August 2015.
We found out we were expecting our first little love.
We dreamed up all of the possibilities.
We had a name.
Gwen Avery.
We were figuring out what life was going to be like when they arrived.
However they had other plans and we said goodbye to them two months later.
I still remember feeling like my heart was being wrung out like sponge. How could we love someone we’ve never seen with our eyes so fully and how were we going to love someone else when you feel so broken and drained of that love?
May 2016.
We went on our honeymoon at Disney World.
Surrounded by Disney Magic we focused on our love for each other. Excited for the day when we would grow our family even more.
February 2017.
Nine months(+ a week and a day) later.
We welcomed our Rainbow 🌈 Baby into the world.
Aubrey Isabella.
She’s made from pure love…and Disney Magic. ✨💖
We’ve told her that she’s a Rainbow 🌈 Baby.
When she asked what made her a Rainbow 🌈 Baby, we told her about Gwen and how much we loved them so fast. And how we hoped to love someone just as much and more. It used to be difficult for me to talk about our losses, but what we’ve gained has made our life so bright and so beautiful.
We just read a book for bedtime called, We Waited For You: Now We’re A Family by Cindy Chupack. It took everything in my being not to just start crying while reading it aloud to our girl. Every page rang true as if it knew what that feeling was of longing, wishing, and hoping. It reminded me to never take our blessings for granted.
Every day may not always be full of sunshine, but we will always have rainbows. 🌈
Happy Rainbow 🌈 Baby Day Sweet Girl!
#rainbowbabyday #rainbowbaby #wewaitedforyou #mamabear #momlife #disneyfamily #disneybaby #disneymagic #disneycommunity #aapi #disneyaapi #disneycreators #disneyaapicreators
D23 Night at the Packing District was magically delicious! ✨🥰
@disneyd23 @packingdistrict @ravensburgerglobal hosted a night of fun and food, a perfect pair to kick off D23 Week.
I got to try so many yummy dishes from all over the the Packing District.
A few of my favorites were:
🍓 The Perfect Bite from @piqueniqueoc
🌮 The Birria Eggrolls from @thekroft
There was Disney Trivia, live Demos for Lorcana, Villainous, and new co-op board game called Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls.
What a fun night for a foodie and a Disney fan.
#d23 #disneycreator #disneyaapi #aapi #oc #visitanaheim #anaheimpackingdistrict #foodie #disney #disneygram #ravensburger #lorcana #disneylove #disneyreel
Say Hello to my Unicorn. 🦄 My Otamatone Unicorn 🦄 Deluxe. Thank You to @hameeus for hosting a giveaway to showcase our love for the Otamatone that granted me the chance to give this beautiful Otamatone a home! 🩷🩵💜
I couldn’t think of a better spot to play it for the first time than on our summer road trip. We started our first day in New Orleans with the iconic @cafedumonde for some beignets and frozen iced coffee! There’s always music playing in the streets of New Orleans. My Otamatone was ready to join in.
It was bustling and the energy in the air was palpable. I was a bit nervous to play at first. But as song after song I knew played, I started playing to Unchained Melody. Straining to hear, I had to lean into the Otamatone, which made me look like I was playing the Cello haha 😄
It’s so much fun learning to play the Otamatone! There’s a bit of musicality and puppetry that goes into it that I love figuring out as I go. I can’t wait to take my Otamatone on more adventures!
#otamatone #hamee #myotamatone #music #neworleans #nola #cafedumonde #beignets #roadtrip #summer #summerroadtrip #pingpingpimz #aapi #aapicreators
I love making music. 🎶
I learned how to play piano by ear when I was 8-9. Took a few lessons. I’ve been known to sing a diddy or too. But only a special select grouping of loved ones know my affinity for unique musical instruments. They know because they get the absolute privilege I hearing me learn to play them and watch me get giddy over figuring things out. 😁
The Otamatone is one of those special musical instruments. I picked up my first Otamatone on my first trip to Japan in 2015. Aside from being Mecha kawaii, it was a new challenge for me. At that point I’ve only played piano/keyboard and dabbled in guitar/ukelele. When I squished that face for the first time, I knew my world would never be the same.💖
I love that the Otamatone has been picked up by so many and has ignited a spark of creativity in the community. I brought home my second Otamatone on our last trip to Japan last summer. And I can’t wait to add to our Otamatone Family next year when we go back to Japan for the summer!
