What We're Celebrating Lately! - Autumn 2023

How is it already the Autumn season? We say this every year {or better yet, every season}, but it just keeps going by faster and faster.

Perhaps the main reason is due to all the endless happenings in our families during this time of year.

We have had two weddings, two pregnancies, three house purchases, countless renovations, two baby showers, multiple wedding parties, one sweet new baby girl added to the family, international trips, new puppies, and the list goes on and on...  

The best part about it is that it just keeps getting better and better. Going into this Autumn, and even the holiday season as a whole, it would be naive to think it would be slowing down anytime soon, but we wouldn’t change it for anything. Looking ahead, we have some big celebrations ahead of us. 

The Autumn Season schedule always fills up quickly and we seem to always be on the go, but this year especially, we are looking forward to all that is ahead for us and all the countless memories we have to be made. 

Two New Babies {and Baby Showers} 

• Kyle and Warren welcomed their daughter, Emma Hill, in early August, and since that day, have been in total and complete baby bliss!  

“After a very busy season of life where work and productivity were two of my main drivers (right up until I was admitted into the hospital!), I have found an enhanced/expanded purpose in these early days of motherhood. 

In the months leading up to Emma’s arrival, I worked hard to make sure my work and my team would be covered so I could feel comfortable and confident taking a full maternity leave and truly ‘unplug’ - a feat that those closest to me weren’t sure I could fully commit to!  

I’m proud to say I’ve honed my compartmentalizing skills and with the full support of my family and my team at Coton Colors Company, have been able to truly take full advantage of this special time.  

In the newborn bubble, our days are spent in a relaxed routine of feedings, diaper changes, lots and lots of snuggles, and just getting to know Emma! 

Every week (and even every day!) we celebrate new happenings or milestones like her first bath in the tub, her wider open eyes, first smiles, her first road trip, all of the visits from friends and family, taking care to capture it all with countless iPhone photos, and of course, her Celebrate Me book.  

As the weeks have ticked on, I’ve found myself filling nap time and to check that “productivity” box with a few special projects that didn’t get taken care of during that classic nesting phase of pregnancy including a big pantry cleanout, transitioning our garden boxes from summer to autumn, and putting the finishing touches on Emma’s nursery.  

Of course, if you know me by now, you know I’ll be happy to return to work... just not yet!”

- Kyle 

• Continuing with the tradition that the original Parks girls {Marcie, Courtney, Taylor, and Logan} host showers for the original Johnson girls {Laura, Kyle, Sara Kate, and Mary Parker}, two baby showers were held this past season.  
• The Parks girls held a sweet couples’ shower for Kyle and Warren at Courtney’s home in June, just a few weeks before Emma Hill made her way into the world. Just a couple of months later, it was the Johnson girls’ turn to host a baby shower to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Firth {and her parents, Logan and Ernest}!  
• Taylor had the chance to celebrate “hosting” her very first party at her “new” house. This one was an extra special one because it was for Logan’s baby shower. While she was responsible for handling the venue, the Johnson girls hosted. 

"Their shower was held on a beautiful September evening in Atlanta breaking in the Gwynn’s home and featuring Cuban food and festive fizzy drinks with the parents-to-be's closest friends and family," - Mary Parker 

• Baby Firth is expected early next year.

Logan and Kyle have grown up with a special bond being so close together in age, even bunking up together as roommates throughout college. Now, we’re so happy to have Baby Smith and Baby Firth about the exact same distance apart and look forward to the many memories to come with all the other “cousins” too! 

Home Updates Galore 

• If anyone needs to get a house project completed, Taylor suggests hosting a party because that will get it done. There is nothing like having a party – in this case, Logan’s baby shower - as a deadline to get things done!   

“Furniture arrived, pictures were hung, and last-minute rearranging was happening just 24 hours before the party started.  

It was fun to watch all the details come together and see how others bring in their ideas to your space. I got some fun tips for where to put things at my next gathering. I love hosting gatherings and entertaining friends and family, so I am excited that this one officially kicked that off!  

We still have a ways to go in completing the planned finishings, décor, and other general updates, but I love watching this house become our home,”

- Taylor

•  Courtney is celebrating 1 whole year since her family “technically” moved into their new home.

“I cant’ believe it! It's been nice to focus on getting settled and just live in the space before deciding what to do next,” - Courtney 

Reminiscing on Summer Trips {And Planning New Ones} 

"While one side of our family spent two weeks in Tuscany earlier this summer, the other side spent the summer closer to home at our home away from home at Alligator Point, Florida.  

Although we spent time at work and most weekends gathering together, the whole family reunited in August for what we’ve donned a Festa Della Pizza Gathering to break in the Plöbst new patio pizza oven and hear the trip recap straight from the sources from start to finish. When any of us go on big trips, it’s become a sort of tradition to “bring home” new experiences in the form of hosting a meal that was most enjoyed on the trip with a side of storytelling." 

- Mary Parker 

• Mary Parker and Whit will be taking a trip to Lake Como, Italy, very soon.  

“Whit and I are lucky enough to attend one of our best friends’ weddings in October. This will be both of our first times there. I will be heading over a couple of days early with the bridal party to celebrate her in Sardinia for the weekend, and then Whit will meet me there a few days later. We cannot wait to embrace the Italian culture and celebrate this sweet couple who means so much to us!   

After we get back, we will be turning right back around to the airport 4 days later and heading to San Antonio for another wedding, and then the rest of the season’s weekends are filled with friends’ weddings or baby festivities and some football games {hopefully!} on the docket.” - Mary Parker 

• Laura, Milton, Bud, Dee, and Marcie and René headed on a 2 week-long cruise to Alaska.

“We love cruising!” - Marcie 

Weddings, Anniversaries & Birthdays 

• Mary Parker and Whit will be celebrating 5 months of marriage on October 12th. 

“It has been such a blast settling into this new reality and merging our lives together. We have loved creating home-cooked meals with all our new wedding gifts, updating our townhouse here and there, adding in new pictures from the wedding, and working on home projects together,” - Mary Parker 

• Marcie celebrated her 63rd birthday with her “favorite birthday buddy,” Ginger, who is Kyle’s mother-in-law.  
• Bud and Dee are celebrating their 64th wedding anniversary this season.  
• Marcie and René’s dog, René’s Christmas present, Clementine {who is the sister of Courtney’s dog, Ruby} turns 1 this season.

“We are so happy to have them in our family!” - Marcie 

Gatherings & Good Times 

Autumn is Sara Kate’s absolute favorite time of year. “I love autumn! I love the movies, yummy soups, scary movies and of course, Halloween. A favorite non-tradition I have is having a casual get-together with friends and making chili the first crisp weekend of fall.  

This Autumn, my weekends are full of college friends visiting to catch a football game, going to the local haunted house, carving pumpkins, and of course hosting a Halloween party,”

- Sara Kate