Adding a Branch

Blog Under Construction

2012-01-29T19:56:00.000-08:00

Just a little note to ask you for your patience as I update the blog layout. I have been wanting bigger pictures for some time now and I finally figured out how to do that and then it screwed up my whole layout! So... please bare with me as I figure this stuff out ;-)

Thanks,
Jenny

Season of Blessings (Continued)

2012-01-29T19:19:00.000-08:00

As promised more picture of the some of the new brotherly love we are witnessing in our house. These pictures were taken November 3, 2011. We had just gotten up and Flint was having out in our bed and begging to hold his new baby brother.

It is simply amazing to watch an only child become a brother! I have been so impressed with my first born child. It was so hard for me to imagine life with two. So many worries, fears and questions went through my head. Would he love the new baby? Would he feel left out or replaced? Would I be able to love another as much as this one? Stupid, I know! But, it does go through you mind! Will the love each other and be best friends.

There is no doubt that Flint has had a jealous moment here and there. I mean gees! The world did revolve around him for almost 2 years. But, he really does love his baby brother. Asking for him first thing in the morning or trying to justify standing up in the double BOB so that he can hold his brother's hand when I am desperately trying to keep from getting terribly frustrated cause he doesn't understand that standing up in a moving stroller during mommy's much need power walk is not safe, all of it warms my heart and makes me proud of him.

I hope you enjoy these sweet photos as much as we do! My favorite is Flint saying, "Cheese!"

A Season of Blessings, A Season of Love

2012-01-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

So, as usual, it has been some time since I have blogged and I have a lot to tell you!

We have really just completed "a season" of sorts... I know the true Christmas season ended on Jan 6th, with the Feast of the Epiphany, but our season of blessings and love started way before that with the birth of Benjamin Hogan Williams and now the major events just recently subsided for a bit with a trip to Clearwater Beach to visit Flint and Benjamin's GREAT grandfather and my grandfather, Poppa Chuck, where we also celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary!

So much has happened over the past 13 1/2 weeks from Benjamin's birth to a wonderful Thanksgiving where we had so much to be thankful for to Christmas and Flint's 2nd birthday to Benjamin receiving the sacrament of Holy Baptism and being washed of all original sin and made a saint by the grace of God! But, perhaps one of the greatest personal blessings that I received was the gift of retirement and the opportunity to stay home with my two beautiful sons!

This is a blessing I prayed for so hard leading up to Flint's birth and God was telling me to be patient, little did I know it was because we would be welcoming a second child into our home much sooner than we had ever anticipated. But, WOW, how amazing God is and how mysterious his ways. I was able to resign officially from my job when Benjamin was about 4 weeks old, thanks to God's bountiful blessings upon us and to my amazingly supportive and hardworking husband. I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity and everyone I meet who has done the same has told me that I won't regret it my decision and I know that to be true!

I can honestly say that I am so unbelievably happy! I love watching my boys grow and knowing that I will not miss a thing (well... at least not much)!

Another small blessing is the gift of a new Mac that I have been wanting for some time. I will now be able to continue exploring my talents as a novice graphic designer and hopefully have the chance to explore starting a small home based business. So... stay tuned!

As far as all the other many blessings we have experienced throughout the last several weeks of non-stop craziness, I think the best way to bring you all up to speed is through the wonderful moments we have captured in pictures. I will add a few captions here and there, but I think the photos can speak for themselves for the most part. But, of course, I always start this process way late in the evening, so I will have to do this in chunks.

So, here we go!

OCTOBER 27, 2011 - BENJAMIN COMES HOME

Oh my gosh! Where are these people taking me!

"Hey Baby!"

Flint was smitten with his new brother! He just couldn't stop staring or get quite close enough, which of course was freaking out his germaphobe father ;-)

OCTOBER 29, 2011 - A NICE FALL DAY WITH OUR BOYS

Keeping watch over baby brother!

"Hi, Baby, hi!"

Nice Fall afternoon at Bishop Park

I love Flint in that Monkey hat!

OCTOBER 31, 2011 - HALLOWEEN

(FLINT'S 1ST TIME TRICK OR TREATING

& BENJAMIN'S 1ST HALLOWEEN ALL TOGETHER)

Putting on our costume and makeup was a bit challenging, but with YaYa's help we made it happen!

Our little clown!

My new favorite phrase (just incase you hadn't noticed), "Hey Baaaaby" with a long "A"

Kissing his baby brother! Our little pumpkin!

First house and a little nervous!

