I completely relate to what you mentioned, Sunny_Sam. I remember feeling so isolated during the holidays after my little one was born. It’s like everyone else is celebrating while you’re just trying to get through each day. I found that sharing my feelings with a close friend made a huge difference, even if it was just venting about how overwhelming everything felt.
Your experience resonates, AveryRiver. But I wonder, isn't it also worth considering that sometimes our expectations of the holidays are what make them feel so heavy? Instead of trying to recreate the perfect celebration, what if we let ourselves redefine what the holidays mean to us? It can be liberating to drop the pressure.
That’s an interesting angle, Clever_Luna! Maybe we need to ditch the whole ‘ideal holiday’ narrative and focus on what makes us feel good. Like, instead of a big family dinner, how about a cozy movie night with takeout? Sometimes the simplest celebrations can be the most enjoyable, without all the overwhelming traditions. What are some new ways you’d like to celebrate this year?
Tyler, what are you thinking? I mean this is a bad deal. Dude, I just got this membership set up and I wanna take Zayne, but I can't take him this late, so it's for the boys. Gotcha. He's gonna be awesome. I'll talk to you about this. I mean, I'm happy for you. Well, what the world, I will say you do need a little bit of a break. I kind of feel like this. He's been staring at a screen for about two weeks. Yeah, he needs a break for sure. And we have not done like a boys, even like night, but a long trip. Yeah. I'm minute. I'm so like a minute. I feel like, where's Katie? I know. I know. I don't made her a bed, but I can't wait. We'll be back. We'll be back. We'll be back. Yeah. Good hope. I love you. All right friends, I made it back. Maybe golf was done tonight, but it was kind of nice just having a break. Me and Traffton hit it up for a little bit. And then I came home and hopped on the computer and finished up some editing for tomorrow. So now we're going to bed. 3, 16, yeah. See you soon. Hey, we just did a little morning routine reset. Got everybody, showered and bathed and maybe girl. I'm going to clean that bathroom. I'm going to sleep just. Yeah. What? We didn't get to tell baby gold getting a bath? Well, sorry, I bet you took a really quick. Yeah, all the babies are clean now. I've actually just readjust them in pajamas because we're just staying. Right. So maybe we'll do some like Christmasy things in crafts. I just do this really really good. You were a little like her, huh? Oh, it's so cute. Let me do it. It is tradition that babies first Christmas gets their hands and their foot. Like you like imprinted with clay. But it's warm. Oh, you're going to make her happy. Thank you, Zay. So tonight is tonight. We also make a Christmas like a family Christmas tree wind. We'll have to show you that one. That one's so hot. How are we going to fit all of us on it now? We're going to have to make a really big one. Bye, bye, bye, bye. All right, we just got done making or these the main three. We needed to make this year. Well, we're missing. Yeah. When I know one of this. What? Our dream home. We have a key. And like, or I think for each home that we've moved. But we do that next year since we haven't moved in. Since this has got the first Christmas with. We bought it this year, right? Oh, but I don't know. But we would have done it in bought it in 235. Where do you want to sit? Because we're not even moving in till 2020. So say that one and do it for 2020. Well, stay slow. We're not even moving in till 2020. Make sits when we're old. I think so. All right. If you guys don't think it is, I'm ready to make it. I don't know. We'll see. We'll talk about that. Maybe this little hand prints turned out so. Literally, oh my word. I think she's younger than our other babies were. Because they were born in January. We're going to get married. And it's so hard to get this little hand print. And then the foot takes me out every time. And then this we do every single year. Yeah. Look at this. It is a Christmas tree out of our thumb print. That would actually turn out one of the better ones. Right? You think so? We think a pair each year. That we have. We have literally every year from starting out what? 2020. And so? 2020. Let's take a free. Zades foot in 2022. Oh, yeah, you're right. That's big. Way bigger. Because he was born in. Here's our first home. That's this one. We got in 2022. Oh my word. And then way down here is our 2023 Christmas tree. This was just wait. This is all for about. Oh, for almost. All for there. Wait, there's what we just, oh, our first department. Look how cute that was. We had a cute key. We should get a key. That was a key. Layla 2021. I think there were some years we thought, well, we'll might do this every year. And then I don't think we have like the hands and stuff. They start getting too big. Yeah. But I left him do it for fun. But all that time, our tree would be so full. Oh, believe me. With hands and feet. But maybe that's what you want. A full family and a full tree. Don't even name me crying. No, their hands and feet start getting too big. You can't do that. I love it. It was last year. It was last year. Oh, my goodness, Carla. What? Easy in 2021. Yeah, we did her as we got her. Hey, she cute. This is one of my favorite handprint ever because of Layla. You saw where Matthew Brace was that I've been got me for a point. Oh, my hand. And you can see. It tends to be like, right there. Layla, right. All right. Ormins are done. They are cooking or sitting and hardening. What do you want to call it? Kids are washing their hands clean it up from that. They are going