olivia and aaron stopped by to 1. aaron hasn’t seen our house yet 2. to check out the updates we have made 3. and to see each other…it’s been awhile!
we were excited to have them over. they arrived in the early evening. when they got here, we took them on the tour {although olivia has been through it already}. they also brought their dog, bruce…he’s such a cutie! we started outside, of course, hc had to show off the garages to aaron first! we wrapped up the tour inside and we were ready to eat! i was so hungry!
[lol…olive is so skeptical]
[me and bruce]
[bruce doing his business]
[olive was loving olivia]
[getting the tour]
[best friends]
hc and i decided to keep it low key, since we had a lot going on, so we ordered in for dinner. chinese anyone?! yum. soooo healthy 😉
we hung out, caught up, olivia became olive’s best friend, and bruce was the curious dog. i loved that olive was loving olivia. they played together all night. she’s getting a little better and better with others…hopefully i’m not typing this out too early 😉
we are super happy olivia and aaron are back in chicago. they moved to florida for a year {last year} but missed us all too much 😉 and had to come back.
[dinner]
[my girl!]
[bruce relaxing]
[playing together]
[having fun]
[holding the kids]
[bromance]
i love these two. it was great having them over. we had a lovely evening hanging out with them and bruce! thanks for stopping by, we will be by your new place in chicago soon!
here we are at ra sushi in yorktown. kim is pregnant with bennett! we all met together to go out to dinner because huy was in town from l.a. as usual, we ordered waaayyy too much food while we were here. i guess you can’t avoid it when there are so many people in the fam. everyone has a taste for something different, each, but we do love trying different flavors when eating out.
gosh, it makes me think about how hc and i haven’t eaten sushi since we have moved to the burbs!! i love sushi. one of my favorite foods to eat {i missed it soooooo much during the pregnancy!}. we had a favorite, favorite restaurant in the city called coast. oooohhhhh, it is the best! it is in bucktown, it was a few minutes away from where we use to live, so it was easy to go there whenever! i do miss it very much. we don’t know of any great sushi restaurants out here, so suggestions are welcomed!
i love this family pic of us, although it’s not including everyone {my parents and terry are actually there and i don’t know why they aren’t in the pic}, it is still a fun photo. i’m such a picture nut…i love to photo everything, anytime, anywhere. there is never a ‘right’ time…just snap away and capture the moment!
anyhoo, it’s pretty rare to have huy come into town, so it’s always a reason to to go out and celebrate. cheers to family!
the past couple days off i have had, i was prepared with the idea of me and olive spending it together. but we have been blessed and surprised with hc’s presence the last few times! that really makes us happy!
this morning, hc came back to bed and announced he was spending the day at home, he wanted to spend it with his family 🙂 i love having days off together. it’s so rare since our schedules are so opposite! olive woke up and we played with the little one in our bed for awhile. i then got ready, hc made coffee, and we relaxed. we did our usual morning routine. olive wakes, olive feeds, olive plays, and then olive naps for an hour or two. once olive awoke, we headed out to enjoy our beautiful day.
we chose to go to 2toots restaurant, in downtown glen ellyn. it’s a fun kid’s restaurant that serves your food on a train! so cool. we parked and walked our way to the place. it’s a kitschy little place with lots of adults and lots of kids. actually more kids than adults. we got a highchair for miss o {yeahhhh, i wiped that thing down good} and perused the menu.
[2toots train whistle grill]
[don’t mind her teenage mutant ninja turtle tattoo on her arm…courtesy of cousin reagan]
i ordered the grilled cheese and hc ordered a burger. we played with olive, enjoyed our surroundings, and talked about our lives together. we are a good happy bunch. i love my hubby charming and i love my baby girl. life is really good.
[here comes the food!]
[yummy grilled cheese and fries]
[cheeseburga]
[sophie and pie hanging out]
[vintage posters]
after our lunch date, i wanted to check out a store we drove by, on our way there. we didn’t have much time because, although hc took the day off, he still had to jump on some conference calls that day. of course, what caught my eye as we were driving through was a paper store! i love all things paper!
we walked from the restaurant to the paper store, papier girl. it was sunny out so we put olive’s sunglasses on. oh my goodness. she looked soooo stinkin’ cute! oh, i couldn’t get enough of her in these sunglasses. and the little diva was working it!
[such a funny lady, she’s working it!]
[such a ham]
once we got to the paper store, i browsed around for a bit and hc decided to sit outside on the bench with olive to watch for ‘chicks’. lol. i snapped the cutest pic of them through the store window!!!! i finally decided on some purchases {hc signed for me to hurry up!} and we went on our way home.
