babymoon

we recently went to vegas for our babymoon!  normally we do not go to vegas in the middle of summer but that is what matt wanted!  we prefer may or september, i mean it is still hot but not as hot as it is in july!

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[waiting for our flight out of ord]

we headed to the airport, early, to fly out so we could have a full day of vegas when we arrived.  we were met by my brother and his girlfriend, tashina, at the vegas airport.  we traipsed our way to aloha, an eatery that was super yummy!  a restaurant that definitely served way, way too much food!  i ordered the kalua pig and cabbage, it was so good but i could barely consume the amount that was served!  i pretty much ate a lot of rice and cabbage with a sprinkling of pork!  that was all the ever shrinking tummy of mine could manage {these days, the tummy is feeling a bit more pressure}.

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[my delicious meal at aloha!]

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[my $6 lemonade at the eiffel tower restaurant]

afterwards, huy + tashina dropped us off at our hotel, vdara {love}.  huy + tashina stayed at a cute hotel boutique called rumor, just down the road from our hotel!  we checked in, settled in, and made our way to the pool {first things first!}.  huy + tashina met us at the pool and then eventually matt + johann!  they flew in later that afternoon and met us around 4:30ish.  we all hung out for a bit at the pool and then headed back to our rooms to get ready for dinner.

our first night of excess was at the paris hotel.  we ate at the eiffel tower.  we had such a funny experience there.  the ambiance, the dress code, & the service was interesting to say the least.  the best thing about our meal was our jealousy over tashina + huy’s seafood tower of deliciousness!

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[me and tashina before dinner!]

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[huy + tashina’s awesome seafood tower]

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[our ‘professional’ picture at the restaurant]

once we were done with dinner, we headed over to the cosmopolitan’s chandelier bar for a night cap.  we pit stopped at the sugar factory, a 24hour candy store, on our way to the bar.  apparently huy + tashina pit stopped at a few gambling spots on their way!

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[some of the amaze chandeliers inside the bar]

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[matt + johann]

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[chillin’]

the next day, we rented out a cabana at the pool to spend our day relaxing and soaking up the sun.  it’s always such a good time when we rent a cabana, the service is amaze, food at your fingertips, drinks constantly flowing, and the private pool!  a lovely pool just for the cabana folks!  who wouldn’t love it?!

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[my 22 week baby bump!]

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[relaxing at our private pool // nice look huy!]

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[love the guy in the background!]

after a whole day of sunning and relaxing, we got ready and headed out to dinner with matt’s sister, liz, her husband, josh, and their daughter, stella.  josh picked us up & we met liz & stella out by where they live, henderson-ville.  we ate at a tapas restaurant out by them and after dinner, we headed back to their house for another night cap.  well, the boys had scotch {glenlevit 18 years old} and cigars {out on the patio}, while i hung out on the couch with matt & his sister!  it was a really, really nice evening.  we totally enjoyed our time with them.  they are such a fun bunch and so welcoming!

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[scotch, cigars, + great friends]

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[hanging out at liz + josh’s]

the next day, we duplicated our all day outing at the pool but we went out for lunch instead {we typically order lunch at the cabana}.  we met liz at the todd english pub for a quick bite before we headed back to our cabana.  it was wonderful to meet up with liz one last time before our vacation ended!

our evening meal was at the bacchanal buffet at caesars hotel.  the interior was very cool and the food was delicious {although buffets aren’t the best deal for a preggo lady}!  i especially loved the asian buffet & dessert buffet {so yummy}!  we then met matt + johann’s friend, allen {in for a conference}, at the chandelier bar back at cosmo for our final night cap of the trip.

