9 months, baby!

can't believe the little man is 9 months old today. from his slowly but surely growing head of hair down to his carpet-clenching toes, i just love him to bits and pieces!

there hasn't been anything too monumental to update on, but here are some things i did note on james' agenda...

TODAY'S TO DO LIST:
- compete in cheerio-eating contest against myself
- take a ride on the alphabet train
- star in iphone video to send to daddy at work
- pretend to read, then start chewing on books behind mom's back
- get mom to sing "itsy bitsy spider" 10 times in a row
- clap at random times throughout day to make mom smile

GOALS FOR THE MONTH:
- stop army-crawling and learn to crawl foreals
- figure out how to lessen the gaping hole between front 2 teeth
- overcome gripping fear of the vacuum and magic bullet
- find a pool and master drifting in a floatie
- stop being stubborn and finally sign "please"

THINGS TO TELL MOM TO DO:
- start planning my 1st birthday party
- get me into a convertible carseat, already!
- make some prints for etsy instead of watching korean dramas
- refold that blanket sticking out of my bottom drawer

{eye} try: homemade milk tea boba

undeniably, one of my greatest loves as of late has been boba. according to my trusty calendar, in the last 20 days, i've had boba 9 times. that's like every other day. that's like kind of a lot, huh? i like to tell myself it's research for the boba biz i'm starting in my imagination.

in fact, this morning i went out to the chinese market to find myself some ingredients to make homemade boba and whipped up my first batch during james' nap using different recipes i found online.



turned out pretty decent, as i'm sure anything with a little condensed milk action would. no time now, but i'll try to post the recipe i ended up going with soon.

hoping to try making the blended ice boba and honey aloe boba next. oh no, this could be troublesome.

e+m engagement

a couple weeks ago, joe and i, along with baby james, were able to be a part of eric and miriam's sweet engagement at ucla. though it was a bit more difficult roaming incognito across campus with a bright orange stroller in tow, we had a fun time jumping from building to building, hiding out in bushes, and witnessing our dear friends move forward in their journey from dating towards marriage.








i've been friends with this pretty lady for almost 10 years now and i must say through the years, i've learned so much about friendship through her - of loving one another and being there for each other through all the good, bad and ugly. so excited to see what this next chapter with her bff4life has in store. congrats again, you two!

favorite items: mommy vs. jamesy

kinda late in the game, but thought i'd jump on the trend and compile a "favorite baby items" list. james took one look at the items and didn't seem to approve though. instead of trying to argue back and forth with him, i just made a separate list for him below. enjoy! :)

M O M M Y // T O P F I V E



1. jesus storybook bible - love how it goes through all our favorite bible stories in easy to follow fashion. helps us see the big picture and how everything points to christ. not gonna lie, sometimes makes me tear up.
2. agabang pajamas - as much as i tried to resist these fresh off the boat gifts from korea at first, must admit the quality of material is most excellent and quite comfy (not that i've tried it on, but you know). fobulous sleepwear ftw.
3. bumkin waterproof bibs - recommended by concon, these bibs have come in very handy for our daily adventures with solids. good coverage, super easy to clean, and cute designs too!
4. sleep sheep - good thing concon had an extra one of these noisemakers to spare. early on, it was the perfect background noise to lull james to sleep. and now as soon as he hears the waves, he knows it's time for lights out.
5. baby deedee - before james started flipping, we swore by the miracle blanket, and now have switched over to this sleepsack, which we equally love. it's plenty warm and cozy for those cold cali nights and shoulder snaps make for easy on and off action.


J A M E S Y // T O P F I V E


1. ty liony/matty doll - when we first moved into our place last year and i was pregnant, our awesome neighbor got this for us as part of a welcome gift. what started off as a beautiful flowy mane has now become a short, matted fro due to time spent in the washer/dryer (hence the name change).
2. fisher price whale-of-a-tub rinse cup - in or out of the bathtub, for some reason, james has a huge affection for this little orange plastic piece and clutches it as if we all want to steal it from him. we don't dude, relax!
3. graco doorway jumper - we have this on loan from shar and have been putting james in it starting around 4 months. he loves to jump up, jump up and get down in it, especially when mommy turns on some good (and clean) hip hop tracks.
4. goofy pook a looz plush doll - an early gift from susie, this is the only doll that accompanies james in his crib. he loves holding onto the ears and biting on his hat. and i love it because it's furless and seems cleaner than the other dolls.
5. organic puffs - had to include this because i'm pretty sure if you were to put any of the above items next to these (or any) puffs, he would quickly betray goofy and liony/matty for his snackies. hm, wonder where he gets that from? ;)

hey cuz, what should we do today?

spontaneous photo shoot at the park! (said london, hopefully).










looks like at the rate i'm going, this blog gets updated every 4 months, 3 times a year. eek! well, jamesy is now a big, healthy, happy 8 month old boy who devours all his solids as well as most of his toys and books, squeals like a dinosaur, fake laughs, army crawls at impressive speeds, greedily picks up puffs and puts them into his mouth at even-more-impressive speeds, and pretty much melts mommy and daddy's hearts with every smile.

ok, with every cry, burp, poop and glance too.

seriously, sometimes it scares me how much i love this little guy. each day i think to myself how crazy and amazing being a mom is. and this feeling i could have never imagined before just seems to grow and grow with each day. of course with it comes bouts of frustration, anger, fatigue and helplessness, but all in all i'm so thankful for this great blessing. and hopefully i'll do a better job of sharing it with you here! :)