Preparing For Greyson

The weeks are flying by and it's really starting to sink in that in a month or so I'm going to be a mama to TWO BOYS. Slllightly freaking out a little bit here. My mom thinks I won't make it past the first week of December bc I'm so huge (Thanks Mother. #typicalbluntAsianmom). I feel like I've forgotten how to take care of a newborn. So little, so squishy. I'm used to my rough and rowdy wild child that I'm more anxious about myself than how C will react to his brother. Is it really like riding a bike? REALLY? I haven't done anything since we're going to have so much going on with the move. I've washed some clothes and that's about it! It's true, 2nd child syndrome is a real thing.

This pregnancy has been completely different from my first. Caden didn't really give me a hard time outside of migraines, but this baby has been kicking my butt, literally. Compounded by an active toddler, my body is ready to shut down. Everywhere aches, I'm beyond exhausted, and I feel like my belly button will just burst open. The doctor says I'm measuring on the bigger side for how far along I am and he will probably be bigger than Caden. OH YAY. I feel kind of bad; little dude is probably so squished up in there. Somedays I feel like he's trying to kick his way out. Regardless of how crappy I'm feeling, I muster up all the energy I can to make our weekends and 1 on 1 time with big brother worthwhile before he's no longer my only child.

It's going to be a monumentally stressful time for me with the move, the adjustment of another dependent little human, the parentals all up in the mix, and the hormones, oh gawd, the hormones...I can already feel the beginnings of a melt down and mommy guilt building up in my toes, but I'm trying extra hard to take it all in stride. But deep down, I'M TERRIFIED people. I've already told the husband to have a plate of sushi ready for me to inhale at the hospital after delivery and if he knows what's good for him, he better remember! At least we're more fortunate this time around in that D's able to take 6 weeks off for paternity leave instead of just one with Caden. He'll be able to spend a lot of time with C and take a lot of my plate with the mounting list of things to do for the move.

Caden is not only ridiculously spoiled with our time and affection, but with his grandparents, I worry so much about how he'll feel. We've done all the books, the constant reminders that this is "his baby" to get him ready for Greyson. All signs are pointing to a sucessful transition so far, but I've probably just jixed myself  by typing that and putting it out there in the universe. Lately, he's been talking and playing with a teddy bear he has and you guys, it's so adorable. He shares his cars (unheard of), reads his books and sings w/ Teddy. However, D and I overheard him saying "Do you want a spanking Teddy?" the other day and we completely lost it. I guess Teddy wasn't listening and being a bad bear. :)

A lot of moms have told me that they just can't believe how much their hearts have expanded to love another child after their first and I guess it's something I'll just have to wait to experience. We've been so so blessed to have such a happy go lucky, confident, funny, handsome little guy I just can't imagine having another kid completely steal my heart as much as this one.

Halloween 2014

I hate Halloween. It's such a pointless holiday IMO. Maybe it's the fact that my parents never let us go when we were growing up bc of the irrational paranoia and fear they had that someone would try to poison the neighborhood kids aka my brother and me.

Clearly, it would be wrong of me to deny my son the tradition of Halloween. I'll let him decide what holidays to hate himself. Last year he was still young and didn't really understand the concept, so I must admit I was a little psyched he was so pumped about wearing a costume. I'm thrilled he's starting to expand his interests into things other than cars and trucks and happily obliged to Spiderman.

C was a regular old pro at trick or treating (although it took a few houses for him to understand he could only have what they gave out and he couldn't go shopping in their candy buckets lol) and I loved seeing him keep up with the big kids and not getting spooked at the scary houses.

I'm actually kinda looking forward to next Halloween. Greyson will be old enough to tag along so OBVIOUSLY I need to find matching costumes for the boys...and maybe Daddy :) I guess Halloween is not so bad after all.

