Eden's Tea Party Photo Shoot

Anxiously waiting to see all of Eden's photos from yesterday's shoot, I was so thrilled when I finally received the link to my photographer's flickr page. I cannot believe how AMAZING all the pictures came out. I probably went through the album a dozen times picking out my favorites and then realizing it was the entire album I was picking out.

Oh wow! Where do I begin? For starters, I was inspired by a little girl's tea party mixed with rustic vintage and girly glamor. I wanted to create my props to represent what Eden loves. She loves to play in the outdoors. The color palette I used was soft pinks, biege, light green, luminous yellows. The colors represented her well-she's sensitive and adventurous. From this shoot, I realized how much I love creating props. I went to Michael's and bought mason jars that I filled with blue sand and a cake "chalk" topper. I also made the bunting flags which really gives it a vintage look. I used a lot of antique furniture I had around my house. Lastly, the outfits I went with came from her closet and instantly went with the overall theme. My photographer, Chad did an amazing job scouting for interesting areas to shoot. This shoot was done at Millerton Lake at 7AM (very early though it looked like noon). It was definitely hott and Eden was feeling the heat.

Photographing babies is a real challenge. You really don't know how they will interact with all the stimulation around them. Eden was difficult at first and wasn't feeling it. It took a bit of time to get her to get used to her surroundings. I wouldn't blame her since she had the reflecting camera equipment shining on her face causing her to squint. She finally got used  to it when she was playing with the cupcake toys and she thought it was funny to throw the "flying saucer" plate and get me to pick it up. lol silly girl. Chad gave me the best advice to handle a stubborn baby. He told me to just go with it, let Eden soak it in and we can wait when she's ready. No rush. I wanted her to smile despite all the jumping jacks and cheerleading moves to get her to laugh but I was forcing her. I knew the camera would have captured that forced look which was something I didn't want.

In the end, I just waited for her to be comfortable. Though it felt like eternity when she would finally loosen up, I got the pictures that made me cry. Even as I look at them now, the pictures provoke the same emotions I had in the field on that Sunday morning. Chad captured some of the most organic moments between a mother and her baby. He captured the love I have for my daughter in one of the most unique ways. It's as if he was taking a picture of my heart. The pictures you see are timeless, ageless, and represents my love I have for my baby girl.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! <3

Want to see the rest of our pics, check out Chad's flickr page. If you want more info on the photographer, he goes by the name of Chadwick Von Chadderson. Sadly, it's not his real name but if it was, that's would have been a sweet name!

My First Shutterfly Photo Book

I am totally obsessed with this website. How awesome is it to capture Eden's first year in a published photo book! I finally had the time to sit down and gather all the pictures I took in her first year and start digital scrapbooking. It beats busting out the scissors and expensive paper to do it the old-fashion way.

Putting together the album took me about two nights and the website is so easy to use. On the plus side, Shutterfly has many promotions to give you ultimate savings. I received a $20 off discount from Target Baby which led to to put together this photo book. I'm very happy with the product and can't wait for it to come in the mail.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books are the new way to preserve your memories. Create your own today.

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Darling!

Dearest Eden,

You just had your first birthday with your friends and family! Wow, did we have a blast! You were probably wondering why you were getting extra attention today and didn't know it's your own birthday. But I reminded you and will always remind you for years to come. Let me tell you a story. A year ago, Mommy got to hold a beautiful baby in her arms and oh, did it bring tears of joy to her eyes. You changed monmy's life for the better and showed her what's really important in life. You motivated her to work hard, study hard just so she can provide a better life for you.

My Eden, you helped me realize how strong I really am and gave me the light to see past my own insecurities. I love watching you play because you are so fearless, so resilient, so courageous. You simply have that twinkle in your eyes and that my dear, is contagious! You motivate me to be just like you. To be able to see the world with clear and unbiased eyes. I love that about you and I love you!

As you interact with the world around you, I want you to always seek to understand the things around you. I want you to explore and never stop learning. I know you love to do that with mommy and grandma's stuff! You are an explorer!

Baby girl, just know that you are loved by so many people. You touch so many people's hearts with your personality. I'm just so happy to be able to watch you grow up to be your own person.

When you get older, I hope you understand and realize the love I have for you in this little blog. The chapter of your first year is now a memory we created together. I want you to know that I am here for you always and forever!

Love always,
Mom

Happy 1st Birthday Leila! Hawaiian Style!

