hanamik

Absence

2012-06-15T15:32:00.002-07:00

#photoadaymay

I've been absent because for a while, I found my heart wasn't in the right place while blogging. I started out blogging to share news with family and friends of how I'm doing from miles away and for my own "scrapbooking" but I got caught up in appearances and soon it became a chore.

I was blogging for a small invisible audience that I kept track of with feed reader numbers and even though I received no feedback, perhaps that was feedback enough. It didn't matter in the beginning, but when I spent time reading other blogs and seeing the many comments left for others, it started to bother me that I wasn't receiving any. I wanted to do more things to show how happy and full and creative my life was, but I don't have time to take photos of me and L crafting and playing outside in beautiful places. (I still don't know who takes all of these stunning photos on other blogs when it seems to be just mom and kids.) I'm really reading books all day (the same one over and over) and avoiding blocks on the floor and doing dishes and being pulled towards hallways and crevices that intrigue L which he must show me. I don't bake delicious things every day in my well-lit spotless kitchen (I wish), nor do I even get out of my pajamas often enough to think about styling myself. I wear pretty much the same things over and over again and my hair is just washed and left to dry by itself. This doesn't mean I don't take care of myself, but other more important things seem to come up and I don't mind.

It just seems so silly to be caught up in this made up world of perfection. It really does not matter that only a few people (who I actually know in real life) reply, because it makes sense. They care about me and what I write about my life and family; for everyone else, this makes complete sense and I completely agree, now that I've given up that envy of others. I don't want it to feel forced anymore. I was never dishonest about what I did and what I shared on here, but the heart behind it was to show and get attention, some sort of acknowledgment that, "yes you are living a great life." How silly.

I like spending my evenings reading or catching up on dramas with Tare or just being still. I don't have time for blogging right now and it feels nice to step away and enjoy memories for myself. (Path and Instagram are exceptions! ;) I want to be more honest about how imperfect I am so I write this holding back the urge to edit myself. I'm being honest about how I've felt and it is a little embarrassing to bare. I am so used to editing my words because I thought no one would want to read it but this time I want this on record.

Readings that convicted and made me reflect on myself...
The Fight of My Life
The Disease Called Perfection
When You Want to be Known

My absence from this place is giving me time to reflect and gather myself, invest in growing my relationships, and not wanting to be and editing myself to appear perfect for someone else to see. I'm working on me as God created me to be which is hard, but easier knowing He loves me as I am. I'm not writing off for good... simply refreshing my purpose and intentions in sharing.

A Weekend at Venice Beach

2012-04-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's already been two weeks since our visit with friends at Venice Beach. It was a beautiful weekend: perfect for a day at the beach, digging our toes into the sand, talking with girlfriends, eating delicious food, enjoying pretty desserts, and catching up with high school friends. I really hope we can do it again soon.

It was L's first time playing on the beach and he had so much fun! Grabbing fistfuls of sand and watching it fly in the wind, picking out shells and finding an acorn friend, getting wet in the waves with Tare Appa, eventually ending up in just a diaper and getting lots of sun, dancing in front of our friends, and giving out kisses to aunties who were so in love with him. He played as much as a toddler could possibly play in one day! We're planning on visiting the beach a lot more often this summer for our little water bunny.

A day in the life

2012-03-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

Life slows down a lot when you have a baby.. time, not so much. The days quickly pass but the day itself is spent quite leisurely.

A typical day goes something like this...
I hear L wake up and I turn and open my eyes to his smiling face. I take him potty and we do a little stretching and roll around in bed and nurse. I crawl out of bed and he follows suit, I clean his potty and put contacts in, brush my teeth while L waits for me.

We walk out to the living room where we spend most of our day. We take some time to nurse again or read a couple of books before breakfast. I tell L it's time for breakfast and he walks towards his highchair or he plays while I prepare our breakfast. I strap him in his chair and we pray together. We eat slowly and I check the usual on my iPhone until he lets me know he's done. If he's happy, I give him a few puffs to snack on while I wash the dishes or let him down and clean him up to walk around with his water bottle while I finish up.

Until his nap time, which is much later now that he's dropped one of his two naps, we mostly read books L brings me and watch K videos on the TV (my guilty pleasure which I try to limit to two a day). I change his diaper every hour to hour and a half since L has lost interest in ECing for now and we snack on puffs and dried fruit snacks and nurse nurse nurse.

