flashback friday

today takes us back to november 2009.

here we are, at a party, having a grand ‘ol time together.

i met matt years ago, probably around ten years ago? when we first met {on a project together}, matt thought i was some ‘kid’ running around, who had a big mouth and a bossy attitude! ha…not far from the truth! we got to know each other a lot better a year or so after our initial meeting. since then, he’s become one of my besties. i love him for his smarty mouth, intelligence, humor, kindness, and all the politically incorrect statements that he makes! very recently, matt and johann got married and we were very blessed to be a part of their joyous day!

we met ande, from our love of shopping at c.o. bigelow. matt and i would trek ourselves over to the store several times a month to peruse the product and pick up a load of skincare, haircare, amongst other smelly good items. through this, we befriended ande and eventually became very close with her {i think we have known her for about 6-7 years?}. i love ande for her quirky nature, her positive attitude, her zest for life, her kindness, creativity, and humor.

so, when we can, we love getting together for lunches or dinners, whatever we can coordinate. when we get together, it is just a gab fest! all three of us are such talkers and we run all of our conversations together. sometimes we talk so much, we never finish a story or a topic we want to discuss! we go off on so many tangents, it’s bananas!

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anyhoozle, i love these two. such fantastic, great friends! i love it when i get my time in with them. those moments are always full of laughter and fun!

here’s to great friendships! happy friday y’all!

xoxo

happy nine months!

happy nine months olive!

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[photos taken on 9.27]

weight: 18lbs 6 oz

height: 27 3/4″

oh baby olive, you are at a month, pre-having a baby, where i thought this was the cutest month a baby could be! you get cuter and cuter each month! we are enjoying every moment with you…it’s one new thing to another we look forward to!

she will no longer sit still {leading into the next paragraph}, so trying to catch a good pic of her is so difficult! and that hair!!! i had the hardest time taming her do…she woke up with the crazy hairstyle, so crazy hair pics is what I got! too sweet.

you are on the move! a mover and a shaker, you are! you crawl with speed and curiosity. you are so adorable and troublesome at the same time! oy. i love watching you explore. you crawl around the house with a sly look. you coyly smile and pucker those lips with mischievous eyes as you peek from room to room. you pull yourself up on the furniture with such pride and you gleefully pull everything off the table with a smirk! it’s such a game! once you have pulled everything off one table, you smoothly and gingerly move your little footsies, one baby step at at time, and scoot over to the next table to do the same. you are on your way to trouble!

i love that you shake your head when i say “shake your head!”. i love it when you hear the song, ‘if you’re happy and you know it clap your hands’ and you clap your hands! i love that when i say “goodbye” you wave your hand! i love it when someone says cheese, you scrunch your face. i love it when i say “high five”, you put your hand in the air and don’t leave me hangin’!

you have become so snuggly. in the mornings, after your breakfast, you love to lie around and snuggle. you love hugs, you love back scratches, and you love to put your head in my lap and lay there {as long as i am rubbing your back!}. you like to sit on the couch with us, when you get tired, and relax by our side. oh it’s soooo adorbs. i love being cheek to cheek with you and having you wrapped up in my arms. i am cherishing these sweet, tender moments with you. ’cause i know these precious moments won’t last long!

holy moley…your first tooth has come in! your bottom left incisor! oh, you were a grumpy one {and still will be…we gotta a lot of teeth to go!}, you were fussy going to bed. fussy getting up. fussy overall. i felt so bad for my little girl, there is only so much i can do to relieve your sore gums 🙁 all i could do was console my teary eyed babes. at first we didn’t know what was wrong with your fussy bedtimes {and random moments} but once i ran my finger over those gums…i felt your little tooth right at the surface! and it all made sense!

food is your best friend. you love to eat. you eat solids three times a day and gobble down every meal. you are still nursing six times a day as well! you love chicken, onions, spinach, peas, carrots, apples, mango, and so forth. there isn’t a food you don’t consume. we are now at a point where you eat cereal puffs and cut up pieces of soft, squishy fruit. it’s so fun and lovely to watch you pick up your foods and feed yourself {and it’s a total mess too!}.

sleep is still great. you go down at your usual time, 9pm ish, and wake up at 6,7, or lately, 8am! you sometimes cry out at night for a few seconds {or a few minutes…bad dream??} but you always go back into a slumber. in the mornings, you sometimes wake up and babble, or you let us know right away to come get you by shrieking! i love walking into your room in the morning, it’s the most adorable moment…you have the craziest bed hair and i love greeting you with “good morning”s! i get the biggest smiles and hugs!

