fair isle | candy canes | trees | red stripes | red and green stripes
YOUR BABY’S WISH LIST
Listen, our babies have absolutely zero opinion on what they’ll get for Christmas this year. They will be utterly delighted with the boxes, tissue paper, and the gift bags. So, if you want to give them an empty box – go for it – the pressure is off. In short, Christmas gifts for our babies are actually Christmas gifts for us. And now that we have that out of the way, here are all of the gifts your “baby” doesn’t know how to ask for this year:
crinkle book | silicone cell phone | silicone stackers | stacking cups | rainbow
silicone stacker | number puzzle | indestructible book (there are so many!) | black & white cards | feelings chart
hair + body wash | all over ointment | stacking boats | hooded towel
nugget | soft stacking blocks | mini bike | gathre block playset | play kitchen
bravery badges (bandaids) | no-spill cup | hydroflask | baseball cap | snack cup | soccer ball
piggy paint | picture puzzle | grippy socks | stacking rocket | bath toys | bath bomb
doona trike | helmet | scooter | baby bronco | balance bike | wagon
yoto player | kitchen tower | block set | guitar | mega blox
Christmas is the most wonderful time of year to wind up with a lot of clutter that won’t last. If you’re on the hunt to purchase gifts for kids who aren’t in your household, here’s what I recommend: consumables (bath soap, bath bombs, fun bandaids, crayons, stickers, watercolor paints) and practicals (fun toothbrush, books, socks, pajamas, tote or backpack, fidget toys, water bottle). Depending on your budget, you could also consider an experience gift (membership passes to the zoo, enrollment in swim lessons, gift card to an ice cream shop, tickets to a soccer game). Remember, when you’re shopping for a baby, you’re actually shopping for the mom. And trust me, the mom will love these.
Many of these links are affiliate, which means I might make a small amount off of your purchase. If you decide to buy something from this list, I really appreciate you using my link! XOX.
WHAT COMES AFTER
Like airplanes leave line-shaped clouds trailing after themselves in the sky, small moments follow the big moments. Contrails are vapor and our days are, too. We can’t stop time or even slow it down, but we can notice and give thanks. And when we do, we’ll live in a wake of gratitude.
Here are a few small moments I’ve noticed this week paired with a quick prayer of thanks for the bigger moment it represents.
I’d love to hear any that you notice in your day, too!
A tiny bathing suit draped over the railing of our deck (thank you, God, for summer, for pool days, for my family)
A box of leftovers in the fridge (thank you, God, for eight years of marriage and a night out to celebrate who we are and how you’ve changed us)
A pile of empty Kroger bags (thank you, God, for access to fresh groceries and also for the blessed teenagers who pick out the items I order on an app so I don’t have to go inside)
Pebbles piled on the arm of a plastic chair (thank you, God, for playdates, for the minds of toddlers, imaginary play, and also thank you that they didn’t eat said pebbles)
The line where red meets white on my shoulder (thank you, God, for sunshine, even when I am too irresponsible to protect my skin from it)
The specks of pollen on our table (thank you, God, for flowers and for the intricacies of everything you’ve created)
Sticky hands from melted fruit juice (thank you, God, for popsicles, for sugar, and will you help me have the heart of a child)
This post is part of a blog hop with Exhaleβan online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series “Ordinary Inspiration”.
FULLER AND BETTER, FINALLY
After years of hoping and trying to grow our family, our house is starting to show the signs of it. We have an eight-month-old who, along with the growing number of gadgets and teething toys and safety supplies, has made our home fuller and better, finally.
I imagine our souls were weaving together from the moment he began growing inside me and now our spaces are woven together, too. There is a drawer dedicated to his bibs and bowls and a drying rack on our counter for just-washed bottles. A mini latte bowl holds his pacifiers on our dining room table and burp cloths are stored in small stacks all around the house (yet there never seems to be one in reach when it’s needed).
I love that his high chair pushes right up to the dining room table in between our antique chairs. I love that his toys are scattered on the floor in every room. Like a groggy hug after nap time, his life is nestled up alongside ours and it feels so familiar. When I see a rattle left behind on the side table or catch a glimpse of my nursing cart peeking from behind the yellow chair in our living room, I’m reminded that our son has completely changed the way our home looks. And like our home, our life is different — fuller and better — because he’s finally here.
This post is part of a blog hop with Exhaleβan online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series “Still Motherhood”.
PEONY DIARIES
We bought our house in July 2017, so it wasn’t until the following May that we found out the previous owner planted seven peony bushes in our front yard. My favorite flower! After a hard winter, it was the reminder I needed that God was working under the surface and was going to make something good of it.
Now, every middle-of-May God shows up and shows off through our peony bushes to remind me that he’s all about abundance and I’m still invited into it.
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