December Resolutions: Holiday Traditions, Spirit of the Season, and Reflections

It's the last month of 2015 -- whoa!! Anyway, I am late on this month's resolution because I spent the first week of December prepping a little party for Hunter's 3rd birthday party. It was supposed to be small -- just some family and his school friends (both co-op and non, and a couple of my high school gals with kids), but I went overboard again, like I did with his 1st birthday party. For sure my goal next year will be to take it easy with the birthday parties! (Nevertheless, it was a great party. Hunter had a blast. It was just a tough thing to pull off 7 weeks postpartum.)

How'd I do with last month's resolutions?

Send out birth announcements and/or holiday cards. FAIL! I got the cards ordered and they arrived, but life got in the way (plus, the printers had to reprint them because of some errors). I ended up order separate cards instead of a combo birth/holiday card. I want Paloma to have her own card just like Hunter did, and technically she is a fall baby not a holiday baby, so there's that. My new goal is to send out the birth announcements this week and the holiday cards next week. 

Continue to work on my connection with Hunter. Not 100% better, but we're getting there.

SLEEP when baby sleeps. Also another big FAIL! I think I averaged one nap per week. NOT GOOD!

What's in store for December?

1. Establish some new holiday traditions. I love the holiday season. Some new activities I hope to carry on as a tradition include reading Christmas books and singing Christmas songs with Hunter before bed. Like last year, Hunter has an advent calendar with Christmas chocolates he got from my mom's friend, which he loves (though, next year I'd also love to do the advent calendar in which you wrap up 24 new/used/library books and read a new book each night leading up to Christmas). I am hoping we make a gingerbread house at some point, but I am feeling like we need something more.

Things have definitely changed in our family surrounding holiday traditions. As a child, we hosted Christmas Eve at our house. All the kids would come up with a show and we'd perform for the parents (even all the way up to our twenties -- like the year the girl cousins did a dance to Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas). We'd try to stay up until midnight, which is when we'd open the presents we got for one another. Then, someone else on my mom's side would host Christmas Day. Sprinkled in there would be stopping by my uncle's house on my dad's side. As adults, no one is willing to or can host Christmas Eve anymore. We will be going to my mom's for tamales on Christmas Day, but this year for Christmas Eve, our little family of four is on its own. I'd like to figure out some simple little things to do that night that we can make our new tradition. Any ideas? 

2. Get into the spirit of the season. This is easy to do. On my list is anything on this Red Tricycle post, which includes different places to see holiday lights, as well as visit the zoo at night, have the kids take a photo with Santa, fun in the snow or go ice skating (or watch people ice skate -- ha).

3. Reflect on the year and finish Paloma's pregnancy book. I want to write a blog post to sum up the year. I have never done that on the blog before, so I will give it a try. I'd also like to hand write Paloma's birth story in the pregnancy keepsake book I hope to give her when she's older.

Maybe this month I will actually complete all my goals!! xoxoxo