this cute little shower idea is to die for! i love how adorbs it is. such fun little details and delectable sweet treats to serve your guests.
i love how the theme plays off of stereotypical ideas of when a women is pregnant. pretty decor, fun theme, and very cute ideas! a pretty in pink party that would be entertaining for all your guests.
[showers ahead! beautiful table spread]
i love the hanging parasols. such a whimsical touch to any event space. the gorgeous centerpiece is filled with my favorite flowers…garden roses and peonies. so beautiful and romantic. each setting has lovely light pink napkins, pink hobnob glasses, and champagne for each guest.
[craving station]
how cool is this?! wine, ice cream, hot sauce, chocolate, pickles, fruit, sushi, and pasta. an odd mix that sounds so right…to a preggo lady! i remember the days when i was pregnant, if i wanted something to eat, i wanted it now. or i would eat the weirdest combos. for example, i would eat ice cream and then spicy doritos. yup. one after another.
or fruit was my biggest craving. i needed fruit everything. whether it was fruit juice, fruity gummy bears, fresh fruit, popsicles, whatevs. it always hit the spot! so, whether it’s what is pictured above that you display or whether you want to personalize it to the momma to be and her cravings…create a table spread that’s unique to her!
[pickles and ice cream]
[what are you craving for today?]
[champagne for your guests…served in a lovely hobnob pink glass]
[juice box for the mom to be]
[strawberry and champagne cupcakes]
[chocolate bars]
decadent cupcakes and bittersweet chocolates make for great endings.
this shower is so darling…i love all the feminine details and how cute the theme is! it’s a perfect idea for any momma to be. add in some savory entrees and voila, you have yourself a perfect baby shower.
the wooden car is made with non toxic paint and is great for developing olive’s motor skills. hc claims that this is his favorite toy to date. olive loves to flip the colorful wooden slats back and forth and roll the car up and down. it’s such a cute, fun object…aesthetically pleasing and great for olive!
this indestructible book is awesome. baby girl loves to play with paper, so she loves ‘reading’ this book. sometimes i’ll make up stories for her with the pictures, other times she loves to just gnaw on the edges until it’s covered with drool. it’s doesn’t rip, it keeps it’s shape, and it’s washable. a perfect book for any baby!
when i threw a gender reveal party last summer, olive received some gifts from our wonderful guests. our dear friend dana gave olive these bath time cups. she actually loves playing with these without bath time! she grabs each cup, one by one and chews on them. she also loves it when we stack them high. in a second after stacking them, she will knock them all down with a smile. thanks dana for olive’s current favorite toy!
the baby beads are very similar to the wooden car. it’s made of wood and was painted with non-toxic paint. it’s colorful, so it’s pleasing to her eyes. she loves to grab at it and drool on it and work on her fine motor skills. i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, i love buying wooden toys for olive!
i love, love these baby art cards! the contrasting colors are fun for olive and she loves to pick them up and drool all over them {common theme, right?!}. it also helps her grasp objets and fine tunes her motor skills. i love how she intently looks at them and i can see how she is examining their design {it makes me wonder what she is thinking!}. such great cards to support the babes development!
she loves the jumperoo. seriously, she loves it. she can sit in it for hours. bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy. she plays with all the fun contraptions on it, she gleefully laughs, and is entertained by all the fun sounds! it’s such a perfect, fun ‘toy’ for her. it keeps her curiously preoccupied for awhile and us hands free to do some stuff around the house. bonus points for everyone!
i’m totes obsessed with these headbands for olive. they are from em and ko. they are made with a super soft fabric, so easy to adjust, and come in many, many fun prints. i know there is a lot of competition out there when it comes to this style of product. i researched different brands and prices, i ended up really loving these headbands.
