happy new year’s eve

happy new year’s eve my lovlies!

here’s a blast from the past.  it’s us on the eve of 2012 ready to ring in 2013!!!  my what a year it has been!

we celebrated at gt fish and oyster with our friends and family last year.  it was a delicious meal…entree after delicious entree.  gluttony at it’s best.  we started our feasting at 10pm and giddily rang in the new year at the restaurant with lots o hollering and noise!

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[2013]

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[the sassy gals]

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[dana and moi always matching in something, as usual]

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[bex and james, who live in seattle, celebrating with us!]

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farewell to a fantastic 2013 and hello to a fabulous 2014!  i wish for everyone health, happiness, love, and many blessings for the coming new year.

happy new year everyone!!!

“should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne?

for auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.”

xoxo

happy one month!

happy one month baby olive!

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[the little peanut // photos taken on 12.27]

length: 21 1/4″

weight: 9lbs. 1oz.

i can’t believe she’s already a month in age.  her cheeks are chubbier.  her awareness is more acute.  she smiles.  she gurgles.  she hollers like a pterodactyl when she sleeps.  she loves to lay around and absorb her surroundings with her wide eyes.  it’s so amazing to watch her grow!

she is so adorable.  she is growing by the minute and it’s so cool to see her personality and reactions to us.  happy one month baby girl!  we love you so much!

xoxo

christmas part two

on christmas day, we ventured out into woodstock to visit olivia!

she was in town with her boyfriend aaron {they currently live in florida} and i was so excited to be able to see her!  we had planned on going over to her parent’s house {can you believe that i’ve known olivia for 6+ years and i have never met her parents or her brother henry?!} and hang out on christmas day.

we slept over at hc parent’s house due to our logistics that day.  we got up and aunt wendy so kindly cooked us a christmas pancake breakfast!  she makes some really delicious cakes!  also, dick opened his gift from jane…she commissioned a canvas wrapped collage of olive pictures!

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[cute canvas wrapped collage of olive]

we gathered ourselves and finally headed our way to woodstock.  a half hour later, we were at our destination.  it was so good to see miss olivia!!!  we were greeted by her family and the socializing began.  we were offered drinks {orange juice for me and beer for hc!} and we cozied right in.  they were in awe over little miss olive.  between mrs. gantner and olivia, olive was passed back and forth…so nice for mommy to be hands free!

we ended up staying at their house for over three hours!  it was so nice to sit, relax, and catch up.  it was so wonderful to get to know her parents, they are such lovely people!  it meant a lot to us to be there!

here’s a fun fact:  when olivia and i were visiting her sister claire in d.c. {i was 4 weeks pregnant at the time and didn’t know it!}, we were walking through the grocery store across the street from her sister’s place {picking up taco ingredients for dinner, like lime for the guac!}, discussing baby names.  that’s when i decided i loved the name olive or the french pronunciation & spelling of olivia {with an accent over the a}.  crazy right?  that’s the true story behind baby olive’s name!

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[olivia with olive]

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[goofing around with my sweet olivia and cuddly, soft bruce!]

i didn’t want to leave but we needed to get back to the heintz’s for the second part of christmas day.  they were hosting it at their house and everyone was already there by the time we got back.

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[kait super happy to be holding olive]

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[daniel finally holding his cousin olive // he protested quite a few times!]

appetizers were being served and the party was in full swing!  we greeted and chitchatted with all the cousins, aunts, and uncles.  baby olive was immediately snatched away and passed amongst the family members!  i was then bombarded with gifts for baby olive.  so sweet of everyone for thinking of her.  it’s so fun to open up presents full of cuteness.

the kids ate first {mickey d cheeseburgers and fries} and then ran away to play the evening away.  then the adults got to eat!  i was hungry!  the lasagna was very delicious.  we conversed, mingled, and hung out the rest of the evening.  after much imbibing and noshing, we were ready to head home.

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[merry christmas!]

it was an amazing week and christmas celebration with all our friends and family.  we are so lucky to have such special, wonderful people in our lives.  God bless everyone!

xoxo

christmas part one

2013

we had a whirlwind week!  we had visitors friday, saturday, and sunday {love to all my friends who have come over to our abode see baby olive}.  then later on sunday, we mustered up the energy to go to marina and corey’s house for a festive get together {hello…football!}.  we wanted to meet up with everyone for the holidays and not only that, carol was in town and pammy was going to be there too!  so we had to see everyone!

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[carol, pampers, and rina]

the next night, we had the wee christmas party at the werner’s.  it’s an annual party they throw every year {for decades now, actually} and it was my fifth wee christmas with them! there is a lot of good food, lots of friendly faces, and santa claus comes to the party!

baby olive was passed along to everyone at the party…she was a hit!  how can you not love a little baby?!  plus, a warm thank you to pat and pete who gave baby olive a wonderful, generous gift from pottery barn kids!   so thoughtful and kind of them!  she’s so lucky!

i love going there every year.  that’s what i love about the holidays, you get to see people you don’t always get to see and that is always wonderful!

