merry christmas!

i can't believe this will be kaila's 2nd christmas already!
we are definitely on santa's naughty list this year.
we opened all our gifts already... we didn't finish putting up all our decorations...
and i will be that woman pushing people around tomorrow doing last minute shopping.
am i the only one that feels like the holiday is coming & going too fast?!

AND my kaila is growing up too fast!
her holiday outfits sure have changed....!

K @ 6 months in just a santa hat with all of her pudge!

K @ 18 months.  who said leopard prints can't be festive? :)

merry christmas!

last minute dangles?

secret santa gifts for girlfriends can always be tricky...
after looking & looking for something that will be desirable, it finally hit me!
PALÉN jewelry.
the designer happens to be a friend of mine, but don't let that fool you - her work is absolutely stunning!!
here are a few of her beautiful pieces...

you can find more of her fabulous work here.
but even MORE at her trunkshows or through direct contact with the designer herself!
happy dangles!

my mini gas passer

my BIG presentation at work is today & i wanted to end things on a sweet note.
i give a special thanks to my mini-me with this photo... :)

wouldn't you want K to pass you some gas??

wish me luck please!

mailing happy holidays

our very first family holiday card!

what do you think?

fell in love with this minted design! - only photo that would fit was this one! how can you resist that smile of hers? :)

the back: a special note from K herself

holiday hugs & kisses from kaila!

holiday card in making...

our family is the BEST procrastinator.
we can win any competition on who will wait til the last minute to do something.
so when it came to making our holiday card this year, we definitely waited until it was almost too late.
of course we missed the opportunity to ask a professional photographer to take our family photos.
so what do we do in a time crunch?  use a self-timer!!
this was NO easy task.
here are our outtakes... enjoy!

monster daddy stole all the blanket.

daddy just looks silly. and daddy would be jealous of the mother-daughter moment going on here. ;)

kaila following daddy's craziness...

the theme of our outtakes: daddy ruining the pics. 

yep.  now daddy looks creepy.

we tried attacking kaila with kisses...

kaila got tired of daddy's "chandler" poses.

so kaila kept trying to escape.

the photo that should have made the final cut, but didn't... 

will show you what photos we used for our minted holiday card from our limited selection tomorrow!  :)

brain freeze

my fingers, toes, nose, AND brain are freezing in this chicago winter...
okay, to be honest, my brain has not been working these days due to important and dreadfully scary deadlines at work.  and maybe the upcoming holiday is adding stress? do you get overwhelmed during the holidays, too?  well, if you are like me and cannot stand the bitter cold, i hope you find a way to stay warm!

my baby will hopefully be nice and cozy in her new Uggs as the weather drops into the single digits.
<< some days i absolutely LOVE the idea of kid Uggs, but when i think of the price, it bites me in the butt.  thankfully, a site called plum district gave a great deal at a local shoe store! >> 

sue sylvester substitute?

kaila will stop at anything to shake her booty, clap her hands, or try to sing "bababa" along with the songs we play for her.  after putting K in puma activewear, the first thing hubby says is that she looks like sue sylvester...!  would that be the first thing that crosses your mind?  well, maybe kaila is the perfect sue sylvester sub - she wants to take down glee club & do her own shimmy shimmy & la-la-la!
here's our future Glee lady...

i personally have never been into activewear (probably because i stay far away from the gym), but how cute is this hot pink/brown number from puma?

monday bliss...

monday & happiness usually don't go together...
but i was still floating in my mommy-daughter bubble.
hubby was away with his boys & kaila was ALL mine this weekend! haha.
it's so strange to see the girly side come out - wanting to put makeup on, sitting still for her hair to be tied, smiling in the mirror after seeing her pigtails... love it all.
and i think she approved my outfit choice - crewcuts!
i'm so excited she's old enough to wear their super cute clothes.
and more thrilled to have bought outlet prices at an additional 40% off on black friday.
you should check out their adorable collection here!

images by crewcut

that boy & bowtie are just too cute for words! and don't you just love the sequin heart tee?

mommy-to-be gift: 3 in 1 accessory

christmas shopping begins... 

and i think i found a gift for my sister, a mommy-to-be... will she love it or hate it? you tell me!

it's a hooter hider, a car seat cover, & a shirt/poncho all in one!

spotted on Family Style

you can find it here.

why can't all weekends be 4 days?

wow.  what an exhausting, but fun weekend!

i seriously wish a work week lasted only 3 days...

don't you?

it was rare for me to be at home for so long, so i made a feeble attempt at bringing out some creative juices.  we had the turkey feast with the in-laws AND my parents at our house for the 1st time that went... surprisingly well.  here's a last minute centerpiece i made with pumpkins (the ones we forgot to throw away from halloween) and leftover paint:

used non-traditional fall colors for a festive dinner... okay, i only had blue, white, & gray paint @ home! (photo by hubby)

(that night, i did the unthinkable. i went to the outlet mall at 10pm for black friday deals with a friend in the freezing cold.  crazy? yes. fun? yes.)

the next day started out with a baby shower so i tried to make a fun gift by taking her registered bath frog storage unit and stuffing it with lots of goodies! cuter than a gift wrapped box, no?

boon frog bath storage filled with boy/girl onesies, good night books (kaila's favorites!), boon squirt utensils, & infant toys

then off for a date night with the hubs to an indian engagement ceremony/reception - let me just say, we were stunned.

i wonder what their actual wedding will be like!

and finished the weekend with a mini girls night! 

