hc and i woke up very early one morning and traveled out to the city to support and cheer on our friends matt and michelle, who were participating in a triathlon! i love going to these types of events because it’s inspiring and fun. i love being in the city, i love the crowds, and i love supporting people in their endeavors.
i was glad we were able to catch michelle at the end of her run, we screamed and cheered her on to the finish line. it was awesome and quite thrilling to be in the midst of so much excitement and energy. at the end of the race, i was able to meet michelle’s parents, who traveled in from indiana! they were so sweet.
[after the race // rockin’ my cubs hoodie next to this white sox fan!]
after the race, hc and i parted ways with them and headed to breakfast at my favorite joint – the bongo room.
we were happy to have gotten together with matt and michelle to support them in this wonderful event! they were also married last year {posted here}…we are thankful to know them, they are such a great couple!
we celebrated my dad’s birthday on a beautiful, sunny sunday {common theme of late…i just can’t get enough of the sunshine right now}.
we all met up at pf chang’s, in lombard, for a birthday lunch in honor of our papa. little o was having a good ol’ time in her carseat before she got a little fussy. i had to then pull her out so she can get all nosey and see what was going on around her!
we ordered apps and waited for my parents to show up {um, the guest of honor was late!}. they finally did arrive, along with my lovely o voung. i love my aunt. she’s such a sweet, sweet lady. i was so happy she was there to celebrate with us!
[selfie at the restaurant]
[wearing their favorite hockey team]
[my two loves]
[olive being all melancholy]
after lunch, we invited everyone back to our place for cake and ice-cream! yay! my parents walked my aunt through our new house as i prepped for serving desserts! i purchased two yummy, yummy cakes from whole foods. a decadent carrot cake and a sweet vanilla cake to serve. we topped off each piece with either chocolate or vanilla ice-cream. nom nom.
so i am the worst picture taker ever on this day. i didn’t get to snap a photo of everyone who joined us in my dad’s birthday celebration {ya don’t see kim, terry, my mom, aunt, or thuy} and worst so…i didn’t even snap a pic of my dad! whaaat?!
anyhoo, it was a great day to celebrate my dad’s 77th birthday. happy birthday to the best dad ever.
our friend jaime and sean prematurely had their little baby liam on st. patrick’s day! he was delivered at 30 weeks and he came out a fighter!
j’s shower was prescheduled for that saturday, following the delivery of liam on that monday! so, that was unexpected! her shower was then rescheduled for the end april. it turned out great for me because i couldn’t attend her first original shower date and now i was able to attend the latter.
pampers drove over to our house and we were able to tour her through our new home. after hc did the full walk through and talked in detail about all the changes we were going to make to our place, we finally went on our way to go pick up marina at her house.
then, onto burr ridge we drove. it was such a beautiful day…the sun was shining and the temperature was perfect. it just makes me so happy to have such great weather.
the party was already in full swing. i settled in with olive’s stuff and walked into the mix with my little bebe. oh! she was a hit! everyone just adored her! the only problem?? olive didn’t adore anyone! it was so loud, there were so many people, and all these unfamiliar faces were freaking her out! yikes! olive only wanted to stay in my arms. she would not let anyone hold her! poor babes. she kept crying if anyone got too close to her face. omg. it was comical.
so, there i was…just holding my precious baby making sure she stayed clam. everyone ooh’d and ahh’d over her cheeks, her hair, her outfit, her cuteness. i know, she’s my little girl…she is so flippin’ cute!
[j, rina, preggo pampers, moi and o]
[champagne libations // gifts]
after some mingling…darling hostess with the mostess, amber, offered us some drinks. yes, please. champagne with fresh raspberries…gulp, gulp.
[red velvet cake favors // scratch off cards to win a prize]
the decor/theme was so sweet! i loved all the details of the party! the pastel blue hues, the pretty lanterns, the personalized napkins, the chevron design…definitely my kind of party planning! they also had hired help; so servers came around and offered us savory hor d’oeuvres and sparkling refreshments. we socialized for awhile before lunch, it was great seeing all the familiar faces…gals from high school i don’t get to see often but always have a great time catching up when we do get together!
