little miss olive had her first dentist appointment! i was a bit nervous for her check up because she does.not.like.strangers. she doesn’t like anyone she doesn’t know getting too close to her. so i was a bit trepid over it all.
we arrived at the office right on time {whaaaaa?? who me, on time?!}. olive immediately took to the play area while we waited to be called in. we put together a few puzzle pieces on the tiny table and then it was time. we walked all the way down the hallway to the last room. we sat on the chair together while the assistant asked me several questions about olive’s diet and teeth. after the questions, she put on a mask and gloves and that in itself freaked olive out. as the assistant moved closer…it was a total meltdown.
i had to hold olive down and put her head in the assistant’s lap so she could examine her teeth. it was so heartbreaking. olive kept screaming, “no, no, noooo, no, noooo!”. awwwwww, my poor babe. after a minute or so, she was done and gave me some feedback and then went to summon the dentist. she did warn the dentist that olive has ‘some lungs’ on her! hahaha!
dr. albert came in and was so kind and sweet. she was wonderful with olive and very attentive and detailed. she quickly examined olive’s mouth and teeth and shared insights on olive’s teeth situation {she has a few crooked teeth}. it was informative and great to talk with her!
overall, it was a successful visit. olive was a trooper and championed her first visit to the dentist! she walked away with some goodies {sugar free lollipop, floss, and a new toothbrush!}. yay!
[she took to the play area right away!]
[waiting for the dentist!]
[ooohhhhhhh, she was not happy]
it was a great visit overall! we love the place for it’s cool decor, super friendly staff, and sweet dr. albert! here’s to another great visit in six months!
we were excited to have matt and johann over for dinner!
lately, it’s just been me, olive, and matt {brunching}. no husbands included. so, we finally agreed on a time where we all could get together and have some fun.
matt and johann traveled through the thick of traffic one evening and our little party began once they arrived. johann came in with two large jugs of beer and matt was double fisting wine bottles. hahaha! we were practicing for vegas {in a few weeks}. woot woot!
we had prepped apps and the meal for the evening, so we popped open the beer and toasted to our evening. we nibbled on snacks and yapped non-stop. we are quite the talkers when we are together, yes, even hc! mr. shy guy!
[holy jug o beer]
[hawaiian flower print was the print du jour for dinner]
[remnants of appetizers]
[love these two]
we love matt and johann. they are just the best. such great friends and travel buddies. we love hanging out with these two. they are perfect for each other…just like me and hc. seriously. matt is crazy, temperamental, loud {just like me} and johann is calm, sensible, and patient {like hc}, so together, we totally balance each other out! when we hang out, it’s a riot and we love it.
after we imbibed a few libations, hc fired up the grill to start cooking the food and we went outside to hang out for a bit {the evening had cooled off…it was quite warm outside!}. olive, obvs, wanted to swing on the play set and johann joined in on the activities and hit up the slide! hilarious!
once the food was ready, we headed back indoors to eat. it was yummy, fun, and comical. seriously love these two {did i mention that?}. we laughed, gasped, chuckled, discussed, argued, and had the best time. we ate, drank, and reveled in the wonderful evening together. ya know that feeling. when hanging out is just comfy and cool, as it should be.
[olive swinging and johann sliding]
[i love her…and her funny faces]
[chicken kabobs and seasoned rice]
once dinner was consumed and dishes were cleaned up, i served coconut cake and more wine! several hours {and laugh wrinkles} later, it was time to say goodnight {the husbands were tired}. we said our goodbyes and wished them both safe travels home. we were a bit excited with our goodbyes because we knew the next time we would see them would be in vegas! woo hoooooo!
my precious baby girl. she is so amazing. i am in awe over her sweetness every day. the love. the love. the love. it’s almost unbearable.
