HoltFamilyVlog 09.22.2014: Happy, Dancing Baby!

Today's vlog is a shorter one.  I had my 24 week doctor's appointment today (which went very well... But we'll get into those details a bit later on down the road). But after we came home I had a bit of a headache... So I ended up taking a nap.

The weather is definitely changing!  The air is getting crisper and all the leaves are turning such beautiful shades of red, yellow, and orange!  I'm hoping we can get outside for a bit tomorrow to enjoy our first day of fall!!

Good night from Chloe!!

Are you guys just as excited for fall as I am?! ^_^

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HoltFamilyVlog 09.20.2014: Old MacDonald Had a Farm!

Today was another fun filled day with Chloe!  It was a really nice afternoon up here in the Pacific Northwest so we decided to hang out outside for a little bit!  Chloe always loved to look out the window when she was little, and now that she can walk she's having so much fun exploring!

We notice that this little girl has a thing for grass!  It's so funny because most babies that I've known don't really like grass at first!!  She seems to really like playing with it!  It takes us even longer to get to where we wanna go because she always has to stop and check out any new patch of grass she comes across... But it's totally worth the smile on her face.

It's so much fun to watch Chloe discover and learn new things.  She really amazes me every single day with something new that she's learned or picked up!  I've noticed that she likes to try and sing to "Old MacDonald Had a Farm".  So, whenever I hear her making similar sounds to it I sing the song for her!  Today she absolutely amazed me at just how well she knows the song for such a little one!  Please enjoy today's vlog!

Were your little ones afraid of grass?  Or are they nature babies like Chloe!  Also, what nursery rhymes do your kids enjoy you singing to them?

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A Step in the Right Direction

If you've been following my blog for the past few months... You may have noticed a new addition to my sidebar!  This weekend I just received notification that my blog was selected and approved as a Top Mommy Blog.  I have a lot of big goals for Simply Honest Simply Real, and one of the main ones is to really connect with other bloggers who have similar interests as me.  Being accepted into this directory of mommy/family blogs is an indication that I am taking a step in the right direction and is motivating me even more to keep going.

So!  Here's how that cute little button on my sidebar works.  Anytime you visit my blog for the first time in a 24 hour period, please click that button!  It'll take you to the Top Mommy Blog website, but more importantly,  it'll count your click as a vote for my blog.  The button opens up a new window, so you can just close that tab/window to return to my blog.  It's not a contest or anything... It let's Top Mommy Blog know that people are reading and are interested in Simply Honest Simply Real.

Thomas has really been encouraging me to get back into writing.  If I can use my writing and creativity for something good in our lives, may it be documenting our lives or meeting a bunch of great people, I'll take it!  Thank you all for reading and supporting me through this journey... It truly means the world to me.

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HoltFamilyVlog 09.19.2014: "Oh, There! I felt it!"

Today, I was finally able to catch Thomas feeling Peanut moving!  It's so funny because Chloe was the total opposite!  She would be moving and responding all the time to daddy.  Not this little one, the second daddy comes around she plays hard to get!  Well, she's gonna run out of room to hide sooner or later!  I'm glad I was able to capture this moment in our vlog today!

I can't imagine how it must be for the daddies!  They watch us mommies go through the pregnancies, and we feel those little movements a lot sooner than they will!  Even though this little girl is being shy with daddy, I'm glad he's been able to feel her move for at least a week or so now.  Enjoy Thomas' reaction when he feels his baby girl moving.




Any of you other mommies have pregnancies that were very different from one another?  If you're not a mommy, have you ever felt a baby move in someone's belly before?  Thomas always asks me what it feels like.  He wonders how we don't freak out the first time it happens to us!  I told him it's the mommy in us... You're more excited and happy than anything else! Happy Friday everyone!

Favorite Cliches...

There are just so many great prompts for this month's 30 Days of Lists!  Today's prompt?... Favorite Cliches.  

"Marry your best friend."

I am so blessed to have found my best friend at such a young age (13 to be exact...).  Thomas and I have really watched each other grow up from being teenagers with attitudes to [young] adults spreading their wings for the first time and even starting a family.  When I think of what defines a best friend... I think of someone who will always be 100% honest with me (even when it may hurt). Someone who knows me maybe just a little bit too well.  Someone who is able to know how I'm feeling and even what I'm thinking without me saying a single word.  I think of someone who I can have some pretty bad fights with... But at the end of the day there are no hard feelings, just lessons learned.