I had no idea until I started looking at these photos that I had red makeup on my nose the entire time I was going up to people's doors. I had put it there to show Flint that it didn't hurt and then forgot I had it on... cute, real cute!

First and ONLY piece of the loot Flint would be allowed to have!

And then, a surprise visit from our friends the Peterson's and by far the cutest trick or treater we had all night, our little lady bug Rebecca Rose!

To be continued...

Next time on Adding a Branch:

More Brotherly Love,

Benjamin Hogan: The Early Days

and

Zoe Jane's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 2nd Birthday a.k.a. The Beginning of Flint's Obsession with "the Mouse"

Home, Sweet Home!

2011-11-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

We have been home from the hospital exactly one week today and what an amazing and challenging week it has been seeing our new family form before our eyes, our oldest son fall in love with our youngest as we do too and learning what life with two is like.

My mother-in-law has been quoting her father and Flint's namesake a good bit lately when she says, "Life begins with two!"

The day before we left the hospital, we took these great photos with Bella Baby, a photography service at the hospital that gives a discount to hospital employees (thank you, Jill/YaYa)!

I love how sweet and cuddly he looks in this one.

Monkey Toes – that is what the doctor who delivered Benjamin kept calling them!

I love this face and how if looks like he is holding a phone to his ear!

Ben's favorite...

My favorite!

Or maybe this is my favorite!

OK... it's definitely this one!

Meeting Baby Brother

2011-10-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, Flint came to the hospital and met his new baby brother Benjamin. We were so nervous about how this first interaction would go, but we had gotten a lot of good advice and I had felt good enough to have gotten out of bed, out of the hospital gown, unhooked from all the wires and IVs, showered and dressed. We had Benjamin in the nursery when Flint got there, just like Dr. Braucher had recommended, and then we spent a little alone time with him till we felt he was ready for us to bring in the baby. This way, it was like the new baby was joining his family rather than Flint walking into a family in which he had been replaced. We kept saying, "Are you ready to meet your baby?" and he was practically jumping up and down with excitement!

It couldn't have gone any better and we feel so incredibly blessed that God has given us two sweet and beautiful boys! Flint gave Benjamin several kisses, wanted to hold him although that part didn't go too well since he started to cry and then Flint got a little upset. But, all in all, Flint was pretty impressed with his baby brother.

Here comes brother!

"Baby, Baby"

Sweet kisses!

Flint wanted to hold his brother! I was a nervous wreck!

Welcome Benjamin Hogan Williams!

2011-10-25T05:01:00.000-07:00

Adding another branch to the family tree! We are proud to announce our newest blessing, the birth of Benjamin Hogan Williams yesterday October 24, 2011 at 8:17 a.m. via c-section! He weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20 inches long. As his pediatrician said, he is perfect and we feel so blessed!

He came two days early. We were supposed to go in at 10:15 a.m. yesterday for our pre-op and instead I woke up at 2:30 a.m. having contractions. By 5 a.m. we had called the doctor since I was having trouble telling when one stopped and the next one started, they were getting so close and intense. We were told to come on in to the hospital and Ben's mom came over to take care of Flint and get him to his nanny's house. We gave him lots of hugs and kisses and told him we were going to bring home his new baby! Ben's mom was fabulous, making him laugh and distracting him so that he didn't cry when we left which ultimately made things A LOT easier emotionally on me and I arrived at the hospital with Ben in the best of spirits, ready to meet our new bundle!

We went into the OR by 7:45ish and I got the spinal which worked instantly and was so wonderful because the intense contractions ceased and I was able to be really clear headed for the birth of our beautiful son. I can't even begin to tell you what a pleasant experience this birth was compared to the slightly traumatic nature of Flint's. And since his birth almost 2 years ago, they have made developments in c-sections so I was able to watch the birth. They now lower the curtain just enough for me to see the baby coming out but not see my own body. It was so amazing and I got to touch him immediately and stroke his little chest and face. It was so sweet!

I want to thank my amazing husband for his ever-present support; Meredith Turner, our midwife and friend from Women's Healthcare Associates, for holding true to her promise and being there for the birth of our second child. I am now getting to the point where I can't imagine a childbirth without her. I also want to thank Dr. Stephanie Allen for doing an amazing c-section and Dr. Lee Rawlings for being the most compassionate and caring anesthesiologist ever.

We can't wait for Flint to meet his new brother here in a few hours. We know they will be best friends and love each other (or at least we hope so)!

Flint's New Stool

2011-10-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

We are less than 3 days away from having our second baby and I am feeling the need to catch up on some blogging, so here I go.

A few weeks ago, as we were finishing Flint's new room (pics to come in a future blog post), his YaYa (Ben's mom) stopped by to drop off a gift she had made just for him. It was a stool that she had hooked a cover for and it is so cute! Flint is obsessed with it. Here are some cute photos.

Flint was standing in the doorway watching his daddy paint trim in his new room!

Progress... well, maybe

2011-10-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some shots from the transformation of our room. Ben redid all the trim, ripping out the old dated stuff and replacing it with more classic stuff. He puts so much time and detail into the windows and they always end up looking so good. You will also see the sink console sitting in the middle of our room. We have since completed the bathrooms minus light fixtures over the vanities and towel bars and those sorts of things... more pictures of bathrooms to come in a future post.

We painted our bedroom a pale blue, which we both really love, only there is a slight problem. I had purchased a run and bedding and when it got here, none of it matched. So we will be repainting the walls. Not sure what yet, but I am leaning toward the colors in the inspiration board below from Unveiled. Seafoam, ash and sunshine mixing classic pieces with pops of color and modern touches... We will see how it turns out. I just got the vanity, matching mirror and stool back from being custom painted by my friend Carolyn's Aunt Carol. She did a fantastic job and these pieces now carry the seafoam color scheme that I have going in the pottery barn quilt, Serena and Lily sheets and Dash and Albert rug that I purchased. The walls almost look grey in these pictures, but they are really a blue and against the seafoam bedding, rug and furniture they almost look like they have a purple hew to them.

Grey or "ash" is an option, along with some others. I am really struggling with this decision though. I also purchased some pillow cases for throw pillows from Pottery Barn, that I thought would be the pieces that would help me make up mind, but now I am more confused than ever. The background of these pillows are not nearly as white as they seem but instead more of a wheat color, so that is also an option. As is the deeper grey/brown color in them. And the yellow is less sunshine and more ocre.

Here is the quilt and shams that I ordered – the blue one. Or should I say seafoam? They call it porcelain blue. Part of the ongoing dilemma is whether or not to have a duvet made and just use this "quilt" as an accent on the bed, folded at the end or something... or vice versa.

The quilt is a little thicker than one would imagine, but not nearly as thick as a down comforter in a duvet cover. If I were to have a duvet made, what would the fabric be? I could go way more conservative with a lot less fun, young modern flares by painting the walls a wheat color and using the fabric from the swatch below as a duvet.

Although, I just realized that Lewis and Sheron also has this color.

And this color.

But, I have also ordered a whole bunch of swatches that fit the more fun theme a little better.

And to wrap up this post (now that my husband has gone to bed and left me alone in the basement with the T.V. on football and the remote just out of reach), I leave you with the rug from Dash and Albert.

Sweet Friends, Sweet Shower

2011-10-09T16:40:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago on Monday, Sept 12, my sweet friends Ginna, Sarah, Sumner, Lauren, and Lindsay threw me a sweet shower to honor Baby Williams #2! We had a blast eating at my favorite Mexican restaurant, La Parrilla and my sweet friends showered me with diapers and wipes for the new baby. And now we are stocked! I swear I am not going to have to buy wipes for at least year.

They add some sweet touches too by pinning up two buntings, one that said "It's a boy" and one that said "It's a girl." and each party guest was given a wooden clothes pin to write their name on and pin to whichever banner they thought the baby would be. They also made sugar cookies shaped like baby carriages and gave me an adorable frog basket filled with bath stuff, baby toys, towels, books and a swaddle blanket.

The whole night was so special and I felt so loved! Ben and I unwrapped everything when I got home and couldn't believe how generous our friends are... well... we could because after all they are the most amazing of friends! We feel so incredibly blessed and thank God for each and every one!

P.S. Girl got the most vote ;-)

They got me a special dessert too – not that I needed it ;-)

Mary and 2 of my favorite girls, Beatrice and Clementine!

The Brunettes

We feel blessed!

Some special gifts from some special ladies. The pants were knit by hand by Hillary and the adorable T and bracelet came Treehouse and was given by Mary, Bea and Clem.

