Dan loves all things coconut, so I made chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons for him as a Father’s Day treat! This was my first time making coconut macaroons, but I found that they were surprisingly easy to make, and require few ingredients. (I hate when I set out to make something and find that there are 20+ ingredients listed — my lazy self is immediately turned off and discouraged by such things.) I’d been feeling under the weather since Saturday evening with a slight fever, congestion, and runny nose, but I was determined not to let my cold get in the way of doing something special for Daddy. They turned out great, and Dan loved them!
Coconut macarons, out of the oven.
Nicely toasted coconut flakes!
Dipped in chocolate for extra yummy goodness!
Look at those beauties!
There was one member of the family who was not happy with the whole experience, though… little Mio is not allowed to have such sweets yet, much to her distress.
“I want themmm!”
She’s never had a chance to try anything like macaroons, but somehow, she knew they were good.
…and that she needed to get her hands on them.
Sorry bubby, only carrots for you!
Dan, on the other hand, was thrilled and very pleased with his treats. Mission accomplished! 😀
Happy Father’s Day to all the great fathers out there! I’m especially grateful for the two wonderful fathers in my life. My own awesome Dad, of course…
…and to my loving husband Dan! I couldn’t ask for a better husband, and Daddy for our daughter Mio. Thank you for making us smile each and every day! 🙂
Yesterday, we went into the doctor for Mio’s one year checkup — it was a couple months overdue because we were in Virginia for a while. As usual, Mio’s pediatrician commented on how healthy and great she looked, and we got the latest stats on Mio’s growth.
This time, Mio was weighed on a regular adult scale standing up with all her clothes on, and she weighed just over 23 lbs, so the nurse estimated that she weighed about 22 lbs 2 oz without her clothing, which is in the 46th growth percentile based on weight-for-age, the first time she’s been below the 50th percentile. The pediatrician assured us that she’s still very healthy, and that it’s very normal for toddler’s weight gain to plateau like that, especially when they get really active with walking and climbing everywhere as Mio’s been doing.
Mio measured 31.5 inches long, in the 87th growth percentile based on length-for-age… which is 2.5 inches taller than the measurement we took for Mio on her growth chart… I guess our measuring skills were way off! (><)
Mio’s head circumference seemed to have stayed exactly the same, at  17.99 inches (45.7 cm) around, which is now in the 50th growth percentile based on head circumference-for-age.
I’m a bit perplexed by all the measurements, because the weight seems less than what we expected, the height seems taller, and it seems strange that Mio’s head hasn’t grown at all in the past four months… so I have a feeling the nurse was not very precise in taking all the measurements, but then again, I guess we should trust the clinic more than our at-home measuring tools!
Mio had to get six shots for the vaccinations she was due for, and as expected, she cried and it was an unpleasant experience. She calmed down pretty quickly after I held her and then gave her a book to look at while in the stroller on the way home. When we got home, I set up her inflatable pool for her to play with outside.
It was too cold to go in the water, but she had fun dipping her hands in and scooping the water out.!
Loving her new pool!
Mio takes playtime very seriously.
Mio likes to use the pool as a playhouse indoors, too! (without the water, of course.)
Reading her favorite Shimajiro book.
Mio was pretty content and happy thanks to the pool, but then broke out with a slight fever in the early evening, most likely due to the vaccinations. She seemed very uncomfortable and cried a lot, and it was hard to watch. 🙁 The fever’s gone down today, though, and she’s back to her cheery self, much to our relief! 🙂
We had a pretty busy weekend, and instead of going into the details of the places we went and the friends we saw, I thought I’d just share some snapshots! I find that I’ve been leaving our camera behind a lot lately… while it takes great pictures, I’ve been lazy and just love the ease of using my phone to take quick snapshots and instantly share them online. I used to wonder what all the fuss was about Instagram, but after a few months of using it, I’ve been bitten by the bug and am now admittedly an avid Instagrammer!
So if you already follow me on Instagram, these pictures are old news, but here are some of our memorable moments from the past weekend!
Happy birthday Brent! On Saturday, we got to celebrate Brent's 30th birthday over in Dublin with amazing food and great company.
Cuties looking out the window, watching Brent BBQ-ing.
Staredown between Mio and cute doggies Miko and Dumpling.
Thanks Brent and Estella for having us over to celebrate with you all! 😀
On Saturday evening, we drove into the city to have a sushi dinner at Sanraku with Stephanie, who has been one of my dearest friends since college! She’s getting married in late September, and I couldn’t be happier for her! So glad that we could have dinner and catch up before she left to fly back to DC.
Mio checking out the drink menu...
On Sunday morning, Mio got to have some fun playing with a bunch of other tots in San Leandro…
In the afternoon, we went to Hayward to attend baby Easton’s first birthday party!
Smash that cake!
Chasing balloons...
It’s been pretty hot lately, so I’ve been having fun dressing Mio up in cute little sundresses. We’ve been staying cool indoors while enjoying frozen fruit! 🙂
Mio and Sofia met up on Friday to have a playdate in the play area of Barnes & Noble — Sofia had just turned 18 months old that day! Lots of fun toys and books to play with.
Cutiepie huddle!
orange sippy cup club!
Mio always has so much fun hanging out with Sofia! 😀
