New Year and 7 months

I love the new year! Especially this one. With all that we had going on over the last few months, this was like a huge breath of fresh air. Primary, especially, calmed down; the holidays over; ward Christmas party done... yes! 

And this dude turned 7 months before I could even blink He is so stinking cute. Big scratch on his nose and all.

He's so so close to crawling. He can go one or two steps and then goes backwards instead :) 

 Claire had a sleepover with her cousin Iylie! They are the cutest friends and we love the relationship that they have. Especially since it's just like mine with her mom, Kim. We had so much fun growing up as cousins. 

They were so excited and giggled for hours. 

In the morning, we went to the Aquarium with Aunt Peg. 

These 3 are best buddies and love to play together! 

 One day, I was looking all over the house for Alex. He had been watching a show and when I went in he was gone. So I casually searched in his regular spots, but when I didn't find him, started to look harder and faster. I knew he couldn't have opened the doors, but found it so weird he was gone. I looked in Jace's bed because he likes to play there but I didn't see him. After finishing the whole house, I decided to look in Jace's room again, and this time, stepped closer to the crib. That's when I saw this! 

Cutest thing EVER. Alex had climbed in with an extra toy for Jace and fallen asleep together. I don't even know how this happened. But I took my time documenting it! 

And then a few days later, this happened. I walk in and Jace is just standing there like he thinks he's ONE or something. He's done this several times now. Little stinker. Growing up too fast. 

This month has been great. I re-did my whole website HERE.

GOALS: 

 1. Post more! – This year I know I need to blog more regularly. I need to schedule time every week to update my Facebook, Instagram and blog with recent posts and pictures of my brides and couples! No more slacking!!

 2. Efficient Workflow- I started off the year by finally taking a class on Lightroom (thank you Jalene!). It is a whole.new.world. I cannot WAIT to explore and become better at it. It has already opened the doors for more creativity, faster workflow, easier and better processing! What a blessing this will be this year!

 3. Have the biggest year yet! This is a hefty goal but I hope that all my efforts will pay off. More blogging, more business posts on Facebook and Instagram, more word of mouth = more weddings! 


RESOLUTIONS: 

 1. Be present. Running a business while being a stay-at-home mom takes skill and effort. It is a hard balance and sometimes I try to be both at the same time; editing while my kids are fussing and climbing all over me… which only makes for an irritated ornery mom and sad kids. This year I want to be more present. I want to put my phone away, turn the computer off, and play with my kids. That means I will be setting “office hours” for myself and my business to try my very best to keep a better balance in my home.

 2. Be my best self. As I said, this last year baby #3 surprised us and changed things up a bit (which we couldn’t be more grateful for), but I put a lot of things lower on my priority list. This year, I want to be my best self and that starts with being healthy and exercising. I’ve been to the gym 5 times a week so far and hope to continue! It feels amazing! I also signed up for a half marathon and 2 triathlons this year — yipee! Along with health, I want to travel. My husband’s work-from-home job allows a lot more flexibility (he can work from anywhere!) and we want to take advantage of that. We have some awesome trips on the books! Putting “me” a little higher on my list this year will help me overall be a better wife and mother as well. I can feel it’s going to be a GREAT year.

 3. L O V E I have read a few books last year that have convinced me of the importance and power of LOVE. We hear it all of our lives, but it really does encompass all of the other things I want to work on and be better at. Love is huge for my marriage, my kids, my siblings and in-laws, serving in my church and community, my business, and myself! And also, forgiveness! It’s huge! Letting things go is so hard and sometimes it’s easiest to just start with one simple word — LOVE! I could go on and on about this resolution!

'15 Christmas

This was a great year! Fun to have Anna & Brian in town (Ben hadn't seen them for a whole year!) and Jon and Jaclyn. Fun to have all the new babies too! Jace, Andrew, and Lydia. 

Our annual Kendell racing was pretty stellar. Competition is stiff! I continue to rock the fastest time and this year, Raquel crossed the finish line first! Way to go! 

Poor Alex was super sick this Christmas. He wasn't himself at all. Hate those colds! 

Playing Settlers while eating Dylan's... that was a first but definitely not the last!! 

These two boys! SO CUTE.

Christmas will be different next year (AKA at our OWN housE), but we've compromised since James has called the last 2 Christmas mornings from his mission and done it at my parent's. Super fun, but I love having it at our own home. 

Gingerbread houses this year! Always fun and creative. 

AND JAMES!! SO SO fun talking to him. When he's home I'll definitely miss these moments. We love this kid! Can't believe there's only 8 months left. 

It was a great Christmas. 

Crazydecember

We got this dude's tongue-tie clipped! Finally. They couldn't believe he hadn't gotten it done before now, or that they didn't catch it in the hospital. But I've been pumping for the last couple of months so we were anxious to get this done. Poor boy. It was awful. 

He looked so cute in this giant swaddle. 

He had a lip tie as well that I didn't know about.

The next two weeks were a nightmare. We had to stretch the areas out, massage and keep them from reattaching every 3 hours. I had to make Ben do it most of the time because I just couldn't handle it. But so glad it's done! Now he's a pro at solids. 

This month we finally got rid of Jace's eczema too with some strong prescription stuff. Finally!! Poor dude has been scratching himself bloody for months. 

Claire's preschool Christmas program was adorable. She's so cute and happy. 

Best white elephant party ever. We have the best friends here! 

Lydia was blessed at my parent's home on the 14th. Such a great night! 

Christmas village with Brian and Anna and everyone! 

 Date lunch with my girl. 4 has been the hard year with this one, mostly because of her OCD (which I will mention in a later post). But she is a gem and we adore her. 

 Did a fun wedding of my old college roommate's sister. So fun to see and hang out with her!

Ward Christmas Party! Ben and I got put in charge of our ward's Christmas party. It was a lot of work; hope to not repeat in a long time! But man was it AWESOME. It turned out so great. 

Love when the Christmas cards start pouring in!

 

December was one of the craziest months of my life. I was more stressed than I've been... maybe ever? I feel bad it was that way because I wasn't able to just relax and enjoy the holidays like usual. Next year I want to do things very differently! Glad it's over :)