[drink bar + cuteness]
[i love the animal decor and personalized water bottles]
[how fabulous is this decor?]
[me, amber {hostess with the mostess}, and jaime]
[personalized cocktail napkins]
we were then summoned for lunch, we all chose our seats and then went to grab our food at the buffet table. i was able to connect with some new faces at our table and had an absolutely swell time chatting it up with them! i met lauren’s mom {sister in law’s mum} and amanda {cousin’s wife}, they were such sweet, sweet ladies!
while we were eating, olive was getting cranky…it was around 1 which is her nap time. amber directed me to an empty room, so i fed her upstairs and then put her down for a nap. baby girl was out. i went back downstairs and they had served the delicious looking cake and j was about to open gifts. i bit into my slice of the cake and was in heaven! it was so scrumptious! i could have eaten at least four slices! delish.
[sugar + balloons]
[how amaze is this cake? i loved all the details]
[candy favors]
jaime continued to open up all her wonderful gifts {so many great items} and we yakked it up in the background. after all the present time, we stayed a bit longer to hang out with the crowd. it was honestly a great time and we didn’t want to leave right away! besides that, olive was having herself quite a good nap!
[jaime opening up all her wonderful gifts]
[the most delicious cake ever!]
we finally wrapped it up and i gathered my luggage to get ready to go. i went upstairs to transfer olive from the bed to the carseat, hoping she would stay asleep…unsuccessful! but she was in great spirits! she said goodbye to everyone and off pampers, rina, o, and i went.
what a beautiful shower for baby liam! amber and randi did an amazing job! baby liam is one lucky boy!!
now that i am a new mom, enjoying my first mother’s day with my little olive,…it is such a different perspective. going through this journey has been such a life changing experience in so many wonderful ways. it is a miracle to have brought such a precious life into this world. the love you feel is immeasurable. the joy you feel is out of this world. your protective nature is in overdrive. you never realized a smile could melt your heart in an instant.
you have such great respect for all the moms out there…especially your own. i love my mom so much. i love that she raised five children, working so hard at her job, to give us a better life than hers, growing up.
i remember on those warm summer nights as a little kid, waiting up for her to come home from work. i would watch elvis movies with her while she ate her late night snack. i remember giggling and asking my mom who was cuter…elvis or dad?! my mom would smile, between her bites of white rice, and say elvis!
[my mom in vietnam, pregnant with kim!]
my mom did so much for us, sacrificed a lot to raise her children the best she could. i am so thankful for her and love her so much!
this one takes us back to 2011. this is such a fun, sweet picture of r+ b!
we were celebrating hc’s birthday over at his parent’s house {in crystal lake} and r+ b insisted on celebrating with us as well {with them being in clarendon hills}! hey, a few miles doesn’t stop a family from missing a joyous occasion together!
so, kim pulled out some party hats, bought cake, and we tech connected via facetime and sang happy birthday to hc! it was a success!
the boys were super happy {yay!} and so was hc…he was delighted to be celebrating his birthday cross towns! how special!!! and everyone got cake…score!
this was literally a sweet memory! happy friday y’all! cheers to a fabulous weekend!
everyone who sees olive tells me she must be teething. annddd she might be. i felt her gums the other day and no teeth yet but they could be slicing in. she’s drooling, jamming her fist in her mouth, and gnawing like a crazy baby on anything sophie right now! i love all the products this line offers and the rubber soother is a must right now for little o to chomp her gums on to ease her discomfort! we initially received ours from buybuybaby but they are sold out right now, so i found a site that offers it there!
olive is a bit young right now to really love her thumbie but she is starting to like the softness. she pulls it up against her face and rubs the plush fabric on her skin. we have both the rattle and the thumbie, olive loves them both! the rattle keeps her occupied and the thumbie soothes her.
she absolutely loves her crinkle book! she is so into noises and textures right now. she loves to feel the softness of materials and loves, loves the sound of crinkly plastic. she likes to touch the book and explores each page you show her. she is so very curious.
