Our Valentine's Day was mellow but sweet. Dylan woke up in her pink onesie and immediately noticed her first surprise of the day -- a heart garland adorning her crib. She was so interested in it and kept trying to pull the hearts into her crib. I think it would be a fun tradition to have a garland in her room for every holiday. 

Flowers are such a great gift -- so simple and everyone appreciates them. I put together a mini bouquet for Valentine's Day, but it would really work for any occasion. 

TJ and I have never been really into Valentine's Day -- we usually just cook or go out to dinner. However, when I was growing up, my parents would always surprise us with small gifts on Valentine's Day. I have really fond memories of it from my childhood, so this year, I thought it would be fun to introduce this tradition into our little family.   I filled up treat bags with the gummy bears and closed up the bags with a bear card that I designed. Click 'Read More' to download the template!

The second trimester was definitely the honeymoon phase of my pregnancy -- I had tons of energy, minimal swelling, and felt all of those baby kicks. Even though the second trimester was mostly magical, there were some rather uncomfortable moments. Here are some of the essentials that helped me thrive from week 13 through week 27. 

Motherhood Mondays is a new little series that will occur (hopefully) every Monday. While I have only been at this motherhood thing for slightly over six months and am certainly no expert in parenting, I want to share my honest musings about being a first-time mother with you. The first trimester can be a really intimidating time depending on how your body is handling being pregnant. Here are some of my first trimester favorites from when I was pregnant with Dylan. 

Dylan's great-grammy Doris is turning 90 this month and I wanted to give her something unique for her birthday. A family member put together a fun 'card drive' by requesting that all of Doris's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren send her a card for her birthday. I dressed Dylan up as an old lady and took a bunch of photos, hoping that one would be good enough to make a card out of. It was an easy way to make a funny and memorable birthday card.

This year was definitely a year of wild change for me. On one end of the spectrum, I experienced some of the most beautiful and fulfilling moments in my life as I became a mother. Dylan brought so much joy and happiness into my life. But, with changes come growing pains. There were a lot of hard days in which I struggled to find my footing as a new mom. Both the bright and dark moments helped me to grow in ways that I didn't think were possible - I'm kinder, gentler and more patient. 

One of the longest standing traditions in our family is the Christmas house mouse! The tradition started with TJ's Great-Great Aunt, who made a mouse for each child in the Parker family. She would use whimsical Christmas fabric and would embroider each kid's name onto the mouse. On Christmas Eve, I kept the tradition going by placing candy in each mouse and placing them at Dylan and TJ's bedside.

Wherever you may be, I hope that you woke this morning to a warm bed and a hot pot of coffee. I hope you are surrounded with love, contentment, laughter and maybe a surprise (or two). I hope that you enjoy a delicious meal with family and friends. I hope that you have a very Merry Christmas, from our home to yours!

Growing up, sending out holiday cards was an annual tradition in my family. As a teenager, I spent hours addressing and embellishing our family holiday cards. When Dylan came into our lives, I knew that I wanted to start the tradition of sending out a holiday card. It is always fun to share a glimpse into our lives with friends, family and colleagues that we don't get to see regularly.