DISCLAIMER: This is a really mushy, lovey post...
A lot of people have been posting things they are thankful for on facebook this month. I love that idea and thought it would be good to write a blog post on this topic. I have so much to be thankful for right now - it seems not a day goes by that I don't think about all the wonderful blessings in my life!
Obviously, I'm thankful for my sweet little girl, Ellie Bean. She is my favorite person, my best friend, and my own personal angel on Earth. She reminds me every day that God is good! She is growing up to be such an independent and intelligent little girl. I'm constantly impressed with how fast she can learn new things. Having Ellie was a pivotal moment in my life and she has taught me so many things about love and family in the last 19 months.
I'm also incredibly thankful for my husband, Bennett. In the last year he has truly won the husband of the year award! After we had Ellie, Bennett felt a powerful calling from God to be a provider and spiritual leader for our family. I slowly started to see incredible changes in him - he made church a bigger priority for the family, he started helping me with chores around the house, he started telling me how beautiful I was almost every day, he began giving money or clothes or food to those in need, and probably the biggest change was his decision to change careers. I had been struggling with wanting to be home with Ellie but was not comfortable with giving up my income just yet. Bennett kept pushing me to quit my job because he saw how unhappy I was with the little time I could spend with Ellie. After a long job search, he completely changed careers so that I would be more comfortable with our financial situation. This selfless act on his part is something I am thankful for every single day. Bennett's job is much more demanding now so his stress level has gone up a bit, but he feels that this sacrifice was the best thing for our family. I love this man more today than the day I married him and feel incredibly lucky that Ellie gets to grow up with this example in her life.
Ellie and Bennett are not the only things I have to be thankful for, but are certainly the biggest parts of my life. I also have amazing family members who love on my little girl or help us renovate our home, my best girl friends that keep me sane, my neighborhood mommy friends that can relate to all my feelings about motherhood, my Mom and Dad who are willing to fly 2,000 miles for every holiday to visit us (because I'm way too nervous to put Ellie on a plane yet), my brother who has become such a dedicated and hard-working attorney, and my friends and co-workers at Vendormate who still make me feel like part of the VM family. If I forgot someone - I'm sorry! There are just too many wonderful people in my life (what a great problem to have, huh?).
And last, but certainly not least - thankful to God, for He is the one who has given me all these blessings and has been very present in my life this past year.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Halloween 2013
I'm way behind on blogging - it's a lot harder to find time to do this than I thought! Being a stay-at-home mom is super fun, but sometimes I feel like I have less time than I did when I was working. I've got a little girl who needs attention 24/7, where I used to have a lunch break to run errands, check emails, etc. But it's still the best decision I ever made!
Anyway...Halloween was a two-week event for us! It started with a visit fro Grammy (my mom). She came in for a long weekend before Halloween and Ellie had a blast with her here! We took Grammy to Music Class, pre-school, and had tons of fun playing at the house. We made a trip to Augusta for pumpkin painting with all of my nieces and nephews at Bennett's Dad's house. I loved that Ellie was able to spend some time with her cousins - she doesn't get to see all of them often, especially not all together like that. It was a lot of fun watching the kids paint pumpkins and get their faces painted!
The next week I hosted the Halloween party for Ellie's pre-school class. I made some adorable Pinterest-inspired snacks and the party was a success! I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was so busy helping the kids eat and play with their stickers. It was a lot of fun to get to see Ellie interact in her class environment. She is getting so big!
On Halloween day, we had a mini-party at our house with our neighborhood friends. It was a pretty good turn-out with the Brewer's, Latta's, McEwan's, and our new neighbors the Armstrong's stopped by too. This is the best picture I was able to get of the little ones...
We all left our house around 6:30pm and went to Redding Rd. to trick-or-treat. That street is blocked off from cars for the night and is like a huge block party full of kids in their costumes. We packed up Ellie in the wagon and had a blast looking at all the neighborhood kids in their costumes. Ellie only went up to about 2 or 3 houses to ask for candy. She didn't quite understand the whole "trick-or-treat" concept yet, but we had a ton of fun! Here's my little princess...
Anyway...Halloween was a two-week event for us! It started with a visit fro Grammy (my mom). She came in for a long weekend before Halloween and Ellie had a blast with her here! We took Grammy to Music Class, pre-school, and had tons of fun playing at the house. We made a trip to Augusta for pumpkin painting with all of my nieces and nephews at Bennett's Dad's house. I loved that Ellie was able to spend some time with her cousins - she doesn't get to see all of them often, especially not all together like that. It was a lot of fun watching the kids paint pumpkins and get their faces painted!
The next week I hosted the Halloween party for Ellie's pre-school class. I made some adorable Pinterest-inspired snacks and the party was a success! I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was so busy helping the kids eat and play with their stickers. It was a lot of fun to get to see Ellie interact in her class environment. She is getting so big!
On Halloween day, we had a mini-party at our house with our neighborhood friends. It was a pretty good turn-out with the Brewer's, Latta's, McEwan's, and our new neighbors the Armstrong's stopped by too. This is the best picture I was able to get of the little ones...