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[bacchanal buffet]

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[the beginning of the end]

the next day, we went to breakfast at the peppermill {the best and cheesiest joint in town!}.  last year we started our trip at the peppermill and this year, we ended our trip at the restaurant!  they have fake neon lights, a lounge area with a fire pit in the middle of it, and there’s photographer that walks around to take your picture as a souvenir!  ha!  love it.  after breakfast, we walked the whole strip!  we started at the encore and made our way all the way back to our hotel, in time to leave for the airport.  we did all sorts of shopping along the way.  it was a perfect way to end our vacation.  we were able to experience all the cheesiness of the strip on our last day there.  that’s a part of vegas you gotta soak in!

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[the way to start your day, breakfast and a drink!]

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[the fire pit in the lounge]

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[the fake trees & ‘neon’ light interior]

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[our cheesy souvenir // we love it!]

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[my delicious virgin bloody mary // it was so good!!!!]

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[the eclipsing of my feet]

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[macarons from jean philippe // they were a bit crushed during the transport]

there you go, our babymoon!  it was a fun, relaxing time with my hubby charming, the baby bump, and friends!

xoxo

tot

theology on tap!

i was very excited for our first TOT session at st. clement!  we had such a great time last year and i knew it was going to be even better this year!  our first speaker of the series was timothy o’malley from notre dame.  he was hilarious!  his topic of the evening was ‘when life doesn’t go as planned: the hidden gift of disappointment’.

my disappointment of the evening was that hubby charming wasn’t able to participate with me this year!  boo.  i was sad but it is what it is!

i had such a good time reconnecting with friends and creating new ones!  this was our biggest theology on tap ever!!!  329 attendees!  wow!!  the events prior never really exceeded 200!  last year’s session drew in 275 folks and that was a record for us; it was awesome to see the crowd grow!

my duties this year was food and drinks.  it was actually a lot of fun!  we can’t believe we actually fed everyone!  how crazy.  we are so grateful for the local restaurants that donated all the food!  we worked throughout the evening, bringing out the food, & cleaning up.  we totally rocked it!  our team was so fabulous!

the temperature was so ridiculous!  it was over 100 degrees in front of the church!!!  with over 300 peeps hanging out in close proximity, the temperature was bound to rise!

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[me and my team captains!  brian and megan!]

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i can’t wait for the next few sessions!

xoxo

grace’s birthday

we celebrated grace’s birthday last weekend!  oh my gosh, she turned 11!!  my how time flies!

we started off the day with pedis!  we all went to nail bar on southport and got our tootisies all purtied up!  blue for grace and a pinky orange for moi!  after our appointment, grace got to choose where we were going to go to eat.  we went to frances, a plain burger for grace, a salad for me, and i can’t remember hc’s order…ha!

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[getting her nails done!  such a pro, chillin’ and reading her gossip mag]

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[birthday lunch]

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[our fun pedi’s]

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[lunch time fun]

after lunch, we stopped by cycle smithy to check out bikes.  hc lured grace to the shop by saying he needed some supplies but we were really shopping for her!  it was her surprise birthday gift!  she was super excited when we told her!  after perusing the bike shop, we decided to go the village cycle.  there we found her a trek bike!  she really liked it, which worried us at first…ya know how kids can be…they never can decide!

we headed back home to drop me off {i had to go to my p’s house to prep for the party], and they took their bikes to the lake to go riding!  it was great!  they met up with us back at the cheesecake factory for grace’s birthday dinner with my family.

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[grace’s new bike]

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[kiddie cocktails]

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[birthday time!]

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[gifts from r + b]

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[the confetti cake being sliced]

once we were done, we then headed back to my parent’s house for cake, ice cream, and presents.  the kids had a great time playing together, while the adults hung out.

all in all, it was a wonderful time!  we had a blast celebrating grace’s birthday and i’m sure she did as well!

xoxo

gender reveal party

what an amazing day!

we had our gender reveal party on sunday, and it was such a fun time!  behold, there will be a lot of pictures!  i had such fun concocting all the details {thanks kim for being our photographer for the day!}!  a huge thanks to my sister kim for diy-ing all the vases and arranging all the beautiful flowers!!!  a big thanks to my parents for letting me host it at their house!

