Life lately

Today, I discovered that Willow is too big for her 6 month sized dress, was too big for her 6 month sized pants (causing a nasty explosion up the back)--which resulted in learning that her nine month clothing fits just right. What the heck?! She's growing so quickly, and I'm starting to run out of clothes for her. It's a good thing we'll be in America soon to pick up the rest of her clothes we didn't bring in the summer because she's going to need them before we know it. She's almost twenty weeks old, and I can hardly believe it!

Adam is still plugging away at his grad work--and I'm proud of his ability to stick with it despite all the other responsibilities that he has. I was a bit thankful this past weekend that the high school lock-in that was scheduled ended up being canceled. It snowed on Friday, so the bus companies didn't feel like driving later on that night, causing the events scheduled for the evening to be postponed. I was glad because Adam would have been gone all night otherwise--it was great to have him around a bit more this weekend! It sounded like it was going to be a fun lock-in, however. They had organized this humans vs. zombie all-night game that sounded pretty intense/funny/scary.

So...yeah, it snowed on Friday. Willow's first snow! The temperature has dropped significantly and my summer baby does not know what to do in this bitterness. Every time we go outside she freaks out for a few minutes.

I'm just waiting for auditions to happen on December 1. There's not much more I can do until after auditions. I'm really curious to see who will audition and so excited to cast "Little Women".

I've also been spending a bit more time experimenting in the kitchen with some new baking and dinner recipes. I've been pushing myself to broaden my range of meals so that I can avoid cooking ruts. I find that I'm more motivated to cook (vs. going out/ordering in) if I'm making something that is new. If it's the same old recipes every week, I get bored. So, lately I'm trying out about three new recipes a week. Lots of yummy desserts too. My favorite this month has been red velvet cheesecake brownies. Yum.

We'll be in Illinois for Christmas this year! Right now the plan is to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with Adam's extended families, and then go up to the Kang side of our family for some Christmas celebrations. We'll hopefully spend New Year's in Wisconsin with my Korean family, and then we'll be bouncing back and forth between Momence and Lake Villa. We haven't been home for Christmas in two years, so we're a little excited. Christmas in China is just....different. And celebrating it is very low-key since it was just the two of us. Now, we'll have to prepare ourselves for balancing time between our families and try to not over-eat all the great food. This is our first Christmas in America as a married couple, and as parents! Willow won't even notice what's going on because she will be jet lagging (are we insane?).

That's a little update about what's going on these days! Willow is growing/learning, Adam is staying busy, and I'm waiting for Little Women to kick into gear.

~julie