Summer Fun

It is insane to me how quickly these days are flying by lately. In one month from today, our sweet Ellyotte Girl will be ONE!!!! We are just floored by how fast this year has gone while also not being able to remember life without her in it.

Noah is turning more and more into a big boy by the minute: he is in Swim School here in Louisiana and although yesterday was his first of five days, the kid is rocking it! He is already swimming, with head under water, ALONE. What?! He's fearless and I am so proud. We wanted him to be fully capable of swimming without floaties for our annual family beach trip this next month. Well, that he will be!

I am doing well. On a quick break from teaching this summer - I will pick up my classes again in August. It is nice not grading papers every day!

My sister turned the big 3-0 last week and it was great being back in Alabama to celebrate with her. I took her, and her friends/my friends, down to the condo in Panama City Beach for an amazing long weekend. We had a blast! And even took a boat out all day on Saturday to swim with the dolphins. It was awesome.

Here are some fun pictures from the month so far. Our girl is standing and cruising - hopefully she will start walking soon. She has 8 teeth, tons of hair and sleeps 14 hours at night! What an incredible baby girl. Whew, I am thankful.

Ellyotte's Invitation!

Here is the cute CUTE invitation we sent out to Ellyotte's friends and family. Her party was yesterday, July 23, 2011, and I am busy uploading the fun pictures from her big day. I will post soon!

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Can't Get Enough

There is so much cuteness happening in our house right now!

Popsicle Time:


Ellyotte's first baby doll:


Sister Whiney Pants:

Hawkins Girls in NYC

My mom, Kelly and I went to New York City for a fun girls weekend together. And what fun did we have!! Kelly's got a big birthday coming up in June so this was a celebration as well as some much needed time away for us all.

My mom landed us an incredible 3 room suite at the Waldorf Astoria! I hadn't ever stayed there before and after the 5 star treatment we received, I doubt any of us will want to stay anywhere else. It was incredible! INCREDIBLE.

On Thursday night, we went to the Brunello Vineyard wine tasting event/dinner at the Four Seasons restaurant. It was an experience. I think we had 7 courses all pared with delicious red wines from Italy.

Friday, we woke up late, ate breakfast, got dressed and headed out into the drizzly, cold May day to Ground Zero. Both Kelly and Mom had been there since 9/11 but I hadn't. It was sobering, to say the least. And the weather was fitting.

We spent the rest of Friday shopping and then went into Greenwich Village for dinner. Kelly's favorite restaurant in the City is Sushi Samba in the Village so that's where our reservations were. It was so yummy! After dinner, we walked around the village and had a few more drinks then headed back Uptown to the Waldorf.

Saturday was just as awesome. We ate breakfast, shopped, stood in line in Times Square waiting for matinee Broadway tickets. It was totally worth the wait: we saw the Tony Award Winner for Best Show in 2010 "Memphis." SO AWESOME!!!! WOW. I'd never been brought to tears before at a show but "Memphis" had me bawling - Kelly too. It was powerful and I highly recommend it should you find yourself in NYC anytime soon.

Following the show, we shopped some more, stopped by Rockefeller Center, and had a glass of wine. Then we got dressed and headed to dinner at Brasserie - delicious, yet again. For the most part it was just mom and me because Kelly had to meet up with some friends in the Village after dinner. But that was okay - we ate and went back to the hotel! Old ladies, we are... :)

It was such a memorable and fun weekend. I will treasure the memories and pictures always. Each year we try to do a girls trip (usually a ski trip) and this year's weekend did NOT disappoint!

Parallels.

284 days. That's how long it's been since my world could've and did change forever.

Right after the blood clot "threw" from my leg to my lung, my next door neighboor shared the story of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend with me. His wife suffered a pulmonary embolism 27 hours post c-section and he'd kept a blog about it since. However, in the haze of blood thinners and anxiety reducers and a brand new screaming baby, I didn't have the capacity or wherewithal to understand what she was telling me. My mission was to survive one hour to the next at that point.

Now, I get it.

That friend of a friend of a friend of a friend (etc) turned that blog into a book.

