Post Holidays

We have had lots of spare time now that the holidays are over and it's been nice knowing that I can go at whatever I pace I want these days. I pulled out these jammies that my mom had bought her when she was a newborn. I remember actually thinking they weren't that cute but when she put them on I just about died. I miss my mom so much! And I love letting G roam around in these oversized jammies and watching her trip over them :) she's too cute.

Tummy tickles in the hallway - the only time she lays still for longer than 3 seconds!! But really I am just so pleased with Zach's matching church socks and robe hahaha good job babe!! Way to stay classy.

At least he cleaned up for church:

Love these two. They make me tired. But I love them.

Playing peekaboo while getting a diaper change... she looks like such a baby in this video!!

 Getting a little thirtsy:

 And offering her mama some:

Her face just kills me nonstop.

And so do these fabulous handmedowns!!

Looking like a cute little boy in the bathtub:

 And working that nozzle. Haha! I love her bare bum!! It's perfect. 

We finally made time to visit Krystal at work and bring her Christmas presents from Taiwan.

And obviously G went straight for those meerkats:

 And made them her besties:

 Until we brought out the bubbles!! Sheer joy.

Georgia had her one year check up - 22.5 lbs and 75 percentile for height, weight, and head! I love my above average baby!! But she sure HATES check-ups now... she cries as soon as I put her on that scale to get weighed. And especially when I put her on that crinkled paper. She knows she's getting shots!! It's so sad. Those puppy dog eyes melt me right into a puddle of water. 

Sundays are SO much fun after getting bags of handmedowns from Kell - the mom with the most stylish kids!! All her stuff is Gap, Old Navy, and Target, and I'm SO lucky because it's ALL adorable! This dress looked brand new and warm for winter. I wish I had a matching one!! 

Hitting 24 weeks:

I spared you the hideousness that was our room. It was extremely messy! 

Making friends at the car shop:

They had a cute and no doubt germ infested playhouse but I just let it all go and watched her scramble around after the older boy. She LOVES boys. Always thinks they are trying to get her and play with her... such a flirt. 

 Calling out to him:

"Hey Boyyyyyy"

 Taking pictures for daddy while he was traveling for work:

 He was only gone two days but we definitely missed him.

More to come! Lots has been happening in this house, our little girl is growing so fast! 

A New Year

We started this new year off right - at the mall in our Nana's best!!

Just kidding, this was just some exchanging business in the days leading up to new year's. We love dressing up in the girly girly clothes that Nana picks out for Georgia. She's such a lady! 

There was a decent amount of snow outside so we finally took Georgie out sledding :)

Her face just melts me. She looks like such a marshmellow!

She had so much fun outside.

At the top of our backyard:

It's the perfect slope for sledding!

We spent New Year's Eve day in Provo with Aaron & Kristen and their family. They were staying at the Provo House so we went over to the Provo Beach resort for some fun! Yes I try to match my baby on occasion :)

Watching Paigy, Sydney, & Coby on the high ropes.

Learning mad racing skills from her daddy:

Love this girl SO much! 

We ate good food at Marley's Gourmet Sliders - if you haven't been there, it's GREAT! We finally headed home so Georgia could catch up on sleep. That night, we went to Tucanos in SLC with the rest of the Winger siblings. We even woke up Georgia in the middle of her sleep at 9:30 to party with us! Tucanos had all sorts of New Year's Eve party gear there, but Georgia only made it until 11 so we stuffed ourselves full and headed home, making it just in time to snuggle up in bed for the New Year :) I barely made it I was so tired and full!

We had lots planned for New Year's Day! It started in Midway where we met the Hoke's and family for lunch and then headed over to the much anticipated Ice Castles. It didn't look stroller friendly so we packed up Georgia in the baby sled and she had a ball! Not to mention turning heads left and right all down the street, people loved the baby in the sled! 

I wasn't even sure if they would let the sled in, some of the passageways were pretty narrow, but they OK'd it. And I'm SO glad we brought it so we didn't have to carry her around the whole time. The kids all wanted to pull her too, I didn't even have to break a sweat! 

I'm not going to lie, the "castles" were less than impressive... with what they advertised, I was expecting an enclosed area with tunnels or something (ridiculous I know... it's man-made and where the ice skating rink used to be) but it was fun to be there with family and the kids so that made it worth it. 

Baby Calvin quickly joined the bandwagon for a free ride. It was awesome! 

They both loved it :)

The kiddos: 

Aaron and his two crazy adorable twins! 