Fall Family Photo Shoot

2011-10-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

On October 3rd, we had a family photo shoot with our friends Patrick and Leye Blount of Blount Photo. We had a great time out on North Campus in the cool fall air. I will say that Flint was less than cooperative, but the talented Patrick Blount (Flint's godfather) was able to capture some great shots anyway. And OF COURSE, Flint had a big scab on his head since he is ALL boy these days. I am debating whether to have Patrick touch them up or just capture him in his true essence. What do y'all think? Check them out:

Less than 3 weeks

2011-10-07T07:29:00.000-07:00

So, the last time I blogged we had 6 weeks to go and as of Wednesday of this week we are now down to 3 weeks exactly till Baby Williams #2 will be here. So much has happened in these past few weeks that I need to blog about, sweet showers that were hosted for us, completion of changes to our house, Flint's adventures at school (some of which have gotten him into trouble and time out), family photos and much more...

But, the last few weeks has also been a interesting time of reflection for us as we are on the brink of moving from a family of 3 to a family of 4! I personally have been thinking a lot about how different our lives will be. I know that with more children their will be more blessings and more challenges and at times this scares the living daylights out of me. I have never in my life felt such a sense of responsibility about anything I have done as I do to my husband, my children and their development spiritually, emotionally, behaviorally, mentally and physically as I do right now.

Last night, Ben and I talked a lot about dreams and aspirations, about advanced degrees and career advancement, and how those ideas are juggled with our ever-increasingly busy day to day life of balancing budgets, raising kids, and putting food on the table. And in a moment of pregnant teariness, my amazing husband suggested that I (who is the one going through many emotions some of which include a lot of self doubt in my abilities as a mother, wife and employee) watch the commencement speech given by Steve Jobs at Stanford in 2005. As many of you know, Steve left this earth a few days ago after an amazing life, career and battle with cancer. Thanks to YouTube and the legacy he left behind through technology, he can still be continue to inspire us all with his story.

I wanted to share that speech with you here. Maybe the message will be as clear to you as it was to me today.

6 weeks and counting!

2011-09-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

So... we are exactly 6 weeks away from the arrival of Baby #2! Just got a call from the doctor's office with the exact time and everything. Can't believe it is so close! This pregnancy has flown by! Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare to make the transition to a family of 4, especially our sweet Flint, who I assume will go through some growing pains during all of this!

I wear my sunglasses at night!

2011-09-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

These were taken on August 28th after Flint's evening bath. They just crack me up! Can you here the tune in your head? I wear my sunglasses at night...

The Best Toy Ever!

2011-09-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

So... we always here about how parents go out and buy there kids all these expensive toys and all the kids want to do is play with the box the toy came in. Well... ain't that the truth! Here are some images of Flint playing with a storage tote that we use to store toys. I was cracking up as he entertained himself for a really long time with this.

It's all about progress!

2011-09-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

And folks we are making progress – in all aspects of our life!

Yesterday marked 8 weeks exactly till the arrival of Baby William's #2! It was also Flint's 2nd day at his new school and even though he still cried when I dropped him off, he only cried for a second the teachers told me! I have a feeling by tomorrow he will really have the hand of it, or at least I am hopeful.

Flint is also making progress in another department. For those of you who talk to us or are around us on a regular basis, you know that Flint has for sometime now been calling me "Jenny" instead of "mama," which broke my heart even though it was still kinda cute when he said my name. But, after diligent reminders from me and Ben, Flint is now calling me MAMA – at least 90% of the time! It makes my day ever time I hear it!

He is also learning so much daily, it seems, and it blows my mind. We sing this little song every night at bath time. It is hard to convey the tune in text, but the words go, "Bath time, bath time, lovely lovely bath time. Bath time, bath time, lovely lovely bath." Usually, Flint goes running towards the tub and starts pulling out his toys and throwing them in to get ready to play. But, 2 nights ago he ran to his room and as I started to say, "No, Flint, wrong way," he grabbed his towel off the closet doorknob and handed it to me with this "here ya go, mom" grin on his face and ran towards the bath room! I couldn't believe it! He is so smart!

Lastly, we are making progress on our house. Some of you probably know that we have been undergoing to renovations the past few months, which displaced us not only from our bedroom, but to Ben's mom's house for about 2 1/2 weeks. Thank God for the blessing of good family that will take you in! Jill was amazing and I know that her and Flint enjoyed all their grandma/grandchild time together.

We have been back in the house for a few weeks now and slowly but surely we are getting everything finished. We have gutted and redone both bathrooms, redone the trim and paint in our bedroom, replaced all the old ugly doors throughout the whole main level of the house with beautiful 5 panel doors with oil rubbed bronze, egg-shaped knobs and Ben is now redoing the trim and paint in what was the guest bedroom which will be Flint's new big boy room!

