13 months!

phewwwwwwwww~ 13 months! in a way it seems like it's been so long.. but in a way it seems so short! these days i've been staying home a lot and resting with james... i don't know why but i've been SO BUSY the past couple of months running errands here and there, but the past two weeks or so has been a bit relaxing for me. i think it's also because we went on a family trip to AC with my parents and we got to just sleep in a lot.

james has been waking up at 10am these days (YAY!) and he takes about 2-3 naps a day depending on his mood. i take a nap with him because i sleep so late at night so i love nap time as well! it's been so hard adjusting to his sleeping schedule because i'm a night owl, but i guess these are the sacrifices you need to make as a mother.

i've been trying really hard to make my baby and husband breakfast and lunch which was really hard for me since waking up in the morning is the hardest thing for me to do, but i realized that by doing that it was just going to hurt me (mentally), and my babies (physically!). so i've been working on it, and i'm finally getting used to it. :)

james doesn't like to eat fruits so i've been trying to put it in his food and that seemed to work. for instance, for breakfast i'd make pancakes.. but one day i'll make blueberry pancakes, and a couple of days later i'll make banana pancakes. i also give him this apple-cranberry sauce that our cousin made for us and i add real strawberries and give it to him with it, and he likes that as well.

for lunch i try to feed him lots of protein. today i made tofu with sauteed spinach, miso soup, mushrooms and meatballs with peppers. thankfully i have a baby who will eat anything and everything so that makes life a lot easier for me. but i won't lie... making a meal plan is hard! :(

but with that being said, words cannot describe how happy i am with my little one. he's walking better as the days go by, and he's getting more independent. he helps us put his shirt on when we're changing him, and the way he looks at me just really melts my heart. these days after he cries for me i pick him up and when i do, he puts his arms around me and holds on for dear life.. and that feeling is indescribable. i thank God everyday for such a blessing like him.

walking!

pictures from james' first birthday party~

venue: the place we had james' birthday party is called "dae dong manor" in flushing, ny. they hold all kinds of celebrations.. it was really nice, i highly recommend it. the TLC and food was off the charts and they were really accommodating to us. we did the buffet style, and the team manager got not only us food, but both our parents food because she knew we didn't have any time to eat. how nice! :) also they decorate everything for you so all you have to do is decorate your picture table and that's about it. very convenient.

you get to choose from different colors.. i chose light blue.

everything is included..

my DIY disney themed place cards

i d/led the walt disney font and used the label stickers and stuck it on construction paper.

james' doljabi :)

sammy guessing what james is going to go for~

picture table

layout~

what a little rascal.. haha he really wants the apple!

james in his first hanbok (traditional korean clothes)

with my parents

dennis' family

my family

the MC told him to do the gangnam style dance.. surprisingly he wasn't bad! haha

dennis making a speech

watching the slideshow we made

rev. park praying for the food

with the love of my life<3

with daddy!

guests watching the slideshow

with the guests~

singing the birthday song.. and all of us in hanbok

james decided to clap with us.. it made the guests really happy

cutting his first cake! :)

what will he choose?!

going for it!

he took the whole napkin -_-

my baby chose the rice!

grandparents also thanking the guests for coming!

we also gave out raffle prizes and had our guests answer some questions. overall we had a blast.. i'm so thankful and grateful for everyone who came and for showing support and love to our family. james is so lucky to have such wonderful people around him and words will not express how thankful i am. it would be a lie if i said that it wasn't stressful planning a party for 100+ guests, but in the end it was all worth it! now it's time to plan for our wedding! yayy................. haha :)

photography: we were referred to this place called "baby president" in flushing, ny. not only were the pictures super cute (but fobby! =x), he was our mc and he offered to do it for free! awesomeness! not to mention he did a really great job at it too! all of our guests were super entertained and they were saying how much fun they had!

 the slideshow that we made:

my first DIY post!

james has been eating baby cereal and gerber veggies / fruits but i wanted to put him on some REAL food~ so i purchased a baby bullet and decided to make him porridge~ so far he hasn't had any food allergies, so i made him a carrot / mushroom porridge.

REALLY easy. and being korean sure came in handy! we have TONS of multi-grain rice :)
the whole entire process overall took about 10-15 minutes~

first you have to wash the rice about 4-5 times and leave it in the water for about an hour.. this is about 3/4 cup of rice

cut up whatever vegetables you want to put in it

boil til cooked

leave the water as it is.. don't throw it out!

take out the veggies and blend it~ make sure you don't use the cross blade because then it will become TOO mushy

add the rice into the water that you cooked your veggies in.. stir for about 5-8 minutes in medium to high temp.

add your veggies~

and voila~ made 4 servings!

i had some carrots and mushrooms left over so i used the cross blade to blend it.. made two small servings for a snack? i'm not sure how it'll taste though.. carrots and mushrooms? =x

after we get the OK sign, i want to add beef or chicken.. it'll taste so yummy! oh and i added a tad bit of salt in it~ we'll see how james likes it tomorrow~ good night!