By Natalie
As you may know if you’ve been following along here for a while, every December I assemble an advent calendar for Felicity. This year’s calendar is full of activity sheets from The Box Full, along with a few fun craft kits I found in the Target dollar spot (my greatest weakness) and Michaels. I love seeing Felicity’s joy over this calendar and watching her crafting ability grow each year! (more…)
By Natalie
“I’ll take them.” I said without hesitation. What had come over me? When my friend Jamie mentioned that her girls weren’t crazy about their new preschool and wasn’t sure what to do, I spoke up. “I’ll take them.” I said. Knowing I could do it, I wanted to do it, and was pretty sure that I should do it. Jamie asked if I was serious. I nodded. “Let me know how they do in school the next couple of weeks.” I told her as she was still unsure if they needed time to adjust. (more…)
By Natalie
Throughout the past couple of months I have been fascinated by the motherhood journey. When a woman becomes a mother she births not only her children, but a new version of herself. She is no longer who she was before. Though pieces of her remain, the core of her breaks down, changes, grows. After noticing this in myself I took a deep look into how my friends have journeyed through motherhood. During small moments that we’ve shared together I’ve taken mental pictures of my beautiful friends and when I had a free moment I would jot down my thoughts and memory of our encounter. I’ve titled this series of essays Portraits. Though I’m no photographer I decided to use my own medium to capture these intimate moments. I wanted to gift my friends a snippet of a their motherhood journey through something a little different than a photo. Something more. Something timeless. Something written. Something they can cherish and look back on and read when they’re feeling like the weight of motherhood is heavy. Something to remind them of the amazing change and growth they have gone through and to remind them of how blessed they are to be a mother. (more…)
By Natalie
Brandon and I drove down the streets of NoDa, pulling in to Benny’s pizza. We ordered one giant slice of pepperoni pizza for each of us on a disproportionately small paper plate. Pam and Nate walked in behind us. We greeted, we laughed, we sat and ate together during a summer that feels like it was a lifetime ago. When we finished our pizzas Brandon and Nate drove over to Abari to play arcade games. Pam and I went back to their place in first ward to knit together and watch a show we’d binge every Wednesday night. For about a solid year we’d do this same routine, every Wednesday night. After landing in Charlotte 2 years prior we’d finally found our community and had made solid friends that we were doing life with. Our time together was golden and it felt like it’d last forever. In the midst of weekly routines like this one you never think about when it’s going to end, until one day it inevitably does and you long for it in a grievous way that you long for times that you know you can never get back. (more…)
By Natalie
Is it too late to share a Christmas photo? We’ve had a slow start to our new year which has been a lovely way to start fresh. Last year we experienced our own set of hardship and grief for experiences lost. But by this point we’ve created a new normal, incorporating some new routines that have helped keep us going. This post I suppose is somewhat of a debrief. (more…)
By Natalie
Felicity is pretty potty trained at this point which is exciting! I don’t really feel like I did very much other than suggest she sit on her little potty and hey if she peed she could have a sticker for her chart and a couple M&Ms. Low and behold we should have known what this girl was willing to do for a little extra chocolate. In a matter of a couple days she took it upon herself to go whenever she needed to go. She doesn’t even tell us anymore! She just goes off on her own and plops down. We usually hear the bathroom door swing open and are running in to help her just as she finishes. She also doesn’t even ask for the chocolate anymore, she’s just totally accepted that this is what we do now. I am considering ourselves extremely lucky. (more…)
By Natalie
I lay the little girl down in her crib, my hair hanging over the rails. “Get some rest.” I tell her as I tuck the blankets in around her small body. I shut her door and make my way down the stairs. The dog follows me, then the cat, our ten legs all creaking down the steps. I clear the last of the lunch dishes, clean the cat’s litter, refill the water bowl, make a pot of coffee, check the front door for packages I may have forgotten about only to find a gift left by our realtor. Inside is a balsam fir candle and a Christmas card of her family. The back reads, “Felicity must be enjoying this time of year.” (more…)
By Natalie
I’m not sure where to begin with this story because it’s such an important one and I want to make sure that I voice it correctly this time. The details of the event were simple. Brandon and I were gardening in our new front yard. Samson laid a few feet in front of us hooked up to his tie out. In the distance I saw an older couple walking their two small dogs. I thought for a split second to step on Samson’s leash or voice to Brandon that maybe he should hang on to him while the couple passed. We’d adopted him only a month prior, before that he’d been a stray. We simply didn’t know his true temperament yet nor his strength. (more…)
By Natalie
This isn’t your typical holiday cheery post. I wanted to warn you in case that’s what you were hoping for. I’ve been having a hard time lately. Just being honest. I’ve been refraining from writing about it because that would make it all real. But this is where I’m at right now and my hope is that six months from now I can refer back and say, look at how far I’ve come. Felicity is five months old now and ever changing. I have some great days full of baby snuggles, gift wrapping and Christmas music playing throughout our home. Nights where we’re all giggling over Felicity splashing in the tub, when I can’t believe someone so sweet came from me. She goes to bed without a fight and Brandon and I share a bowl of popcorn while we catch up on a show. (more…)
By Natalie
As a new mom I received both positive and negative comments as per usual during a time like this. Even as a former nanny I simply had no idea just how involved motherhood and postpartum was until I was living it out for the very first time. I wanted to compile a list of positive things to say to your new mom friend for all those who are at a loss of how to help. (more…)