[looking chic]
[aren’t these prints so fun?! i love the soft colors]
i’m a fan of dressing miss olive in darling little outfits. it honestly didn’t get fun until she was about four months old. prior to that, it was just sleepers for the little bugger. momma was too tired, the winter was too rough, and there was no energy to dress the little babes up. once she was more active and we were more active {thank you warmer weather!}…it turned into something very fun for me! who doesn’t love dressing a cute baby girl?
i am always looking out for something new and fun to drape little miss olive in! i mean, c’mon, she will only let me do this for so long… 🙂
pretty much my whole life, up until i was around 8 months pregnant, i was steadfast in my stance of not breastfeeding our baby. yes, it’s true. i didn’t like the idea. i didn’t like the thought. i didn’t care to do such a thing…it seemed weird to me. uh huh. yes, i said weird. it kinda freaked me out.
i wanted to bottle feed and didn’t feel like taxing out the boobies. oddly enough, i didn’t feel like it was natural to breastfeed. it’s truly how i felt…yes, mother nature intended us to breastfeed but that didn’t mean i should or would or wanted to.
then lo and behold, as i was nearing the end of my pregnancy, something clicked. i literally woke up one day and thought…i’m gonna do it. i did debate it in my head for awhile before the enlightenment and it came down to this: i didn’t really have a legit reason or argument on why i shouldn’t nurse my little one.
i knew it was beneficial. breastfed babies are linked to having higher iq’s. breast milk helps fight diseases. breast milk provides the perfect nutrients for your baby’s growing needs. breast feeding decreases the chance of illness. the milk is easier to digest for your baby. it’s free. it’s an amazing bond you have with your child. there are no bottles to clean up constantly. i also feel fortunate that i am able to nurse, some women who want to breastfeed struggle with it or can’t. i feel blessed i can.
what i love most about it…spending one on one time with my little olive. it’s just me and her. yes, giving her a bottle is spending time with her but breastfeeding her is so different. it’s intimate. it’s quality time together. it’s quiet time. it’s skin to skin contact which is very comforting for her. our connection is stronger. i feel satisfied she is receiving the best food for her growing little body.
[the most natural thing…but people see this & get offended]
so, with that, whenever i’m out with olive, i do nurse her when she gets hungry. for me, it seems so natural and normal to do so. i have never really thought twice about what i was doing nor did i care. if we were out at a restaurant, i’d feed her. if we were shopping, i would stop at a store, use their fitting room or just sit in their chair and feed her. no biggie in my mind.
then one day, grace, olive, and i were at the zoo. in the middle of us being there, olive needed a feeding. we found a bench, plopped down and i started to feed olive. grace ran up and down the area to check out all the animals, while olive ate.
in the middle of the feeding, a women walked up to me and handed me a card. she was smiling and said, “i never get to use these…thank you!”. i read the card and was quite touched. it really made me think about nursing in public. it never occurred to me it could be so faux pas. i’ve heard stories about people not allowing it or people posting pictures of themselves nursing and it has caused an uproar, but i never really thought about it.
this made me really think about how people are uncomfortable with it. it is truly the most natural thing a women could do and in some places and in people’s mind, it is frowned upon. not accepted. that is appalling. it should be acceptable and celebrated. it’s a joyous act. feeding your baby is nonnegotiable and someone shouldn’t dictate whether you can or cannot, nor where you should be able to feed her.
i was really touched by her act as she was affected by mine. it made me feel proud and it really makes me think how important it is to do this publicly. there is no question on when or where to feed olive. i would not allow anyone to tell me i couldn’t, or tell me where. this stranger felt that my act should be applauded, i feel great knowing that i will continue to feed olive publicly, proudly, and without hesitation.
i’m loving my baby girl growing up but i’m also sad at the same time. i love her being a baby! babies are so cute and i love so many things about her, she is just so adorbs…like her babbling sounds and her clingy nature and her chunky cheeks and her fat rolls and her just being so darn small and dainty. you can’t deny it, babies are so freakin’ darling, everyone loves a baby!
olive has had a great month. the biggest milestone so far? her trying to crawl! she started month six with the lunging. she would be on her behind and shimmy forward and back. then it became an action where she bounced from her behind forward and would sometimes fall on her face. now, it’s become a hands and knee push. she will be on all fours and awkwardly {kinda creepily too} crawl or drag herself across the floor. she’ll push and move her legs and arms but she won’t lift her head off the ground! she will drag her head across the floor but she will get from point a to point b…just moving her body and dragging her head! it’s so funny! sooooo, we will see how she progresses next month!
eating foods has become so fun! olive is loving everything. she has learned how to swallow, so now she is gulping everything down. she gets so excited to eat! she loves carrots, sweet potatoes, pears, cauliflower, butternut squash, pretty much anything. it’s awesome that she is loving it so much. she has graduated to eating two times a day and it’s tablespoons full of food. almost half a cup of food at a time. what a good girl!
