What I'm Into (June, 2015 Edition)

Reading:

Fiction:

Truthfully, I imagined I'd be reading much more during my maternity leave than I actually am. Between my exhaustion and a steady-stream of visitors, I only read three fiction books this month: The Bright Side Of Disaster by Katherine Center, The Guest Cottage by Nancy Thayer, and Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center. All three would make for good beach reads, though I enjoyed The Guest Cottage and Happiness for Beginners more than The Bright Side of Disaster. 

Non-fiction:

This month I also read one lone non-fiction book, Tony Jones' Did God Kill Jesus?: Searching for Love in History’s Most Famous Execution. You can read my full review here. 

Watching:

While I've read far fewer books on maternity leave than I imagined, I've watched far more TV than I ever thought possible (thanks largely to the amount of time spent breastfeeding. Thank goodness for Netflix!) 

TV: So You Think You Can Dance, Grey's Anatomy, Alias, The Gilmore Girls 

Movies: Star Wars (all 6 of them... It was Hope's Father's Day present to daddy... Mommy was not impressed.); Nightcrawlers (what a strange, strange movie); Cake (Wouldn't recommend it); Still Alice; The Duff (slept through most of it); The Cobbler 

Things I Love: 

Writing: It felt so good to get back in the groove of writing. I took a break for a few weeks (because, you know, I had a baby) but late this month resumed work on the Jesus devotional for students that I'm writing for The Youth Cartel. It's based on the research published in The Jesus Gap. I'm super excited about how this book is shaping up! 

Visits from the grandparents: It's such a delight to see our parents become grandparents. 

Hope's faces: It's been such fun to experience and learn what Hope's various looks and sounds mean. There's a great deal of them that we're still trying to figure out. 

Paternity leave: Doug was fortunate to receive a week of paid paternity leave and then he elected to take a second week off. I'm so thankful he was home those first two weeks of Hope's life - for us to bond as a family and for me to begin recovering from my C-section. 

Doug: I've known for a long time that Doug would make a great dad but wow - seeing him in action blows me away. In those early weeks, he even got up with me at night and read to us as I tried to nurse and then gave Hope the bottle afterward as I pumped. 

Friends: I continue to be so thankful for those who have loved, fed, and cared for us well during this crazy transition to parenthood! 

Baby hats: Need I say more? 

Sleep Gowns: Not only are they cute, they're functional too. Easy diaper access makes late-night diaper changes a breeze. 

Getting out of the house: After being inside with Hope during her first few weeks of life, it felt like such a major accomplishment to get to the Arboretum again. 

Father's Day: What a joy it was to celebrate Doug's first Father's Day and Dad and Keith's first grandfather's day. We loved having everyone at the house for a cookout. And we especially loved Auntie Mel's mud pie for dessert. 

One month pics: Hope turned one month old on June 22. The days seem SO long but the weeks have gone by SO fast! 

Time with Auntie Mel: It was great having Mel around for two weeks. I'm so thankful for the fact that even though she lives 2000 miles away, she's always come to Chicago for the significant events in my life! 

Baby Wearing: It took us several tries to find a baby carrier that we love but we hit the jackpot with the mei tai carrier. It's WAY easier than the Moby Wrap and even though we think we'll love the Ergo come the fall, with the newborn insert, it's WAY too hot for summer.

Today I'm linking up with Leigh Kramer to share what I'm into. You can join the conversation here.