A very Merry Christmas and happy holiday wishes from our family to yours! Here’s our holiday card from this year…
A lot of people have been asking where we got our photos taken. We actually took them in the comfort of the living room at home! Dan worked his magic with the lighting as well as some color correction of the photos afterwards, but the pictures came out looking pretty decent — almost studio quality! Thanks to how well the photos came out, they were easy to work with as I designed our custom holiday card. So glad so many people loved it! Hope it brought a smile to your face. 🙂
Christmas is only a couple days away, and I can’t believe how fast this month has flown by! In addition to the holiday season, there’s always a lot to celebrate in our family during this month because both Dan and I have our birthdays, and I love that people come together more during the holidays and the end of the year. This year has had its share of challenges with a tough pregnancy as well as navigating Mio’s tumultuous toddlerhood, but as I spend time with family and friends and reflect back on the year, I know that I have so much to be grateful for! Good health, wonderful friends and relatives both near and far, and our growing family that brings smiles and laughter to every day. And of course, there’s so much to look forward to in this coming year and beyond!
Some pictures from the past couple weeks, as we wrap up the year…
Mio after her final art class at the local rec center. She thoroughly enjoyed her 8 weeks of arts and crafts!
She pressed one of her crafts against the inflatable penguin, saying “Here you go, penguin!”
We enjoyed a delicious dinner on the Roof Terrace followed by a performance of Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center. It was a holiday event with Dan’s company and was nice to get an evening out without parenting responsibilities for once!
Celebrating Dan’s 31st birthday on the 13th!
“Happy birthday Daddy!” Mio was so excited to help Dan blow out the candles.
With the girls at Ashly & Danny’s housewarming party!
Congratulations Ashly and Danny on the beautiful new home!
An early birthday dinner out last week with some girlfriends, complete with amazing desserts! Thank you Michelle for planning it. Can’t believe I’ve known these ladies for 15 years!
Mimi knows me so well. Love this nail polish set! It has all the perfect shades, especially for the holidays.
Mio brought home so many cute crafts and gifts from preschool! Now the dilemma is how to keep the chubster occupied during winter break…
Mio’s very own My Dear Darling penguin! Thank you so much Akiyo for such a beautiful handmade gift.
Mio was in love!
A sweet video of Mio playing with her penguin doll:
Last Sunday, we observed our annual tradition of making a gingerbread house! Mio was fascinated and loved watching the process of the house coming together.
Watching Daddy fill the piping bag with frosting.
Helpng out a little here and there…
She wanted to get a very close look at every step…
Building the structure of the house.
Working on the details of the house.
The completed gingerbread house!
The back side of thehouse.
Mio’s contributions to our gingerbread house came in the form of licks and bites…
She goes for the roof! Because everything was cemented on after the frosting dried, Mio resorted to licking the candy directly off the house because she couldn’t pick them off.
Mio’s been obsessed with the gingerbread house all week, saying “Ginger house! Candy!” We fear that it will not survive until Christmas…
Our family had a very delicious and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend! Here are some pictures from the past few days…
Our little cutie on Thanksgiving, with the painting she made at preschool.
We brined the turkey this year! 21 lbs of moist deliciousness!
Complete with sides, many of which the hubby prepared…
Great job Dan and Mio on the pumpkin pie!
So much to be thankful for…
…especially these two. They are my world!
Mio and I, stuffed after Thanksgiving dinner.
The day after Thanksgiving brought a lot more hustle and bustle to the house. My brother Ted and Elisa had spent Thanksgiving Day in New Jersey, but came to join us for dinner on Friday, as well as Dan’s sister who visited us from New York.
The Yokoyama day-after-Thanksgiving dinner. Gotta have our sashimi fix!
Spending the weekend with Hyo. It was so nice having her visit!
Chicken masala pasty from The Pure Pasty for lunch on Sunday. Delicious!
“All aboard!” Mio playing at the red caboose train that I used to play at as a child in Old Town Vienna.
Some more photos of our little cutie…Â When I put her hair in a milkmaid braid, she pulled on my bathrobe and called herself “Queen Mio.” 😛
Mio can’t contain her excitement about Thanksgiving turkey this year! She’s been making turkey crafts and paintings all month long at preschool, and she always shows me when I pick her up by exclaiming “gobble gobble!”
She got to see the turkey yesterday while I was preparing to brine the turkey, and she got so excited! Watch below for an adorable video full of “Turkey! Gobble gobble!” (She called the brine “soup.”)
She was also in for a treat with preparing pumpkin pies with Daddy later that night!
Pouring the condensed milk in.
Mixing the egg into the batter.
Mio was very interested in every step.
She loved participating!
Mio loved being a part of Thanksgiving preparation!
Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends! We’re so grateful to be blessed with such a sweet, beautiful, and healthy little girl, and of course another one on the way. 🙂 We’re also thankful for all of our loved ones, near and far!
