Ava showed me a new meaning to Christmas. I saw so much joy in her face that I didn’t care about anything else besides spending time with my family.

Marc and I didn’t go crazy on presents with each other, we were just too excited to give Ava gifts that it didn’t matter what we got each other.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little stressed about the amount of toys we currently have in our house right now. Between all the gifts Ava received on her birthday & Christmas we basically have a small toy store.

I think we need to stash some away so she doesn’t get overwhelmed.

Here is a quick photo recap from our Christmas Celebrations:

Christmas Eve we went to Marc’s parents house in Rhode Island.

We got to watch Ava play with her cousins and we all enjoyed the numerous courses that Marc’s dad served to complete the “Italian 7 Fishes.”

I don’t eat all the courses but I did enjoy some delicious stuffed mushrooms, stuffed clams, etc.

When it was time to open presents I was so excited. Well I was excited to live through the kids. They had a blast tearing through presents and unwrapping the insane amount of gifts that they each received.

Ava truly loves her cousins and I couldn’t help but smile when I saw her rocking her little cousin Amelia in her little rocker.

It was such a fun night and went by way too fast.

Christmas morning was hands down my FAVORITE moment of the year.

When Ava woke up we told her Santa came, she got excited and started to walk down the stairs.

She bent down and looked at the tree, smiled, looked at us and started listing some of the big toys she got that she could see (that were unwrapped). She tried to move faster down the stairs and almost fell.. luckily she caught herself.

When she saw all the presents she couldn’t hold back her smile. It took her a while to get through all her presents because each one she opened she wanted to play with for a while.

It was such a fun morning that when we looked at the clock and it said 12pm we were shocked. It was time for my parents to arrive and for us to have some Christmas lunch and open more presents!

The day flew by and we enjoyed each other’s company. To be honest the rest of the day I didn’t take a single picture. I put my phone to the side and just enjoyed living in the moment with my family. It was PERFECT and a great ending to Christmas.

To continue our celebrations a little longer, we had a friends christmas party yesterday.

It was so much fun to hang out, chat with my friends, and of course see the kids open some gifts!

Do you have kids? Were they excited to see what was under the tree?

What was your favorite gift?

It isn’t the only time we should set short & long term goals for ourselves but for some reason it is the ultimate motivator for people to make BIG CHANGES for the NEW YEAR.

As a trainer, I always ask my clients what their resolutions and goals are. I like hearing their goals and I remind them to make goals that are small and attainable so they can set themselves up for success. For example: losing 4% of body fat in 2 months, or to be able to perform 10 consecutive full body pushups in 8 weeks.

The typical resolutions are:

I want to lose 10 pounds

and I am going to eat healthy the whole month of January.

While those are great, I think being more specific helps you to stick to your resolutions.

How to stick with your New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Choose a few small goals that you are willing to work at all year long.
2. BE SPECIFIC and detailed.
3. Write down your goals on paper, with a comment on how you will achieve your goal.
4. If your goal is related to weight loss or fitness, share it with friends and family members so you have a support system.
5. Post it on your fridge or bulletin board as a constant daily reminder.
6. Keep in mind, you can do anything you put your mind to!!

**Remember to choose goals that you are willing to work at day after day and not just give up after the first 2 weeks in January**

Here are a couple of my small New Years resolutions.

#1 I would like to be able to complete 5 consecutive pull-ups by the summer. My left shoulder is still weak so I am up for a strength challenge and I think this is perfect!! I am motivated and have already started to practice.

I will focus each week on increasing my weights with my back and upper body exercises.

#2 I would also like to work on laughing off the small things. Usually I am pretty good at that, but I can still work on it and I will keep it in the back of my mind when Ava squeezes her food pouches all over the rug and couches!

It’s time for you to think about your resolutions and share them with me!!

What is your new year’s resolution?

Do you think you can stick to it?