I don't know how I would've been able to build a foundation for our marriage without truly being Thomas' friend first.  The level of trust that we have and how well we know each other truly is the result of a deep friendship that has been growing over the span of more than (...holy crap) a decade.


"A baby changes everything."
And any other cliches about how much becoming a parent changes your life.

Thomas kept telling me that once we had a baby the way I look at the world would be totally different.  And I knew he was right... And I would agree with him... But I don't think that either of us truly knew the extent to which our babies would change our lives.  To be honest, when I was growing up I never thought I would want to live on the mainland.  I knew I wanted to travel, but I never really considered actually raising my family on the mainland.  After losing our jobs last year and becoming parents, Thomas and I really started to analyze the opportunities around us differently.  We also started to really take a look at what kind of future we wanted for our family.  That's when we made the decision to give life on the continental U.S. a shot.  We're only young once (haha... another cliche I should probably add to my list)...  And what everyone tells us is totally, 100% right: I don't want to be struggling later on in life when I should be carefree... But I don't want to be unhappy either.  I would much rather struggle now while pursuing what truly makes us happy.  Even possibly falling a few times while trying to reach for our dreams... But as long as we learn our lesson and get back up... We're going to keep reaching to better our lives.  Because that's what happens when you have a baby... They motivate you to be the best and provide the best that you can.


"Nothing worth having comes easy."

Nothing that I thank God for every night came easily to me.  They all came with their own form of pain, sadness, criticism, struggle, etc. but at the end of it I have a beautiful list of things to thank God for.  From the night we found out we were going to have Chloe, we've tried our best to throw our hands up to God.  Leaving it all to him.  We put in the work by applying for jobs, going to the interviews, making sacrifices, doing the research... But we leave the outcomes to Him.  I ask Him to give me the strength to take the rejection as Him telling me that that's not the opportunity for me... While also asking Him to give me the courage to step out of my comfort zone to take risks and put myself out there.  I may come up against rejection and criticism... But if it makes me happy and I'm being true to myself and my values.  I'll make it.


So, what are a few of your favorite cliches?

Keiki Update 09.12.2014

Hello, everyone!

I think it's about time we do another Keiki Update.  You can read our last "official" update here...  That post was written a few days after we found out that Chloe was going to be having a little sister.  Since then, quite a bit has happened!

Let's start with little Miss Chloe-Ann...

I think it's pretty safe to say that Chloe is officially walking.  We haven't seen her crawl in the past few days and she's actually getting pretty fast and good at maneuvering.  She still needs a bit of work walking outside with shoes on... especially with shoes on.  She's actually pretty used to her slippers/sandals, but put shoes on her and she reminds me of The Croods.