We all left our house around 6:30pm and went to Redding Rd. to trick-or-treat. That street is blocked off from cars for the night and is like a huge block party full of kids in their costumes. We packed up Ellie in the wagon and had a blast looking at all the neighborhood kids in their costumes. Ellie only went up to about 2 or 3 houses to ask for candy. She didn't quite understand the whole "trick-or-treat" concept yet, but we had a ton of fun! Here's my little princess...
Monday, October 7, 2013
Butterfly Kisses
Tonight we taught Ellie about butterfly kisses...
After dinner, Bennett and I usually take Ellie upstairs to the play room to hang out before getting her ready for bed. We have a full-sized mattress on the floor with lots of pillows and all three of us were sprawled out snuggling together. One of Ellie's favorite things to do right now is give kisses, and she's been doing this for the past several weeks to just about anybody. While we were snuggled up tonight I remembered that my Dad used to give me "butterfly kisses" when I was little. He would put his eye lashes on my cheek and blink really fast so it felt like little wings brushing against my face. I showed Ellie how to do this and she was completely fascinated! She kept lifting her cheek up to me and Bennett as if asking for another butterfly kiss. It was amazing watching her face while she learned a new way to show affection. Bennett and I were so overcome with love for our sweet little girl! After I gave Ellie a bath and got her ready for bed I decided to give her butterfly kisses in addition to her goodnight kiss. I think that will be our new bedtime ritual!
After dinner, Bennett and I usually take Ellie upstairs to the play room to hang out before getting her ready for bed. We have a full-sized mattress on the floor with lots of pillows and all three of us were sprawled out snuggling together. One of Ellie's favorite things to do right now is give kisses, and she's been doing this for the past several weeks to just about anybody. While we were snuggled up tonight I remembered that my Dad used to give me "butterfly kisses" when I was little. He would put his eye lashes on my cheek and blink really fast so it felt like little wings brushing against my face. I showed Ellie how to do this and she was completely fascinated! She kept lifting her cheek up to me and Bennett as if asking for another butterfly kiss. It was amazing watching her face while she learned a new way to show affection. Bennett and I were so overcome with love for our sweet little girl! After I gave Ellie a bath and got her ready for bed I decided to give her butterfly kisses in addition to her goodnight kiss. I think that will be our new bedtime ritual!
Weekend in Augusta
This past weekend I had 2 baby showers to attend in Augusta, so we packed up the family and spent Saturday night at Bebe's house (Bennett's mom). Ellie had a great time seeing lots of family. We managed to visit with Bebe, Gammy & Papa, and Uncle Joe all in one trip!
I attended baby showers for Courtney, one of my good friends from home, and for Krista, Bennett's step sister. Both showers were a lot of fun, and it made me think about when I was getting ready for Ellie Bean to arrive. It was such an exciting (and anxious) time in my life waiting to meet my little girl for the first time. I remember being overwhelmed with the generosity of friends and family at my baby showers. We were lucky to receive so many essential items for Ellie that made it much easier welcoming her in to the world.
Saturday night we had dinner at Bebe's house, and Joseph and Shawn came over. Beverly cooked us a yummy dinner, and we sat around the kitchen table drinking coffee and talking for at least an hour afterwards. Catching up with Joe was great - I miss my brother so much! And we all enjoyed getting to spend time with Shawn, my brother's girlfriend. She's such a sweet heart, and I can tell my brother is very happy with her - which just makes my heart full!
Ellie loved playing at Bebe's house - she especially loves playing in her yard. Beverly has an herb garden, tons of flowers, and a beautiful front porch that we enjoyed on Sunday morning. Ellie slept great in the pack-n-play, and we just hung out in our jammies all Sunday morning looking at old photo albums of Bennett as a baby. What a cutie pie! Beverly made a lot of his outfits when he was a baby, so he was always dressed in adorable smocked clothes and sailor outfits. After getting showered and dressed, we went over to Gammy & Papa's house so they could spend a little time with the Beanie.
Last on the agenda was checking out Joe's office downtown. Seeing my brother's name on the law office door made me so proud! My brother has accomplished so much already in his career and I couldn't be happier for him! That's right, my brother is an attorney - so don't mess with me.
Ellie was way past her nap time when we were visiting Joe, so this is the best picture I could manage to get before we put her in the car seat to head back to Atlanta. Even her little pouty face is adorable!
I attended baby showers for Courtney, one of my good friends from home, and for Krista, Bennett's step sister. Both showers were a lot of fun, and it made me think about when I was getting ready for Ellie Bean to arrive. It was such an exciting (and anxious) time in my life waiting to meet my little girl for the first time. I remember being overwhelmed with the generosity of friends and family at my baby showers. We were lucky to receive so many essential items for Ellie that made it much easier welcoming her in to the world.
Saturday night we had dinner at Bebe's house, and Joseph and Shawn came over. Beverly cooked us a yummy dinner, and we sat around the kitchen table drinking coffee and talking for at least an hour afterwards. Catching up with Joe was great - I miss my brother so much! And we all enjoyed getting to spend time with Shawn, my brother's girlfriend. She's such a sweet heart, and I can tell my brother is very happy with her - which just makes my heart full!