June birthday parties are so much fun especially when you add bathing suits, pool, and water slides. Today we attended Leila's 1st birthday party and we had a blast. The best part was watching the babies swim and having a great time.

I love the Hawaiian theme Sarah set up. She did a great job with the decorations and the birthday cake. The food was delicious and it was what I wanted to eat on this hot summer day. To top it off, I totally dig the water slide and pool. I know Baby Eden and Michael had fun!

 

Checking in with...myself

Every now and then, I have these mid-life crisis which cause me to evaluate my entire life at that very moment. I wish I had my friends here with me because we would sit around a coffee table and just talk life. Our conversation was just about anything. i.e. how our life was at that very moment. what we need to strive to accomplish, our financial stress, emotional stress, things we need to improve on, things we need to kick to the curb, etc.

Looking back on the past quarters, we always had some degree of a mid-life crisis. It never went away as we got older or even when we matured. Our problems will always be there but how we deal with them is the determining factor. I believe it was the late night talks with my girls (Ben&Jerry's sure helped) that got me through the best four years of my life!

Flash forward to today: If there was one important thing that I learned in college, it was checking in with myself.

So here goes:

Mommy: Loving it but wishing i had more time in the day to spend with my baby girl. Hard, stressful trying to get things in order. No time to run to the store and run errands in the day. Is Eden suffering because of my absence? She seems happy and always gives me a big hug when I come and pick her up from school. Doing my best.

Finances: Working on it. Next paycheck is going to daycare, paying off student loan, need to pay car insurance soon :( By July, I really need to be caught up with bills. Update expense excel sheet this week. Don't forget to pickup diapers this week. Gave last bundle to daycare.

Stress level: I'm about a 7 right now. Work getting a lot busier but do like the fact that the work days go by quicker. September needs to come faster...wait no...take that back. Totally not ready. Need to dedicate more time to studying. Financial stress still a burden. Need to win the lotto this year.

Spiritual growth: going back to church was a good thing. I feel the difference spiritually. Doing this for myself and for Eden. Trying to learn to put the stress off myself and onto Him. Need to dedicate some time to read the bible.

Daughter/friend: could probably spruce it up a bit. Will help mom out more and speak slower so she can hear me. Need to call my friends. I miss them too much. Set time this weekend to call a friend.

Plans: bday party this weekend. Buy gift. Plan Eden's bday at school. Put together party favors for classmate. Finish making props for photo shoot.

Conclusion: Don' stop moving. There's lots to do in so little time! Look at her for inspiration!

Baby Shower for Baby McKenzie

A week has past and I'm finally getting around to posting these pics! We had a blast at my cousin's baby shower. From the decoration to the amazing food (I had 9 tacos), Eden and I enjoyed every moment.

Congrats Gabe and Jen! I can't wait for the arrival of Baby McKenzie Faith! I love her and I haven't even met her yet!

ARE YOU MOM ENOUGH?

I'm sure you've seen the highly controversial Time cover featuring a mother who has her 3-year-old son standing on a stool while she nurse. I ran across it this past weekend and funny how Time picked a more than appropriate weekend to showcase their provocative and disturbing cover. Happy Mother's Day Time! How thoughtful of you! As I slowly take in the entire image, I can't help but say that there is way too much going on in this picture. For starters, the bold headline, "Are you Mom enough?" struck me cold. I'm still trying to figure out what that actually means. There's also a muscle-bearing mother, Jamie Lynne Gurmet who's wearing skinny jeans, her hand on her hips, a very big baby on her breast and oh yeah, there's a stool.

Let's take a minute to dissect this baby one piece at a time (no pun intended).

The headline: "Are you Mom enough?" is quite offensive. Is Time trying to make motherhood out to be a competition?  Because I didn't sign up for a mommy competition when I walked out of the hospital with my baby. They're definitely adding fuel to the fire with this statement by making moms feel as if they aren't doing enough. Now that I'm feeling guilty, I can't help but compare myself to the stay-at-home mom who is able to be with her babies 24/7 or the working mom who is juggling everything from here to Timbuctu and she's good at it! But what I learned as a mother is that you can never do enough. You always want to provide for your babies and give them endless opportunities. It's impossible to reach that "enough" point regardless of how hard you work. Time magazine, thanks for striking my Achilles' heel!