Funny enough she's watching this movie RIGHT now... And as I'm writing this... the shoe scene just ended...
Along with walking, Chloe is also talking.  Chloe has always been a pretty vocal baby... When she was two months old she would be awake for an hour after her feedings eaaaaarllyyy in the morning just babbling away!  It's amazing how fast she's learning different sounds.  When she says something, we say a word back to her that sounds similar.  I just love watching the expressions on her face change as she studies our faces as we sound out the word.  Then lo and behold... A few days later she'll be saying similar sounding (baby versions) of the words we were trying to teach her.  
Yesterday, there was a moment when I noticed that both Thomas and I were watching Chloe and we both had smiles on our faces.  It wasn't like we were thinking or worrying about anything... I could really feel that we both were just taking in that moment.  Just watching Chloe and truly appreciating  how big of a blessing this little person has been in our lives.  I'm really glad that I caught that moment... It's moments like those that warm my heart and let me know that I'm doing something right and that we're on the right path (and it makes me even more excited for when Peanut will be here). 
This past week has been such a happy one for Thomas and I.  We celebrated Chloe's first birthday exactly one week ago.  I made myself a promise before Chloe was born: start documenting our family's journey... especially the lives of our kids.  For this occasion I decided to put to use the monthly photos I took of Chloe (plus all the extra daily ones =P) and compile them into a slideshow for her.  I included her smashing into her birthday cake at the end as well.  Please enjoy a glimpse into Chloe's first year with us!
Now onto Peanut...
Peanut is supposedly 23 weeks & 2 days old and (according to my Baby Bump app) is about the size of a large mango: 11.5 inches long & 1.1 pounds (that's a huge mango...).  I've been able to feel Peanut moving for quite a while now, which isn't a surprise since they say you feel a lot more with later pregnancies than your first.  But for some reason I kept thinking that Thomas was able to feel Chloe that early on too.  Silly me... I took the time to look back to a post I wrote last year (seeeee... another good reason for me to keep up with this) and he felt Chloe move when I was about 22 weeks pregnant.  Well!  Thomas finally got to feel her move early this morning.  I was already sleeping and he was just coming to bed.  I honestly thought I was dreaming, but when he woke up this morning I asked him if he had felt her and he had a big smile on his face. Yay! =]
I've been feeling soooo much better too!  My appetite has definitely returned and as long as my tummy doesn't get too empty, I'm good. =] I've been making it a point to drink lots of water (I have a 40 oz hydroflask that's filled with ice all day everyday that I'm constantly refilling) and I think that's also been helping to reduce the number of migraines I've been getting... but in turn increasing the number of bathroom visits I make... But that's okay it was going to happen sooner or later.
Something new that I'm feeling now that I don't think I was aware of when I was pregnant with Chloe are Braxton Hicks.  Every so often part of my belly just gets really tight.  Nothing painful or anything, just tightness.  After a few minutes, they go away (and they don't happen regularly... I can go days and not feel them).  This started happening after my last appointment so I'm going to try to remember to mention it at my next one.
Thomas and I have a first name picked out (still finalizing the spelling though).  We decided to aim for a two syllable, hyphenated first name (like Chloe-Ann).  Chloe's name was pretty symbolic.  I came up with the Ann part in honor of my Nana, Anna, and Chloe's middle name is Thomas' mom's Chinese middle name.  I came up with her Hawaiian name using the Hawaiian name I used in my Hawaiian language and culture courses in school.  Amazingly and coincidentally her entire name ended up having a flower theme to it.  Ideally, I would like to do the same for Peanut, keeping it within a theme.  Unfortunately, we're probably going to wait a bit longer to share her name.  We want to at least finalize the spelling before sharing her first name.  But when we do... I'll definitely let you know! Until then... I hope you all have a great Friday!

Since it's Friday... Why not do a Flashback Friday!
One of the first pictures we took together.

Chloe's first time going for a swim!

Every Night Before I Go To Bed...

Day 6's prompt for 30 Days of Lists is "Every night before I go to bed..."  The following are things I do every single night without fail, no matter what =]

Also... If you haven't seen it yet, I put together a video for our daughter, Chloe's, first birthday!  It includes her cake smash (and boy did she smash into that cake!).  Have a great Saturday everyone!  We're gonna try to clean up the house... =\  I also have to edit yesterday's vlog... Busy busy day!

The first video is our usual daily vlog... The opening day for the Washington State Fair happened to fall on Chloe's birthday so we decided to check it out!  Chloe has never been to a fair before... And we have never experienced a fair on such a grand scale before!!  Her birthday slideshow is at the end of our vlog (including her cake smash!).

This is just her slide show video if you wanted to just check that out!

Happy First Birthday, Baby Girl

Today marks a very special day in mine and Thomas' life.  Exactly one year ago we welcomed our beautiful baby girl, Chloe-Ann into the world.  I'm hoping I can make this an annual thing... But I want to write a letter to my children on each of their birthdays.  As something to remind me of their big milestones... And as something for them to read later when they get older.

Dear Chloe...

Words cannot explain how much you have changed your daddy's and my life.  Since we found out you were on your way, all my dreams started to come true.  The history that your dad and I have has allowed him to truly get to know me and my dreams.  The first thing he said to me when he finally regained the ability to speak after seeing the positive test was, "Everything is going to change.  I promise..."

And since that day... He's been absolutely right.