the morning started out with a trip to corner bakery, we had the food catered by them, so we swung by to pick the goodies.  we arrived at my parent’s house and the decorating began!  grace was such great help {hc charming was a mission created by me and my p’s to get additional supplies}, she wiped down the chairs, helped me decorate, and set everything up with me!

at noon, the lovely guests started to arrive!  one by one, we greeted in glee and the party began!  we sipped our drinks and socialized for our start of the party.  we finally prepped the food, and enjoyed our meal outside.  thank goodness it wasn’t soooo hot.  it was hot but not as hot as it has been for the past few weeks.  i was so thankful for the temperature being at the tail end of the heat wave!

after the food, the kids got to hit a baby carriage piñata!  who doesn’t like a piñata at a party?!

after noshing on our meals, kim and i prepared the desserts.  it looked quite adorable!  after, we set up the table and i announced to everyone if they wanted to know the gender of the baby?!  of course they said yes!  i told them that they could find the answer in the cupcakes {from magnolia bakery}!  they were so excited!  everyone got up to grab their cupcakes!  once each person had their little treasure, everyone broke open their cupcakes at the same time!

there it was!  pink frosting signifying a baby girl!!!!!!  it was so much fun!

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[handmade jars filled with candy by me + hc]

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[the start of the table setting]

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[sprinkled with confetti dots]

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[cousins]

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[voting!]

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[gender pins]

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[beautiful arrangements by kim!]

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[flowers, confetti, and candy jars]

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[decor]

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[party tassels]

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[famille – grace and i color co-ordinated our outfits to represent both genders!]

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[themed party utensils]

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[pink and blue plates]

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[drinks]

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[dana darling with her pink bow pin for her girl vote]

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[lan, avery, and thuy]

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[the boys + thuy]

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[mes seours]

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[jane + aunt wendy wearing themed party shoes]

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[b + terry]

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[jane + grace]

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[drinking straws]

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[noshing on our pink and blue plates]

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[super yummy lemonade]

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[b]

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[famille]

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[magnolia bakery cupcakes]

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[yum!]

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[sisters]

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[tower of goodies // he she bars and pink and blue rock candy!]

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[favors]

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[piñata time]

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[swinging at the baby carriage]

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[busted!]

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[classic pose]

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[swaying towards the boy vote!]

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[cupcake time!]

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[it’s pink!!!  it’s a girl!]

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[pink filling]

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[beautiful dana]

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[pink!  it’s a girl!]

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[a wonderful gift from aunt wendy!]

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[avery helping me open gifts // from her parents]

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[lol…all the kids helping me open gifts!  so cute!]

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[adorbs chevron blanket from lori, jay, aj, + jake]

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[what a wonderful party!  thank you to everyone for celebrating with us!!!]

we truly had such a great time!  what a wonderful way to spend time with our families and such a fun way to let everyone know what gender baby heintz is!!!

yay!

xoxo

bump status

timeline of the bump.

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[photo by hc]

how far along?  22 weeks!  the baby is the size of a papaya!  she is about 1lb. and can taste and touch!

weight gain:  14 lbs. + {2 weeks until our next check up}.

maternity clothes?  not yet.  just longer shirts, leggings, and dresses!  i need to get a move on to find some new work pants {so super lazy about that}.  i’m about dunzo with the current work pants!  i’m surprised i made it past 5 but the 6 month mark will be absurd.

sleep:  meh.  some days are good, some days are bad.  it’s not even me getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, i just sometimes wake up and have a hard time falling asleep.  my belly hasn’t bothered me yet in making me uncomfortable in any sleeping position but i just pop awake for no reason!

physical state: feeling good!  best time yet.  it’s been a breeze during this second trimester.  i still go to bed early, or at least try to…sometimes there’s just so much to do!

miss anything?  a hot dog and a beer.