#MyOtamatone24 #music #musically #pingpingpimz #hameeus #otamatone #weirdinstruments #strangeandbeautiful #otama #musicalinstruments #synthesizer #musictoy #musical
A coffee without the caffeine? This is no April Fools Joke. I would know. I’m an April. 😉
I love coffee drinks but, I have a bit of a sensitivity to caffeine. ☕️ So what’s a gal to do if they love the taste of coffee but can’t have too much because of the jitters?! Lucky for me I discovered an Instant Chicory Powder from Straight From France. What is Chicory, you say? 🤎
Chicory is a root vegetable that is also commonly known as Endive. 🥬 The dried root of the Chicory is used as an alternative coffee due to the similar taste profiles they have. But what’s nice is that it has the taste of coffee without the caffeine. Which means it’s okay for the whole family to drink.
Straight From France’s Instant Chicory is super easy to make! You can enjoy it hot or cold. I went with an Iced Chicory with a Cold Foam on top. It’s low in calories and gluten free. Drinking Chicory has additional health benefits by being a great source of inulin, a prebiotic fiber that helps improve gut health and help satiate hunger.
So hyped to start my mornings with a cup of Chicory! Have you tried Chicory before? Let me know what you think! ☕️🤎
@straightfrance @stackinfluence #straightfromfrance #straightfromfrancepartner #frenchfood #foodlover #coffeetime #caffeinefree #chicory #aprilfoolsday #aprilfools #coffee #cafe #foodie #coffeealternative
I’ve got a bone to pick with you. Have you tried a bone broth that isn’t bone broth? Let me elaborate.
I like sippin’ on bone broth in the morning to get a boost of collagen and calcium to help support healthy hair, skin, and joints.
Boon Borth by Ecco Bella is unique in the way it has all the benefits of a traditional bone broth but completely vegan. The Golden Savory blend has 72 trace minerals, 12 grams of vegetable protein, and 25% of the daily value of calcium per serving.
While I may not be vegan, I appreciate trying out alternative ways of getting my daily collagen and protein intake. And when it takes great too it’s always a bonus! There’s Nutritional Yeast, Organic Turmeric, Ginger, Paprika, Dill, and Dulce Seaweed—Boon Broth is packed with umami flavor in every sip.
You can even use Boon Broth to add some tasty notes and nutrition to vegetable, rice, noodles. I sprinkled a little bit of some popcorn and it was delightful!
Do you get enough collagen on the daily? Would you try a Bone Broth that’s completely vegan? I did and I totally dig it!
@eccobella_beauty @stackinfluence #eccobella #eccobellapartner #broth #bonebroth #veganskincare #cleanbeauty
Maja Daja Day itinerary: Brekkie, Arcade, Tattoos..wait what?! 🧐
Don’t worry! They’re temporary tattoos, but elevated and created by a Pro Makeup Artist that’s paved the way in the Airbrush Special FX Tattoo industry.
I have the incredible honor to call her my friend. Grace X Lovejoy @ipaintflesh is the Founder and Creative Director of @tatbarlasvegas located in the heart of Chinatown. I met her while doing Event Photography back in 2016. I thought the concept of Airbrush FX Tattoos was so clever and fun. I’ve followed along on their journey and always try to make time to visit their studio whenever we’re in Las Vegas.
They’ve got a vast collection of designs to choose from. And the vision to take the images off the page and create literal art on which ever part of your body you’d like.
