Christmas Decorating

It's finally Christmas and I am so excited about this year because I feel like Raegan is finally old enough to enjoy the decorating part of the holidays and I was totally right! I brought out the boxes and let her go to town decorating the tree. I love that we are getting to make new traditions for our family as the kids get older and understand more.

And the first tradition that I wanted to continue was decorating the tree together. When I was little we helped my mom decorate the tree and when we were older we would reminisce over all the ornaments we had made over the years. I loved when Kyle and I got married and had our own home and our tree, my mom gave us a box of ornaments from her tree to put on ours. I can't wait to pass down ornaments to all my my kids some day.

This plate and cup from Wayfair can't wait to be filled for Santa! I explained to Raegan what they were for and she's ready to do it tonight. I tried to explain we have to wait another month ;)

Hudson's still a little young to understand and when I asked if he wanted to help he said no, but as soon as he saw sister having fun he decided to give it a chance.

 He ended up putting a few on the tree and also taking a few off.

 I love how all the ornaments ended up on the bottom of the tree. Just reminds me how little my babies still are.

Another tradition I'm excited about is our Advent Calendar. I bought this adorable bag set from Wayfair that goes from 1-24. In each bag I plan to write out a part of the Christmas story and have 2 pieces of candy for Raegan and Hudson. We will open a new bag every morning and learn more about how Jesus was born. Gosh I cannot wait!

EDITED: I found these adorable pages on Pinterest that have you read 1 verse a day about the Christmas story until Christmas Day! I plan to use the more simple one when they are younger and the longer verses when they are older.

The rest of the house is decked out with fun festive pillows and I can't wait to teach our children about the real reason for the season. Even though presets are so fun, I want my children to learn that Jesus was born to save us and gave His life for us. I can't wait to see their faith grow over the years through the traditions we have began with them.

Want to win $100 to spend at Wayfair to start making traditions with your own family? Go to the Wayfair upside down Christmas tree page, pick your favorite tree and comment here with the link! Also make sure you leave your email so I can contact you if you win! I will pick a winner on December 5. Good luck!

ALSO I will chose a SECOND winner to win their own Advent Calendar bags. So make sure you enter!

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Mud Room Reveal

I am so excited to partner with Wayfair and reveal our mudroom make over! Whenever we renovated our house I knew I wanted an area to put the kids shoes and hang up their backpacks and diaper bag. I had them cut out a hole in the wall next to our closet under the stairs to allow me to put a bench. 

Now this area is small and honestly can be super messy and it's really just a place to throw your things when you walk in the door. Certain parts of our homes may serve a primarily utilitarian purpose, but that does not mean that they can't also be beautiful.

I found this bench on craigslist when we moved into our first house in 2011. It's originally from World Market and we got it for a steal! It was in storage when I had them cut the spot out for it. I guessed on measurements and I was so happy when we put the bench in and it fit perfectly! Even if it hadn't, I had another bench picked out from Wayfair that would fit ;)

Once we moved into this house I purchased baskets from Target to go under the bench to house shoes, toys, and bags. I love having the shoes downstairs. The kids always know where their shoes are and where to put them when we come inside.

They also know exactly where to hang their backpacks after school. I love this rustic coat rack from Wayfair. It's small enough to not overwhelm the space, but also has enough hooks for lots of bags.

 I also fell in love with our Elle Decor rug from Home Dynamix.   The material is almost like rubber so if it does get dirty and let's be honest, it's going to, it's easy to just wipe right off. It gives off a beautiful, vintage vibe, but still does it's job of keeping our mud room area nice and clean.

Throw some decorative pillows on the bench and you have a beautiful mud room that you won't mind looking at every time you come home.

Be on the look out for our living room reveal. I've been working on it and I cannot wait to share it with you! Our house is slowly coming together and I love thinking about all the years of memories we will make here.

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Landon's Newborn Pictures

For Landon's newborn pictures, I decided to go in a different direction. Instead of the traditional newborn pictures like we did for Hudson, I decided to do a lifestyle session and it couldn't have been more perfect. It really showed us in our element and showed that ya know what, life is crazy right now with three kids 3 and under, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Allison Davis did our pictures and I am so glad she was able to capture our family so perfectly. Allison has been shooting Kyle and I since before we were married. She did our engagements, my bridals, our wedding, Raegan's baby announcement, family pictures, and so much more!

She truly is amazing and if you are in the Dallas area, make sure you check her out. I promise you won't be disappointed!

I was so thankful that I had items in all our closets that went together because Lord knows I was throwing them together the morning of the pictures. I'm so glad all of my Pinkblush maternity clothes can transition into post partum so easily!

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