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My Whole30 Experience And My Lazy Recommendations

I finally bit the bullet and attempted my first ever Whole30 this past month. In case you don’t know what it is, it is not a diet but more of a month long detox of 4 simple food groups. I was very intimidated to do this because to be honest, I rarely cook anymore and usually eat my MIL’s cooking or eat out. I maaaaybe cook once a week. I knew if I was to do a Whole30, I’d have to be responsible for every single one of my meals for 30 days. That might have been scarier to me than the actual act of denying myself some of my favorite foods! ha ha.  So the  4 “simple” food groups were  legumes, dairy, sugar, and grains….which turns out is in EVERYTHING I EAT !!! Yes that means no soy sauce or rice which is a staple in my Asian diet!

So…why did I do this? Well I’ve had it on my informal bucket list for years! With my recent health scares and a dietbet that my cousin started, I thought this was the perfect time to try it out. I was curious to see if I would be able to do it and also what affect certain foods (if any) has on my body.

Well I am less than a week out from being done!!!! I honestly can’t believe the end is near. Let me tell you in the beginning it is SO UNBELIEVABLY hard. I thought about giving up several times. But by the end, I was sailing through birthday parties and even Disneyland with only a tiny ounce of regret. I feel like I have absolute control over my eating habits (which is an amazing feeling to have). My cousin was also doing it at the same time and we both agreed we felt invincible while doing this knowing how much self control and willpower we have when we put our minds to it!

So even though I still have a few days left, I think it’s safe to talk about the results (I will update if I see anything else different). For one thing, even though you are not supposed to do this to lose weight, it is an added benefit. I was able to meet and surpass my dietbet goal (lose 4% of my weight in 4 weeks) and am actually only a few pounds away from my PRE-KIDS weight! My coughing seems to be under control but I think that might coincide more with my restarting my medication again this past month.  My stomach itself has been so “calm” this past month too. TMI but I am very regular now and never have any stomach pains which probably means I am somewhat lactose intolerant. Boo.

I am not sure what I will do after my Whole30 ends. I think I may try to eat better at lunch time and keep eating at my MIL’s and just eat whatever on the weekend. I am more aware now though about when I am full and when I am eating just to eat or not waste food (I’m sure I’m not the only mom that finishes her kids foods!). Whole30 really has changed me in a way (for the better!) and I am really glad I did it. I highly recommend it for anyone who feels like they might have a bad relationship with food or who thinks food might be the culprit of any health problems or who just wants to challenge themselves to see what they are capable of!

Lastly, I will end with the products/foods that really helped me get through my whole30. Most of these products are no/low cook for my lazy self!

From TJs:
Chomps Beef Jerky sticks
RxBar Blueberry
Ginger Kombucha
Dehydrated Beets (although this might be considered a chip in which case it is now banned)
Turkey Burgers
Mini bell peppers
Rack of lamb (in the frozen section)

From Whole Foods:
Garlic spread (I forgot the brand but I think they only sell 1)
TessaMae’s Mayo and Ranch dressing

I also survived on La Croix (or Target’s cheaper copycat version) and finally tried sweet potato toasts (topped with avocado) – highly recommend!

Here are some of my meals I cooked. Most of these are freezable so I would make a large batch and eat them spread out so I wouldn’t get sick of them. (I apologize in advance for these horrible photos lol. I just took them in the phone usually in the evening with no natural lighting)

 

 

Paleo chili (I converted to the instant pot)
Whole30 chili

Best roasted vegetables ever (if you’ve never made roasted vegetables like this you have to try! Def don’t skip on the tomatoes in this recipe)
Roasted veggies

Egg, Sweet Potato, Kale, Sausage hash – I can’t seem to find where I got this recipe from but it’s basically what’s in the title hehe. I couldn’t find compliant breakfast sausage so I just took ground pork and add some “sausage” type spices to them. This was easily my favorite and easiest recipe on Whole30 and I will def be keeping this in my freezer for a quick and easy breakfast!
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Other than that I ate a lot of tuna/salmon salad. I bought the tuna that’s in olive oil and dumped it on a pile of mixed green. Added compliant mayo and lemon. Super quick and easy! Hardboiled eggs. Steak. Oh and I REALLY loved the frozen turkey burgers from TJs. I ate a lot of lettuce wrapped turkey burgers or just ate it over a bed of greens for an easy meal. I made ketchup with the mayo + tomato paste!