Ellie loved playing at Bebe's house - she especially loves playing in her yard. Beverly has an herb garden, tons of flowers, and a beautiful front porch that we enjoyed on Sunday morning. Ellie slept great in the pack-n-play, and we just hung out in our jammies all Sunday morning looking at old photo albums of Bennett as a baby. What a cutie pie! Beverly made a lot of his outfits when he was a baby, so he was always dressed in adorable smocked clothes and sailor outfits. After getting showered and dressed, we went over to Gammy & Papa's house so they could spend a little time with the Beanie.
Last on the agenda was checking out Joe's office downtown. Seeing my brother's name on the law office door made me so proud! My brother has accomplished so much already in his career and I couldn't be happier for him! That's right, my brother is an attorney - so don't mess with me.
Ellie was way past her nap time when we were visiting Joe, so this is the best picture I could manage to get before we put her in the car seat to head back to Atlanta. Even her little pouty face is adorable!
We had such a fun, family-filled weekend!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
My first official blog post
Ok, Elizabeth Thorne - here it is!
My name is Katy. I've been a stay-at-home mom for 2 months now and am finally getting around to starting a blog. My good friend, Elizabeth, has been bugging me about this for the last year. She has an adorable blog that she uses to document her family's activities, memories of her babies, and precious photos (A Tale of Four Thornes - check it out). I've always loved the idea of somehow recording memories with my daughter so we could go back and read them when she's all grown up...not to mention I have the WORST memory on the planet so documenting her "firsts" are necessary if I want to actually remember them!
You might be wondering - what exactly is a Brookhaven Betty? Well, I like to think of it as a Buckhead Betty on a budget! Here is my definition: a stay-at-home mom who lives in the wonderful family friendly city of Brookhaven, enjoys playing with her baby girl and wearing yoga pants every day (even though she never works out), likes to buy adorable smocked outfits for her daughter even though she'll only wear them once, cooks dinner every night to keep the family on their tight budget, and rarely travels south of North Druid Hills (unless a trip to Lenox is absolutely required). That pretty much sums up me (or at least how I like to think of myself)!
I really should have started this earlier, but here we are. My daughter, Ellie, is 18 months old now. She has grown WAY faster than I could have ever imagined. I know everyone tells you that kids grow fast, but I really didn't think it would feel this fast. My decision to "retire" from my Director of Operations role was a hard one for me to make. I LOVED my job - it was my dream job, and I'm only 28. But ever since Ellie was born, all I've wanted to do was be with her. After some pushing from my amazingly supportive husband, Bennett, I decided to make a change. I finally became a stay-at-home mom in August and have not once regretted that decision. Ellie and I have already gotten to enjoy so many wonderful memories together that I would have missed out on if I was still working. Perhaps one day I'll go back to the business world...but for now it's just me and my Ellie Bean!
I plan to use this blog to document my memories of Ellie growing up, how she grows and learns new things, and all the fun my family has together so that I can reflect on these later and so that my family (who don't live nearby) can see what we are up to! I also have a secret desire to write a novel one day, so maybe this will give me some practice before I tackle that monstrous dream.
Enjoy!
My name is Katy. I've been a stay-at-home mom for 2 months now and am finally getting around to starting a blog. My good friend, Elizabeth, has been bugging me about this for the last year. She has an adorable blog that she uses to document her family's activities, memories of her babies, and precious photos (A Tale of Four Thornes - check it out). I've always loved the idea of somehow recording memories with my daughter so we could go back and read them when she's all grown up...not to mention I have the WORST memory on the planet so documenting her "firsts" are necessary if I want to actually remember them!
You might be wondering - what exactly is a Brookhaven Betty? Well, I like to think of it as a Buckhead Betty on a budget! Here is my definition: a stay-at-home mom who lives in the wonderful family friendly city of Brookhaven, enjoys playing with her baby girl and wearing yoga pants every day (even though she never works out), likes to buy adorable smocked outfits for her daughter even though she'll only wear them once, cooks dinner every night to keep the family on their tight budget, and rarely travels south of North Druid Hills (unless a trip to Lenox is absolutely required). That pretty much sums up me (or at least how I like to think of myself)!
I really should have started this earlier, but here we are. My daughter, Ellie, is 18 months old now. She has grown WAY faster than I could have ever imagined. I know everyone tells you that kids grow fast, but I really didn't think it would feel this fast. My decision to "retire" from my Director of Operations role was a hard one for me to make. I LOVED my job - it was my dream job, and I'm only 28. But ever since Ellie was born, all I've wanted to do was be with her. After some pushing from my amazingly supportive husband, Bennett, I decided to make a change. I finally became a stay-at-home mom in August and have not once regretted that decision. Ellie and I have already gotten to enjoy so many wonderful memories together that I would have missed out on if I was still working. Perhaps one day I'll go back to the business world...but for now it's just me and my Ellie Bean!
I plan to use this blog to document my memories of Ellie growing up, how she grows and learns new things, and all the fun my family has together so that I can reflect on these later and so that my family (who don't live nearby) can see what we are up to! I also have a secret desire to write a novel one day, so maybe this will give me some practice before I tackle that monstrous dream.
Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)