[daddy and olive waiting outside for mommy]
oh what a glorious day! we were sooo happy to have spent the morning and afternoon with hc. i love summer! and i love summer days off even more with my two favorite peeps!
she came to chicago to run a race and we planned on a date to meet up. we texted back and forth on a place to eat, where to hang, and what time we were going to get together. we finally settled on a day!
neidre decided for all of us to meet at cumin, an indian restaurant in wicker park. perfect! first off, it’s our old hood {sigh} and we actually had never eaten here, living there for years. so we were excited to try it out.
we got there in a snap, found an amazing parking spot, and strolled our way to the restaurant. there was quite a wait, so we sat at the bar and ordered drinks. i got this mango concoction that was delish!! it was a perfect blend of sweetness and not too overpowering with the alcohol taste. the type of libation that can get you in trouble!
[i miss the city!]
[cheers!]
we sipped our cocktails and waited for neidre and friends to arrive. after ten minutes or so, neidre and liwani showed up! we were so happy to see them. neidre lives in florida and we were fortunate to be able to see her this past holiday in march! so, the fact that she was in chicago, there was no way we were going to miss her!
neidre also invited her friend jim, he arrive shortly after them and the party really began! we engrossed ourselves in some amazing conversations, tasty bites, and cocktails.
[me and my lady neidre]
[neidre and jim]
i ordered some apps for us {i love hanging out with a group of peeps who have no limitations on tastes, spice, or flavors!!!} and then we all decided on our entrees and placed our order. the service there was fantastic…the entire staff was so accommodating, friendly, and attentive. i love mom and pop type of places, it encompasses all good things when it comes to service, food, and ambiance.
[appetizers: chicken momo and chicken chilli]
[liwani and neidre]
[vegetable tandoori]
[garlic naan]
we ate, drank, and truly, truly enjoyed the company around us. we shut the place down! we were the last to leave and leave we did not want! we headed outside {the temperature and weather were perfect} and proceeded to walk the streets of wicker park.
hc and i arrived at our car and we said our goodbyes. we had to get home to relieve the babysitter {our fabulous neighbor, sarah}.
[we love you neidre!]
on our way back home, we sidetracked to our old apartment and said hello to our old neighbors there! it was fantastic to see matt, maggie, jeremy, his wife, and our former second floor neighbor, stacey! they invited us upstairs to check out our old apartment. that was pretty cool to see. after a half hour or so, we went on our merry way. this time to really get home to let the babysitter go!
it was a whole combination of delightful things this evening. seeing our great friend neidre, meeting new friends, connecting with our old city neighbors, and sarah having a great first time babysitting little miss olive!
my uncle khai came to visit this past week!! i was so excited to see him. it was a surprise to me, i knew they were traveling around the area but i didn’t know they were stopping by. i love my uncle khai, i have very fond memories as a kid with him.
my most favorite? when we were living in lisle {in our townhouse} and uncle khai was visiting and we were in the dining room, playing funky town on a 45. yesssss, on a 45. for those of you who are ‘older’, ya know what a 45 is! we were boogying to some great tunes and having fun together.
we wanted to order pizza but i wouldn’t let uncle drive…i told him he wasn’t old enough or able to {um, i literally was a child & yes, he was old enough to!}. it’s funny how we think as kids {not making sense at times!} and i clearly remember thinking what i was saying was right! i was steadfast in my stance. the pizza place {little caesar’s} was up the street, only a few minutes away. so, i made uncle khai walk with me. we walked up the street {maple ave}, waited in the front the of the pizza place, got our order, and walked home to enjoy our dinner with my sisters!
[it’s great seeing a picture of us together…our facial structures are so similar!]
this time around, uncle khai came with his husband, don {partners for 26 years!!!}, and their friend chow {from bejing!}. they were driving cross country, visiting major landmarks around the states. they popped by chicago {don had several conventions downtown for the week} and stayed up at my parent’s house for the week. we were able to visit with them several times during their stay {hello…my parent’s are a minute away!} and catch up. i love them! they are such a great couple and i love talking with them.
these are moments i wish i would have spent more time learning sign language. it would be a lot easier to communicate with khai and don. you can only talk very loudly to a certain extent and have them read lips so much! communication does get lost but fortunately they have acclimated to us better than we have to them, being deaf.