Let me know if any of you have done or will do a Whole30. I would love to hear your experience!

Site Was Hacked

OMG. My site has been down for a month because it was hacked and I didn’t have time to get it fixed. And then when I did have time it took longer than I expected (You mean there’s no button I just press to fix everything?? :(). Anyways, to save my blog, I had to manually delete all of the work the hacker(s) did to my website so I hope I did not miss anything. Otherwise my website will be down again. Stupid hackers :( :( :( Wish me luck that I got everything. I am just so glad I didn’t lose anything!

Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

I got a Paper Source catalog in the mail and was flipping through at all of the cute gift ideas they had. Paper Source is so expensive though, I found most of the items on Amazon for half price! But Paper Source sure does a good job of making everything look so adorable :) I love gifting a surprise bag filled with cheesy/funny/loving gifts for my husband, my kids, and my friends! I thought I would round up some of my faves here:

My Bucketlist – I seriously want this book for myself! It has blank pages along with prompts, ideas, and places for you to keep pictures of completed bucket list items. And if you can stand the cheese, you can pair it with a “You Are My Bucket List” card! :)

Unicorn Rescue Kit – Also comes in different animals but I know my daughter who loves unicorns would get a kick out of this! Did you know unicorns can “change nightmares to good dreams, heal paper cuts, and re-carbonate flat soda?”. So cute!

Invisible Ink Pens!! This would be fun to jot a love note with.

Sound effect machine – I am pretty sure my 2 year old son would LOVE THIS.

The 5 Minute Journal – I have always loved blogging, journaling, etc but as you can tell for the past few years I just didn’t have the time! I love the premise behind this and if I didn’t have a few other journals like this going I would jump on this one!

Yes, speaking of these short, daily type journals, my cousin got me the best one for Christmas this past year. It is the Our Q&A a Day: 3 Year Journal For 2 People. I had never thought of doing one with boyrobot but this has been SO fun for us to fill out! With our kids the age that they are, sometimes our relationship gets put on the backburner just because we don’t have time. This book has made us take a few minutes out of our day to think about each other, to learn more about each other, and to spark conversations I would never think of having with my husband. It’s just the perfect book for this time in our lives. I can’t highly recommend it enough :) I also have the same one for moms and love it as well. I should probably go ahead and buy the kid’s one so I can start asking the kid’s questions!

Cute beauty products – There’s a whole range of cute animal themed beauty products on Amazon and I seriously love them all. They are mostly from Japan or Korea. Fun!

Geekifying My Kids

Even though I am not a hardcore Star Wars fan, I enjoy the movies. It is definitely one of the more memorable movies from my childhood. And of course I love all of the robots that are in the movies! We introduced Star Wars to Emma awhile ago and she seemed to really like it. And even though Max has never seen it, he is immediately drawn to Darth Vader and storm troopers when he sees them in a store for some reason! I know he will love it when he is old enough.

I saw this set of Star Wars Little Golden Books and think it would make such a fun addition to our library. I am very selective about what books we actually own since I love our public library and make use of it so don’t feel the need to fill our house with books too. This would make a great gift for any Star Wars fans parents out there!

I was hoping there would be a version of Harry Potter like this as well but nope :( We do have the illustrated version which is really nice but I’m not sure how much it captures my daughter’s attention yet. Although it’s been almost a year since I tried reading it to her so I might try again soon.