baby movement:  the kicks have gotten much more prominent in strength!  she has a tendency to completely stop when hc puts his hand on my belly {much to his dismay}!  she was kicking around when he did read her a bedtime story, ‘i’ll love you forever’, a gift from jane!

food cravings:  hot dogs, beer, seafood.  i still crave salads and fruits.  i still love, love spicy food but baby girl tosses around when i do eat that stuff!

bump status:  bump feels bigger!  i feel bigger!  the belly button is driving me crazy.  it’s a half innie and half outie!  what?!  make up your mind!

gender reveal:  it’s a girl!!!!!!!  yay!  we waited this long to tell everyone because we threw a gender reveal party!  i can’t wait to post it for y’all!  it was so much fun!

baby heintz

baby heintz.

i just wanted to share a little photo of our precious baby!  look how adorbs the babes is!  it’s so sweet to see the bebe, the growing little cutie, that is inside me!  so surreal!  the 5 month anatomy scan was so amazing!  to see the bebe’s little hands, feet, heart, tummy, face…so unbelievable!  we had such a great time with the tech, what a very special moment.

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what a cutie!!!!  we can’t wait to meet & see the bebe’s precious little face!

xoxo

holly + kevin’s baby shower

happy baby shower holly!

this past sunday was holly + kevin’s baby shower!  we celebrated at her mom’s house on this hot summer day.

it was a gender neutral shower because they are waiting to find out!  wow, props to those who can wait!  my type a personality could never do that!!!!

drinks, apps, food, and yummy desserts!  i was really, really digging the homemade toffee fudge!  hello!  the little bite sized nuggets were amaze and perfect!

after some noshing and imbibing, we settled our tushies into the comfy couch for some unwrapped gifts!  holly + kevin asked their guest to be green and not wrap any of their presents.  that equals a super, duper fast gift opening session!  before we knew it, they were done and they definitely got a lot of goodies!

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[the goods]

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[sock monkey theme!]

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[missy and jane]

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[me and holly!  9 and 5 month bumps!]

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[sweet!]

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[holly + kevin]

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[the best gift!  from jane, a handmade sock monkey quilt!  it was a hit!]

it was a neutral gender shower because they are waiting to find out!  wow, props to those who can wait!  my type a personality could never do that!!!!

happy day to the parents to be!  we are so excited for the new addition!

xoxo

happy baby shower kim!

happy baby shower kim!

we celebrated the soon to be addition to the haus family!  it was a sunny, lovely day to have a shower!

it was a football/sports theme hosted at ditka’s.  there were cute little decorations all around!  the cake was phenomenal and absolutely delicious {commissioned by her sister sarah}!!  after we lunched on delectable dishes, we were ready for the opening of baby gifts!

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[the mommies to be! 8 month + 5 month bumps!]

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[how adorbs is the cake?!]

via tandeminlove.com[my purty wrapped gifts!]

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[cake pops & centerpieces]

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[the goods! and the cute onesie bunting]

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[sarah + kt]

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[me + kt]

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[such delicious desserts!!!]

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[part of my gift to kim]

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[our favorite!  it says brady with the number ’13 on the jersey to rep his birth year!]

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[mikey helping out!  kim’s holding a cute football bib!]

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[kim + kt]

what a great way to spend a sunday!  the shower was lovely, the gifts were so cute, and it was so good to see everyone and catch up on this wonderful occasion!

xoxo

bump status

timeline of the bump.

