Ly's Baby Shower

We were invited to a beautiful tea party baby shower today. It was at our clubhouse and was nicely decorated by her wonderful friends that gave her the shower. They are all scrapbooking ladies so it was all very crafty and handmade. That's how we know Ly is through scrapbooking. She's very talented and also an instructor. Makayla joined me for the tea party and had lots of fun but she had to be on her best behavior since it was a fancy tea party.

Here's Makayla with the soon to be new Mommy! Oh and BTW, she's having a little girl! Our favorite type of baby in our house! She's going to have so much fun!

Makayla in front of the awesome cake that her brother designed. He also made some beautiful little pastries for us. He's a caterer so he also has lots of talent but in the culinary department. Her friends made super yummy tea bite size sandwiches too and had lots of different types of teas for us to try out. It was cute. That asked everyone to bring their own little tea cup to share. Too bad we didn't own any so Makayla brought one from her toy set. So silly!

Children's Festival

We ventured to the the mall at South Coast today for their annual Children's Festival. We had nothing better to do so we went to check it out. Lots of fun crafts and things for the kids. Plus there is always a great performance going on, on the main stage. This our 2nd year attending.

Of course there was face painting for free by a great company and we were able to get it in since it's limited as to how many faces they paint. We had lots of fun attending! Loved the singing and crafts the most!

Alyssa's HSM Opening Night

Our cousin Alyssa was starring in a High School Musical show tonight. We're so proud of her! She's Gabrielle, one of the main characters in the movie. Alyssa is such a talented girl with an awesome voice! We went to cheer her on! So much fun!

Here's my future star! Makayla copying them in "What time is it, summertime....". She's such a little ham. Oh, how they pick up and learn so quickly!

The whole cast! They were awesome! All such great kids! I love that there are programs like this out there! You never know when a star is born and we might have one in the family!

Alexis, Alyssa (our star), & Makayla after the show. We got her flowers and a few backstage grams to cheer her on since this is performance #1 out of 3 or 4 so it's just starting! She did great and we're so proud of her!

Scooter Time

It's scooter time! Yes, she should be riding this outside but we had to show off the gear and all indoors. She's never done this so she's super excited. We promised her that when she gave up that darn sippy cup with milk at night that this would be her big girl treat! Well, she finally did it! We're so proud of her!

I'm sure just a few days and she'll be pro on this thing! It's a super pink Disney Princess scooter with matching helmet and elbow pads.

Crazy Hair Day

It's a little crazy today! School is just so much fun with all these fun days for all the kiddos. Sometimes I don't know if she's going to participate but it sure seems like she always does! My little trooper! It was crazy hair day and I wasn't sure what to do but she sure helped me and said "just make it crazy mom". So this was my best shot at it. For those of you that know me I'm not that good at doing hair. Including my own. We stick to the same old same old. Boring!!! haha!

The ratted high pony tail look. She loved the crazy hair today!

Little sis took her to school in their matching dresses and had lots of fun. Mylee played with Makayla for a short period before we had to leave them alone. Fun times!

M&M Matching Girls

Just my sweet M&M girls in their matching PJ's! So much fun to dress them alike and they just love it! So cute!

Big squeeze from Big Sis!

A glimpse of Halloween PJ's. A little early but what the heck! That's what they wanted to wear tonight.

LSHS Girls Night Out #2

We were able to get another reunion together just a month after our 1st one! Great job Lacey for putting it all together. It was extra special since our friend Courtney from up north was able to join us for this one. She was here vacationing already so we planned it around her schedule so she could join us. We all met up at BJ's for dinner and drinks.

From right to left, me, Courtney, Melanie (ask why she's covering her chin), Christy, Lacey, Sherri & Desiree. Small and cozy group. A few new one's that didn't come last time and we lost a few due to scheduling conflicts.

Oh and did I forget to mention....DESSERT!!! Their famous Poozukie. We got the sampler since we had all of us to share with and boy was it a monster! It was literally the size of a pizza! So yummy and so worth it nice and warm!

Dig in! Courtney & Mel (yes covering her chin again). My silly BFF! Can't wait to hang out again!

