Happy 2015! The girls were a little sniffly and under the weather the week of Christmas, but were feeling better afterwards… but I ended up catching whatever they had, which really worsened around New Years Eve! It was not the ideal way to kick off the new year, but I’m grateful I could spend it with my family and get enough time to dedicate to rest and recovery!
Dan’s sister Hyo, brother Ted and Ted’s fiancé Jackie came to visit us the weekend after Christmas, and we got to spend some quality time with them for a couple days! The girls loved being with their aunties and uncle, and were getting spoiled by all the extra attention!
On Saturday morning, we decided to all go ice skating! I’m not very good at ice skating, so I stayed outside the rink with Mirei, but it was Mio’s first time skating on the ice and she seemed to enjoy it! Dan and his siblings did a great job of holding her hands and keeping her safe as she skated.
After ice skating, we stopped by the Snocream Shavery bus to have some Taiwanese shaved ice!
Later in the afternoon, we headed over to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which is the National Air and Space Museum annex in Chantilly.
It was a short visit, but we had a lot of fun spending time together! It can be difficult for us to travel with two young kids, so we really appreciate whenever Dan’s family can come to us to visit. We look forward to the next time we’ll get to see each other again, and hopefully we can visit California in the new year!
On Christmas morning, we gathered with our family to open gifts together with family, but Dan wanted to do something a little special for Mio since this is the first year she really understands the idea of Santa Claus and how he comes to deliver presents to each house. He found out about an app called SantApp, which uses the light and sound features on your phone to create the illusion that Santa Claus is right in your living room delivering presents. He set it up and woke Mio up early Christmas morning. We thought that it’d be hard to wake her up (because it usually is), but as soon as Dan said, “Mio, I think I hear Santa. He’s here!” she jumped out of bed and ran down to the foot of the stairs, from which Dan told her to wait and listen. It was really dark, so I mostly caught just the audio in the video below, but you can hear and see what went on below:
Afterwards, we let her open just one present before the rest of the family gathered later that morning to open gifts. It was her much-anticipated pink octopus that she’s been asking for from “Santa” (actually thoughtfully sent by Uncle Ted and Auntie Jackie) — you can see her happy (and a little bit sleepy) reaction in the following video:
We’re so happy that we could share with Mio some of the magic of Christmas, and bring Santa Claus to our home! We then went back to bed and slept in a little more, before Ted & Elisa came over and it was time for us to exchange gifts…
Dan handled cooking most of Christmas dinner, and it was delicious!
Christmas Day also happens to be my birthday, and this year I turned 32! Growing up, I used to be saddened by the fact that I often couldn’t spend my birthday with friends, or that a lot of them would be out of town when I had a birthday party close to Christmas, but recently I’ve grown to appreciate the fact that I’ve never had to go to school nor work on my birthday, and that my family is usually gathered anyway for Christmas, so I can always spend it with them. In a way, it’s the perfect day to celebrate a birthday!
We hope everyone’s Christmas was just as warm and sweet! There’s so little left of 2014, and we wish everyone the best as we close this year and ring in the new one!
Mirei turned eleven months old on Christmas Day, and she showed us some of her most beaming smiles yet on Christmas morning! She melted our hearts as we snapped these photos. Happy first Christmas and eleven months, Mirei!
(I’ll be taking photos of Mirei sitting in my white desk chair and wearing her monthly onesie every month until she’s one year old.)
Previous Photos:
One Month Old • Two Months Old • Three Months Old • Four Months Old • Five Months Old • Six Months Old • Seven Months Old • Eight Months Old • Nine Months Old • Nine Months Old
Stats: You have a total of five teeth completely grown in now, and have quite a strong set of chompers! Your height seems to have stayed the same, and your weight gain seems to have slowed considerably as well, especially since you’re walking so much everywhere now!
Things You’re Doing Now: You are starting to communicate more with us now, and are using some of the baby signs that we’ve taught you, especially “more.” You’re starting to understand routines, and immediately make your way to the bathroom when it’s time for baths, and start trying to climb into the bathtub with your sister even before we’ve had a chance to take your diaper off! You sputter, “pai pai” (just like Mio did!) when you want to nurse, and you seem to understand and respond much more to our questions and conversations in general. You’re eating many of the same foods that we eat at mealtime, as long as they are not too strong in flavor and cut up small enough. You seem to love rice, and like the rest of the family, already love natto! You love using your pointer finger to poke everything, whether it be the “home” button of our phones, trying to stab our eyes, or to try to probe into our open mouths. It seems like poking is your way of exploring! You’ve completely mastered walking in the last couple months and rarely ever stumble! When we outstretch our arms towards you, you immediately come running to us to receive your hug, with a smile so wide and happy that it melts our hearts. You’re interacting with your sister more and more every day, and it’s sweet to see you two playing alongside each other with toys, even if it often ends with a tug-o-war of you two fighting over something. It’s amazing how fast time flies, and that next installment will be the last of your monthly photos!
We’re so thankful for the presence of our families and friends, both near and far. We wish for you a warm and safe holiday season, full of joy, love, and laughter with your loved ones. May your days be merry and bright, and we wish you all the best in this coming year!