1st Ultrasound

On Christmas Eve, I got to spend time with my boys and went in for my first ultrasound! I got soooooo excited and drank way too much water that morning~ Even my ultrasound tech noticed. After we did my ultrasound she told me to empty my bladder so she can do the vaginal ultrasound (ack! didn't have to do that with max -_-)..and she saw my bladder filling up again..haha!

Seeing the little heart beating never seems to get old~ I'm getting excited all over again. And i CAN'T wait for the next ultrasound! Eeeeee! It was the best Christmas present ever!

Hubs wants to be surprised with this baby. But I want to know the gender! Maybe with the 3rd we can keep it a surprise..hehehehehehe.

Here's Max's sister/brother. You can see the lil arms starting to grow :D

Merry Christmas Everyone! <3 p="">

1st Prenatal Visit

I was suppose to write this post a couple days ago....the fatigue is hitting me HARD. I feel so drained, ALL THE TIME. Can't wait for 2nd trimester (already). I definitely need energy to keep up with Max. *yawn*

We went to my 1st prenatal appt. Tues. morning. We ended up w a i t i n g for about 1 1/2-2 hours to get examined and tested. Which sucks cause, you know.... impatient toddler~~ thankfully i brought enough snacks and gave him my phone to keep him quiet till i was finished. 

Long story short....it's official. We're pregnant! The doctor said so ;D 

Can't believe i'm doing it all over again. We are creating another life and bringing him/her into the world. Max is going to be a BIG brother. We are going to be responsible of taking care and loving TWO babies~ Which i can't imagine. Of course i love my baby i am carrying. But how do you learn to love two?! All the love and attention i give Max, how do you do that with another? How do i prepare Max for a sibling? He gets REALLY jealous when i'm holding another baby. Like angry jealous. Will i be able to run errands with two...by myself? Dah. I'm sure everything will work out in due time but my mind never shuts off.

And i'm 6 weeks along. Doc thinks i'm 5 weeks 3-4days? I'm getting my 1st ultrasound on Christmas eve so we'll be able to know for sure. So far i've been experiencing lots of fatigue, lots of bloat, already wearing some maternity clothes (ugh), going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, can't sleep through the night anymore, and increase in appetite! It's so out of control. I don't remember being SO freaking hungry in the 1st trimester with Max. I feel like i have the same appetite as i did in my 3rd tri. with Max. Just constantly hungry and i'm trying really hard not to go crazy and eat everything in sight. I'll eat a full meal and get  hungry again after 30 mins. MY GOD. Plus i haven't lost  most of my pregnancy weight from Max (yea..i was lazy and tired) and i'm gonna try not to gain more than 20-25 pound. Just for health reasons. OH and my stomach is itching like crazy! I'm going nuts and wanna rip my skin off~ -_- so yea. that's how my week is going so far~ fun fun ;P

First snow of the year

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas~~! Or at least for a lil while it did. I hate snow but i love how beautiful it is when the snow is falling and how it blankets the ground and lay on the leaves~ And of course, photo time!! Errrr.. i mean play time! Hehe. Max didn't know what to think of the snow. Didn't seem like a fan.. but we played and walked through the snow for a little bit. And this mama got some decent shot of her baby in the snow! ;D It's suppose to snow again today.. so more snow pics? errr.. i mean play time! weee~!

And this week i am 5 weeks pregnant! Nothing new. Same as last week...lots of cramping~ but nothing i can't handle. It just feel menstrual cramps here and there, throughout the day. Definitely feeling the fatigue.. but no time to sleep ;( I have some editing to get done, house to clean, toddler to entertain and feed and change and love...whew. Oh and cook for the hubs. The second time around is definitely different. I know i'm pregnant but i don't really notice or think about it much since Max keeps me busy. Can't believe i'll have my first prenatal appointment next week! And maybe even an ultrasound! So crazy! Maybe then this whole i'm pregnant, max is going to be a big brother, we're gonna be parents of two will set in a bit......OH MY GOD! 2 babies?! Oh Lord~~~ give me strength. LOL.

