I tried to find a video of Bing Crosby's "Easter Parade," but I couldn't find one to embed because of copyright laws.  But, every time I see a sweet bonnet I think of that song. 

"In your Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it
You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade."

 I fell in love with Millie Janalee's Easter dress when I saw it.  Add the bonnet that just so happened to match perfectly displayed right next to me on the glass counter, and I was done for.  I had absolutely no intention of purchasing a dress...much less a sweet bonnet.  But, I'm so glad I did!  I consulted my most respected source on all things smocked and handmade to decide what shoes she should wear.  That's when I realized...we have the perfect set!  These crocheted booties were made by my great-grandmother for either my mom and uncle...or maybe my grandmother.  I can't remember exactly who wore them originally.  They were beautiful with her Easter frock!  Of course, when Dustin first saw her, he proclaimed that "she looks like she's Amish!"  Hahaha!

I'm not sure who all reads our blog, but I think most of us are from the South.  So we know how this Easter Sunday thing works.  All the children don their newest Spring Easter dresses and white shoes.  Families coordinate.  And families come together for family portraits outside by the prettiest tree.  Things have gotten a bit more laid back over time, I think.  But, I long for those days when everyone wore their new dresses and little girls twirled in their frilly skirts and ran around just to hear the clack of their new white church shoes!  I'm trying to keep it alive in my little family.  These 40 degree temps make it challenging, but fashion hurts sometimes.  Ha!

After Millie Janalee saw all her Easter bunny happies, I helped her get all dressed up for her very first Easter!  She was just the most precious little angel baby ever!  In my humble opinion.  I'm sure you think the same about your own children.  We enjoyed a lovely church service as a family.  It was packed, and our family pew was moved to the opposite side of the church.  Everyone knows that you must arrive early to get "your pew" on Easter Sunday.  And our family wasn't early enough.  Ha!  After church, we planned to run by Russ's parents' home for a very quick family portrait.  We confirmed with everyone that church was out for all and we could run by and snap the picture.  An hour later, we were posed and ready for the portrait.  It was well worth the wait!  Aren't all things? 

Russ's side of the family

Following the big family portrait with Russ's family, we hurried over to my parents' home to enjoy a delicious Easter lunch that my mom always cooks.  She sets the table with her fine China from her wedding registry once a year every Easter.  Everything was ready and waiting on us.  But first...we had the Easter portrait with my side of the family.  By this time (well after 1:00), Millie Janalee had reached her threshold of hungry.  So we did the best we could and snapped some fantastic pictures of Millie Janalee's first Easter! 

I just love these soft, chubby legs!

My side of the family

My mom always says that she thinks we have a big and loud family...until she sees pictures of Russ's side of the family.  Then, she says we look puny.  Ha!  It won't be too long until my side of the family looks just as big!  We are the first with a child on my side...and the last to start on Russ's side.  Millie Janalee is the ninth Johnson grandchild!

Believe me when I say that I have not forgotten the feelings I've had in the past while I waited for our sweet Baby J.  It is such a sweet, sweet feeling to watch God answer prayers.  In His perfect time.  With His perfect child.  We are still in awe daily of how beautifully God answered our prayers for Millie Janalee!  To God be the glory!

Party of Three!

Russ and I have talked and prayed about the perfect life verse for Millie Janalee.  Life verses can mean different things to different people.  To me, Millie Janalee's life verse will be a verse Russ and I will pray over her all her life.  A verse that is unique to Millie Janalee.  A prayer we pray for her as she grows into who God wants her to become.  Of course, we pray many many verses over her...but a life verse will be the umbrella under which all other prayers fall.  Millie Janalee is such a happy baby!  She is joyful!  Anyone who is around her for any amount of time will say the same.  I have a friend who describes her as having a "joyful smile."  Russ and I have talked about how we wish we could keep her from anything hurtful or anyone who would try to steal her joy.  It breaks my heart and hurts my stomach to think of the day she has to deal with the evil of this world.  But, our prayer will always be that no one and nothing will steal her joy.  We pray that she always find JOY and REJOICE in the Lord!  Clapping her hands and singing or shouting songs of praise along the way!

I love her happy face!

The choir at our hometown church sang the most beautiful and moving song on Sunday called "Arise."  Every time I hear it, my heart nearly bursts with joy.  The joy I feel knowing that because He lives, I can face tomorrow.  Because Jesus lives all fear is gone.  Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, my sins are washed away.  And I will experience the glory that He is enjoying one day.  I found a video of the song.  There aren't many out there.  But, I should warn you that this video is nothing compared to what our music ministry allowed us to experience on Sunday.  Powerful!  Just listen to the words, close your eyes, and imagine what it will be like when we hear "Come forth...into eternal life!"  Visualize the glorious image of Christ rising up from death's dark disguise into the glorious light.  Oh, what beauty and majesty!