The cover photo: I'm not going to lie but at first glance, I initially thought it was a photograph of an athlete covering the Olympics or doing charity work. My eyes were drawn to her beauty. She's blonde, slim, and looks like a model/athlete. After a split second, I realized that there's a big boy attached to her at her breast and my reaction was, "Oh, she's breastfeeding on the cover of Time magazine and the baby is on the stool...that's not even how you breastfeed!" I'm not upset that she's breastfeeding her 3-year-old son but the fact that bothered me was that they're not even giving an accurate view on breastfeeding. It looked a bit disturbing even to a nursing mother like myself. Yes, I get that Time chose this photo for shock value but that shouldn't justify it.

I'm a huge advocate for breastfeeding and believe that all mothers should at the very least try to breastfeed but I understand that things happen that prevent mothers from doing so. The issue that I believe Time was targeting was the topic of  breastfeeding past the "first" year. Any modern and enlighten person knows that it's beneficial for the baby to have mother's milk in the early stages of life. Mother's milk contains colostrum which triggers the baby's immune system. You just don't get it from formula. For Jamie's case, she decided to breastfeed her baby a lot longer than the "American norm" and I'm actually okay with that. Though I personally can't imagine myself breastfeed Eden past a year,  I have no problems with mothers doing it. Heck, the baby must have an immune system of steel! I can see how a lot of people may have issues seeing a toddler run to his mommy for breastmilk but the mothers from Rwanda or India breastfeed their babies until they're 6-7 years old sometimes. Yes, I'm comparing apples to oranges but hey, just putting it out there.

Lastly, the article talked about attachment parenting (the basis of the entire article) which was termed by a pediatrician,  Dr. Sears. He wrote a book, "The Baby Book" which sold millions of copies. The three basic tenants of attachment parenting that Dr. Sear theorized was that mothers breastfeed, baby wear (placing your baby in a sling), and co-sleep (keeping your baby in bed with you).

I can literally write an essay on this topic but I'll save you all. Here's the cliff notes version of what I think about it. I actually read "The Baby Book" while I was pregnant. I read it at Barnes and Noble though I didn't think it was worthy enough for me to purchase it. Here's why. I knew the three tenant of attachment parenting already. It's COMMON SENSE that breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact, which is essentially the basis of  what baby-wearing and co-sleeping are would raise confident and  loving babies. I should have raced Dr. Sears to the press with that one and made millions...jk.

But when mothers breastfeed, you create bond with your baby and skin-to-skin contact allow babies to feel as if they're still in the mother's womb. It's comforting that they hear the mother's heartbeat and feel her warmth. I just think mothers and manufacture companies take it to the extreme to create all these expensive junk (do you really need to have the latest sling with rhinestone straps and an attachable cup holder or aco-sleeping mattress thingy to your bed). Just hold your damn baby, play with them and love them unconditionally! In the end, that's all babies ever want!

Photo taken by Time Magazine

Instablog-Columbus, Ohio

Jessica Alba's Honest Company is Honestly Amazing!

Early this year, Jessica Alba launched the Honest Company with the intention to make safe and eco-friendly products available to families. She partnered up with Christopher Gavigan, the author of Healthy Child Healthy World to create a family brand we can all trust to use on our children. The Honest Company carries baby products as well as household cleaning supplies that are 100% non-toxic, sustainable, and oh so cute!

I heard about the Honest Company through Facebook and wanted to learn more about it. I checked out their website and liked how easy it was to navigate around the site. I love the site's aesthetics and design plus who doesn't love looking at adorable babies in diapers. (P.S. there's a baby boy model that looks exactly like Eden, check him out!) I recommend watching the video to learn about the story behind honest.com. What struck me from the video was when they displayed the names of toxic chemicals in our everyday household products which has been linked to chronic diseases such as asthma, childhood cancer, and autism. This was totally a wake up call telling me that I needed to make safer choices in the products I use in my home. As parents, we all want the best for our children and don't want anything to compromise with their health.

Before committing to their monthly subscription, I wanted to make sure the Honest products lived up to its name. I ordered the Free Discovery Kit (just paid $4.95 for shipping) and the Family Essential trial size came right to my doorstep in two days. I was so impressed with the products and Eden seems to enjoy it just as much as I did. I knew I was making the right decision. The Family Essential Bundle cost $35.95/month. I've been using Honest products for a little over a month now and my experience has been positive. It simply works! Below is a review of the five essentials in the Family Bundle.