Symphony Of Lights- Blinkin' Binkies 2013

Today we went to Blinkin' Binkies at the Symphony of Lights Festival. It's the only time you can go to walk through and view the lights~ So much better than just driving through. Plus i definitely got my workout for the day...or week. Lol. We came here last year with Max and i think he enjoyed it this year. He was quiet for the whole walk! He just kept staring all the lights~ Just something about them + the holiday season= something magical. Especially when you have young children and you just see the spark in their eyes cause everything is so new to them..

This year, it was pretty warm out so it was nice taking our time walking. But last year was really freaking cold! Not sure if i'll be going next year since i'll have an infant and all, but i'll def come again in 2015 and make it a tradition for our family! :) 

December

It's December!  My goodness! This year is quickly almost coming to an end! And Christmas is coming!! I dread and look forward to it. I only dread it cause i don't work full time anymore so i don't make as much..so yea~ money is tight. But i look forward to it cause of the family bonding time. I just need to remind myself that stuff is just stuff. It's just the lil thoughtful things that count. Of course there will be presents but maybe not as elaborate~ My sister's and their boyfriend and hubs and I decided on doing a secret santa this year with a set budget~ So this should be interesting! ;D

I also freaked out today was the 1st of December..I had bunch of stuff planned to do later in the month for Max. I really wanted to do the advent calendar but didn't have enough time to get to making them :T He probably won't really know what it means anyways..right? I even read this to calm my ass down. I just need to remember to do less and just savor the moment with my baby boy. But i definitely want to take pics with Santa at the mall..I'm pretty sure he'll freak out this year.. Wanna walk at the Symphony of lights festival..instead of driving through, families walk around with their strollers and it's just so much more magical..even tho it is a lil cold~ We also want to visit 34th street (didn't get a chance to go last year cause the hubs wants to be lazy).. Residents on 34th street decorate their house and has been an attraction for 66 years! I have been wanting to go for so long! OHH and bake cookies!! :D 

And today we just spent the day at Max's cousin's house to play. We later went to Ikea, just because and left with stuff we weren't planning on buying..lol. It's so hard to resist! I freaking LOVE Ikea! But hey, at least it's useful. We bought a shelf and storage boxes to neatly hide Max's toys~ We have most of his toys in the living room and lately it's been driving us insane since Max is now dumping everything out instead of looking through the bin and picking a toy out... -_- It's just so nice to have the living room look like an adult space (wow~ i sound old). And from the looks of it, Max is enjoying the nice clean space too! Dahhh... silly boy.

Thanksgiving

Oy. I'm still tired from all the cooking and eating...and a lil bit of shopping! Or maybe it's from pregnancy? dahh~ whatever it is, this mama is pooped! I'm just really happy i got to spend time with my family. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful and lovely Thanksgiving! Now time to turn on those holiday jams! yeaaaaaaa!

Blessed

Life is beautiful. Through the good and the bad...life is beautiful. Through everything i have been through, time heals all wound. You grow, you forgive, you move on, and just live. It's not as easy as saying it.. but there are brighter days~ even through the struggles, i am thankful. Without the pain, the tears, the laughs..i wouldn't be who i am now.

I'm just thankful for all the family and friends in my life. Thank you for being you and being there. And it looks like i have more to be thankful for........... i tried the digital test again after getting a negative a couple days ago. I'm so excited and nervous!! I'm already feeling the bloat and sleepiness. Must. Stay. Awake! I have a toddler to keep up with! Hehe.

And my lil monster is trying to walk down the stairs on his own! Still trying.He's still isn't too confident ..but one step at a time, buddy. Mama is in no rush for you to be THAT independent! ;D

Happy Thanksgiving, folks! Eat and laugh lots!

