first tooth

olive’s friends have lost so many teeth. she wasn’t pushing it but recently noted that her friends were losing their teeth and she couldn’t wait! well her wait was over. it finally happened. a couple months ago, she mentioned to us that her tooth felt loose and sure enough, it was! weeks went by and it became looser and looser.

hc’s cousin ryan was coming into town for his birthday and his wife invited a bunch of people to a house they were renting in michigan. we were game to see ryan and celebrate his birthday. we drove up there to stay the night and leave the next day. the party was in full swing when we got there and we just shimmied our way into the festivities.

it was definitely a fun and crazy night. i felt like i was at a frat party with kids. now everyone there had kids but not with them like us. LOL the girls were super good and gramma and auntie missy were there for the early part of the evening and spent it with the girls. they left early and i then put them to bed. they brushed their teeth, put on their jammies and really wanted to watch t.v. for a bit and of course i let them. they definitely went to bed way too late! but hey, it was a party!

the next morning, while i am getting ready, hc comes downstairs with olive, ready and excited to show me something. oh my goodness!!!! baby girl lost her first tooth!!!! hc literally yanked it out of her mouth and olive didn’t flinch. i was so excited for her. she was soooooo excited herself! she couldn’t wait to show the entire world that she lost her first tooth! oh to be a sweet little kid!

she couldn’t wait to go back to school and show her friends that she lost a tooth! i also forewarned her that since most of her friends have already lost a lot of teeth, it might not be that exciting to them. ha! also, that she had to wear a mask all day at school and it might be difficult for her to actually show her friends her mouth. LOL

well, that didn’t matter…she was excited to show anyone who she saw and let them know she lost her first tooth. i love her for that! that night, we put her tooth in the tooth fairy pillow that she’s had and the tooth fairy brought her big bucks for her first lost tooth. way to score some dough olive!

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[the day she lost her first tooth!]

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[showing off her tooth]

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[she’s excited for the tooth fairy to come!]

xoxo

pre-school birthday party

ellie was invited to her first preschool birthday party for her friend Sienna {back in september}!

sienna and ellie started in prek3 together and will continue on as classmates for the next many, many years to come!

her mom, kelli, hosted the fete at a local princess party place in town. it was a beautiful day out and ellie was super excited to attend her friend’s party. olive had attended a party there for her friend betty, several months prior – right before the shutdown, but i didn’t take her, hc did. so, i had never been to this establishment.

we arrived to a lot of pink and princess everything. the girls could dress up as fairies, by picking out fun tutus, wings, and crowns. ellie was obsessed! she loved the rainbow wings and tutu. she originally picked a pink iridescent skirt but then soon found a matching rainbow one that went perfectly with her colorful wings.

once dressed up, they could walk the runway to show off their pretty gear. couple by couple, the girls working the venue eventually got all the little ones into their make up chairs and painted their faces and bedazzled their hair with a ton of glitter each. LOL i was like, dada is going to be so mad. he hates glitter!

after they had their hair and make up done, the girls then got manis! once everyone was decked out, they all walked the runway again before the pizza and cake was served!

overall, ellie had the best time with her friends! it was nice to be able to go to a party with just ellie’s friends! she’s always hanging out with olive’s friends – which is great! but it’s nice to have her hang out with girls her age, specifically the girls she goes to school with.

thanks kelli and sienna for having us at your party! it was so much fun!

[nice photos by morgan clare photography…bad photos by my iPhone LOL]

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[isn’t she adorable? she was happy!]

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[getting her make up done]

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[getting her nails done]

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[they are the cutest and the silliest!]

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[werk it finn!]

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[she loved dressing up and walking the runway!]

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[the birthday girl!]

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xoxo

halloween treats

we commenced the halloween classroom treat making on a whim. i wasn’t planning to have olive assemble her treats when we did but it just happened. as an amateur photographer, the lighting was definitely not right. it was too late in the evening and it had become dark outside, so with the artificial lighting…the pics turned out grainy, yellow, and not typical of the product i like to produce.

anyhoo, now that i have prepped my not so ‘great’ pics posted, we had soooooooo much fun making her classroom treats! i always rummage through the plethora of extra crap i have downstairs in my craft bins and will find something we can use to make fun gifts for the kiddos.

i did the calligraphy and olive drew the hearts on each glassine bag. olive also colored each sticker and placed one on the outside of all the bags. olive filled each sack with stickers, tattoos, vampire teeth, a lollipop, and a spider ring. we then sealed each bag with halloween washi tape and voila!

halloween treat bags for her friends at school!

i know i am extra. and i love it. i’ve been this way since i was born. i recall creating bags for our local trick or treaters in our neighborhood. i would collect all my goodies at our nearby jewel grocery store and asemble bags to give away. yes, not much has changed. LOL

do you like to create fun halloween treats or you more of the ‘here’s a handful of candy, bye’?!

