Happy New Years Eve + It’s Family Photo Time!!

December was family photo time for the Aguilars! I previously dreaded family photo time because my children did not get the concept that they needed to cooperate. The photos always ended up fine, but my face always showed my frustrations with trying to get the kids to stand still! This year I knew it would be different because my sweet friend Aimee was doing the photography and my kids just adore her. Their behavior was not exactly perfect for the shoot, but they actually tried!! I was even able to laugh in some of the photos from their silliness!

New Years Eve is a great day to spend reflecting on the year. I use the day to review the year with the whole family and make goals for the upcoming year. For example, on New Years Eve 2014, Abby told me her favorite experience was Aaron being born and that her goals for the year were to go on a water slide and to stop falling on her knees! I usually find a free printable and the whole family sits together and each person works on their own worksheet with the smaller people getting help from Mom and Dad. I have used forms that I found online from Modern Parents Messy Kids and from 30 Handmade Days in previous years.

This year Abby told me that her favorite activity was to ride her bike and that next year she wants to get better at bowling. She told me that her favorite books to read were American Girl Doll books. I told her to wear her favorite dress for photos and was so excited that she picked a mommy made dress! I made this dress about a year ago using the Boheme Sky pattern from Striped Swallows. Despite all the wear and play it has gotten this brushed poly fabric from Sly Fox Fabrics has held up wonderfully and is so soft! It is getting a little short, but I made some shorts using the Bonny Leggings pattern from Made for Mermaids in the same fabric to keep her modest. The Bonny Leggings pattern is free if you use a code found in the pinned post of the M4M facebook group.

Tabitha told me that her goal for the year was to get better at ballet and at loving her family. She also told me her favorite food was tomato soup! This came as a surprise to me so I will need to do better about making it more often next year. Her favorite dress came as a gift from Dario’s Aunt Cecilia, who purchased it at Janie and Jack. She just loves this dress!

I am so enjoying this age with the girls! Despite how different in personality they are, they do so much together! They love to play Barbie’s, ride bikes, and have fun watching the same TV shows and movies. I am so enjoying watching their friendship grow, and I pray God continues to help them get a long!

Next up, my sweet sons!! My babies are becoming little boys. Luke’s goal for 2018 is to learn to ride his bike without training wheels and to get better at tennis. Aaron told me he wants to learn to paint and that his favorite food was donuts.

We love to take family walks together. On our walks, the boys love to throw sticks and rocks, hit the trees, climb and chase everything, and do all the fun parts of being a boy. They are also still so incredibly sweet. Luke loves to give everyone hugs and kisses and is incredibly kind to all his siblings. If I use a harsh tone with Aaron, he immediately asks me “Are you mad at me?” He also loves to smile when Aimee is taking his photo. I don’t know how she does it!

Aaron is still light enough to throw up in the air and is super fun for all his siblings to play with. He is a pretty fast runner and loves to wrestle.

And now, onto the happy couple. In June, we celebrated 11 years of marriage. This year we have taken more time to go on dates (thanks to our awesome babysitter Shekinah!!) and continue to grow in our friendship and love for each other. I am so grateful for the loving and kind husband he is to me and love watching how he fathers the children.

Finally, we are excited all very excited about the new addition we will have VERY SOON! As I write this post, I am 39 weeks and 4 days pregnant with a baby girl. We still go back and forth on her name, but hopefully, when we meet her, we will just know!

In these photos, I am wearing my Greenstyle Scarlet Swing Dress that I made before pregnancy and blogged about here. The bump makes it a tad short, but I love how well this style transitions to maternity wear without any adjustments.

Of course, my goals for the year include lots of sewing, blogging, and homeschooling. I also want to do better about documenting my favorite recipes in my cookbook. More importantly, I would love to balance all of this with a newborn while staying spiritually, emotionally, and physically healthy!

The whole family agreed in our 2017 year in review that our favorite memory was our family vacation to Florida in February. Here is to a happy and healthy 2018!!

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Photo Credit: My wonderful friend, Aimee Wilson