Mine and Russ's prayer over Millie Janalee and all our children is and will be the prayer of salvation for them.  We pray that God will give us wisdom and guide us as we are the examples our children will see first.  And most.  I pray that we will effectively lead them to the One who can save them from the sins of this earth.  We pray that their hearts will be open when Jesus comes knocking.  This is our prayer for our sweet girl.  And this will be our prayer for any children God may bless us with in the future.

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."  3 John 1:14

After a lovely meal of home-cooked goodness, Millie Janalee found that ANOTHER Easter bunny found her!  This Easter bunny came from Auntie Kristin and Uncie Lee's house.  This girl has really gotten in good with Peter Cottontail this year.  It must've been that show she put on during her Easter bunny photo shoot.  Ha! 

We sat Millie Janalee next to her goodies, and she started taking everything out.  She had a few favorites.  The sunglasses were definitely one of the favorite things!  She would not let go.  We are also in love with the adorable bookshelves Auntie Kristin painted.  Her business is called Not So Plain Jayne, and you can find her on Facebook.  Super cute things!  She also hand-painted a personalized Easter egg for Millie Janalee that she will give her each year.  I can't wait to hang them on an Easter tree in Millie Janalee's room one day!

Lovin' the shades!

Adorable Easter egg!  Millie Janalee loves eggs!

Cool shoes!

"I think I'll sit right here and hold all my pretties close.  K, Mama?"
Excuse the window sill in the background.  My brother's chocolate lab got ahold of it.  Ha!

We had a lovely time in our Easter bonnets, and I think it's safe to say that we enjoyed Millie Janalee's first Easter bonnet too!  The rough part came next.

You know the one.  The annual Smith Easter Egg Hunt!  Game faces on.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

Well...the Easter Bunny came late Saturday night.  She set everything out very nicely and even took pictures for Mama and Daddy.  The Easter Bunny also realized she may have gone overboard.  You know how you order things and pick up things here and there, and you store them away in an "Easter spot?"  Yeah.  That happened.  And then, when the Easter Bunny arrived to set everything out, she thought to herself, "Oops.  That was a little much."  But, there are absolutely no regrets!  Millie Janalee only has her first Easter once.

Millie Janalee must've known it was a special day, because she woke up earlier than normal.  Which is probably not early at all for most of you moms out there.  Around 7:15, she started "talking," so I put her in our bed with Russ while I took a shower and started getting ready.  I knew if I could get ready, it would be much easier to get everything in before church.

Russ was thrilled about this picture.  Ha!

But, when I went into the bathroom to get in the shower...I noticed the Easter Bunny made another stop!  Or maybe there are two Easter Bunnies...

Russ's Easter basket and happies

My Easter Basket

Farley even got a little happy!

And, yes, Millie Janalee had a ginormous Easter basket.  Big enough for her to sit in I'm sure!  Ha!

I got showered, dried my hair, and got dressed before I pulled Russ and Millie Janalee out of bed to check everything out.  Both baby and Daddy had quite the bed head...and those cute little sleepy eyes.

Baby bed head!

When I pulled Millie Janalee's huge Easter basket out and sat it next to her, she was immediately intrigued by the contents.  She loves to scratch things, so that was her first reaction.  She scratched the basket and the sun hat and the clothes.  I helped her take a few things out until she got the hang of it.  She loved everything!  So many cute spring clothes and shoes!  Her favorite was the little pack of farm animal bath toys.  She carries one around all day every day since.  I've started making the animal sounds for her, and she just thinks it's the funniest thing!

"Oh my.  What is this?"

"Wait!  Who turned out the lights?"

"The Easter Bunny knew blue brings out my baby blue eyes."

"Is it okay if I play with these toys instead of all these adorable clothes, Mama?"

"There's a pig...and a hippo...and a penguin...and a cow..."

After a little mini-meltdown as I took everything away and placed it all neatly back into the basket, we took Millie Janalee into the dining room where ANOTHER Easter Bunny left her goodies.  I'm pretty sure it was stimulation overload!  Ha!  What to touch first?

"Wow!  All this for me??"

I figured it would be easier to start with the basket.  So we sat our little bunny on the floor next to her basket and let her explore.  She immediately went for the bath cups and began banging them around.  Beware if you ever try to take one from her hand!  That's all I can say about that.  Ha!

I strategically helped her see the rest of her Easter happies, and she was so happy!  So many fun things to scratch and push and bang.  There were two things I was particularly excited about.  Millie Janalee is forever trying to reach for the remote control.  I keep it hidden best I can, but she sure searches.  So, I found her very own remote control complete with musical volume and channel buttons.  She is in heaven now.  Or at least distracted enough not to notice the big remote. 

I was also very excited about her very first real baby doll!  I'm obsessed with the thing.  Her face smells SOO good!  Like a real baby doll.  Millie Janalee loves talking to her and "patting" her face...which is still more like a hit.  Auntie Kristin played dolls with Millie Janalee this weekend and showed her how to love the baby and hold the baby.  I'm certainly not rushing a thing, but I am excited about the day when my sweet baby girl is pushing her babies around in a stroller or rocking them or kissing them.  I just think little girls and baby dolls is the absolute sweetest thing ever!