At the encouragement of Nana, we decided to get married.  After years of late night phone calls, talking about our dreams of having a family... It was actually happening.  I still look at your father and ask him how he knew it would be me the whole time... And he always says one thing: God.

You truly are the biggest blessing (both you and your sister).  You grow leaps and bounds every day.  Your cute little (often times sassy) personality just leaves your dad and I cracking up.  You are so smart... And you pick up on things very quickly.  You still love Baby Einstein, but now you're starting to imitate the words!  You also absolutely love all things Christmas... Just like you're mommy, Tutu, and Gramaw Kathy!  Whenever we don't know what to watch as a family we always end up turning on The Mistle-Tones.  I think that's why you started doing your little funny face after it went on a little hiatus.  I also notice you like to shimmy your shoulders just like Tia Mowry-Hardict does when she's singing the "12 Days of Christmas".  Your daddy and I are so excited to experience our first fall and winter in the PNW as a family!

You have six teeth (with a bunch more that are making their way out... including at least one molar) and beautiful long brown hair that everyone admires.  Mommy is totally in love with your long curly eyelashes and big eyes (you clearly got those from your father).  You'll give anything a taste at least once... And for the most part you'll eat pretty much anything.  Your giggles are infectious and daddy always knows how to make you laugh or feel better...

So much has happened in this past year... And I know it's only the beginning!  I look forward to everything the future brings for you.  I know there will be disagreements... Times when you may think we're being unfair or too stern... But I know that you will eventually see that it's only because we love you.  As you grow up, I am going to constantly strive to be the best role model that I can be for you.  I want you to always see the beauty in life, especially the beauty inside you.  Never forget how beautiful you are.  And never forget how special you are.  Never be afraid to follow your heart and know that your family will always love you.  ♥

♥Mommy & Daddy♥

The following slideshow seriously epitomizes all my hopes and dreams for this blog and our YouTube channel.  Thomas and our kids inspire and motivate me to no end... Everything in this slideshow from the song, to the pictures, the moments, and for us... The feelings and emotions captured within each picture are truly how I feel about my family.  There are no words for me to express how much I love my family... and how blessed I feel everyday to have them in my life.  Please enjoy my special birthday tribute to Chloe...

HoltFamilyVlog 08.30.2014: Playtime with Mommy!!

Today was a pretty cold day (cold for us at least!!)... Luckily, we like and appreciate this kind of weather.  I just spent all day playing with Chloe... Her little personality is just so funny and cute!  Enjoy today's video!

HoltFamilyVlog 08.27.2014: A Rough Day for Munchkin

When Chloe first started teething she got like six teeth within the span of two and a half months or so... But it wasn't too bad.  She wasn't super fussy or grumpy... But it seems that this time around she's having a much harder time.  It could be because a bunch of teeth are coming in again like the last time.  And she's got her molars left so... We'll have to keep an eye on her.  I also woke up feeling very tired so we spent most of the day at home trying to help Chloe feel better.  Hopefully she feels better tomorrow!  Enjoy the video!

Simply Real: Keiki Update & Today's Vlog (Impossible to Clean with Chloe)

Okay!  I figured it was time for another Keiki Update!!  This past week has been a very exciting one for the entire family.  I finally started putting up our family's vlog (which you can check out here... Please subscribe!)  I also post a small little blog post to go with each vlog which will be filed under the vlog label. =]  This is our way of giving our family back home in Hawai'i a chance to watch as our family grows.

Now... Onto the kiddies.

Chloe is now 11 and a half months old.  This month she reached a very big milestone: walking!!  You can watch her in action in August 22's vlog.  She literally woke up from her nap earlier that week and just decided to get up and walk.  Everyday she's taking more and more steps...

She still only has six teeth... But she has two more sloowly making their way up.

One of her new favorite movies is Mulan... But she still loves to rock out to The Mistle-Tones every so often.  She's also back into watching her Baby Einstein series.  She loves the animals and noises they make.

Chloe will be having a doctor's appointment when she turns one so we can have more updates when that appointment happens!

Onto Peanut...