@ sepia with a delicious 1/2 off bottle of wine - their sunday special!

hope all of you had a fabulous weekend as well!

pain free feet?

there are so many jobs out there where we are on our feet ALL day long.

whether it's just standing in one position hour after hour (surgeons, cooks...)
or running around like a mad-woman like me,

we NEED comfy shoes.

i never bought crocs because i was scared of blood or amniotic fluid falling into the holes.
instead, i have been wearing these black dansko clogs.

the good: my feet don't ache at the end of the day.

the bad: they are heavy and you can't really run in them.

i thought about getting a pair of toms for work, but never got around to it.

they do "one for one" - with every purchase, they give a pair of shoes to a child in need.
how great is that?!  and i heard they are super comfy.

but why buy one for me when there's TINY toms?  i couldn't resist & bought a pair for kaila.

samurai kaila always refusing to put new shoes on - luckily we have sesame street podcast!

what do you think?

toms is also doing a special "design your own toms" for kids at nordstrom this saturday.

i'm thinking i'm going to avoid the malls this weekend though...

if you are one of the brave ones, happy black friday shopping - don't get trampled!

and happy thanksgiving!
can't wait for the feast tomorrow!

kaila monday: pretty in pink

pink & gray.

the tried and true combination of colors that bring out the innocence & sweetness in little girls.

love love love.
after my 24-hour shift at the hospital, i spent a lazy sunday with my kaila.

did i mention how much i love this little one?

outfit: crewcuts cardigan, babygap longsleeve, babygap gray jeggings

and i wanted to share that...

happy monday!

midazzle me!

<< midazolam = a potent anxiolytic & sedative with amnestic properties >>

the drug i give to all ages from wild toddlers to nervous grandpas every single day.

it is truly magical.  within minutes, they are calm, relaxed, a little sleepy, & memories of the fear of surgery vanishes... they definitely go to la-la land. 

and guess what? i feel midazzled! i finally finished work after 10pm on my late call day which means... i have the day off today!  woo-hoo!  i am slowly forgetting the horrific week of being on-call every other day - i am definitely drifting off to la-la land.

sadly, i will be working a 24 hour shift on saturday, but i am at peace with it because i got midazzled.  why are days off on the weekdays so much better than the weekend?

well, la-la land always consists of my sweet sweet kaila.

although i sometimes wish i had some of that midazolam juice to give her...

here she is, layer by layer.

kaila is dressed in baby Gap from head to toe! 

i have become a baby Gap lover.

wishing you a midazolam-filled friday!

after 12 years...

we still have it.

we carry each other when we are down... or at least try.

we have the romance...

we know our roles...

we don't let each other fall...

we love wifey even if she's crazy...

because we are equally crazy...

we look good together... ;)

but most importantly, we LOVE each other.

i love you hubby!

thank you for 12 amazing years together...

 we still have it.

Photos by Bob & Dawn Davis Photography & Design taken in 2008

the brilliant hubby

besides being a loving stay-at-home daddy to kaila, a loving hubby to lucky me, he is a spectacularly amazing artist (words from sesame street - ha!).

the art of photography is his passion & talent.

i want to share a few of his photos from a family photo shoot.

with chilly winds & tired kiddies, the "perfect" photo that most people desire was no where to be found.

but who wants that perfect photo anyway, right?

i am more in love with these...

hubby's love for photography + complex mind = awesomeness :)

shhh... pictures borrowed from Frenzi Visuals fb.

passing gas

my job is to "pass gas" all day long.

it can be difficult at times, joyful at times, & stinky at times - similar to your gas passing moments?

the anesthetic gases are quite pungent, but not as stinky as kaila's.

she was having a hard time falling asleep the other night, so i let her cuddle with me in our bed.

she loves to move around & somehow her little tushy was right up against my face.

and i of course, don't move! i love being in close proximity to her!

bad move on mommy though. she let me have it with a noisy smelly fart.

i had to laugh though.

i love it when she passes gas.

if she was awake, she would have said "bahng-goo" (fart in korean).

i'm proud to say i'm a gas passer for life & so is my kaila. :)

happy friday!

i wouldn't stand behind this gassy lady. :) k sporting the chosen puffy coat from Gap.

side note: working in the pediatric world definitely gives you all the ugly winter viruses.  kaila & i have been in a vicious cycle of giving each other the bugs the past few weeks.
(the reason behind my non-existent blog posts)
hoping the bugs will leave us alone this weekend...

daddy daycare

when i'm at work, i ask hubby to text me pics of kaila to brighten up my day.

i'm thinking, a happy kaila pic would be great.

this is what hubby sends me...

food coma?

angry kaila...

daddy letting k raid my closet

i guess any pic of k will have to do!

don't let these pics fool you though.  hubby is an amazing stay-at-home-daddy!

:: ::

more adventures of daddy daycare at kaila's blog: www.novemberseventeen.com