Presents! Before Chicago, we decided not to bring our presents with us because we had so much to bring. Instead, we had a mini Christmas the next day we got home. We opened our presents from each other and from other people. Also, I was dying to try out our new pizza pan we got from Chris' parents.
My present from Chris. Cricut! Woooo!
This is what I got Chris along with a nice wallet.
Can't go wrong with this one. He is an ultimate Bears fan!
Now I don't know how we deserved it but we each got a pair of Oakleys from Uncle Russ and Jill.
As soon as people had discovered my obsession for Hello Kitty, I keep getting HK stuff. Woohoo!
This one is from Aunt Jill. I really thought this was hilarious!
From now on, Friday night is homemade Pizza night.
Our Christmas vacation in Chicagoland was a blast. We got to spend time with family and friends that we haven't seen in two years. Also, we got to show off our little bundle of joy, which was probably the best part. Chris had to work for couple of days before Christmas so Melody and I flew to Chicago together for the first time. I'm not gonna lie, but I was dreading to fly by myself with a baby. I didn't know what to expect and I wasn't sure how Melody would take a 4 hour flight. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, it was absolutely great. We sat on the very first row so we had a lot and leg room and the seat next to us was empty. My favorite part was the sweet flight attendant who was pretty much obsessed with Melody. At one point, she held Melody around the plane while she was serving drinks and all I kept hearing all these comments, from the back ,on how adorable my baby was. It was flattering and Melody seemed to enjoy the attention. Although. I was a little concerned that a turbulence might go off and hurt the baby. But the flight attendant did a great job. Too bad I forgot what her name was. Here are some pics.
Melody with the flight attendant from Southwest airlines
Arriving to our destination, I was surprised that there was no snow in sight. I was hoping for a white Christmas but all there was, was gloomy skies and cold winds. It wasn't very pretty at first, but it didn't really matter because we get to see family and stay in a warm house.
With cousin Leah.Too bad I didn't get pic with Zach and Parker
Grandpaww!
First time with Uncle Brian. He definitely loves baby Melody
With her beautiful aunt Nina.
Melody is so lucky to have such a sweet cousin like Leah.
We also got to see some friends. Our friend, Trina came over to see baby Melody. We went to downtown Naperville just to catch up and talk about baby Melody.
Melody with Trina.
This is a pic I drew on the ceiling of Trina's car, baby Melody in a "yukata"
For Christmas eve, we took family pictures in the morning and prepared for the big party at night. I also worked on Melody's Christmas stocking. Chris had his since he was a baby and I made mine before Chris and I got engaged. Melody's is the new addition. I really have to make our own for house.
Melody's is obviously the Sanrio character "My Melody"
This huge Christmas did pretty good holding it up... till after Christmas.
We had a great Christmas dinner, but I didn't get to enjoy it. Melody seemed like she was a bit overwhelmed by the all the people so I had to take her to a quiet place so she could calm down. As soon as I did that, she was fine again. We had dollar gifts on our place seats. I got a deodorant and Chris got this really cool Musical Santa decor. But unfortunately we forgot to bring it with us. Melody, on the other hand, got a mini hello kitty stuff toy.
Can you tell how much she loves it?
After dinner, a trolly picked us all up to go around the neighborhood. It took us to these houses that went crazy with their Christmas lights. Some of them was linked to the radio station so you can watch the lights go off with the music. It was amazing.
This is one of the craziest houses we found.
After the trolly ride, we had deserts and a little entertainment. Chris' mom and the kids portrayed the "Nativity". Our Melody starred as baby Jesus. Here is a video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0MvkVZK5zU
At the end of the night we wrapped up and started to open presents. Normally, they would open presents in Christmas day. I don't exactly know how it came from opening only two presents for the night turned out to opening all the presents. Well at least we left the ones for the kids though. We got some pretty good presents. My favorite ones would have to be the stone pan for making pizza from Chris' parents and the purple dress that Chris' sister, Lindsay, got me. We got a lot of really cool stuff. Melody got a jungle gym, which she absolutely loves, and a bunch of clothes and baby toys.
We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family in our lives. What I can't forget is how thankful I am that God sent us his only son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins and how he made this day so special for all of us. I love Christmas! I hope everyone had fun as much as we did! Happy holidays:)
It has been a busy week for me. My grandpa just past away last Saturday and I had to visit his viewing and share my eulogy about him. It went really well and I'm so happy I had the opportunity to do so. My grandpa has a lot of relatives that live here, in the US. Most of them I haven't really met, but they were definitely nice enough to come to the viewing. I will definitely miss my grandpa and I'm so grateful to have such an awesome grandpa. Now I just need to focus on helping my grandma get through this. She is my only family that's close to me and I can't afford to lose another loved one right now.
On a lighter note, we had so much fun celebrating Thanksgiving. Matt and Nina were here to visit us and it was great to get to know them even better. Also, Melody and Kuma got to play with them. Matt did a great a job making Melody smile, by making funny faces. Nina was so sweet and she seemed always concerned about baby Melody,especially when Kuma is always trying to get on the baby.
Melody with Nina and Matt
Our aunt Jill hosted a yummy Thanksgiving dinner. I was trying not to eat too much, but that was really hard to do. There was karaoke singing and the boys were out in the woods riding quads. It was really great to spend time with family. Especially when I get to have break from carrying Melody, since everyone wants to hold her.
Megan circled around the kitchen while holding Melody for half an hour.
I wish that we would have taken them to more places, since they drove all the way from Utah. But it sucks to be on a budget, when going out always cost money. But I'm glad we got to go to San Francisco. We went to Pier 39 where they had amazing shops and had yummy lunch at Bubba gump shrimp. Shrimp is my favorite food, but I recently found out that I'm officially allergic to shrimp, which basically means my life is almost over. But that's okay, I'm still grateful that I can eat fish. Just not shellfishes.
Baby waking up from nap/two hour drive to the SF
Fisherman's Wharf and behind us is the Alcatraz
Bubba gump shrimp
Run Forest! Ruuuun!
We went also went to Fisherman's Wharf and it pretty much reminded of Waikiki. They had that famous clam chowder and sourdough place and as you can see in the picture below these people are pretty serious about their sourdough bread.
We haven't had very many family pictures and I really love this one.
Turtle sourdough breads
Overall. it was a great week. Even though the first few days was very sad, it lighten up pretty quickly because I got to see some family and spend some quality time with them. I have so much to thank for this year. I'm thankful for my family, a healthy and safe pregnancy/labor and most of all, for a beautiful healthy baby.
Our baby girl, Melody, turned 3 months today. It's crazy how fast time goes by and how she's growing so quickly. She already has so much personality and I find it so fun to learn new things about her. Every morning, when she wakes up she would make noises like "ahgoo!' or "aahh" to her elephants (it's basically a mobile of little elephant heads attached to her playpen). Sometimes, she would be up at 5 am talking to the elephants and it would wake up Chris and I. She also has learned to smile a lot if you talk to her or if you're just saying hi. She is very particular with how she wants to be held. She prefers facing front, just so she could see people and join the party. She hates being held like a baby, unless she's sleeping.A few weeks ago, she started to roll over by herself a few times one day. She didn't seem to know what she was doing but it looks like she enjoyed for a bit. Here is a proof.
Bedtime has definitely gotten a lot easier for Chris and I. It seems that she has learned to go to sleep on her own. I usually would put her down give her a binky and hold her hand. If she is having a hard time or if she's just plain fussy, Chris would play the guitar and we would sing her songs. Sometimes I'll play the ukulele to her too. It really calms her down, and she seems to enjoy music very much. Chris and I love music. Why do you think we named her Melody?Anyway, she's gonna grow some more and we're so excited too see what's she gonna do next, in the following months.
As for now, Christmas is around the corner along with the new year. We will be in Chicago for a week to see family and have a fun white Christmas. Then in early next year, Melody and I will be traveling to Japan to meet her Obaa-chan and Oji-chan (my ma and step dad). The 14 hour plane ride would suck, but it should be worth it. There's so much to look forward to!
We didn't do much on Halloween but we had a great time carving pumpkins and dressing up for the trick or treaters.Chris dressed up as a hula boy. He pretty much wore my hula dancing costumes. I dressed up as a Japanese doll, Melody was a ladybug, and Kuma was a bee. I thought of a themed look for the whole family, but since we're watching our spending,we just worked with what we got in our wardrobe.
I know it's been a while since I've updated our blog. I've been very busy with the baby and I've been zombified for the last couple of weeks. But now that I'm back to my normal self again, I can't wait to tell you all the wonderful things that had happened. For now, just wanted to tell you about baby Melo's welcome party.
