easter sunday fun

i know it usually takes me about a year and a half to get pics from my camera uploaded, edited and blogged, but i just couldn't wait to get these little faces at our easter picnic yesterday up on the screen ASAP!

it's been an interesting and often difficult chapter in our life as we face many tough decisions and exciting changes, but as we celebrated easter this weekend, i was reminded of all that i have to be thankful for. because of Christ's perfect life, death, and resurrection i can rejoice and rest confidently in His never-changing and super-abundant love and mercy through whatever the future brings.

the kiddos had a blast "finding" easter eggs and hopefully as they get older they'll be able to see past the jelly beans and reese's peanut butter cups [that mom has been enjoying while they sleep] to see Christ and the true joy He brings.

feels like fall

hooray, we made it through the crazy crazy month of october! amidst weddings, showers, birthdays galore and this almost fall weather that keeps psyching us out, the pyo clan made it out to tanaka farms for a fun afternoon of roaming through pumpkins.

yes, we were tired from caden's 3rd birthday party earlier that morning, yes, we had to save energy for our karaoke-fest later that evening, and yes, we were all too cheap and tired to actually buy any pumpkins for the kiddos but we were there! and we've got pics to prove it!













loving the cousin camaraderie, the happy (sometimes confused and angry) little faces, and especially loving colin's hair in the group pic. ha! happy fall everyone! :)

jamesy is one!

dear james,

happy 1st birthday, son! if i could, i would name 365 things i love about you, but that's kind of a lot, so i'll try to boil it down to 12 -- to match each of the above pics, and for each sweet month we've had the blessing of raising and loving you.

1. i love when we sneak into your room and "accidentally" wake you up in the middle of the night and you look up at us give us the biggest sleepy smile. i hope you will always be so happy to see mommy and daddy, even when we do bothersome things to you like this.

2. i love how you are a master-signer, from "please" to "thank you" and "more." recently, you even added a new one where when we say "ow!" you take it upon yourself to smack your head with your hand and crack up at yourself. that's some dedication!

3. i love how you are strong in your baby-convictions, like refusing to do tummy time early on and not crawling until you felt ready. i pray that as you grow, this will translate into your strength and not your weakness and make you a brave boy and a wise man.

4. i love the moment we shared the first time you got sick and could only be consoled by mommy's arms. i wish i could promise to always be there for you any time you fall or get hurt or feel bad, but i know that's something only Christ can do. trust in Him, son!

5. i love how your face beams when daddy comes home from work and how you pout when he's leaving. it makes me so happy to see your bond growing stronger each day.

6. i love the few quiet minutes before you go down for the night when you rest your head on my shoulder as we sing to you, and you pat my arm with one hand as the other clutches your yellow towel. just for the record, mommy's not the one singing off key.

7. i love how you are (as alaska-grandma told you a million times during her last visit) full of emotion and so expressive. you "ooh" and "addahh" and "mmm" as if you already appreciate the mini-world around you.

8. you love food. and i love that! as auntie connie puts it, when you eat, it's like you are a teenage boy. people probably think you get that from daddy, but i can't deny, when i see you shovel those snacks into your mouth, maui onion chips do tend to pop into my head.

9. i love it when you get excited when you hear music. you bounce, wave your hands in the air, and even pretend to snap your fingers. sorry i can't teach you much in the dancing dept, but even if you do adopt mommy's weird moves, hope you will bust them out proudly. no fear!

10. i love how affectionate you are with your stuffed animals. as i watch you clutch and hug each of them, i pray that it's a glimpse into the big, loving heart you will have for all sorts of people as you grow older.

11. i love the look you get on your face when you are so focussed -- the pressed lips, the intense eyes. so far this usually means you are pooping, but we're starting to see it when you look at books and play with your toys too.

