Bzzzz....

the sound of kaila waddling about in her bumble bee costume.

don't you want to let her sting you? :)

kaila turned into a bumble bee thanks to PB kids.

bzzzzzz.... off she goes!

pumpkin bag - check! fruit snack - check! bumble bee wings - check! time to go trick-or-treating!

i love seeing all the kiddies in their cute halloween-wear!

sadly, group pics are impossible! kaila is behind spiderman and nemo is having a meltdown. oh boy! happy halloween kiddies!

time to go munch on all of kaila's treats! :)

thursday journal...

how do you working mommies do it??
i am definitely struggling again balancing work & mommyhood.
and i ended up taking a solo walk around our neighborhood in the 40 degree weather this evening with tears rolling down my cheeks.
this week has been tough - kaila spiked a fever sunday night, and was getting worse.

a husky cough turned into a full-blown bronchitis with junky coughs, runny nose, and squeaky breaths...and lots of miserable crying with sleepless nights.

people always say to me, "you're a doctor, you're so lucky because you'll know what to do."

but the truth is, i don't.

all the medical info i learned on pediatric medicine is pretty much thrown out the window.

i'm like every other mommy who gets anxious, scared, and saddened by their kids' illness.
and my selfishness got the best of me this week because she didn't find comfort with mommy like she used to.  but i don't blame her - i would be more attached to daddy if i only saw a tired mommy a few times a week for a few hours at a time.
to be honest, i am drained - emotionally, physically, and mentally.
and i have friday to look forward to - a day without seeing my sweet kaila.
i'm sure you are thinking, "snap out of it!" - and i will try!
thanks for listening.

the stethoscope

the majority of the hours that i am awake is spent at the hospital wearing the SAME thing - the dreaded blue scrub outfit & the ridiculous shower cap-esque hat that accompanies it.
i decided to do my own silly take on before & after looks.

the drab doctor gear to the more desirable mommy wear.

this week: the stethoscope.
:: ::

i carry this rather heavy stethoscope around my neck all day, every day listening to the thud thuds of little hearts & the noisy breaths of little lungs.

but i also wear my favorite chunky burberry scarf around my neck the moment i leave the hospital almost every chilly day.

sorry for the awful iphone pics

  i probably need to give this scarf a break with a new one, but where can i find one that is cozy, chic & affordable?  the search begins...

baby model?

after walking into our nearby baby Gap multiple times & hearing people say kaila should be in a catalogue, it got to... daddy's head. haha. but how do photographers out there take pictures of toddlers? baby K was not a happy camper - but it was fun watching daddy struggle.

here's the mini photoshoot with our little diva taken from kaila's blog.

all photos taken by hubby :: frenzi visuals ::

vote for our baby K!!

http://www.gapcastingcall.com/GapCastingCall/EntryDetail.html?id=985975

photobooth fun!

i absolutely LOVE photobooths at weddings!

we were at a lovely wedding this weekend & this photobooth was a little different.

they didn't print out photos afterwards, but instead put them online a day later to realize how crazy ridiculous you look now that the alcohol is out of your system! haha

wish we took more, but we were too busy dancing the night away! 

this mommy had a little bit TOO much fun while baby K was at grandma's house.

but don't worry, kaila LOVED spending time with her grandparents!

they even pre-bought her a mini playground & kitchen set for her to play with - so sweet!

i wonder.... how often do other mommies have date nights?

the little things...

when babies do the simplest things like giggle, babble, hug, dance, pass gas... why is it so endearing?

baby K loves to shake her little booty, so here she is!

*please ignore the crazy hair & explosion of toys! 

kaila is dancing to pororo (super cute korean anime)

happy friday!

iPhone lover

like most of the population, i upgraded to the iPhone 4 this year & i am loving it!
my hubby is the BIGGEST mac fan, and he was finally able to upgrade so no more days making him jealous.

the features i love are the camera, the HD videocam, the neverending apps &  now facetime - all so i can capture my baby girl & family/friends.

here's us a few weeks ago at a wedding playing around with the camera.

sorry for the random post - the operating room was not my friend yesterday... 

love how you can easily take photos of yourself when no one's around! 

hubby's take on editing

my take on editing... that's why i'm not the photographer in the family...

