Simply Real: The Date Has Been Set!

That date has been set... to what? You may ask...

Our big 2,660 miles journey from Aiea, HI to Tacoma, WA!!

Now... this may be a bit of a shock for some... but I promise! We've thought this thing through... and it isn't a new idea to us.  In fact, it's a seedling that has been germinating for a few years already.  I go over a few reasons as to why we're making this move in a previous blog post which you can read here.

Today was the first sunny day in quite a while (I joke with Thomas that God is preparing us for the WA weather since it's been so consistently drizzly these past few weeks)... so I took advantage of it and went for a walk with Chloe.  I honestly don't remember when we went on our last neighborhood walk.  I don't know how to explain it... but I have never felt so at peace with everything in my life before.  And I'm taking that as a good omen...

Thomas and I were planning on moving towards the end of the summer... but we happened to secure a place sooner!

Ever since Thomas and I lost our jobs last year (2 months before Chloe was born) our faith in God has grown stronger.  And I'm not going to lie... we definitely had our share of bad luck (in fact ask Thomas about what happened today... you'll probably be confused and asking yourself "how can she be so happy and at peace with everything after that happened?!").  But no matter what!  We stayed positive... and things always fell into place.  Everything is falling into place (a bit sooner than expected) but when does God ever go according to your schedule.

I can't explain how excited we are for this next chapter... It's almost like these last few weeks are going by so fast!  But at the same time... it's not going by fast enough... I really truly appreciate all the positive thoughts and encouraging words from everyone!  It adds to the excitement ^_^

Anyway... Have a great week everyone!!

enjoy a few pictures from this past week <3

We had a garage sale [that was a total fail sale wise... but was a great family bonding opportunity] and Chloe experienced bubbles for the first time!

A few pictures I snapped while on our walk today!

Poor thing... her first tooth completely broke through about a week or so ago... and now the second bottom tooth PLUS the top two are all coming in at the same time =[

She loves this window... and she can stand there without anyone's help now =[

Random Things We're Into 04.25.2014

I haven't posted a Random Things We're Into for a while... and I've been meaning to.  I've come across some pretty touching videos.

Post by James Ellis.

Go ahead and take a moment to gather yourself and dry your eyes... Tell me not... Weren't those videos great?...

A hui hou,

Simply Real: Happy Easter!

Sorry for such a late post!  Easter was such a fun packed day.  We spent most of it at my step-sister's house.  Since we weren't sure when would be the next time we would ALL be together we decided to take advantage of the occasion and we took some family pictures!  That's another reason for why this post is a bit late... I was having so much fun looking through all the pictures and showing them to Thomas.

Anyway... Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all had a blessed weekend with those you hold dearest to your heart... I know we did. <3  Enjoy some of the pictures from Sunday!

Mom, Uncle Paul, and all of the siblings.

One of a billion attempts to take a picture of Gramaw, Papa, & all the grandkids + 1 great grandchild.  But look at my mom and Chloe smiling perfectly!

Another attempt at a grandchild/great grandchild pic.

The Brady Bunch!

"First, we had each other; then we had you.  Now, we have everything." 
Words cannot express how much our lives have changed since we knew you were on your way... Thank you God for all your amazing blessings.

"Families are like fudge--mostly sweet, with a few nuts."  
Or in our case... a whole lotta nuts! >.<

Our nieces and nephews had a blast decorating eggs!

Checking out how much loot she made out with!

Easter baskets!

Meticulously calculating...

Even the big kids had fun! =]

Have a great week everyone!

Simply Real: I Just Don't Feel Good...

So... I tried to come up with a great post for this week... but I got sick and it just ain't gonna happen. I'm one of those (un)lucky people who gets migraines.  Although, I must admit that I hadn't had a really bad one for quite a while.  I don't know if it's the vog, the strange weather, or what... but I developed a sore throat and I just couldn't shake it.  I'm also very (un)fortunate to have asthma... Whenever I got sick when I was younger, it went straight to my chest.  I would wheeze, have trouble breathing, UGH... I was miserable.  I finally got an inhaler that I was instructed to use whenever I was wheezing.  I haven't needed that thing since high school... Sadly, I'm wheezing... which leads to coughing... and anyone who's had a migraine knows how sensitive you become even to the slightest movements, flicker of light, or influx of sound.  My... head... was... throbbing.  I just wanted to crawl into a nice dark room, with lots of soft pillows and blankets, soothing music softly playing... and sleep.

