Best Part of 2013

I gave birth on July 26th of this year.

It was the most amazing and painful experience I'd ever had :)

Thanks to Bradley Method, I didn't take epidural.

I was 8 cm dilated when I got to the hospital 

so the doctor wasn't gonna give it to me if I wanted to anyway :p

They also gave me lots of bracelets :D

The hospital that I stayed was pretty cool.

I got to watch my favorite TV show, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 

While I was enjoying meals :)

 They have the most amazing bed. I wish my bed did that to!

Oh and here are some more pictures of Toro on the day when she was born :)

I still can not believe that I gave BIRTH!!!

I still can not believe that I have a CHILD!!!

I still CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT I AM A MOTHER!!!

Oh, Baby, Baby, Baby!!

I'm still uncomfortable with breast feeding in public.

I bought a breast feeding cover but I feel like I just wasted my money.

I can easily cover with any blanket.

It's not like I'm committing the crime but I feel like I should be somewhere alone to breast feed.

I'm planning to breast feed until July when Audrey turns 1 year old :)

Yes. We love to wear the matching outfits :p

This lady has been teething.

She's grabbing anything she can.

Then they go into her mouth straight away and she starts chewing!

She's been chewing her fingers like crazy lately.

I use the cloth diapers but normally use disposable diapers when we go out since they are easy.

They get wet. You just throw them away.

I mean cloth diapers are not that difficult. 

You just have to wash them every other day. 

(I guess it depends on how many cloth diapers you have though.)

I would like to use cloth diapers when we go out more often.

Sometimes, Audrey goes crazy when her cloth diapers are wet

but also sometimes, she doesn't care if they are wet or not.

It really depends on her mood.

EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON HER MOOD!

He is so Handsome.

Audrey and I went to the mall for Christmas shopping couple weeks ago.

There were lots of people there.

People kept saying "He is so handsome. How old is he?" "He is adorable!" "He is so cute"

HE, HE, HE, HE, HEEEE!!!!!!

They didn't even ask me if Audrey was a boy or a girl.

They just ASSUMED that Audrey was a boy!

I kept correcting people that it's not HE but I got tired of it so I just said "Thank you."

It used to drive me crazy when people thought Audrey was a boy but not anymore.

I guess I'm just so used to it.

:)

Dear, Audrey

I'm so sorry that mama didn't correct the people who thought you were a boy.

There were so many people that kept saying it.

Please forgive me.

You know you are a girl.

I know you are a girl.

God knows you are a girl.

Grandparents, aunties and uncle know you are a girl.

We love you a lot.

That's all matters.

From now on, I will put a cute ribbon on your forehead

or put a T shirt says "I'M A GIRL" on you.

Ok?

Love you.

From, Mama.

  

  

Let Me Be Honest with You.

I became a mama on July 26th of this year.

I've been a mama for almost 5 months now.

I just want to  be honest. 

Sometimes I love being a mama but sometimes I don't love it.

I'm not a super-mama who loves her child 24/7.

I'm doing my best to be a good/best mama but sometimes, it requires a lot of patience.

I dealt with postpartum depression after Audrey was born.

It lasted 3 months.

The more Audrey smiled, the more I got better.

It still makes me go crazy when I think that I can't go to the movies anymore.
Technically, yes, I can go to the movies with my hubby
once we find the babysitter.
but that's not the point.
I can't do lots of things that I was able to do before.
That's what makes me go crazy.

I guess I was so used to being just myself. 

I was able to go shopping by myself, go to the gym by myself, watch my favorite shows by myself

and take care of the house by myself(my hubby helped me with house chores and he still does!).

I used to do whatever I wanted to do easily.

Now I'm with Audrey everyday.

Sometimes, I feel like I'm stuck with her or She is stuck to me.

I feel bad for Audrey.

I feel like she could've had better mama than me.

I don't think I'm being a good mama.

When I'm home with her, I panic since I'm not sure what to do with her

or how to entertain her.

I can't just read a book or watch a movie while Audrey is playing by herself.

I feel bad.

I feel like I should do something with her but just don't know what to do.

Sometimes, I keep questioning myself.
Was I ready to be a mama or not?
Was this something that I wanted or not?
It doesn't matter now.
Whether I was ready or not, Audrey came out of me(I still can not believe that I gave birth without epidural!).

I guess for now, being with her is the best that I can do.

I really need to be more patient with Audrey.

Dear, Audrey.

I'm so sorry that I yelled at you like 10 times tonight.

I knew you were sleepy and that's why you were whiny 

but mama was tired too.

Sorry that I spanked you couple times.

I'm new to this motherhood world so please understand me a little bit, ok?

I will do my best to be a good mama.

I love you very much.

From, Mama

121913

According to my hubby...

