and Wes reads bible stories from the Jesus Storybook Bible to Judson.
I love seeing Judson’s little eyes light up when he is looking at the bright and colorful pictures, and hope and pray that He will come to know and love our Lord Jesus Christ at a young age – because I know that our greatest calling as mothers is to raise up babies to know and love Jesus…. who loves them even MORE than we could ever dream or imagine!
Speaking of… it was a very special month for us as baby Judson had his baby dedication at our church, Boiling Springs First Baptist Church, a couple weeks ago. This was such a special day for our little family as we dedicated his precious life to the Lord. It was so special having Pastor hank pray over our family and the calling on Judson’s life ahead of him. We are so thankful for all the people committed to helping us raise Judson up to know and love the Lord and be a bright light in this world!
The name Judson means “praised,” and the name Carpenter (my maiden name) means “craftsman.” And his life verse is:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.” // Isaiah 43:1
For his baby dedication day, baby Judson was gifted an adorable silver train piggy bank from my mom (Judson’s “Nana”) and the cutest little personalized baseball moccasins from Wes’ mom (Judson’s “RaRa”)!
It was so special getting to have both sets of Judson’s grandparents present for this joyous occasion and we are so humbled to know that baby Judson is so very loved and covered in prayer by his friends, family, and church community.
We can’t wait to watch him grow up in his Father’s house and come to know and love the God of his father and God of his mother, as Pastor Hank so beautifully said during the baby dedication ceremony.
Another big event for Judson this month was getting all his shots at his 2-month check-up!
He was so tough and we were sooo stinkin’ proud of him and how brave he was – because this mama’s heart was not looking forward to it!
I am so thankful for a healthy, strong, and happy baby boy and love him more than words can possibly describe!
And after his shots, we did lots of cuddling and snuggling the rest of the day – my favorite baby Judson quality of all! Being your mama is the greatest gift, sweet baby Judson!
And just last week, I officially came back from maternity leave over here at Emily Mabry Creative – and it has been so wonderful to be back doing what I love – creating and sharing happy lettering art – with the cutest little helper (emphasis on the *cute*) in the whole wide world!
But really, shout out to Wes (who took this photo above) who is home from work on Fridays to help with Judson, so I can catch up on lots and lots of EMC art orders. I truly don’t know what I’d do without his constant encouragement and support from day ONE of starting this small business – almost 2.5 years ago now!!
It has been such a blessing getting to see this sweet small business grow with our family, and I truly get teary-eyed grateful when I really sit down and think about the ways the Lord has answered SO many prayers through EMC – which all glory goes to HIM – as He has been the one behind, before, and with me throughout this whole small business journey!
It has been the absolute SWEETEST summer soaking in this new season of being a mommy to my sweet baby Judson and the past 13 weeks have been the best of my entire life!
And, best of all, I get to keep on being a full-time mommy to Judson while starting back over at EMC and doing what I love – helping others see beauty and joy through creation – because, like I always say, I am simply a creative inspired by the true Creator, God! I am SO excited to officially be back creating and sharing happy and colorful lettering art that showcases the beauty and joy of all your favorite cities, towns, schools, homes, wedding venues, places, memories, and more!
So, if you haven’t already, make sure to go follow my creative lettering art page over on Instagram at @emilymabrycreative and order you and your loves ones some happy EMC art, too! I am so beyond thankful, now more than EVER, for this sweet small business that the Lord blessed our family with “for such a time as this” – so I can still be home with my precious baby boy while also getting to do what I love! Such a sweet and special creative outlet turned job that I thank Jesus for every single day!
Also, in case you missed the news in my previous blog posts, you can now find me and “shop with me” over on the LIKEtoKNOW.it app. 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:
And also, I will provide some "click-able" links (look for the underlined words) on my photo captions below so you can go directly to those specific baby finds, links, items and outfits that way, too! :)
Now onto some sweet photo memories over this past month with our sweet baby Judson… precious memories and milestones that I hope and pray I will always remember!
Judson LOVES when his "dada" gets home from work!
We love going on walks (especially around Lake Bowen) with our friends Emily and sweet baby Tucker!
Soaking in all the snuggles with our cuddly little guy!!
Judson’s adorable 9-week photoshoot!
We love a good summer pool day!
Another fun walk with our friends Kristen and baby Brewer!
The cutest little baby handprints and footprints!
All dressed up in his adorable American Flag outfit to go with mommy and daddy to get some ice cream up at Strawberry Hill!