Even though the bathrooms are pretty much done, save the mirrors, any artwork, new towels and valances, I am not quite ready to post the "after" pictures yet. But I will through up whatever I can find in the way of a "before" pictures and construction pictures. Unfortunately, Ben works too fast for me sometimes to get good before pics so, bear with me on that front...

Here is what I have:

Hall Bath (Before):

This is a terrible photo of me, but please take note of the peach tile. And the floors (also peach) were disgusting with stained grout from years of abuse. Unfortunately, I don't have pics of the master bath but image smaller than this one, with Avocado Green tile.

Master Bedroom (Before):

A hodge podge of hand-me-downs and such, nothing really flowed.

We painted this dress and still like it, but it will be better suited in Flint's big boy room.

You can kinda see into the Avocado Green bathroom in this one.

Ugly old doors, weird colored trim and off white walls...

Construction and progress photos to come. But to leave you with one last photo of what a mess our home has been, here is a view of our living room which is serving as a closet and catch-all till this project is over. Can somebody say "DISASTER!"

First Day of School!

2011-08-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today was Flint's first day at his new school! It was a bit rough on both Flint and Mommy, but thank goodness Daddy was there to help us both through! Apparently Flint cried, along with another boy, for the first hour, but after that his teacher, Mrs. Bond, said he "ruled the room," which sound about right ;-)

We really like the school, Mrs. Bond and we are blown away by the curriculum. To think Flint will be learning Spanish and going to Chapel once a week at his age is amazing!

Here are the pictures of him from his first day – getting ready, eating breakfast, getting to school and a family pic before the bittersweet separation from Mommy. We both cried! I have also included some pictures from the Open House on the 25th that show a little more of the classroom.

Open House/Meet Your Teacher

First Day of School

Getting ready with our favorite pastime, brushing teeth!

He is probably saying "I want it," meaning he wants more of the yummy flavored toothpaste.

Can't start school without a healthy breakfast – cereal bar, banana bread and blueberries.

Time for school!

Walking in with Daddy

Waiting in the lobby! We were a little early. We were just trying to make a good first impression!

Walking down the hall like the big kids! It was at this moment that I thought everything might go OK, then we had to say goodbye and I realized that was all a daydream.

Assistant Teacher Mrs. Cummings

At this point, Flint was starting to figure out that something was up...

A Born Natural!

2011-08-26T09:04:00.001-07:00

So, I just have to share these pictures my sister sent me of my nephew John Paul (age 5) playing football! He is truly a natural athlete taking after both his mama and his daddy! Is he amazing or what?

Flint's First Haircut

2011-08-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

So, after months and month of procrastinating and not being able to part with those sweet blonde curls, I finally gave in to Ben's request to cut our child's hair when I realized that the curls were only curling about half the time these days and Flint was looking more like he had a mullet! I thought I could keep riding on Ben's dad's advice of "you don't cut their hair till they're 2," but the reality set in one day and I decided to bite the bullet and make an appointment at Kidz Doos! This cool kids salon is owned by our neighbor Jason and is THE place to take a kid for their hair cut – first or otherwise. So, on the morning of August 13th, Ben and I got up, made breakfast with our adorable son, snapped a few last pictures of him pre-cut and then took him up to sit in a car while he had his hair did. Flint did so well! Didn't cry at all and just sat in the car looking around, watching a bit of a Disney movie now and then, and listening to Kids Bops while the lady cut his hair! I was totally impressed and, of course, teared up a little when she asked me if I wanted to keep a lock of his hair.

Here are the before shots:

And the after:

He literally went from baby to little boy over night! I swear he started acting older after the haircut.

Promises and Punishment

2011-08-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! I will be better about blogging! OK... you get the picture!

So Much To Do/Post, So Little Time aka "Baby on the Way" Frenzy aka Williams Party of Four

2011-07-19T09:36:00.001-07:00

Hello long lost friends!

I apologize to those of you who have actually been asking about my blog and why I haven't posted in so long. I didn't think anyone actually read this thing, but apparently some of you do and for that I am grateful! A lot has happened over the past 6 1/2 months and a lot more will be happening in the next 3 and beyond, but for now, I just wanted to tell you about the biggest and most important change in our lives––the addition of Baby Williams #2!

I plan to get you all caught up on the past 6.5 months, but for now I will just bring you to speed on this major event!

The day after my 28th birthday (actually my grandmother's b-day, Feb 27th), we hosted a baby shower for my cousins' baby and our newest godchild, Lillian McLeary Tundidor (pics to come, if I ever get some... Danny!). That evening after all the fam had left and we were cleaning up, I felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion!

