Watermelon Cutie

Maybe because it was the first really warm day, and it felt like summer. And we call her juicy, and her watermelon romper was begging to be worn. But we couldn't help ourselves from shunning the to do list and taking 500 pictures of this gloriousness. Raise your hand if you could just take a bite right out of her! 

So happy for spring!

100 Days

When I was pregnant I heard about the 100 days celebration, which is meaningful in Korean culture, and loved how the custom has developed through time. Years ago, lots of babies wouldn't survive past 100 days so if they reached that milestone it was considered something to celebrate. Now days, Korean families still observe the occasion, inviting lots of friends and family and sharing special food for good luck. Even though we don't have Korean ties in our bloodlines, I loved the idea of adopting it, albeit on a much smaller scale.  Alex, myself, and my mom had dinner together, and mainly talked about how awesome E is, how much she's grown, and oogled at her adorableness.

Saying 100 days feels big and small. It's a small chunk of an entire life, but for 100 days she's been my entire life. And I am loving this new world with her.

100 days of watching her grow. 

And watching us grow into parents. 

100 days of being grateful. 

Of being amazed by it all. 

100 sweet mornings. 

(And 99 sometimes sleepless nights.) 

100 days of a new kind of love. 

Happy 100th day my sweetest squish!

Evelina - Three Months

You guys, I have a three month old. How? How?

This month has been equal parts amazing and adjusting. Her personality is developing more every minute, which is incredible to watch, but it also means she's figured out some of what she like/doesn't like and has learned how to demand it! :)

Stats:

• Weight: (coming soon)
• Length: (coming soon)
• Eyes: blue, a little less gray now. 
• Hair: Brown. It's growing back in where she lost it in front and the hair that never left is super long. 
• Size: Finally graduated to size one diapers. Still in some newborn clothes, mostly bottoms, and wearing mostly 0-3 in tops. I see newborn items now, especially shoes. and they look so tiny. It's hard to imagine that she was ever that small. My three month old feels huge compared to that, even though lots of folks say she's pretty tiny. 
• Looks: Like Dad from the front, but a little more like me from certain angles. I still want to nibble the heck out of her chin.
• Personality: Still mine. 
• Nicknames:  E, E Baby, Squish, Juicy, Sweet Juice, Baby Girl, Juice Juice
• Feeding/Sleeping: Four hour feeding stretches and six hour sleeping, I'll take it! 

Likes:

• Baths - she learned how to kick those legs and splishy splash!

• The night dance with Dad. I cannot, for the life of me, put my child to sleep at night. Even if she's full, it's like she smells me and gets all milk crazy. So I hand her off to Alex and he does this little be-bop routine around the house until she's out like a light. Win! 

• She's still pretty cool with strangers/people she doesn't see that often.

• Wiggling. I really don't know how to convey how much this child wiggles. We affectionately call it "swatting bee's" because it's every extremity flailing at once but she's as happy as can be!

Dislikes:

• Naps! 

Other highlights and happenings this month:

• Everything changed with growth spurt between week eight and nine. At week seven we could take her anywhere. By week ten we were kind of like, OMG can we ever eat in public again? She doesn't sleep as much, and she needs more entertainment. Of course at the time of typing (week thirteen) we've sort of figured out her new-ish needs/routine, but every time she takes a little fit, I'm reminded of the quote I saw once on this blog and just keep repeating it - "Babies be babies". Meaning, sometimes they're just going to act like babies so don't lose your mind over it. It really helps! 

• That said, she hardly ever wails or cries insanely, (unless she's in pain, more on that in a minute) it's more like she's fretful and can't get comfortable. She doesn't really like to be held in a sitting position, she much prefers "standing". Sometimes it take several tries of shifting with her giving us, "aaah, aaah, aaah's" as feedback until we figure it out. Her preferences change by the day...

• She discovered her hands! On the 18th Alex and I both separately noticed that she was holding out her right hand and staring at it. Even though she's had a funny arm thing since birth the way she was doing it was definitely more intentional. By the next morning, playing on her activity mat, she was grabbing and holding on to her toys and pulling them towards her mouth. It's like we literally get to watch her grow and it's the most amazing thing! 

• The lowlight this month was a major case of diaper rash. Major. (Ring the bad mom alarm.) It got out of hand and fast. Within a day it was so raw I couldn't bear to put a diaper on her so we spent the day shifting out old blankets and towels underneath her and reapplying creme and trying not to feel like complete jerks for letting it get so bad. That painful cry she had will haunt me for the rest of my days. Completely heartbreaking. But luckily she healed quickly and within 24 hours we were a much happier family.

• She snores. Like full on tiny baby snores. It's pretty adorable. 

• Teething. Well, more like gumming. We're cruising through at least 3 bibs a day from drool and her gnawing on them. She won't take a pacifier and so far I can't get her to understand teethers, she just licks them and smiles. :)

• So. Many. Smiles. A few almost giggles, too!

Snow Family

Clearly I've been missing snow, hence the overload on pictures. But alas, we had to build E's first snowman, which turned into a stylish snow family. Ah, the beauty of maternity leave, plenty of time to enjoy the little things. I strapped Evelina in her carrier and she promptly fell fast asleep so Alex handled the heavy lifting while I did the decorating.

Snowmama is wearing a Goorin hat, Forever 21 scarf, nandina bush mascara, berry earrings, and strawberry lipstick.  

Snowpapa is wearing hat by Dockers, scarf by H&M, and all natural facial and hair care.

And can we talk about the selfie stick for a minute? I always thought they were obnoxious, that is of course before we owned one... but...we kind of had a blast with it! The thing is, every time we ask someone to take a picture of us, it turns out terrible - not in focus, crooked, etc. - so the stick is perfect because we can make sure it at least includes to tops of our heads, not to mention pretty darn handy when there isn't anyone around to ask. What do you think, yay or nay?

Also, we didn't realize how strange it was that we were sitting on the porch in 28 degrees until a neighbor drove by and looked at us like we were crazy. But what can I say, it was a beautiful day.

And this little bear Z'ed through it all! 

Splishy Squishy

Evelina adores bath time so we couldn't resist snapping a few pictures. For the first few minutes she pretends it's her personal spa, then it's splish splash with her squishy baby legs!

My favorite part is hair washing time - when she looks up at me with that sweet little tongue out I just die!

Our cat, Mojito has always loved bath time as well. For years, he's sat patiently waiting for me during my shower, then rolls around on the floor while I dry my hair and simultaneously try to rub his head with my foot. He loves watching E bathe, too! This is him taking in all the fun from the edge of the tub.

A few bath products we love, in case you're curious:

Circo Owl Towel
Aiden and Anais Wash cloths
Johnson's Baby Wash
Honest Co. Shampoo & Body Wash

Winter Walkabout

Being in Tennessee this winter means a lot less cold, but a lot less snow than what we're used to, too. About the time we were starting to pine for a good blizzard mother nature heard our call and sent a sweet little southern snowstorm our way. Though it wasn't much in terms of accumulation, we jumped at the chance to bundle up our baby for her very first time and trek around in the white stuff, because believe it or not (myself included), I do miss Chicago winter just the teeniest, tiniest bit.

Isn't she the most adorable snow bear you ever did see?