121813

Did I marry the sweetest guy or what? :)

The older I get, the more pills I take.

Iron, Multi Vitamin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Omega 3…

Crazy!

(I drew this last year.)

Rinnova il tuo guardaroba

You don't need to know Italian to read this book.

One of my awesome friend, Gaia published her craft book called "Rinnova il tuo guardaroba"

Tokyo Craft Guide blogged about this book. 

Can't wait to make some cute stuffs with Audrey :D

Let's Be Lazy!

Audrey and I decided to get lazy so we kept our PJs on all day :D

I don't mind being lazy(In fact, I'm so good at it!).

I don't think Audrey minds it either :p

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

We got some snow this week.

It snowed on Sunday and again on Tuesday.

Even though it gets ugly after it's done snowing, I love snow.

As long as I don't have to drive, I love snow too :)

I like when it snows a lot so everybody can stay home.

When it snows, 

I love snuggling with hubby under the warm blankets and watch Christmas movies at home.

Can't wait for Audrey be like 3 or 4 so she can join us :D

While it was snowing, I was just chilling at home.

And this is how Audrey was chilling with me at home.

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It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Happy Tuesday!

We got some snow couple days ago and it's snowing again today!

Hope everybody stays safe and warm!

I love waking up and seeing her smile every morning. :D

And I decorated the house. FINALLY!

Look at the sleeping angel :D
so her mama can finish decorating the house!!
Thank you, Audrey!

We put her hand ornament.
I think she was 3 or 4 weeks old when we did this.

 We got this ornament last year.
Alex and I knew that I was pregnant so we bought it.
I thought and hoped we would have a baby boy
and Alex's favorite color is blue.
I don't think Audrey will mind it later :p

The Mickey Mouse ornament is Alex's 1st Christmas Ornament.
I'm still amazed that my parents(in-laws) still keep all his ornaments :)
So sweet!

I got this Very She & Him Christmas record from Hope 2 years ago.
Still I don't like Zooey Deschanel but I like this album. :D

I got some soap Bath & Body Works. 

Now the whole house smells like Christmas, even the bathroom! YAY!!

120813

We are supposed to get some snow today! :D

Happy Snowy Sunday!

Christmas Card Picture Day

We went to Picture People to take a family portrait for our Christmas cards this year.

One of my friends got this cute dress for Audrey :D

We wanted to do the family portrait outside but since it's December, 

we've decided to do it inside this year.

Maybe next year, we will do it outside.

Plus she will be walking by then :) 

Audrey wasn't thrilled to be in the pictures(I guess she got that from her mama :p) unfortunately.

Oh well…

At least, she wasn't crying whole time.

I wish she smiled since the photographer was trying her best to make Audrey laugh 

and take pictures at the same time 

but Audrey was just staring at the camera.

There were only couple pictures of her smiling but I look either fat or stupid on those pictures

so we are NOT going to use that picture for our Christmas card of this year.

Sorry, Audrey!

 After the photoshoot, Alex and I got really hungry so we went to Chick-fil-a.

Guess what they have now?

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake

They were super yummy!

3 Things that I'm in Love at this Moment

1. These adorable shoes

My sister, Tammy who is also a wonderful designer, mom, daughter, and sister 

made these adorable shoes for Audrey.

She gave me these shoes when we had a baby shower.

(You do remember the strawberry themed baby shower back in June, right?)

It's getting cold and Audrey is getting bigger and so are her feet!

I put these shoes on her feet and YAY!! THEY FIT!!

Thank you for the awesome gift, Tammy!

2. Reading time with Audrey.

I've started reading couple books to Audrey lately.

I started with cloth books :)

Since she can't sit by herself, I found holding a paper book and laying down next to her was too much.

Cloth books are light and I don't mind Audrey chewing them either :p

3. Going for a walk with Audrey 

I've started going back to gym since the start of December.

The child care at my gym does child care for the babies who are over 3 months old for a hour.

I could've gone to gym starting November but Audrey was still young 

and I couldn't figure out when is the best time to bring her in.

(I'm still not sure when is the best time to bring her in but I do my best to figure it out.)

Last Sunday, Alex and I went to gym with Audrey.

We worked out for an hour and we picked her up and came home.

Yesterday, I went to the gym with Audrey.

I worked out for an hour and picked her up and we went to grocery store.

Ladies at the child care told me that she did well but she got fussy when I was about to pick her up.

Going back to the gym makes me feel happy and healthy.

I went for a walk and took Audrey with me.

I walked about 40 minutes. :)

Audrey seemed to have a good time too :)
Today, I went to the gym with Audrey and she didn't cry the whole time!!! :D
I met up with my neighbor who had a baby 5 weeks ago and went for a walk
with Audrey and her baby.
It was so much fun :D