New Year Reading Goal

I love reading and I love books. I have a serious book hoarding problem. Just ask my husband. I always have a mountain of books in my "to-be-read" pile and it's ever-growing. 

At the beginning of this year I made one new year resolution. I was going to read more. I had gotten into the bad habit of watching Netflix in my free time and completely stopped reading. I really wanted to change that. 

In a few short months after the start of 2015, I was going to birth a human. Perfect timing, I thought to myself. I'd have endless free time to read while I fed Taylor! Well it turns out keeping a baby alive is hard work. You don't get much sleep (imagine that) so when I was feeding the baby, my zombie-like mind wasn't exactly in the mood to read (or think in the slightest). I watched a lot of Downton Abbey and re-runs of The Office instead. Netflix/Amazon Prime/Hulu was easier on my mushy brain. 

Fortunately, I did manage to read a little in 2015, however little that was. I'm ending the year with a grand total of eight books. You read that right, a measly eight books. This next year I'm determined to make my list of completed books longer. I joined Goodreads and that has inspired me in my reading endeavor. I've also found some awesome accounts on Instagram that post book reviews and their current favorites.

If you want to follow along and see what I'm reading (and keep me accountable), you can visit this page or add me on Goodreads. I'd also love to know what your favorite books are. Leave a comment telling me what I have to read next and it will be added to the mountainous "to-be-read" pile.

Best of Snowstorm 2015

This Christmas was one for the books. We had a fantastic holiday, but that will get a dedicated post of its own later on. 

With the new year approaching, I decided to look back through the past year of posts. It was a great year for our little family. Andrew and I bought a house! I had a baby! We kept a baby alive for 8 months and counting! We went on trips and adventures and made lots of memories. I'm so glad I have this blog to document all of our experience.

Below are a look at both my most popular and my personal favorite posts from 2015.  

Pregnancy Must-Haves    |    Dream Nursery Inspiration

2014 Beauty Awards    |    Taylor James Snow: A Birth Story

Newborn Products I Can't Live Without    |    San Diego Family Vacation

Taylor's Nursery    |    General Conference Printables

Finding Joy In The Sleepless Nights    |    Baby's First Camping Trip

25 Days of Christmas: Book Advent Calendar

And of course every month of adorable Taylor pictures.

Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8

Merry Christmas

Fun fact about me - I've never sent out a printed Christmas card before. This year I got a little farther than I normally do and whipped up a card on the computer (thanks to Brooke and her mad photography skills for providing us some family photos). Maybe next year I'll finally be a grown up (we'll see) and get to the post office with a non-digital version. 

Until that day, here's wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas from the internet.

Lovely Links, Vol. 6 (Holiday Edition)

*This post may contains affiliate links. Click here to learn more.*

+I'm a big fan of life hacks so when I stumbled on 51 Life-Saving Holiday Hacks on Buzzfeed, I knew I had to share it. Most of these I look at and think, "Duh, how did I not think of this before?"

+If you're in need of an advent calendar, Sugardoodle has a great one available. Here's the description from their website: "We know how crazy busy December can get and how hard it can be to help your family focus on Christ so we've created a really cute "A Savior Is Born" 12-day advent and it's free!  Each day you add a numbered pennant flag to your advent banner. The pennant has a scripture on the back, a short topic to discuss, and a simple activity. Keeping things short, simple, and festive just the way you need them to be!  All of the printables and activities were designed to be inexpensive and easy to create.  Most require only card stock, scissors, and less than 15 minutes of your time."

+One of my favorite things from this year has been the 12 Days of Social Media. The LDS church has released a video the last 13 days from a new YouTube star. All these videos will definitely get you into the holiday spirit.

+Did you know there's a book version of the movie Home Alone? It is adorable. I think I will have to purchase it to add to our growing Christmas book collection.

+I can't have a holiday edition without including a link to the Santa Tracker. I realize Santa isn't heading anywhere until Christmas Eve, but until then there's a Christmas countdown, games, and fun educational activities for kids.

Want more?

Vol. 5

Vol. 4

 Vol. 3

Vol. 2

Vol. 1

8 Months of Taylor

We had a great Thanksgiving with lots of food and family in Nevada. Unfortunately, when we got home, Taylor and I became sick. We're still recovering and have spent our week staying in our pajamas and taking lots of naps. There's nothing sadder than a sick little baby.

This past month, Taylor has become increasingly more into snuggling. If he's sitting next to me, he'll lean his head against me or reach to be held. It's very sweet and I hope he stays cuddly. He isn't crawling yet because I think he prefers us carrying him around. I'm hoping he'll be crawling by Christmas, when he has lots of mobile cousins around. That may be a long shot for this lazy boy, but we will see,

Other than that, I'm just excited it's December and that Taylor will be experiencing his first Christmas season. We will probably set up our Christmas decorations today and I can't wait to see what he thinks of all the lights on the tree.

And of course a Taylor post wouldn't be complete without some adorable pictures:

Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 

Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7