Random day

So today was wayyyy too cold to go out, so we stayed in our warm cozy home and played all day! My sister, Angela got Max some cute lil ornaments for this year's Christmas tree! We always have a different theme/color each year! :D So we or 'I' have LOTS of Christmas decorations in my garage! :D This year i wanted to make it cute and fun for the kids (wow! we have 3 babies total this year!). We're going with a woody theme. And i feel like Target and I click...every year! That place always have what i need..when i need it..hehe! I'm even thinking about decorating Max's room for Christmas. I'm feeling EXTRA festive this year! Those pillow case in the pic...4bucks for the pair at the 'as is' section at my other favorite store, Ikea! I love going to the 'as is' section! Especially when i find stuff i like for an awesome price! The pillow cases was just a return item. Score! ANDDDD my mom happen to be shopping with me that day and decided to pay for everything.. woo hoo~! So yea. I love a good deal ;D

And some random rambling... the hubs and I have been talking about planning baby #2. He is actually excited and really wants another baby. Which made me happy and surprised at the same time... so we tried a couple weeks ago after i got a positive on my ovulation test... and earlier this week i've been feeling very hungry. I don't usually get cravings for sweets or eat as much until the week before my period. So i've been eating ALL things bad and sweet -_- Than recently i've been feeling some mild period like cramping... and ever since yesterday, I've been feeling very tired~ Both days i took a nap with Max.. I just couldn't stay awake to work or clean the house. I've just been having this feeling...different. So i've just been wondering and having feelings like maybe i am pregnant?? So when hubs came home i couldn't stand thinking about it and just grabbed a pregnancy test to end my curiosity. The box says result 6 days before your period so yea....i'm six days away and losing patience.

I sat there waiting. I saw the pink line..than i see another faint line..a minute later it got a lil more darker.  My eyes just kept going back and forth to the guideline on the stick and the result window. There's TWO lines. It means i'm pregnant right?! Cause it clearly says one line is not pregnant. That's what was going through my head the whole time i kept staring at it. I quickly went down to show the hubs and he was kinda shocked at first and got really happy! An hour later i'm still in disbelief and had to go out and buy more tests.. I just had to be sure! So went down to walmart and grabbed a couple of digital test..why digital? I don't know. But when i came back home i went straight for the bathroom to test. Came back out disappointed... Hubs got a lil disappointed too. BUTTTT~ i did some research on the web and read that digital tests detects pregnancy from the day you miss your period. It also says 4 days before... So... I'm going to wait another week to test again. As for now.. i'm just confused :T That 1st test does have 2 lines tho.....hmmmmm~ We shall see next week! And i'm pretty sure no one reads my blog, right?? I basically just blog to track back and remember things that happened. But if you do read this.. PLEASE don't say anything. We haven't told our family yet and plan on surprising them later.

Dah. okay. needed to get that out and share...with myself? I reallyyyyy wanna call my sisters right now but i'd rather surprised them in a special way and when i get a 100% confirmation :)

21 month update and a day with Max

Hard to believe he is 21 months and soon he'll be 2?! He's definitely looking more and more like a big boy and the baby seems to be fading away. He's definitely understanding us more and trying to communicate his needs and wants. Still no talking but he sure does babble more! He does say a few words. "Umma" (mom in Korean), but i don't think he understands it yet. he just knows how to say it...lol. "Help"(sounds more like "hap"), he uses that word for everything...i think he kind of know what it means... he even comes up to me and grab my hand and takes me to whatever he wants help with. He recently learned to say "open". He says "oh" and then pen, it gets a lil lazy and he slurs it..at least he's trying! But one word he has down..."uh oh"! That's the only word that i know he knows the meaning to and says it correctly. It so cute when he says it. Probably won't be that cute when he gets older tho ;D

Max also likes to j u m p~! He's been trying for a few months now but he can actually lift himself off the floor now! Not that high yet~~he's still working on it :) Oh and last month he started putting the phone to his ear and yapping away~ he does that more and more now whenever he gets a hold of a toy phone or our cell. Oh yea. And he attached to me. Which is good and bad~ good cause i feel special..(muhehehe) and bad cause i can't get any work done or leave him with anyone. He even comes up to me look up at me and says "up" (op), so that i'll lift him up and hold him. <3 p="">

Oh Max, please stay little a little while longer! Don't grow up too fast! Mommy is not ready for it yet! :)

And out of all the toys, he choose to play with my felt balls that i haven't strung up yet. He likes to hide them in his drawer for some reason. lol. Just another fun day for Max~!

