Winter’s been magical. It’s still going on, but since the holidays have ended I just don’t want to forget these last few weeks through the eyes of my littles! Aside from spending time with both sides of our amazing families, here are some of my favorite moments.
Miracle Babies Holiday Drive
I’m excited to share more about Miracle Babies with you this year, but in short, the organization is one that provides financial and emotional support for families and babies in the NICU. The NICU was a big part of these kids lives and always will be, and it’s important to me that they not only know this, but also help me help others going through it! We collected money and made a famiy trip to Target on World Preemie Day to shop for toiletries for parents in the NICU, and books, diapers, blankets for babies and their siblings. It was really special to do this as a family, kick off the season in a warm and positive way, and know that we hopefully helped make some families holiday a bit brighter!
Mailing Letters to Santa
This was one of those easy little moments that just became some big in my holiday memories! We took out some paper (in full transparency I just ripped some out of my calendar) and used some crayons to write down a letter to Santa. We then took them to The Point in El Segundo where they had this cute red mailbox designated to Santa letters (but in the future, any big mailbox will work)! It’s like the kids knew exactly what we were doing, and got so into sliding their letters into the mail drop!
New York City
My mom asked me to join her in tagging along on a business trip with my dad to NYC and I’m so glad I said yes! It was one of those decisions that felt hard at first, with all the childcare coordination, travel plans, etc., but once I decided to go for it, I never looked back. And the 18 hours we were there, flight delays, late night and early morning was all so worth it! It made it half the fun really. If you’ve never been to the City during Christmas I encourage you to make a trip at some point. It is pure magic. I used to live there so whenever I return for a visit, I always hit up all my spots uptown, downtown, east and west. Funny thing is this time my mom and I didn’t really leave 5th Avenue! Which was perfect. We had breakfast with my dad to kick the day off, shopped for each other at Saks, shopped for the kids at FAO Schwarz, met my dad again at The Plaza for lunch, saw The Rockettes and boom, done! It totally lit my soul on fire in the best way and set the entire tone for my holiday season. It was extra neat to be there in a place so significant to me with just my parents <3
Visiting Santa
This was a fun one! I laugh because I felt all this pressure (as I’m sure we all do) to check everything off the bucket list, and make the holidays PERFECT for the kids. And then they see Santa. And they want nothing to do with any of it! If you’re confused, just visit my Instagram post as a refresher, lol. We saw Santa a few times more, and each visit got better. Sorta :)
The Grove
We had gone back and forth with whether or not to go to The Grove because to get there, park go through the crowds and what not is a whole to do. But we were in the mood, had the energy, and just said “lets do it” and I’m so glad we did! We had a ton of events and gatherings going on with family and friends and this was just a really nice pocket of adventure we got to spend together as a little unit. We shopped, looked at all the fun decor, and just as we sat down for dinner, all the lights around the stores and fountain went on which was spectacular! The kids were totally calm at dinner (a rarity) and just stared in awe. It was like the outing was meant to be.
Silent Night
After several consecutive eventful days of the holidays, we left Christmas Eve dinner with family early to take Slater & Zoe home to my parents for bed. We were on day 4 of nonstop (happy) chaos so when I put them down I rocked them (which I never do), sang my favorite song Silent Night, and stayed with them a little longer. It’s exactly what I wanted out of Christmas Eve. A quiet, still moment to take in with my kids and remind myself what it’s really all about.
NYE
We had our good friends and their kids stay with us a couple nights and it was the perfect way to end 2018, and start 2019! We’ve experienced a ton of milestones with them so it was pretty special to reunite, share really good, light, heavy, and just quality convos together! And lots (and lots!) of laughs. I find it so important to surround myself with refreshing, positive people and they were just that….so thank you friends!
Home
We had such a great time over the holidays and I feel so incredible fulfilled by all my loving family and friends I got to spend QT with! Now that we are home though, so much is clear:) We need our rest. Our schedule. Our predictability, and just our strong foursome foundation to thrive. We are happy to be home, are still recovering, but starting to feel recharged and ready for what’s next!