Luckily... Chloe is such an angel.  She was so good for me today!  We took it easy today.

She used to look funny with beanies on... but she looks pretty gosh darn cute with a slouchy one on!  Maybe I'll crochet one for her...

Those lashes!!

Silly (teething) girl!

<3

No matter what... this girl always manages to put a smile on my face.  She's the sweetest baby there ever was.  Until next time guys!

[ps] I'm trying to "revamp" the blog... and this includes getting myself on a schedule so that I can more efficiently keep track of what I want going on here.  Please be patient with me!

April Goals

They say in order to break a bad habit (or to form a good one) you need to constantly remind yourself about what you're trying to accomplish.  So... that's what I'm going to do!  I want to start posting my monthly goals here so I can see them regularly, while listing smaller weekly goals on top of my monthly goals in my Erin Condren Life Planner.

Speaking of my Life Planner (which I'm still anxiously waiting for...), that leads me to the first of my goals: be more organized.  Last year, I did a pretty awesome job at keeping up with my planner.  I listed all of Thomas' and my appointments/meetings/when bills were due etc. etc.  When Chloe was born I sorta stopped using my planner and started to lose track of things.  Of course a large part of that was the fact that I was a new mommy and I had a newborn... but 7 months later, I think it's time to reorganize our lives and figure out a new system that works for all of us!

Next is to stop making excuses.  Thomas noticed that I said "I wanna do this..." or "I wanna try that..." a lot but I never actually did it.  When he asked me why not... I always had a list of excuses.  One day he told me that I'm full of excuses and that if I keep living that way I'll never get anything done.  So!  When I find myself about to make an excuse for why I'm not going to do something or why I should do it later... I tell myself cut the excuses and just do it.  It's amazing how much has changed since I took on this new attitude.  I find that I'm starting to do a better job at keeping up with things around the house (of course it's not perfect but I'm working on it!)... I get more done in a day while using my time wisely... and most importantly I make sure I (or if Thomas is home we all go) take Chloe outside for at least an hour.  One of our New Year's resolutions was to lead a more active lifestyle... and so far we're doing a pretty good job!  Chloe loves being outside... and we all get to spend more time together without sitting in front of a TV or computer.

This leads me to my next goal... I want to be active.  I want to make sure that I do some kind of activity that will benefit my mind and body... and essentially my soul.  Thomas started meditating a while back and he recently taught me what he does... it's nothing crazy technical.  Just focused breathing... and really focusing on relaxing and tensing certain muscles.  If I finish everything I need to do, I try to meditate while Chloe is down for a nap.  It's amazing how fast 10 minutes or even half an hour can go by.  Another favorite activity we love to do as a family is to walk...  And we'll walk anywhere!  The mall, the park, all around our hill.  If it's just Chloe and I... I'll walk for at least an hour to an hour and a half or I do an exercise my sister-in-law, Val, taught me.  What you'll need is a good area to run, with evenly spaced "markers".  These markers can be light poles... fence poles... anything that stretches a good distance with these markers consistently spaced the whole way.  So... What I do is I walk around a bit just to get warmed up.  Then I walk to this stretch of road near my house.  When I reach the first light pole on that street I start sprinting as hard as I can... as soon as I reach the next light pole I stop sprinting and I walk.  I walk until I reach the next light pole, which is where I begin sprinting as hard as I can again.  You continue to switch off sprinting, running, sprinting, running.  I try to do this for at least half an hour.  I try to make sure I go outside and exercise whenever Thomas works... which is usually five times a week now (we have a jogging stroller and Chloe loves to go running with us).  This is what works for us right now... and I want to make sure I keep it up and keep pushing myself to be healthier.