i can’t believe you are nine months old! it’s been such a fun ride already. you are so sweet, fickle, smiley, lovey, coy, curious, and beautiful. we love you to bits and can’t wait to see what the next month hold for us!

xoxo

dana day

dana and i are finally rolling along in seeing each other. we planned a date together and decided to go to 2sparrows in lincoln park for brunch. we were all gung ho on trying something new. dana suggested our old stomping ground in wrigleyville but we both wanted to eat somewhere new. so i mentioned 2sparrows. we were game.

today was the first day, since olive appeared, i actually didn’t have her {besides the day we moved in and my parents took her for a few hours while i cleaned our dirty fridge & one night for my sister’s bday}. so, it was a different routine for me.

i was on my way to chicago {oh rain, how it annoys me when you come down, how awfully slow people drive} and it took me a bit longer than usual speed to get to my destination. on my way there, dana was already in the area {buying treats for rosie}, she was on her way to the restaurant to grab us a table. she then text me that the place was closed! it was under construction! whaaaa? so annoying! it was only closed for the next few days. can you believe we were all about trying a new place and, of course, it was closed?!

so, there ya go. we went back to our old stomping ground. southport grocery. don’t get me wrong. we love that place but we always go there, we really wanted to try something new, but i think it was a sign that we needed to not leave our favorite place.

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[artwork for sale]

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[mimosa]

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[decisions, decisions, decisions]

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so, we ordered the usual and dana caught me up with all her latest happenings. she just came back from israel {a jnfuture trip to support and sustain better living for jews}, she spent the entire weekend at lolla, and all the extra life stuff i need her to fill me in on!

we can sit there and talk and talk and eat and eat and before you know it, our plates are empty. that could be a problem. i was soooo full! my stomach hurt, yeahhh, like unpleasantly full! but it was so good going down!

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[the southern…kicked my ass]

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[dana’s usual: hash with ketchup and hot sauce]

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[grocery shelves]

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[i fell in love with this packaging]

after brunch, dana bought some of their famous vanilla cupcakes to go {for her and her guy} and we went shopping. we hit anthro, francesca’s, and paper source. some of our favorite shops. i try so hard to refrain from buying stuff for myself…actually, i get so much more joy buying cute stuff for olive than anything for myself right now! so, it’s what empowers me to channel my moolah elsewhere. 🙂

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[anthropologie shopping]

after chillin’ for a bit, we called it an afternoon. i headed on my way home to pick up my little babes at the p’s. it was, as usual, a lovely brunch and time spent with my dear dana. muwah!

xoxo

double whammy

we were looking forward to getting a visit from the werner’s and the smith’s!

hc decided to slow cook pork for dinner. he said it was a bold move since he had invited his two friends who were bbq connoisseurs. chaz stems from kansas city {bbq capital!} and dave is an official bbq judge {as well as hc}. so, slow cooking some pulled pork was of high importance!

the werner’s were the first to arrive, of course hc gave them the official tour. about an hour later, the smith’s came by and hc did it all over again. oh, don’t get me wrong…he loves it!

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[checking out the house]

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so, hc has known dave since they were kids {28 years of friendship!}. they became friends through their church. dave was one of our groomsmen in our wedding! carrie and dave were college sweethearts, got married, three girls and a dog later, they now live up north.

hc met chaz through his former company, arrowstream. they have maintained a close friendship for years. chaz was one of our ushers in our wedding! chaz and courtney are college sweethearts as well! three kids later, they now live a bit southwest of us.

chaz and court brought their nephew {from kansas city}, bradner, to our house as well. what a sweet, sweet guy! he was so polite and well mannered…and so smart! he is starting his second year at darmouth! he was a joy to talk to…i found out he is fluent in french and is currently studying spanish. we loved having him over!

via tandeminlove.com[dana, carrie, maggie, courtney, lexi, cameron, me, and olive]

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[with his bestie dave]

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we chitchatted, the kids played in the backyard, there were plenty of libations being distributed, and lots of connecting about current life happenings. we finally plated our dinner…i was super stoked to pile a delicious feast onto my plate. hc’s signature vegetables and pulled pork were a hit! we sat down and had a very relaxing dinner all together.

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[pulled pork, sauteed cauliflower & brussel sprouts, and coleslaw]

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[dana, lexi, dominick, and maggie]

after our meal, we all scattered a bit to do our thing. i cleaned up the kitchen and the boys went outside, the moms doted and checked up on the kids, and we then assembled outside on our patio {um, actual patio furniture will be next year 🙂 after chilling for a bit, it was time for dessert! yum. hc had bought the decadent tres leches cake from our local grocery store. it’s so stinkin’ perfect.