After his nap, we eat lunch and continue to play and read. These days he asks me to wear him on my back by bringing me the mei tai and assuming position on my back. I watch as he performs silly antics like trying to somersault and carrying around a bag on his shoulder like he's shopping. If we're watching another video (usually music related) he dances and claps. He drops by where I'm sitting signing for mam-ma or water or brings me his snacks to open for him. We read about cows and he moos, we see an elephant and he brings his arm up and makes a bbbuuuuu sound. He tells me he loves me by bringing his short arms as high as they go to make a heart near his head and gives me kisses which I readily accept and return with joy.

I narrate what I'm doing or what we're doing together all day. I used to spend my days in silence by myself but now I have to chatter which is unlike me but is pleasant to do with another person who listens well. Soon Tare is home and L runs toward him with open arms, wanting to be held. I prepare dinner while the boys play and we eat together as a family. We talk to each other about our day and mostly it's about funny or new things L did that make us both laugh and confirm that our son is a genius.

Somehow after talking and playing and cleaning up, it's already bedtime for the little one. Each night it always comes so soon, but I change L into a disposable diaper for the night and we head in to the bedroom with a good night wave to Appa. L is sometimes very tired and nurses easily to sleep but sometimes he needs time to calm down and rolls around the bed making weird noises and yelling into the darkened space while I look on in amusement (and sometimes frustration). Finally when he is heavy with sleep I carefully roll away and place my pillow against the edge of the bed and creep out to have some time with my husband and some time for myself.

Looking back on my day I know I haven't completed many chores. Most days we never even make it outside of the house! We cuddled, shared meals, cleaned up, read books, lay around, laughed. It's hard to explain to someone else exactly what it is we did that day that seems substantial enough to share.

I love this passage from What Mothers Do by Naomi Stadlen:

"All this time she is being with her baby. It is this invisible relationship that feels like doing nothing. She is refraining from busying herself with a long list of tasks and instead is slowing down her life to match the pace of his. ...It isn't easy. Yet here is the very source of the momentous relationship between the two of them. Far from doing nothing, she is doing everything."

I'm blessed to spend each moment of L's life with him. I know it won't always be this way so I cherish the memories as we're making them, even if they're memories of just being together, being with him, being present, doing "nothing" which is everything.

Luke's First Birthday Party

2012-03-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

We live in California but all of our family lives in Colorado, so this was a destination dol. It took us the longest time to find the right venue, but luckily a new place was opening and the in-laws knew the owner so we were the first customers to use Seoul Palace. We actually didn't see the place until we arrived in CO but my parents sent pictures of it in progress so we weren't too worried about how it would look. It turned out beautifully and was the perfect size for our party.

Our theme was shades of blue and bunnies, since Luke was born in the year of the rabbit (as were his mom and dad!) and even his nickname while he was in the womb was "tokki." I wanted it to look refined but still casual enough to look like a baby's birthday party.

Welcome table, Photo table, & Doljabi Raffle

We had a welcome table with a guest book and raffle tickets (designed by me) handed out and two more tables with a photo from each month of Luke's first year, the raffle, and wishing tree. The welcome poster and doljabi poster were also designed by me, although I got the rabbit ear icons from a template on a Korean blog. The ceramic number one and blue bunny which held the raffle tickets are from Michaels. The frames were from Target and the wishing tree from Beau-coup.

It was so nice to see all of the weekly pictures from L's first year together and seeing how much he has grown!

Food & Dessert

The dinner buffet was provided by Seoul BBQ which is right next to the venue owned by the same owner (so much amazing food that we don't have pictures of and didn't get to eat much because we were so busy with a cranky baby and the event itself). For desserts, we booked the cake & cupcakes from Happy Cakes trusting Yelp reviews and ordered chocolate covered strawberries from Edible Arrangements. I designed the cupcake toppers myself and found a cute chalkboard frame from World Market to write the different flavors. My cousin went above and beyond what we requested and made six different types of macarons (double chocolate, raspberry, yuzu, green tea with white chocolate, black sesame) for the most popular dessert of the night! They were so delicious and beautiful to look at.