If you haven't already... I suggest you watch our very first vlog: Our 20 Week Ultrasound and Gender Reveal.  I know that we are going to love looking back as a family through these videos...  So, as it turns out.  Peanut is a girl!  I told Thomas that it's funny because all this time I kind of thought I wanted to have a boy next.  But now that I know that we are having a girl... I'm kind of relieved.  All I ask is that our baby be healthy, but there are just so many reasons for why I am happy that we're having another girl!

For example... We have a lot of pink stuff already (not to mention clothes).  Being on our own now means that we need to be a lot smarter with our money.  Having another baby girl already took quite a bit of a load off of my mind.  Peanut and Chloe are going to be about 16 months a part.  They can practically share clothes for their entire lives!  I know that this is something that my sisters and I always take advantage of (you should see us at our family garage sales... we probably make the most money off of each other buying each others clothes!). =P  Thomas and I both know that having two kids close in age could also come with a lot of bickering and what not (but what family doesn't have their share of misunderstandings)... But we are confident that we can teach our children about what's important about family: the unique love and bond that we share.

Another reason is that there's just something so precious and darling about a baby girl.  Don't get me wrong.. baby boys are absolutely adorable too!  But just something about the daintiness of a baby girl... I also told Thomas that his baby girls are going to be the ones to truly teach him what it means to be a man.  You know what I mean?...  Having to really be responsible for taking care of his family, having to be the protector and provider... Yet the nurturer and lover.

Peanut is measuring right on track (we are about 20 and a half weeks in now).  At our next appointment, we will be discussing whether or not it would be best for us to schedule a c-section or to attempt a VBAC.  Because of the way Chloe was facing when she was born, my doctor eventually decided it was best to go through with a cesarean.  Our thinking is that we may be able to plan a lot better if we have another c-section.  We both know what to pretty much expect with the healing process... But I guess we'll have to see what the doctor says as well.

Now that we are well into the second trimester I am finally beginning to feel a lot better.  I don't get nauseated as much anymore (only if my stomach gets too empty... which I try to avoid anyway)... but I also notice that I also have to make sure I don't eat too big of a meal or else my stomach will turn.  My energy level has picked up a bit and I don't get as many migraines anymore... It turns out I have actually lost five pounds since the beginning of the pregnancy but the doctor said it's okay since baby is measuring on track and I still have half way to go.

This continues to be such an exciting time in our lives... And we can't help but feel more and more like we are finding where we need to be in life.

I read the following quote on Amanda Rose Zampelli's blog. . . And it is very appropriate for where Thomas and I are in our lives right now.  I want this to be my mantra...

Today's Vlog -- Impossible to Clean with Chloe...

HoltFamilyVlog 08.22.2014: Daddy's Princess

There never was a doubt in my mind that Thomas would be a great father.  It's so funny that he keeps wanting a boy... When really... There's no other person who can melt a man's heart more than a baby girl! Watch Thomas just GUSH over our daughter...

Also... Chloe is reaching another important milestone!  I don't know if it's just the pregnant momma hormones but I cried when I watched the final vlog with Thomas before uploading it...

Simply Real: Our First Vlog is Live!

So... Thomas and I have been talking about trying to put together vlogs for quite sometime.  I have to admit... It's my fault that it's never really gotten done since I'm the one who really knows how to edit and all that jazz (hubs is the techie guy who supplies me with the hardware and tech support).  But like I said in my recap of VloggerFair (which you can read about here)... Being around all of those vloggers (especially the family vloggers)... It really gave me the final motivation I needed to get on top of it.  I mean honestly... I take enough pictures and videos of Chloe to put something up everyday, so why not give it a shot?  We're at a very interesting point in our lives... So why not take the chance to record the memories.

So!  Without further adieu... Here's our first vlog!

Simply Real: Chloe Turns 9 Months Old + (Almost) 11 Weeks Pregnant

Not even joking... this was the first time she ever did this!!  To commemorate turning 9 months old, Chloe discovered that the toilet paper goes a bit further than she had originally anticipated.  Such a curious baby...

I know I'm late on this blog post *-_- I haven't exactly been feeling too good (more on that later...) but on to the good stuff!

On the fifth, the Chloe turned 9 months old.  I know I probably say this every month but she just gets keeps growing leaps and bounds and she never ceases to amaze Thomas and me.  This past month she's learned how to (safely) get off the bed without someone reminding her what to do, she constantly wants to feed herself (both with her hands and she tries to take the utensils from us), she can pull herself to a standing position and is practicing how to keep her balance without holding on to anything.

