Being born to a Thai mom and a Korean dad, Ruby's sure to have lots of cultural celebrations in her lifetime. For Bob's side of the family, we celebrated her 1 year birthday with a traditional Korean Dol celebration last week in Philly. The main part of the celebration includes a fortune-telling ritual, where various objects are placed in front of the baby, and the object that is picked gives an indication of what she'll be in the future...
We've been in New York the last couple days, and Ruby has been loving all the sights and sounds (and the amazing local playgrounds) that this city has to offer. It's so fun to come back to a city I know and love and get to see New York through her eyes.
Today, my baby girl turns one! Holy cow, how did that happen? Everyone says that first year flys by, and they're not kidding! This last year has been the most emotional, overwhelming, yet amazing and wonderful year of my life. I have a new found respect for mothers and parents everywhere and can't wait for what's to come. We're having a traditional Dol celebration for Ruby this weekend at my in-law's, and then we celebrate her birthday with our friends back home in LA next week! I hope you all have an amazing weekend in store! See you Monday...
ps. Thanks so much to everyone who came out to my NY Book Party last night! It was so fun meeting you all. Next stop: LA on Thursday!
Oh man, this week has been a doozy. I seriously over-booked myself and scheduled in way too many projects, photo shoots, and other work meetings into one week. While I continually tell myself not to over-commit, sometimes you're excited about so many things that you can't help but say yes! This busy week meant that I was away from Ruby more than usual, and that dreaded mom guilt kicked in. I saw her for only two hours yesterday, and I just about cried when I got home at 11:30pm at night, exhausted, and waiting till she woke up this morning so I could see her little smiling face.
With her first real Halloween coming up (last year she was a tiny ball of a newborn, so we didn't dress her up), I've also been coming to terms with all the halloween costumes, birthday parties, and other events in my future that involve craftiness of some sort. I'm not one of those moms who can whip out a sewing machine and put together a felt costume from scratch, nor can I make a three-layered cake from scratch in an afternoon. Sure, I can put together great ideas, come up with a fun theme, and find the various elements needed to put it together...but Martha Stewart, I am not. I'd much rather find a great halloween costume on Etsy or mix and match bunch of cool ready-made decorations to put together something special for an occasion. Last night, a good friend was reminding me that I don't have to be that mom who makes everything from scratch or be super domestic. Ruby will learn to love the type of mom that she has...my strengths and weaknesses and all. I just need to remind myself of that too...
I hope you guys have an amazing weekend! I'm looking forward to a little R&R for sure...
ps. look whose favorite new word is "Goodbye".
{Instagram photo of Ruby eating a pickle for the first time. She actually liked it despite this expression!}
Ever since my baby clothing collection with Winter Water Factory launched a few months ago, it's been so fun seeing other babies wearing the pieces. I had to share some of my favorites with you here. You can see more tiny babes in the clothing right here, and get your hands on the limited edition pieces (ahem, holidays are coming!) before they're gone...
ps. Thanks to all the moms who shared these photos of their little ladies!
I can't believe Ruby's first birthday is coming up next month! In-between prepping for my book tour, I'm trying to figure out what we'll do for her birthday. We're thinking about having her party be a no-gift party—we have such limited space in our house {and terrible storage}, she has plenty of toys, and I feel like she won't really enjoy the idea of presents until she's a little older anyway. I'd rather have our friends and family come, eat great food, and just celebrate our one year with Ruby. Or even donate to a charity, instead. What do guys think? Is she missing out if we ask guests not to bring presents? If you were invited to a no-present party and were asked to donate to a charity instead, would you actually do it? — Joy
p.s. Thanks SO much to everyone who came to Wednesday's book signing in Chicago and to West Elm for hosting. I had so much fun meeting and chatting with all of you! To the girl with the mint green bag who asked me about having more babies, can you shoot me an email (hello[at]ohjoy.com)?
See you in a few weeks San Francisco!
{Instagram photo of Ruby at 10.5 months. her hair clips are from StellinaB.}
Ruby got her first haircut this week! Well, it was mainly a bang trim to get those bangs out of her eyes. It was the quickest hair cut ever, but someone was not so happy to have her head held and poked at while scissors came so close to her face. She cried for a minute near the end, but we all walked out 5 minutes later unscathed. She looks thrilled, right? And her short little bangs crack me up. She's totally kickin' it Parent Trap style.
Hope you guys have some fun things in store for the weekend. My in-laws come into town this afternoon for a week to get some one-on-one time with their granddaughter. I seriously cannot wait for my mother-in-law's Korean home cooking...yum. Enjoy your weekend guys! — Joy
Oh, and just a reminder to those of you in Chicago, if you're planning to attend the September 5th Blog, Inc. Book Party, please be sure to RSVP by early next week. The book doesn't officially come out until after this party, so we want to make sure to have enough for everyone there!
{photo of Ruby at 10.5 months by Oh Joy}
Ruby turned 10 months over the weekend! It's so crazy to think how fast time flies. As we head into the weekend, I leave you with...
10 ways I've changed in my 10 months as a mom:
Continue reading " happy friday + 10 months with ruby... " »
I've always been a fan of kid's clothing that isn't too sweet or overly precious but still has a quirky quality to them. And Oeuf's newest collection pretty much defines that! I love the mix of quirky shapes and faces on beautiful knits. I'd happily wear any of these if they came in grown-up size... — Joy
I love seeing how people use Oh Joy wallpaper in their homes. So, when Erin sent me these photos of her daughter Penelope's nursery, I had to share. I've seen this pattern used in bedrooms, bathrooms, and living rooms {it's even wall-to-wall in my own living room}, but I seriously love it in a baby's room, too! I love that it's not too baby, and little Penelope can grow with it for so many years to come. Thanks Erin for sharing! — Joy
{photos by Erin}
Look who's got a sweet new ride! Ruby's been watching our neighbor's kids ride their bikes and nas been itching to be mobile like that. So Bob's been researching push cars to see which one was just right for her. I loved this mock of a vintage Porsche {it's the baby version of my dream car!}, and Bob wanted her in his favorite sports car {but, um, way too expensive}. So at the end of the day we decided on a classic ruby red convertible. She loves it and even holds the steering wheel while listening to the rap station on her radio! The look of total joy just melts me. Have a great weekend, guys...full of your own little joyrides... — Joy
ps. just a reminder that you have till Tuesday to enter the Splendid Summer contest! Can't wait to see what you guys have pinned!
{Instagram photo by Oh Joy}
purchase the book | blog, inc. virtual chat
wallpaper for hygge & west
baby clothing for winter water factory
The latest in my Make Someone Happy series
~ 20% off at Maya Brenner through May 31, 2013. Enter JOY20 at checkout.
Any comments which are deemed inappropriate ~ including general spam, offensive comments or rude language, self-promotional spam, or other items unrelated to the post ~ will be deleted.
Oh Joy!® is a registered trademark of Nantaka Joy®, Inc. All rights reserved.
Oh Joy contains paid advertising banners and some contextual affiliate links. An affiliate link means that we receive commission on sales of the products that are linked to in my posts. So if you click on a link and make a purchase from an affiliate site, then I may make a commission from that purchase. I also work with affiliate links, on occasion, on my Pinterest page. The content of my posts or pins are all items, things, and experiences I genuinely like and will only work with affiliates that fit my aesthetic and brand.
Any products which have been gifted or provided gratis to Oh Joy for review is noted with an asterisk (*) or c/o (courtesy of) at the bottom of the post and are only posted if a good fit for the Oh Joy aesthetic and content. Any sponsored giveaways or posts will be noted as such.