Main Table

The main table was pretty simple with just the cake, go-ims, and fruit arrangements. I wanted the cake to be plain but with a little blue and I made a bunting cake topper which is very popular these days. The letters are from Michaels and the fruit arrangements are the cute Easter bunny arrangements from Edible Arrangements. They went with our theme so well and were a twist on the stacked whole fruit arrangements I saw on others' dol tables. The bunting and tissue paper pompoms were DIY.

We made the "chuk-dol" and rabbit go-ims beforehand and sent them to CO (my husband actually made one of them, can you guess which one? ;) Yep, it's the not-as-pretty-but-effort-that-counts "chuk-dol" one) and made the wave go-im a few days before the party. We used different sized lima beans and black beans, as well as skittles and pompoms for the bunny's face. I drew the bunny face freehand because I couldn't find a cute enough template. The wave one was made with colored sixlets found at Party City which were expensive but pretty and easy to glue.

Guest tables

For centerpieces, I went the easy route and did balloons on weights. There are bunnies hanging from the balloons which were a hand-cramp to cut out but very cute as little garlands. I also ordered confetti in shades of blue in the shape of bunnies to scatter on the tables from Etsy.

We made a standing brochure(?)/information card thingie for the guests to read facts about Luke and order of events. We found a template on a Korean blog and I customized the colors, picture, and other things to match our party.

Favors were a variety of dduk (rice cakes) packed in boxes with a cute sticker of Luke on them (designed by me). Obok Dduk did an amazing job packaging the favors for a very reasonable cost.

Throughout the party we played music (a special playlist) and a slideshow of pictures on the TV near the buffet area. This worked out well because while people were waiting in line for food they were able to watch Luke's first year in pictures!

Doljabi

Luke went straight for the pencil!

The party was beautiful and looked almost exactly as I had envisioned it for the few months leading up to it. There was just the right amount of DIY-ing that made me feel really involved in preparing for the party yet didn't have me tearing my hair out in stress. I wish baby had been in a better mood (he was teething) but our whole family enjoyed it and it was fun to celebrate our little one's first birthday with everyone.

List of vendors (in Colorado):

Balloons - Absolute Value

Banner - Little Seouls Party (online)

Event hall - Seoul Palace

Catering - Seoul BBQ

Cake & cupcakes - Happy Cakes

Macarons - Jay Lee (cousin)

Dduk - Obok ddukjib

Posters - printed at Costco

Photographer - Fall Child Photography

February

2012-03-03T02:07:00.000-08:00

those sweet eyes are dangerous

someone really likes balloons!

fun on his birthday at the Children's Museum of Denver

a sweet moment between grandpa & grandson

tokki watch: Twelve Months

2012-03-01T22:18:00.000-08:00

tokki,

You are one year old! I don't know if I really believe it yet but the time says you are and you've grown from a newborn to infant to toddler. You're taller and stronger but when I hold you in my arms when you nurse, you're still my little baby.

You're observant and curious, persevering and strongheaded, and silly and sweet. Your personality is as bright as your big eyes, which is very bright! You're smart and great at imitating what we do and say (which entertains us like nothing else!) and you understand and communicate with us very well. It makes our job as parents much easier; but then again, you've always been such a content and easygoing baby. I'm grateful for your health and energy and never ending laughter, it lights up my life.

Appa & I have been blessed beyond measure with you in our lives. I love that I can look back on our first year as parents with so many precious memories and also look forward to many more fun memories we will make together as you get older. And right now, each day with you is just perfect. I love you to the moon and back WooHyun.

~Umma

A day out in Little Tokyo

2012-02-01T21:46:00.000-08:00

From last Saturday...

Upgraded car seat!

Kobe corn dog with spicy curry ketchup

Uni & mushroom pasta - DELICIOUS.

Curry loco moco

Mr. Bright Eyes checking out passerbys through the window

Cafe Dulce

Pretty night light from Little Tokyo

Blogging seems to be the last thing on my mind these days. My days are busy and full from loving on my son and husband. From planning my son's first birthday party. From finishing up chores after putting my baby down to sleep. From choosing to sleep early instead of mindlessly clicking through social network sites and pins. From keeping up appearances when really, who's reading?

But I'll be back to share about tokki's first birthday party in a couple of weeks...

Time flies!

tokki watch: Eleven Months

2012-01-15T22:06:00.000-08:00

Baby tokki,

You are 11 months old! There are so many things I want to record and remember as you've been learning new skills and growing so quickly this past month.