[uncle khai and olive pouting together, don’t mind her double hair flowers. courtesy of auntie kim]
did i mention i love my uncle khai? it was absolutely fantastic seeing them and we hope we will see them soon! we have to get ourselves out to cali very soon! to visit my uncles and visit my brother huy!
my sisters and i attended a breast cancer charity event downtown; to raise awareness, raise money, and get a chance to get a fresh mini manicure! we all met at the event, i got there a little bit after them, but nonetheless, i arrived just in time for all the fun!
they were offering mini manicures, complimentary pink signature drinks, and raffles for some great prizes. we sipped our cocktails, socialized, people watched, and had a really goofy time. we were also there with my sister’s friend christine, an awesome lady who’s a ball of fun. she’s such a great gal, super cool and cute. a blast to hang out with!
as we were hanging out, they had hired a dj for the event. as he was talking over the speakers, my sisters and i were like, he sounds soooo familiar! we wondered if it was julian, we obviously recognized his voice but none of us knew what he looked like! we walked over to him and asked if he was julian on the radio from b96?? yessss, he was! he was a riot, we took a whole bunch of photos with him and joked around non stop with the man, having a fabulous time. it was crazy. that was definitely the highlight of the evening…we had a blast hanging out with him!
after the event, my sisters and i grabbed some grub at the restaurant next door {not memorable…as you can see, i can’t even remember what it was called}. it was a great evening with family and a friend 😉 it’s always enjoyable to support a great cause with great entertainment! cancer is no one’s friend and i will do anything to help our fight against it! here’s to finding a cure for cancer!!!
i was super excited to find out that oakbrook was hosting movies on the green! i immediately texted my sisters to let them know about it. we agreed on hitting the event on the first night. engaging in this qualified us to check off another fun activity on our summer list!
oakbrook erected a forty foot screen to host this event every wednesday throughout the month of august. the first wednesday was despicable me 2. i sped home to pick up miss olive from mary’s house {my awesome daycare neighbor!}, i had to change clothes myself, get her solids ready, nurse her, pack the stroller, pack her bag, and speed back to oakbrook to meet up with the fam.
we got there just a tad behind the start time and we excitedly walked over to our little picnic spot. my sisters and nephews were already there, we plopped down and joined the fun. i ran over to starbucks to grab a bite to eat and then fed little miss olive her food. kim so kindly took over the act and fed olive the rest of her broccoli, potato, and chicken puree.
[excited for movies on the green!]
[i looove b’s expression towards olive]
[bennett trying to get olive to clap]
[auntie/godmother kim loving o’s cheeks]
during the movie, thuy and i took the boys to macy’s to get them some froyo. being with them is always fun and goofy! they are kids and they are boys and they are so full of energy!
thuy grabbed us some coffee from starbucks and i ordered the boys some yummy frozen yogurt.
[goofing around]
[getting their froyo]
[bennet’s red white and blue star sprinkles]
[reagan’s twist aka swirl]
we came back to our spot and enjoyed the rest of the movie. it was such a beautiful night. so many people were out enjoying a perfect evening together. it was so great to be part of a fun family event at the center. what a great idea!
[movies on the green]
[show’s over!]
once the movie was over, we trekked our way back to our cars. of course we had to make a pit stop at build a bear! reagan picked out a ninja turtle and bennett could not make up his mind! little o started to get grumpy tired, so we said our goodbyes at the store and headed our way home.
it was a great way to spend our evening. i love hanging out with my family and we are super excited oakbrook is hosting such a fun event this entire month! we can’t wait to for movies on the green next week!
it was olive’s first time on a boat {one of our summer to do’s}!!! we were super excited to head up to dick and jane’s house on a beautiful summer day. there was a chance of rain but we crossed our fingers to hold it off…and it worked!
the morning started off very serene. we woke up to miss olive’s cries, after her feeding she chilled in our bed for a bit. i got up to get ready and hc went out to the grocery store with miss olive to pick up some ingredients for our morning breakfast. once he came home, it was time for another feeding. so while i fed olive, hc ran out to starbucks for our usual coffee.
while olive slept, hc whipped up his famous breakfast burrito. yum! we ate, i cleaned, and we waited. and waited. and waited for miss o to get up. she slept for quite a bit {thank goodness, sometimes her naps are so short!}. once the little one was up, we packed up, and left to head up north.
[my favorite]
[my yummy breakfast burrito by hc]
we made a pit stop at a reclaimed wood shop {all american reclaim} to pick out panels to remodel a room in our house. it was a fairly new business {hidden behind a bunch of shops} and we drove in circles for a bit to find it. we finally did locate it, parked, and checked out what they had to offer inside. it was pretty cool. we looked at several colors of wood and settled on a lovely color. it was a perfect blend of tones we wanted in our room. we were very excited it was a batch that just came in. after the boys decided how much we needed, we paid, and then they helped us load it into our car. we are super excited and can’t wait to start this room!
[shopping for reclaimed wood for a home project!]
we finally arrived at gramma and papa’s house! we meeted and greeted with everyone there {papa, jean, and aunt wendy}. jane was at her bridge session, so she was on her way home. olive and daddy checked out the boat before we went out for a ride. it’s a brand new boat and super clean and nice. we were all so very excited to 1. go for a ride 2. that papa bought a new boat! 3. that is was a beautiful afternoon.