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[the gang]

once we wrapped up dessert, i then needed to feed miss olive her solids. i started to feed the little one when maggie sat down next to us. i asked her if she wanted to feed miss o and she was all for it, she was very excited! she did such a great job with o…she made funs sounds, cleaned her lips after each spoonful, and entertained her while she fed her!

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[maggie doing a great job feeding olive]

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[soooo, dave and rich stood on the hearth so they could be as tall as chaz]

we continued the fun throughout the evening but alas, they had to go due to having the little ones with them {darn that early bedtime??}. we were so happy to have had them over. it was truly a great night. there are never enough of these types of moments. hc and i are so blessed to have such amazing friends. we are so thankful for so many wonderful people in our lives like the werner’s and the smith’s.

xoxo

bennett’s 5th bday!

my sisters and i teamed up together and threw b his fifth birthday party!

wow, i can’t believe it’s been five years since this little guy was born into this world to brighten our lives! my how time flies! b is so sweet and playful and thoughtful. i love his curious questions and backward hugs. we couldn’t wait to celebrate his special day!

kim and thuy had been planning it for some time. they accumulated party paraphernalia throughout the month and slowly came up with some really cute party ideas. b wanted a construction party and, boy, did he get one!

the day before the party, kim, thuy, and i got together to prep and plan for the fete. we organized, fluffed, stickered, and unwrapped everything. there was so much to get done! we worked into the wee hours of the night to prep as much as we could.

the next day was game time. everyone worked really hard to put the party space together. hc set up all the tables, kim and thuy worked on the decor. terry picked up the food. slowly but surely, the party came together and it all looked so stinkin’ cute!

before the guests arrived…hc and i wanted to present little b with one of his birthday presents. hc worked really hard on it and we were really excited to give it to bennett! hc pulled it out to the backyard and we had b walk out to it. it was a success! he loved it! his own little wooden dump truck…so cool. hc is the greatest uncle evah!

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[the boys in their matching shirts]

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[the birthday day boy going out to see his surprise gift from uncle rich]

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[his handmade dump truck from uncle rich!]

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[birthday boy and uncle rich]

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[centerpiece]

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[the p’s and the hostess with the mostess]

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[home depot aprons/favor ‘bags’]

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[yellow and black poms]

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[truck piñata]

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[favor table]

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[favors]

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[the boys and the truck]

it was party time and the guests started to arrive. there were plenty of libations for everyone and little popcorn snacks to munch on. as the guests strolled in, if hc could, he would grab them for a house tour!

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[auntie lynne and cousin patrick]

we had craft tables for the kids. where they could draw, color, and build structures with popsicle sticks. it was quite a hit with the creative little ones.

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[the craft and arts table]

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[grace being the best cousin ever and pushing b around in the truck!]

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[jana, sonny, angel, tricia, thuy, and olive]

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[me and my awesome brother dan]

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[avery and lan]

the first game of the party…pin the flag on the construction bennett! the kids excitedly lined up, we blind folded them one at a time, and they gingerly walked towards the poster to pin their flag! it was so amusing to watch them, they tried so hard and i know some of them were peeking out from under that kerchief! ha!

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[pin the flag on the construction bennett]

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after some games {there were hula hoops, golfing, and crafting going on}, we went inside to prep the food for everyone. kim and terry ordered from uncle bub’s {pulled pork, coleslaw, and mac n cheese} and my mom whipped up some of her specialty dishes {a vegetable noodle dish and egg rolls}, we cooked up some hot dogs for the kiddies and we were set to go!

everyone slowly made their way in to grab some grub. we all sat down outside {a warm but humid day} and enjoyed our meals.

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[manger!]

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[auntie thuy and olive]

after eating, we decided to take down the piñata! the kids got so jubilant when we called it out. they lined up and one by one, were blind folded, spun around, and wildly aimed and swung at the piñata. oh these kiddies! no one was making a true dent on that poor truck. so, they all took turns again and finally the piñata busted down! the kids dove for the candy! it was so funny to watch, they filled their little home depot aprons up with their treasures.

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[piñata time!]

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[it took many tries but the piñata finally broke!]

i went inside to serve the birthday cake! i had fashioned it with a bunting, dump truck, and ‘dirt” {kim’s idea find!}, we lit his candle and presented him with the decadent concoction. we sang happy birthday and served the delicious cake…we also had lan’s amazing paintbrush rice krispy treats and lynne’s yummy m&m cookies, sooooo good!