[20 months and growing]
since her eighteen month appointment, this girl has changed soooooo much.
she now says two word sentences! now that is a feat. she says, “i eat” or “bye, bye. see ya!” or “yes peas”. it’s so flippin’ adorable. i die every time she says something cute like that. i revel in every second of it. i know this is nothing new to anyone who is a parent but to a parent of their first child, it’s soooo novel and exciting and i will gush over every moment with no apologies.
her facial expressions are so distinct. she scrunches her face in disgust. she raises her eyebrows in surprise. she crinkles her nose in question. i love watching her react and seeing her face coincide with her emotions.
she understands exactly what you say. she might not be able to articulate her thoughts completely but i love that she understands what i say. it’s so cool. as soon as the words come out my mouth, she is on foot to do it or go there. i love it.
she has a major opinion. oh yes she does. when she doesn’t want to do something, eat something, or go somewhere, she expresses it. she infamous for throwing herself on the ground or anywhere for that matter. she’ll flip off a chair, she will tumble off a ledge, or she will simply bounce off the ground. if she doesn’t want to do it, she will let you know. when this happens, i usually just stand there and put my arms on my hips and she will get the message that i mean business {it’s usually accompanied with a very stern look and a very stern “olive”}…and hopefully she won’t throw another fit/tantrum. hopefully.
she is definitely intuitive. she can put on her own shoes, correctly. she can pull on her socks. she senses when something is wrong, or when you are sad, happy, or when something doesn’t feel right, she will know. she has always been very careful and cautious since she was a wee one and it has carried on. i love this sensitive, emotional, responsible side of her.
having particles in her shoes, bumps in her socks really bug her. she is so particular. hmmmmm, i wonder where she gets that from?!
man oh man is she neat. she must get that from her daddy! hahaha! she looks at bugs and say yucky. she gets food on her fingers and she says yucky and won’t eat until i wipe her hands or if you give her a wet nap, she’ll do it herself. eep. she puts her toys away. she loves washing her hands. i don’t mind the kiddo getting dirty, playing outside, falling to the ground at the supermarket and licking the floor…she does do all that, but in the end, she’s a bit of a neat/clean/tidy little lady.
this girl is a goofball. she’s so silly. she loves to giggle. she loves to play hide and seek. she loves to sit amongst all the pillow on our bed and laugh. i love her humor, sass, and cuteness. she is a toddler and she loves to play. she will pull out her books and read aloud and i melt. she will run like a crazy little person all around the house and i laugh at her energy. i cherish every moment of her silliness and wild actions. i want her to have fun, be carefree, and be young. this moment is going by too fast already and i want to savor every second.
olive is cuddly and she’s soooo loving! i love this about her. she loves to give kisses and hugs. she will always be in my arms, lean on me, snuggle her head on my neck/shoulder and i die over every moment. i know that these actions will eventually become less and less so i am taking advantage of every time olive wants to kiss, hug, and snuggle. sometimes i want to squeeze her so hard…i can’t get enough of her!
there ya go lovies. olive’s twenty month report card and it’s a+++.
it was a warm, gorgeous day out. this day was a day where we had a chance to run errands, relax, and slow down. it was a perfect weather day for a ride around town in the jeep! we had a whirlwind of the past few days and we wanted to take advantage of this day together to get some things accomplished around the house.
first things first, we needed to fill our empty bellies up with some food. we opted to try a brunch place in downtown dg. we chose this place because they had outdoor seating and it was a great day to eat alfresco. honestly…i don’t even remember the name of the restaurant. i am sure i will cross paths with it again, but today it will go nameless. ha!
after brunch, we headed out to a few stores. we desperately needed to buy tile. we have been in the process of remodeling our hallway and our goal to get it done is in a few weeks. we shopped a few tile stores and haven’t loved anything. so, we finally hit one more destination and hc really liked a style and color there. i trust his judgements and taste and i, actually, didn’t immediately reject it, so we moved forward with his choice.
i’m quick to say no. when we have looked at tile in the past {or anything for that matter}, i innately know whether i like it or not. there’s no hemming and hawing. i’m good like that, at least when it comes down to something personal.
[she’s more interested in the make up brush]
[my cutie and that bruise on her forehead…she tripped and directly hit her head onto my parent’s glass top table. poor babe.]
[brunch time // i didn’t even realize i was so cubbie’d out…i’m more festive, casually throwing things together than i was for cubs family day!]
after we hit a few stores and got things accomplished, we headed back home to do more stuff around the house. oh, the joys of being an adult, being a parent, and being a homeowner. it’s non-stop responsibilities and fun! and yes, it is fun {at times}…haha. depending on the day and the task.
well, one thing i can definitely say with conviction is – i can’t wait until our hallway is dunzo! woo hoo!
oh baby olive. she loves the swing. she loves the swing at her sitter’s, she loves the swing at gramma’s, she loves the swing at home…oh wait, we had no swing for her until now!! woo hoo!
