Our local youth group organized a Halloween party and Trunk-or-Treat for the kids, so we took the girls to be a part of the fun on Halloween night! Dan decorated our trunk for Trunk-or-Treat, and was excited to show off his creation while handing out candy.
Our little Fit turned into a monster for the night!
Owin and the youth group leaders did such a great job of decorating!
Mio shouted “skeleton!” “ghost!” “bat!”, naming each decoration she spotted.
She REALLY wanted to go inside the “mystery room” that was locked up.
Peeking in.
Mirei was her typical exploring self, crawling everywhere.
Crawling and walking in the kitchen:
Mio participating in Trunk-or-Treat
Happy to get more candy!
Getting a photo with zombie hunter Owin
Mirei standing tall!
They had set up fun little games and activity stations outside.
Mio playing the fishbowl game.
Mirei crawling with baby Alex, who is a few months older than her.
My sweet little shrimp!
They had a photographer at the party, who took photos of everyone against a backdrop… Mio took full advantage — she kept going back in front of the camera, and even jumped in front of other people getting their photo taken and ruining their photos! She was so hyper at the party! (Special thanks to Yuseki Ota Photography for the pictures below.)
I realized that photos of the four of us are rare these days… so it was nice to get a family photo!
Showing off the girls’ sushi costumes
Posing like a pro in front of the camera!
There were a bajillion photos of her at the end…
She demanded, “Take a picture!” to the photographer. Little Miss Bossypants…
This might be my favorite!
A group photo with everyone who was in costume.
Thank you to Owin and all the other youth group members who did such an awesome job planning and organizing the Halloween party! Our whole family thoroughly enjoyed it — Mio didn’t go to sleep until 11pm that night because she was so excited from it.
Last Saturday, we were invited to a pumpkin carving party with the Lee family! There were lots of Halloween-themed treats and games for the little kids, and our whole family had a great time taking part in the festivities with friends. Stephanie and Chwan were wonderful hosts and really threw an awesome Halloween party full of fun for all ages!
A decorate-your-own-cupcake station! Such a great idea.
Delicious Halloween treats!
Mio checking out the cupcake spider.
Mimi holding Mirei 🙂
Mio sharing a pizza with Daddy
Mirei loved exploring in the new environment!
Mio’s decorated cupcake
Mio with her cupcake that she decorated!
There were lots of cool Halloween games that Stephanie set up for the kids.
Dan with our nigiri girls
Our girls dressed as sushi! We’ll have to post better photos of the costumes later.
Mio loved playing with Danny’s hammer toy
Mio decorated her pumpkin with these cat face foam stickers.
The carved pumpkins! Everyone did such a great job carving!
Dan carved the raven one (in the very back). Good job, hubby!
On Wednesday (Mio’s actual birthday) we celebrated at home with her grandparents, aunts and uncles with dinner, cake, and presents. Here are some photos and video from that day!
Mio opening her present from her grandparents (my parents). Mio has been obsessed with Minnie Mouse lately… so she was thrilled to receive this Minnie plush! Such joy! The elated birthday girl!
Whenever we asked Mio what she wanted for her birthday during this past month, she always would respond with “bear cake!” She’d seen this adorable cake at Shilla Bakery and had her heart set on it for her birthday. It’s all she wanted! So of course, we had to get it.
Mio’s birthday bear cake
The much-anticipated moment captured on video:
Happily eating her birthday cake. A family picture! 🙂 This time with the grandparents. Happy birthday Mio!
Mio celebrated her birthday with her preschool class on Tuesday, April 1. She couldn’t wait to bring these birthday cookies I baked for her class to school!
The teachers there are so sweet, and they took a couple photos of Mio during the class party (since parents can’t be there), and printed them out to give to me by the time I picked her up that day.
The birthday girl at preschool. ♥
Mio’s birthday celebration continues as we’ll be throwing a birthday party with all her little friends tomorrow! We’ll be sure to post photos and video from that after the weekend. 🙂
Last Friday, Dan’s team at his company invited Mio and I over to their office for a lunch. Dan had just been told that it was a lunch to treat us in honor of the upcoming arrival — we were surprised to find upon arrival that they had decorated the conference room and prepared many thoughtful and generous gifts for the baby. His fellow team members had planned a beautiful baby shower for us!
Mio was so excited to visit Daddy at work!
They catered a delicious Italian lunch from Merone’s. Mio was of course chowing down!
She also loved helping opening the gifts and cards.
Dan’s team members had even prepared gifts for Mio, including “Big Sister” scrubs she could wear to visit baby in the hospital!
A “Big Sister” book to prepare Mio to be a helpful older sibling.
They also presented us with a diaper/wipe caddy for the car embroidered with our last name, as well as a photo album full of generous gift cards from Target, Babies R Us, Baby Gap, B&H Photo, grocery stores… we were floored!
Mio especially loved this stuffed giraffe. She loved being a part of the celebration!
The baby shower lunch was such a warm and thoughtful gesture from Dan’s team, and we were reminded of how blessed we are to have so much support in both our personal and professional lives. With only a couple weeks to go until the due date, we’re finally feeling ready (or as ready as we’ll ever be) to welcome our much-anticipated addition to our family. (Even Mio has been pointing to herself and saying “Big Eester” — because she can’t quite say “sister” — non-stop, both at home and to her teachers and classmates at preschool. The other day, she came up to my belly and said, “Baby, hurry up!!!” lol.) We can’t wait to meet her!
(Special thanks to Dan’s coworker Melissa for taking these photos and sending them to us!)
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:
