Eye to Wonder

          One struggle this year was managing nagging thoughts; I'd think of work at home and home at work. It was hard to be present in the moment because there was always so much left to do. My time at home with Avi felt precious, so I resented the intrusion of work thoughts into family time.       One day I decided to take two minutes to jot down everything I needed to do later. Having everything written down freed my brain from having to remember these tasks, and I found myself feeling lighter and more playful with Avi.       This feeling is key when spending lots of time with a baby. At least in my experience, time with infants is unstructured enough to give you plenty of time to ruminate on your to-dos without actually giving you any time to complete them. Writing down these to-dos helped me feel organized even if I couldn't act on these ideas right away. With the extra head space, I was in a better frame of min...

     It's hard to keep up with our forever changing, on the move girl! Her first birthday was on Monday. I want to take a moment to capture what it's like to have a one-year-old, and what Avi is like at this age. In the midst of all that is uncertain in this moment, I want to hold on to some of these memories, especially because she changes so quickly!     I want to remember:    Avi's first word yesterday--Mama. ❤  how she loves to drum on everything and is constantly moving.  her love of all berries and the way she looks intently into your eyes when she signs "more."   the way she loves to take things out of containers (like drawers, boxes, cabinets etc.).  her love of the outdoors and fascination with pine cones, grass, and flowers.   her laugh and smile when she is on the swing.  the way she looks up to find airplanes and birds in the sky.   how much she loves to read, turn pages, and point to things...

       Library Pick-Ups Lately Reading out loud: In the past we've enjoyed reading mysteries together. Lately though, we subscribed to The New Yorker  and take turns reading the articles and stories to each other. We loved  this article .    Going on walks at the end of the work day or after dinner: This helps to break up the day and separate out work from rest. I love to look at all the whimsical touches in people's yards. So far my favorite is a sign that says "Caution: Entering the Silly Walk Zone."  Cooking or baking together: I originally got the idea of cookie date nights from  Rising Shining . Inspired by the post, we made a big batch of frozen cookie dough portioned out. I was mostly excited to make the cookies, but I was surprised at how much we enjoyed the process. We both love to cook but have been less enthused about it since Avi was born. Since we don't need to bake, it feels like a fun extra instead of an obligation...

I've so enjoyed reading monthly goal posts on other blogs, so I thought I'd give it a go here.  Before I wrote these I went back to my essential questions and jotted down what I'd done in relationship to exploring each question. At a time when I was feeling overwhelmed by all that I want to fit in this summer, it felt validating to know that I'd actually made progress on all the questions I've been thinking about this summer. It also helped me to think through some July goals and note the biggest mindset shift I'd like to make for July. It's really easy at this moment to get overwhelmed by the scope of large systemic problems (systemic racism, Covid) and uncertainty about the future, and I'd really like to balance striving towards goals and feeling urgency with being present to the many joys of everyday life. This July: *A turns 1! *It's our 4 year wedding anniversary! *My parents and J's mom are visiting for the first time in a long time. Goals:...

I've been renting homes for the past 8 years; the longest I've ever been in one apartment as an adult was just shy of two and a half years. I actually like the flexibility renting gives us, but decorating and setting up a space with intention that feels like a home is trickier when you live in a home that is, to some extent, temporary by design. Making major changes to the rental is not a possibility, but over the years I've become a lot more creative at finding ways to make our space feel very us with less effort.  Here are some parts of our home that currently bring a lot of joy: 1.) Avi's play space downstairs--I love that she has a space where she is free to crawl around without getting in anyone's way, and where she can reach and access her toys and books independently. I also love the way her toys are displayed on the bookshelf. Knowing that the stacker toys, balls, ribbons, etc. have a home makes it a lot easier to be present with Avi instead of sweating the ...