Hello.

It's me. I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet to go over everything.

Ha. All lame jokes aside, I can't believe I let all this dust collect here in my little corner of the internet. It's surreal to read my last post right before I had Greyson, and now, here we are - an entire year and some months later. I don't want to say toddler quite yet, but I have a walking running baby, who is pretty good at tearing up the house alongside his brother. I may be biased, but he is crazy smart and has the funniest and spiciest little personality. Hubs and I are in for a lot of trouble with this one, we can already tell.

2015  has been, for a lack of better words, CRAZY, and I was just completely burnt out by year's end. I wasn't so sure I wanted to even have a party for G, but I managed to pull together a birthday party for the little peanut and so glad I did. Second Child Syndrome is a real thing. I know a lot of people think birthday parties are all for the parents, and 80% of it probably is. Ok, probably 95%. But a little bit of cake and presents never hurt anybody :)

We did the traditional Vietnamese game for Greyson like we did for Caden. You are supposed to lay out some random items that represent potential careers, i.e ball for athlete, tape measure for engineer, etc. G picked up the ball first, but we thought maybe he just grabbed the closest thing to him. We tried again and he grabbed the screwdriver, which represented a mechanic. I gave him the thermometer on the 3rd try....so doctor he'll be! Third time's a charm, right? :)

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]

Playroom Inspiration

We really wanted a dedicated playspace for the boys in our new home (even though I'm sure toys will be strewn everywhere regardless) so we are making the upstairs loft area into their special area. One of my favorite rooms to decorate was Caden's nursery so I'm really looking forward to making this a cute and functional space they'll want to spend most of their time at.

I'm loving the look of a black and white room with colorful accents. I'm still debating on a chalkboard wall. While it's cool for kids, it seems like a such a mess and pain for Mom to keep clean.

Caden's Christmas List

We're all guilty of over-buying our kids STUFF. I can't help myself. What's a little toy here and there when I'm at the store? With the amount of times I find myself at Target, those one or two hotwheels can definitely add up.

I'm not sure where I originally came across this idea, but I loved it and it stuck w/ me. The idea is simple; only 4 gifts for each child.

• something they WANT - he is obsessed with puzzles right now and I love how proud he is of himself when he completes one. Melissa & Doug make really quality wooden toys and I never mind splurging on these 

• something they NEED  - I'm dreading this one, but it's gotta be done. Potty training is upon us. 

• something to WEAR - it's like underwear, you can never have too many. and bc kids looks so darn cute in jammies. 

• something to READ - C's Godmama got him the LeapFrog Leapreader last year and he is now starting to really love books. These are so awesome so bc your child can move the reader around many different points on the page for different interactions.

 [ LeapFrog LeapReader Junior ] [ Melissa & Doug Puzzle ] 

[ Baby Bjorn Toliet Trainer ] [ Pajamas ] 

I've seen a few variations online and I think once C gets a little older we will incorporate these traditions:

• something to MAKE
• something to SHARE
• something to DO

C's 2nd Birthday

Somedays I look at Caden and still can't believe I'm his mama. I mean really. I. Have. A. Two. Year Old. The funniest, goofiest, sweetest, smartest, most rambunctious little two year old ever. Its incredible how much your heart bursts at the seams with love for your offspring.

I must admit, I was still burnt out (no pun intended) from his 1st bday planning, so I decided just a super casual, low key outing at the park w/ our friends and family would fit the bill. Of course, as the date approached, my overachieving, pinterest obsessed self decided it should be at least have a theme. Caden, like any other 2 year old, is seriously fascinated with firetrucks (hopefully we don't have a future pyro on our hands) - the kid goes nuts when he hears sirens, and has at least 4 firetrucks laying around the house - so firetruck themed it was!

The week leading up to the party, the weather here in Dallas was being so bipolar as usual. It was in the 40's on Wednesday and then by Saturday, it was gorgeous and sunny. I have a couple of new pimply friends on my face from the stress of not thinking about having a backup plan for inclement weather. Note to self: HAVE A DAMN BACKUP PLAN. One should ALWAYS have a Plan B.

It worked out in the end, the kids had a blast and the 2 alarm chili was a real crowd pleaser. Who knew that a couple of cardboard boxes would be such a hit? I'd also like to add that by the time Caden's party came around, his obsession w/ firetruck was downgraded. He's now into bullzozers and diggers. *sigh* Maybe this will be my last themed party.

Who am I kiddiing?

Caden Turns 1

I think I started planning C's first birthday before he was even born...is that considered part of nesting? I knew I wanted to do a basketball themed bash because husband is a nut about it and everyone who knows him has probably heard him say that he "could've been the first Asian NBA all star" if he'd tried. LOL

After the many hours of hotglue gun burns and paper cuts for all the handmade decorations and w/ my mom pouring all her love into making the food, I think our efforts showed and it was the perfect day for our family and friends to celebrate our little man. Great spread, perfect weather, and amazing company was all I wanted for Caden's big day.

And yes, I've already started thinking about his 2nd birthday.

   

The DreadFlu of '13

The title of this post alone should speak volumes of how sick I am at the moment. My little germ factory has taken each and everyone of us down one by one. I would be sick for the rest of the year if it meant that my baby could start feeling better, but alas, we are on day freaking five of high fever and a fountain of snot. Having a sick and miserable child definitely makes top 5 terrible ordeals for a parent, somewhere in between a full blown 2 year old mental breakdown at the grocery store and stepping on Legos in the middle of the night.

We had to take C to the ER because his temp hit a high of 105 on Friday and I was freaking out paranoid that he'd have a febrile seizure. I must say that despite the epidemic that has overloaded our hospitals and pedi offices, Children's Hospital Dallas did a really great job at quickly and efficiently getting us checked in and in a room within just an hour's time. We were definitely expecting several hours of just waiting.

We're hoping he's going to turn a corner soon - it's been a rough week at the Ngu house. Note to self: next flu season, buy hand sanitizer by the barrel. Bathe in it if necessary.