oh what fun!

I am exhausted. It's not as though our family was a well-oiled machine or anything, but we are definitely still adjusting to adding another human being. Between being buried in work and sleeping only 2-3 hours at a time, I have definitely had my better moments. The sleep deprivation is taking its toll on the magic of Christmas. With Christmas mere days away, I feel like I haven't done a very good job of giving Little Miss J the full Christmas experience. I can't even manage to keep up with an advent calendar.

This weekend, I made an attempt to redeem myself ...

Saturday we went to see the lights at the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary. It is certainly no Bentleyville, but it was also a hell of a lot warmer than Duluth.

waiting in line for Santa

talking to the big guy

me and my girl

J2 came along for the ride and woke up briefly for a photo opp with Gus.

On Sunday, we baked cookies. Notice the sprinkle explosion ... this has been added to the nine circles of hell - so far it goes glitter and glue, gingerbread house making, and cookie decorating. It takes a lot of self-restraint on my part to not stifle the "creativity."

 



 

We also have presents wrapped and finally under the tree. The Chunglund Christmas is starting to come together.

tea for two

Last weekend I took Little Miss J to the Sugar Plum Fairy Tea hosted by the Sacramento Ballet. It was certainly not the most organized event, and for $30/ticket not going to lie I was expecting a bit more. Nevertheless, Little Miss J had fun seeing all the ballet dancers and getting autographs. With postpartum induced anxiety, Umma had a little less fun trying to wrangle her excited preschooler through a throng of 400+ people. As NKOTB would say, this one's for the children.

Sugar Plum Fairy & Nutcracker

Getting autographs

This bunch was particularly impressed
with Little Miss J's dance moves


wordless wednesday

thanksgiving 2013

Better get this Thanksgiving recap in the books before Christmas rolls around. I finally got rid of pumpkins on my porch so my house no longer looks confused as to which holiday it is celebrating. We are full. on. Christmas. from here on out, people - and as much as I love Christmas we had a very lovely Thanksgiving holiday this year with the west coast Chungs (and Chunglunds).

Thanksgiving morning was our second annual Run (aka walk) to Feed the Hungry. I figure I earned me some pumpkin pie walking 3.2 miles with an extra 12 lbs strapped to my front.

Gus also earned his Thanksgiving dinner pulling an extra 100 lbs in the wagon.

 

After the 5K it was time to get dinner ready. Gus and I prepped the traditional Thanksgiving fare and I have to say I think it was the best Thanksgiving meal I have ever had, in part, because I made all my favorite sides. Gus is turkey was bomb too. I had been giving him a hard time because last year's turkey left something to be desired, but this one was delicious. Or "spectaculous" as Little Miss J likes to say.

Ben and Rosa and the family came over to Gus's parents house for dinner.

Playing with Uncle Ben

Cousin Alex holding J2

after 1st dinner comes 2nd dinner (Korean food)


We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with good food and time spent with family - and of course my two favorite blessings ... J1 and J2.

two months ago ...

Dear J2,

Two months ago, I had no idea how I could possibly love any kid more than your sister. We had a rocky start, and I will be the first to admit that she was what some might call an "acquired taste." But after the initial newborn stage, our relationship evened out and her little personality won my heart over.

You, on the other hand, came out of the proverbial gate being mommy's little sweetheart. I was so prepared to struggle through the first several sleep deprived weeks loving/hating life, but everything has been nearly perfect since your arrival. We spent 8 lovely lazy weeks hanging out - dressing up like skeletons, sushi, and wearing pacifiers with fake mustaches. You slept in the rock 'n play or the swing, allowing me to do laundry, make dinner, put up a Christmas tree, etc.

There is no blog post at your one month mark because frankly, you slept so much it was kind of boring. A few times I was tempted to wake you up so we could hang out. But in the last few weeks, you've started laughing, smiling, and playing with us. You are such a good little boy. At your two month check up you were 12 lbs 8 oz - exactly double your birth weight.

You are my unicorn baby - the mythical baby that sleeps and barely cries. If all babies were like you, I can almost see why people like them so much. You have single handedly restored my faith in newborns. Don't get me wrong, we aren't having another one. I'm not one to gamble. If you were thinking you'd be a big brother, you were mistaken. You will be the baby of the Chunglund family always. Happy two months J2!

love you to the moon and back,

Umma

wordless wednesday

how i spent my maternity leave

Now that I am back at work, I thought I would share how I spent the last 8 weeks ...

1) Watched a lot of stuff on Netflix. I mean a lot. I finished watching the 90210 series. The new one not the Jason Priestly/Luke Perry one. Finished watching Damages. Watched nearly three seasons of 24 including Season 3, which I have been trying to finish for the last five years. And finally, watched Hart of Dixie, which since it is still airing means that I just added another show to viewing schedule. Probably not what I needed to do.

2) Took walks. Lots and lots of walks.

3) Knit a bunch of dishcloths for preschool teacher Christmas gifts.

4) Organized photos from the last three years and burned them onto DVDs.

5) Put up my Christmas tree.

6) Cleaned and organized Gus's closet.

7) Shamelessly exploited J2

8) Celebrated Little Miss J's birthday not once, not twice, but three times.

9) Went to Napa to have lunch with Sarah

10) Took Little Miss J to swimming lessons

11) Spent an hour with glitter, glue, and toddlers - my own personal hell (aka the Phoenix School Harvest Festival)

12) And of course ... snuggled and chillaxed with my sweet little boy. Happy 2 months J2! Love you to the moon and back!