July 2021 goals

We’ve reached the tipping point month of our 2021! Having had another baby in July, I know firsthand the feeling of having your year bisected: there is before we’re a family of five, and there is after we’re a family of five. The weeks leading up to this point have not been the easiest (and they actually seem to be increasing in chaos as we draw closer to my due date…), but I am grateful for the little moments of peace we have had: eating dinner at twilight with friends, an uninterrupted hour of Lego play, a last date night, evening blueberry runs, porch dinners with plates balanced on our knees, reading in bed later than I should.

With everything going on, I haven’t dwelt too much on our newest family member’s arrival (beyond attending to practical concerns!). Therefore, as weird as it might sound, I am anticipating with joy checking into the hospital and having my focus 100% on one precious baby girl when her birthday rolls around. We will take all the prayers for a healthy baby and healthy delivery in the meantime! Here’s what else we have planned this month…

On my calendar this month:
— Welcoming our new baby girl to the family!
— Celebrating John’s and Shep’s birthdays
— Celebrating the Fourth with our town’s parade and clearly some sort of patriotic dessert

What I’m loving right now:
— I am at the point in this pregnancy where I have been wearing the same four outfits on repeat and am craving variety. A few things on my radar: this floaty floral dress, this jumpsuit with pockets, this pretty green dress (I know NOTHING about this company so order at your own risk, ha!), this pleated seafoam midi skirt, this punchy dotted dress, and this striped shirtdress (which would actually be good for nursing!).
— We have tried out several phone tripods over the years, but never found one that’s both functional to use and convenient to tote around. Enter: the pocket tripod! It’s the size of a credit card (I keep it in my wallet so it’s always close at hand) and folds out into the neatest little tripod. Would make a perfect gift for your favorite photographer or gadget lover!
— My love for everything Jenny Rosenstrach is well-documented. She and a friend (the also-illustrious Jodi Levine) recently started the sweetest Instagram account, This is Like Magic. It shares “endless ways to make someone’s day” and is exactly the kind of thing I want in my feed.

Bonus pick: you all!!!! Several of you have gifted us things off our registry for baby girl (what?!?!) and one of you offered to gift me an extra baby book you had lying around that was the exact one I was planning to order. And the rest of you leave the nicest, most thoughtful comments day in and day out. I am so grateful for each of you who chooses to be here, especially in a season like this one! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

What I read in June:
— Being Mortal | I have a handful of books that I evangelize about to anyone and everyone, and this one is now absolutely included. I may end up writing a whole post about it at some point, but in the meantime, just know it is SO thought-provoking and so very worth your time to read.
— The Lions of Fifth Avenue | Eh, not my favorite. It was fine, but not of the caliber I’d recommend to a friend. Evvie Drake, which I read last month, was a much better pick in a similar genre!
— A Column of Fire | This is the third in the Kingsbridge series that begins with Pillars of the Earth. All three books have been exceptional – so rich, so layered of a world to sink in to! – but this was probably my least favorite of the three. Still, I loved it and would recommend the series to anyone who enjoys historical novels with multilayered plots and characters!

My reading list for 2021, if you’d like to follow along! I’m a little out of order but have read 10 out of 24 so far.

Revisiting my June goals:
Print and frame a few of our maternity family photos (Done! June requested a duo for her room, we added one to baby sister’s dresser, and updated our main gallery wall.)
Buy and wrap gifts for kids “from baby sister,” and shop with June for stuffie for baby sister (Done!)
Execute and enjoy the garden party! (Done!! So happy we pulled this off!)
Give info for our Meal Train to be set up (Done! Loved writing a post about meal trains, too!)
Plan for newborn photos (Mostly done! We booked Graham, chose a date, I booked a hair cut for early in the day, and I know what I’m wearing.)
Update older kiddo baby books (No progress here…)
Plan ahead for John’s birthday and Shep’s birthday (Done! Gifts have been purchased and John’s ice cream cake ordered :))
Send our 2010-2014 family album to print (Not much progress here. Rolling it over!)
Film June in June, Volume 6! (June is over, so filming is also over. I am definitely concerned about the quality and quantity of footage we got with all that’s going on in our lives right now, but if this year’s video is short and sweet, it is what it is.)

July goals:
— Buy the last few things to get ready for baby girl’s arrival
— Finish out our Big List for baby girl: wash and organize her clothing, dust off the stroller, set up the diaper changing station, set up the bassinet, pack a hospital bag…
— Choose newborn photo outfits for baby girl and older kids (June was wearing leggings with holes in them for Shep’s photos, so I’d like to plan a little more ahead, ha!)
— Lay out 2012 in family album (breaking the big goal down!)
— Prep for kindergarten
— Edit June in June, Volume 6
— Enjoy our first few weeks with our new family member!!

As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!

Thank you so much, as always, for being here, friends! I adore you!

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