Home Organization

I had the pleasure of working with the Julie Minton of Simply Beautiful. My husband and I moved into our house when I was 8 months pregnant, and although our baby is now 7 months old, we just never took the time to fully move in. Julie came into our house and helped us make it our home. She was such a pleasure to work with, and really made the experience fun (never thought I would say that about cleaning and organizing!).

In our bedroom, we had unpacked boxes and piles of clothes that didn't fit, shoes, scarves, and belts spilling out of the closet, and a layer of dust covering all the clutter on our dressers.  In just a few hours, Julie had completely redone our closet, with only adding a couple of shoe racks and a basket for hats. It is now pleasing to look at rather than being a stressful to do list! She worked with what we had and created a nice reading nook in a corner of our bedroom that was previously full of boxes.

Downstairs was covered in a mess of mail, baby items, and unfinished projects.  Julie helped us to come up with better storage options to keep our things off the floor, a more aesthetic design for our bookshelves, and an awesome way to organize mail as it comes in. We were able to add a few decorative pieces because Julie used what we had for storage, my budget allowed for more fun items.

Not only was I left with a beautiful home, Julie was a joy to work with throughout. She was encouraging, supportive, never laughed at my horrible messes, and could tell when I was getting overwhelmed with everything. She took her time to make sure we were completely happy with the end results. She was very respectful of our (small) budget, and made sure we were able to accomplish everything we wanted to with the amount I gave her.

If you are looking for a little help with organization, decorating, rearranging, etc, I cannot recommend Julie enough! You won't be disappointed :)

Bennett Clark [7 months]

This is the perfect picture for this age! He is constantly flapping his arms around and so smiley!

This baby is on the move! He wants so badly to crawl, and gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. Someone yesterday called it "revving his engine". He is a roley poley and can barrel roll across the room if he wants something. He loves kicking his legs at all times, and when he gets excited he waves his arms up and down and laughs!  He reaches for everything with his whole body, and gets frustrated when he can't reach! He prefers to be standing more than sitting, so he spends a lot of play time in the exersaucer and Johnny Jump-Up :)

Bennett's first beach trip. Swamis, Encinitas.

Bennett can say "dada," "mama," and "baba" (he came up with this on his own). He has quieter days, and days where he talks non stop. Those are my favorite :) He has the sweetest little voice. I absolutely love when I'm driving and the car is quiet and then out of no where I'll hear a high pitched squeal or coo or a low grunt (such a boy). My heart hurts with joy at his noises!

Smiling at his noises (pretend you can hear them)

Bennett is so easy going and independent. I have heard multiple times, "Does that baby ever cry?" and "you have such an easy baby!" I do consider us truly blessed, and I give all the glory to God for that. We prayed for his temperament while I was pregnant and the Lord answered our prayers so faithfully! He loves to play by himself or with other people, and if he is alone for awhile and someone comes to play with him, he will shriek with excitement! When we go to camp for meals, he generally just sits in his stroller and watches everyone. Such a good baby :)

GBC beach day. Moonlight Beach.

He still loves his binky! We have to make sure not to leave the house without one. At bedtime and naps, he gets a Wubbanub, so cool. He has a giraffe that his daddy named, "Ralphie". We are cloth diapering on days we're home, but if we are out and about all day I find it much easier to use disposables.

B & mama on my 25th birthday

h

My handsome guys.

Bennett is a great little eater. He hasn't disliked anything yet, but his favorite food is definitely apples! He gets so excited. I've started signing "more" and "all done" but he just stares at me and giggles when I do it :) He eats food 2-3 times a day, and I'm pretty sure it's one of his favorite things.

His other favorite things are baths, naps, and kitties!

Hadley pretends she doesn't like Bennett, but she always ends up next to him.. :) He gets SO excited when she walks up to him!

Mini Dada :) With his yellow polo, khaki shorts, and the remote :)

Booty in the air! Cutest ever!

And the most adorable giggling Bennett video:

Sweet Bennett, you have taught me more about love, joy, patience, laughter, and perseverance than I ever thought there was to know. You make me a better person, because I want to be the best I can for you. You make me feel happiness I never knew existed, and fear that the greatest gift I've ever received  (you) will somehow be taken from me. You make my heart burst little man. I love you so much!

xoxo, your mama.