First of all, you've gained more weight and your double chin back because you are eating solid foods instead of just playing with them. You were quite heavy before but now you're really giving Mommy & Daddy's arms a workout. But you haven't cut back on nursing, in fact, you've been nursing nonstop as you've been growing three new teeth at once! And you clearly let me know when you want some mam-ma (nursing) time by pulling at my shirt. Your smile gets cuter and cuter with the addition of each new tooth. 6 total now :)

Ooh, the most exciting is that you're a walker now! Just a few days ago you started walking beyond a few steps at a time so steady and balanced. There are still falls and you prefer crawling when you're in a hurry but the rate at which you improve day by day is amazing! You look so proud of yourself after walking a distance, it seems to reflect how proud we are of you.

Your hand-eye coordination has improved so much since you've been feeding yourself. You choose to pick up your food or spoon to your mouth at mealtimes and won't let us do it for you! (I can also see bits of strong-headedness during the day when you clearly let us know when you don't like something or want something, especially when we take things away that aren't for you to play with. Also has to do with the potty break we're taking because you're so busy playing!) The coordination also plays a part in how well you've been playing with your toys which require you to pick up and drop the toys in specific places; you learn how to play new games quickly which makes it so much fun to watch and interact with you. It brings a smile to my face every time you imitate what I do, like making the sound of the car moving while you roll the car "booooooong!"

You can share and you randomly give me kisses throughout the day. Your gestures of affection make my heart burst with love over and over again. These days Mommy is tired from staying up later to plan your birthday party but you also give me times of rest as you play happily by yourself as I sit near you and just watch. I look forward to meal times as we sit together at the table and we can share our meals. We pray together, we read together, we are familiar in our routines together as a family.

You're my lovable little sidekick and Appa & I love you so very much.
Time to start counting down to your first birthday! Yay!

Year in Review 2011

2011-12-30T22:30:00.000-08:00

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
I gave birth and became a mother. I think that encompasses everything new I've done this year: being responsible for a human life other than my own, breastfeeding, diapering, etc.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't have any specific resolutions but I do have some for the next year. Something I will do instead of talking about it.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Me! It's the best thing I've ever done in my life.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. What countries did you visit?
No international travel for us this year, but hopefully within the next few years. :)

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
I would like to have more love and compassion towards others, especially those that are different from me. Not just in theory but in my life.

7. What date(s) from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 15th . . . the birth of my son. So unexpected but so wonderful.
August & Oct/Nov . . . visiting family & friends with tokki was a lot of fun! I love seeing my parents & grandparents with tokki, there are so many smiles and laughter together.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Breastfeeding successfully (and we're still going strong)! It was hard the first couple of weeks but we both got the hang of it in a few months and now we're even bfing in public without a cover. I love the connection and closeness I have with tokki through breastfeeding. It also keeps me aware of what I'm eating and how I'm taking care of my body because it all goes to tokki. And it helped me lose a LOT of the baby weight!

9. What was your biggest failure?
Taking better care of my husband. He took very good care of me & tokki and I plan on being a better wife in the new year because he really deserves it.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
None of us did! We only suffer scratches from tokki's sharp baby nails.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
iPhone! It's nice not to carry around a cell phone and an iPod, it's all-in-one and with a way better quality camera.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My sister because she finally realized how great it is to be with someone who truly respects and cares for you & treats you like a princess. :) It's a good, good thing.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
skip.

14. Where did most of your money go?
On tokki's clothing and toys and books and many other cute and pretty baby things I couldn't pass on. He's not completely spoiled but we are restraining ourselves haha!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The first poo, the first smile, the first laugh, the first roll, the first sitting, the first solid food, the first crawling, the first clapping, the first waving, the first dancing, the first standing, the first steps; just about everything tokki does! It's all so exciting as a first time mom.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Wonder Girls - Be My Baby because whenever that song comes on my son's face lights up and it is too adorable when he starts bopping and swaying to the beat.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
Wiser? Infinitely.
Healthier? Definitely! Coconut oil & fermented cod liver oil/butter oil & farmers market visits have really helped.
Richer? Yes. Daddy works hard ;)

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Nothing! I'm already doing it.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Nagging Tare. The jansori ajumma in me really came out this year. I'm going to fix it!

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
We spent Christmas at home again this year.