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, it is definitely worth getting this version with or without kids!

The best part about being a parent is getting to mold your kids into whatever you want. Of course it doesn’t always happen that way but while they are this young, they are easily influenced because really, to them, you are the COOLEST PERSON ON EARTH! :) I am just doing my part in making them as cool as their mommy :) ha ha.

A Life Changing Tumbler

Sometimes you come across a product that is a small change in your life but makes it so much better! This is one of those products :)

A few months back my sister posted on FB if anyone wanted to buy a Yeti-like tumbler that was part of a fundraiser for my nephew’s school. Being the supportive aunt that I am, I said yes even though I never ever use tumblers. This past Christmas she gave me the tumbler when she visited and I have been using it ever since!

For the past several years, I have been trying to drink more and more water and less sugary drinks. But the fact is, I don’t like water. So I would always struggle with drinking enough water. I started using the Sodastream and True Lemon which helped a lot with taste but in actuality it’s hard to drink a lot of a fizzy drink. Sometimes I would drink tea, but I would get lazy about heating up the water and constantly refilling my 8 oz mug. And it would get cold so super fast!!

This 30oz tumbler was the solution I was looking for! I fill it up at the beginning of my day and sip on it throughout my workday and it is able to keep the the tea warm ALL DAY (well at least while I am at work). It’s amazing. I am in love. I don’t know the exact brand of this tumbler but I was looking on Amazon and there is another very highly rated “Yeti-like” tumbler that looks exactly like mine. It’s probably the same! So I highly recommend this to anyone who might have the same problems as me!

The only thing that would make this tumbler better is if it was dishwasher safe but honestly the mouth is so wide and the lid is super simple that it’s super easy to clean. I don’t even mind handwashing it, unlike other thermoses I have bought!

Here is the link to the thermos on Amazon: RTIC 30 oz. Tumbler

Things My Kids Say

I’m going to try to record more of what the kids say…this is the best age! Also, going to try to post more here again. We’ll see if it happens :)

Last night Max saw his shadow on the ground and was giggling to himself. The way the lights were hitting his head it showed two shadows of his head. He kept exclaiming “There are 2 My-Ky!!!” and cracking up hysterically (That’s his chinese name and what he calls himself, pronounced like Mike-y). Maybe you had to be there but it was so cute!

Emma schooling me on how she gets Max to do things
Emma: If you want Max to do something you tell him you’ll give him his favoritest thing
Me: What’s his most favorite thing?
Emma: I think pennies. Or snow.

The smartest 2 year old that already knows his days of the week :)
Me: Max did you wash your hands???
Max: Yes
Me: When did you wash your hands?
Max: (with a completely straight face) Friday

What it’s like having a boy
Max: (farts multiple times)
Max: WHOA…what’s that sound?

Love watching these two play together…the sweetest siblings!
Minh: Do you still want to trade Max for a little sister?
Emma: Nooo!
Dad: Why not?
Emma: Because I’m having so much fun with Max!

The Night I Almost Died?

Hehe maybe the title’s a little exaggeration but I just went through something crazy so I had to document it. And just to warn you it’s long and detailed and probably boring to everyone but me :)

It’s crazy that a month ago I thought I was a perfectly healthy 36 year old. A few weeks ago I developed a cough. I have a tendency to get a persistent dry cough for weeks/months at a time so I didn’t think much of it. This cough was a little weirder though because it sounded very phlegm-y and deep in my chest. Even though I wasn’t too worried, I did something I normally don’t do….I actually made an appt to see a doctor! I was annoyed that I had developed a cough again and I knew from last time that if I didn’t get it treated it could go for months like before so I thought I would nip it in the bud early on for once.