Mylee's 1st Tumbling Class

Mylee is finally old enough to take some classes through the City now. I'm sure she could have done some sooner but this was around the age that we started taking Makayla where I felt that she could probably get something out of it. We were even iffy with Mylee since she still isn't able to walk on her own without holding on quite yet. And plus her nick name is "Swiper, no swipy!" since she swings at everyone around her so that made us nervous with other kids but hopefully the interaction will help make it better.

Here's her instructor for Tumblin' Kids Mrs. Karen showing her the scarfs. She was okay for a brief minute but overall did not enjoy her first class too much. Lots of attachment issues to me and didn't want to go play with others or anything with the other kids either. Hopefully in due time! On the other hand, her big since joined us and had a blast! At least someone had fun! Makayla got to be the big helper with Mrs. Karen. She loved being such a helping hand!

Here are the girls at the end of class sitting nicely to wait for their hand and foot stamps.

Mylee's Dr. Appt. & Mak's Dental Work

Well we came back for Mylee's 15-month shots today since she was sick for her check up and couldn't get them previously last month. She didn't do so hot. Not a happy girl at all! So upset but what do you expect. Or she's just not happy around strangers at all. She knew something was up. Now we just have to make it back later for their flu shots. We didn't give it to them since Mak is getting ready for some major dental work today. We had to clear a few questions with the pediatrician too while we were there about Anesthesiologist and kids. We had already made our decision but wanted even more confirmation. Which we got! Whew!

Mylee before going in. She's quite happy in the waiting room just walking around.

Now it's time for Makayla's dental work. This is a very scary day for us and her. I can't believe it was just 7-months ago for her very 1st dental appt. and everything was great. Just some soft enamel to be careful with which we thought we were but obviously not good enough since we're here today for some major dental work. Lots of ugly cavities and possibly 2 crowns too. Not good at all but now we just have to take care of it. The big deal is her being put under today. There are two Anesthegiologist doctor's from UCLA taking care of her. We know she's in good hands but this is just nuts! She's been great and understands how bad her little teethers are so that has made her really give up her sippy cup with milk even. Bad habits that we just couldn't break. She's our first! Now we really learned the hard way but we're not sure if that's even the cause of it. Probably some, but not all since everyone keeps on telling me it's genetics or I think it's environmental or something I ate or had when pregnant! haha! I have to lighten things up a bit since we've been so hard on ourselves about this whole situation.

Myleeboo was a trooper during this whole thing too. We had some miscommunication with Grandma today so that's why Mylee is with us for this long process but it was okay. All worked out and she was a good little girl as you can tell!

Killing time in the kitchen while big sis is in the back getting her procedure done. Probably a 2+ hour wait.

Press play to see Mylee just walking, walking now! Finally! She gets so excited!

Now it's for other toys. This pediatric dentist's office is fantastic! They have all kinds of stuff to keep the kids all occupied. So much fun! Thank you for taking such good care of Makayla. She did great! All was fine! Too bad I was so worried that I didn't take pictures of her with all her wonderful doctor's that took great care of her! Boy are we glad for this to be over. Now we just have to take it easy tonight. Sounds good to cuddle and watch some Princess movies!

Grandparents Day at SCC

Today is Grandparent's Day at Makayla's preschool. This year my mom attended along with Grandpa Arakaki since Grandma Arakaki got to go last year so she stayed home to take care of little Myleeboo. It was nice for my mom and Stan to spend some time at her school. They made some crafts together and played.

Looks like Mak is coloring with her Ngoai.

And now it's Grandpa's turn.

They sang a cute song for the Grandparents also. Makayla always gets super excited on special days like this to share her crafts and songs with her family. So much fun with all the stuff her preschool does for all of to see.

Our Beach Baptism

Our amazing day continues with our Baptism this afternoon at the beach! I'm still amazed how Ryan and I both came to make this decision pretty close to the same time. I thought I was making my own journey and exploring and he was also doing his own search that I had no idea about. I guess we did it differently but ended up with the same decision for today to happen together! God does do wonders!

Here we all are getting ready to tell our story about how we found Jesus Christ and why we're here today. It was all very moving and so great to hear every one's amazing story! There were 19 of us that are getting Baptized today from young to older and everything in between.

A view of the celebration with a lot of members from church that came out to witness this amazing day for us! Wonderful group of people!