22. Did you fall in love in 2011?
Yes. I fell in love with the baby in my belly last year but I've fallen head over heels in love with the baby in my arms who has such a bright and positive personality. He melts my heart.

~~23. How many one-night stands?~~
~~This question just doesn't apply.~~

24. What was your favorite TV program?
The Vampire Diaries! & Running Man, I'm A Singer.

~~25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?~~
~~No.~~

26. What was the best book you read?
I've just started What Mothers Do: Especially When it Looks Like Nothing by Naomi Stadlen and I'm sure it will be on my best books list.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I've rediscovered my own voice as I sing to tokki all the time. Our current nap time lullaby is Amazing Grace and it works every time. I want to sing more like I used to...

28. What did you want and get?
An iPhone~

29. What did you want and not get?
Clothes that are not nursing friendly. :( But I'm over it.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
I enjoyed Harry Potter, but I only watched about six movies this year so I don't know what was really good.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I blew out candles on a cake and received pretty flowers from my husband and smiles from my 6 month old son. I turned 24 this year!

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
My fashion concept was nursing friendly which means I wore a lot of pull-aside, button-up, easy up dresses and shirts.

34. What kept you sane?
My husband's encouragement that I'm doing a great job with tokki and being able to nap during the day with baby even though that means I don't get any household chores done. But being present for my son is much more worthwhile than dishwashing or dusting so I'm fine with that!

35. Who did you miss?
I'm starting to miss Aji a little bit now. I never mentioned here, but we decided to move her to my parents' house when we last visited because I couldn't give more attention to her. I wish I was a better owner who could give lots of attention and love to the dog with the baby but... I'm not. So she is with family who are better able to take care of her and play with her. She's doing well there and I'm so glad but I do miss her furry little face sometimes.

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
I am the best mother for my son. And another mother is the best for her child.
I made a lot of different choices when it came to childbirth from most people and I make specific choices about how I want to raise my child. It's what will be the best for my baby and I'm confident in that. But that confidence led me to being judgmental of other mothers and the choices they made for their child; sometimes it just really bugged me. But I have no say in what's best for anyone else's child than my own, to each their own, there is not a single answer to parenting! Some ways are better as a fact for babies, but it's not my choice to make and it's not my choice to judge. It's something I struggle with personally in my mind; I've never said anything to anyone about it, but it's wrong just the same.
We're all just loving our baby and that is what is important.

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
My chains are gone, I've been set free.
My God, my Savior has ransomed me.
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, amazing grace.

Best of luck to you in 2012!

Final Week of Advent

2011-12-29T21:52:00.000-08:00

Our first year counting down to Christmas with an Advent calendar.

19. Give to World Vision. (This year we chose to give towards providing clean, safe water for children in Africa.)

20. Grant each other a wish. (Mine was sorta silly & his I haven't yet granted, will soon though!)

21. Eat out for dinner.

22. Share goals & resolutions for 2012 and pray for the coming new year.

23. Give the neighbors a gift. (I baked a yummy apple yogurt cake for them & we took it over; well received so I'm happy!)

24. Attend Christmas Eve service at church.

25. tokki woke us up and we let him unwrap some books that were presents from halmuni & auntie B. We went to church then came home for a very laid back afternoon. We enjoyed a delicious roast chicken with veggies dinner at home.

Looking forward to a new activity every day in December was fun for my husband and myself who didn't grow up with American traditions for Christmas. Christmas is not about trees, decorations, carols, gifts, or Santa, but all of the fun was like celebrating Jesus' birthday a little bit each day.

Jesus is the greatest gift given to us by God and we hope to continue celebrating Christmas in a way that tokki will grow up knowing this truth.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

Made with Shutterfly

Holiday Lights at CALM

2011-12-22T23:43:00.000-08:00

the lights were beautiful.

the night was cold. the hot chocolate was warm.

the merry-go-round was fast & the train ride was fun.

all in all 'twas a wonderful night.

3rd Week of Advent

2011-12-20T22:07:00.000-08:00

Our first year counting down to Christmas with an Advent calendar.

12. Bake cookies.

13. Do a kind deed with Christmas cheer. (I organized husband's side of the closet & made little dividers to help him keep organized.)

14. Build a box for Operation Christmas Child. (We used to build a box and volunteer at the warehouse every year with my old church. We'll just have to continue the tradition on our own now!)