My doctor prescribed me with cough medicine and antibiotics. She told me to wait a week before taking the antibiotics since she wasn’t sure if it was viral or bacterial yet and she didn’t want me to mess with my gut health without giving my body a chance to fight off the “cold”. Unfortunately, a few days later I started developing a breathing problem. Carrying my children suddenly felt like I had just climbed many flights of stairs. Walking across campus at work even put me out of breath! I decided to go back to the doctor who told me I had developed pneumonia! Which was weird because I had no fevers or chills. Just a cough and trouble breathing. After googling, I figured I had “walking pneumonia”.She immediately told me to start taking the antibiotics, gave me an inhaler, prescribed me some inflammation meds and had me use a nebulizer in the office. She also told me to buy one to use at home but honestly I didn’t feel like the nebulizer helped much so I ended up putting off buying it. I figured the antibiotics would just fix me right up. Either way, I felt pretty much “ok” and continued going back to work.

After I finished my medication I started feeling better. I still had a cough but other than that I felt normal. But only a few days later I noticed I was getting worse again :( I left work early that day because I couldn’t stop coughing and breathing was getting really difficult. I called my doctor and they asked me if I had gotten the nebulizer and I told them no. I ordered it that day but it’s only available through amazon so I had to wait for it to come the next day. I went home and tried to take it easy but even at rest I was having trouble catching my breath. I tried to use my inhaler which was difficult because I couldn’t get a good breath in. I ended up calling my DR again and telling them I had to wait another day for the nebulizer to arrive and that I was having a really hard time breathing. They told me I could come into the office and use the nebulizer. I drove in and used it and I felt much better afterwards. They told me if I needed to I could come back in the morning and use it again. I went home feeling much better.

Until I got home….and couldn’t breathe again! It was getting really annoying. At some point I finally decided to call boyrobot who was on his way home from work. I am not sure why I decided to call him but as soon as he picked up I started crying because I couldn’t talk or breathe. I ended up having to text him. The funny thing was I told him I’m ok….I just couldn’t breathe and that it was scaring me. The whole time I didn’t feel like my life was in danger. I just felt like…I need to just give myself time to catch my breath. Boyrobot was urging me to call 911 which felt super silly! I finally gave in and let him call our friend that lives nearby to take me to the hospital. (Thank you again Cheryl for dropping everything and taking me!!!!). I went outside to wait for Cheryl and sat down in the grass. As I was sitting out there I started feeling better and feeling so silly about what was transpiring. Was I really going to go to the ER over this?

Cheryl arrived a few minutes later and just walking to the car got me out of breath again. I figured ok, maybe I should just go and see what they say. Inside, I felt calm and in no danger..but on the outside I was freaking out and sort of crying. Isn’t that weird?!?!?! Cheryl dropped me off while she went to go park the car. I told the receptionist I couldn’t breathe and she called for a wheelchair and they wheeled me into the ER. They put me on a nebulizer again which didn’t seem to really help. They also made me pee to make sure I wasn’t pregnant (I’m not!) before they took chest xrays. Just going to a portable potty next to my bed got me really out of breath. By this time boyrobot had finally arrived. They prescribed me a pill to help sedate/calm me because they said the more I freaked out the harder it was for me to breathe. All of my vitals were going out of whack and honestly after this point everything gets completely fuzzy. The last thing I remember was feeling so restless and annoyed that I couldn’t breathe and that the breathing treatments weren’t helping. After that I have no recollection of the rest of the night other than what boyrobot has told me.