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[helping mama put together her class treats]

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[stickers olive colored in]

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[my creative girl drawing a heart on each bag]

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[showing off her bags]

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[how cute are they turning out?!]

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[she’s so sweet]

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[tattoos]

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[placing a colored sticker on each bag for her friends]

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[always so meticulous with what she does]

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[checking out her work]

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[stickers]

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[bags of goodies]

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[loving our final product]

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xoxo

fourth of july 2019

i feel that the 4th of july is the height of the summer season and then it goes downhill from there. not in a bad way but it’s real chill afterwards and then august hits and it’s back to school! eep!

we did our usual the morning of the 4th. we {as in me and the girls} scrambled to get up, ready, and out the door early enough to nab a parking spot at madison school and traipse our way to the usual spot. a spot my sister and brother in law reserve every year with lawn chairs the night before. the girls were excited for the parade and even more excited to see their cousins.

we greeted some familiar faces, particularly helen, and chatted up with a few people already there and waiting. bit by bit, terry showed up, the boys, kim, and then thuy. we were all excitedly waiting for the parade to start and soon, we heard the sirens…signifying that the parade was on its way!

the girls were ecstatic! they shrieked and laughed as they saw cool and funny things walking/driving by! when it was time for the soldiers to walk by and fire their guns…the girl’s reactions completely define them. BOOM! it was so loud and there’s ellie…not jolted by the noise but curious and walks forward to see what it is and where it’s coming from. now here’s olive, running the opposite direction screaming in fear. LOL. yup, that’s them!

folks threw candy, random items, flyers and more candy! the girls walked away with quite the stash! olive’s philosophy on it was, if they’re giving to me…i must eat it now. i had to stop her after her second lollipop! she was like, what? they’re giving it to me??? nice reasoning cutie pie.

after the parade, we ran into hc’s friend max and chatted with him for a bit, while thuy swept the girls away once more. i wanted to stay and hang with max but we needed to get home because we had guests coming over.

we drove home in the jeep and hc dropped me off to get the party started while he grabbed ice and any other random items we might have needed. our guests slowly arrived {my family each brought over an item or two} and our gathering was in full swing. we had apps and drinks going and then finally kicked off the grill and cooked hotdogs, burgers, corn, with pasta salad, all the fixings {grilled onions, avocado slices, tomato, condiments}, potato salads, fruit, etc.

the evening began to cool off while the kids played with some ‘fire’works outside {really just some snappers and sparklers}. we served desserts and then all the kiddos had a water balloon fight! it was so cute to see how they all interacted…the boys chased each other, ellie did a little chasing, but mostly threw water balloons onto the grass to watch them pop and olive cried. uh huh. that’s what they did. hahaha!

our day was super lovely and fun. as always, we had the best time celebrating america’s birthday with our family!

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[they’re so sweet]

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[we saw this lab as a puppy last year!]

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[with uncle terry]

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[she’s such a ham]

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[they hear the sirens! waiting for the trucks!]

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[old school firetruck]

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[here come the fire trucks!]

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[with dada]

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[he’s been walking in the parade for years!]

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[helen, kim, me, thuy, and olive]

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[i love the way ellie is holding onto olive for the picture…she has no idea her hand is on her face! LOL]

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[with their super auntie…they always love being with her]

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[fourth of july desserts]

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[barbara and terry]

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[dan and olive]

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[festive cupcakes]

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[happy fourth!]

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[thuy, barbara, agata, lynne, and kim]

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[walsh family]

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[grand  kids]

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[the cheeky ones]

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[apps]

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[red velvet cake]

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[red, white, blue and stars ice cubes!]

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xoxo

easter egg bunnies

i am most creative at night. my mind doesn’t wind down easily and i am always thinking of ideas – what to do, what to create, what to anything. the other night, as it was nearing midnight, like right now, i had an urge to finish the easter egg project that i had barely even started. all i had were empty egg shells {i tapped each egg gently on top, peeled a hole about an inch big and broke the egg white and yolk out and washed each shell with water} but i felt completing the rest of it would be so easy!

i ran downstairs to my craft stash and rummaged around for construction paper. i picked a  dark tan and white color for the ears, brought up two flat wooden sticks to hold the ears. i stole some crayola markers from my girl’s art closet {i chose some fun colors and definitely pink for the cheeks}. i rummaged our easter decor box and found shredded paper grass. i already had flowers to pick from our vase and the ceramic egg holder, an old buy from anthropologie or you can always use an egg carton from the store that the eggs come in {cut it to fit the amount of eggs you make} .