Honest Face & Body Lotion     A+
The Honest lotion is by far my favorite product out of the line. It is composed of organic olive oil, shea butter and organic aloe to rehydrate and moisturize sensitive skin.The lotion is fragrance free with a hint of a rosy scent. It's quite refreshing to say the least and I do appreciate that the lotion isn't oily or greasy. Eden has extremely sensitive skin so I'm glad the Honest lotion is hypoallergenic and keeps the moisture in her skin. After using the lotion, I found that her skin has improved. She had less irritation of the skin and patches of dry skin has minimized.

Honest Shampoo & Body Wash     A+
For Eden, bath time is essential and having the right product makes her experience more enjoyable. I highly recommend the Honest Shampoo & Body Wash for this reason. It's a tear-free, plant-based formula that gently washes babies from head-to-toe. The scent of the shampoo/baby wash is Sweet Orange Vanilla and it smells delightful. Her hair ends up feeling silky soft and smelling like sorbet ice cream. I do like the fact that I only have to use a dime size amount to wash her long hair. That's a huge plus! It lathers on great and the product works its magic to get rid of the dirt on her hair and body.

I especially like how the Honest Company chose to combine two products in one. Come to think of it, this product is actually three in one. I always squeeze a bit of the shampoo/body wash combo in while the waters running to create the bubbles so hey that counts! How convenient is it that you can use the one bottle for shampoo, body wash, and a bubble bath. Products like this totally simplifies my life.

My only suggestion would be to add more scents to the line. I love to mix it up by using a variety of different scents so I would like to see strawberry kiwi or more tropical scents.

Honest Healing Balm     A+
This multipurpose healing balm does the trick to prevent diaper rash, nourish dry patches of skin, and heal minor cuts and scrapes. I love that it is made up of a plant-base extract and is fragrance free. I use this on Eden before bedtime. I put the healing balm on the areas where she has rough patches of dry skin. By morning, the area looks softer and moisturized. These product aren't just for babies.Even adults can use it! The healing balm is literally my go-to product when the edges of my hands are dry or my lips are chapped.

Honest Hand Soap     A-
The hand soap is composed of a plant-based formula and has an organic lemongrass scent. It smells fresh and clean. It takes the dirt and grime off our hands without leaving our hands overly dry. I wish the hand soap dispense as foam instead of liquid. Eden would really enjoy this because she just loves bubbles. Also, I hope they add more scents to the line.

Honest Laundry Detergent     A+

The laundry detergent works wonders for Eden and switching over to this detergent has helped with Eden's sensitive skin. I have tried many leading brand detergents and they don't live up to their name. The leading brands irritates her skin causing her to scratch non-stop. The Honest laundry detergent is non-toxic, fragrance free, and effective in taking the grime out of stubborn stains. I love that Eden's feeding bibs and play clothes looks a lot brighter and cleaner after using the detergent.

It would be great if they add fabric softener or dryer sheets to the line. I feel as if I'm missing a part of the laundry experience because I'm not getting that clean linen smell I'm used to because it is fragrance free. It'll just make folding laundry more enjoyable when you have get that kick of clean linen aroma on your clothes.

I would recommend the Honest Company to any family who is moving towards a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle. I have seen the benefits of using these products on Eden and I can't tell you how great I feel knowing that I'm putting safe products on my daughter. Check out the Honest Company via fbook, twitter, or website to find out more information. If you have questions about their products, call the Honest support team at 1-888-862-8818. They have the best customer service and they're all about customer satisfaction. Their products are honestly amazing!

*I was not paid for this review and the opinions expressed are my own. 
Selected Images via Honest.com

Help Me Fundraise for March of Dimes

If you're in Fresno this weekend, come join me for the March of Dimes walk this weekend. The walk is held at Woodward Park on Saturday, April 14th, 2012. Come out and show your support for families and babies. This is an amazing foundation that raises money to fund research and programs in the community to help mothers have healthy, full-term pregnancies. But every day, thousands of babies are born premature and often very sick. The proceeds is used to care for babies in newborn intensive care. How amazing is that?