15. Send Christmas cards. (We made calendars filled with memories from 2011 for all of our families too!)

16. See the holiday lights at CALM zoo.

17. Enjoy a mug of hot chocolate.

18. Have a Christmas dance party!

tokki watch: Ten Months

2011-12-17T23:14:00.000-08:00

My little tokki, how quickly you are growing and time is passing us by!
You now have three teeth, two of which make you look quite goofy when you smile. You click-clack them together as you're still trying to get used to them too.
Your balance is improving as you've grown more confident in standing and even taking a few steps!
You are a mover and shaker, active as can be and dancing along to your favorite beats (nothing beats the Wonder Girls!).
You are so observant and reserved in new places but once you get warmed up, there's no stopping those smiles and flirting.
You treat books with a little more care now as you flip the pages carefully and look at the pictures intently. It warms my heart to see you quietly "reading" throughout the day.
I love to hear you sing along to the Christmas tunes we listen to as you rest your head against me before your nap times, it's one of my favorites parts of being a mommy.
You're a quick learner--once you figure out how to do something new, you pick it up and do it like you've always known how. Mommy & Daddy are going to have to do some more baby-proofing around the house!
Mama's milk is still the best but you love your meat!

I love you all the way to the moon and back, my little bunny. ♥

2nd Week of Advent

2011-12-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

Our first year counting down to Christmas with an Advent calendar.

05. Decorate the tree. (We have a mini tree atop the freezer to keep away from curious hands.)

06. Sing a Christmas carol. (Tare didn't grow up in the US so he doesn't know any carols. He finally learned Jingle Bells!)

07. Decorate stockings & hang them up. (Handmade stockings.. can you tell which one is my husband's? Haha!)

08. Make an ornament.

09. Eat a candy cane.

10. Take Christmas family photos.

11. Watch a Christmas movie. (I love this movie!)

Holiday 2011 Unique LA

2011-12-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday was a busy day! We started out by volunteering with our community group at Pacifica (senior living) which was lots of fun because we made paper plate Christmas wreaths. A lot of ladies stopped by (more than usual) to have some fun arts and crafts time and they all expressed their thanks to us visiting them, like they always do. It's such a short period of time, about two hours one Saturday, that we spend with them each month and they make us feel like we're doing so much when we could be doing so much more. It makes me think again about how much my time or my giving (whether monetary or whatever it is) could be a gift to whoever is receiving it and that I should be doing a lot more of it.

Afterwards we headed down to LA to visit the Unique LA handmade market. There were so many people and so many cool handmade goodies! tokki was hanging out in the Ergo the whole time and we walked around for at least two hours.

We picked out some cute clothes for tokki and ourselves and had lots of desserts like macarons (pistachio FTW!), s'mores muffins or "smuffins", bread pudding, and creme caramel. We left stuffed!

Finally we headed to IKEA to pick up a new TV stand and dresser. Our previous stand was way too short and open which was a great temptation to tokki. It all barely fit in our Forester but we made it and tokki even fell asleep on the way home which was perfect. (He usually loathes night car rides.) The new set-up looks great and has made my life much easier because I'm not spending the whole day picking him up and placing him away from the TV a hundred times.

On a separate note... I find myself leaving my camera at home and using my iPhone to take lots of pictures these days. I don't know if it's because I'm excited to play with my new toy or I'm too lazy to take pictures then transfer them to the computer then edit/upload them. Anyone else in love with apps that let them share pictures easily like Instagram and Path? It is all I do these days and I enjoy the ease of it. Technology has come so far!

First Week of Advent

2011-12-04T22:14:00.000-08:00

Our first year counting down to Christmas with an Advent calendar.

01. Buy a Christmas storybook for tokki & read to him.

02. Decorate the house.

03. Volunteer with the community group making Christmas crafts.

04. Decorate a gingerbread house.

Let there be thanksgiving

2011-11-23T22:28:00.000-08:00

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Ephesians 5:4

- Happy Thanksgiving -

I'm "Blank" Because

2011-11-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

I’m weird because…

I wear PJs at home all day. & so does tokki in his onesies & shirt+diaper combos.
I rehearse what conversations might sound like in my head before it happens.
Cool weather makes me want to stay inside... like hibernate.
It takes me forever to come up with answers to lists/surveys like this.
I always give Tare's (actual) name when making orders because they always spell/pronounce mine wrong.

