Now that our little family is complete, it’s been fun to think of how we are going to create family traditions with our two girls. I have an uniquely great memory, so I vividly remember some of the traditions my parents gave my sister and I. We would do cookie baking, new pajamas on Christmas Eve, decorating after Thanksgiving, and a Christmas Disneyland trip to pick out a new ornament for our “Disney” tree. Some of these traditions we want to keep, some we want to alter, and some are finally being retired.

Here are some of the Christmas traditions we are starting with our girls:

1. New Christmas pajamas and a new Christmas book on Thanksgiving night. My parents always gave me new pajamas to sleep in on Christmas Eve. I loved the idea of this tradition but if I’m going to buy my girls Christmas themed pajamas, I wanted them to get them most wear out of them during the Christmas season! So our tradition is on Thanksgiving, after we feast and it’s time for bed, the girls will get a wrapped gift with a new Christmas book and new Christmas pajamas to start the season off. We started it this year and it was a huge hit with them. This year’s pajamas are from Old Navy and they got How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Santa’s Cookie is Missing.

2. The Giving Manger. So we don’t do “Elf on the Shelf”, instead I found “The Giving Manger”. This is a great way to show children that Christmas isn’t just about receiving, but also giving. We started it this year a bit early and Evelyn has immediately caught on to doing good services for others. Plus, I don’t have to worry about moving the elf in any witty and creative ways to set up some shenanigans that he gets into.

3. Baking cookies together. We have a family recipe that I would bake with my dad during the holidays and now I will pass this recipe on to my girls. If you are a family member of mine, you know about these cookies, Vascochos. The recipe was given to my dad from his mother. My dad is Mexican, but never spoke a word of fluent Spanish. He always called these cookies “Vascochos”. It’s even on the recipe card. However, a little investigating and I found out that like most of my dad’s Spanish, he was mispronouncing the name of these cookies! Bizcochos is the correct name for these cookies. More investigating and I’ve learned that these are really a complete cross over between typical Mexican Wedding Cookies and Bizcochos (Mexican Holiday Cookies). You learn something new every single day. So while we are keeping this tradition, do we keep my dad’s name for these cookies? Or do we correct it?

4. New tree ornaments. This year we won’t be able to carry on the tradition of a special trip to Disneyland for new ornaments, but we still can go to Downtown Disney. I’ll let each of my girls pick out an ornament to decorate their trees with and that way when they are adults and move out on their own, they’ll have ornaments to bring with them.

5. Christmas light gazing. We live close to Balboa Island and we typically go there to walk around and look at the lights. We also try to hit up the Newport Beach Boat Parade as well, but that won’t happen this year. However, I still have hope that we might be able to get out this season and check out some lights with hot chocolate and decide which houses we like best!

With both of my girls here, my heart is full this holiday season. These simple traditions are also foundations for our relationships with our daughters. I hope these memories we make together during this time serve us throughout the year in strengthening our family and deepening our love for each other.

What traditions do you share with your children? What is your favorite memory as a child yourself?

This post contains some affiliated links, however I wouldn’t recommend anything I don’t already love!

Incredibly grateful to our good friend Hanh Nguyen Photography for this gorgeous shot of my family.

I completely realize that this year, for lack of a better word, has been a dumpster fire on a ton of fronts.

People have died. People have been sick. Lost jobs. Lost businesses. People are struggling in everyway imaginable. Our country feels more divided than ever. On top of all that, the future seems more unpredictable and unknown than ever before.

I understand why people are burnt out, exhausted, depressed, disappointed, and ready to put 2020 behind them. Part of me is too.

That being said, I have to say, 2020 was a banner year for my family.

My business took and continues to take a huge hit. Our way of life has been uprooted. We miss our families and friends that we haven’t seen in months. My husband’s nice 9-5 work day has turned into around the clock, constantly on call work life.

But…

But…we got our Hazel. I had a healthy and for the most part, easy delivery. My baby is healthy and happy. She’s a dang unicorn of a baby. The happiest baby you’ve ever known, she’s the blessing our family needed. I could never say I regret this year when it gave me one of the biggest gifts I’ve ever received!