According to him, I proceeded to throw up, wet myself, and was under the possibility of being put under and intubated! The only way they could get me to breathe was on a bipap machine but they said my body could not sustain being on the bipap machine for that long. Boyrobot overheard the nurses talking about me and saying how sad it was that I am so young and this was happening to me. When I got admitted to the ICU they asked him if I had a will and testament or if I had a DNR which really freaked him out. I feel so bad I put him through this. So thankful for my inlaws who were able to watch the kids so that boyrobot could stay by my side the whole time I was at the hospital. I am not sure how they finally got me stable but maybe the steroids they were giving me started working because the next day I woke up and felt normal again. It’s funny, I woke up and was wondering why am I even here? I had no idea everything that had happened the previous night. When they told me I was stuck in the ICU for a few days I was so shocked. For the next few days, my vitals were continuously monitored and I was poked and prodded all day. I had daily blood draws and even a daily stomach shot. I used to hate needles but I was a pro by the end of my stay! Before I left I met again with the DR that had treated me the night I came into the ER and he was like “wow, you look like a completely different person!”. All I could think was…have we met before? I do not remember him at all! After a 4 day stay I am finally home now. I am still not sure what happened. They think maybe I had a bad reaction to a viral infection and maybe have some underlying asthma that exacerbated the symptoms? Now that I am home I am feeling better but I still have my nagging cough. I have some followup appointments with a pulmonary specialist to make sure I’m ok and to see if maybe I have some asthma? (hope not!!!). I am just thankful to be home again…the hospital stay was truly miserable. I didn’t get to shower the whole time I was there!!! I am so so thankful to be reunited with my kids again as well since they weren’t allowed in the ICU.

Anyways, even though I never felt like I was in any real danger…I do get teary-eyed thinking about what happened and what could have happened? It can all change in a blink of an eye. And it’s even scarier when you have young children and a loving husband. It just reiterates everything I said in my last post. I love and appreciate all of the people in my life and am so grateful for this life!!!!

Happy 37th Birthday To Me

It’s so crazy to think in 3 years I’m going to be turning 40. That sounds so super old. It’s hard to imagine I’m at this point in my life where I am married, own a house, and have 2 kids!!!! When did all of this happen? I still feel like a kid most of the time honestly :) young at heart!

Anyways, I don’t really dread getting older. It’s just a number! But birthdays do make me feel so grateful and sentimental for all that I have:

My kids are at a pretty amazing age (let’s just forget Max’s tantrum-y side ;). I guess I’m not really a baby person. I love when kids can talk and start expressing themselves. Nothing melts you more than when kids tell you they love you.  Emma woke me up this morning and the first thing she said to me was “happy birthday” and that I’m the “best mommy in the world”! It’s pretty funny how much little kids just adore and worship their parents and don’t see their flaws at all! I am just soaking up these years before they wise up! Also, kids say the darnedest things. They crack me up daily.  


My husband who absolutely knows all of my flaws and who has seen the worst of me and still loves me. Every day boyrobot amazes me with the person he is. He’s truly someone I respect and love and can’t imagine my life without!

My parents, sisters, and brother are pretty amazing too. So happy everyone is healthy and doing great. My sister’s flower business is doing so well, my brother is getting married next year!, and my other sister has completely done a 180 on her physical health and is so fit and a true role model for me!  My parents recently visited and they were so sweet with my kids. My mom even sewed Emma a house for her bunk bed. My mom is so talented! It was so cute seeing my dad play with the kids. He has the patience I wish I had! 

Ever since I moved to la I have gotten so close with my cousins. Thankful to have them in my life to always lend an ear and I love watching them grow throughout the years!

At this point in my life I can’t imagine a better group of friends to have. Friends are so special when you find ones that are genuine and treat you like family too. So, so grateful!

This past year I got a new job at work and I love it. I know a lot of people don’t usually like their jobs so I’m super thankful for this opportunity that fell into my lap! It gives me the flexibility that I need at this time in my life to make being a working mom doable. My work/life balance is so important to me and I have found a job that gives me that!

Traveling has always been a big deal for me. We haven’t gotten to travel internationally since we had kids but it’s honestly been ok. There’s actually a ton of beautiful places to see in the US! This past year we visited Carlsbad Caverns and Big Sur (and many other places) and it was amazing. A lot of our trips now consist of traveling nearby with friends and honestly it is SO fun! I love seeing the kids play together and I love the bonding we all do on the trips we’ve had. This past year we even did a Staycation with friends and I’m pretty sure it was Emma’s favorite trip ever. 

