Michael had a birthday earlier this month — I can’t believe my little boy is four years old. I love his enthusiasm for life: he wants to figure out how everything works, he thinks number games are the coolest thing ever (basic addition/subtraction using fingers or random objects), and he still spends every possible waking moment playing outside.

We had a small dinner for his actual birthday (the meal request was spaghetti, and chocolate cupcakes with yellow frosting). The following weekend we celebrated with friends and family with a “camping” themed birthday party.

I was pretty proud of the cake I made: I fashioned it after a campsite and made every element (except the candle) myself. It was a yellow cake (recipe) with chocolate buttercream frosting (recipe), and it was completely demolished by the end of the day.

I didn’t get many pictures of the actual party: it was cold and foggy, but that deterred none of the kids from playing on the trampoline and with the yard games while adults ate chili and chatted around heaters. A good time was had by all, and we are so grateful for all the people who came to celebrate our boy, and for those who called or texted their well wishes.

Jake then had to fly out for a business trip the day after Michael’s party, and I solo-mommed for the next five days while also working to meet two article deadlines. We did a lot of art together — I wrote (often by hand) while they drew with markers or chalk. We also had a lot of screen time. You win some, you lose some.

Unfortunately, Beatrice is having some sort of sleep regression: she’s waking around 2-3 am wide awake and fights going back to sleep, sometimes for up to two hours. And this week her fussing often woke Michael, creating a vicious cycle — so I’m pretty sleep deprived. Thankfully, my dad was able to give me a couple naps in between his own work schedule. It’s at times like these I’m very grateful for our communal living situation.

But while she’s not sleeping, Bea’s language continues to grow in leaps and bounds. She uses full sentences all the time, often with her pacifier clenched in the side of her mouth like a gangster’s cigar. Climbing is her favorite sport, and she’s learned to stack boxes and chairs to reach what she wants. She loves coloring (especially with purple markers), dressing up in tutus and play shoes, annoying her big brother by stealing his stuff, and eating yogurt pouches. She hates being left out, sleeping, wearing socks, and getting a hair in her mouth (it will trigger a tantrum if not immediately remedied).

Now Jake is home, my deadlines are met, and personal writing and crafting projects are returning to the forefront of my mind. I’ve been slowly chipping away at my cross-stitch project in the evenings, as it works different hand muscles and takes less brain space for me. I also cast on a new little project (don’t ask me how many works in progress I have, it’s a bit embarrassing).

I’ve been reading a lot, too. I finished these four books and I’m close to finishing two more. I stalled out a little while Jake was away and I was too brain dead to read in the evenings, instead turning on mindless tv as background noise while I drafted articles. But I’m slowly picking up my books again as my sleep debt decreases.

I have some articles that’ll be published in February I’ll be sure to link here once they’re out, and I’ve been chipping away at my personal novel project. My original goal was to finish the first draft by my 30th birthday in February, but I don’t think I’ll make it given all that’s going on between now and then. So my new goal is to hit 50k — about 20k to go!

That’s about all that’s new on our home front. Although I know it’s popular to be working towards completing resolutions in the new year, we’re all still moving at a slow and sleepy winter pace — spending a lot of time reading stories and baking and snuggling on the couch. It’s soft and cozy, and while it might not be much to write about, I’m still in awe I get to call this life, this motherhood, this vocation, mine.