My husband works from home! With the unknowns of how Delovely Details would survive through this pandemic, I am so grateful for Drew’s job and that it actually grew and he was able to work from home while we transitioned to a family of four. My recovery after labor was so much easier with him home. It’s been a big blessing and I’m so grateful for the opportunity.

While Delovely Details struggled in the beginning, lots of refunds and brides cancelling orders, we were able to pivot. We started working with new planners and new types of clients that we’ve never worked with before. It’s been amazing to see the collaboration in my industry and the comradery we have to lift us all up together. Don’t get me wrong, I miss weddings! However, I am so grateful and thankful for the way we’ve been able to pivot and keep the business going.

Despite schools being closed across the country, I’m immensely grateful for the fact that our school district has been able to put safety measures in place to safely open our schools. Evelyn has been able to attend preschool safely and we’ve seen her grow in such ways that I know that wouldn’t have been able to happen if it was just me.

Lastly, I’m grateful for our health. We have had some family affected, some tragically, by this pandemic. We know how serious this pandemic is and we do our very best to take all the precautions we can for ourselves, for our family, our friends, and our fellow humans. We feel strongly that, while this is a hard time for everyone, this is an opportunity for humans in general, to show how compassionate, kind, and self sacrificing we can be. My little family, Drew and our girls, are healthy. My girls are strong and growing to be kind people. My husband is also healthy, generous with his time and gifts, and loving. I’m healthy, I feel supported and strong in my convictions. I feel loved and I am optimistic.

With everything going on, I wonder if this isn’t supposed to be a huge reminder to us of what we really need to be thankful for day in and day out. Not just one day a year. Not just a thought drifting for an Instagram post. This all might be a reminder of how we should be living every single day.

I am so blessed.

I am so grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Matching outfits for Evelyn and I are from Morning Lavender.

Photography by my sweet friend Hanh Nguyen Photography.

Even amidst a pandemic, time at home is flying by when you have a baby.

Our sweet Hazel is 5 months old now and I’m in shock how quickly she is growing up.

I thought I’d pop on here and give a little update about how we’ve been adjusting to being a family of four and with an infant in a pandemic.

I think the most surprising part of becoming a parent to two has been watching the girls and their relationship together. I have been loving every single little giggle they have shared, playful interaction, or snuggle they’ve given. The other night, Evelyn served Hazel her world renowned plastic waffles from her play kitchen and Hazel did what Hazel usually does when someone places something on her tray and batted it off. Evelyn immediately responded “stoooooooppppp haaaaaazeeeeeeellll”. Drew and I just started cracking up. We know that is the very first of many and I’m sure we will eventually get irritated when we do hear it regularly…but it was just funny at that moment.

Hazel has started rolling over both directions now and while its not very intentional obviously, this girl is now mobile. I put her under her play gym and went to move laundry. When I got back, she had moved several feet off her play gym! This is a huge game changer for “running into another room real quick” type of errands.

She is still the happiest baby I have ever met in my life, and I’m not bragging or exaggerating. She’s a great sleeper, a great eater, she is easy to entertain, and just joyful. I really feel that this is because Hazel was born during one of the craziest times of my life. Mid pandemic, during a week of countrywide civil unrest, she came into our lives. That’s how she started her life, literally nothing is going to bring this girl down. So it doesn’t surprise me that when she’s upset, she bounces back quickly. It doesn’t surprise me that she’s laid back. And it makes perfect sense that she is just literally happy to be alive.

The hardest part about having an infant in a pandemic continues to be the lack of interaction she gets outside our family on a regular basis. We’ve made some safe visits and introductions with certain family and close friends who understand our concerns. However, it’s not the same and its very hard on us.

If you follow us on Instagram, you’ll see that we recently released our new Monthly Milestone Markers. We designed these specifically with our Hazel in mind. And get excited, we have another design coming soon!

Click her to order your own set of monthly milestone markers!