the little babes has become quite the sleeper. we have tried to set a regular nap schedule during the day. she has been pretty good so far, she will usually go down around nine-ten, then again around one-two, and then she will take a small nap around six. she tends to stay up pretty late every night but she usually gets tired around nine, i will then feed her and she’s out! she will sleep for 9-10 hours a night!
she loves watching baby genius nursery rhymes on t.v. and she loves it when you sing to her. she’s totally observant. she watches everyone’s moves. she really loves paper, books, consumer tags on products, brown paper bags, anything like that to gnaw on. she has been very good at playing by herself, she will go for a long stint and when she is done, she is done! she will then want momma {she’ll cry out until i come over and then smile in my arms…trickster!}! i also love that she will lay around on the couch with us and just chill. something she never, ever did before.
her hair has gotten so long…those beautiful curls, i’m afraid they will go away. actually, they probably will. the hubs and i don’t have curly hair, so i know once {hopefully a long time from now} she gets a hair cut, the curls will probably be gone. i love to put hairpins and headbands in her gorgeous hair…it’s so fun & cute!
happy seven months baby girl! we love you so much and can’t wait for all the delightful events coming our way this month!
the next one on my mind is an animal themed baby shower. you can go so many ways with this one! my girlfriend, jodi, had an animal themed shower the prior year. it was so cute, the favors were beautifully packaged animal crackers and fun little animal sign holders. the invites, the table signs, and the games were all cutely tied together.
the shower below inspired me with my gender reveal party from this past summer! the colors scheme and the little animal topped jars started my imagination and ended up with this final result here! it was a great party…look how a colorful baby shower inspiration led into a marvelous gender reveal fête!
here are some fabulous ideas for an animal themed bebe shower:
i am a big fan of backdrops, any type of fun decor you want to whip up will always be a do! i love the streamer style background for this dessert table. the strung wooden animals add a perfect fun element to the decor. you can find some similar one here.
for the desserts, you can’t go wrong with cupcakes! this shower has fruit tartlets, vanilla cupcakes, and strawberry shortcakes on a stick. yum!
[beautiful floral arrangements…i love roses, especially garden roses!]
i like the wooden drink stirrers, a very festive touch. how fun! depending on the season, pink lemonade is a perfect, fresh drink for a baby shower. otherwise, choosing a seasonal drink is easy…there are so many fun recipes out there. like for an autumn shower, an apple cider, cranberry, and ginger punch would be delicious!
i love how romantic the ribbon streamers look, a pretty walkway entrance for your guests. if the party is outside, you can use a tree limb to complete the look or over a doorway, if indoors.
of course, flowers always complete a party. i love soft, warm colors. my favorite flowers? garden roses, ranunculus, peonies, and anemones!
i love the little animal wooden cutout straws. so easy to do! you can find similar straws here.
i love the soft, pretty pastel colors of this party and how whimsical and romantic the decor is! such great ideas to use at the next baby shower you throw or any fete to be had!
we had olive’s six month photos taken right before her birthday!
oh boy, she was a bit better than her newborn photos but still a fussy little one! she wanted to be in her mama’s arms and that can’t happen when one is being solely photographed!
well, the hubs and me did a lot of dancing, noise making, funny faces, playing hide and seek, jiggling her toys…just to distract her and make her laugh! after all our efforts, we made it work and her session turned out so cute! i also loved that tricia had the cutest accessories and she works so well with the little one.
here are a few favorites from her photo shoot:
yes, she is in her birthday suit. it makes for the most adorable pictures. you definitely can’t get away with naked cuteness like this when you get older 😉
i was super duper excited when tricia emailed me to let me know that she had one of her vendors custom make a beautiful, delicate little outfit and matching headband for olive. how awesome is that?! i was so delighted that she was going to be photographed in such an adorbs, exquisite romper. so cool.
