Here are some photos from Fourth of July weekend! We spent it quietly at home, but Dan’s sister came down to visit from New York, and Ted & Elisa also came over so we had a lot of great family time together.
The girls in their red, white, and blue!
Here is Mirei on all fours, bouncing and rocking back and forth. She’s definitely getting ready to crawl!
Mio with a sparkler for the first time (with some help and supervision from Daddy, of course).
Holding a big firework with Mama
Mirei making more attempts to crawl.
She can sit up pretty well unassisted too, although we still spot her from behind…
I made sidewalk ice chalk for the first time.
It was great for showing how colors mix to make new colors, and I mixed baking soda into the ice and sprayed them with vinegar on the sidewalk to cause a reaction. Art + Science lesson in one!
Dan’s sister Hyo took some great photos of the girls too, so I’ll go ahead and share them here as well.
Painting with Mama on the porch.
Mirei hanging out with Auntie Miwa on the porch.
Twinkly-eyed… while grabbing Auntie’s face.
Hope everyone had a great Independence Day and holiday weekend! 😀
Happy Father’s Day to Dan, and to all the wonderful dads out there!
Our girls couldn’t be more lucky to have Dan as their Daddy! He works tirelessly for our family, and always makes sure he is 100% present for our children from the moment he comes home until they fall asleep, no matter how exhausted he may be from the workday. There are times when after our children’s needs are met, there’s little time and energy left over for each other. Gone are the days when we only had to worry about each other, when there was no shortage of sleep and our only commitment was to love and support each other. There are dark circles under my eyes, and noticeably more grays in Dan’s hair… but I cherish and love him in a way that I never could back then, because we’ve lived and loved through the sleepless, the mundane, the stress-riddled, the predictable and the less fairy tale-like moments of our lives together. And that is the kind of love that is real and will endure. He has our hearts for all of our days.
Dear Dan, thank you for all that you do. Your dedication to fatherhood is unparalleled. You’re our super hero, knight in shining armor, and best friend. We love you so much. Happy Father’s Day! ♥
We spent Memorial Day at home, BBQ-ing and relaxing with the family. Of course, we can’t celebrate this day without remembering the ultimate sacrifice that those in the military have made for the rest of us. Thanks to those who make those sacrifices to defend and protect, we can live in peace and we honor them on this day. We are forever grateful for their service.
Chicken satay, kalbi, and shrimp skewers on the grill.
Mio on Memorial Day
Under the sun umbrella
Mirei under the umbrella, getting shieled from the sun.
Sucking on her bib.
You can see the umbrella’s colors reflected in Mirei’s eyes.
Vienna had its annual Viva Vienna! festival on Memorial Day weekend, and since Mio had such a great time going last year, we spent a couple hours of our Saturday morning there, going on the rides and enjoying some of the food before it got too crowded and hot. Mio could go on a lot more rides this year because she met the height requirement for most of the rides — our sheet of tickets went fast with all the rides she wanted to go on!
On the carousel at Viva Vienna
She wanted to ride on the giraffe.
On the swing ride!
Mirei’s first time at Viva Vienna! She was pretty quiet the entire morning in her stroller, letting the rest of us enjoy the festival.
Riding on the spinning dragon with Daddy.
Daddy’s girl ♥
Making her way up in the funhouse… that’s our climber!
Dashing across the bridge!
…and coming down the slide! This funhouse seemed to be her favorite (more than the rides), and she wanted to go through it again.
Riding the Wiggle Worm ride.
On the boat ride
On the train ride.
Delicious crabcake sandwich!
Dan and Mio taking a bite.
After coming home from Viva Vienna!, Mio spent the afternoon playing in the wading pool.
Sunday was my first Mother’s Day as mommy to two girls! With Mirei coming into our lives this year, I felt twice as lucky to get to be a mama to our precious daughters. It actually turned out to be a really relaxing, lovely day… the girls were both happy and sweet all day, there was no crying from either of them, and it was so peaceful and just perfect — a rarity when you’re a parent of two! If only every day could be like this!
The girls and I at lunch with the rest of our family (we went to pho to celebrate both my mom and I).
First Mother’s Day as a mom of 2!
Love these girls ♥
In the afternoon, Dan really wanted to take Mio back to the pool because she’s been talking about it for a while, and my sister volunteered to watch Mirei while we took Mio. Mio really enjoyed feeling like an only child again and getting all the attention from both Mommy and Daddy! She was so over-the-moon-happy that at one point she started enthusiastically hugging and kissing both of us, saying “I love you Mommy! I love you Daddy!” (which she rarely says unless we say it first). It was such a sweet moment and really made my Mother’s Day! I know adjusting to sharing our attention with Mirei has not been easy for Mio, so I’m glad that we could finally give her some much-needed one-on-one time with us.
A happy Mio at the pool!
Watching some of the other kids.
In the whirlpool area with me.
Mio’s good mood continued on through dinnertime, when we picked up Mirei and went out to get some Burmese food. Mirei slept through the whole dinner, and these words were on repeat from Mio’s mouth. (It’s funny because she almost looks intoxicated and woozy from all the happiness she felt that day!)
It really was just the perfect day… This may have been my favorite Mother’s Day yet! 🙂