I was looking for a new book to read on my Nook when I stumbled upon one of the NY Bestsellers. It is called "2 Kisses for Maddy" by Matt Logelin. It didn't ring a bell but it should've. I'd read a review of it a few weeks ago but it was only with half of my attention. But two nights ago, I logged into Barnes and Noble and found "MY STORY."

I began reading it and couldn't put it down. Literally, it was like a car accident you watch - although you don't want to - and you can't turn away. It was our story, my story.

Dan and I began dating when Matt and Liz Logelin began dating; we dated for years upon years long distance; we got engaged at the same time; their wedding happened - lavishly - a month before ours did in 2005; they became pregnant at the same time we did and their first baby was born exactly one month after our Noah was born via c-section.

However... their story ended, while ours continued. She delivered their daughter named Madeline and just 27 hours post c-section, she got up to walk around the hospital room on the way to see her baby girl and literally uttered the same exact words I did when my mom found me struggling to breathe: "I'm light headed." Those were Liz Logelin's last words, but not mine.

My story continued and I went to the hospital to be diagnosed with a massive pulmonary embolism (blood clot in my lung), I walked in with my 6 day old daughter in my arms. She died before ever having held her Madeline in her arms.

To say that this book is rocking me to my core is an understatement. It is my story. Our story. But our's continued. Their's stopped. I told Dan about the book I was reading and he said "What I almost lost is not lost on me." Dan Beall was facing raising two babies alone and I never would've known the joy that Ellyotte Pierce brings to my life. When I say that I am transfixed on that baby girl, I am not exaggerating. She's my world - as is Noah. Not a moment goes by that I don't remember that they were almost without a mommy.

Just a week ago, I had a doctor tell me: "Young lady, you are a walking miracle. I don't have one patient I treated with a pulmonary embolism that survived." Huh?! He couldn't believe that I walked into the ER and was able to tell the personnel that I couldn't breathe... that I was light headed. I love being reminded that my life today, at age 30 (at the time of the PE), is a miracle. That Elly is a miracle; I have heard more than once that the clot should've passed thru her umbilical cord and she should be a stillborn. That I am here to raise a rowdy, accident prone 3 year old is a miracle. And that I am here to love my beloved husband into old age is nothing short of a miracle.

I am reading Matt Logelin's story and thinking of it being my Dan in his position. Laying on that stretcher after kissing my baby girl (6 days old...) and my husband goodbye as they wheeled me to do an immediate ultrasound on my legs to see if there were any additional clots via ultrasound, I thought over and over of that scene from "Steel Magnolias" when Sally Field screams "this baby will NEVER know how wonderful his mother is or how much she loved him." And I thought that Dan would remarry, if I didn't make it. It broke my heart thinking that my babies would never know me or the love I have for their father.

Thankfully, the PE didn't kill me. And I am here. 284 days later. Every moment with Elly is a blessing, every kiss I steal from my redhead is annointed, every secret moment Danny and I have together is sacred. I don't forget to tell my mom and dad how much I love them; my sister hears regularly that I adore her and I am proud of her.

Don't miss the chance to LOVE like you fully can - embrace each moment to love your family and friends like it is your last. Liz Logelin had to leave her legacy for Madeline to learn about through her daddy and her friends. Katie Beall lived - defied the odds - to love like I was born to love. I challenge you to do the same and not leave it to your loved ones to pass along your legacy. Pass along your legacy every moment you are blessed to be on this earth. That is my challenge to you.

Growing, Sweet Girl

Ellyotte Pierce is SUCH a sweet baby. Have I said that before?! Because she's the most adorable, sweet tempered, rested baby I've ever been around. And is she ever a flirt!! Her daddy walks into the door and she starts giggling as soon as she hears him. Then when he's coming towards her, she will hide her pretty face in my neck and act shy. It is so stinkin cute.

