Today we took a little family excursion to a blueberry farm about an hour and a half away. The day was a  little warm, but it was an amazing time. Some of my first memories are picking berries with my mom, so this was a fun way to carry on the memory! The girls loved it, and so did we. :)

lots of updates needed here folks!

since i last posted we have:

1. taken a trip to india
2. celebrated halloween
3. celebrated thanksgiving
4. found out we're PREGNANT!

but there's no way i'm going to try to catch up on everything in this post, so for today it's all about item #4.



just a few days after i last posted we found out we're pregnant again...which has probably contributed to my radio silence since i knew it would be hard to talk about other things without letting it slip.

let me just start by saying that we were thrilled to be expecting another kid...and also terrified!

last fall we had a miscarriage, which is a matter that deserves it's own post. let's just say for now that going through an experience like that kind of taints your hope.

so we started off a little nervous this time, especially considering we had a trip to india planned.

but i'm super thankful to have made it to the second trimester now...i feel like i can breathe a sigh of relief! our decision not to share about the pregnancy until we were through the most dangerous part this time had more to do with us not wanting to get all our hopes up and think about it too much than it had to do with wanting to keep our lives private.

anyways, now this little one is a little over 15 weeks. i've struggled with nausea quite a bit like i did with jia, and it still hasn't totally gone away yet. it seems like with jia it got better sometime between 16-20 weeks, so i'm praying for relief soon! i'm a huge wimp when it comes to being nauseous, but if it means that baby is growing healthy and strong then it's worth it!

so far the ultrasounds look good! jia i think is just started to get an idea of what's going on. it's fun to talk to her about it because she's at a super cute age where she's really developing enough vocabulary to put her thoughts into words.

i'm sure there will be ups and downs when the new baby arrives, but i'm feeling confident that jia will be a great big sister!



now that the cat is out of the bag i'll try to update this blog more often. starting by catching up! we welcome any prayers though for our family and this new little one that God is blessing us with!

on jia's actual birthday we wanted to make it a little extra special even though she wasn't having a party or anything on that day.



i started off the day by filling the hall with balloons, so when she woke up she had to kind of wade through them. balloons are her favorite, so that definitely kicked the day off right! it took her half an hour to get down the hall because she was so enamored!



then there was cake for breakfast! in my defense, it was zucchini cake, so it was semi healthy. (and it's surprisingly yummy!) we had to blow out the candle for her the first time, but then she wanted us to keep lighting it so she could try again and again.



after breakfast we decided to go for an outing.

since it's june and it's already pretty hot, i turned my sights on indoor fun with a toddler.

i kept hearing that the perot museum was great, so we decided to check it out.







the museum itself was pretty awesome, though a lot too old for a toddler to get into, though she loved the children's museum...so that part was totally worth it for her.










in the evening we went out to eat and let her play for a bit a kid mania. which is basically a giant indoor maze. she went crazy there and it was hard to finally reel her in!




at the end of the day it was safe to say she had a good birthday...it's a good day when you can wear out a toddler! :)

parsley sage rosemary and thyme....



scarborough faire is one of my favorites, and i absolutely can't go without getting that song stuck in my head!

out first trip there was last year, and we loved it so much that we decided to make it an annual tradition! jia really loved it this year too, and we were able to go with some friends this time!













it's just a fun chance for grown ups to play make believe and totally escape from reality for a bit! can't wait until next year! :)

our little munchkin turns two next month, and we haven't had a vacation in a VERY long time, so we decided to take a little trip now while she still flies for free!

this is a little story i just wanted to write down so that my daughter can look back on it one day and hear about how she bought us a Valentine's dinner.

we didn't want to mess with trying to find a babysitter on a holiday and all that this year, so we decided to live dangerously and take jia out with us to a japanese hibachi grill!

we figured it would be either a big hit or a big mistake with her. i wasn't sure if all the fire and cooking show would entertain her or terrify her.

our evening started off on a rough foot with jia running around in circles around the house and throwing up all over herself just as we were trying to walk out the door for our night out. i was starting to doubt our decision right then.

after a quick wardrobe change we made it to the restaurant in time for our reservation. as we walked in i saw a few doubtful glances cast our way from couples out for valentine's dates. I was afraid all the romantics out that night would hate us.

jia was a little restless initially at the table, but that's normal for her...she tends to get "hangry". once our soup came out though she was acting more like herself...she thoroughly enjoys the challenge of feeding herself soup with a spoon at this age.

then our chef came out and did his fun cooking act in front of us. thankfully jia was more interested than scared, and our gamble paid off!



as we finished our meal we wondered where our check was since it seemed others around us had already gotten theirs, but didn't think too much of it.

an older couple who had been sitting across from us on the other side of the chef walked by on their way out and said "I hope you aren't offended, but we paid for your meal. We were just so delighted by your daughter. Really it's your daughter that bought your meal. Happy Valentine's day."

totally not what we were expecting! we were totally blown away by this random act of kindness and generosity! This was a nice restaurant and a special treat for us...our bill wasn't cheap...around $60, plus tip!



i have no idea who those strangers were, but they were such a huge blessing and inspiration to us! i just hope to one day pay forward this kindness!

ok so christmas was more than a month ago, so i need to hurry and write down the little memories we made this year before they all fall out of my head! (as things tend to do rather quickly these days!)

A) christmas is my favorite time hands down. i still feel crazy like a kid when i start hearing christmas music or see decor up. from november 1 till december 25 i'm pretty much loving life.

B) jia was at an adorable age to enjoy the holidays this year. 18 months is pretty much as cute as it gets.

for santa pics we've made it our tradition (for a whole 2 years now! :P) to go to the little santa's village in our town. it's free, and adorable. however, this year jia was a fan of the overall experience, but not so much of santa.





maybe it was just the whole 18 month separation anxiety thing...or it being past her bedtime. but oddly enough she was a fan of the police officer.



oh and of course the petting zoo was a big hit. i'm sure this kid will be a total animal lover.



we also went to see santa at willow bend mall. we didn't get pics with him (because mama's cheap!), but we did play in the fake snow (since it was free), and she was much more interested in that anyways.



a few days later this was followed by real snow/ice. and she had a ghetto-fabulous time.



and also had her first taste of hot chocolate.



christmas was partly made possible by pinterest this year. i don't know how people did the whole parenting thing before pinterest. it inspired an advent calendar filled with chocolate coins, and a felt christmas tree. both big hits for toddlers in the house.




and of course we always love a good advent candlelight service...thought jia maybe still be a little young to appreciate it.



she did however enjoy christmas lights this year...vitruvian park looked magical!



for us, the best gift on christmas morning was definitely watching her open hers! she got the hang of it this year!



it was pretty cute to see her having fun with gifts before the greed kicks in.

christmas is always a super meaningful and special time for me...but having a kid around definitely brings a little extra magic to it all...and an excuse to let my inner child loose! ;)