October Goals & Intentions

This Thursday is October 1! A start to a new month and a day that will now forever hold special meaning to me because it’s Ben’s birthday!

All year, I’ve been thinking through the lens of “Ben’s first time experiencing XYZ.” And now, my mind is starting to shift to looking back – and soon, to memories with Ben. Wild.

I can’t stop thinking about this time last year: how nervous I was to be induced three weeks early and become a mom, and how excited I was to finally meet Ben.

This year has exceeded any expectations I could have had – and it’s also been really hard at times. But more than anything, I just feel so grateful.

I already loved the month of October, and now I love it even more because it starts with celebrating Ben!

So, let’s do some monthly planning!

What’s happening in October

+ Ben turns 1! My family is coming into town, and I can’t wait to spend time with them, Matt’s family and some friends. We’re having a birthday party at our house, and I’m so excited to gather with so many of the people who made his first year so special.

+ A weekend in Chicago. I’m headed to Chicago for a weekend (by myself!!!) to see friends! Also can’t wait for this.

October goals & intentions

+ Celebrate Ben. It’s so fun to start thinking about the birthday traditions we’re creating. We have birthday pajamas for him to wear the night before, and I bought a special book to read together. I’m keeping him home from daycare on Thursday, and I took the day off work. I’d love to do something fun together – but it looks like it will be raining, so we’ll see what we can find! I also want to think of a few of his favorite meals and make them throughout the day. Mostly, I just want to soak him up and make his first birthday feel special!

+ Enjoy Ben’s birthday party. I’m so excited to have everyone over to celebrate him, but hosting and party planning can also feel a little stressful! We’ve done a lot in advance and outsourced things (like most of the food), so my goal once Saturday arrives is to let go of the little things and actually enjoy the party.

+ Go to a pumpkin patch. A non-negotiable October activity! I definitely want to take Ben to a pumpkin patch or do some kind of apple-picking situation…

+ Start planning Christmas + November birthday gifts. I’d like to start my Christmas gift spreadsheet and begin jotting down ideas before the holiday season gets too busy. Plus, my mom, brother and a few other family members all have birthdays in November, so there are plenty of gifts to start thinking about!

+ Catch up on photo organization. I felt like I was doing a really good job staying on top of photo organization… until this summer! My process is to quickly go through my photos toward the end of each month and create a folder with the ones I want to save, so that when I go to make a photo album at the end of the year, it’s much easier. But while working on Ben’s first-year album, I realized my last completed folder is from June! So, October is my month to catch up.

There you have it! As always, I’d love to hear what you have planned for the month. What are you looking forward to in October?

From the archives: October 2024 | October 2023