The first work week of 2017 is (almost) over, we made it, friends!!!  It was actually really nice to be back into a routine again, we all really do best that way and I always find that weekends are that much more exciting after a long week.  We are double excited about this weekend, SNOW is in the forecast and we are crossing our fingers that they actually got it right this time!  We’ve been doing snow dances non-stop and Waverly is begging to “make herself an ice queen”.  We really didn’t get much more than a dusting last year, so I would love to see both our little girls in the snow together this time around!

I thought I would share some things I have been loving lately, there’s nothing quite like curing your post-holiday blues with some new pretty things! 🙂  We have been replacing our reds & greens from Christmas with brights and pastels, it’s been so much fun to lighten up and has me all kinds of ready for spring.

This throw from Anthro is gorgeous, I can think of so many places that I would love to put it!!!  We recently got this quilt from there, I think I posted about it when we got it but haven’t shared how much we absolutely love it.  It is way more expensive than any of the comforters we have gotten before, but you can tell the difference so much!  It gets softer and even more beautiful with every wash, and already has held up to two kids jumping on it at least once a day.
My mom got me this book for Christmas, it’s specifically for moms, and basically you write one sentence at the end of each day.  I have loved this so far, it kind of goes along with choosing one positive part of each day no matter what, which I started doing a couple months back.  It really is amazing how doing this completely shifts your way of thinking, and helps remind you of how much goodness there is in this crazy season of life!  I really have a hard time picking just one sentence each night!
We are always looking to the next holiday over here, so Valentine’s Day brainstorming is under way!!!  I actually walked into Waverly bringing out the Valentine’s books in the playroom the other day, we have already been reading them each night!  I love these leggings, I got them for Waverly along with these tights for Avalon, and have been eyeing this countdown calendar, I know both girls would have so much fun with this!
And lastly, just a couple pictures to go along with the first!  We recently went ice skating, or actually Joe and Waverly went ice skating while the other half of the family watched, because Avalon was too little and I was the worst ever.  This was our second year in a row, Waverly had a really hard time last year (she got frustrated easily) but did much better this time around and it was precious!!!!  Also pictured, Avalon showing off her lips with a face stained from candy, how I will forever remember her from the holidays this year! 🙂

Wishing you a very warm, happy, fun-filled weekend!
XO

Happiest twenty-SEVENTEEN, friends!!!!  We had a pretty low-key New Year’s over here, we had originally planned to go over a friends for dinner while my parents watched the girls, but plans fell through at the last-minute and we ended up staying home.  Which was perfect.  As much as we love to celebrate with friends, home (in our PJs) is where we are happiest and the years going by at lightning speed really are the best reminder that these special days with our babies at home are passing us by all too quickly.

I got my nails done (!!!) New Years Eve morning and picked up a few things I thought would make the day extra special.  Confetti & some beads (that we will surely be finding around the house for the entire rest of the year), candles to make a cake, and a set of poppers that we did outside before it got too dark.  We made some dips to watch the football games – ROLL TIDE! – and looked up a video online to countdown with the girls before they went to bed.  My husband made a steak dinner for two, we each had one glass of champagne, and were in bed by ten just in time to get enough sleep for an early wake-up call in the morning from two very happy little girls.

 

To say we are excited about starting a new year is very much an understatement.  After two career changes for me in 2016, we are finally starting to feel settled and like we have things figured out again.  I am feeling very optimistic about 2017, the year that I have decided is the year I won’t have any resolutions or words of the year, or career moves. 😉  Instead, I have just been thinking about some little things I want to accomplish, like playing more music around the house, taking more videos, and just saying “yes” more.  My goal has always been to make the most of every day, make a fun & memorable life for my family, and I can’t wait to do more of that in the new year!!!!

Hope you had the most wonderful holiday ever!
XO

Christmas is over, can you even believe it???  I am convinced that it just keeps going by faster & faster every year (and also that I am a little bit more exhausted at the end of it every year, too).  We had the most magical couple of days, and by the morning after Christmas had very full hearts, full bellies, and LOTS of new toys for the girls to play with for at least the entire new year! 😉 
I always look forward to Christmas Eve, so much excitement and anticipation!  We go to my grandparents each year, I have since I was a little girl, and it’s just so much fun being able to bring my own two girls there now and watch them have the same joy that I always did.  My very favorite part of the night was on our drive home, we had been talking about Santa with Waverly for weeks (as well as tracking him on our phones and face-timing him on an app), and she just could not wait to get to bed to make sure he didn’t skip our house, since she had heard that so many times before.  When we got home we were able to talk her into reading “The Night Before Christmas” & throwing our reindeer food on the lawn, but then she immediately really wanted to go to bed.  She told Avalon to not make a sound, asked us if “Santa will still come if Avalon cries, because he knows babies cry, right?”, and then pointed at my husband & I and told us not to leave our room.  As soon as her head hit the pillow she was immediately asleep, it was the craziest thing ever and I wish we had that magic every night. 😉  I just loved how sweet it was and I know I will never forget it.