we were so excited to have received this fabulous swing set! it is made out of cedar and has all the components we wanted in a play set. a swing, a slide, a ‘picnic’ table, a sand lot, a ‘fort’, and it scored bonus points with us for it’s aesthetically pleasing color combo. i am very into color, balance, simplicity, and clean lines. this applies to pretty much everything in my life. whether it’s clothes, house decor, or playground sets! haha!
hc would show me set after set after set and i would promptly have an opinion. my eyes would settle on the picture and i would expeditiously say yes or no. it was driving hc a bit crazy but i was adamant on what kind of play set would permanently live in the yard. if it was going to be a fixture out back and i would have to look at it everyday, i wanted one that would aesthetically pleasing!
so lo and behold, we finally {after much arguing} agreed upon a set that we both loved! it arrived and hc was set on building it by himself. and by george, he did an amazing job putting it all together. it stated that the workload would be 14 hours with two people assembling it. hc did it by himself in nine hours!
when he finally finished, we waited for the perfect moment to show olive! we brought her out to the front yard and opened up the gate to have her walk into the backyard…as she took a few steps into the back, her eyes locked onto the play set! it was priceless! her eyes lit up, a sheepish, sweet smile spread across her face, and she started running! she was so happy and excited. i melted. my heart just melted watching her elated reaction. it was such a great moment!
she immediately wanted to go on the swing and there she sat, swinging on the swing set…refusing to get off. it was pretty awesome. olive’s summer was just made.
we are so grateful to dick and jane for their continued support of olive’s happiness, future, and care. many kisses and hugs to two very caring, gracious, awesome people.
oh em gee. grace marie is thirteen! where did the time go? i remembered this wee one when she had just turned 6…now she’s a teenager. eep! when we met she was a quiet {almost mute}, shy, sheepish little girl. now she’s a tall, smart, beautiful {still shy} teen!
hc and i prepped all week to get things ready for the party. hc manicured the lawn, set up the tent, table, and chairs, i gathered the decor, ordered the cake {horse themed – natch}, prepped the menu, and pre-set anything i could. it was going to be a low key, simple event.
the day of the party, all we had to do was set up the food, decor, and drinks. easy! boy, was it hot. thank goodness it wasn’t as hot and humid as it was the day prior but nevertheless, hot! we were lucky with the weather. a l l week long, it was slated to rain right, smack dab in the middle of the party {of course we were having it outdoors} but the night before, i pulled up the weather app and… ahhhhhhhh! no rain! {insert emoji’s}
[crumbs cupcakes]
[her horse birthday cake!]
[her wood letter where guests wrote their birthday wishes for her]
[party tent!]
[gold number and the horse balloon]
[no she’s not 31! the photo booth]
[kettle corn and veggie app’s]
the first guest to arrive was the guest of honor! grace came with her mom, stepdad, and sister anabelle. right after that was gramma jane and papa. soon, everyone slowly trickled in. it was great! i had set up a photo booth and it was so much fun for everyone to goof around with the props. olive was a riot. the first round of pics…olive wasn’t sure what was going on. she saw all the girls grab a prop and pose for pics and she wanted in! she walked over to grace, leaned in, and posed for the pics! it was so sweet and hilarious. i love her! she’s such a doll!
we all hung out, enjoyed some refreshing libations, and socialized to our hearts content. after an hour or so, hc fired up the grill and we started cooking up the food. we had burgers and dogs, pasta salad, potato salad, corn, and fruit on the menu. simple, easy, and light for this hot summer day.
[one of my favorite photos. olive saw the gals get together for a pick and she wandered over, leaned into grace so she could get in the pic. pure sweetness]
[hc, aunt gloria, and jane]
[uncle ed, daniel, and papa]
[jay, pilar, missy, and wendy]
[anabelle so graciously pushing olive in this heat!]
[olive very interested in mila…she doesn’t hang with many kids her age, she was intrigued]
[holly and nolan]
[two mice and a fox]
[kevin, nolan, and holly]
[my other favorite. olive saw the kids getting ready for a photo, she grabbed a mustache stick and actually placed it correctly on her face! love her!]
after everyone had their fair share of comestibles and satisfied their bellies, i cleaned up and prepped the cake. it was such a cute cake! it had a white picket fence, a brown horse, and flowers. a perfect cake for miss grace! we brought it out, sang happy birthday, and she made her wish! parfait.
we cut the cake and served the delicious morsels with a generous side of vanilla bean ice cream. once everyone finished, it was piñata time! i had purchased a taco piñata…everyone was like, a taco?! hells yes. a nod to grace’s mexican heritage. hahahaha! after the piñata shenanigans, it was time to relax {at least for me!}. during parties, i run around and attempt at being a gracious host…once the ‘activities’ are checked off, i can then chill and enjoy myself. hey man, it’s a lot of work to host a party…no matter how big or small!
