sound of music birthday.

after a heartbreaking morning in the last few hours of my 24-hour shift - i witnessed my first pediatric death on a 3-year-old - i went to a celebration of a 3-year-old's life.  strange how life works, huh?

* * * *

the theme of the party was the sound of music, the birthday girl's favorite movie.  it was an intimate gathering for her adorable friend, colette, & i'm so happy i was able to witness kaila having a blast!

genius idea, no?!  a ball pit in a pack-n-play!

K & C having a ball.

delicious cupcakes made by her friend! i had to drag K away every 5 min from eating all of these.

happy 3 colette!

K was in heaven.  eyes closed and all.

hair pieces to match the sound of music. :)

K wore this for maybe 30 seconds.

and decided to put it on top of ava's cute head.

watched a part of the classic while eating lunch.

at the end of the party, i found K like this.  i guess she was ready to go!

K then threw a temper tantrum at home demanding she sleep with her goody bag, the cookie bag, the balloon, & her blankie, of course.  i wish i had taken a picture - it was a sight to see.  haha. 

my ballerina.

i'm a little sad our K didn't get to join dance class this winter/spring since her interest seems to be at a peak & anything to keep her entertained during the gloomy winter days would have been lovely.  i blame the class title of "mommy & me" at a local dance studio.  perhaps that was the reason daddy forgot to sign K up for dance class?  but why is a class called mommy & me when there are so many non-mommy caregivers? hmphh...  at least we had fun dancing at home in her tutu! i truly believe she felt like a little princess ballerina.

on K: leotard & ballet flats - old navy, tutu - gift

quick snapshot with our fujifilm instax camera

pure princess joy.

 i absolutely adore her love for dance.  her moves are definitely better than mine.

my 1st benefit dinner.

a lovely friend of mine invited us to join her at a benefit dinner for hanul family alliance.  it's a local non-profit organization that mainly serves seniors in the korean american community here in chicago.  the program included a heartfelt talk by euna lee about her unimaginable experience as a captive in north korea, a ridiculously hilarious comedic show by paul kim, & an energetic i-want-to-be-her-best-friend type of emcee by ellee pai hong.

we definitely enjoyed our night - unlimited EtOH can make parents who have a babysitter all night very happy.  but the company was even better.  we couldn't get enough of each other we ended up at denny's talking til the wee hours - gotta love that!

the lovely girls.

the happy boys.

i tried to get hubby to do an "outfit" picture with me, but we failed.

on hubby: shirt & suit - hugo boss, tie - bcbg. on me: dress - cass guy, earrings - palen

i was thinking about buying a new dress for this event, but decided to be frugal and pick at my closet.  this was my 4th time wearing this dress to a function.  am i the only one who continues to reuse her dresses?

to be an aunt.

i will be adding the title auntie to my name.  mommy, wifey, daughter, doctor, & auntie!  and i found out recently that i'm going to have a niece! i guess my sister & i were made to have girls {sorry hubby}.
i was trying to brainstorm a baby shower idea, & came across a sweet theme at the sweetest occasion.  cute as a button.  how cute is that? and i'm loving the shades of blue & yellow.

and then i found this creative DIY button idea at kara's party ideas.

this could work for a baby girl shower, right?

the second wifey.

second wifey? yep, you heard me right.  my hubby really loves his 2nd wifey... stares at her all day long, talks to her, plays with her, holds her, adores her.  --  who is she??  hubby's iPhone.  and she was the center of attention last night.

kaila hosted an epic {the word hubby chose - yay!} bowling birthday bash for her daddy's BIG 3-0 birthday yesterday.  it was hard to keep K quiet from spoiling the surprise, but hubby sure was surprised! 30 friends, unlimited pizza & soda, a game of bowling (with an amazing prize dangling in front of them), and a cake from his 2nd wifey made it a memorable night.  hubby = happy --> happy wifey.  2nd wifey was happy as well.  here she is in all her glory.

some of hubby's favorite apps.

thanks to Luscious Layers for another stunning & delicious cake!

happy 30th birthday hubby.  we love you.  all 3 of us.  ;)

a girl. and a goat.

did i tell you how much i love my hubby's monthly event - nel cielo?
a night of giggling with friends & friends of friends, tasting new chicago finds, & just being me without toddler distractions was absolutely. . . delightful.

this month's destination:  girl and the goat.  (Top Chef's Stephanie Izard's restaurant)
after much anticipation, we finally conquered this restaurant! with 10 friends & a total of 27 dishes to share {yes, you heard me right - 27 dishes!} we filled our bellies with bubblies & lots of scrumptious food.  for some reason though, i was feeling peculiarly self-conscious taking photos & am left with these.

the girl and the goat. i get it. but a little disturbing, no?

pig face. that's all i have to say.

seafood fideo.  this + the seppia, green beans, chickpeas = a few of our favorites.

 4 girls. 6 boys. we ruled the table. :)

can't wait til our next one! but where?

scaredy cat, scaredy cat.

my kaila is a BIG scaredy cat.
her greatest fear you ask? kids & noise.
as she gets older, her fear seems to be growing.  how do i help her?

we were at a birthday party this saturday, and it took a good 20 minutes to get her to stand by herself without clinging to me like static!  then when a guy was giving instructions to run across the field, she was the only one standing there screaming her brains out!  the other kids younger and older were all happily running back and forth.  should i be worried? {okay, to be honest, we are...}

and of course, the last 10 minutes of the party, she decided to have fun in the bouncy house like a normal toddler... the joys of parenthood, right?