Aubrey wanted a kitty and since it was her first time visiting the studio, she hopped up onto the makeup chair and Grace skillfully airbrushed the designs onto her arms. One arm had a Taylor Swift inspired lyric with a fancy kitty. The other arm had a BTS inspired design.
I only learned recently about the significance the whale 🐳 🐋 that represents the loneliest whale in the world. Finding that even in times of anxiety or struggle, we’re not alone out there. So it’s fitting that we both got a whale with a sweet bond of hope that our songs—however different the tune may be, can be heard and a symphony of others around may share a connection.
I’m so happy to be able to share moments like this with our kiddo. She’s got a beautiful creative heart and mind and she was so excited to see the studio full of amazing works of art. I hope it inspires her to keep imagining and creating things uniquely her.
#pingpingpimz #tatbarlasvegas #airbrush #majadajaday
Hey Y’all! Miss Minutes is my Gal Pal! 🧡 No matter how cuckoo she can be.
I’m so stoked we get to see so much of Miss Minutes in Loki Season 2, Episode 3. She really shows her true colors and we get to see what makes our favorite quirky lil’ clock tick. @tarastrong breathes so much life into Miss Minutes giving her so much depth and personality! She’s charming and terrifying all at the same time! 🧡 I’d want to be on her good side for all time..always.
What’s your favorite Miss Minutes moment?
Loki Dress 💚 @heruniverse
Miss Minutes Bag 🧡 @loungefly
@officialloki @disneyplus @marvelstudios #loki #missminutes #marvelstudios #disneyplus #styledbymarvel #disneybound #disneybounding #loungefly #disneyparks #disneyphotopass #disneylandmagickey #disneyaapi #disneyaapicreators #disneycreators #pingpingpimz
It never ceases to amaze me when our girl has moments of being absolutely fearless. Especially when meeting someone as intimidating as The Queen. 👑❤️🗡️
It must’ve been her channeling Queen Elsa. ❄️💙
I see her grow and gain her own personality and perspective on the world around her and it makes me so proud that’s she’s my daughter. 💖 I’m pretty stoked she’s grown to love all things Disney. I hope she doesn’t grow out of it and will still want to run around the parks with us over time. ✨🏰
Kudos to The Queen! She was amazing didn’t skip a beat with her tone. It’s Magical Moments like this that make Disney Days that much more memorable.
#pingpingpimz #nationaldaughtersday #disneyland #disneyday #disney #disneycastmember #disneyworld #disneyaapi #disneyaapicreators #disneyfriendsclub #magicmoments #disneycreator
Wall-E and Eve were the first Disney/Pixar couple Tyler and I bonded with and related our love story too. A chance meeting, wrapped in music and sweet moments and gestures. It was the first ornament we got for our First Christmas together. So it was extra special when we got the chance to draw Wall-E with one of my favorite Disney Artists, Darren. He was even made class a little more magical and gave Aubrey his drawing he taught the class with at the end!
I’ve been wanting to put up all our Animation Academy Sessions up in our house. I think I might laminate ours and hang them up down our hallway so we can remember all the fun classes we took. To show even though our art styles are different, they are all beautiful. First things first though, to put up Mister Darren’s Wall-E Art on our walls. It fit perfectly next to our Wall-E and Eve shelf in our living room. We actually had an empty frame set up as a placeholder to inspire us to put up more of our art in the house. Talk about Disney Magic.
#pingpingpimz #pingpingtytyadventures #pimzfamily #walle #walleandeve #wallewednesday #disneyartist #disneycreator #disneyaapi #disneyaapicreators #disneyfamily #disney #pixar #disneyland #disneycaliforniaadventure #dca #animationacademy #disneyparks #disney100 #visitanaheim
Another Turtle Tuesday and it just so happens to fall on National Cheese Pizza Day! 🍕
It’s our girl’s favorite pizza so I grabbed a ‘za from her favorite heroes in a half shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for dinner. Paired it up with some ooze green Hawaiian Punch. We happened to get a delivery today that had mini bags of dry ice so we made the ooze look like it came fresh from the labs at TCRI bubbling. Grabbed a pack of Play Doh for our creative lil artist to craft while the pizza was in the oven and she would up making Donatello, her favorite turtle just in time for pizza!
