My 2024 Word of the Year

/ Katie / 4 Comments

Okay, so I’m a little late on this. I’ve been busy, you know?

Normally, every year, I set very specific goals and make plans for how I’m going to accomplish them. This year, things are a little different and my only goal is to be a good mom to Lucy while I figure everything else out. So, I’m trying something new. A lot of my friends choose a “word of the year” every year, and I’ve never done it. But new year, new things to try. So, here we go. My word this year is:

EMBRACE

Embrace this new life. Embrace these new challenges. Embrace the joys and the hardships and the highs and lows. Embrace myself, and Graham, and most especially, baby Lucy, who is so fun to cuddle. Embrace all the changes and embrace every moment, and hold these precious, brief days with both arms.

I shall try.

How much can change…

/ Katie / 6 Comments

…in a year.

A 3:00 a.m. thought. But also a post I’ve been meaning to write.

It’s hard to believe that this time last year, Lucy was not even in the plan. Now she’s here, and she’s my whole life.

This time last year, we’d just gotten Merlin. Now he rules the house. Don’t tell Annie.

This time last year, we were in the middle of renovating and updating and the sounds of construction were the constant soundtrack of our days. It’s quiet around here now, except when Lucy cries, which is not often.

This time last year, I don’t think I could have imagined what things would look like today. How tiring and wonderful and short the days would be, and how much love my heart could hold, and just how happy we could be in our cozy little farmhouse, the three of us and our crazy pets.

I wonder what things will look like this time next year. I’m excited for all the joys and memories to come.   

Two Months of Motherhood (Or, What Is Time?)

/ Katie / 6 Comments

Our sweet Lucy Blue-Eyes is two months (and two days) old!

She surprises me every day. Every day, something is new and fascinating. She’s learning to hold up her head, making lots of new noises, and looking more and more like her daddy. She is beautiful and strong, and I’m the luckiest. I love being her mom. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.

BUT…

With Graham back at work and his work being about as busy as one would expect after several weeks away, being Lucy’s mom leaves me very little time for much of anything else.

(And what is time anyway? Wasn’t it midnight two hours ago?)

Anyway, I haven’t even had a minute every day to brush my teeth. We’re doing well, all of us, and we’re figuring things out, but we have no set routine at the moment. It’s not quite chaos, but it is very different from how life was before. That’s not a bad thing, I think. Just new.

So what does that mean for this blog?

I don’t know.

I’m planning to keep writing, at least once a week. I haven’t been keeping up with everyone’s posts, and I’d like to do that, too, because y’all inspire me to create and push myself and enjoy the process. But for now, I’m doing what I can.

And that’s enough.

Lucy’s First Snow Day

/ Katie / 14 Comments

If you’ve been here for a while, you know that I love snow. I love winter, and I love snow. I’m not so keen to get a big snowstorm this year, given that we’ve got a newborn, but I am happy to report that we did see a nice, gentle snowfall for the last couple of days.

Enough to blanket the ground without causing major chaos. And Annie has enjoyed it, which is so wonderful to see.

Lovely, right? And Lucy’s very first snow day! She has no idea what that means right now, but one day, she will.

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks around here since Graham went back to work on January 8th, but we’re doing okay. We’re figuring things out as we go, and I think that’s the best we can do. Unfortunately, it means that at this moment, I don’t have a ton of time to devote to writing and blogging and such, but that will change eventually.

It’s just nice that amidst the stress and change, we’ve gotten to see some actual winter weather. Even if this is all the snow we get this year, I can say that I’m happy. 😊

What are your favorite children’s books?

/ Katie / 16 Comments

I’m stocking up! We’ve got a few already, including some of my favorites from when I was little. But give me all your recommendations!

Short post today – it’s Graham’s first day back at work and things are crazy. But they’re also wonderful and fulfilling and everything just feels so new and special. How lucky we are to be parents to our beautiful Lucy Lady. 😊

Six Weeks of Lucy

/ Katie / 73 Comments

Y’all. This baby.

She’s incredible.

Wednesday marked six weeks since my sweet Lady Lucy’s arrival, and we are in love and elated and tired and busy and just so, so happy.

And tired. So tired. Very tired.

But she’s worth it. Every exhausted minute of it.

Honestly, it’s so much more easy than I worried it would be. And also more challenging. And just amazing.

One of these days, I will sit down and write about this whole experience – birth and postpartum, being a new mom, learning how to care for a tiny, perfect human. But right now, I’m all about the baby snuggles.

She’s growing and changing every day. She’s making eye contact, lifting her head, grasping at our fingers, staring at Merlin (who is patiently trying to teach her exactly what human hands are for, which is petting him, of course!), listening, watching, stretching, wiggling, and just being the most fascinating little creature I have ever encountered.

I won’t overshare about her here, because I’m sure you’d all get tired of it and wonder where all the poems and short stories went. And I will get back to writing those! Soon, I hope.

But for now, more snuggles. And coffee.

This is the life.