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[christmas at the werners // they have many trees! // i love this family shot!]

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[olive and santa…santa claus was loving olive’s little feet]

christmas eve has always been the big celebration amongst the doan’s.  over the years, it has evolved from a very late night to now, an earlier evening since we have kids!

we headed over to my parent’s house early {or as early as we could}.  we ran some errands prior and then we were stuck in awful traffic on our way there.  we arrived an hour or two later than we planned {oops!} but hey, we got there safe and sound!

i scurried inside with baby olive and my parents freaked out.  they hadn’t seen baby olive in awhile and were so excited to have the little babes in their arms.  she was sound asleep in her carseat so we left her in there for awhile but my mom pretty much had the baby in her arms the entire night!

my mom insisted on feeding us so {how can you say no?!} we waited around a bit until the food was ready.  what was on the menu?  chicken soup with rice and egg rolls.  so good.  it’s so good that grace ate it!!!

right after eating, i needed to make a pit stop at target to do some last minute exchanges.  hey, if i can get out without the bebe and quickly do some stuff, i’m on it!  thuy and i went together and it turned into a much longer trip than expected.  oh well!  i got some stuff done {although the target was a wreck and it was hard to locate items} and was satisfied.

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[baking sugar cookies!]

we went home and started cooking and baking right away!  kim, huy, and thuy did the cooking and i went upstairs to do the baking.  i wanted to make sugar cookies for the kids to decorate later!

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[the pretty plaid table spread by kim}

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[place cards!]

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[it’s not christmas without poinsettias!]

once dinner was had {um, best dinner ever!  thanks kim, thuy, and huy for the delicious meal}, the kids were summoned to decorate cookies while everyone else cleaned up.  once all that was done, the gifting began!

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[thuy’s homemade cupcakes…how cute!!!]

it was so cute to see reagan, bennett, and grace open up their gifts.  they get so excited and they all absolutely made out with some stellar stuff!  once the kids were done, the adults randomly opened theirs.  we, for the past several years, have done secret santa for each other.  as we have gotten older, it just made sense.  we can buy our own stuff but it’s fun to do this just to partake in the holiday spirit!  we get to guess who was our secret santa and i nailed mine!  i knew it was my brother dan!

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[cutest cousins!  ready to open presents!]

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[christmas jammy photo!]

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[the boys]

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[grace loving her horse snow globe!]

after gifts, the kids played and played and played.  they had such a fun time!  they ate cookies and drank hot chocolate and ripped their toys apart.

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[my most favorite gifts // christmas mouse book personalized just for olive!  thank you kim and thuy…such an awesome gift for her // rifle iPhone case from dan // my birthday gift from kim and thuy – a jonathan adler bowl!]

it was a very lovely weekend and christmas eve {and it was a white one…i love it when it snows on christmas eve!}!  such a great time shared with our friends and family.  we are truly blessed and thankful for all that we have.

xoxo

oooo baby feet!

i just wanted to post for everyone some cute baby tootsies!  who doesn’t love little bebe feet?!  those feet that kicked me non-stop in the womb.  i could always feel her little heels poking against my skin or my ribs {ouch!}!  it’s so surreal to feel her sharp little heels in the flesh.  to see those adorable little toes.

hc likes to call her a kick boxer/swimmer.  she has strong little legs when she’s a hollering and she flails her arms like she’s a swimmer.  future career goals?!  🙂

everyone who comes to meet little olive love to touch and look at her little footsies.  i think it’s the only time people really, really love feet.  after that, it’s all down hill from there isn’t it?!

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here she is curling her toes and footsies all up on her diapy, under her sleeper.  quite adorable.  that’s all.

xoxo

diaper bag essentials

figuring out the diaper bag essentials, every mom has told me different things and there were a lot of common threads {different moms are loyal to different products, or quite a few suggested the same!}.  after assessing all the input, i have decided upon my most favorite items for the first year…

the bag: my beloved louis vuitton

the essentials

1. portable changing station – perfect for the places that don’t have a changing station in their restroom.  it’s a great one stop shop piece {thanks carol!}!

2. pacis – for those early fussy moments

3. paci wipes – for the oops it dropped on the floor of the market

4. stain remover – it’s when she’s wearing her cute outfit and pictures haven’t been taken yet occasions {or those poopy stains that don’t seem to come out!}

5. baby nail files – when you don’t get the clean cut while she’s asleep and need to smooth out some ragged edges

6. snot catcher – for those cold days or when she is snot 😉 feeling so great

7. hand and face wipes – because kids are messy!

