Being a mom means that comfy, easy clothes are a must. And since I am also a working mom, things that work for both sides of my life are really important.

Pink Blush sent me this ADORABLE top that I’m absolutely obsessed with. It is really simple, but has an adorable twist in the front to change it up. It is SO cozy and perfect for me as a busy mom. It’s great for running errands and playing around, and can easily be switched up for a date night or a trip to the office.

We had a little bit of a different Christmas this year because my family went to Florida! So we did a lot of things on our own, which was very different but also very fun!

We had a great Christmas Sunday and Graham’s outfit was my favorite! His little bow tie killed me!
It’s always wonderful to think about my Savior, choosing to come to Earth and live a difficult life, all for me. I think about his parents and how afraid they must have been, and how much love they had for him. I’m so grateful for Him and his birth, his life, and his death. He is truly the reason for the season, and the reason for everything.

We went out the weekend before Christmas week and the 23rd to make sure we had everything we needed for the holiday. We also spent time with Randy’s family which was really fun, Graham just loves his uncles!

On the 23rd we made gingerbread cookies which was a blast! Graham liked touching the dough and then eating the M&Ms off of the finished cookies hahaha.

Christmas Eve was such a fun day, Graham actually slept in pretty late and we enjoyed having a slow morning before cooking our Cornish game hens. They turned out SO good and I was so proud of myself!

We spent the afternoon with Randy’s family which was such a blast. We then went over to my aunts for a delicious prime rib dinner and had so much fun! Graham was in heaven playing with everyone and all new toys, it was a really great time.

We came home and got into Christmas PJs, had a little fun Christmas Eve tradition of opening a new book, and then it was off to bed!

Christmas day was AMAZING. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep! I woke up EARLY and then heard Graham at 6:15. Normally he chats a little that early and then goes back to sleep, but we decided to get him because CHRISTMAS. He loved his Daniel Tiger toys in his stocking, his baby doll and stroller, his blocks, books, and of course his KITCHEN. (Santa delivered it but it wasn’t assembled, so Randy and I had quite the adventure putting it together, let me tell ya.) I got a brand new table as my Christmas gift and some cute clothes, Randy got AirPods and some games and a grilled cheese sandwich maker that’s the same one he had as a kid, so he was THRILLED. We had muffins for breakfast and played with toys, then got ready and went over to Randy’s parents where Graham was in heaven with some Disney Duplos. We brought him home to take a nap and made an AMAZING charcuterie board for ourselves for lunch, complete with sparkling cider. It was delicious and so much fun!

We left to go see Randy’s extended family in Salt Lake and had a blast with them, eating and playing Rock Band. Graham is a little shy but slowly warmed up over the course of the night which was wonderful.

We had a really great Christmas, I’m sad it’s over. But I wouldn’t have changed a thing, it was just great!

Graham had a blast going to visit Santa the other day. He really likes seeing pictures and decorations of Santa and seeing him in real life WOWED him. He kept saying “ho ho ho” which was adorable. Then we got closer and Graham was less excited. He gave some high fives but when I tried to back up for a picture, he LOST IT. It was really sweet and funny and sad haha. Santa gave everyone a coloring book and some Crayons and Graham was in HEAVEN. He carried it around the mall and kept saying the reindeer said “woof woof” and Santa said “ho ho ho” and it was adorable. This stage of life is SO fun and I’m in heaven.

We also sent out our Christmas Cards – so hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

We’ve already had a busy busy December! Work has been crazy for me and Randy has finals and the first of his CPA tests coming up, but we’ve also had family in town and been doing fun stuff with them all week too!

Graham had a cute little music recital for the little mommy and me class we’ve been doing. They sang a few songs, Graham cried for the first five seconds and then realized he was performing and started eating it up! He did the actions late on every song but I was SUCH a stage mom and was so proud and so stoked!

My family has gone to the Festival of Trees ever since we were little kids. I can’t remember a year when we didn’t go! It was so fun to go back with all of my siblings again. And to bring Graham, who had too much fun and couldn’t hang hahaha.

And last but not least we went to a Jazz game! We brought Randy’s brothers and cousin Brandon with us and it was honestly such a blast. We had so much fun, shouting for free chicken and eating snacks. It was such a great time!

Ben and Kim came with their family for Thanksgiving this year and it’s been a BLAST! The actually came early and surprised me in a really rude way, dropping Allison on the door and doorbell ditching me, giving me a heart attack (I’ll post a video soon.) It was amazing though haha! Randy and Graham and I put up our Christmas decorations a little early and had a ton of fun. Graham is getting into the magic of Christmas and it’s amazing.

We have stayed up late playing games, the kids have had so much fun playing together, and it’s just been the best time. We blessed new baby Allison on Wednesday night and had pie night which is a fun tradition in our family.

Thanksgiving at my grandma’s house was delicious and awesome. I love hanging out with all my cousins and they all love Graham a lot! It’s always so delicious and fun. We went and played game late into the night at my parent’s house after.

Friday we woke up and had a very successful Black Friday! We got lots of awesome clothes. Then we came back to my mom’s and decorated for Christmas. I love listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate while we decorate. It’s one of my favorite traditions.

Saturday we celebrated CHRISTMAS with my family since we will all be apart on actual Christmas. We exchanged the cousin and sibling gifts did the Stocking Exchange of course, and sang songs, had delicious breakfast, ordered Chinese for dinner, played so many games, took the kids out to build a snowman and sled, and just had a blast. I love getting to spend time with all my siblings and getting all the cousins together!

We had a 2nd Friendsgiving with some of our close friends and it was a blast!! It was a cultural friendsgiving, so we brought tabouli from Lebanon, yakisoba from Japan, and white person cookies lolz. We ate Spanish cheese and real quesadillas and Cambodian ramen and Swedish bread and Hungarian potatoes and it was all SO BOMB. Of course we took family photos in our matching denim. It was such a great day!

I CAN NOT believe my baby is a year and a half old!! Time is FLYING and it’s so crazy! I love every single day we get with our little G man.

Here are some of my favorite things about Graham right now:

He is OBSESSED with vacuuming. Every night after dinner, without fail he will grab his little toy vacuum. He follows me around while I vacuum and will even run to the closet where we keep the real vacuum and make me get it out to help him!
He is TERRIFIED of other kids. If they even come close to him he will freak out and start to cry. Once he gets used to other kids he’s more OK with them, but it seriously is so heartbreaking.
He loves to jabber constantly, and has a ton of real words thrown in there like NO, more, cookie, ball, duck, please, car, cheese, baby, dog, cat, a million animal sounds, purple, yellow, blue, and a bunch more.
He is obsessed with music and will dance around, drum, or try and sing along.
He loves running around being chased or chasing us, squealing and yelling the whole time.
We have the best time walking to get our mail every day.
He LOVES Daniel Tiger and will say GRR when he wants to watch it.
He claps for himself after every single thing he does.
He loves coloring, reading, playing any instrument, and helping me.
He loves holding my hand and it’s the best thing ever.
He is obsessed with throwing a ball to someone at point-blank range.
He’s extremely cautious and observant but it’s so sweet to see.
He loves shopping with me, walking through the racks and copying me as I look at the clothes.

In the 1.5 years he’s been in our family he has taught me so much about myself, my capacity to love, and more. I can’t imagine my life without him.

We went to Cedar City over the weekend to be with my sister as she went through the temple. It was really special and I’m so proud of her, and super excited for her to go to Brazil in a few months on her mission!