We spent the rest of the afternoon sledding down a big hill near Soldier Hollow with all the kids. We sat Georgia in the snow and she just explored and had fun! Thankfully she fell asleep on the drive back to Provo and had a decent nap in the car. We brought dinner home from Kneader's and relaxed at the house until everyone wanted to go to the Provo Beach resort again. This time they did the flow rider! So Georgia and I hung out, played arcade games, and scarfed down a Pineapple Dole Whip :) they are just the same as the ones at Disneyland! Loved it. It was a great end to our New Year's Day and we loved spending it with family and outdoors in the beautiful weather. It was chilly, but thankfully sunny and pretty!

There are so many things I'm grateful for right now and I'm determined to make this year even better than last! (let's hope anyway :) I really don't know what life with two kids is like...)

Among our resolutions... starting this girl on the toothbrush! I know... I'm super late with this. Yikes. But my pediatrician said no toothpaste until TWO years old!! Just water. Does that seem pointless or what? Is that normal across the board?? I think her monster teeth need a little power cleaning but I'll hold off for now :)

The year means a new ME! And I'm starting with my home. I'm branching out and exploring with baking, cooking, and all things SCRATCH! Something I have never attempted in my life. But I must say, it has brought me much happiness and I don't think I can go back! 

Who can come back from homemade scones??

These babies were delicious, but like eating a large and filling cookie for breakfast, so I will not be making these on a regular basis :) I cannot say the same for my 8.5 month sister:

We have baking brain waves 700  miles apart. Yes, she google-mapped that distance. She is more like me than she thinks :)))))

One of my go-to dinner dishes, courtesy of my best little bu-ud, Nikki, but with my own twist on it, creamy lemon chicken with onions and peppers. I love this dish! It's so easy and yummy! And so good paired with rice and garlic toast. Even the leftovers always go fast!

One of my Momma's home recipes, Oahu Chicken with pineapples. Sooo good. I always thought this dish was too difficult to make and not worth my time, but I was wrong wrong wrong! I love it. Such comfort food and always reminds me of home.

And this is my not-so-appetizing-looking take on another of my Momma's special recipes, apricot chicken. I used to request this EVERY YEAR for my birthday dinner. And I can't believe my mom always indulged me! It looks simple, but my mom is super gourmet when it comes to Asian food and she would bring out her big wok, bring the oil to the right temperature, and hand fry all the chicken in the crispiest most delicious breading and THEN top it with this amazing sauce and usually pair it with my favorite Chinese chicken salad AND have a 7 layer twice chocolate torte cake for me after that. She's amazing. I can't say I will ever do the same for my kids. Haha maybe someday... this is my crappy/lazy take on it:

The same delicious sauce, but instead I use Target's crispy tenderloins because believe it or not, they are actually really good. Any other brand is enough to make me gag, but Target's are spot on for quick, easy, and yummy white meat chicken tenders - don't judge me till you try it. I paired it with my mom's Chinese chicken salad and absolutely loved it. 

And this here is what appears to look like lunch but is indeed NOT.

Growing up, temple trips to the LA temple always consisted of two things: Mr. Noodle (or Tito's Tacos but I always hated it because they never had any sour cream - something I cannot eat Mexican food without) and Diddy Riese's for dessert. They have a selection of cookies and ice cream that you choose from and make your own cookie ice cream sandwich! I always choose Cinnamon sugar cookies and mint chip. And I wanted that. So I made it happen! The cookies were actually too simple, I was nervous I wouldn't like them but they were perfect. And the mint oreo (and mini marshmellows, much to Zach's dismay and whining and complaining and more whining) ice cream turned out AMAZING! I loved it so much, it was perfect! But also not good to have around for a week because I couldn't stop myself from eating it. 

And then there's lemon cake. You can pretty much eat lemon cake any time of the day. Because it has lemon in it. Right? 

I have been craving all things lemon for so long and I finally found a pound cake recipe that called for less butter and some Greek yogurt and seemed easy enough for a cake (and worth waiting that long for to bake in the oven - I hate waiting for cakes to bake!) It was nothing short of delicious. The more I ate it, the better it was. It was dense and moist and the glaze was amazing. I didn't hesitate to eat it for breakfast & dessert. 

Aside from exploring in the kitchen, I want to be happier. Laugh more. Be more loving. 

This cracked me up. Like every time I saw it it was more funny to me. Because it is completely 100% true for me. Enjoy :) 

Let's just say my main New Year's Resolution is to get through this year. With two babies under two. Wish me luck :) or send me help! Here's to 2014!!

Christmas Time 2013

Merry Christmas!!

Haha what baby loves Santa?? I'd like to see it.