She has five teeth that have completely broken through, and she currently is dealing with the sixth one making its appearance (she's been really fussy the past few nights... and extra drooly).  For the first few teeth, she didn't seem too bothered by them coming through.  But these last few have made her extra fussy (especially when she's tired) and clingy.  We use the Hyland's Teething Tablets when her gums seem to really be bothering her.  We also started brushing her teeth with the Orajel Tooth/Gum Cleanser.  My dentist said that a lot of irritation comes from the plaque build up on their gums, and burshing regularly has seemed to help her.  She really enjoys it.

The first night Chloe got her teeth/gums brushed!

Chloe will still eat pretty much anything.  She seems to love spicy food and juicy fruits.  Thomas is perfecting his signature fried rice recipe... which is a bit on the spicy side and she absolutely loves it.  She doesn't even bat an eye.  I think it probably has something to do with all the vermicelli noodles with grilled pork & spring rolls topped with sriracha and chili oil I ate while I was pregnant... yuuuuum I could really go for some of that right now... Anyway!  Costco had some gorgeous mangos on sale so we bought a box and well... Chloe loved them!

In fact...

She loved them so much...

Daddy went back to buy her more =P No... but she really does love them.  She loves them more than peaches.

Aside from eating, Chloe loves reading and talking.  She loves to look at the pictures in the books and turning the pages.  She loves to imitate sounds that she likes... especially when she hears songs and singing.  Her little personality just keeps blossoming more and more everyday...

Along with Chloe being 9 months old now, I am also (almost) 11 weeks pregnant.  It really is amazing how different this pregnancy is (so far) compared to when I was pregnant with Chloe.  I barely had any nausea or headaches when I was pregnant with Chloe.  The only real problem was I was tired a lot.  My energy level seems to be pretty good this time around (probably since it has to be with all the running around we do with Chloe), but I have never had so much nausea in my life!  Once simple tasks such as brushing my teeth are enough to make me gag (or worse...) and when the nausea is coupled with migraines (which by the way run in my family) it's almost unbearable.  It was the worse the last week Thomas was gone and his first week back.  If I was lucky I would have a migraine or some nausea... when I was unluckily... I'd have both.  When you're pregnant a lot of the medicine a person would take to relieve their headaches... are kinda off limits to you now.  It was a lot of trying to just take it easy and rest.  My stomach was pretty unpredictable as well... somedays eating a little bit of something would be enough to make me feel better... other days nothing at all would make my stomach stop turning.  Luckily... this past week has gotten a little bit better.  I think we're finding a new routine that works for us as a family and we're slowly getting back in to the swing of everything (which allows me to sneak in a nap).  I'm hoping that once we pass the first trimester mark, the nausea will subside.  Keeping my fingers crossed...

Oh, I'm also breaking out like crazy.  That kinda happened when I was pregnant with Chloe, but not this early on.

Food cravings (which amazingly will be the only things that don't make my stomach ever turn): Pizza... Steaks... Salads (of all sorts: potato, macaroni, caesar, asian, cole slaw, you name it, I'll probably wanna eat it)... Vermicelli noodles... Spicy food... Ugh... I love spicy food... Korean food... Garlic... Thomas' breakfast omelets...

I also have a super nose which sometimes turn me off of food.  For example, we make sure the kitchen is clean (aside from Chloe's last bottle of the night).  I hate waking up in the morning to find dishes in the sink and a dirty kitchen.  So we've been making it a habit to make sure all the dishes are washed, the stove, counters, and sink are wiped down every single night.  But the past few days I've been smelling eggs.  Not even rotten eggs... just eggs.  And it was disgusting.  Of course, Thomas couldn't smell it... but finally by the third morning he said he possibly smelled a whiff of it.  I think we may have finally gotten rid of the source... but every morning I did not want to eat eggs until that smell stopped bothering me.

Other than the tummy and migraine problems things have been great.  I'm just so glad that Thomas is finally back home!  Chloe and I were getting tired of staying cooped up at home all day.  I hope everyone has a great work week!