This year boyrobot kept bugging me for what I wanted for my birthday. I racked my brain but I couldn’t come up with a single thing! I think that says a lot about where I am in life right now. Life is really, really good for me and I couldn’t ask for anything better! 

Max’s 2nd Year Birthday Questions

Wow. This was almost a month late! I actually have had it written since his birthday but it’s been so difficult to find the time to add pictures to this post!

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My blog has been reduced to these twice a year updates on my kiddos. What can I say…kids just overtake your life! This is both a good and bad thing. Sorry for all of you blog readers that still have me in your feeds. I can’t imagine anything more boring than reading about kids that you probably don’t even know in real life! :)

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And with that…let’s move onto Max’s 2nd year update! Yes he is 2 and has been quite terrible since before this age so I’m anxious to see what the next year brings us. He sure has mastered the art of the tantrum at an early age and
also has a habit of hitting if anybody upsets him. We never dealt with hitting with Emma…is it a boy thing? And while I’m listing all of the things that make him our difficult 2nd child…if you know him in real life you’ll know he is quite small for his age. We are constantly getting in trouble with the doctor for his weight gaining and it’s seriously the biggest stress factor in our life. Our child is labeled a “failure to thrive”. Doesn’t that just sound horrible? But I swear we are feeding him and he acts like a normal, happy kid besides the fact that he still fits in 6 months clothing. Sigh. The only other problem we have with him is his eczema. So far we are controlling it with lotions and topical ointments but sometimes it flares up….especially in the winter time when the air is really dry. Aveeno oatmeal baths have really helped though!

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Now onto all of the great things that make up Max. He is seriously the funniest kid and makes the whole family crack up all of the time with his antics and mischievous ways. He’s very friendly but sometimes shy (not in any way like Emma was though) and will randomly go up to strangers and demand a “Hi!”. The most lovable thing he does is hold my face and try to kiss me. I always pretend fight it and we end up both giggling so much over it. He is seriously so playful!

The neglected 2nd child. First time spending a day with just him. I think he really enjoyed having mommys full attention. Now wish he would just eat more so we can stop worrying about his weight :(

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I also love seeing his interaction with Emma. Ok not the part where he wants everything that big sister has but if he realizes that she is REALLY upset he will give up whatever he has or try to comfort her with a hug or hand holding. Sometimes I send them off to play together in a public place and they almost always hold hands each helping the other to be brave, not get lost, and have each other’s backs. I hope their relationship is always like this!

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Max is really into sports already so we’ve signed him up for his first soccer class! It starts next month and I know he will love it! Whenever we mention soccer he starts singing “I’m a soccer rocker, I’m a soccer rocker!”. Speaking of language, he knows so many words and for the most part can communicate with us very well. His favorite book right now is Pat The Bunny and whenever I read it to him he always pats the bunny and says “so soft so soft” in the cutest voice. I will really miss these little kid voices when they all grow up! :(

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Overall, despite his temper, Max is really the sweetest little boy and I’m so proud to be his mom! He truly brings joy to us and rounds out our whole family dynamic. Thanks Max for keeping us laughing every day !

Now here are his answers to his birthday questions. My answers are in parentheses. He is fixated on being 2 and when I told him I was going to ask him his birthday questions he started answering all of the questions with 2 lol.