[happy birthday grace!]
[make a wish grace!]
[grace got the first swing at the piñata…she knocked it straight down aaaaand she even had a blindfold on!]
[every kid got to beat on the poor taco]
[candy!]
after hours and hours of hanging out, slowly everyone trickled out. grace was having the best time with her kiddie guests! they were wild and it was soooo sweet to watch. they were running around, screaming, and laughing. little miss olive just ran around with the big kids and completely enjoyed herself. the kids could have probably played all night long, but alas the parents broke it all up and everyone went on their merry way.
it was a great, great party. we had such a fabulous time hosting everyone! happy 13th birthday to grace marie…may the years ahead be full of laughter, love, and fun. we love you so much!
i remember june. warm days. rain. brunch dates. photo sessions. sweet time with olive. family time. a whole lotta goodness.
some of the highlights: cubs family day. we had such a blast going to that! we love the cubbies. it was fantastic to explore wrigley field and not just experience it from the seats! we were so happy to have attended the gay pride parade in chicago…especially since marriage equality became a federal law! woot! woot! we enjoyed many get together’s with friends and outings with the family. life is good. it’s summer y’all! woo!
june’s weather was interesting. not too warm and at times, too rainy and cool. but honestly, i will take it over the cold. i do love winter but nothing beats summer and the long sunny days. ahhhhhhhh.
of course, there were so many precious moments with olive. she’s so amazing and i enjoy every moment with her. i’m such a sap…i cherish, cherish, cherish every second i have with her. i soak in every hug, kiss, and sweet smile she gives. i savor every word. every look. every quirky action. my heart breaks every time with sadness and happiness because i never, ever want her to not need me. i look into her eyes and hope that she becomes solid, strong, powerful, and finds happiness in life. the love is so overpowering and my purpose in life is so intense with this little one in it. the circle of life is pure awe!
anyhoo, please enjoy our june’s snapshots! muwah!
[she loves crawling into our just made bed…]
[dorito eating babes // i’d like to add that she was under hc’s care at this moment]
it’s been awhile since i have seen ryan. i was super happy when i found out that hc had finally made plans with him to come over…he hasn’t seen our new place!
while we were getting ready, hc walked out to the garage and didn’t come back. i assumed he was walking out to get something and would return within minutes but fifteen plus minutes rolled by. i was confused on what he was doing out there! the front door finally opened and in came hc and ryan! yay! big hugs for cousin ryan!
[can you tell they are cousins?]
it was so good to see him. he is such a great, sweet guy. we wanted a no fuss night, so we ordered pizza for dinner. of course, hc took him on a tour of the whole house, natch. after the tour, it had just stopped raining {oh my, the rain around here has been non-stop}, so hc and ryan took a drive in the jeep to pick up beer and the pizza.
[flirting with ryan. look at her face. curious, interested, and shy]
they came back and we got down to business. ryan was soooooo sweet with olive. like crazy attentive, doting, sweet to her. he was smitten with her from the start. olive, on the other hand, was not. she ran from him, she turned her face away, and would not look him the eye. i say it every time…it takes olive a good 45 minutes to warm up to anyone. once she does, she’s so fun and sweet to anyone but it definitely takes awhile!
ryan played with her. he talked to her. he tried playing peek a boo with her. it took her just a wee bit to finally crack a smile. ryan and olive sat at the dinner table first while we were getting things ready. olive completely turned her head away from him and stared at the wall. ryan was persistent. he joked around with her until she started giggling and from there on…she was smitten. ryan was her best friend!