Thanks @walmart for having everything we needed for the perfect pizza night!💚🐢
Personally my favorite pizza either had mashed potatoes and bacon from @urbnpizza or cheeseburger toppings like mustard and pickles from @broncobillys_niles
What’s on your favorite slice? 🍕
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#nationalcheesepizzaday #pizza #pizzatime #tmnt #teenagemutantninjaturtlesmutantmayhem #turtletuesday #pingpingpimz #aapicreators
Hey Y’all!
We Time Jumped to California Adventures celebrating our kiddo’s first day in First Grade with a surprise Disney Day! It also was a celebration of our Magic Key not being blocked out for summer any more. 😅
Avengers Campus is one of my favorite places to wander in the park because you never know who you’ll see on campus. We just so happened to stumble upon a Magic Key Photo Op and the Cast Member was super excited we found it because we would soon find out that Miss Minutes herself would make a special appearance in my photo!
I hope Miss Minutes doesn’t mind I have her around keeping time. 🧡
Next time I shall return a bit more, dressed for the occasion. 💚
The Magic Key Photo Op is at the Avengers Campus path connecting to Cars Land!
Miss Minutes Crossbody from @hottopic @loungefly 🧡
#disneylandmagickey #magickey #disneyphotopass #magicmoments #disneycastmemberappreciation #disneycaliforniaadventure #disneyday
I see a lot of Get Ready with Me videos for outfits of the day and going to the parks, but I thought I would touch base on Mental Health Monday with something that’s part of my daily routine. Something that is part of my normal.
I used to think I was the only one of my friends that had to take pills to get to a good place health wise. But when we went on a girl’s trip to Palm Springs Mother’s Day weekend a few years ago, everyone had their little pill organizers and I felt a certain kind of peace knowing I wasn’t alone.
I take high blood pressure meds because genetically speaking Filipinos have a 60% chance of having hypertension due to diet, salt intake, and how active of a lifestyle they have. But that’s pretty much a nice way of saying I like food with a lot of flavor. And we’re working on enhancing our go to dishes to use less salt with alternative ingredients. Adding more veggies. We’re also trying to learn how to cook in smaller portions, because if you grew up in a Filipino household you know there were big pots of ulam that lasted for days. Perhaps we were pioneers of food prep long before it was a thing. 🤣
I started taking anxiety meds because I started having panic attacks and moments where I felt out of control of my thoughts. I would feel like I was on pins and needles and constantly tense. I became an insomniac. Getting an hour or two of sleep because my mind was just racing. I started journaling which helped flush out my feels. I couldn’t even drive to familiar places worrying if I was able to concentrate on staying in my lane. I talked to family, friends, my physician and through trial and error, I’ve found a balance that I feel good about.
We’re all works in progress always looking to better ourselves. I would like to someday not have to take meds for conditions that can help through better lifestyle choices. However I am grateful for the ability to help with that journey til then.
#mentalhealthmonday #mentalhealth #men
Happy New Year Friendos! 💖💚
Here’s to the Hope of a Wonderful Year that is full of memories and Magic!
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#zazzgenerator #theprom #netflix #disneydang #happynewyear #disney #disneyland #disneyworld #disneygram #disneylife
Oh and by the way..
It’s My Birthday! ✨💖🎂
I really should be sleeping because in the morning, we’re going to Buena Vista Street inside Disney California Adventure Park.
Do you ever get super excited and hyped before a Disney Day. I know it’s not open in it’s entirety but it will be pretty exciting to be in a Disney Park on the West Coast.
#birthday #disneyday #grandmaster #thorragnarok #marvel #strongestavenger