i folded the paper into fours and cut out 4 sets of dark tan ears and two sets of white bunny ears. i then used different colored markers to color in the ears. i did leave one set blank to mix it up.

i then cut the 1/4 inch wide flat wooden sticks the length of the eggs with scissors {1 1/2 to 2 inches}. i used scotch tape to affix the ears onto the sticks, wrapping the tape around the back to secure it into place.

i then drew fun and different faces onto each egg with a fine point sharpie and used a pink marker to flush their cheeks.

i placed the green shredded grass into the egg holder. i placed each egg and ears into their nests and then snipped little bunches of flowers and place them inside the top of each bunny egg.

ta da! easter egg bunnies! it was quick, easy, and fun to make! the best part?? seeing olive’s face and excitement when she discovered them! she looooooved them so much! now that is the part that i love most: seeing the joy in her face!

currently, she’s taking care of them. she’s fed them. she’s checked their health like a doctor. she loves playing with them and creating vivid stories. to be able to enhance her imagination, promote creativity, and bring her joy is the best type of gift i can give!

happy easter week my friends!

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[our little bunny friends]

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[sleeping little bunnies]

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[besties]

xoxo

classmate cards

i recycled the idea we had last year, for olive’s valentine’s day cards again for this year. i absolutely loved making her cards last year {she loved it too!} but i am fond of the idea of capturing her personality and growth each year with the same type of card. i think it’d be fun to make one each year until she outgrows it!

i gathered all the components that we wanted to assemble the valentine’s bags for her classmates. a maze sheet, slime, valentine’s day card, holiday stickers, festive bandages, and ring pops; we purchased it all at target {our favorite place!}. olive placed all the goodies inside each bag, sealed it with a sticker and adorned it with a crafty heart.

she specifically wanted to cover the clear heart on the bag with the paper heart so her classmates didn’t peek into the bag of goodies and spoil the surprise! i love her thinking! she graciously made 18 bags so patiently and loved it to the very end. although, near the end, we tag teamed the sealing of the bags to be faster!

this whole over the top valentine’s day gifting is sooooo me. i am super happy olive enjoys it too but i loved this kind of stuff as a child and didn’t have the means to really create such things and i love that i can do it now. i am hoping olive grows up to love it too! maybe she will, maybe she won’t but i know that she definitely doesn’t have to do it because i am crazy about it!

happy valentine’s day week!

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[treat bags]

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[she’s such a sweetheart]

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[all the goodies]

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[assembling her bags for her friends]

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[band aids…cause every kid loves bandages!]

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[olive loves puzzles and mazes]

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[creating her valentine’s day card]

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[yummy earth pops and olive]

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[she cracks me up!]

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[olive’s hard work looks so good!]

xoxo

valentine’s day cards ’19

olive and i made her annual friends and family valentine’s day cards the other week!

we started this when she was three? gosh, i can’t remember {i guess i should reference my blog to find out…hahaha!}. prior years, olive used to paint paper hearts and adorn them with stickers but this year, i decided to buy pre-made cards and have olive decorate them and sign her name {which she loves to do!}.

ellie joined in on the fun by coloring on her own as olive went to work fancying up her valentine’s day cards. olive is such a trooper. seriously. i am amazed by her discipline and tenacious ways. she listens, she works hard at her projects, and doesn’t complain. we had 18 cards to complete and she did each one with joy and ease. only near the end did she says, “kiki, my body is getting tired!” oh, she’s too cute! i told her she only had three more cards and she was done! she happily finished them and was so proud of her results! i love that she’s so honest, real, and dedicated to what she is doing. whether she does it for herself or for me, i am amazed that she does it with selflessness and love.

we wrapped up our project and the girls happily ran off to play. we added an extra valentine’s day sticker card inside {attached with festive washi tape of course!} and i finished her crafty cards with a bit of calligraphy, a pretty stamp, and more envelope flair.

we sent them out through snail mail and can’t wait for our friends and family to receive a little bit of extra love in their day!

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[she’s oh so sweet]

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[the supplies]

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[she’s so creative! i love the way she signs her name]

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[creating together]

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[i mean, seriously, how cute is this?!]

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[my doll baby]

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[hard at work]

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[decorating]

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[sister love]

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[peek a booooo!]

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[she always poses like this and it melts my heart]

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[oh kiki, i’m so bored. hahahaha!]

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[really olive?]