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[party napkins]

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[rice krispy paint brushes by lan!!!]

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[chocolate dump truck birthday cake!]

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[love, love the cake!]

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[jana and gary’s adorb kids]

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[helen and baby olive]

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[happy 5th birthday bennett!]

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[singing happy birthday!]

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[reagan and sam]

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[sisters]

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[the boys being silly!]

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[gabrielle and helen]

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[kevin and lisa]

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[my two loves]

the party started to wind down and people were slowly trickling out. as the night enveloped us, bennett wanted some of his favorite songs to be played, one of them being gangnan style. i was inside cleaning up when i walked out back to the dance party! it was hilarious! grace and i became the back up dancers while bennett danced and lip-synced to the words. it was toooo cute and fun!

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[bennett dancing to gangnam style with his back up dancers…lol]

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[the party winding down in our living room…p.j’s were on! well, at least on olive]

after i quickly cleaned up the place {i’m quite the quick professional cleaner}, i bathed olive and got her ready for bed. the guests were gone and our family lingered behind. the cousins all gathered in the living room to relax with their favor loot and hang out together.

it was quite the successful evening. a fun, cool party, awesome decor, tasty food & drinks, amazing friends and family, and some really good, fun memories created! we throughly enjoyed hosting the party, it was a spectacular time!

xoxo

movies on the green II

we did it again! this time with the legos movie. annndddd it was actually bennett’s birthday!

we gathered on the green to hang out, ‘watch’ the movie, and eat some food. kim’s friend, helen, came along with her family…gabrielle, sam, and her husband mike! so it was a picnic party in full swing!

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[my chunker]

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[tete a la tete]

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[mimicking]

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[awww, so cute]

hc ran to macy’s and picked us up some grub. it was actually quite delicious. he had picked out salmon, mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans, and carrots. i wolfed my meal down…i was so hungry! we were chatting it up, we ate, and we all played with miss olive while we hung out. helen was loving olive! i must say…she is quite the doll! gosh, i love her too! 😉

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[a really good meal from macy’s]

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[she wears short shorts]

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[feeding miss olive some fruit]

since it was bennett’s birthday, i had purchased cupcakes so we could celebrate!  i brought plates, flatware, napkins, and a candle. yes, i was going to light a fire right on the grass. hey, it was his birthday, and birthday cupcakes and the birthday boy deserved a lit candle!

bennett picked out his cupcake {chocolate}, i lit the candle and he made a wish! perfect! i passed out the cupcakes and plates…they were a success {yum, yum}. perfectly sweet and delicious. we devoured our cakes and continued to have a swell time together.

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[happy birthday bennett! make a wish]

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after the cupcakes, the kids and boys ran amuck within the mall. the kids wanted to play at the fountain and go to the microsoft store, while the boys went into the tesla dealership. oh boy…hc came back with a plethora of information around the cars…he droned on and on about it but it was actually quite interesting and informative learning about these cars!

once the movie was over, we gathered our belongings and headed home. it was another wonderful night with movies on the green and celebrating mr. bennett’s birthday! yay!

xoxo

flashback friday

today takes us back to september 2009.

olivia, dana, and i met up in bucktown to have brunch. we decided to meet up at jane’s, a comfort food type restaurant. it was a lovely day and we optioned to lunch alfresco.

after eating, we walked around in bucktown to check out all the shops. we lingered around some stores, tried on some merchandise, and perused a lot of stuff. as we were strolling the streets of the city, we passed by a dairy queen {boo, it’s no longer there}. anytime we ever see a dairy queen, we have to go! so, we stopped in to order some ice cream!

we had a ton of fun inside. we took a whole bunch of silly pictures…i’m sure the staff in there were rolling their eyes at us but we were having too much fun! we snapped a bunch of photos and walked out with some yummy treats. there’s nothing better than that {okayyy, there are but i had to say it}. silly photos + ice cream = an awesome time.

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us gals have such a great time when we are together! always building such good memories whenever we meet up. cheers to great friends and friendships!

happy friday y’all!

xoxo

july snapshots

july…oh the fourth and then some more july. it was a month filled with warm weather {yesssss}, lots o visitors, and much needed progress on the house.

we had a great time celebrating our country’s birthday, olive, our house, each other, our friends, family, and many fun events this past month of july. it was the peak of our summer and it was filled with many delightful things…now just fond memories for us. *sigh*

oh, summer…slow yer roll. i’ve been loving you too much to see go in the next few months. we would like to see you stay for quite awhile…maybe rub shoulders with fall for a long time. that would be nice. yes, please.

anyhoo, here are some fun moments from this past month! many of olive {duh!} but she’s most important!

