HoltFamilyVlog 09.24.2014: "Games is Life."

Today was a beautiful day here in Washington.  It wasn't as rainy as the past few days have been.  I woke up not feeling too good... It was one of the mornings when you wake up and you feel like you didn't sleep at all.  Meh... So I spent most of the day trying to get rid of my headache, and I eventually took a nap.  Since I slept for a few hours, Thomas basically entertained Chloe today.  =]

If you know Thomas, you know that he's quite a hardcore gamer.  And has been for pretty much as long as anyone can remember (just kidding... that may be a slight exaggeration).  It's just a part of him... But I think it adds to his funny personality. =]

Do your other halves have any guilty "hobbies" that they can't live without? =]

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Good night from Chloe! She's so funny... She started off facing the OTHER way. =]

HoltFamilyVlog 09.23.2014: First Day of Fall!

If you didn't know, today was the first day of fall!!! For us Hawai'i kids... This changing of seasons is a big deal to us.  I've always loved the fall/holiday season, even when I lived in Hawai'i.  I just loved the atmosphere and spirit it brought.  One of the main reasons for why we left all the sunshine for more overcast skies, is because we prefer rain over heat.  Chloe's never really played out in the rain before, but she's always been eager to explore outside.  It was no surprise to us that she totally enjoyed this sweater weather!

This rain gutter was even more interesting with all the rain water gushing out of it...

I love seeing them walk together.

Please enjoy today's vlog!  We all agreed that we're pretty excited for what this holiday/fall season may/will bring!


Are you and your family excited for this upcoming fall/holiday season?  What are some family traditions that you look forward to?

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HoltFamilyVlog 09.21.2014: Nature Baby

Can you believe that today makes one month of vlogging?!  You can check out our first vlog here... It's when we find out the gender of our little one. =]  It's crazy to see how much has changed in just one month... It makes me even more excited to see where this road can take me!

Our little bookworm.

Anyway... We didn't do anything special today!  We went grocery shopping... again.  Sometimes we just walk around and end up walking out with only a handful of things.  We like to look at all the produce and different foods.  And it's just fun to be out and about together.

Try as I might... Nothing will get this girl to leave her books on the shelf for more than a few hours.

It was another nice afternoon in the PNW, so Chloe got to explore outside again.  She was totally intrigued by one doorstep that she came across...  Please enjoy today's vlog!


What are your favorite family activities for end of summer/beginning of fall?

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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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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!

HoltFamilyVlog 09.18.2014: Baby Bookworm

If you've been following along with my daily 30 Days of Lists posts, you've probably figured out that one of my hobbies is reading!  I love reading blogs, books, news articles, you name it.  Anyways, it seems that Chloe has the same love for books as I do.  She's always taking all of her books off their shelves and she flips through them all the time.  Today we read a Curious George: Curious About Christmas and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you hear? (just to name a few)!

Enjoy today's vlog!

What were some of your favorite children's books?  Do your kids or grandkids have a particular book that they love to read over and over?

HoltFamilyVlog 09.17.2014: Crazy Christmas Lady!

Yesss... Crazy Christmas Lady strikes again!  To be honest, these sightings are probably just going to become more and more frequent.  I don't know how to explain how excited I am for this fall and holiday season!  Every time we leave the house I'm pointing out to Thomas all the trees that have leaves that are changing color on them. ^_^

Is anyone else this excited for the upcoming fall/winter season?! No?... Just me?... Give me sometime... I'll get you in the spirit! =]  Thanks for checking out today's vlog!

HoltFamilyVlog 09.16.2014: (The Beginning of) Autumn Leaves

Can you believe that summer officially ends in one week?! Also, Christmas is 100 days away (well technically 99 by the time this post/vlog is live).  But holy moly!!  Anywho... We spent today cleaning the entire apartment.  But we of course still managed to have a lot of fun with the Munchkin!  Please enjoy the vlog!

HoltFamilyVlog 09.15.2014: Getting Ready for Christmas?!

Yesterday's vlog is a short but sweet one!  It's filled with a bunch of my favorite things: baby giggles, Thomas' mom, Target, and Christmas things!!  Yes... I'm one of those crazy Christmas all-year kinda people.  I just love the feeling in the air during the holiday/fall season... ^_^

Enjoy the vlog!

HoltFamilyVlog 09.14.2014: Chloe and Spaghetti

I think that it's pretty safe to assume that when spaghetti and a kid cross paths... It's gonna end up getting pretty messy!  I hope you enjoy yesterday's vlog!

Best Places to Find Inspiration...

I'm excited to see what everyone else has for today's 30 Days of Lists prompt: best places to find inspiration.  Here is my list for where I draw inspiration from sometimes!