[olive watching a movie and us folks hanging out]
after some good grub and great conversations, we decided to move the party on over to the living room. i cleaned up the kitchen, gave olive a bath, and we all chilled while olive watched her movie.
it was great hanging out with ryan. he’s is such a wonderful person and besides that, we are family! he actually stayed for quite a bit. the only reason why he decided to leave was because hc fell asleep on the couch. yes. it was past his bedtime. there is my hubby snoring on the couch while his cousin is visiting!
so, we said our goodbyes and ryan drove away. it was quite the lovely evening.
months ago when hc asked me if i wanted to go to the cubs/sox game, my response was “hells yes!”. i love the cubs, i love wrigleyfield, and i love me a baseball game in the middle of july! swell!
the day couldn’t come fast enough but before i knew it, it was game day! i was super excited and couldn’t wait to get there! we drove by aunt wendy’s house to pick up grace and some parking passes for the area. we headed on in to the city, traffic was meh but no matter, we were right on track with our time. we circled around only once before we scored a fabulous parking spot…only two blocks away from wrigley!
we had a few snags on our way in {our tickets wouldn’t scan at the gate} but we were finally inside and it was bustling! we wanted to find our seats first before we bought food…who really wants to walk around looking for their seats with their hands full of food? not moi. well, big mistake. ugh. we were smack dab in the middle of what seemed like the longest row of seats in wrigley! hahaha. we felt bad getting up {and making EVERYONE stand up in their seats} to go get food and drinks. so, we waited until someone next to us stood up to leave and we followed suit. woot!
[how cooooool is this?! our seats happen to be the same numbers as our anniversary!]
[almost there!]
[excited for the game…cubbie sandwich]
[it was a beautiful day!]
[love this mobile band]
[grabbing some grub // we were twinsies!]
[your typical baseball fare]
we settled back into our seats and didn’t leave them again. we were content. the game was pretty amazing. every second of it! the cubs were ahead and we were coasting to the end. one of my most favorite moment of any baseball game? the seventh inning stretch! i looooooove singing along to that song. it’s summer, it’s american, and it’s soooo baseball, america’s favorite pastime!
fast forward to the ninth inning and cubs win! cubs win! woooooo hooooooo! at the very end of the game, they will play the song go cubs go and i love screaming to it. i do apologize to those who were around me. sorry if you get the wrath of my off key singing voice. baahahaha.
[7th inning stretch…take me out to the ballgame!]
[cubs win! cubs win!]
after the game, all my friends there were texting me to hang out {um, half the people i know were at the game that day!}! booooo! we couldn’t because we had grace and that meant no bars for us {hey, grace, do you mind sitting at the front stoop of the bar while your dad and i hang out inside…not}! although, i was a little sad we couldn’t stay afterwards to celebrate the win!
nevertheless, it was a great game {just a smidge over two hours…shortest game ever for me!}! it was a gorgeous, perfect day to watch and cheer on our beloved cubbies!
we set up a lovely brunch date with our dear friend matt. he’s been on a roll lately with suggestions on where we go. typically it’s me coming up with different places to go to but we’ve been exploring the area close to where he lives lately. which is totally fine with me!
this time around, we went to a place called over easy. a simple, small brunch place near lincoln square. it was a beautiful day out and we were actually ‘on time’. which means a leeway of 10 minutes. haha! we met matt outside and we were seated right away {they told matt a few minutes but by the time i walked up, the table was ready}.
matt was catching me up on some major life changes for him! life’s twists and turns sometimes throw you sharp curves and loops along the way but no matter what, we persevere and march on. i do love that about my friends. no matter what challenges they face, they charge on with positivity and solutions. even when it does seem like it’s not the most positive moment, we can see the bigger picture.
olive was being quite shy when we first got there…the usual. after a half hour or so, she started to warm up. she’s been a bit rebellious about the highchair of late. she’s not a fan of sitting in one, she prefers to sit in a big girl chair like her mom; only when i can peel her off my lap to sit in her own chair!
[just terrible lighting, terrible…or just let me think that please]
[eggs over easy! hahaha!]
[stuffing her face, as usual]
[warming up to matt]
after brunch, we headed on over to our favorite stomping ground: starbucks! there, we ordered drinks and just chilled. i loved this part. olive roamed around and matt and i continued to chit chat. it’s nice when olive can entertain herself or feel good that she won’t wander away from me. ’cause all you mamas know that being out and trying to focus on something else besides your kids can be a great task!
[starbucks always]
after several hours of hanging out together, we needed to go. i know olive needed a nap and it was just about the right time for her to knock out. it was a fabulous time with matt, as usual. we greatly enjoyed our brunch date and can’t wait until we meet up again…hopefully next time with our husbands!