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[smoking]

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[summer festival]

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[pouty face]

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[hmmmm]

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[attack of the killer cherry]

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[hanging out by the river]

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[she definitely didn’t love this swing]

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[happy baby]

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[the chunker playing with her sister]

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[super smiley]

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[my uncle khai’s book]

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[reagan feeding a hungry olive]

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[horsey ride]

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[picnic!]

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[groovy hair]

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[fancy cardboard hat]

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[she manages to smile while eating a bottle]

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[olive and daddy snacking together]

there ya go! a rewind of july, our wonderful, beautiful, sunny july. we miss you already.

hey, august…i have a feeling you’re going to be just as awesome!

xoxo

olive’s 8 month loves

month eight.

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mini boden bee dress // etsy flower hair pins // apple tv remote // b alphabet abacus // baby genius nursery rhymes // beadee baby necklace

i have mentioned this before. i love mini boden! the clothes are so cute, whimsical, and sweet. i love this little bee outfit. they are all well made garments and seriously come in the cutest prints evah. olive’s easter outfit was mini boden {so stinkin’ cute}, and her current swim suit is as well {and it’s on sale}! the line of clothing is amaze and fun. definitely worth having a few pieces in the closet for the babes.

i just purchased a whole bunch of these hair pins from this etsy seller. like baby shoes, baby hair pins can get lost in a nano second. or i tend to lose them in a black hole at my parent’s house! but let’s be real here, i can never have too many hair pins, hair bows, or headbands for miss olive. the more the merrier and the more to match her outfits! woot. woot.

olive’s current love? the apple tv remote. yessss. she actually ruined our apple remote by getting her drool all over the remote and it totally malfunctioned. hc tried to fix it but that was a no go. so, we actually bought a new one and gave the old one to miss olive to play with. she loves her ‘new’ toy. she grabs for it like she shouldn’t have it {little does she know!}. hehehe.

the alphabet abacus was a gift from my friend dawn. when olive received this, she loved it! she would spin the blocks round and round and giggle. soooo, {warning will robinson} this toy is technically 18 months and up…it does tip over, so i definitely recommend being right next to your babes if she/he is playing with it! anyhoozle, regardless, olive does have a fantastic time spinning the blocks, looking at the colors, and nibbling on the wood.

okaaaayyyy, baby genius nursery rhymes is da bomb. o loooooves it. she is mesmerized by the colors, scenery, cartoons, and kids in this show! she loves watching it and absolutely loves the music. hc and i can turn on the program and olive is sucked in. it’s perfect for us when we need to keep her preoccupied! ha! but really, we love singing along to the songs to entertain her and it keeps little miss olive smiling non-stop!

 i was on the look out for baby jewelry. i was first introduced to it when my dear friend rebecca sent us the cutest gift box of goodies from a little bundle. inside the box, it had a silicone bracelet for moms to wear and their babes can gnaw on it safely. i love wearing accessories but now little o loves to chew on it all and i’d rather not have her stick random metals inside her mouth! so i found this etsy seller who had some very cool necklaces. i did research quite a few but i kept coming back to this one for it’s shape, color, and style. i loved all three combos and was sold. now, when i wear this necklace, it’s fun and colorful and super safe for my baby to chew on!

xoxo

beadee baby

i have noticed that when i wear any necklaces, miss olive will always go after it. she will want to play with it, chew on it, and drool on it. i had heard about jewelry out in the market, made for momma and the baby, that blended in fashion and function. which any mom could use or need, right?!

i researched a few brands out there and kept coming back to this. it’s an etsy seller called beadee baby. i know it’s a little on the pricey side, i did find a few sellers that were less expensive but i loved the aesthetics of this necklace. the make, the shape of the beads, the color totally drew me in. i would and could find other necklaces but i kept coming back to this one.

so, i was quite excited when the package arrived in the mail {woo hoo!}. i tore it open and was delighted with the product inside! i immediately put it on just to test run it. hc was intrigued by it, the shape, the colors, and the idea too!

olive loves playing with it! she always reaches for it and gnaws on the fun, colorful beads.

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i now love throwing this necklace on with any outfit. it’s the perfect length, i love that the colors go with any outfit, and i love that olive can play with it without me worrying about anything! it was definitely a great find and worth it.

i love finding fun things like this for little miss olive!

xoxo