For those of you who know us well you know that it is not unusual for the Williams Fam to have one crazy busy weekend after another, but this time I was EXTRA tired! And... my boobs hurt (pardon the crudity)– a tell-tale sign! So, I looked at Ben and said, "I think I might be pregnant for real." He calmly said, "OK, I'll go out an get pregnancy test," probably thinking it was just another false alarm. SURE ENOUGH–preggers it is! And now the Williams Family has become a part of four!

I am now 24 weeks, plus or minus and we are just 14 short weeks away from the arrival of yet another mystery baby. We are not finding out the gender or telling names, so you will all just have to wait. But, in the meantime you can gush over these ultrasound photos, including our first ever 3D ultrasound, which we never had with Flint. Enjoy!

First Ultrasound: 8 weeks 5 days

Second Ultrasound: 12 weeks

Third Ultrasound: 20 weeks 1 day

Perfect profile!

Little feet.

Hey Mom!

Fourth Ultrasound: 24 weeks 1 day & 3D

I don't know about you guys... but I think he/she looks just like Flint!

Yawning!

Love you, sweet baby! Can't wait to kiss those little cheeks!

For those of you wondering how Flint is taking all this. So far, he is great with babies and points to my belly and says, "Baby," and kisses it! Keep your fingers crossed ;-) We got him a big bro t-shirt, which is actually how we told our family of the new addition. I will post pics of him in it soon. I have faith that he is going to be a fab big bro!

More Candids from the GMOA Christmas Party

2010-12-22T08:53:00.001-08:00

Cute little Mary!

Tim (Friends of the Museum) & Cece (Education)

Cece and fiance David

Todd, Jennifer and Hodge Rivers

Jay, Lauren and Wright Cook

Our precious Flint!

The Manoguerras

Love this pic of Lauren and Wright smiling!

Love Flint's face in this pic!

GMOA Christmas Part a.k.a baby central!

2010-12-22T08:31:00.000-08:00

Long time, no post... SURPRISE SURPRISE!! I have so much to catch up on and this time of year is always so crazy, but while it is fresh on my mind here are the photos from last night's Georgia Museum of Art Christmas Party at Mary's B-E-A-U-TIFUL house! Check out all the GMOA babies! You know it all kicked off with Flint and they just keep coming... one more due in April.

Larry, Sarina, Tricia, Christy and her hubby

Baby Swap: Todd Rivers holding Warren Miller

Dec Arts Curator Dale Couch with Lauren, Jay and Wright Cook

Paul and Larry with me kissing Flint in the background!

Melting Snowman Cookies! Thanks, Carissa!

Mary holding Lute Boland with Lynn and Katherine Boland

Baby Swap: Michelle Manoguerra holding Hodge Rivers & Mary Koon holding Lute Boland

Sarina, Ed Tant and wife Joy

Ed, Joy, Cece with finace David and Marge

Party on!

Lauren and Wrighty-Roo!

The GMOA babies and staff!

Flint loved that toy apple!

Tricia with baby Warren

Katherine and Lute - wife and son of Euro Curator Lynn Boland

Jennifer & Hodge Rivers - wife and son of Cheif Preparator Todd Rivers

Editor Hillary Brown and Briony!

halloween party

2010-12-01T18:12:00.000-08:00

So once again, I am behind on my blogging. Here are the photos from the Halloween shindig that we co-hosted with our dear friends the Ezernacks! We had quite a cute bunch of animals, cowboys + indians, witches and pea pods crawling around our baby halloween part! One little pirate even did a wardrobe change to a giraffe halfway through! He stole the show! And of course, our petit eleFlint was there.

Hope you enjoy the pics! Sorry for the reverse order!

Adding a Branch & Adding Some Room!

2010-11-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

So with "adding a branch" you sometimes comes with adding some room. We live in an early 1960's brick box ranch on a basement! We love our quirky little old house and at times we loathe it! But, for the most part we love its charm and character and love daydreaming how we can improve it. Many many months ago (well over a year now) we documented part of the updates that we did to our son's room. New trim, new doors, fresh paint. But, I still need to put up the real "after" pics. I will do this soon! Promise!

Lately, we have realized that we need more space and we have a whole basement (double the square feet) begging to be renovated and made beautiful! So we have turned our attention to that. We hope to have it done by the holidays, but things are slow going! And with things moving slowly my mind wanders to other parts of our home!!! Which is dangerous! So, with that said, I am reposting an article from the blog Mrs. Howard Personal Shopper from October 29.