This was at the Winger's ward party in Tustin. Sadly, I wasn't there to witness her first and only sitting with Santa :( because Zach and I got to go to a dinner & movie with Aaron & Kristen so we left her with Nana & Papa. Poor thing looks absolutely terrified!

On Sunday night, we drove down to Riverside to look at the famous Mission Inn lights. It was crazy packed with people! But so beautiful. I was not happy that the line for funnel cake & hot chocolate was a mile long.

On Christmas Eve we made our way down to our favorite Newport Beach and hung out with Ryan & Julie's family and Cathy & Frank. This babe sat in the sand for the first time! And I was surprised she didn't even try to eat it once!

It was the most perfect weather I could've asked for...made me so sad I don't live here anymore!

I love how much Georgia loves the water! She's obsessed and could play for hours.

Love this girl so much.

That night, I missed the Winger Christmas Eve Party waiting to skype with our Sister Missionary Caitlin! I may have shed a few tears of panic (I blame the hormones) that I might not be able to see her but we finally got it working. We only had 45 minutes with her and it FLEW by!! But what a blessing to be able to skype these days! Amazing. She looked beautiful as ever. Can't believe she'll be home before next Christmas.

This little booger didn't know what was going on Christmas morning...just grabbing at other people's presents and the tree ornaments. But she got lots of toys again and some clothes from Nana & Papa!

This was her present from Zach and I.

And obviously she couldn't be happier.... exciting stuff -____-

All in all it was great Christmas! Zach spoiled me with a workout top & snow jacket and he got to go play with his new golf birdie balls that I surprised him with. 

Cathy & Frank gave us money towards a grill we want to buy for the house as well as a book they really like and the Romney family cookbook! Perfect since I am delving into the world of cooking and baking these days. It was a great Christmas day and I loved spending it with family. Almost everyone was there including lots of the Sistrunks this year! This year I made Cathy's creamed corn recipe - which calls for multiple sticks of butter and pints of cream - who doesn't love that?! After filling up and lounging around we went to go visit cousin Julie in the hospital with their newborn babygirl, Haven Noel! She is so beautiful and I fell in love with newborn baby girls all over again! It brought me back to that peaceful time last year that I gave birth to Georgia. It is still so weird that I'm having a boy. I wonder how different it will be when he is born and can't imagine what it will be like, but I'm excited for him to be here already.

Staying at the Winger's house always guarantees me one thing - shopping time with Cathy! We hit the malls the day after Christmas and it was so much fun! It's been a long time since I have been able to just browse at the mall and look around. It started out the red carpets of Nordstrom with happy faces:

And ended back at the same place with a very different face:

We spent a good few hours there, missed her morning nap, but she was a trooper through it all! Zach was so nice to let me have a day at the mall after Christmas (not sure that he ever really approved, but either way, he was nice about it).

Over the next few days, we spent more time at the beach and with family.

Love these two so much... they make me so happy! 

Doesn't matter if the sun is setting and it's chilly, she'd dive right in if we let her. 

On Saturday, we said some goodbyes. Julie & Ryan love Georgia so much - they have 4 little girls of their one and Georgia would just fit right in to the bunch of them, old fashioned name and all!

 Julie's the best :)

 Her and Georgia spent some time taking pictures with the flash and laughing. Sure love how they turned out.

 Then it was off to Laguna Niguel to have dinner at YanYan & Uncle Matt's house with all my mom's side of the family and my Grandma! And I was SO excited to have a full blown Asian feast - a tradition of my childhood. They also had all of our Christmas gifts from my parents that they had brought home from Taiwan for us!! And that included this denim and sequin hat that my mom said was "sooooo Kaari". 

So apparently she thinks I haven't changed since high school. Haha thanks mom! Also included was a red tie with Chinese symbols on it for Zach, a ceramic Tree of Life tile, and some small bowls for holding soy sauce, which I asked for. Loved it all! It was a fun night aside from chasing Georgia up the stairs 75,000 times. It was the only thing she wanted to do! 

Me & my pregnant sissy... we stuffed our faces to our hearts' content. My time with her was too short!

The next morning we took our time, packed up, and were on the road by 8:30am. It was a LONG but pretty smooth drive. For the 3-4 hours I drove, these two were passed out in the back:

No fair. Georgia woke up any time we stopped the car so I mostly entertained her. I do not want to make that drive again any time soon. Even the worst flight is better than the drive. It was so nice to be back home again, but I felt a tiny bit sad to get back to our quiet lives... I enjoyed being around so much family all the time! It was such a memorable Christmas for us and I am so grateful we were able to spend in California with the people we love!