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[the final product!]

xoxo

classmate vday cards!

now that olive is in school, it’s been fun creating birthday treats, teacher christmas gifts, and now we get to be creative for our valentine’s day cards!

since good ol’ pinterest has been around, creative ideas are in overdrive or overload or overwhelming. it’s like a pot o’ gold of ideas. well, of course i pinterest’d a valentine’s day card concept from there! i loved the one where you take a photo of your kid and stick a lollipop in their hand! i’m sure y’all have seen this one!

olive’s valentine’s outfit du jour for the pic? a heart headband and my little pony pj’s. that’s my girl! we love hanging out in pj’s all day every day!

everything cost just a few dollars apiece and it was quite inexpensive to make! everything was on ‘sale’ {i only quoted this because, lately, sale is usually the regular price}. the most time spent was looking for the supplies, only because i do love to shop and find the right pieces! my problem is that i love to look at everything, every shop, every possible option…not to find the best deal but to find the best stuff to execute the ideas that float around in my head.

hc printed out the pics for us, i bought the supplies, and olive helped assemble all the lollipops onto the cards! i stuffed each heart covered plastic baggies with a card, a few pieces of candies, a bubble wand, and stickers! voila! cute, fun packages to hand out to her classmates on valentine’s day!

olive was quite happy with the final results and i can’t wait for her to hand out her sweet valentines to her friends at school!

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[she looks thrilled doesn’t she?! hahaha!]

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[what do i do with this lollipop besides eat it?]

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[she did it!]

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[focus!]

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[i love that smile]

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[ta da! her valentine’s day card]

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[a valentine’s day card, bubbles, stickers, and candy!]

xoxo

a simple outing

we had a quick, casual outing on a beautiful sunny day that turned out to be freezing cold and soooo windy in the early afternoon and then a warm day late afternoon! my, what a difference a few hours can make!

i met my dad and sister, thuy, for lunch out at the mall. we ate at a yummy restaurant and then decided to get donuts and coffee after our main meal. my dad could live off of doughnuts and coffee. ha! we were in a new part of the mall that is now a bunch of restaurants and it was pretty quiet and serene. we did a mini photo shoot with olive {natch}, ate doughnuts, sipped coffee, and enjoyed our peaceful moments together.

since my dad’s leg{s} have been bothering him, we decided to not venture out too far. thuy and i wanted to hit up anthropologie but it was too far for my dad to walk so we decided to call it quits. besides, they had more errands to run and i didn’t mind heading home with the kiddos. it was nice just to get out for a bit but honestly, with two kiddos and one being so young, you’re bound to time frames! well, i choose to be committed because i prefer for my kids to have a routine.

i love that ellie can nap at 10am and 2-3pm and olive will occassionly nap in the afternoon {depending on her wake up time & morning activities}. it limits our outings at times but hey…they are only this little for so long!

anyhoo, it was a great blip in our day. we loved seeing my dad and my sister for a bit and enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air!

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[my sweet  babe]

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[ellie enjoying being flipped around by auntie thuy]

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[thuy thought it was a good idea for ellie to try her glasses, ellie – not so much. hahaha!]

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[she loved her glasses so much!]

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[stan’s donuts]

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xoxo

makey valentine’s day cards

yayyyyyyy! it was our yearly ~ let’s makey valentine’s day cards for everyone!

i love doing this every year with olive and love that she has fun decorating all the cards. i can’t wait until ellie is old enough to do this with olive, it’ll be cuteness overload when that happens!

i rummaged out all the fun decor i had stored away and created a fun little space of heart explosions, lots of red, and crafty stuff galore. olive was so excited to dig into all the valentine’s day goodness. she started out with painting the heart cards but became restless and went crazy with the stickers. she totally loved putting all the festive stickers all over the cards and loved the little, what she called alien, poms! those were her most favorite items, although they were just for fun and wouldn’t mail very well in a flat envelope! ha!

ellie joined in on the fun for a bit but soon olive finished up all her valentine’s day cards in style. this mama then addressed and mailed them out to all her sweet little friends! we hope all her buddies enjoyed their sweet little surprise in the mail! olive wants to know if you will be her valentine?! muwah!

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[long story: i bought one heart envelope on sale {super cheap, yearssss ago} and ordered it to get embroidered with olive’s name. it arrived not embroidered! i was super upset but apparently i must have ‘deleted’ the personalization part of my order and that was why it arrived blank. i called the company and figured out what had happened and i wanted to order another one because i wanted olive’s name on it! the customer service person was soooooo nice and helpful and told me to not bother to send the other envelope back because it was so inexpensive and it wouldn’t be cost efficient to send it back. well, thought, what will i do with an extra envelope? i almost gave it away but ended up keeping and found it in my valentine’s day box of decor this year! how perfect?! i then got the second envelope personalized with ellie’s name! it was meant to be!]

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[copious options]

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[she loved her ‘aliens’]

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[painting away]

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[she did such a great job!]

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[i love her]

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[she’s so fun]

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[gahhhhhhh, i love these girls!]

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[i couldn’t help but post every pic of her making the cards…she was so into it!]

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[her favorite items from the day!!]

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xoxo