I have been daydreaming about painting our whole upstairs, well all the common areas any, a soft blue, or blueish green gray... So here are some ideas!

Phoebe's Top Ten: Light Blue Paint Colors

We are continuing with our promise to share Phoebe's favorite paint colors (click here to check out Phoebe's favorite whites). Today, we have light blue (other variations of blue to come!). Take a look at the ones we turn to over and over again:

(1)
Benjamin Moore - Blue Veil

(2)
Benjamin Moore - Fanfare

(3)
Benjamin Moore - Glass Slipper

(4)
Benjamin Moore - Horizon

(5)
Benjamin Moore - In Your Eyes

(6)
Benjamin Moore - Opal Essence

(7)
Farrow & Ball - Borrowed Light

(8)
Farrow & Ball - Skylight

(9)
Sherwin Williams - Top Sail

(10)
Sherwin Williams - Tradewind

Our Petit Elephant - All ready for Halloween!

2010-10-29T07:36:00.001-07:00

The Athens Cancer Auxiliary had a great fund raiser where kids could go get a picture in their Halloween costumes for a donation to the ACA! I just wanted to show off our petit elephant!!

Isn't he cute! I just melt when I see his little face in that hat, which he hated (btw) and came off shortly after this picture was taken!

Flint is 10 Months Today! And new blog design!

2010-10-28T18:57:00.001-07:00

As our baby sleeps sweetly in his bed, Ben and I are sitting on our couch reminiscing about the 10 months that have flown by and working on our blog! Flint is now pulling up to a standing position and he is probably weeks away from walking! We can't believe how big he is and how fast he is growing. He makes us laugh, smile and want to cry with joy everyday. He has so much personality and we can't wait to see more! Thank you, God, for blessing us with this beautiful boy!

So, as we work on our blog, documenting our memories, we decided to add a few things! We found a beautiful background that fits our theme "Adding a Branch" and we added to tickers, one of how long we've been married and one of how old Flint is! He is only 2 months away today from his FIRST birthday!!

Love,

Jenny & Ben

Flint and His God Sister, Dosie Belle!

2010-10-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

When we took Flint's 9 month pics with his Godparents, Leye and Patrick Blount, we got a few pics with his beautiful new Godsister and our Goddaughter, Dosie Belle!! I love these sweet pics of the two of them and have meant to post some pics of Dosie Belle for some time, but I have to get them from her parents (wink wink, Leye)!

Our Little Pumpkin!

2010-10-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

The weekend before last was one of the best weekends we've had! Our dear friends Rebecca and Zach Phillips came up and spent the night along with my god daughter, Zoe Jane . Saturday, Zach and Ben went off to the GA game while Rebecca and I ventured off to beautiful Dahlonega, Ga., home of my alma mater and to my sister's family, for the fantastic Gold Rush Days!! This is one of my favorite events all year and it was Rebecca's first time!

We met my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephew at Gold Rush. We had a wonderful time being the baby brigade and looking at all the crafty booths. People kept stopping us to comment on the three babies. And as the day went on the place got super crowded.

Later, Rebecca and I grabbed a beer at Corkscrew Cafe while we waited on my sister to come hang out with us for a little while. Rebecca has a really good camera and took some fun shots of me and Flint.

That evening we arrived back at the house to pick up the boys. We loaded them and the babies back up in the car and headed out to Washington Farms to take some pics in the pumpkin patch! We had a great time and the kids did, too! Our little pumpkins were too cute amidst all the orange and green!

Flint's 9 Month Photos!

2010-10-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

Before he turns 10 months in 3 days, I figure I better get these adorable photos by Blount Photo up on the blog! Man! How time is flying!!

These were taken at Ben's Uncle's farm in Winterville, GA. I love the old barns and rusty farm equipment, perfect for Fall shots!

The outfit is handmade by Jilly to look vintage. I am sort of obsessed with it!

Happy Monday! Home sick!

2010-10-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

This sums up how I feel today, well minus the fact that there has been a lot of moaning, aching and puking involved! So, I figure while I am in my pjs laid up in bed, I might as well blog! Happy Monday to me!

Long Time... No Post

2010-09-29T17:31:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

So, it has been a long long time since I have posted anything to our blog! Life has been quite busy and blogging has really gotten away from me. So, it is time to catch up, slowly but surely.

So much has happened in the last few months. Flint is growing like a weed and more and more of our friends are having babies and getting pregnant. With that being said, I have also grieved the loss of one of my dearest friends' children. She was 20 weeks pregnant when she lost little Oliver Thomas and her faith through all this has been nothing short of inspirational. Our prayers go out to them and you can read more on her amazing blog.