Currently.

-Currently i am in my office....working. I haven't actually worked down in my office in 2 years! Ever since i got pregnant and had Baby Max, I've been working near him with my laptop whenever i could get the chance. This week, my mom is here to take a load off me and help out a lil so i can get some work done! So~ So~~~ thankful for her help! Lord knows i could use it!

-I am also in my office listening to kpop on pandora...which got me to take selfies like a fob..haha ;D

-Coming up with ideas for Max's Christmas photos..and also for my mom's puppy and my sister's cats

-Wondering if i am REALLY ready for baby #2? I mean...i bought some a ovulation test today... and have been taking my prenatal vitamins just like how i planned and prepared for Max. But can i handle 2? Oy.

-Having some photographer's block...i guess technically i'm not working...cause i'm blogging too...lol.

Back to work for me.

Lately.

So... i missed a whole month of blogging... BOO. The 1st of October we left to go on our first big trip! We went to Singapore for a few days and then to Myanmar for a couple weeks! It was an adventure! 2 different country and so different! Singapore was beautiful and CLEAN. And Myanmar was the total opposite. Dirty and dusty. But still a beautiful country to explore. One thing they had in common.. very humid! 

I had an awesome time there and wish i could share stories and pics but there are wayyyyy too many! I'm so happy to be back tho! We made it back right before Halloween! I knew i didn't want to miss out on that! And I finally got Max back on his regular sleeping schedule. Woohoo!

Back to reality! anddddd blogging! :)

*one of many pagodas we visited*

Top: Prefresh 'USA' Tee

Shorts: BabyGap

Play Date at Gaver Farm

Just a few photos from Wednesday.. Blake and Max had a morning play date at Gaver Farm! We went for the fall fun festival~ it was nice since there wasn't a lot of people! Just a few moms with toddler :D They had fun playing in the sand, the maze, train, and bean bag toss.. hopefully we can go back after we come back from our trip! Max loved it! And i got in some practice with harsh direct morning/early afternoon light!

 AND~~~I haven't packed a thing yet! I'm such a procrastinator... meh.  

Beanie: Target (love this! and it $5! also comes in black with grey pom, check your local store) 

Top: H&M (similar) 

Bottom: H&M (similar)

Shoes: Converse

Fall Ready

Max and I hung our fall wreath we got at RiteAid for $10! Hehehe. We love it and it is officially fall! Yay! But a lil sad cause we'll be leaving for our trip next week...boo. Next time, we are NOT leaving during my favorite month ;T We haven't even started packing yet. Should probably get started on that. Lol. Plus i have to finish up editing tons of sessions before i leave. I'll be a crazy zombie by the time we leave!

I'm going to soak in all the fall beauty and weather before we head back to humid weather...yuck. But i'm still excited/scurrred/anxious to go! :D

And today is my last day to return my lens rental~And damn...i think i fell in love -_- The pics above was taken with my 5DM2 and the Canon 16-35mm 2.8 II that i rented for the weekend. I used it for a wedding on Friday and a Dohl on Sunday and portraits today. It was very versatile and convenient having that extra wideness. I also love the contrast from this lens~ might have to definitely think about adding this to my camera bag!

Happy Fall!

