This month, in celebration of [American] Thanksgiving, my favorites this month with all be intangible. ie, no products or links.
If you prefer to watch things, the companion video can be found here.
This is a love letter to the people in my life:
1. Alone Time
This may seem selfish, and believe me, my brain has told me that over and over.
But the more I get to know myself, the more I realize just how much I need to prioritize me-time to be the best I can be for everyone else in my life.
And prioritizing myself doesn’t mean spending all my time alone. It just means grabbing 15 minutes to brain dump while the baby is napping, or waking up early to write a blog post so that in the evening, I can be present with my family instead of being preoccupied with all the things I put off.
2. My Daughter
Obviously.
But specifically this month, my favorite thing has been her stage of development. She’s 16 months old, and it’s just the best!
She’s taken a job as a research physicist, working from a home office of course. All day she’s conducting these complex experiments about things like dropping a crayon through a paper towel roll, or pouring dry rice all over the living room floor, or studying the fluid dynamics of bubbles in the kitchen sink.
She’s also so communicative! I’ve completely lost count of “how many words” she knows, because she’s picking up new ones literally every day. And just in the last month she’s started to speak in sentences. Just little things like “Mama poop” or “Dada car” but once, she asked me, “Mama, what color is this?” (Yes, every single one of those words. I couldn’t believe it either.)
So often I find myself downplaying her accomplishments for the sake of other parents whose children are at a different developmental stage. But today, I’m taking a leaf from my proud husband’s book and just proclaiming it for the world:
This baby is the most advanced and empirically cutest in the land!
(She also has two dimples, so she wins.)
3. My Husband
Again, obviously.
Some people complain about their spouses and some people take them for granted. Today I want to be neither of those things.
My husband is the best, and watching him become a father has been the greatest joy.
He manages to take care of things like the yard and car, spend time bonding with our daughter, and pursue his own hobbies all with a full time job and a 1.5 hour commute. I think it’s because he never sleeps.
He is also so supportive of me and my goals for myself and my youtube channel. He’s my cheerleader every time I achieve something, and my sounding board whenever I need to vent. I love him so much.
4. Our Parents
We are so fortunate to live near family, and I find myself more and more grateful to both sets of grandparents every day.
Watching the baby bonding with all four of our parents is such a joy. She now knows how to say all of their names, and she gets so excited when she gets to see them, either in person or on video chat.
Having in-laws literal minutes away is also so great for the practical support. My father-in-law watches Agnes twice a week, if we ever want to catch a movie, we always have a Lola on call.
5. You!
I started posting Youtube videos in 2017, and probably never thought I would get as far as I’ve gotten now.
I am so grateful to everyone who has joined me on this journey, and who continues to support me.
Just know that whenever you watch one of my videos or read one of my blog posts, you are making my day by that simple act.
Okay now I promise to try to stop gushing about hitting 1,000 subscribers for a while.
I hope you enjoyed a less materialistic favorites post this month.
Hug your loved ones this holiday season, and be sure to tell them how grateful you are!