This is going to be my first year participating in the March of Dimes. In the past, I have volunteered with the 5K Bruin Run/Walk that benefits the Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA. This year is a bit different though and supporting this worthy cause seeps closer to my heart in so many ways. As a first time mother, I understand the pain and endless worries moms have for their baby. Even when I was pregnant, I remember praying that my baby wouldn't come too soon and that God would bless me with a healthy baby.  As a mother, you do everything possible to achieve that. However, as much as you try to prevent what you can, fate takes its course and many mothers have to undergo a preterm birth. You have all this fear of the risk associated with premature babies like chronic health programs they may have and mortality rate going through your mind. It's scary to even think about that. But you do because you care for so much for this child inside of you. You just hope for a miracle.

Photo credits/photographer: Michael Clancy

Every time I think about miracle babies, I first think of my daughter, Eden. She is my miracle baby because of everything I've been through with my pregnancy. From finding out I was pregnant at week 27, I am so blessed by God to have such a healthy baby with no complications. Secondly, I always think about Baby Samuel who's picture has circulated all over Facebook a few months back. The picture is called, "Hand of Hope" and it's a virtual image showing the hand of a 21-week old fetus (Baby Samuel) grasping the fingers of a surgeon performing the prenatal operation. The image was taken in 1999 and I consider it to be the one of the best pictures ever taken to date. Baby Samuel was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not have survived unless he was taken out of the mother's womb. He is now 12 years old. He's a healthy boy and a survivor. When you look at this picture, how can you not get overwhelmed with joy at the amazement of life? It's truly incredible!

Please support March of Dimes by sponsoring me in this walk. I have provided a link to my sponsor page below. Whether your donation be $1, your lunch money,  or that roll of pennies lying on your bed stand, I greatly appreciate it! I know the economy isn't that great but my goal is to raise $50 for March of Dimes meaning that if I get 50 of my friends to donate $1, I will achieve my goal! Every bit helps to building a better future for our world. So do it for the BABIES!!!

Sponsor page: http://www.marchforbabies.org/hollyvu05

March of Dimes Walk

April 14, 2012
Woodward Park
7775 Friant Road
Fresno, CA 93710

Walk Distance: 3 miles
Registration Time: 8:00AM
Start Time: 9:00 AM
Chapter: Central Valley Division

Easter Sunday Fun Day!

Happy Easter everyone! Our weekend was amazing! What made it even better was that Eden and I were able to share our weekend with great company. My friends from UCLA came up to Fresno to visit us. I have been looking forward to this weekend for over a month. Let me tell you, I had everything planned down to the minute because I really wanted to savor every moment they were here. We talked about visiting each other since college graduation. I'm not exactly sure how we were able to make it happen this weekend despite everyone's crazy and hectic schedule, but we did and I'm so grateful for it.

They surprised me on Friday night. I heard the doorbell and immediately I ran to let them in. It was literally a college reunion at my door step. I let out an, "OMG, finally you're here!" Of course, I was jumping up and down and I grabbed each of them to gave em a bear hug (yes, I'm a hugger kind of gal). I was super excited and just couldn't keep it in. They could easily tell. (I wear my expression on my face, what can I say). A minute after our "hello"/"OMG" moment, they looked at me and said, "Where's the baby? We want to see the baby!" Mind you, they haven't seen her since birth when they visited me at the hospital so they were definitely due for a major visit. She woke up and they couldn't believe how big she got. We reminisced all night about our college days and caught up with pretty much everything. From there on, I knew our weekend had only just begun.

The friends helped me put together the Easter egg hunt and baskets. I even went hunting for the eggs myself. So fun. Gotta live out those childhood years. 

Eden was digging into her Easter basket. She collected about two eggs before she called the hunt quits. She was more interested in how the plastic eggs tasted after that. :)

Such a cute portrait of all of us. I'm so grateful to have amazing friends who are so supportive. This was right before they had to leave so I was crying inside.

One of the nights, we made homemade sushi. I was actually surprised how great they came out. My friends and I searched every single supermarket in Fresno to find seaweed wrap. Ok just two supermarkets. For some reason, Vons didn't carry seaweed wrap. That's just so disappointing. :(

Like I said, I went hunting for Easter eggs partly because Eden had settle for two eggs. It was fun. My friend, Armine got clever and tried to hide one of the eggs under a piece of moss. That would have been difficult for a 9-month old. LOL

The besties and Eden. They absolutely adore her. Even though Eden wasn't feeling well this weekend, she was still so happy to see them. The last night she unleashed her crying spell on and kept them up all night. Sorry guys! They were concerned for her and wanted to rock her to sleep. The best part of the weekend was having four extra pair of hands to help me take care of Eden. It was a glory win for me!