now the flower clips are more so my love but olive truly doesn’t mind! she is totally fine having little flower clips and headbands on her beautiful head of hair! i love how it totally dresses up a boring outfit and adds total pizazz to her do. i have the flower hair clips {the ones you see olive wearing in previous pictures} from buybuybaby, they aren’t available right now, but found these cute ones from a seller on etsy!
i found this angel dear swaddle at a boutique while we were on vacation in florida. i fell in love with the print. it’s so stinkin’ cute! it’s perfect right now for olive because it’s so large, breathable, and muti-functional for anything. i like to wrap her in it at night, i like to use it as a blanket for her cold tootsies, i like to cover her stroller with it, i like to use it as soft pad for her head. the uses go on and on with this one! i am a fan of the different lines of products they have for this brand.
this last love is all me…i absolutely love this stuffed bunny! it was perfect for easter and it will be a great toy for her year round. it is so darling and unique. a beautiful hand made doll that will be cherished for years. it is on the pricey side but so worth it. i hope olive grows to love this little bunny toy as much as i do!
soooo…i’m finally getting my easter post up! woo. woo.
easter definitely was a whirlwind. being smack dab in the middle of our move, it was a much needed, forced break for us. to make it even more amazing was the fact that it was 70 degrees outside!!! so beautiful! the sunshine was wonderful and always puts me in an even better mood!
we traipsed our way downtown to zed451 to meet up with the fam for a delicious easter brunch {ah, missing the city life already}. it was the immediate famille and terry’s sister, lynne, her son patrick, and their mom barbara who joined us for this fabulous holiday!
[easter basket chaos // first easter bunny rattle from aunt missy]
[ta da! the final products for the kiddos!]
[my little lamb]
[ready to go!]
i really enjoyed the brunch at the restaurant, it was tasty, and very diverse in their selection of foods. their kale salad was amaze {i could have taken the whole plate to our table and eaten only that}. the cinnamon roll was sweet, fresh, and gooey. the offerings of meats were endless {brazilian steak house style}. there were lots and lots of decadent choices of accrouments to nosh on.
i love food. it makes me happy…i dislike being hungry and i will always try something new and different. i am so perplexed by people who are so steadfast in their limited, narrow choices of food. for me, life revolves around eating {savor the flavors of the earth!}, drinking, and family! there should be no limitations on ingredients, just personal exploration to really take it all in and enjoy all of your senses.
[chambray world]
[my little easter bunny]
[awesome cinnamon roll // olive with the boys, she’s staring adoringly at her uncle terry]
[sister love // bloody mary loving]
[thuy and dan]
[kim and olive // mini boden dress and tights]
[the beautiful sunshine]
[drinking beer with daddy]
after a wonderful brunch with the famille, we headed back to our house before we drove that long car ride over to my parent’s {hehe…it’s like a one minute & thirty second drive 😉 so, before we did that, we pit stopped at the home depot {we were surprised that they were open on easter}, our new favorite store, and purchased some house goods. during that field trip, our little sweet olive fell asleep…what doll.
[since we were in the middle of a move, we did a pit stop at the home depot before heading to the p’s. olive decided to nap 🙂 ]
we did an outfit change, when we arrived home, {comfy clothes, here we come} and sped our way to my parent’s house. there we had a wonderful dinner together and the kiddies received their easter baskets.
[reagan and olive]
[gift basket exchange]
[olive’s basket from kim, thuy, r + b]
[her adorbs doll // her cutie outfits]
[how cute?!]
[the aftermath]
the entire day was just wonderful. we had such a great time celebrating easter with our families! blessed be this day of love.
we are beyond excited to be homeowners! it happened on tuesday, april 15, and it was quite the whirlwind week for us. i have been so delayed with blogging due to the fact that we didn’t have wi-fi set up in our house yet {or the fact that we moved and that was crazy in itself!}, so blogging bigger blogs was a no go but we are all set up now! yay!
