Happy Easter! Mio got to go on her first egg hunt yesterday when her friend Danny and his parents invited us over for an Easter egg hunt in their front yard. Even though it was Mio’s first time, she knew exactly what to do and was a egg hunting pro!
Stephanie made little signs in each area with numbers indicating how many eggs each child could pick up in that respective location, to make sure that they would all get an equal number of eggs.
There were also various themed eggs, from metallic ones to iridiscent ones, to ones shaped like ducks and cars!
Mio’s favorite was definitely the ducks!
Mio is distracted by a pretty pom pom decoration on a tree.
Back to the egg hunt!
Danny also hard at work finding eggs!
Mio showing us her loot! So many eggs!
Adorable Danny counting out his eggs.
Mio randomly came over and gave Daddy a hug. Such a sweetheart.
Looking quite pleased with herself.
Cutiepies with their eggs!
Mio suddenly grabbed one of her car-shaped eggs and held it out towards Danny, as if she wanted to give it to him.
“Danny…?” No response.
He finally turns and notices!
Negotiating a trade. lol
Are you being bashful, Mio? Too cute!
The three cutiepies, quite happy with their eggs!
A family picture. 🙂
The beautiful Lee family! Thanks for organizing the egg hunt, Stephanie!
Mio inches in towards Danny and oustreches her arms for a hug.
…but instead of a hug, they just ended up standing really close to each other and staring down at their toes.
Danny getting a little push from his Daddy.
This looks like a scene from a sappy Asian drama. lol
Back at home, checking out the toys inside the eggs. Instead of the usual chocolates and candies, the eggs were filled with little stickers, toys, and other goodies that are fun for kids to play with.
Cute Easter-themed stamps from inside the eggs!
There was even little bunny dolls with parachutes attached to them. Here Mio is trying to test one out.
Mio had such a great time at the egg hunt, and was playing with the eggs and the little goodies from inside the eggs all day yesterday, even reaching for them right after she awoke from her nap! It must have been just that much fun for her. Special thanks to Danny, Stephanie, and Chwan for planning and preparing the egg hunt and having us over! It was a very fun and memorable occasion for our whole family!
After our weekend in LA, we flew up to San Jose to stay with Dan’s parents for the rest of the week! It was a short five days that flew by, but it was so nice for Mio to see her grandparents again and spend some quality time with them. When she got off of the plane at SFO, she was really cranky and crying, but as soon as she saw her grandparents who came to pick us up, her face broke into a huge smile and she reached her arms out to them! She remembers them from all the times we spent together while we lived in California, as well as all the video chats they’ve been doing via Google Hangout since we’ve moved out here.
Here are some snapshots from when we had a family outing and lunch at Edenvale Garden Park in San Jose…
Mio trying on Grandma’s hat. On the swing… her favorite!
Hanging out by the trains.
Love is the coal that makes this train roll.
She’s looking so grownup these days. I can’t believe she’s almost two!
We were invited to our dear friend Hanna and her brothers’ annual Christmas party this past Saturday, and we were so excited we could make it this year! (We’ve only been able to attend once before because we were always in California until right before Christmas.) We put Mio to bed and left her with my parents in case she woke up, and got to have a fun evening celebrating the holidays with friends!
With the lovely hostess Hanna! ♥
With beautiful ladies Liz and Luice!
Love these silly girls! 🙂
Dan and I by the Christmas tree.
It was a potluck, and there was SO much amazing food! I ate so much, and it showed. haha* I should think twice before wearing a bandage skirt if I know I’m going to be stuffing my face…
Having a piece of the cherry pie that I brought!
Ladies in red! Hanna with her girlfriends.
The highlight of this annual Christmas party is always the White Elephant gift exchange! There’s always lots of laughs and interesting gifts, and this year was no exception! This year there was everything from a knockoff Snuggie to a Kindle up for grabs!
Eric opened the S’mores kit we brought! (But it was eventually stolen by Sisi.)
My turn to open a present.
A lunch sack! (Which was eventually stolen a few times, so I got a travel cosmetic bag and a neat message-growing plant in the end.)
Us with our gifts!
Dan and I with our gifts. He got Ferrero Rocher – my favorite! 😉
Handsome Cider. I remember he was so tiny when Hanna first got him 5 and a half years ago while we were in college!
Reunited with gorgeous Sisi!
I’ve missed this girl! ♥
Playing Dance Central with Sisi!
Showing off our moves! lol… I’m an awful dancer, but it was fun!
Beautiful family picture 🙂 We love the Chang family!
Catching up with my former roomie and one of my best friends! Thank you Hanna for a wonderful party. 🙂
Last Saturday, we went to a holiday potluck party with friends. Everyone brought such delicious food, and we also had a Secret Santa gift exchange. It was great seeing a lot of my high school girlfriends again, even some I hadn’t seen in years! Special thanks to Lucy for hosting the fun gathering at her lovely home.
My best friend Debbie and I in front of the Christmas tree. 🙂
Enjoying delicious food and chatting with friends
Mio was anxious and overwhelmed by all the people at first, and wanted to be held for the first half of the party.
Beginning the Secret Santa gift exchange! It was fun to find out who each person’s gifter was!
The girls opening presents. I was Yonmi’s Secret Santa!
My Secret Santa was Ploi, and she got me the Naked palette from Urban Decay! I was so surprised! I’ve heard so much about the Naked palette, and was so delighted to receive it. Thank you Ploi ♥
Revealing each other’s Secret Santas
Mio was really curious about my gift.
Already a fan of makeup, she grabbed the box and wouldn’t let it go.
…and then she tried to eat it. Mio warmed up to everyone a lot more after a while, and started checking out the Christmas ornaments and running up to everyone.
I was so surprised when in the middle of the party, my friends turned off some of the lights and started singing “Happy Birthday,” bringing over a birthday pie lit with candles! I was so touched. :’)
A sweet surprise!
Thank you everyone! Special thanks to Debbie for buying the pie from Pie Sisters – it was so delicious!
There was so much good food at the holiday party!
I hadn’t seen Yonmi since college! We’re both moms now. 🙂
A family picture!
We had a wonderful time at the holiday party, and it didn’t go too late so we were able to get back in time for Mio’s bedtime!
My nightly routine of reading a few books to Mio before bedtime.
Reading together ♥ One of my favorite moments together.
We celebrated Dan’s birthday with a quiet dinner at home and birthday cake, as we’d already had our fancypants dinner last weekend. For dinner, I made Dan’s favorite — unagi (eel) donburi — and for dessert, I baked and frosted a German chocolate cake (also his favorite!). It was my first time making the coconut pecan frosting from scratch, but it was surprisingly easy and turned out delicious!
The German chocolate birthday cake I made for Dan!
30! A milestone.
Putting the cake decorating skills I learned this year to use!
Homemade coconut pecan frosting on top and in between the layers.
The handsome hubby turns 30!
Dan was psyched by the Android series 3 collectible dolls I got him for his birthday!
Dan’s favorites from the collection. 30 years old but still a kid at heart! 😉
Happy 30th birthday to my better half! Thank you for being such a wonderful husband to me, and a loving father to Mio. I’ll be joining the thirties club soon enough, in a couple weeks!