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[photo by hc]

how far along?  20 weeks!  we’ve made it this far!  the baby should be about 6 inches long and weighs about 9 oz.!

weight gain:  14 lbs.  not so bad.  a 3 lbs. weight gain…i was expecting another five!  it’s a little nerve-wracking to get up on that scale!

maternity clothes?  nope.  dresses are my best friend this summer!  plus, my leggings are my other staple.  i made it to the 5 month mark with the work pants but again, i’m pushing the limit or i should say the button…because i think the button is about to pop off my pants!

sleep:  good sleep is sporadic.  there are days where i can sleep a full night but of late, i have had a lot of restless nights.  my body is physically tired but my mind can’t fall asleep.  i go to bed at 10 pm or 10:30 pm because i feel very tired but my thoughts won’t shut down!  grrrr!

physical state:  overall, i’m feeling good.  not very exhausted but at the end of a very long day, those tootsies can feel tired!  skin is better, headaches have tapered off, and energy levels are great.  i just need to get a good night’s rest!

miss anything?  i’ve been drinking more decaf with hc being home but it’s not the same :p  i’m really wanting all kinds of sushi and a nice deli sandwich!

baby movement:  the baby’s kicks and movements have gotten stronger!  they were faint pops before but now it’s a little more of a punch!  hc felt the baby move for the first time last week!  yay!  i only felt the baby move before if i was laying down but now, while i am up and about, i feel the baby’s movements!

food cravings:  it’s become a little bit more well rounded.  i’m eating a little bit of everything and craving something more sweet of late.  i am starting to feel full quicker, which is concerning…especially if your brain is telling you that you are still hungry!

bump status:  bump feels the same, althoughhhhhhh…my belly button is acting conspicuous!  it’s trying to be something it’s not…an outie!!!  eeekkkkk!  the belly button started to flatten out a couple of weeks ago but now it’s trying to disguise itself.

gender reveal:  hmmmmmm.  boy or girl?  i still get the girl votes from most people.  apparently, my friends think they are physic!  they have these premonitions on the baby being a girl!  only a gender reveal party will tell!

fireworks

our 3rd was my 4th!

i had to work on the 4th, so we made it a fun day with grace on the 3rd instead!

we started the day with breakfast at the bongo room.  we walked our way over to one of our favorite brunch places on this beautiful day.  i was so hungry by the time we got there!!!  argh!  feed me!  the wait was just a bit and before we knew it, we were seated and ready to enjoy some yummy goodness!

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[waiting for a table]

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[i love the window display next door!]

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[handmade soaps]

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[her drinking horse]

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[my usual]

after breakfast, we traipsed our way back to our place but not without stopping at wicker park!  it was quite a scene full of mommies and their kids!  hc was the only dude there!  after trying out every single playground feature available {well, mostly grace played!}, we continued on our way home.

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[seesaw time]

of course, not without stopping by to say hello to rhoda!  we love rhoda!  the cutest, most cuddly dog.

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[getting and giving some love to rhoda]

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[the cute bug eyed bugger]

we hung out at home to relax before our evening activities.  we watched movies, i crafted, hubby charming fell asleep, & grace begged us to go to the ‘breyer’ store, aka berwyn’s toys & trains store.  so on another adventure we went!

when we got home, we made sack lunches for the homeless, dropped them off at st. clement and moseyed our way towards navy pier!  our mission was to eat at bubba gump shrimp {how can you not when you are at navy pier??  you gotta go tourista all the way!}.  we were excited to teach grace all the famous sayings from the movie.  she was so intrigued!  she had never seen it, and it got her so excited to watch the movie!

we walked the pier while we waited for our table.  we shopped, explored, and were delighted by all the little kiosks throughout the walk way.  we rounded our way back to the restaurant, once inside, everyone was so polite!  i was very impressed by how friendly everyone was at the restaurant!  it was very pleasant.

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[her flashy watermelon drink]

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[not so flashy]

we timed it out quite perfectly!  we had a chance to explore navy pier, had a yummy meal at the restaurant, had a minute to buy grace a candy apple, and then the fireworks started!  we ran outside and got a front row seat to some pretty fireworks!

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[enjoying the fireworks]

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[our view as we are leaving the pier, pretty and not so pretty traffic]

we had such a good day!  it was a successful patriotic day!

p.s. my 4th of july dessert // yum!

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xoxo