Welcome Harrison!

Baby boy Thao arrived 10/15/2015 weighing in at 9 lbs 1 oz! Yes he was a big boy - even the doctors had to do a double take. This little man is more of a handful than Lillian but I'm so grateful for him. He saved me. Saved me from becoming depressed - he was my distraction from all the craziness that happen while mom was sick and as she passed. We buried mom on Monday 10/12 and the whole funeral weekend I was dilated to 5 and could have went into labor at any second. I almost thought I was going to on Sunday but I kept telling baby to stay in and come out big and healthy. Well, I got what I asked for!

He came out big and healthy and with a head full of hair! I love my Harrison Chakong Thao!

We also took family photos a month later since Lillian and I got sick right after having Harrison. We will be using these for our holiday cards this year. 

I am so blessed to be the mother of these two beautiful angels. 

Always in our hearts. I love you mom.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=9rzi61iv9vA

Mom's funeral

Tomorrow 10/9 will mark the first day of mom's funeral. Monday will be the burial. I am still pregnant and due literally any day. I am torn because I'm still not ready to say goodbye to mom but I'm also so excited to welcome my baby boy. This weekend is going to be tough for my entire family and I hope I can make it through, but if baby Harrison decides to come and distract me from sadness I will gladly oblige. I've done all I can at this point with prepping for mom's funeral. I have no regrets and I know she's proud of me. 

Let's get this weekend started. 

Mom.

The past month has been a blur, literally. We found out my mom has metastatic cholangiocarinoma stage 4. The docs are giving us 3-6 months, but warned us to prepare for the shorter end of the spectrum. They told us to live day by day and week to week until the time comes. 

My baby boy is due to arrive in mid-October. All I want is a safe delivery and for my mom to be there to hold her grandson. These layers of emotions are hard to take in. 

The sad reality is that we don't have much longer with mom. I only hope that she's proud of the woman I've become and will look over our family when her time comes. Seeing her in pain is the hardest thing to witness. Seeing her get frustrated at herself for not being able to feed herself or walk by herself is even harder. 

Mom, just know that we all love you. You will never be replaced. Until the time comes, I promise to do whatever I can to put a smile on your face. 

Love,

Your daughter 

What has been going on? Life.

Left Target a few months ago and joined General Mills. This has been the boldest career move yet but I'm happy with it! 

Lillian is more spoiled now than ever. She received an unfortunate haircut from grandpa that I wasn't aware of until she came home - I was not a happy camper. Now her wardrobe consists of headbands everyday!

The holidays are right around the corner and I'm taking practically 2 weeks off! Never in my life have I taken that much time off besides maternity leave!

Life finally has turned around and I can't wait to see what the future holds!

2014 you have been good to me, 2015 I'm excited for you!

All about Lillian

I am obsessed with my little girl. I miss her when I'm away from her. Every decision I make I think about her. It's true what parents say about the kind of love you have when you have your own baby. It's unconditional and so overwhelming sometimes. I never knew I could love someone so much until Lillian came into my life. I am just so happy that I am her mommy... forever. I wonder how it'll be like when we give her a sibling! 

Anyways, here are photos of Lillian from this weekend. 

I literally had to buy more storage because I take too many photos!

Goodnight. 

DIY boho teepee

Lately I've been more inspired than ever to finish decorating Lillian's room. Now that her changing table is put away, there's more space. 

I've been eyeing this floral land of nod teepee for quite sometime now but couldn't justify paying for it. 

Therefore I did the next best thing, went to my local Home Depot and fabric outlet and voila - done!

Lillian's loves it and we use it as her new changing area, play house and reading nook. I even made DIY throw pillows for the inside!

What you need:

4 6ft wooden dowels cut to size from Home Depot- $12

5 yards of canvas fabric- $30

4 plastic table leg ends- $6 from Home Depot

I used my old red cloth belt to tie all the poles together and an old white drawstring for the ties in the front. 

1. Tie the top of all the wooden dowels and stretch out each leg until it is your desired size teepee. 

2. Measure the bottom of one leg to the other. All spaces between each leg should be the same for consistency. 

3. Measure out length, height and width of one triangle side and cut fabric to measurements. Cut 4 triangles total. Make sure to utilize as much fabric as possible. 

4. With extra long pieces of fabric, cut 4 rectangles measuring the length of one side of each triangle and about 5-8 inches in width depending on the dowel width size you bought. 

5. Fold the rectangle piece in half nice side out and sew the two ends together. 

6. Sandwich the sewn end of the rectangle in between two triangle ends with the nice side of the triangles facing inwards and sew all 3 piece together. 

7. Repeat for all pieces. 

8. For the last triangle before you sew it onto the rest, measure out the middle and cut an opening from the bottom to midway. This will be the opening of the teepee. Next fold the frayed edges inward and sew it in. 

9. Compete the teepee by sewing the final triangle in. 

10. Slide each leg of the teepee skeleton into each rectangle opening. Then fan out your teepee and re-tie the wooden poles together. 

11. Slip on the table ends to each leg of the teepee and voila!!!

Lillian loves this play teepee and we have been using it every night to read books before bed... and yes it's big enough for both her and I to snuggle and read together. 

Also, with my left over fabric I put it in an ikea frame for decor as well & will hang it somewhere in the room. I love this print!