to help me throw in some Christmas cookies. We got pizza. It's just a chill. Christmas. I run the stove. Who Christmas? No. And if we make cookies, have some pizza. We might even fit in like a Christmas movie. So let's get into this. All right. Get a cookie sheet. You grab the cookie dough. You grab your cheeks. Grab your nose. Grab your belly. Grab the ceiling. Ew. You grab your hair. Grab your belly. Grab your feet. Grab the ceiling. What? Why are you doing this? Just grab the ceiling. I can't. I can't. Grab the ceiling. Grab the ceiling. I don't know where I'm going. All right. Pizza's almost here. Cookies are done. Yes. That is a lot of cookies. I know what you're thinking. We had some cookie dough in the fridge. That we just bought it in the store. So I just threw in whatever was left. But anyways. Now pizza. Then cookies. Christmas movie. Boom. Boom. Trying to enjoy the night with kids and have a fun night. The last couple nights have not been great for us. So I'll explain more on that later. But for now we're just trying to enjoy the night. Make sure the kids have a good time. A lovely cheese pizza just for me. Pizza has coming gone. I didn't film eating it. I mean, what do you want to see us eating pizza? I probably have it in my teeth right now. Don't look too close. We scarf that down. And now I think it's time. There's also something else that I'm quite behind on. Christmas shopping is a non-existent in my life this year. Me and Carl and have come together. Mostly Carl and because, you know, she's an amazing mom. And I feel like that's normally how it goes for Christmas gifts. She's gotten most of the kids Christmas gifts. Um, I'll only taste that funny. Oh, what? This is actually embarrassing. It's unbeeing totally honest. A lot of Friday comes. Uh-huh. And we're like in Nashville and I'm like, oh, I'm gonna head. I'm so proud of myself or whatever. Yeah. I remunned a. I add everything to the cart that I'm getting for the kids for Christmas. And they're pretty good. I mean, I think they're gonna be really excited. And the other day I was like, I was thinking, oh, I need to start wrapping their gifts and stuff so I'm ahead and then it don't go meat. What? You don't know? What? I didn't get anything for Nady. It's not one gift. I forgot about her. I'm not gonna forget about my third date. I guess they're pretty old price for you. What you grow for all of the time? So now I'm thinking, what do you get, a... Like, three month old first? It's not a newborn, but like, yeah. yelling she's doing that told and also when I was doing the ornaments I realized my other two kids were a lot older at Carson's time so I felt like they were getting into almost like their first birthday come and like 10-11 months and so you know that was more to get them. It's true. I think I know what I'm gonna get it out. All right, but let me sit down. Maybe why you shop for your family stuff I'm gonna shop for her. She prewish doesn't fit in any clothes. She knows a good wardrobe. She needs more clothes. She's out. She's pretty close to popping out of everything out of it. Three months old. I mean she doesn't know anything else anyway. I mean I'm gonna get her a few like toy toys. Yeah, because I feel like three to six months they start doing things with their hands and like that so I'm gonna get her some toys. True. Like that age range and then I also just need to get her some clothes. So I think I'm gonna get a couple toys. Some clothes. It's a good point. It's very sad of him that she is already bushing out of her zero to three. Which means I have to get three six months. Oh my god. I'm so sad. That's so sad. I mean she's still kind of fitting in him. Yeah. But kind of not. I mean it just depends. It's just it's just sad. So Carlin's family has always been a lot of people in the family obviously. So they've never really done the individual gifts at Christmas. I don't think. Um you did. That's true. That's true. That's true. Carlin got them all like a little little small. Yeah. Carlin got them all little coffee cup with a picture on it and then like a gift card and stuff inside. But like most of the time they didn't just buy individual gifts growing up. My family. Um even though we have a lot of people obviously we had nothing like Carlin's family. So we always did and then as it grew within laws and Grandkids and so like that. They still said like let's just we have more fun buying for everyone. Even if you have to get a smaller gift and it doesn't like it's nothing crazy. It's just fun to open a gift from everybody. Give a gift everybody that kind of stuff. So I think I've settled one gift out of my whole family. Five siblings, some married couples, some grandkids and my parents. So it's horrible. So I'm going to have to take some time to sit down and just order stuff online or something. I don't know. I'm pretty bad gift geter anyways. But they do have a list. We use some app and that has actually come handy. I'll just have to get on the app and say you want that order you want that order and just go down the list. Anyways the kids are now excited about their cookies in a movie. So we better go up there and have a fun night with them. And then maybe once they're in bed maybe we'll get to shop and are doing something. I'll call the ones to show you something. I felt like you guys didn't get a close up of the Tobias fingers in the home. Well it is true like you said, ladies, morning, January, Zade was born in March. So you had going on a one year old each time at Christmas when you made these ornaments right now you only got three months. I was in her fingers. I've done a little wrinkle for my word. She's not like 80 years old. That's that wrinkle. It was