[checking out the new boat!]
[getting ready to be captain!]
after we checked out the new digs, grace and annabelle arrived. this was the first time grace got to hang out with both her sisters! they have been together before but only in passing, so today was a fun, special day!
[gracie with her sisters]
[gearing up to go boating]
[nom nom nom, i love my life jacker {not!}
[annabelle loving olive]
we geared up and everyone got on the boat. olive was not loving her life vest. oh noooo. it was bulky and awkward and she wasn’t comfortable in it unless she was standing up. poor thing, it wasn’t coming off so she had to make do!
we were ready to go! hc was captain for the day and off we went. we cruised along the river for miles. just enjoying the scenery, weather, and water. it was very relaxing and olive was enjoying herself. when we first took off though, she was not happy. she was a bit startled and wasn’t sure what was going on. after a few minutes, she settled in and enjoyed the wind blowing through her mane.
[going fast on the river, the wind blowing through her hair!]
[loving life]
[gramma loving olive]
we cruised serenely for miles, it was terrific. the boat was awesome and there weren’t a lot of folks on the river so it was rather calm. when we got on the boat, everyone said olive would fall asleep, all babies do! so we waited, and waited, and waited for o to fall asleep. um, not happening!
hc offered to take her {we probably had been cruising for almost an hour}, we were almost home. she sat merrily on hc’s lap {2nd captain!} and enjoyed the ride. then, being just a few minutes away from home, the little bella finally fell asleep!! it was too precious! she sat in her upright position and zonked out! oh, we were so delighted. it was too adorbs of a moment.
[captain of the boat!]
[the captain fell asleep at the wheel!]
we docked the boat and everyone climbed out. hc and i successfully passed olive over and she remained asleep! a miracle. i walked her up the yard and into the house. she was still asleep in my arms but then a few minutes later, she woke up. we hung out at dick and jane’s for only a few more minutes {enough time to feed her} and then left. we needed to get the little bugger home, bathed, and to bed!
we thanked dick and jane for a wonderful afternoon. it was fantastic to take a boat ride along the river on this lovely day.
sometimes i wonder about the world of motherhood. i think about how it was a world i had no clue about. i was on the other side. i didn’t get it. i looked at people with children and wondered, ‘are they really happy?”. i didn’t know. it didn’t seem like joy, the way my friends complained how they never slept. how their lives where no longer theirs. how they never shopped for themselves anymore {what?!} and spent all their money on their kids. they said they never had time to themselves and it was go, go, go until it was bedtime. i mean, how could that possibly be great?!!
i was a bit scared to have kids. it didn’t sound appealing. i loved me time. a. lot. i enjoyed my hour long showers 😉 . i loved taking forever putting on my make up or doing whatever maintenance i need to do. i liked just spending time with hc and not have a care in the world.
the world was my oyster and i was quite happy in it.
then it happened. yes. i got pregnant.
hc and i, obviously, discussed having kids before we were married. i knew it was going to happen but i was afraid. most people fear the unknown, right?!
from the moment i found out i was pregnant…it was nothing but joy. i loved being pregnant. i loved feeling our little baby girl grow inside my belly. i loved feeling her kick and punch and hiccup inside me. but nothing prepared me for the overwhelming joy and love i would feel when she came into our world. wow. seriously, amaze. you just don’t know until you have kids. literally.
i came over to the flip side. i once had a very wise women tell me that she felt sorry for those who chose to not have children, because it is truly a joy and a beautiful blessing. those who choose to not have children will never know the fulfillment. it can never be explained nor can the emotional satisfaction ever be transferred. you can only experience it to know how utterly amazing it is.
i concur. i am amazed by olive. i love her soooooo much. i love everything about her. i love getting up early to see her cute smile and crazy bed hair. i love spending time with her. i love watching her grow. i love spending my energy on her. i love hugging her. i love hearing her heartbeat. i love her giggles. i love my life, my marriage with olive in it. i don’t want the life i had before because it was not as fulfilling as it is now.
i’ll trade in my alone time for olive time anytime! now, hc and i still need our time…our relationship is just as important! don’t get me wrong now, but this is about olive 😉
i could go on and on about the wonders of having children but you will never really know until you have one of your own. before you do, it’s just all words that bounce around at you, words that don’t really resonate with you until you have your own child and then it’s liiiike, ahhhh, now i understand.
we were playing around the other night and olive kept on smiling for the camera! i couldn’t resist. i snapped and snapped photos of my cute little o. i love all her expressions, each photo captures her wonderful personality.
[drooly babes]
[she can be so serious sometimes]
[she loves to blow on her lips]
[i love it when she sucks in her lips…it’s soooo cute]
isn’t she just the cutest?! oooooohhhhh, how i love her to bits. happy olive day!