12. i love you just because! some times i can't even explain it, but when i look at your little face i'm swept away with love about to explode in my heart and i just want to give you nonstop kisses and make cheesy lists about you all day long!

i can't wait for this next year and discovering a whole new list of things to love. thanks for bringing so much joy to our hearts, baby boy!

love,
mom

room for the little one

yesterday at james' 9 month check-up i got another reminder from our pediatrician to child-proof our house as james becomes more mobile so i figured i should really get some photos of the nursery before any of this rearranging, removing, padding, covering actually takes place. (any tips, moms??)

thankfully it happened to be a decent day where his room was relatively clean. heaven forbid the blog-world catch wind of the version where drooly bibs retire on various pieces of furniture and a massive humidifier sits most obtrusively next to the bowl of doritos mom was munching on while watching baby play, right? ;)



ROOM DETAILS:
crib - pottery barn kendall crib via craigslist with skip hop mod dot crib sheet and crib skirt made by donna
mobile - ikea fabler hot air balloon mobile (no longer sold)
burlap bunting - DIY adapted from here
lighting - world market maru round paper lantern
dresser - ikea hemnes dresser via craigslist with button knobs in various colors from anthropologie (no longer sold)
lamp - ikea bran table lamp
alarm clock - thrifted
wall art - air transportation print gifted by janice, alphabet and hot air balloon prints made by me
mirror - target frameless circle mirror with rope pulled off old drawstring pouch
laundry - ikea kusiner mesh basket in red
chair - ikea ektorp jennylund chair via craigslist with gray check slipcover gifted by pam
wall color - benjamin moore stonington gray

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!

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! :)

robot baby shower for cathie

in continuation from my last post, here are some pictures from the robot-themed baby shower we had for cathie and her dear baby oliver back in may. can't believe the little guy is already a month old!







it's been neat to have so many friends around me forging the way through pregnancy, labor & delivery, and the first crazy weeks/months of parenthood. i'm still not sure quite what to expect and for sure i don't feel mommish yet, but i'm encouraged to see how through the difficulties and unknowns sure to be mixed in with all the joys, there will be oh so much grace!

39 weeks, 1 day. let's get this show on the road!

party time!

this year has been out of control with so many of my good friends having babies and turning the big 3-0. for awhile it felt like a shower or party every weekend, sometimes hopping from one to the next all in the same day!

it's been fun to help plan some of them and i suppose all the running around that was involved is being balanced out by this bed rest stint i'm going through now. here are some pics from miriam's 30th back in april that i finally got uploaded to my computer...

california love, part 2

i couldn't have asked for a better 1[.07] year anniversary celebration than the mini-vacay up to the monterey bay we took last weekend. we persevered through some nasty la traffic and enjoyed the long and scenic route up the central coast where we were wow-ed at each turn by the ocean, mountains, huge trees, sheep?! -- such a far cry from life as we know it in orange county.

turns out one of the biggest motorcycle events in the world, ever (or something like that) was happening the same weekend but luckily it didn't keep us from enjoying our stay at the charming normandy inn (found via sfgirlbybay) and everything else on our jam-packed itinerary.

road trip to do's:
1. hike the north shore trail at point lobos state natural reserve


2. find pretty fishies at monterey bay aquarium


3. eat yummy fishies at old fisherman's wharf


4. get a fat slab of prime rib at clint eastwood's mission ranch restaurant


5. stop by to say hello to clint's sheep


6. play peekaboo at pfeiffer big sur state park


7. dig into delicious dishes at big sur bakery and restaurant


8. take a gazillion pictures with new camera


9. spend quality time with the dearest husband and thank him for being my america's next top model for half of the gazillion pictures


whew, is it just me, or does anyone else feel like they need a vacation after a vacation? traveling is fun but i could totally go for a veg day right about now to just watch tv and eat chocolate chip cookies, yummm...

{eye} try : strawberry brown butter bettys

i'd been eagerly waiting to try this recipe for strawberry brown butter bettys found at smitten kitchen, but never had a loaf of white bread around the house. enter coupon for free loaf of white bread from the local target and wah-lah, happy birthday husband!

we celebrated sunday night with a low-key dinner for two at home featuring flavorful braised short ribs and miyuk gook, the traditional korean birthday soup, followed by these bettys topped with softly whipped cream. the good part was that it was a quiet and intimate evening. the bad part was that if one person gets caught up taking pictures, the other person ends up lighting his own birthday candles...haha, oops!