a roll. Her little finger was like hey I'm gonna go get her into a sleeper. You're so cute baby. I love y'all. Do you, Jesus please keep us all safe tonight? Help us have a good night's rest. This help us have a good day tomorrow. Help us out with his doctor appointment tomorrow. Help it to get some things done in the new house and just have a fun day and keep us safe and Jesus, they're not pretty in there. Can I play after you? Sure. Do Jesus, I hope my brothers and Juan Manga goes good and my whole painting said good flies and he blitz. I share my love him. He always went in good blood. I love us. Thank you. Hey, nice. Can I love you? Thank you. Night love you. Did you remodel? Is this room new? Doesn't really look very familiar to me? I knew it was sleeping with me. Yes. Am I allowed to sleep back in here again tonight? No, I don't. I got to think and I think I started this vlog going to sleep in the bonus room and I was like they're probably going to wonder why how it was. Car little sleeping in here with Navy and her crib right there and I had Zay in the bonus room Zayed randomly. What was it two nights ago? woke up with like a pretty high fever. Nothing like to go to the hospital but high enough like he was warm. He was very just chill. Not wanting to do anything like obviously had some type of a 24 hour bug or something. Reason being that I was taking care of Zay. I'm not going to play the amazing dad card here because that's not quite what it was. I was the only one up. I was up editing to like two and so Zay kind of just started crying. So I heard him and I went in there and checked on him and he was pretty warm. So I knew something was up. So Carl was already in here asleep. So I just took him to the bonus room, got him some children's medicine and stuff and just stayed in there with him. That was like two nights ago. Well obviously seemed just like a 24 hour thing after it was all said and done but you guys didn't know. Today was actually Sunday. We stayed home from church because he had not been free of a fever for 24 hours. And I thought about me taking Leyla or Carl and taking Leyla but then we were like if she did have something to it's just probably not safe to go take that to church and put him in class and stuff like that. So we stayed home today so I was also in the bonus room with him last night because we were worried about Navy getting her sick or anything like that. So tried to stay away from her as much as we could and so yeah I've been sleeping in the bonus room with Zay and not sleeping in my room with my wife the last two days. We've been here don't worry. And now Carl and says we're getting a bed. Sima really denied she said I'm going back I'm not staying up editing we're going to bed. I'm in a little bit of a funk. Are you? What kind of funk? It's been a really long time since I have like before having Navy I was in a really good routine of getting up early. Filling productive and you know, paying care of myself and paying care of the kids but three kids just feels a little bit different. I think you're not taking care of yourself is the reason you feel really well. So what's the word? Not run down but like I just like for an example I can't keep my head above water. I'm getting hit with waves from every corner. Yeah and it sounds so dumb I know it's like I know everyone's dealing with so much whatever during this holiday season it's just like I feel like I can't I think that's just called part of it. You're still getting out of every day and I feel like I'm just already behind that. I don't know if you feel like you shouldn't ever be behind and that's just called part of it. No you're doing great. I wanted like get back in my routine again. I'm like crying I'm more and more. Babe. Well hey what can I help you do to get back into you? I always say that you don't have to do anything. You don't have to. There's nothing you need to do difference just myself. I don't know. I'm not feeling it yet. Kind of want to feel myself. I kind of film myself but I kind of don't. I'm giving myself grace for two and a half more weeks. It's what I'm telling myself. In a January, January I need to just like I don't know snap out of whatever this funk and cloud. Well if you feel alright have all this if you feel like it after being postpartum let's just do what we always do in the new year's resolutions hard and January. I'm gonna we have so as coming on until January so I'm gonna give myself two and a half week. There you go. You make a sense of simple. There you go. Well we need to just get on to bed so we can just have a chill night of relaxation, healing and getting back to normal. Zed is feeling better in prison or in Carlin. We're just gonna get some rest and we're just gonna enjoy time together and hey you know what you just got to enjoy the Christmas season and like we said we'll get back to all the other hustling bustle. If you want to work out you work out you do whatever come January. Let's not stress about it now. We're getting ready for bed. They're filming me. Kind of talking to you and in here just whoever wants to listen. I'm just a rambler. Anyways we're gonna end it here. We love you guys. Thanks so much for watching and I guess we'll see you tomorrow. I'll see you at 8 a.m. I'm gonna hit the jogging. Really? 8 a.m. Well let's go. We're gonna go on a family jog from Marmorning at 8 a.m. All right sounds good. See you tomorrow. 8 a.m. Say it's coming. I know it.
Navigating postpartum emotions during the holidays can be especially tough. A small kindness like reaching out to someone who might be feeling the same way can really help. It’s a way to share the load, and you might just lift someone’s spirits in the process.