winter boots.

i wish i had a pair like these.  yet, somehow i doubt i'd be quite as cute as clo is.  she's already built up quite the shoe collection.  these were a gift from our friend roxana a.k.a. lovely lump.

playdate.

after chloe's playdate with these two cuties we came home to a pitch dark house.  kevin was at class for the evening and chloe and i were at home with a power outage.  good thing i always have a healthy stash of candles on hand.  i guess it worked out to my advantage too, chloe napped and so did i.  it was a couple hours of bliss.  when needed i changed diapers by candlelight, pretty funny experience. 

earlier that day we had so much fun at julie's house.  julie, yadira and i ate lunch, laughed  and cried together as we shared birth stories and talked about being new moms.  (we were all in the same hypnobabies birth class together.)  the babies took turns fussing, crying and sleeping.  it'll be so fun to see them all together when they can really play together.  but for now, aren't they all so adorable and tiny? 

chloe was born on the 21st of september, alyssa the 11th and dorian the 14th.  i think they'll grow up to be great friends.

all smiles

highlight of the day: Chloe gave us her first really big grin. the smiles kept coming all throughout the day. let's just day our hearts melted. she is such a sweet girl.

farm fresh.

we always look forward to the start of fall and visiting the pumpkin patch.  i think we've found our go to patch from now on.  tanaka farms in irvine is a 30 acre farm that grows everything from green beans, strawberries and pumpkins.  i think we'll even pick up our christmas tree there this year. 

it's so nice to have some wide open space and see everyone get into the season.  the extra treat was, my dear friend gina was in town for the weekend to meet chloe.  we were so happy to all go together.  chloe slept in the moby wrap the whole time we were there and even through lunch but i'm sure next year will be a lot more active.

bath time.

i took these a couple weeks ago.  chole's first bath in the sink.  she was not a fan of sponge baths however the tub is a whole new story.  she was so calm & content. 

we love the puj tub, thank you krystal and nick.

back to work.

kevin has been back to work for two days now.  i can only imagine how tired he must be keeping up with work, school and the two of us at home.  hopefully he can get a little extra r&r soon.  baby girl and i (despite missing him greatly) are doing well at home together.    chloe's been less fussy (thus, so have i).  i think she is a morning girl as she is so peaceful and relaxed then.  during the afternoons she likes laying on her activity mat and swatting at her toys.  she has a strong neck and tries to hold her head up a lot and likes pushing on things with her feet. her swing is a new favorite too.  in the evenings, once asleep, she is a great sleeper.  getting her to bed is the trick.  i'm sure as the nights go on, we will master it. 

i have tons of great new pictures from the weekend.  but we are having computer storage issues.  once we clear some room on our new external hard drive, i can share.  i'll leave that project to kevin.  this afternoon i plan on picking up around the house, some light grocery shopping and the dreaded post-baby clothes shopping.  the pounds are shedding, but i hope they pick up speed quickly.  only two weeks until the doctor clears me for exercise again, that oughta do the trick.  for the time being with this cool, rainy weather, i have nothing but sweats to leave the house in...not my favorite look.  wish me luck with one pair of good fitting jeans.

sleep less, indeed.

sleepless or sleep less, with a newborn in the house, the nights and days are both described with these words.  last night was truly our roughest yet.  chloe didn't sleep all day, usually she at least takes a few cat naps or has one pretty long nap late morning and another early afternoon.  usually in my arms, as there is no where else she wants to be.  asleep or not, she senses you aren't holding her anymore and she stirs until you pick her back up.  thus, the house looks somewhat tornado-like.  (kevin thinks i exaggerate when i say that, but what can i say i like a neat and clean house.  it's the virgo in me.)

okay, so back to last night, she finally fell asleep around 8pm and somehow i got her smoothly into her swing without her noticing which gave kevin and i a couple hours to look through mail, old bills, fold a few things and take out the trash.  i describe the little piece of organizing time as bliss.  kevin was a little less enthused.  with a few things sorted out we were both ready for bed, i woke chloe and fed her thinking she'd fall back asleep like she does at night.  this was not the case.  she stirred, cried, and tossed as we took turns rocking her, talking to her, swaddling her...you name it.  finally, after kevin realized how frustrated and exhausted i was, knowing that she'd be ready to eat again in a couple hours and it was already 2am, he took her downstairs and settled her down after another 30 minutes of soothing.  i'm not sure how he managed the patience.  i think i fell asleep the instant my head hit the pillow and woke up to my alarm groggy but so thankful for those peaceful 2.5 hours of rest.  do i have a wonderful husband or what?  cross your fingers for us tonight.

photoshoot

we are totally enamored by our little lady and decided to put our fancy camera to use.  here are some of the shots kevin got from our tuesday afternoon photoshoot. 

our little bloom

one day new

with daddy

in mommy's arms

our new family, we were so happy to be holding chloe, our little bloom.

Fight On!

football season began a few weeks back and every weekend has become a viewing party at our place.  well at least for us three anyway.  well, kevin watches, chloe snuggles and i be sure we are stocked with all the proper football snacks.  i'm normally not a football enthusiast but when it comes to USC, i'm thrilled about a few hours spent lounging on the couch.  hopefully we'll be in the stands for at least one game this season.  my favorite thing about this season is that fall has begun and we can officially started decorating and preparing for the holidays!

the even more exciting news is that kevin has completed his chemotherapy, his pulmonary function test came back with healthy results and his blood counts came back with no tumor markers!  his hair is even quickly growing in.  even quicker growing is his mustache.  he thinks this is pretty awesome...i;m not so sure about that part.  either way, we are beyond thrilled.

kevin's dad, bill just began treatment for prostate cancer and will be finishing up in a few weeks.  it is 5 days a week for about 15 minutes but should be nearly free of side effects.  thankfully, he attends his annual exams and it was caught early so treatment will be less invasive.  we love you bill and hope this time is brief.  we are ready for you to coach softball (or ballet lessons) in a few years.  

my mom has been home from the physical therapy recovery center for several weeks now.  and despite a terrible case of shingles (yep, you heard me, shingles...as if she hasn't dealt with enough) she is on the mend.  her movement is getting more fluid every day and she is making big strides in building back her strength.  so,  she is cancer-free!  those words that mean so much after quite a journey.  now the focus is on healing and weaning off the medications.  she may have another surgery to go but hopefully she can do that next year.  three major surgeries in one year is a bit much.  we know your superwoman mom but let's not push it.  we are so happy for you mom that you are on the downhill now.  it may not feel like it every day, but you are making astounding progress and we love you more than words can say.

so, our family is healing and healthy.  i can't think of anything to be more thankful for.  i could literally jump for joy (but i think the doctors would frown upon that a few weeks post surgery).  i'm thankful for all of you and Fight On!

In Love.

so much to share and i'm unsure of where to begin...
since i have a few minutes before we tuck ourselves in for bed; i thought you'd enjoy a few images and videos from the last week.

kevin and i are home, resting, healing and settling in with little chloe.  and though we've never been this tired before, we also could not feel more in love with our little girl.  each day brings new memories as we enjoy learning how to be parents together.  i am so happy to have kevin home with me for two more weeks before he goes back to work.  in the meantime, i can sneak in a nap while the two of them play.

(click on the links below to see videos & pictures)

chloe elizabeth

videos of chloe . week one