[burberry dress…a wonderful, generous gift from a former employee, serena // red flower headband from nordstrom]
the pictures turned out so perfect…i love how tricia captured olive’s cute chunky profile, those cheeks are to die for. i can’t get enough of that mug! every morning, i look forward to seeing her precious face!
olive loves her hungry caterpillar toy. it’s easy to pick up and she loves to slobber all over it. that’s her thing lately, drool and slobber on everything! she likes the colors and it’s quite easy to pick up. it’s always the first thing she reaches for when her toys are lying around her.
i love these burp cloths. they are soft, made from organic cotton, and i absolutely love the prints. the fox print is my favorite. so chic. plus, they serve their purpose! they absorb her drool, spit, and tears quickly and it’s super soft on her delicate skin. they are from my favorite store, sprout, in wicker park.
ok, so sophie had to make another debut on her favorite things because olive absolutely loves her. loves, loves, loves her! sophie is her number one toy. she always reaches for her and she loves holding onto her. she will chew, spit, and gnaw on her for hours. seriously, this french giraffe is the best invention and import for babies! it totally grabs her attention and keeps her preoccupied for a long time!
olive loves anything crinkly. since she loves the feel and learn book so much, i got her the hungry caterpillar book as well. i love this sensory book because it’s beautiful. the colors and pages are so creative, artistic, interactive, and pretty. i love children’s products that are functional, modern, beautiful, and aesthetically appealing. surprisingly this book fulfills a lot of those requirements. plus, she loves the little strawberry that hangs on it…a great chew toy for her!
the fox plush toy represents the bear plush toy olive received from our dear friend bex. it was inside the best boxed gift ever from a little bundle, a cute little box b ordered for miss olive before she was born. inside was a cute, little toy bear. olive loves to play with it. it’s soft and chewable. it’s thin and light and she can pick it up, gnaw on it, and throw it around. i love the fox one too…she does need a fox toy 🙂
i love this little flutter romper. i love neutral colors and it’s actually shorts! so cute for summer. it’s a bit masculine and feminine at the same time. i love all these cute little clothes for her! ugh…she does grow through them so fast though! i feel like i buy and buy and she never has enough items?! hee.
i had a day off this past week and was excited to spend it all day with my little olive.
i had a doctor’s appointment downtown that morning, so i packed up olive’s things, got ourselves in the car and headed into awful traffic! i thought that making my appointment midmorning would be fine in avoiding traffic but since it was raining…it made for terrible traffic!
[ready for her outing // carters’s headband, little tots long sleeve onesie, gapkids pants, trumpette socks]
we finally got downtown and we scored a close parking spot! i put together the stroller and ran towards the office. i was already so late! i used to come to this place every month, multiple times a month, while pregnant with olive. so it was different coming back with a five month old…the babes that was in my belly for so long was now chillin’ by my side. so cool.
[hanging out downtown]
[on our way to wicker park]
after our appointment, olive and i went to wicker park to hang out. our old hood…*sigh*. it was a beautiful day out and perfect for a stroll around the neighborhood. we picked up some starbucks and we stopped into a few stores during our walk. on my agenda was to stop by sprout {a favorite store!} and pick up some organic cotton fox pajamas for little miss olive {they are so stinkin’ cute!}. our most favorite footie pj for olive had a fox on it {it was from carter’s} and hc loves to sing ‘what does the fox say?!’ to olive in her fox pj’s! alas, she outgrew them and needed a new one so we could continue our little song and dance with her that she loves!
[oooohhh, banh mi is open!]
[the pretty elementary school on division]
after our stroll around wicker park, we headed home but not without stopping a zillion places along the way!!! we had to go to target to exchange an item, we had to get stamps and drop off mail at the post office, we had to drop off donations, head to babies r us to do an exchange, and pick up some items at buybuybaby! oy! it was a long way before we got home but when we finally did, olive got to chill while i ran around putting things away we had purchased and cleaning things up!
i was finally able to relax a bit with the wee one and we had some quality time together. she’s so cute!
[i love, love this baby]
[capturing sweet moments]
[one photo at a time…she is so serious sometimes]
[since she was born…i love giving/getting baby kisses]
[muwah!]
i then prepped olive’s food {avocados!} and fed her. that is when hc came home! yay! all in all, it was a very busy, hectic day. olive was a trooper and was totally along for the ride the whole way. she was so chill the entire time i had her out {and that was a long time for my little babes}.
we had such a wonderful mommy/daughter day together!
what a wonderful, beautiful day it was! it was so exciting to have olive’s baptism finally here. i was filled with so much anticipation!
i was a bit nervous if olive would get fussy. she does get temperamental sometimes {duh…like her momma!} and can get cranky. we had a lot going on that morning too. getting olive up, feeding her, getting her dressed, getting grace ready, me and the hubs finalizing our outfits, packing up our stuff, getting out the door on time, and picking up some last minute items along the way!