any fun iPhone apps you want to share?? 

photo fx is the app we used to edit these photos. 

will share a video of kaila taken from my iPhone tomorrow.

iPhone love...

bald little girls

i did win my hair battle with my hubby mentioned here, but i am still in the process of convincing him to tie tiny pigtails... i know he can do it! 

i have to admit though, i do love pretty headbands for little babies & girls - if they can keep it on, of course!

two of my good friends just had baby girls, and i thought it was perfect timing to share with you a sweet mommy who makes adorable felt headbands on etsy.

baby K managed to keep these 3 super cute headbands on from louandlee...

cream flower headband with pearl center

baby pink hydrangea headband with hand stitched yellow center

custom made ivory/pink/baby blue flower headband

these are a few of my favorites:

make sure you check out all of her charming work here.

spotlight: eastsix

i have been walking down memory lane after yesterday's post...

and i want to share with you another talented duo behind the graphics that were used for our wedding album cover. stacey & marina from eastsix are the wonderful designers that we worked so well together with in creating a one of a kind invite that made us squeal with happiness.  on top of their genuine friendliness, they really took the time to get to know all of our desires & crafted the most intricately detailed invite that we instantly fell in love with...

here's our invite taken from their website:

a booklet that included a perforated rsvp card & direction card!

 more of their stunning work...

 

love it all - more found here.

more than a decade

our 12 year anniversary of the day we started dating is approaching...
yep!  hubby and i are high school sweethearts.
and it's perfect timing since our wedding album is finally here!

: :    : :

let me just tell you, bob and dawn davis are the BEST photographers/designers (other than my hubby, of course) that you can find! 

the moment we met them, they became family.

besides having the greatest talent and experience from capturing Oprah's private events to Eva Longoria's wedding, they are the warmest, MOST loving people you will ever meet. 

to say they are the finest talent out there is an understatement.

we are so lucky to have befriended the davis family and even luckier that they took the most beautiful photos of our engagement and wedding. 

i cannot wait to see our album!

thank you a thousand times! we love you!

here's the teaser they sent us.

here's the lovely duo...

how sweet are they?!

you can find their amazing work here (and see a few of our photos!)

back to basics

i recently received this DIY birthday invitation in the mail.

don't you love it?

the adorable baby in the invite is ava, and her mom went back to basics and made a fun & crafty invite!  i do love professionally designed invites, but it was so refreshing to see something different.

crayons, paper, scissors, glue... and ta-da! a youthful, one-of-a-kind amusing invite.

thanks jane for letting me share!

hair war

our baby girl was not blessed with a full head of hair at birth like her mommy (crazy punk hair that stood 6 inches high), and styling her hair has been an ongoing struggle.  kaila is 15 months old now & finally has enough hair for cute pigtails that don't look like antennas!  but daddy insists on going for an au natural look which means strangers will be saying, "what a cute boy!" or "he's so handsome." he may settle for a headband from time to time, but half the time the headband is sitting on the ground.

this silly hair war continues to go on and on at our household & now at my hideout in the clouds.

here are the 3 styles:

@ 12 months in her birthday tutu (an etsy find!) & "antennas"

@ 12 months in her birthday burberry dress & crewcuts headband

@ 12 months in her birthday tee (made by daddy @ tshirt deli) & au natural hair

which hairstyle do you like?

will i ever...

run a marathon?

considering i was that girl who took 10 or 12 minutes to finish a mile in high school, the chances are slim.  BUT, after watching the 10.10.10 chicago marathon, i was inspired to put "run any length marathon" to my 30 list.  i was thinking... 5K? the short distance may seem silly, but to me it would be a HUGE commitment to train and finish the race.  to make things official, my list begins...

30 things to do before i turn 30

#1.  Finish a mini marathon aka 5K

kaila cheering the runners on & distracting them with her cuteness. :)

the residency blues

after a long 16-hour work day, i was 20 minutes shy of having the day off tomorrow. instead, i am rewarded a full 10 or 12 hour work day.  measly 20 minutes = sad mommy.  it's the worst feeling when you expect something nice and it's taken away from you.  i was daydreaming about all the fun things a mommy-daughter day can bring about... but POOF! 09:40pm - surgery ends and my next day turns into a dr.mommy day.

so to cheer me up, here's a pic of good ol' family bonding time we shared this past weekend at millennium park...picnic on the lawn during country music festivities & a walk around the bean... i love chicago.

when's the last time you took a family pic?? we definitely need to take more!