Top: H&M // Bottom: Old Navy // Shoes: Freshly Picked (Sand Suede)

Our Daily Walk

Woke up today feeling so beat up~ Had the worst sore throat, headache, and heavy eyes like i haven't slept in days! Wasn't a great start. As soon as i felt awake enough to move, i called the ped's office right away to get Max his flu shots. Had to get that done for our trip anyways...so there's one thing checked off the list! I drove 30 mins through city traffic, waited 30 mins in the waiting room, and it took 2 secs for the shot. And 40 mins to drive back home. Awesome. By the time i got home, i felt much better! Thankfully i heal quick! I rarely get sick. Every time i feel something coming on, i react quick and drink my tea, swallow a spoon full of honey, take some vitamin c, and make sure you get lots of rest.

And before our Singapore/Burma trip, i wanted to practice with video on my camera. I rarely use it to record anything..and if i do, i don't edit them. But today, i did it. Edited in iMovie. Didn't even need to read instructions on how to edit it. It was pretty simple. he hardest part was picking the right music..meh. Not my favorite song, but it'll do. And i need to work on my focusing. It was pretty bright out so i couldn't really see my screen.

So here you go. My 1st video!!  Nothing special. Just our daily walk. Max is crazy about cars. He could sit and watch them drive by ALL day if he could.


Our Daily Walk
from Stefani Chung on Vimeo.


I also rented the Canon 16-35mm 2.8 II from LensGiant. I wanted something a little more wider than my Canon 35mm 1.4 for when i shoot an event. I LOVE shooting with my 35 and i think i prefer wider lens than my 50..which i love too. But there's something about the 35 that i love so much... it's my go to lens. I also use it on my lil Canon XSI. It's not a full frame camera like my Mark II so everything is cropped. So i'm thinking the 16-35 would be perfect for when i switch bodies too! I have all weekend to play with the lens so we'll see! If i like it, i might have to sell my 35...but i'm so torn cause that's my baby! ack. We'll see how it goes! So far i'm liking the 16-35! :)

If you're eyeing a lens but don't want to spend the money on the lens just yet, rent it for a few days! I've been renting from LensGiant for years! They have great customer service and fast delivery! Their lens are well taken care of too! I've rented from another company but i like LensGiant the best! :D

Top: Zara Bottom: Carter's Shoes: Stride Rite

Hi, Fall.

Oh Fall (Is it safe to say it's Fall? ;P)~ How i've missed you! Your cool crisp air~mmmm. Love the morning chill!
And a sign for all the events coming our way! Apple picking, pumpkin patch, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, tree trimming, Christmas~~~~ I bet everyone will be busy from now on! Sucks i'll be missing a few weeks of this weather to go back to hot, humid weather for our Burma trip! But i'm sure it'll be worth it! 

Till then, HELLO SWEATERS! :D

Beanie: H&M

Hoodie: Okie Dokie

Shorts: Old Navy

Shoes: Converse

The everything recap.

September is getting a little hectic. Shoot after shoot. Which means lots of editing to catch up on and out the door in a timely matter. We are so grateful for the love and business! It really is amazing how things just work out in the end. So if any of my client is reading this... Thank You~!

This month is starting off pretty amazingly! And i'm loving the cooler temperature! Not quite sweater weather but it's definitely nice feeling the heat cool down! Oh and little man turned 19 month 5 days ago~ *sigh* still can't believe how fast time is flying~ he learned so much in the past month! He is now FINALLY pointing! He can also kind of say a few words.. 'Ma (mama), uh oh, eeee (cheese), oup (out).. lol! He signs please and more. And little man is very attached to his mama! He chooses his mama over daddy every time! Hehe. I'm so glad he is now able to point, clap, and wave! Those were the few things we were concerned about! Better late than never, Max! Geez.  

Oh. And i have a new goal from now on. TAKE SOME DAMN PICTURES...with a camera and not so much with my iphone. It's just so easy with the phone, but i don't want all his pics to be from a cellphone...I'm going to try and carry my camera with me more often. Since he is getting bigger, i carry a little less in the diaper bag now, so i have no excuse! I document other families but my own...how sad. I just kept thinking about how i was barely in any pics this year....( husband doesn't pick up the camera :T ) And we don't even have candid family shots or anything from all the events and outings this summer! -_- I'm going to try harder to document my family photos as well as i document others.