Seriously the cutest video ever

But first a little blog housekeeping...  I'm working my way through the blog backlog, and will probably publish those posts in chunks so as not to completely overwhelm my Facebook feed with the automatic Networked Blog posts.  You're welcome.  :)  In the meantime, though, I'm showing my renewed commitment to this blog by giving it a little bit of a facelift!  I've installed a new custom font for the post titles (thanks to Google web fonts!), and updated the header image for the first time in over a year and a half -- it's crazy how much Joshua has grown since then!  The family shot in the middle was taken by John Jameson for our church directory -- David got Joshua to smile by tickling him, and we were all laughing as a result.  I love how happy we look there!

And because I didn't want to wait until I'd gotten caught up on old posts before putting up some recent cuteness...  Here's one of Joshua's latest achievements!

Some explanation behind the video that follows:

• Joshua recently rediscovered the "taggie" blanket he had played with extensively when he was much younger -- they're designed to give infants visual and oral stimulation, by providing a fringe of colorful tags for babies to chew on and play with.  Now that Joshua's a big boy, though, he wasn't interested in putting the tags in his mouth.  Instead, he promptly put it on his head and christened it "little hat!!!"  And hilarity ensued.

• Joshua is also in love with a book his Keddie grandparents sent him for his birthday, Richard Scarry's "Best Word Book Ever."  He calls it the "Book of Everything," and over the last few months, he's insisted that we read (and reread, and reread, and reread) the book to him.  A few weeks ago, though, we realized that one reason why he wanted us to read a page to him over and over again was because he was busily memorizing the text... Here's a shot of the spread that he's reciting, almost verbatim, from memory, in the video below:

And now for the promised video!


How cute and smart is our wee boy??

Coming back up for air

It's been a long time since we've really had any margin in our lives...  My life in particular has been going at a brutal pace for all of 2012.  Turns out, juggling a crazy-intense job, plus caring for a very energetic toddler, plus growing another human being, isn't a particularly sustainable long-term proposition.  After a lot of long talks with David about the lack of balance in our lives, and a series of conversations with the partners at my firm, and plenty of prayer and wonderfully encouraging support from our family and friends, we decided it would be best for me to resign from my job.  So I gave notice in early April, and last Monday, April 30, was my last day of work.

Let me say that again, because it still hasn't quite sunk in for me yet -- I am currently not working as a corporate litigator.

!!!!

I did truly enjoy my work, and am thankful for the time I had at the firm -- going at that pace really does teach you an incredible amount about being a lawyer.  But I can also say that this is undoubtedly the right choice for me, and for our family.

And let's face it: this past week has been such a refreshing time for me!  There are all the little things I just haven't had the time or energy to handle over the last year -- for instance, I ran the dishwasher for the first time probably in months.  Which action so confused David that he re-ran the dishwasher after I had already done it, despite me mentioning that I had just taken care of it.  :)  I also took some photos and videos of Joshua on an actual camera, rather than just trying to snap some cell phone shots before he grabs my phone to try to play with it.  (And I've already composed a blog post in my head to display the latest Joshua cuteness -- that should be coming down the pike soon!)  It's wonderful having the mental space to begin getting back on top of life again!

As for what the future holds for us, it's all still a bit up in the air.  I'm looking for a new job, but my current tentative plan is to stay out of work until after the baby is born.  I'm hopeful that I can find something that will enable us to have a better family balance, and I'm exploring a ton of options -- as I'm sure you can imagine, the type A planner in me is busily researching away.  But in the more immediate future, I'm planning play dates and fun summer activities with Joshua, soaking up as much time with him as possible before he's no longer an only child.  And I'm hoping to get back on top of this ol' blog, because seriously, our little corner of the internet has been sadly neglected for far too long!

And because a blog post is *always* more interesting with photos...  Here's an adorable candid shot of Joshua from Easter, walking down the stairs like a big boy.  With identical toys in his hands, because that's still how he rolls.  :)

Ahhhhh...  Feels good to dip my toes back into this blogging thing.  Stay tuned for a whole series of back-dated backlog posts, going all the way back to Christmas!