ten thoughts on a wednesday |17|

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one.
i am a member of a facebook group of wellesley graduates who are parents. the posts in this group range from fascinating to hilarious to helpful, and every once in a while there’s one that makes me cry! this past week someone asked members of the group to share what makes parenting “worth it” for them – to share experiences that have caused them to pause and think, “having kids was definitely the right choice for me.” the responses were so, so beautiful and tender! people talked about the wonder of watching their toddlers learn something new, and the way their babies remind them to find joy in simple things, and the sweetest moments of snuggling or love or triumph. this post made me reflect on all the many reasons i personally find parenthood to be awesome and all the many snippets of extraordinary love and joy i’ve experienced in my short fourteen months as a parent. i’m really, really grateful.

two.
i’m starting to feel pretty psyched about fall! there’s a little nip in the air and the sunlight is getting all slanty, and reds and oranges are peeking out on trees around london. i love this city in the autumn, and i feel like the summer has been so full and satisfying. bring on allll the coziness and wonder of the next season!

three.
moses is learning so much every day! i really can’t believe how quickly he catches on to things and how much he can understand and do on his own now. his “trick” repetoire is growing! he can do the following things on demand (or just when he feels like it ;)) : pat his belly, touch his toes, say a prayer (fold his arms), sign “more please,” sign “thank you,” sign “milk,” make a fishy sound, make a lion sound, say dada, say mama (finally!), point at jesus (a picture we have hanging on the wall), point at any bird, dog or ball in any book, turn the page, give hugs and kisses (which he especially likes to do with his stuffed animals), make music (the cutest little sing/hum), dance, and be gentle (which has somehow translated into stroking my face).
and, yesterday….! moses took his first steps!! my cousin aubrey was hanging out at our flat and she was actually the one to witness his spontaneous three-step voyage – haha! he has since walked a few steps between ian and i and it’s just so exciting!

four.
last saturday we took the train to the temple with our friends the larsons, and our friends the duncans met us there. we traded off babysitting so we could all go in the temple with our spouse. it was a gorgeous day and ian and i had such a blast having a picnic and playing with five fun kids on the temple grounds (and then a wonderful time inside the temple together).
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five.
in an effort to better keep to our monthly budget, we recently decided to roll over any amount of money we go over or under in any given category to the next month (i.e. if we spend fifty pounds more than our allotted grocery budget in september, we get fifty pounds less to spend on groceries in october) – rather than finding another way to even things out. this is really motivating and i’m finding all kinds of ways to save a bit of spending here and there, and that feels good! ian and i have had different saving and spending habits in our lives, so it’s been an adventure to decide how to do it all together. we think we are well-suited in this way and balance each other out nicely.

six.
i can’t stop thinking about how awesome (as in truly inspiring genuine awe) our four days in the faroe islands were (with my brother and his family). while driving around that incredible place in our massive nine-seater van, we played a lot of this song and this song – both pumped us up in different ways!

seven.
i forgot to mention in my posts about our baby-free trip to malta that the best part was sleeping in in the mornings!!! in faroe islands, moses woke up at 5:30 every morning :( oh, and also, the plane rides to and from malta were basically bliss – haha! it’s really great to travel without baby sometimes, but man, we love having little mo along on our adventures.

eight.
moses and i spent an afternoon in primrose hill last week. we went to a little playground in the cutest colouful square and moses loved swinging and watching some boys play football. we walked through regent’s park to queen mary’s rose garden because i just love it so much! and i wanted to see the roses before they start really fading into fall. i love living in this city.
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nine.
last saturday night, just before moses’s bedtime, ian said, “okay, let’s cut his hair.” we had talked about trying an at-home haircut for moses for a while, and the hair-in-the-eyes stuff was starting to drive us all a little crazy. “let’s just do it – now,” ian said. and so we stripped mo down, put him in the sink, watched one youtube video about cutting a baby boy’s hair, and went for it.
i thought it would turn out really awful, but honestly, it didn’t turn out that bad! we think moses looks so much older with shorter hair, and we miss the cute whispies and curls, but it was time. it was a funny experience and will always be a fun memory.
here’s mo the morning after his haircut, in some new sunday clothes – looking so grown up!
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ten.
the power of moms (an awesome website that my sister started and runs) is offering something really fantastic for free right now! it’s called a clutter busting kit and it includes tons of resources (step-by-step guides, podcasts, photos, etc) to help parents get ride of clutter and get their kids involved in helping with housework! check it out here!

happy wednesday!
life is beautiful!

Comments

  1. I love your happy posts and views! If your life had a theme song, it would be I Lived, by One Republic!! You really do live!!! And live well!!! Keep spreading sunshine!!!

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    1. thank you so much! what a sweet comment - i love all the exclamation points :)

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