I’m a bad friend because…

I'm not a phone person so I don't call.
Sometimes I give bad advice (in hindsight).

I’m a good friend because…

I will always listen.
I'm always up for prayer requests, I'll pray right then and there.
I'm loyal and trustworthy.

I’m sad because…

We won't spend Thanksgiving in Colorado with family like we always have.
I haven't had time to work out and I actually want to.
We had to throw away half of our rice because bugs were in the bag. Ew.
I don't have any mommy friends around me.

I’m happy because…

We still get to spend Thanksgiving with family, with cousins.
I have a smartphone for the first time in my life and it's pretty cool.
tokki slept in this morning until 9:40am and I had time to read the Bible and spend the morning alone.
My husband loves his job, I love my job, and my son is healthy and thriving.

I’m excited for…

Turkey and fixings.
Spending more time with Tare this extra long holiday weekend.
A new cousin to be born soon who will be the same age as tokki.

Thanks Sandy (Sandyalamode) for the idea! I'm also excited to for her family & baby boy who is due soon ;)

tokki watch: Nine Months

2011-11-18T15:18:00.000-08:00

Oh my, I have a nine month old baby! (There are only three months until he's ONE year old, wow!)

At nine months, you...
*are giving kisses and waving
*walking with the help of your walker and trying to stand on your own
*love Korean pumpkin soup and Korean chicken soup and a variety of fruits
*are very curious and observant, sometimes shy but mostly enjoy people's attention
*love playing with animal finger puppets and reading Itsy Bitsy Spider & Guess How Much I Love You
*are "dancing" to music you enjoy
*have one adorable tooth

I love seeing your bright personality develop and your innocent joy is contagious! I pray that stays with you and you continue to be a light in others' lives.

fill in the blank friday

2011-11-17T22:32:00.000-08:00

I'm linking up at the little things we do!


Great grandfather & tokki

1. A nervous habit I have is pinching my neck. Not sure why I do this but I always end up having red splotches on my neck.

2. Something that makes me sad is thinking about losing someone close to me. I haven't experienced it yet and as I get older, so do my parents and my grandparents...

3. Today I am thankful for my son's contagious laughter, our family's health, and that it's my husband's Friday off so we can spend the day together.

4. My favorite room in my house is my living room which is very open (into the kitchen), has lots of light, and is where we spend all day playing.

5. I can't stand embarrassing moments. I actually think my super power is remembering every embarrassing moment of mine and even other people. It just makes me cringe (and some make me laugh really hard).

6. If I had an extra $100 to spend on whatever I wanted today I would extend the Citrus Lane subscription I had and possibly sign up for a few boxes from Foodzie.

7. The last person I hung out with was tokki, like always. It's pretty amazing being with someone so cute 24/7, my little sidekick. <3

Happy weekend!

Monkeys & Peas Family Photoshoot

2011-11-12T23:37:00.000-08:00

Back in September, we drove down to Venice Beach to take family photos. We wanted to capture our family with a 7 month old tokki because time is fleeting! Monkeys & Peas Photography (Trina) did a wonderful job taking beautiful photos of our son and the three of us together. It was nice to be in front of the lens for once since I seem to be behind it for the most part.

September 2011

These are my favorite shots. I'm excited to get some of them printed and up on our walls!

Where I was last week...

2011-11-09T22:01:00.000-08:00

We spent the last days of October and the first days of November in Colorado. {tokki & I tagged along on Tare's business trip.)

It was chilly, sunny, snowy, and beautiful every single day there. Time spent with family and friends was treasured as it was our last visit for this year.

The holidays are coming and I miss you more than ever home state.

Airbender tokki

2011-11-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

A day in the life of a little airbender...

airbender ready to fly. airbender in his element.

airbender's potty time. airbender freshens up. airbender meets cow.

little airbender with his flying water buffalo shih tzu

grandma airbender. shopping airbender. soshi fan airbender.

giant monkey vs. airbender

happy first halloween 2011

Banducci Farms: Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-28T20:56:00.000-07:00

We visited the same place as last year to pick out a little pumpkin with tokki. I can't believe he was inside my baby bump last time we were there and now he's 8 months old!

Baby firsts make me so happy! Looking forward to sharing tokki's Halloween costume :)