[a very proud pic of us at our new house! thanks jane for taking the photo!]
[our house status updated on redfin…woo hoo!]
april 15 was not only tax day but also hc’s birthday. we closed on the house that morning, we went to the banks to change our info, hauled a bunch of stuff into the house, had hc’s parents come over to check out the new abode, we drove back to chicago that evening, and continued to pack up our place to get ready for the movers on friday!
[already doing the suburban thing…eating lunch at a mall, we had to grab a quick bite to eat after we closed on the house and before we started our long day!]
i worked on wednesday and hc worked on thursday, taking a day away from us to pack and get organized for the move. we continued to box up our place and take care of little olive in between everything we were doing {huge thank you to jane for totally helping us out!! not only did she help take care of o, she helped us pack too!}. from the moment we closed on the house, hc had been slowly moving our stuff to it every single day. what a start to a crazy week.
[‘last’ time being downtown before we moved]
then friday finally came! the day our movers were coming to transplant the rest of our stuff to our new house! as we were packing, the movers finally showed up {after being a bit delayed} and took one look at our place and decided they could not move us!!! oh em gee. are you kidding me?!
our place was 90% packed up and already moved. no joke. all we had left in the apartment were about 12 boxed up boxes, and stripped furniture {such as our couch, beds, dining room table, a book shelf, dressers, a crib, and my closet. that was it. the company was all my sons moving {don’t use them! awful, awful, awful service…or lack thereof} and they only sent two men {shady looking characters} on a friday afternoon {good friday, mind you! and they had already mixed up our set moving times twice!} to move us. they literally walked out on us! they said there wasn’t enough man power {um, hc was very clear on what was being moved and how many rooms} and they couldn’t get a third guy, so they left us stranded. it was horrible. we couldn’t believe that they left us high and dry. the two shady dudes had someone on the phone from their company and hc got on to speak with him. the man was so boorish! hc argued with their dispatcher and he so rudely called hc a liar about the whole situation and all that was going on! unbelievable!
anyhoo, after some terrible encounters and experiences {and a big complaint to the illinois movers association}, we were connected to bernard movers and they were amazing!! we ended up moving everything on saturday morning. we couldn’t have been happier with the moving company…they were professional, quick, gentle with our stuff, and literally moved our place from the city into our house exactly how it was originally set up {how it should be!}! we were so happy!
[the last night at our place in chicago before we moved out on saturday]
[our house getting a little more homey]
hc is itchin’ to update the interior and eventually the exterior! we are excited to modernize the inside of the house to our taste and style. there is a lot of work ahead of us to get this place to our aesthetics. we can’t wait until the little touch ups are done {painting, trim, new doors, a carpeted basement for the kids, an updated kitchen, etc.} that will really give the house a facelift and freshen it up.
[hc’s most favorite current activity…mowing the lawn and drinking a beer in his brand spanking new john deere lawnmower! thank you to dick and jane for gifting us with this wonderful housewarming present!]
needless to say, we are so excited to have our own house, our own place, our own property, with no neighbors above or below us! i could go on and on about the benefits of having a house but my true love is still the city. i love chicago, i love the craziness of it, the diversity, the convenience of the restaurants and shops…but i am truly happy to have a place to call home sweet home with my beautiful family. ♥
today takes us back to easter 2009 {ahhh, to be almost five years younger would be fantastic, but not less the wiser!}. hc and i had just started dating {five months prior} and kim was pregnant with little bennett. hc and i had just come back from vegas, hence the über tan i got going on {i love me a good tan but totally dislike the aging results…*sigh*}. we all had a lovely morning brunch at bin 36, a place we celebrated past easters at a few years in a row. the tradition still continues for us but at different food locales of choice.
look at us! i feel like we look the same {wishful thinking?} but different. not older but just altered styling {am i trying to say we look dated?}. ya know what i mean?!
i love hanging out with the fam. there’s nothing more comforting, relaxing, fun, and amusing than family itself.
doesn’t little r look so cute in his dapper outfit {what a handsome dude}? cheers to fun family get togethers!