After a little playtime with our new Easter surprises, it was time for Russ and I to finish getting ready.  And for Millie Janalee to take a bottle and get dressed in her Sunday best too.  And, y'all...she looked precious Sunday morning.

Or at least her mother thought so.  Ha!  Not that I'm biased or anything.

Pre-Easter Fun

Well, I've been MIA lately.  Things have been busy around here and OH so FUN!  We celebrated Millie Janalee's very first Easter, and Russ had a day off FINALLY after a long stretch of work.  So I guess, I took the time to enjoy every minute of my sweet family.  And we had a ball!  Our weekend started Friday afternoon after Russ rested from his overnight call.  We packed up, loaded the car, and headed toward our hometown.  But first, we made a very special visit...

Just like our visit to see Santa, I was way more excited about our Easter Bunny pictures than Millie Janalee was.  Ha!  I was a little worried that she had reached the age of pure terror when she sees a mascot of any kind.  Russ sat in the car with Farley while I braved the line that made its way outside the door.  I stood in line with several very tired mamas and daddies...and some very excited children.  I watched as babies lay sleeping in the Easter Bunny's arms and toddlers ran screaming.  We got about halfway to the front of the line when Millie Janalee began "talking" to Peter Cottontail.  Ha!  She loved him (or her)!  I still wasn't sure how she would do when she was actually sitting amongst the fur, big eyes, and long ears.  I texted Russ when it was safe for him to come in and watch.  After a lengthy clarification of Millie Janalee's name to the photographer, the lady asked that Russ and I call her name because she "might get tongue tied." Oh my!  Y'all...it is pretty funny to hear all the reactions to her name.  Bless her (the photographer I mean) is all I can say right now.  Russ later informed me that when I answered her question about having a nickname she could use with "Nope.  The whole thing." that I may have been a little less than friendly.  Totally didn't mean to.  I'm just used to that staple answer nearly every time I introduce her.  Ha!  God bless the souls who recognize the beauty in her precious name!

I totally digressed there.  Back to the bunny.  Millie Janalee was such a ham!  She put on a show for the captive audience of tired parents and rowdy little ones.  Then, she wanted to see the Easter Bunny herself and would not turn back around.  It was so funny!  I imagine her saying, "So you're the Easter Bunny, huh?  Hi!  I'm Millie Janalee."  She's such a stinker!  And she loves a good photo opp just like her Mama!

We left Mr. Cottontail heading east.  Russ, Millie Janalee, and I enjoyed a delicious dinner at one of our favorite local steakhouse restaurants with the rest of my family.  We relaxed and enjoyed doing absolutely nothing the rest of the night.  Saturday afternoon, we paid a little visit to Jimmy and Roan.  They actually planned to host their annual Easter egg hunt, but it was raining...and it continued all day and weekend...so it was cancelled.  I texted Roan telling her we were coming rain or shine.  Ha!  We always enjoy our visits together.  Russ's sister, her oldest and his fiance, and her youngest joined us too.  Roan's friend and running buddy, Heather, and her family were also there.  We enjoyed a yummy dinner of bean tacos and the fixings.  Roan and her family can cook!

Aunt Jenny, Elle, Millie Janalee, Will, and Grace

Aunt Jenny and her baby girls!

Aunt Roan loves our little "baby doll."

Will is a pretty big fan too!

Julie is such a great babysitter!  She has such a nurturing spirit!

We stayed and visited until it was Millie Janalee's bedtime...or it would be by the time we made it back to my parents' house.  We made it back to town, and Millie Janalee wasn't quite ready for bed.  What do you do when you have extra time?  Well...on this particular night, we set up a photo shoot!  Of course!  Ha!  Seriously, Russ has all this nice photography equipment and he loves taking pictures.  But his work schedule has kept him so unbelievably busy that he hasn't been able to enjoy it.  He got lots of use out of his new flashes and camera and stands throughout the weekend.  Millie Janalee makes quite the adorable subject too!  I'm sure Russ will edit these and have them even better looking.  I just wanted them on the blog and did my own thing...which is never as good as the pro.

"Hmmmm...what's in here?"

Easter eggs!  This girl LOVES Easter eggs!  It may be Easter year-round at our house.  Ha!

This was one of my favorite little outfits!  I LOVE the back!

Sweet girl!

"Look Mama!  I found TWO eggs!"

I love this little pot belly!  I could eat her up with a spoon!

So excited about her first Easter!

After our photo shoot and a little bathtime, it was time for a bottle and bed!  Susu always gives the best baths, and PawPaw is pretty good with the bedtime bottle.  It's nice to relax a little and let the grandparents take over.  I call it "enjoying their time with their granddaughter."  But, let's be honest.  It's really called "letting Mama and Daddy just relax and watch."  Isn't that what grandparents are for anyway??  Ha!

"Is the Easter Bunny really coming in the morning?"

"Yay!  I can't wait!'

Millie Janalee finally got to bed and slept all night.  We woke up to such fun surprises Sunday morning!  And a special day all around!