Amanda Rose Zampelli's blog is actually where I first heard of 30 Days of Lists!  I had been getting lost on the internet searching for inspiration for my own blog.  This was back in March, when I was kind of starting to lose momentum with keeping up with my New Year's Resolution of trying to put up a new blog post every week.  As I looked more into 30 Days of Lists, I had learned that it was a growing community of all different types of people (crafters, bloggers, just people who like to write lists, etc...).  The prompts seemed intriguing enough, and the commitment level was totally manageable.  You basically put as much or as little effort into this daily challenge... So long as you put together some sort of list... All while encouraging me to get my creative juices flowing at least once a day for a whole month.  Anyway... that's my short summary of how I even got into this daily listing challenge, and how I found Amanda Rose Zameplli's blog!

I believe I found the last two blogs on Pinterest while looking for any health related blogs.

I loved how bubbly, friendly, and real Julie Fagan from Peanut Butter Fingers was.  After browsing her blog for just a few minutes, I really felt like I was getting to know her!  Her style of writing and daily posts continue to inspire me even months after I stumbled upon her blog.

I found Erica Castillo's blog, To the Sea, when I was looking up healthy postpartum lifestyles.  Let me just say, power to you girl!  Erica attended UH Law School (another reason for why I love her blog: she spent time living in Hawai'i like me) and was right back in the classroom the Monday after delivering her daughter.  Her and her family are very well traveled (a goal that Thomas and I have for our family).  She also does an excellent job at documenting her children's lives (something I aim to do).  She is also very honest in a real and edgy way.

I just thought it was worth explaining how I found these blogs and a few of the reasons for why each of them inspire me!  I hope you enjoyed some of the places that I get my inspiration from.  My family also inspires me... As well as motivate me.  Enjoy yesterday's vlog!

The Best Things About This Week...

Today's 30 Days of Lists prompt is the perfect way for me to end this week.  Exactly one week ago Chloe turned one!  Thomas and I spent a lot of this time really enjoying all the blessings that we've received over this past year.  Here are a few of the blessings I listed down for today's list...

It's just so amazing how much little kids learn in their first few years.  It seems like everyday Chloe is learning something new, figuring out something new, or discovering something new!  I love to show and teach her new things.  Please enjoy our vlog from yesterday!

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!

Must Haves for a Night In...

Thomas and I were always considered the "old" couple amongst our friends.  We never really went out to parties and such.  If we did have a date night it usually just consisted of a movie and dinner... But we really did just enjoy staying home, cooking, and relaxing in front of the TV.  Luckily for us, this kind of helped us transition into being parents because it wasn't like we really felt like we were sacrificing much when it came to our social life... That's why for today's 30 Days of Lists prompt is a simple and short one!

Yesterday's vlog is just filled with fun times with Chloe!  I hope she's able to make you smile and make your day that much brighter!

Things I've Finished this Year...

Today's 30 Days of Lists prompt really put into perspective how important it is for me to set goals!  I was really determined to start documenting our lives in some way, shape, or form... and I'm so glad I stuck with it.  I really wish I could add a couple of book titles to this list... But I have a few jotted down from our prompt the other day for me to look into!

Another goal I really want to meet is taking the time to meditate/stretch at least once a day.  I try to make it a point to take a few minutes a few days of the week to just sit down and "meditate"/stretch before anyone else wakes up... There's just something about taking a few minutes to gently wake up your soul.  But there are a few days where I'll do it while Chloe is watching her Baby Einstein.  Today we bought one of those rubber non-slip mats for the shower... and when I opened it up... Check out what Chloe did!  She seriously is so smart and amazes us everyday... Enjoy the vlog!!

Subjects I Could Talk About for Hours...

Today's 30 Days of Lists prompt was a fun prompt for me to think about.  Now that I'm typing out this post, I realize that these are topics that I truly have a passion for!  This year is about pursuing my passions and finding myself so it was a good reminder for me... This is definitely another one of my favorite prompts so far this month.

Luckily, yesterday's vlog goes very well with today's prompt!  It's filled with some of my most favorite things: my family, and food... more specifically, fall themed food!  Enjoy!

Ain't Nobody Got Time For...

Today's prompt for 30 Days of Lists is an interesting one.  I wanted to include some serious and some funny things that I "ain't got no time for..."

Chloe got another package in the mail today!  Check out what was in it in the vlog!

Chores I Actually Enjoy...

Today's prompt for 30 Days of Lists was a bit harder for me to answer.  I think that's because when I think of a "chore" I think of any household activity that needs to be done and I don't exactly enjoy doing... and I do it because I know it has to be done!  I know some people consider cooking for their family to be a chore... but luckily Thomas and I both love to cook so that was a no-brainer for me.  Anyway... Here's a peak at the rest of my list =]

Also... Enjoy yesterday's vlog!

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...