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?