Baby showers aren't really a custom in Japan nor in the Philippines. So when someone would ask me when I'll have a baby shower, I'd tell them I had no clue. Chris' cousins Adam and Stef were so nice enough to host one for us. It was a co-ed welcome party so everyone was able to come and meet the baby. It went really well and a lot of people came and spent time with us. Here are some of the pics:)
Melody getting ready and smiling for daddy on her changing table
We wore a blue themed outfit. Mothers and babies should always dress alike.
...and of course as everyone knows I'm a huge Hello Kitty lover.The party is obviously a Hello Kitty themed party.
Yay for 0 year old!!
Thanks for all the amazing presents everyone!
I had everyone design a onsie for Melody. They all turned out pretty cute!
Also everyone came with their favorite book with messages in it. Now Melody has all these great books to read.
I'm trying to write without sounding like a whiny baby, but I don't have any other ideas. I have 4 days left till my due date and still, no sign of baby. Whoever said pregnancy is for 9 months, is a total liar. I feel like the days are so long and she's never gonna come out. Sometimes, I just feel like falling on the ground, tummy first, like cracking an egg, so she can come out. But then, I realize that would be a VERY bad idea for me and baby. I just have to accept the fact that she will come out when she's ready. I know I still have the "baby blues", yet to experience. But I'll be more happier once I'm able to hold our "le munchkin" in my arms. Can't wait for the day.
Chris has been really patient with me. He would cook for me, do chores and if I'm lucky, I would even get a massage. I have the best husband ever. I love how he always talks to my belly (the baby) telling her to come out soon and to stop hurting mommy. He's gonna be such a great dad.
I guess I have so much to be thankful for. I have had a healthy pregnancy so far. I didn't get sick like other pregnant women usually would. I had a lot of energy most of the time and I didn't turn out to be one of those crazy, cranky pregnant women. I guess I'm one of those lucky ones. Although, I had a lot of appetite and gained a LOT of weight, I didn't stress about it like I normally would. I know I'm sacrificing my body for the benefit of the baby. Plus, I can always get my body back once the baby is born.
This past couple of weeks have been tough that we have this "waiting game" going on. Despite of the uncomfortableness and all the shenanigans that I've been going through, I am so happy that she's still in my belly, taking her sweet time, instead of spending her first days in an incubator trying to survive. Just thinking of that, makes me feel better already:)
Our aunt Jill and cousin, Hillary, invited me to their house for a crafting activity. We made these adorable apron dresses for babies which was inspired by a local designer in San Francisco. It was definitely such a cute idea for a baby shower present. I was surprised on how easy it was to make. I guess it's because you only use a tiny piece of fabric and just bedazzle away! Also, I do believe having ALL the tools you need makes all the difference. Jill had a high-tech sewing machine where it does embroidery and things you probably can't imagine a sewing machine can do. It was very impressive.
I made the first four dresses in the picture.
This one was coordinated by Hillary and I.
The one on the left was by Hillary and the one on the right was by Jill. Just makes me smile!!
This one is by Jill. Isn't this just so adorable?
I love designing and being creative. I'm almost done with the baby room and recently I have been making hair bows and headbands for Melody. My sister-in-law, Lindsay, taught me how to make them while I was in Chicago and I'm definitely hooked! I just bought a bulk of ribbons and headbands through E-bay for really cheap and went crazy on it. My bow making adventure has already begun.
I just started to plan our "Welcome home baby shower" for the baby. Adam's wife (Chris' cousin), Stefanie, was nice enough to offer and help me plan it. We're still working on details, but it's gonna be a Hello Kitty themed shower! It's not going to be a traditional baby shower for women only, it will be a co-ed party so all our friends and family will be able to come spend time and meet the baby.
I may be going too crazy with preparing for the arrival of this baby. I'm not gonna lie, despite of all the back pains and stress that I've been feeling, I'm having so much fun and it's all worth it.! Having this baby makes us very happy, very excited and most of all grateful. All I wish for right now, is that she will be healthy and Chris and I can be good parents to her (^-^)/*
Few months ago, Kuma had a playdate with our neighbor's pomeranian, Tippy. Not very long after that, Tippy conceived their first baby and named her Darcy. We were expecting to get more puppies but she ended up having just one. It was probably best that we didn't have a new puppy since we're expecting our own very soon. Darcy is very cute and we think she has Kuma's eyes. We plan to have them breed again in several months. Hopefully, the next one will also be as cute as Darcy:)
