As of this past week we could declare that we've made it through another hot summer, hallelujah! Let's not think of those endless hot days again until we have to next year. In September we enjoyed being outside again, especially in the morning, and started leaning into fall. From where I sit right now at our dining room table I see little pumpkins at home on our bookshelves, a wax-dripped skull candle holder, and some half-hearted spiderwebs in our front yard tree. (Note: the used spiderwebs at the thrift store are not worth it.) I've pulled jeans on for the first time this season although by the time I bike home from dropping Maeve off they feel like too much. Baby steps into fall.

In the past month we've had some sleep challenges, and maybe also some sleep progress. We have one kiddo who wakes up scared at night and it seems the frequency has gone down. We've tried many different approaches and have sought lots of advice and, for now, we seem to have found the best strategies for all of us. (I'm intentionally being general here to honor my child's privacy.) But in sleep woes, Maeve has been waking up at night occasionally, after being a solid through-the-night-sleeper for a loooong time. Sometimes she wants a drink of water and a little reassurance. At other times the wake up escalates and is very disruptive to our sleep. Whew, those are hard nights. Maeve is also not always napping at home, ack! I am still solidly in need of mid-day break on the weekends, and she needs some down time too. We might need to institute a quiet time even if a nap isn't happening but I don't think that will be a smooth transition for our girl who never wants to be away from us.

The boys soccer season has started back up and they are playing on the same team again (they're close enough in age for Cedric to "play up" onto the same team as Dash.). It feels like quite the parenting hack to have two kids who are not twins playing sports but only one sports schedule to manage. We love our team and coach so for now the situation is great for the boys and us. Our weeks feel a little busier with two practices and a game each week but I'm starting to appreciate the boys having structured activities and especially physical activity to channel their energy. I love hearing them talk excitedly to friends about the positions they play or what happened in a recent game. And of course it's so exciting to watch them play, especially now that they play with more strategy. We're so lucky to be part of a great group of soccer parents who I genuinely enjoy spending time with. I just can't wait for them to play in cooler weather! In other brother news we've noticed the boys finding new ways to hangout recently such as setting up in one of their bedrooms to draw together or playing chess together in the mornings. I love seeing them find new ways to connect and deepen their friendship. (And don't worry – they also bicker plenty!)

Maeve has started to have real playdates with friends at the park (now that we can go again) and at our house. It is so sweet! It's also amazing for us because Maeve loves to play and play so when you plug in a friend we are getting our first tastes of real independent play. Parenting level: unlocked! Plus, I made a new mom friend when I arranged a playdate with one of Maeve's new friends from school so double win!

And one more thing to note in September, we had our first outdoor movie viewing of the season and are looking forward to many more. We watched Monsters, Inc. which was a first for Maeve and she loved it.

Looking back at September with an update on my September goals:

+ Lift heavier weights and track my nutrition. Last year I wrote about how much I love exercise and fitness so this is a fun way (for me) to lean into that hobby. Yes, I've been tracking and hitting my nutrition goals on most days. Focusing on how I'm eating and having a weekly check-in has also helped me prioritize feeding myself during the day which I realized I don't always do. I've noticed a positive difference in how I feel during the day and during my workouts. I'm also doing great on my personal challenge of picking up heavier weights at Orange Theory.

+ Cost-contain our Miscellaneous spending. Yes! Chris and I did a great job limited extraneous spending. (P.S. My recent post about our Miscellaneous spending category.)

+ Organize the cabinets in one bathroom. I totally forgot about this one until I wrote this post! But with the reminder I'm going to try to fit it in this week or during fall break.

And then two habit goals for myself...

+ Close the fridge door! I've been mindful of this and doing better!

+ Don't shout across the house. Ditto!

Other September ta-das of note:

+ Completed paperwork to have our last remaining bank accounts put into our trust. I also updated our trust to include Maeve and shared the trust with our families. It brings me so much peace of mind to have everything in order and taken care of, and now to not have to think about it!

+ Ordered and received our 2022 family photo book! I completed this project a while back but was waiting for Blurb to have a good sale. They were offering 30% off so I ordered! I am also nearly caught up with our 2023 photo book. Going forward I'm trying to work on this throughout the year instead of one big project in the new year. I like this new approach a lot. (Here's my approach for managing family photos – still going strong!)

+ Updated my blog banner (which still showed Maeve as a baby!) and my podcast cover art courtesy of my wonderful designer Emily.

+ Sent a welcome package to our new tenants in Eau Claire (and received a very nice thank you note!).

+ Updated the boys' morning checklists and put that system back in place. It's working really well!

+ Reworked my dinner meal planning approach a bit and created three week-long queues of meals that I can copy and paste into our week. I'd love to share more about this soon! Nothing revolutionary but it's been a helpful change.

I hope you found good things in September, friends!