[2012 - 1st Halloween as a baby dragon]   [2013 - mommy's Prince Charming/Dictator]   [2014 - Spider-Man]

Our 5 Year Anniversary

D. and I took the entire day off yesterday to spend time together for wedding anniversary. We didn't do anything exciting or romantic at all. It's so rare that we get to do anything with just the two of us, so all we both wanted was to have a whole day of nothing on the agenda, just to cruise around, run errands at our own pace without worrying about naptime, snacks for a hungry toddler (only snacks for a hungry preggo), and have adult conversation. It was pretty dang nice for a change.

I thought it would be fun to share 5 random facts about us on our 5 year anniversary!

• D. doesn't drink while I *can* be a complete lush. I may or may not be that girl at the office Christmas party. But honestly, his nondrinking ways have started to rub off on me, since I can't even rememer the last time I even had a buzz. It was probably pre-Caden! 

• While we've been married for 5 years, we were together for 5 years before that. I can't believe a whole decade with this guy has flown by. That doesn't include the few months we dated while in high school before I went away to college. I still tease him that he was my rebound after a breakup w/ an ex :)

• This man has the patience of a saint with me and I'm so thankful for that. Maybe it was my defense mechanism from failed relationships, but I had a really bad tendency to be ... just plain bitchy. It was to the point where my gfs and even my parents told me to snap out of it bc D. was so nice and frankly didn't deserve it. Ya'll that's love when someone sees you at your worst, and still wants to be with you! Recognize it!

• We are super impulsive people. We are definitely 'do it now, think about it later'. For example: I got into a fight with my dad about somethign random and was so pissed and wanted to move out. Instead of cooling off, lettting it blow over like a normal, rational person, we decided we wanted to move in together. My parents are old school, so Dat went and bought me a ring so we could live together! Makes sense and totally not hasty at all, right? We had a nice and long engagement though :)

• We are major homebodies. What is cabin fever? I literally could spend a week inside the house and not step foot outside if we were fully stocked on groceries and had the interwebs. Hubby is just as content as long as there's cable TV and Clash of Clans to play. 

Our server brought us apple cider instead of champagne lol

anniversary selfie or should I say us-ie

Texas State Fair - 2014

My parents worked 7 days a week, almost year round when my brother and I were growing up. It was a typical childhood for immigrant families, work hard...and well, work hard. We didn't have any family vacations until much later on in our pre-teen years, and going out was just my dad taking us all out to eat lunch on Sunday afternoons. However, one place my mom always took us was the State Fair once a year when it opened in the fall and is a fond childhood memory for me.

As a Dallasite, the State Fair became an annual tradition of ushering in the new season with ridiculous fried foods and overpriced rides and carnival games. I love it and we've been keeping that tradition w/ Caden and soon Greyson!

feeding the animals at the Children's Barnyard - I was surprised they had zebras and a baby giraffe along w/ farm animals

I've never seen an alpaca before! such a funny looking creature

a ham for the camera as usual

cute farm area for kids to learn how to be be a farm hand; their chores like milking cows, collecting eggs, and harvesting vegetables earn them money where they can go to the general store!

C & Daddy were in heaven at the car show - such a boy!

Daddy & C selfie on the rollercoaster - my little man had no fear this year!

one last ice cream before we head out!

Our Summer Vacation - Destin 2014

Call me crazy and weird, but I really don't like beaches. #firstworldproblems

1. I can't tan. I pretty much burn if I'm in the sun for more than 20 minutes even with spf 70. 
2. I can't swim. My dad had a strange fear of us drowning (a totally normal parental concern that we all have) but rather than let us learn an important survival skill, he kept us from all large bodies of water. Makes total sense.

These two fundamental reasons are pretty much why anyone goes to a beach, but somewhere along the way, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to pack up the family and drive 14+ hours to Destin, Florida. We rounded up 3 other couples and their kiddos and rented a house for a week. 