As for the Williams' house it is football in Athens!! Here is a pic from the last home game. Some mama friends along with me and Flint watched the game at my friend Kelly's house. The second pic is of all the boys in their strollers going to meet the dads at the tailgate!

Hope you like my new blog header! I made it myself in photoshop! It isn't fab, but it was free!!

Love,

Jenny

Babies, Babies Everywhere

2010-06-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

It has been a really long time since I have blogged and I have a lot of catching up to do! But, since all my beautiful wonderful friends are having babies now, I thought I would start off with that. So, let me begin at the beginning by showing you all the pictures from the baby shower that my co-worker, Mary, and I threw for our two other co-workers Hillary and Lauren! It was blast and came off really cute, too! We did a whole baby silhouette theme and I think Martha Stewart would be proud.

Silhouette shaped cookies as favors!

The banner I made for Mary's mantel. The vintage silhouette theme went perfectly with Mary's beautifully restored house!

The menu was everything Southern! Deviled eggs, deviled ham, pimento cheese sandwiches, corn bread muffins, spiced pecans, pickles and pickled okra and carrots and boiled peanut hummus! Yum Yum!

Macaroons and a delicious red velvet cake for dessert!

One boy, one girl so everything was pink and blue.

Some of our fabulous interns!

Flint sacked out halfway through the shower!

The two preggers!

All our lovely interns!

Me and Mary with the two guest of honor, Lauren and Hillary!

Our former boss, Bonnie, with Flint and Hillary! Man retirement looks good on her! How many years of work do I have left?

Ben's Birthday Dinner!

2010-05-07T12:39:00.001-07:00

The weekend of the April 17th, we decide to do a little b-day dinner for Ben at his brother's house so that he could have an opportunity to see his new ski in person! Here are some cute pics from the evening and one video of Flint trying to roll over.

Just a patio and Italian food!

2010-05-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

The night before we went to Marisa's show, I had a little date with my two favorite boys at Carraba's! Just thought I'd share these cute pics of Ben and Flint!

Banker's Hour!

2010-04-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, we traveled all the way up to Hiawassee, Ga. to see my sister perform in Banker's Hour! The performance was amazing and is a thing that my sister's bank does to raise money for charity. All the performers are bank staff and it is amazing how many talented staff they have. The performance is different every year and this year's really blew it out of the water. My sister, Marisa, was excellent of course. Here are some photos and a short video! Check out the pipes on my tiny, adorable sister. Can she sing or what!

Flint's First Museum Event!

2010-04-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, Flint got his first real dose of culture at the museum's Art of Preservation event at Brick House Studio, home and studio of artist Lamar Wood. The house was amazing and filled with great art and everyone was glad to see that I had brought Flint, especially Betty Alice (museum grant writer), Hillary Brown (museum editor) and Mary Koon (museum assistant editor) and her daughters, Beatrice and Clementine, who carried Flint around like a baby doll!!

The house had tons of great art and sculpture like this giant chess set in the yard.

Clem loved the giant chess set!

And she loved the dog!

I am so lucky to have such wonderful co-workers and friends! They are more like family than anything else and they love Flint, which is why I barely held him all day. Here he is with Mary!

Beatrice and Clementine! I love these girls so much! They remind me so much of me and my sister, Marisa! They way they fight, they way they plan and most importantly, the way they love one another!

Giant fish sculpture!

Flint being dragged around like a rag doll by Clem and Bea!

He loves his girlfriends! Such a ladies man already!!

And, of course, he had to get in plenty of time with Aunt Betty Alice!! She loves him so!

Flint loved listening to the music and even danced a little!

Above: Artist Lamar Wood

Below: His painting of his kids! Isn't it wonderful? I want him to paint Flint one day!

It was such a cool old house!

This window with the shells reminded me of an Andrew Wyeth painting.

They must have known Flint was coming, cause here is his elephant! I really want to buy this painting!

Flint and BA listening to the lecture by the guy who did the restoration.

We had a wonderful time! We also saw our close friend and Friends of the Museum board member, Sarah Peterson, who got a picture with Flint!

Growing like a weed!

2010-04-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I went into Flint's room to check on him after he had been asleep for a while and couldn't get over how much he had grown! He was all stretched in his swaddle blanket, which we have since decided is too small for him, and he was just so long. I had to take some pictures.

I thought it was crazy to see his length compared to the length of the crib.