My last goal is probably going to be a life goal for me... I want to make sure that I do everything for a reason.  I don't want any of my actions to be wasted.  I have this one life to live... and I want to make the best of it for myself and my family.  I guess this goes a long with my goal of stop making excuses.  If I have the time and energy to improve myself or improve things for my family... I want to do it.  At the end of my life... I want to look back and know that I gave everything I had to live the best life that I possibly could.

Do you set goals for yourself?  If so... what are your goals for this month?

Until next time...

7 Months Old & Chloe's Six Month Check-Up

Guess who's 7 months old now (still can't believe she's only 5 short months away from being a year old)!!!

Wednesday, I took Chloe to her six month check-up... like three weeks late >.< Hehe... Thomas started his job and we got caught up in trying to adjust to the new scheduling and routine... Yada-yada...

Anyway... On to the important stuff.

Chloe's doing absolutely great! She's such a blessed little girl... she's still very tiny (only in the 10th percentile for her weight)... and her height is doing pretty well (she fluctuates... @ her 4 month check up she was in the 75 percentile for height... this time more in the 25-50 percentile).  Doctor isn't alarmed at all at how tiny she is given that she is full of SO much energy and determination. Thomas and I decided that we do want our kids to be vaccinated so Chloe received 3 vaccines and the flu shot.  She was slightly warmer than normal the next day but luckily that was it.  Still no teeth! Although we can see where her two bottom teeth are slowly making their way through.  I'm so glad that everything is a-okay with our little Coco Puff.

Her appetite hasn't changed... in fact it's probably grown.  She can eat more than my nearly 2 year old nephew in one sitting sometimes.  She'll eat practically anything still... except avocados.  She developed some stranger anxiety a few weeks ago but it's slowly going away.  She absolutely loves bath time and Baby Einstein still... and she loves to play tickle games with her daddy.  Also, her hair has grown out enough so we can put it up in a little palm tree!  She's also been sleeping through the night for the past week and a half or so.

This little girl is so amazing... Thomas and I thank God everyday for blessing us with such a sweet, silly, smart baby. We can never say it enough... but she never stops surprising us... Speaking of which... when we came back home from her appointment it was time for Chloe to go down for a nap. I put her down in her crib to go to sleep. I could tell after a few minutes that she no longer was ready for a nap... when I went to check on her this is what I found...

 

Chloe figured out how to pull herself to a standing position!  Last week, Thomas and I were watching her in her crib... she was kneeling and she was trying to reach one of the toys that it hanging on the side of her crib.  You could see her moving her feet, trying to figure out how to move them underneath herself.  I told Thomas, "I bet you that in one week... give it two max... she will figure out how to stand up on her own."  And lo and behold! 

A video from Sunday night... 3 days before she accomplished her goal!

I love being a mommy...  Have a great weekend everyone!

Daily Dose of Chloe 04.04.2014

Chloe JUST woke up from a nap... but I guess Daddy was just so comfortable...

Daily Dose of Chloe 04.03.2014

Today, while I was posting Daily Dose of Chloe on Instagram, Chloe was digging through laundry that needed to folded and put away... and she found treasure!

A dryer sheet!! She was so amazed by it and had fun playing with it (and trying to put it on her mouth) for quite a while.

Simply Real: Happy 21 Birthday, Lauren!

Today is my little sister, Lauren's, 21st birthday!! Nope, nope... it's not a joke, she really is an April Fool's baby. =] Anyways... we got together for a little lunch at Bubba Gump's in Ala Moana.  Here are a few pictures!

Daddy, Chloe, & Nana

My lunch: Sauteed Opakapaka & Spinach on top of Garlic Mashed Potatoes with a Lobster Butter sauce! Yum!

The birthday girl, Brayden, and Gung Gung (grandpa in Chinese).

Thomas even took a few practice shots with the camera!

Dad's signature silly pose.

Thomas captured quite a few shots of Chloe!

Happy birthday to any other April babies!! Have a good week everyone!