8. feeding bibs – for those drooly babes when then eat.  hopefully it helps catch the extra milk before it reaches all their chubby neck crevices

9. burp cloths – the bebe needs to get her fully belly on and she can’t do that without a good burp between the feeding!

10. a change of clothes – hey, she might poop all over herself, then what?

11. toy/rattle – something to distract her with or just plain entertain her with!

12. swaddle wraps – because they are good for anything!  swaddling, warmth, a carseat cover up…

13. antibac – knock out those germs quickly by having this conveniently available, pass it along to anyone who wants to hold the little babes

14. butt paste – this has come highly recommended by many.  besides that, i love the name!

15. wipes – hello!  ya gotta take care of that little tushy!

16. diapers – duh!

17. disposable diaper sacks – the just in case it’s a stinker and it needs to be contained!

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of course, if you are breastfeeding or not, you’ll need some more essentials…breast pump, nipple cream, storage bottles, baby bottles, formula, etc. you can also add in a brush/comb for some stylin’ hairdo’s or maybe lack thereof ’cause she has no hair!  as the tot gets older, you’ll need to throw in teethers, a toothbrush, some snacks, spoons, & sippy cups!

i know it seems like a lot but better safe than sorry!  packing for this little bebe is like packing for a long vacation!  i’ll probably slowly eliminate as i go, learn what i need and don’t need.  otherwise, i am ready!  🙂

xoxo

 

updated bebe’s room

there have been some final touches to the bebe’s room!  you can see the room coming together here.  also, some very sweet friends have sent the cutest packages to us!  so kind!

baby h is so spoiled already!

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a little bundle!  such a cute package sent to us from b!  thank you so much, it contained so many fun items…i love how the contents are for mommy and baby!  high quality, hand crafted, functional, organic pieces!  so stinkin’ adorbs!

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we are so excited for our bookcase!  it’s the perfect addition to the room.  it houses all the random stuff perfectly…it helps organize some of the chaos!

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unwrapping a cute door delivery from o!  thank you so much for the personalized print, so cute and perfect for her room.  we love it…such a sweet gift.

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what an awesome gift from olivia!  how great does that look?!

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jonathan adler lion night light from johann and matt.  we absolutely love it…i know i keep saying this but it’s so perfect for the room!  thank you so much guys!

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we love the sequin pillow from kar and kt…and i love the ruffled crib skirt!  perfect final touches to the nursery.

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i love the changing table and the rattan diaper/essential holder, from tracy!  we have the wipes, diapers, butt paste, and all the other necessities for keeping her bum clean!

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we also have the white rattan hamper {for all those dirty clothes, sheets, and changing mats that she will spit on, pee on, and poop on…oh, baby!} and the storage box from pbk.  embroidered personally for miss olive with grey floss and trimmings!

the bebe’s room is ready to go!  it’s a small but mighty room.  so many cute, adorable, and fun decor…all suited for this little lady’s style {or perhaps, more so her momma’s style!}.

thanks so much to everyone for contributing to little olive’s abode!

xoxo

deck the halls

we decided to deck the halls a weekend earlier than usual because we weren’t sure when the babes would come {she kept us in suspense}!  little did we know we did the right thing!

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[coffee, quiche, fruit, and juice]

we started out the morning with hc’s homemade quiche!  so delish!  i’m so spoiled by him! it was a very relaxing morning.  we agreed to have a totally lazy day!

hc did all the leg work.  he brought up all the holiday decor from the storage room and we were ready to go right after brunch {actually right after our very long nap!}  ha!  i was tired! yes, even though i just woke up, i was still tired so a nap was in order…it was super comfy sleeping in the nook of hc’s arm.

so, finally, we got up and started on the decorating!  we blasted the christmas music to get ourselves into the festive mood!

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[a holiday must!]

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[unwrapping all the fun ornaments]

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[hc doing his best fluffing the garland…he wouldn’t let the preggo wifey do it]

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[ornaments housed in bird cake stands]

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[i love festive pillows!  it just adds a holiday pop to the room]

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[bar wear :)]

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[ooohhhh, pretty]

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[my hand made card holder from last year!]

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[my hand made snow globes, holly, and silver mercury votive holders]

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[ho ho ho, welcome in!]

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[i love fresh pine!]

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[tree topping!  uh, this year, i was in no condition to be carried or picked up by hc to put the star on the tree!]

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[oh, christmas tree!  how pretty!!!!]

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[the delicious meal hc whipped up after a hard day of decorating!  love him!]

i love decorating for the holidays!  it’s been a joy of mine since i was a child.  decking the halls so gets me in the festive mood!  it’s so pretty, fun, and brings back so many fond memories of holidays past.

i still have a bit of final touches to do but overall, i’m feeling the holiday spirit!

happy holidays everyone!

xoxo