We just had her 9 month check up. She's a long string bean:
Weight: 20 lbs, 9 ounces putting her in the 70th percentile for weight(she was 7 lbs, 14 ounces at birth)
Length: 30 INCHES!!! Putting her in the 90th percentile for length

She's got the most gorgeous gray/blue/greenish eyes. I guess they are considered hazel but they are exquisite. And her hair was dark dark brown when she was born, lightened into a light brown color and now is turning platinum blonde in the summer months! Exactly what my sister, Kelly's hair did. And we all know she's gone back to being a true brunette in her older years.

Ellyotte says "dada," "mama", "hi!" (and waves), "nitenite," "byebye," and "baba" when she's hungry. She's a fast crawler. Although she does crawl traditional style, she's realized she's quicker on her tummy doing her Army low crawl. And when Gumbo the cat or Piper the dog enter the room, she sprints towards them. She's obsessed with those animals.

Her favorite foods are organic banana puffs, yogurt melts, YO Baby yogurts, cheese cubes, sweet potatoes, squash... she's a great eater.

Her favorite time of day is when she gets to swing outside next to her brother. She also adores bathtime with Noah every night. They have a ball splashing each other and "talking" to one another. It is exciting to watch and anticipate how close they will be the older they get.

Her schedule is very predictable:
She wakes about 7:30 am, eats breakfast, plays a minute then goes back to bed for an hour nap about 8:30 am. She will wake about 10:00 am, play, exercise with me and Noah in the jogging stroller, eat lunch and then she and Noah go down for their naps about 12:00. She's still a random late afternoon napper too but if that happens, it is only for about half an hour. She eats dinner at 5:00, waits for daddy to get home to see him, bathes and then is sound asleep by 6:30 pm at the latest! She will then sleep 13 hours straight till 7:30 the next morning! WHAT A BLESSING!

We fall more in love with her as the days pass. She's my little girl completely: she loves her mama. And on my hip doing whatever I am doing is what she prefers these days! She's still a paci girl - if that paci isn't in her mouth during naps or bedtime, she will scream and scream until she either locates it in her crib or you come put it back into her mouth.

Ellyotte Pierce Beall is more precious and we love her more than we ever imagined possible.

Beauty

Here are our Beall Family Portraits 2011.
One of my closest friends on this planet, Amy H. Hall, photographer from Grace Images took these when we stayed with her family in Nashville during our recent Easter visit.

She's one talented lady!

Mama's Day

This is a special Mother's Day for me personally: it is the 3rd year that I am a mom to Noah, the 1st year that I am a mom to Ellyotte and the 1st year that I can celebrate being a mama to my precious babies that I am alive to raise. This past year has been so scary for me at times - healthwise - that I am truly, truly thankful to be present on this earth with my children and my husband this mother's day.

Here is a special video that my family really appreciates this year more than ever before. In November, we lost my precious Aunt Mamie (the redhead in the video next to Mrs. Gloria Grant) and just last week, we all lost another lifelong friend, Mrs. Gloria Grant (Amy Grant's mother) in Nashville. Mamie and Gloria and Jeananne (the gorgeous blonde in the video) were inseparable so these past five months have been tough as we said goodbye to two of the threesome.

About 10 years ago, Oprah did a Mother's Day show and invited Amy's mom, Mrs. Gloria, to be on it. Mrs. Glo took her best friends, Mamie (my aunt) and Mrs. Jeananne to the show with her. They are sitting to Mrs. Glo's left.

As you will see in the video, they didn't know that Oprah had Amy and her sisters surprise Mrs. Gloria. She was truly surprised and the whole group had an incredibly memorable time together during the taping and after as they enjoyed Chicago. Aunt Mamie still drank out of her Oprah mug up until her death in November!

This video is priceless to me and to my family because it allows us to see our Mamie and Gloria the way they truly were on this earth: vibrant, happy, alive. I am so thankful that someone saved this clip and posted it onto youtube.




Kelly and I are blessed to have OUR mom love us the way she does. She's truly selfless and is daily pleading the Blood over her girls, husband, and now son-in-law and grandbabies. She's the glue that holds our family together - she always has been. There are no words to describe my gratitude and eternal love for my Mama, Janice Hawkins. She's God's greatest gift to the Hawkins/Beall family. I love you, Mom.