It being Lent and all, calling this a blog-surrection seems…inappropes. So suffice it to say I'm now back on the blogging train and this train is bound for…you know. Here's the rundown of life lately. Visit Jen at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!
{1} Remember my book-writing announcement from a while back? If not, it's because I've kept it mostly on the DL out of self-consciousness. Telling people I'm writing a book feels hard to talk about in a humble way, something about the word manuscript sounds like such serious biz, and not to mention I didn't start working on it in earnest until a few months ago, despite having nearly a year to complete it (the delusions of a first-time mother…I thought maternity leave would give me hours of uninterrupted writing time once I was free from the shackles of the workforce and other responsibilities. Ha.). But, I am now happy to say that I've just completed the first draft of my still-far-from-release book on Catholic marriage and have just sent it off to Pauline Press! Arleen, if you are reading this it's been great to talk through all the writing stuff with you!
{2} So, if you're able to read between the lines, all this internet silence has been the fruit of writing my tail off in another medium over the last few months. Back in January, I also started nannying for a one-year-old little girl after deciding not to go back to work. I love being able to bring Aaron along, and it's been a very satisfying preview of what it will be like to have a one-year old and a very…enlightening insight into taking care of two babies who are only eight months apart. I understand now why God made Irish twins at least 10 months different in age. But really, this work is such a gift, between the little bit of extra income and the ways my heart's being stretched in patience and just the pleasure of playing with the two of them.
{3} Speaking of whom…I now have an almost 6-month-old, you guys. Aaron rolls over both ways, chews on everything he can get his hands on (literally, he can get his hands on things now and pick them up!), can mostly sit up by himself, babbles away constantly, loves standing and jumping on our laps, and yes I know other people's babies do similar things at this age but this baby is mine and I'm so in love with him. Here's the man himself at 3 months…
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| Baptism Day. He's also a card-carrying Christian now! |
and 5!
{4} Despite all that love and delight, sleeping is starting to feel like a battle. Aaron sleeps in bed with Andrew and I, more out of convenience than out of a predetermined decision. We didn't initially plan on co-sleeping, and though it's been really sweet and enjoyable, we've been feeling like it's about time to get him on his own. Between having a one-bedroom apartment, the little dude waking almost every hour to nurse, and both Andrew and I not feeling entirely right about letting him cry it out (in the instances we've tried, cry-it-out has almost instantly escalated into scream-it-out, which, in our minds, is entirely different and has left all three of us tired and upset), we're not really sure where to go from here. Somewhere along the way I've developed an aversion to any and all parenting buzzwords--that's not to say I don't do certain things that maybe fall under different parenting philosophies or actions, I just don't like calling them by their names because it feels reductive to me, if that makes sense--so while I'm not a fan of the term "sleep training," I am still all about teaching this baby how to fall asleep! Advice, anyone, on gentle ways to do it?
{5} In the past year, Aaron has been one of about six babies who will be future playmates! My pregnancy overlapped with five of my friends', and the past few weeks have brought a spate of new springtime babies! Two of my college friends have a brand new son, Andrew's brother and sister-in-law are welcoming a baby girl, and my friend Teresa (check out her blog) is due to welcome her little bambina any day now! Oh, I love it.
{6} On the subject of friends and their blogs, my friends Beth and Jenn just started their own. Links are attached to their names. Enjoy.
{7} For whatever reason, this crop of new babies has got me thinking hardcore about names for more of my future little ones (future--I'm not pregnant!). It's not like I haven't considered name after name for years (I'm a girl, after all), but I've been thinking about them in earnest and constantly suggesting new ones to Andrew. I seem to have developed a thing for finding names that are sort of uniquely Catholic without being totally out there; things like saints' last names as middle names, for instance. Naturally, that gets my nosy self curious--tell me your favorite baby names; I promise not to steal! At least not for the next year or so…
Enjoy your weekend and check back Tuesday for a new post! My new, more manageable-feeling writing goal is two posts a week, plus a return to updating Captive the Heart's Facebook page with extras you won't find on the blog. Like the page on the ol' FB here.
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