I’ve never been able to sleep well on Christmas Eve night, and this year was absolutely no different, I could not wait to see the girls faces when they came down the stairs.  We loved playing Santa and creating a fun little scene for them to see once they turned the corner!!  I ended up getting a dress rack for them to share for their playroom and filling it with some fun accessories and play clothes, which I know they will love, but I was most excited for Waverly to see her Trolls bike.  It was the only thing that she asked Santa for when she sat on his lap (even though she had previously asked for a Shopkins bike which my mom had already bought then later returned), so we just knew we had to have it Christmas morning for her.  Avalon loved going through everything so much, her favorite of all was probably the Elmo toothpaste in her stocking. 😉  Their joy was contagious and I wish I could do it a thousand more times!!!  Afterwards, we went outside and let Waverly ride her bike, it’s so her, full of purple and glitter and the girly things! 🙂  We had brunch with family and then spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for dinner while Avalon took a nap, and loved hosting my side of the family for the evening.  Such a busy and memorable day!

Hope your Christmas was absolutely wonderful!!!!!  And happiest almost New Year, so close!
XO

Merry Christmas Eve, Eve, friends!!!!!  We are full of mixed emotions over here, soooooo freaking excited for the next couple of days, and just a little bit sad that the holiday season is so close to being over.  Waverly keeps asking what the next holiday is after this one, and I think I am going to have to take the pink glitter tinsel tree off the dresser in her room when she is either sleeping or not home to prevent a meltdown.  Sweet girl gets it from her mama.

 This week has been busy, scrolling through social media has me convinced that we are the only school system in the country who goes to school until the day before Christmas Eve, and fitting in everything while still getting me to work & Waverly to school has been a little crazy.  I had my class party with my preschoolers on Tuesday, and then we did Waverly’s the following day, which was so precious!!  As bittersweet as it is to watch her grow, I absolutely love seeing her in her element, giggling and holding hands with her best little girlfriends in her class.  She had about a million Christmas crafts in her book bag to bring home, the sweetest plate with her handprints on it, and a letter to Santa where she asked for a “turtle, a kite, and roller skates”.  None of which she has ever, ever mentioned before. 😉  Waverly also had her dance class holiday performance (which I loved watching, while simultaneously attempting to keep Avalon from storming the stage with her).

Big news, Avalon learned how to say Santa!!!!  Favorite parts of Christmas for her so far include any activity that involves sugar or sweets and looking at any lights (she says “liiiiiiiights”), she could care less about unwrapping presents and would rather her big sister do that work for her.  She has been rocking this red hat with poms for most of the month and I never want to forget how sweet her little face looks in it, with her bright blue eyes and chunky cheeks.

We took the girls to Christmastown, probably our favorite tradition of the holiday season each year!  Both girls loved it for different reasons, Waverly got to ride a roller coaster for the first time (one for kids) and was OBSESSED.  She was jumping up & down saying “this is the best day ever”, and definitely would have gone on one of the bigger ones too if she was tall enough.  Avalon loved the Elmo part of the park, Sesame Street is her favorite thing right now, so seeing all of thecharacters life-sized completely blew her mind.  It was just the best day, chaotic, cold, and crowded, but absolutely wonderful! 🙂

I want to wish you all the most happy, warm, joyous holiday!!!!!  Thank you for the support of our family and this blog each year!  XO

I’m pretty sure that this is the first time I have ever blogged on a Friday night, but somehow, we are just eight days until Christmas Eve and I am officially losing time to document all the fun we have been having!!!  Going to pick out a Christmas tree has been one of my favorite traditions since I was a little girl.  We always made a big night of it, went to get dinner afterwards, and then drew names to get each other ornaments to exchange the week before Christmas.  It’s so much fun to look back on those ornaments now, ones like the year I started driving, my first year in college, when I became a teacher, the year we got married, and (two) pink bumps! 🙂
We took our annual trip with my entire family the weekend of Thanksgiving before my brother went back to Colorado.  The girls LOVED it, running endlessly just tops the list of their favorite things to do, so I know this will be one tradition they treasure just as much as I do.  I love these pictures so much, they just capture the girls fun personalities and their close bond so well, they continue to hold hands most places they go lately and it’s just the sweetest thing ever.
Girls Jackets
The “elves” started visiting our house a couple days ago, my mom used to have them visit for the entire month of December but I settled on what I thought I could handle, the 12 days before Christmas. 😉  They get to open one present each morning, Avalon really doesn’t understand the concept yet so Waverly has been doing it for her (happily!).  Can’t wait to see their little faces on the real day just a little over a week away!
Wishing you all a warm, happy, magical weekend!
XO