First Mother's Day

The only way my first Mother's Day could be any more special than it was would be if Nick was here to celebrate with us :-( He told me he wanted to make sure my first Mother's Day was extra special, and he made it a point to make me feel like a million bucks...even from all the way in Afghanistan! Throughout the week, he sent me not one, not two, but THREE bouquets of flowers...half dozen gourmet chocolate covered strawberries...and he got me a gift certificate for a day at the spa...AAAANNNNDDDD...he even took care of babysitting for Dannika so that I could have a day to myself. What a guy! My day started off with a nice morning workout, play time with Dannika, and an exciting trip to the grocery store! I had a random guy in the parking lot of the grocery store tell me "Happy Mother's Day!"...it totally made my day! I can't believe I'm a mom sometimes!

I decided to do some thinking about my mom, and came up with some life's lessons that I've learned from her throughout my years of growing up, and even though I didn't take her advice sometimes...ok MOST of the time...I can appreciate it now and can only hope that Dannika will take the advice (unlike her mommy). Even if she doesn't though, as long as she learns by trial and error, I'll be ok with that...

Lessons on Life from Mama Kim:

*some of this is light hearted...some serious...not all of these were things that were actually said by her, but things I have learned...

1) A girl and a boy can never be "just friends"...not saying it will ever actually develop into anything more, but at some point in the friendship, either of you will think about it being more.

2) The secret to a healthy marriage is to always have dinner ready on the table when your husband gets off work and iron his boxers and pajamas (yes...she actually did this...and my parents have been married happily for over TWO decades now!)

3) Marriage is not easy nor is it perfect, but you never want the world outside of your marriage to know when you have problems. It's not being 'fake' or 'putting up a front'...it's out of mutual respect towards each other, your family, and your children.

4) It is all about quality, NOT quantity. (ie: it's better to have that Louis Vuitton that cost your month's salary that will last you for 20 years and not go out of style than have 20 cheap purses in your closet that will go out of style in a year, fall apart, or you will never carry). 

5) Always leave your home looking presentable. Pajama pants and sweat pants are a no no. You never know who you're gonna run into!

6) Heels are an asian girl's best friend...even a little one. It elongates our rather short bodies and makes our legs look longer. My mom always wears heels...always....

7) Always wear sunscreen. My mom is 50 years old and she still looks like she is in her 30's...people can not believe I'm her daughter, and they have heart attacks when they find out she's a granny. 

8) Work hard and be honest in your work. Never compromise your morals.

9) Your children will appreciate the extra bedtime story you read to them. My mom used to read my sister and I Korean fairytales before bedtime. We would beg her to read us "just one more" after she would read a story to us. She always gave in. I appreciate the little things like that she did for me.

10) There is nothing in life that can not be solved by prayer. Pray about everything!

Before heading out on our Mother's day adventure...to Albertson's...hehe.

Albertson's...

Our beautiful front porch...

Front porch patio furniture that Nick's dad bought us.

Baby Poop

Who ever thought poop could be cute???? As much as I hate changing Dannika's poopy diapers...the process she goes through in order to "poop" makes me laugh...

"Umm...mom? I'm trying to poop here...can you get the camera out of my face??"

"Fine...I'm just gonna ignore you...and poop while concentrating on Yo Gabba Gabba. I'll just pretend you're not here"

"It's coming...and it's a good one. This will teach her to take picture of me pooping..."

"Oh man...it kinda hurts..."

I know this picture sucks cause it was taken with my blackberry, but this is Dannika chilling on the floor of the living room and watching Wow Wow Wubzy. She's so lazy....

SiLLy SiLLy GaL!

She was dancing to Dora...

Man, I love this little girl...

Retail therapy & Sunday dinners

I realized this weekend, that I was still trying to squeeze my poor baby girl in her 3-6 month onesies. I never really thought much of it cause they seemed to fit her..........

Until I realized that every time she crawled, it would come unbuttoned. 

The sad thing is...Dannika has a TON of clothes. I just have a hard time parting with her old ones. They all have SOME sort of memory. I decided to go down to San Clemente this weekend on Del Mar street and buy some overpriced baby clothes from the adorable baby boutiques down there. I love love love the store Mac & Madi. I'm a compulsive, overspending shopper, and I know this, BUT I just can't help it. 

This is one of the outfits I bought her...so cute. She wore this to daycare this morning. As you can tell by the look on her face...she loves new clothes just as much as mama does :-)

And of course, our Sunday was spent having dinner with the Gilbert family. It was fun. The Praxedes' came and I love good food, good wine, and good conversation. Did I mention the fact that Gloria is an AMAZING cook? Nick loves hearing about the conversations at their dinner table...they're quite funny sometimes! 

This is a dress that one of my poolie's mom bought for her when I was pregnant. It's very "summery". I wanted to put her in it before she grew out of it. Come to think of it...I have lots of clothes that I need to put on her before she grows out of them! I wish I had the wardrobe that Dannika has. I would have something different to wear every day of the week!

She was intrigued with Pepper...and kept laughing really loud everytime Pepper would come around.

This picture is funny cause Kevin looks so awkward with Dannika. He refused to hold her at first cause he claimed he wasn't a "baby" person. So instead of holding her...he set her on the table in front of him. You know what's funny is she loved him. She kept smiling at him and flirting with him. Watch out Kevin...when Nick gets back, he'll kill you!

HALFWAY!

We are halfway through this deployment! I'm really happy, but at the same time, in the back of my mind, I'm like..."it's only HALF?!?! it feels like it's been a freaking year!" I am thankful to God though that this deployment hasn't been TOO crazy. I've been spending a lot of quality time with Dannika, and watching her grow has really been a blessing. I am ready for Nick to get back though cause it would really be nice to go to the bathroom alone for once!!!!! If you're confused by that last sentence, don't worry about it. 

At all hands this week, we had training called "Four Lenses". Basically, this lady came and assessed all the recruiter's personalities, and grouped us into categories based on our likes and dislikes. I am a "blue". A blue is basically someone who is in love with love. They are true believers of the "fairy tale ending" when it comes to love. They believe strongly in gender roles within a family. Now...MOST Marines fall into "Orange". If you want to know more about the colors and what they mean, just google "4 Lenses"...find out what YOU are!!! 

This is Dannika doing patty cake for me. The color version of this picture was ugly...so I made it black and white...we are still patiently waiting for her hair to grow...

After her "brunch", I gave her cheerios to eat in her high chair. She grabbed a fistful of them in her hand and started straining REALLY hard...like she had tears in her eyes....turns out she was pooping...it was a good one...this is her pooping face.