[olive’s beautiful, handmade baptism dress by tashina // it’s made out of french chantilly lace, silk charmeuse, and silk chiffon]
well, hc sped his way to the city, he was nervous we were going to be late, {something he never really does} and we got there on time {phew!}. our party was already there waiting outside of the church, we quickly greeted them and scurried inside so we could get olive changed into her beautiful baptism gown.
[our beautiful moms]
[could they be any cuter??]
[peonies]
[grandpa and the boys]
we changed olive into her baptism gown in the brides room {how fitting!}, left our belongings there, and traipsed our way into the church. we met up with all our guests in the front two reserved pews. everyone oohh’d and ahh’d over how adorbs olive was!
[dressing her in the baptism gown in the bridal room]
[olive in her gorgeous dress]
[generations adoring each other]
[our pretty little girl]
[prim and proper]
mass began and we started out in the procession. up went the alter boys, the liturgical ministers, us, the godparents, and then father ken. we bowed before the alter and walked up to stand beside the font. father ken came up and asked us what name do we give her and what we were asking for of God’s church today. after that, we were dismissed and walked back to our pew to be seated.
[here we go! rite of passage]
then right after the homily, we were asked to come up again to go through the rites of baptism for olive. father ken anointed her with oil, referenced the white garment, lit the baptism candle, and recited the prayer over ears and mouth.
then came the dunking moment…i chose to have olive fully immersed into the holy water. to closely replicate and reference what john the batiste did, according to the bible. during the homily, we stripped olive down and draped her in a white towel. once fr. ken finished asking the questions to the parish and us {ya know…the do we reject satan, etc.}, he reached for olive and pulled her out from the towel and fully dunked her into the font three times…in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit.
[getting ready for the holy water]
[full immersion!]
olive was in good spirits! she came back safely into my arms and the cozy towel. fr. ken finished the rites, olive was announced as the newest member of the church, the parish applauded, and we were seated. it was awesome! it was such a wonderful, special moment…i was so happy to share it with our church, so excited fr. ken performed the rite, and so proud to have kim and terry as olive’s godparents.
after church, we walked our way to the restaurant. it was only two blocks away! it was such a beautiful day, i couldn’t have asked for better weather. the temperature was perfect and the sun was shining so brightly!
we rented out a private room at d.o.c wine bar. it was spectacular. it was such a large space, there were couches and chairs, and a fireplace. a perfect space for the kids to run around and hang out. they had set up long tables for everyone to sit and eat. the bartender was so accommodating and the food was absolutely delicious. the whole wait staff there was fantastic.
i had purchased a cake and had it redecorated to an all white buttercream frosting. i made fun toppers for olive’s cake and fashioned pretty, blooming peonies onto the top of the fluffy, yummy cake. i loved how it turned out…so whimsy and cute!
[baptism cake]
[love these kiddies]
[love these two!]
[noshing]
[family first // missy, aunt wendy, john, jane, and dick]
[my fair ladies]
[the ladies!]
after everyone downed their tasty libations, noshed on yummy eats, and filled their bellies with sweet treats…we slowly parted ways. it was such a great morning and afternoon. we had a truly wonderful time celebrating olive’s baptism with our friends and family.
we trekked our way home to get into comfy clothes and relax. after a bit, we headed on over to my parent’s for dinner and olive’s aunties showered her with more gifts! her first tiffany gifts…so spoiled! i am so thankful to everyone for all the generous gifts she received…olive is so blessed to be so loved!
[olive’s goodies]
[olive’s first tiffany gifts]
[cousin love // tiffany galore]
we seriously had the most delightful day. it was so perfect – olive’s custom made gown, the beautiful ceremony, the wonderful weather, the delicious brunch, and the best part? we were able to celebrate it with our loving friends and family. i am so thankful for both our families…we are truly, truly blessed.
