Lots of new things happening!

These last few weeks have been full of new things happening, and it is time for me to finally blog about it! Yay! Ella's asleep and my coffee is beside me, so I am ready to go!

So the biggest news is the newest additions to our family. My younger cousin had a child and so did my sister! I am officially an aunt! And all the new babies are girls, no suprise there though! I seriously feel like it is impossible for our family to have a boy. I only have one male cousin, and he is the only one that has had a son. It is so crazy! But anyway, the new babies are precious. My little neice, Aubrey, is less than 3 weeks old, and I am so glad I have gotten to spend a good amount of time with her. And I also got to meet little Miss Karsyn, and she is also adorable! Ella is going to have a ton of ready-made playmates with all of the babies in my family. :)

The next big news story is that Ella took her first steps!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!! I seriously can't believe it. She is on her way to walking everywhere. I am so happy....but also kinda sad. This is a huge milestone, but it just reaffirms the fact that she is growing up so fast! I am so proud of her though! And the best part is that KT and I were both with her when it happened. We have been having a lot of discussions lately about work getting in the way of being able to witness these big moments in her life, so I know it was a huge deal for him to be there for that. We were both so proud and happy. It actually happened in her Gymboree class. At the end of her class everyone was getting their shoes on to leave, I stood Ella up on the floor, and then out of nowhere she just tooks two steps!! Then she hit her knees and proceeded to scream about the audacity of that floor daring to hurt her precious knees. But it was such a monumental moment that it took KT and I a second to process that she had just walked. I of course was like "Oh my gosh. KT, did she just walk?!?!" He was pretty caught off guard too because it took him a second before he acknowledged it. We were shocked! I am so glad that we are doing these classes. They have had such an impact on her already. She is one of the youngest babies her age group, so she is one of the only ones not walking in the class. And she cannot stand it! LOL! But this is a good thing because she is really trying to imitate what the other babies are doing. She loves the group play that the class does. And it is allowing her to learn how to interact with other babies and to be comfortable crawling away from KT and I to play with another baby. Last Wednesday the teacher announced it was the end of class and called for the babies to come get their "Gymbo stamps" on their hands. Everyone (babies and adults alike) started heading out of the play area, but KT and I were waiting for Ella to crawl back over to us so we could carry her out like usual. However, Ella had other plans. She literally crawled out of the exit of the play area to get her stamp herself. She even had the gall to look back at us waiting for her with such a look of impatience! She wanted her stamp, and she was going to get it whether we were coming or not! I tell you this story because if you know Ella, then you know how reserved and cautious she is around other people. This class is bringing out a new side of her! And the best part is that we won 3 free months of these classes via a drawing at Babypalooza!!

Another big piece of news is that KT got a job in Birmingham! Yay for no more commuting to Tuscaloosa! He got a new job with a better position and pay, so we are really excited for that. It also has the opportunity for quick advancement, which is a really nice perk. It still isn't in the work genre he wants, but it is giving him great management experience to go along with his OM degree. So it may not be the longterm job, but it's a great stepping stone. I also got hired for a job....and then turned said job down. I know, I know. I have been wanting to go back to work for so long now, but with KT's new job I am going to be able to be more selective of what job I take. This job could have been great for someone without the family commitments of having a child. The travel and opportunities for advancement were great, but I just can't commit to being away from Ella for 2-3 weeks at a time. It was also heavily based in sales for the entry level management position I was hired for, and that's not really the area my strengths are in. I can sell things fine, but I cannot try to, for lack of a better term, "harass" people into buying things. I was also shocked at how strongly I reacted to the idea of leaving Ella to go back to work. I cried and cried and cried. But KT is amazing and told me he supported whatever decision I made. He even encouraged me to stay home until I found a job I was passionate about. That was a huge burden off of me. I hate feeling like I am not handling my fair share of the responsibilities, but he reassured me repeatedly that he was happy to have me stay home with Ella and that I was doing enough by taking care of her and the house. Who knew I was so domesticated?!? I sure didn't. So I am still job-searching, but now I am only applying for things that I really want to do. I will probably end up finishing the year out at home, but for the first time ever I am okay with that!

I also am in the middle of planning Ella's first birthday. These things are such a big deal! It's kind of stressful, but luckily, it is the kind of stress that doesn't make you lose sleep. I love coming up with all of the ideas for the party. And I also have help, which is a big relief! But I will be posting about the journey of planning a first birthday in a separate post, so be on the lookout for that! Now it is time for me to go do some updating to the look of the blog!