Our little cuddle bug!
Pizza dinner with our best friends!
Our little guy was SO tough for his shots at his 2-month check-up!
He was smiling away for the doctor… until he got his shots! But only cried for about 30 seconds and was fine once mommy cuddled him some more!!
Rewarded myself with a chick-fil-a frosted coffee because we made it through his 2-month shots!!
Judson’s 10-week photoshoot!
Apparently put BOTH of my boys asleep during story time haha!
A fun little family walk – Judson is LOVING being carried in this baby carrier these days!
My happy little koala bear!
It’s the baby in llama pajamas for me….
Started a prayer journal for baby Judson (similar to the prayer journal I wrote in for my future husband ever since I first met Christ, and before Wes and I got married)!
Another fun little family summer evening walk.
My mom (Judson’s “Nana”) came up to stay with us the night before Judson’s baby dedication – we had so much fun!
Judson sure does love his “Dada!”
Judson’s baby dedication at the church was such a special day for our little family!!
We got to grab dinner with our friends Devon, Josh, and sweet little Harper!
Judson was having himself a little dance party before his nightly bath… so stinkin’ adorable!!
Judson LOVES playing in his Baby Bjorn bouncer these days – hands down his favorite baby item we have!!
Judson’s adorable 11-week photoshoot!
We loved grabbing dinner with our friends Kristen, Harry, and baby Brewer!
And ended the night with a little summer evening walk around Wofford’s campus!
Wes and I love taking baby Judson’s on walks at the Spartanburg Rail Trail because it is so nice and shady with all of the beautiful trees!
About 11 weeks postpartum, I started running again and it was WONDERFUL! I pretty much stopped running as soon as I found out I was pregnant with baby Judson (just to be extra cautious) and just did Pure Barre and lots of walking throughout my pregnancy, but MAN I sure had missed running! So thankful to be back doing it again when Wes can watch Judson for a little bit so I can get a quick run in!
Always a happy happy mama when Judson sleeps 10 hours straight during the night!!
Another fun pool day at Wes’ parents’ house!
Judson got to meet my little sister, MJ, as well as my oldest sister, Carey, and her precious baby girl, Hannah (Judson’s cousin – born just 2.5 months before him!!) for the first time!!
He also got to meet his Great Uncle Edgar! Such a fun trip getting to visit my family up in Charlotte, NC while all three of my sisters were all in town!
While we were up visiting my parent's house in Charlotte, we saw one of my baby pictures on display and my family is NOT kidding when they say how similar Judson looks like me when I was a baby - crazyyyy!!
Above is a side-by-side for y'all to see hehe - baby Emily on top, and baby Judson below! WILD!!!!
Morning walks are definitely my favorite part of our morning routine!
Such a little cutie playing under his wooden toy gym!
When the power went out for the day (due to some crazyyyy storms), we did lots of cuddling!!
The cutest little baby bear all wrapped up in his towel after bath time!
Happy day when my bestie, Emily, surprised me with my favorite Chick-fil-a breakfast. I have the best best friend!!
Judson has been loving sleeping in his “Magic Merlin Sleepsuit” (a friend gifted us at a baby shower) during his daytime naps!! He looks like a cute little marshmallow man - as we like to call him when he's wearing it haha. He loves how cozy and snuggly it is because he is SUCH a cuddle bug!!
Judson is getting so strong, y’all!!
Judson’s 12-week photoshoot!
His new favorite thing is “kicking” Red while playing on his play mat and it is the cutest thing!
Judson lovesss playing with “Dada!”
We made homemade pizza for dinner and it was soo yummy!
Pool day at the Mabry family farm!!
Someone was worn outttt from all that fun in the sun! Naps by the pool are the best :)
My sweet boys!
Happy boy on his walk!
Practicing our tummy time!
Judson’s 13-week photoshoot!
We went to visit daddy at work (at the church) for lunch and had so much fun!
Andddd Judson got to come with me to ship out my first big shipment of EMC orders at the post office – woohoooo!!
Loving our late evening walks!
The teeny tiny hand hold gets me every time, y’all!!
Happy national dog day (yesterday!) from #JudsonandRed
And finally…Judson’s three-month-old photo! We have been so blessed by your sweet and happy little personality these past 3 months, sweet baby J, and we love you SO much!
Thank you, Jesus, for blessing us with another month filled with so much joy with our sweet baby Judson! I am so grateful for these precious days, moments, and memories – ones that I never want to forget!