In Wonderland

Happy Halloween from Alice in Wonderland and her jolly entourage, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum! Ever since we started taking Serene to Disneyland, I've been more inclined toward Disney-inspired costumes. Actually, I was a smidgen conflicted because I had been brainstorming since May that we'd dress as Tom, Sybil, and baby Sybbie Branson from Downton Abbey, since Alex and I are huge fans of the show. But we scratched the idea when we realized we'd likely be unrecognizable to the normal human eye. If we had gone through with the Downton Abbey costumes, we'd be explaining to everyone who we were, as we did during our very first Halloween as married folks. So, to Wonderland we went this year, which I think works out just as swell.

I used this image for inspiration, and we went with a mustard, burgundy, and royal blue color scheme for our Tweedle costumes, rather than the cartoony yellow, red, and blue. We had almost everything in our closets already, except for a mustard pullover for Alex, which we bought. To complete our costumes, I made giant bowties out of felt, and sewed propeller hats out of triangles of burgundy felt. I left a small hole in the center of each hat so I could glue a stick on it, and finished each hat by sewing a mustard flag onto the top. Alex kept saying he needed a haircut, but I think his longish hair suits his character pretty precisely. 

Serene's Alice costume comprises of a powder blue vintage dress she already has (as seen when we made the gender announcement, and in our most recent family photos), white tights, black leather Mary Janes, a black floral headband, and an apron I sewed from white cotton. All in all, a relatively low-effort family costume-creating ordeal. I made giant crepe paper flowers for Serene's first birthday bash, but forgot to use them the day of, so into our Halloween pictures they went. I thought they looked pretty Wonderland-ish. In any case, the little love fancied them during the picture-taking, so much so that she crawled about in the muddy grass to grab them. Serene snoozed throughout our trick-or-treat escapade last year, so we're looking forward to toting her alert and curious self around this year. Hope you all have a lovely time tonight! 

See our past Halloween costumes:
Halloween 2013: The sailor man with a spinach can and his fam
Halloween 2012: I dreamed a dream of time gone by

Weaning woes

I've been toying with the idea of slowly weaning Serene, and started consistently going through with it last week. I cut out the two naptime feedings (still nursing first thing in the morning when she wakes up and last thing in the evening before bed), replacing the nursing sessions with soy milk, but Serene has declared war. War on the soy milk, which means negligible sips here and there before the cup gets flung across the room (on the bright side, at least she takes little sips of the soy milk, for she wouldn't take sips of cow's milk at all). War on me, which means a fussier, more whiny, and more clingy babe throughout the day. War on naptime, which means screaming for an hour and a half before she falls asleep, if she naps at all. And if she naps at all, it is for 30-40 minutes throughout the entire day, rather than the usual 2-3 hours throughout the day. In short, weaning is a culprit for our sadness and weariness of late. I was at my wit's end last week. By Friday, the week's fatigue had caught up to me. I was second guessing all the motherhood decisions I've ever made. So I hauled Serene's nap-refusing tush to Target in my pajamas, unbrushed hair, and unmade up face. We ambled aimlessly for an hour so I could distract her from the monotony of home, the blasted soy milk, and her crib prison.

Now that I look back on it, I can't help but laugh. Last week was pretty grim, but praise God every day is a new day with mercies anew. We're all adjusting and learning, and I'm foreseeing weeks, maybe even months, of weaning in our future. Please feel free to share advice and recommendations! I continue to learn that mamahood has its rosy moments, but there are so many not-so-rosy moments as well. Right now, those include weaning woes, but they will only be something else later on. Regardless, all moments are glimpses of the great calling I have to teach and disciple my little love to fear God over all else (in this case, breastmilk). But who am I kidding? I feel so small, so inept, so unworthy of this daunting task before me, particularly as she gets older (and more sinful). I need so much grace and strength to be the example Serene needs. How can I teach her to fear God when I so often fail to be in awe of Him myself? Who am I to tell her to stop whining when I keep complaining about her whining? Such a timely reminder of how God perfects His power in weakness because boy, do I feel weak! Thankful the Lord paid for my sins on the cross so that I can come to the throne of grace. Praying I would emanate grace to Serene as we learn to teach and discipline her for her good and God's glory - that she would see that she, her daddy, and I are all in dire need of God's kindness and mercy on the cross!

