The weather was gorgeous last weekend, so on Saturday we went on an impromptu picnic in Tilden Park over in Berkeley. We just laid a blanket out on the grass, sprawled out and snacked on fruits and veggies, and simply relaxed. It’s moments like these when I feel like life couldn’t be more perfect… and I’m certain they are the memories I’ll look back on and cherish decades later, when our sweet little girl is grown and gone.
Mio taking away my phone, as if to say, "Get off of that for once and enjoy the moment!"
Smiles in the sun.
Mio way up high! She's getting heavy...
Daddy can give her more air! It looks like it's raining babies and Dan's catching them.
"I put my hands up in the air sometimes..."
A happy Mio.
I picked some flowers in the field to make a flower crown for Mio.
Clover flowers adorning her head...
I used to make these all the time as a little girl. I love how life brings us full circle, back to childhood memories...
Cutiepie
Can never get enough of those smiles!
After the picnic, we strolled over to the Tilden Merry-Go-Round. I love this antique carousel with hand-carved and beautifully painted wooden animals — it looks like something from a movie, a gorgeous reminder of another era. We’d come to the merry-go-round a couple times in the past, but this was Mio’s first time riding it!
Mio and I on the merry-go-round.
Mio is securely strapped onto her ride!
Round and round we go!
Daddy wanted to ride with Mio, too, so she went for a second round.
Hooray for weekend relaxation and fun! We can’t wait to do it again. 😀
My college friend Amy just moved to San Francisco last month, so Mio and I went to go visit her in the city on Friday. We hadn’t seen each other since she had graduated in 2005, so it had really been a while! We picked up just where we left off, though, and could talk and laugh like old times. We ate oyster po’boy sandwiches at the Ferry Building and then walked over to the artMRKT event (a contemporary and modern art fair) that was going on this weekend, which Amy had tickets to. We couldn’t fully enjoy all the awesome art there because Mio kept needing to be fed, changed, or taken outside to run around, but the art that I did get to see was pretty cool!
The photos I took were from my phone so they’re not the greatest quality, but here’s a peek into some notable pieces at the event…
Life is like a box of chocolates... my kind of art!
LOL
Cake monsters!
Pretty cool...
"Occupy Art Fairs"
Thanks for inviting us to go to the art fair, Amy! I love sharing new experiences with old friends in this beautiful city.
We returned to California on Monday morning, and have been recovering in the couple days since — the flight was exhausting, and Mio and I had been suffering from pretty bad allergies the last few days we were in Virginia. Dan joined us for our last weekend there so that we could attend Hanna and Tom’s wedding together! Hanna has been a dear friend of mine since college, and I was so honored to be a part of her wedding as a bridesmaid. We unfortunately didn’t get to take many pictures because I was occupied with bridesmaid duties and Dan was busy taking care of Mio, but here are some of the photos and videos from the special day!
The blushing bride!
Ashly and I before the ceremony
Me with the lovely bride! Hanna was the most gorgeous bride I'd ever seen!
Hanna's bridal bouquet that she made herself! Hanna put so much work into designing every detail of her wedding, and it really showed! She's a true artist. 🙂
Bridesmaids Ashly, Clara, and Liz
All dolled up
Ashly can't contain how happy and excited she is for Hanna!
Hanna walking down the aisle.
At the reception, Hanna and Tom shared a very romantic first dance together as husband and wife!
Hanna with the ladies after the bouquet toss... Helly caught the bouquet!
dance dance dance
Mio got in and danced with the best of them! Here’s a video montage of her “dancing” and running around at the reception. I had a fun time chasing her around for much of the time…
Anna with her Daddy... so sweet!
Mio with her Daddy!
The bestest and I
With Hanna and Akira. I didn't get enough pictures with Hannie!
The wedding was absolutely beautiful and totally fit the fairy tale theme that Hanna and Tom had envisioned it to be. We’re so happy for them, and wish them all the best in the journey they’re embarking on as husband and wife! Congratulations, you lovebirds! 😀
After the wedding, a bunch of us college friends met up for dinner at Tofu House in Centreville and caught up. I loved seeing everyone again; it felt like we never left Blacksburg!
Froyo after dinner
Our time in Northern Virginia flew by, and I’m sad that we had to leave so soon. Hopefully we’ll be back again soon! 🙂
Mio woke up with a fever on Sunday morning, and was understandably very cranky and irritable. We at first wondered if she’d gotten sick, but it seems like the fever came from her teething. She keeps reaching into her mouth to touch her teeth — the four molars that are coming in at once are undoubtedly bothering her. Dan’s sister Hyo was visiting from New York this weekend, and she captured some photos of Mio. You can definitely see how miserable Mio was from the fever in the first few, but she was in a much better mood once she got some acetaminophen.
By Sunday evening, her fever was a lower, and she started smiling a little more. 🙂 We missed that smile!
Her forehead is still a little warm the past couple days and her teeth still seem to be bothering her a bit, but she is doing much better. What a relief! She did wake up today with a bit of a raspy voice, but it went away after drinking some water so I’m hoping that the moodiness and fever were indeed due to teething and not any type of sickness.
Here are some additional photos that we took from last Friday, before the onset of the fever, when Mio was in much better spirits! We’ve been taking lots of photos since getting here, but we’re finally getting caught up.
Soaking in the baby pool again.
Hello, cutiepie!
Auntie Miwa teaching Mio fobby cute poses
Mio is quick to learn the ways of fobby cuteness...
Having a blast splashing in the pool!
The swimsuit is adorable. Love the crossback, ruffles, polka dots, flowers... so girly! Thank you Pat, Theo, and Anna!
Later Friday afternoon, 15 month old Junna-chan came over to play with Mio.
Checking each other out.
Little Japanese girls.
Doing "banzai!" together. Too cute!
Thank you to everyone who sent over warm wishes for Mio to feel better — hopefully she’ll be back to her cheery, rambunctious self soon!