1. What is your favorite color? 2 (with more prompting he decided on orange :))
2. What is your favorite toy? 2 (I think I see him playing with these toys the most: balls, rice box, dollhouse, bubbles)

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3. What is your favorite fruit? orange
4. What is your favorite tv show? 2 (Not a tv show but he is obsessed with these silly spiderman youtube videos)
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? (couldn’t get him to answer this but it’s probably McD’s chicken nuggets)
6. What is your favorite outfit? (He loves his striped shirt that’s super soft and also his spiderman or cars shirts)

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7. What is your favorite game? (Probably catch or hide and seek)
8. What is your favorite snack? (any and all fruits or mamma chia pouch)
9. What is your favorite animal? woof woof (dog)
10. What is your favorite song? (5 Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed)
11. What is your favorite book? Pat The Bunny
12. Who is your best friend? mommy (awww!)
13. What is your favorite cereal? (he doesn’t really eat much cereal so doesn’t really have a favorite)
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? (wagon rides)
15. What is your favorite drink? (juice)
16. What is your favorite holiday? (I don’t think he knows what a “holiday” is so I’ll guess xmas)
At this point he lost interest in answering my questions so I’ll just answer the rest :)
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Definitely mommy
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Probably fruit
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? pizza
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? I’m guessing some sports player?

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Emma’s 4th Year Birthday Questions

I can’t believe my firstborn is now FOUR years old. I have been a mom for 4 years now???

Emma through the years:
Year 1:
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Year 2:
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Year 3:
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Year 4:
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Emma is growing up to be quite a special young lady. I feel so lucky to have her as a daughter and she is really the best sister ever to Max. She hates to hear him cry and will always let him have his way to make him happy.

So cute how much these 2 love each other. Melts a mother's heart!!! ????????

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I don’t know many 4 year olds that has her patience and empathy. She also continues to be the most extroverted introvert that I know. She LOVES people and adventures but when around a crowd or people/situations she doesn’t know, she is super shy and cautious. She started wearing glasses this year and we recently upgraded her frames to a pair from Jonas Paul Eyewear which we love and highly recommend if you are looking for stylish kid glasses!

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She is also still taking ballet and absolutely loves it. We are taking a break from it this summer to try soccer (much to her dismay) but we will return to it in the fall again. Meanwhile her first big recital is next month!!!

Saturday ballet class ????

This past year was filled with lots of Disneyland since we had an annual pass (but it just expired :()
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Her favorite ride was definitely It’s A Small World and the ferris wheel and she especially loved watching all of the parades, fireworks, and shows.
Emma's new favorite are Ferris wheels. What happened to my scaredy-cat? ???? ????

Seriously the best parade!!

We had a few trips this year including our annual trip to Oklahoma, a roadtrip to Carlsbad Caverns, and a weekend staycation at the new Great Wolf Lodge. Emma LOVES vacations and adventures and I know she enjoyed each of these because she is always asking when can we go back to these places :)

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All of us howling at the Great Wolf Lodge hehe
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She is almost complete with her first year of preschool too! She has grown so much this past year and learned so much! I’m very proud of her and it makes me look forward to when she starts Kindergarten!

For her birthday this year we celebrated with a movie (Zootopia), one of her favorite foods, pizza, Jamba Juice, and Chuck E Cheese.

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Here are the answers to her birthday questions this year with my comments in parentheses.

1. What is your favorite color? pink and gold
2. What is your favorite toy? Legos, babies, and playing house
3. What is your favorite fruit? Lyechee
4. What is your favorite tv show? My Little Pony
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Chicken nuggets, French fries, and hamburger with ketchup
6. What is your favorite outfit? A dress
7. What is your favorite game? Hide and seek
8. What is your favorite snack? cookies (no surprise….same as last year!)
9. What is your favorite animal? camel (same as last year!)
10. What is your favorite song? Abc’s (not sure why she answered with this….I would think it’s one of her youtube songs she always listens to!)
11. What is your favorite book? Potty (Also not sure if this is true…it just happened to be the last book we had read to her)
12. Who is your best friend? Lucas (her cousin, because he always calls her his bestie)
13. What is your favorite cereal? Lucky charms (technically she only likes the marshmellows :P)
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swing
15. What is your favorite drink? Lemonade and orange juice
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Daddy
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pad Thai and pizza (I don’t think she technically understands what breakfast is yet hehe)
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? cake
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A mama :)