Now we're waiting for our turn to be officially Baptized together while watching the others before us! Again, all just an absolutely AMAZING experience!

It's time! We're holding hands so tight the whole time! Just an awesome connection we had today! We're ready for the BIG moment!

There goes Ryan first with Pastor Dale. Oh boy, these waves were huge today! God is really out here with us and making his presence known for us today!

It's now my turn since Pastor Bevan waited for that big wave to pass but Pastor Dale didn't so Ry got baptized just a few seconds before I did. Close enough, but here's my turn now.

Big hugs for the Pastors and to each other! I can't even describe the wonderful feeling that I had today!

Yes, it looks cold but it wasn't bad at all!

Here we are after our Baptism! We are new people today with new brothers and sisters all around us!

Little Lexis and Rachee got all wet too because the waves were so big and hard. Even our kiddos came out to support! We're so happy our girls were out there to see this! Our Makayla really understood what we went through today. I pray one day she does the same when she's ready and to say she saw us and remembers will be awesome!

The family that came to support us! We love you all and so very blessed to have you in our lives! Thank you so much for all coming out and always being there to support us!

M&M's Dedication

It's big morning and day ahead of us! Ryan and I have been attending church now since April and we have learned so much in that time, to the extent that we have decided to Dedicate our girls today to Jesus Christ! We are so excited to have made this wonderful decision for our girls! We hope that we can continue to teach them so that one day they make their own decision to get Baptized on their own. This is a wonderful great start to our commitment. We had our family and closest friends attend which made it even more special! So much love! We are sooooo blessed!

Here we are on stage before service with Pastor Dale, the children's Pastor. We've gotten to know him very well and he knows our girls very well too! Wonderful, sweet and loving man! They gave us some flower and we agreed to a few words of committment for everyone to witness for our girls!

Us and our girls in their little matching white dresses. Always so cute and always so much fun to match them up!

Afterwards we went to Cheesecake Factory for some lunch to celebrate and to celebrate Grandparents Day today also. Makayla is with Auntie Tara here showing off her gifts from them. They are always too sweet and we're so happy to have them in our lives! So thoughtful and generous as always! Thank you, thank you guys!

My parents opened up their Grandparents Day gifts from us. I made them a "FAMILY" block with photos of everyone in our family for them to display. It was so fun to make and they absolutely loved it! So much joy into making gifts!

Ryan's mom shows her blocks and has a big grin! Hope she enjoyed it also! Seems like it!

Now it's Grandpa Stan's turn for a picture! Too bad the girls were too busy and the table was too hard for them to get some pictures with their Grandparents. It was a pretty hectic day with a lot of family supporting us!

All the cutie pie girls getting ready for their lunch. A little coloring always keeps them occupied for a few minutes before the food arrives.

Love this picture of Makayla and one of her best buds Rachee.

Mommy and my sweet Myleeboo!

Outside on this beautiful day at Bella Terra. Letting the kids run around after lunch. Mommy and my other sweet girl, Makayla! The day as been fantastic so far! Couldn't ask for anything better then to be with our family and friends! So much love!

Angel's vs. White Sox Again

Some free Angel tickets from UPS tonight. Love my job! This is always fun to get for us since it's free, usually pretty good seats since the vendors usually have season tickets and even free parking at times too. Can't pass it up! We had to drop Mylee off at my parents house since she's still coughing and not 100% to be at an Angel game with us. We did miss her!

Makayla is having a great time. We got there and the game had already started but we just relaxed and walked around towards the back family zone. We sat and ate some dinner back there. Tri-tip sandwich from Ruby's and some garlic fries. Yummerz! Mak & her Daddy!

My sweet girl Mak and me!

She was such a ham posing for tons of photos tonight! She's at such a super fun age with all kinds of personality just blossoming!

I think she thinks she's cute as can be here! And yes, she's just doing this pose all on her own and even told me she wanted the field behind her. The girl is too much! Even picking her scenery for her pictures.

We finally made it to our seats! Great seats too! Right on the terrace level not too far away from home plate and 3rd base side. Choppin' away on her cotton candy! One happy little girl tonight! Always good treats at baseball games.

On our way out we passed by the team store. We had to get a photo of her with the World Champion trophy! Go Angels!