H-A-LL-O-W-EE-N

it was a VERY long and stressful week - i realized anesthetizing little kids take a lot more energy out of you than expected.  fortunately, i had the weekend to look forward to... and i was SO happy to spend time with my baby K.

what did we do on a gorgeous october day?

a must-do family trip to the pumpkin farm!

there are tons of pumpkin farms in the chicagoland area with all sorts of fancy attractions to lure kids in. we ended up going to a very popular one - Goebbert's Farm, and i have to admit, i was very impressed.  from petting llamas to riding camels to feeding giraffes to picking a perfectly round orange pumpkin is only a short list of things to do at this place! although the crowds get thick mid-morning, i highly recommend a drive up here if you have the time!

pumpkins everywhere! where's kaila??

can we please feed the goat some more?

hello mr. giraffe!

baby K's hand IN mr. giraffe's mouth.  a mother's worst nightmare.

but what can a mother do? kaila LOVED it! she couldn't stop giggling!

baby K enjoying her new chair

why do these cut-outs never get old?

wagon ride with the best seat in the whole haystack!

found my pumpkin!

i love her

baby K carrying our pumpkin for the family since daddy's struggling

happy pumpkin picking!

happy news!

i'm going to be an aunt!!!

my beautiful sister is expecting and i am jumping with joy!

i am so excited for my sis & bro-in-law - they are going to be GREAT parents!

and of course i'm excited for kaila - a little cousin to play with!

the only thing is... she'll have to trek all the way down to little rock, arkansas.

yep - southern baby cousin meets wild city girl kaila. 

i cannot wait to meet the little one next spring! 

this is my lovely family at their beautiful outdoor wedding 2 years ago

sisters...and now mommies together!
happiness. :)

furry baby

i love baby fashion that has duel purposes, like faux fur vests - warm & fashionable!
i didn't get a chance to see all the cute furry wear at gap or zara before i bought my baby K a furry friend from Janie & Jack (thanks to gift cards from friends!), but i still love this one!

here's kaila before we left for a twins birthday party this past weekend

fur vest by Janie & Jack, striped long sleeve by Zara, mini skinny jeans by Gap, Ugg "Boo" boots

birthday boy ethan!

birthday girl emma!

sending abigail & kaila down the slide - wheee!

baby K loved it! @ Treehouse in lake zurich

more pics from the birthday party @ www.novemberseventeen.com

are you a fan of faux fur?

oh boy!

having baby K was the best thing that ever happened to me. 

and i am so excited for our good friends katie and dave who are having a baby boy in 4 weeks! 

after painting, baking, and packing my jars & platters until 3am the night before the baby shower (yes - i'm a procrastinator), i'm happy to show you a beautiful baby shower for the beautiful katie shin! 

Oh Boy! theme created by the super talented Hannah Lee

name tags - our names mysteriously turned into boy names

hannah aka hannes proudly wearing her creative name tags

$12 craft: bought wooden letters at a local store (nat & helen's) & painted them blue/gray

the final result! adds character to the dessert table, no? :)

spent time separating colors from my sprinkles... oh boy!

for these rice krispies! thank you hubby for helping me dip these in chocolate!

yummy banana bread chocolate mousse cake i bought at a local bakery (bittersweet cafe)

baby K's contribution: her hippo! lemon bars & pretty paper i found at paperboy to add color to the table

my signature dessert - oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

these ridiculously cute designs by hannah lee!

my job was... the sweets table! from apothecary jars filled with candy to m&ms for desserts to be placed on top... can you tell i have the biggest sweet tooth?!

on the reverse side of the yellow paper above was this cute gray/yellow "shower" pattern

hannah & her friend made about 15 of these pretty poms!

jelly bean goodies for guests - made by anita & hannah

all for this amazing mommy-to-be! (& yay for the rice krispies!)

can't forget a pic of my baby K! her "cheese" pose (purple sweater by Gap, dress by Gingersnaps - Phillipines, Ugg "Boo" boots)

happy baby shower!