Things I learned:

1. Adjust your expectations. Vacation with kids (7 at that!) is not REALLY a vacation. . You will not be lounging in your beach chair with your adult beverage reading on your Kindle. You will be chasing your toddler who is about to eat a fistful of sand, reapplying sunscreen every 30 minutes, looking for a juicebox, and digging through your beachbag for snacks to avoid potential meltdowns. 
2. Get a place right on the beach. We rented a house that was probably a 5 minute walk which seemed like a good idea, but with the number of bodies we had, it was such a pain to lug our gear. All our poor hubbies were worn out from the number of trips they had to take to get everything down to the sand and set up.
3. Forget the sand toys. We brought soo many toys. Shovels, buckets, castle molds, sifters, you name it, we brought it. The kids played with ONE bucket. The rest of the time they spent in the water. Who would've thought?
4. Make it a pool day. We are so glad we got a house with a private pool because the kids (and parents) loved it! The first two days, some of the little kiddos were actually pretty afraid of the ocean and sand and wanted nothing more than to just go home. Thankfully, they pool eased them into it and it gave the parents a little break to just sit in one place for more than 10 minutes at a time. 

While we were there, we took some pictures with a professional photographer, Darris Hartman, for fun. I highly recommend her. Excuse our crazy hair, it was super windy!

Of course, we had to take our first picture as a family of FOUR! Baby Deux coming in December :)

Sam & Donna's Wedding

Our dear friends got hitched this past wknd (about damn time, ya'll!). It was our first outdoor/barn wedding so there was some definite confusion over the dress attire - wedges or heels? are we going to be in the grass? why don't I own a pair of cowboy boots? what the heck do we wear to a country asian wedding?? And of course, the two dresses I rush ordered online looked terrible on so I had to make an emergency run to the mall on Friday during lunch.  The dress gods must've taken pity on me because I found a barn-yardy appropriate dress at my very last stop, H&M.

I wish I had taken more pictures of the cute details the bride put into the wedding - the pie bar and Paciugo girl was a big hit w/ C and my hips - but it was either keep the kiddo entertained or sneak off for a drink. Priorities, people. We were the only couple who brought a 2 year old, so there were plenty of aunties and uncles around to love on him all night. I think that will be my new strategy for events from now on. Be the only mama who brings their kid. :)

It was a great night to see everyone under one roof -- most of these friends the hubby has known since middle school. I love that we are all still friends, picking up where we left off since the last time we saw each other, all a little rounder, sharing pics of our children in between shots. One of my hopes is that Caden is able to cultivate the same kind of friendships that we are so blessed to have and cherish so much. 

Congratulations Sam & Donna!! Now go make babies!

Back from the Dead

Damn February was a rough month! I can't believe almost a whole month has passed without a post, but we were strugglin' here at the Ngu house. We all got an awful strain of the flu and then baby boy got an ear infection and strep!  I think I've lost part of my left lung with all the coughing,  but we're finally on the mend, thank you baby Jesus!

We managed a few things before we all got the plague:

• I took the plunge and chopped off 5 inches and it's been so nice not having to run a straightener through my hair every morning. I think it makes me look younger too, so that's alway a plus!

• Pinterest strikes again and I made some cute little treats for little man's class. Apparently, goldfish was a popular pin because he got almost a week's supply of them from all the other kids! Valentine's Day is also the hubby's bday so grandma graciously watched C for us while we had a nice date night at one of MY favorite spots in Dallas,Victor Tangos. (it's only fair that I get to choose on Vday right?). 

• It was also Lunar New Year this month so we took C to his first hoi cho or Tet festival at church. It usually involves lots of foods, music, gambling, and games for the kiddos. Look at how proud he looks after winning two fishies! 

• This. Thank you Netflix for making a bed bound wknd bearable.

• And last but not least, my BFF had her beautiful baby boy! Welcome to the club mama! Can't wait for our boys to be BFFs too!

The weather should be nice again this wknd barring any random snow/ice/sleet storm that we've been experiencing here in Texas and I'm ready to finally enjoy some QT w/ family and friends and join the rest of civilization again. This guy surely is!