At the pumpkin patch

These past few weeks have felt like a whirlwind, which makes me ever more grateful that we made it out to the pumpkin patch this year. We moseyed on over this past Monday for our family day, where there were fewer patrons and therefore more patch for us to roam. Serene oogled at the vast pumpkin-dotted field, and had no qualms about getting up close and personal with them. Alex and I kept laughing because this year's foray into the pumpkin patch was so different from last year's. The previous year, we ventured over there during our first postpartum family day outing with two-week-old Serene Joy in tow. She snoozed soundly in my sling nearly the entire time, oblivious of her participation in an incumbent tradition. This year, she toddled about, poking and prodding the giant orange squash with fervor. We're now more convinced that traditions are made much sweeter with a growing little love.

Back at our happy place

We took Serene to her first Disneyland adventure three weeks ago as a little family celebration for her birthday. We weren't sure how we'd fare at a theme park all day with a one-year-old, but we survived - maybe even thrived a tad! Our little love had a jolly grand time. She was fascinated by the ambience enough to hardly nap a wink throughout the day. We went on a few rides, and she loved "It's a Small World" most. We found her enjoyment so endearing we ended up trekking over to the park the next couple of weeks. We used to have annual passes, but didn't renew when we got pregnant. Ever since Serene has been born, Alex has been dreaming and saving up for passes again so that we can gallivant to Disneyland for family days this year. Though we are huge fans of the happiest place on earth, we love it even more when we discovered how baby-friendly the park is. Disneyland's and DCA's baby centers are so incredibly legit: grandiose, luxurious facilities to supply all of baby's and parents' needs. So thankful for kid-friendly amenities, which we couldn't fathom pre-parenthood.

Among the wildflowers

We took family pictures last Thursday, a week after Serene turned one and a day after I turned twenty-seven. Our ever talented friend, Ruby, captured these amazing shots, and I am so thankful we finally have some legit, frame-worthy family pictures. The last time we took some, Serene was about two months old. I was telling Ruby I'd love to take the photos in a wildflower field, which are hard to come by in October in Southern California. She happened to pass by a random spot brimming with wild flora off the side of the road one day, and family pictures among the wildflowers came into fruition. That's a hefty dosage of God's grace. Serene was in a jolly mood at the time, which was another serving of God's grace, even though she was adamant about prying her shoes off during the shoot. As I peruse through these pictures though, I see so much of God's kindness to our little family. So thankful for the gift of a new year of life to know and serve Him more. I was thoroughly spoiled last week on my birthday with encouraging birthday greetings, a Disneyland adventure, and an all-you-can-eat sushi feast with so many loved ones, which were blatant reminders of the sweet blessings God generously, undeservedly bestows upon me in Christ.

Serene's woodsy one-derland

We threw a party to celebrate our sweet Serene Joy's first birthday two weekends ago. She loves trees and the grassy outdoors (and I  confess to thinking she looks like a pixie sometimes), so we created a woodsy one-derland in honor of her first year of life. I spent Serene's naptimes and bedtimes in the weeks leading up to the party feverishly making decor: sewing giant toadstool dollhouse pillows, felt circle garlands, floral photobooth vines, tree stump cake stands, mossy terrariums, yarn billy balls and dandelion arrangements, a floral headband, and giant crepe paper flowers (with which I actually forgot to embellish the grass the day of).

We catered deli sandwiches like forest club on honey whole wheat from here and varieties of gourmet pizza like woodland mushroom from here. We also served chipmunk chips (kettle-cooked potato chips with sea salt and black pepper), and I made a huge batch of toadstoolini (my favorite pasta). The array of sweet treats included strawberry shortcakes and salted caramel babycakes from here, cinnamon stump rolls, choco pinecones, fairy berries (Serene's favorite treat), and French macarons, most of which we bought from here. We got her strawberry chiffon cake from here, and I made a felt rose cake topper, painted a wooden toadstool, and purchased a dear fawn figurine to adorn it.

We had a woodland mask makin' station for the kiddos, and they received fairy bubble favors, since Serene loves bubbles. I bought packs of bubbles from the dollar store and painted wooden toadstools to glue on top, tied each one with twine, and glued a label on each one to adhere to the theme. I found funky woodland hats on clearance here for guests to don against the floral vine backdrop hanging from one of the tree's branches for the picture takin' station. Another tree portrayed photos of Serene throughout her first year of life.

I was anxious about the weather that day since we were expecting a scorching triple digit afternoon. Thankfully, we hosted the party at a local park under a grove of towering trees, which we encircled with a festive felt circle garland. We laid out a bunch of patterned blankets under the trees' shade, picnic-style, which made the heat more than bearable. Serene had a bona fide blast being surrounded by so many who lavished their attention on her. She ate handfuls of strawberries, among other treats, and wore them on her vintage pinafore too. She was a giggly, silly bunch of sweetness that day. She is such a special little lady - a most precious gift from our Lord - and we are so grateful to our dear community who spent time celebrating her life with us!