bump update

bump update!

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how far along? 24 weeks!

weight gain: i haven’t had an official weigh in yet. my doctor’s appointment is this week, so i don’t look forward to what it will be. haha! i will update this post once i find out but i am thinking at least 6 pounds. i don’t know why, but i definitely feel ginormous. bleh!

maternity clothes? yup! i finally did it! i dug through my closet and found the random pieces that i have. gosh, it wasn’t easy! i didn’t buy much with olive and i could hardly remember where i put it away. it definitely had no rhyme or reason…that is why it took me so long to muster up the energy to look for them! it was like finding a needle in a haystack but voila! i found my pants and purchased some new tights and other items to accommodate this growing belly. wow! what a difference it makes wearing maternity clothes. i am so.much.more.comfortable.

sleep: well, i am just plain irresponsible. i just don’t get enough sleep. i totally have the opportunity to do so but i don’t. olive goes to bed every night at her usual hour and i have the chance to hop into bed myself but i don’t, nope. i am up trolling instagram, or editing pictures, or writing blog posts, or crafting something. i find myself going to bed waaaayyyyyyy too late every night and waking up at the same time every day. ugh.

physical state: tired. tired. tired. my legs are sooooo tired. i can’t believe how tired i am this second time around. everyone told me i would be and i believed them but i didn’t realize that at the halfway point, i would be this tired. i am on my feet all day, olive always wants to play with her mommy, i don’t get a lot of time to rest, sit down, or relax. i feel like the bottom half of body is going to explode. it’s so swollen! yuck! and it’s not even summer time yet, where i feel like i will really blow up!

i am also bombarded with a major case of baby brain. it’s baaaaaaaaddd. i am klutzy, aloof, forgetful, and way too carefree over random things. i can’t remember such odd things to save my life. just ask my husband. it’s definitely not my normal state right now. eep!

miss anything? i miss having a beer or a glass of wine. i miss moving at a fast pace. i miss being able to put on my tights or paint my toes without gasping for breath or feeling like someone punched me in my stomach because i bent over too far. i miss being able to wear a good portion of my clothes. i miss my pre-pregancy skin. my face looks like it warped back into my teenager years with wrinkles. haha!

baby movement: she’s getting stronger by the week! i love it! i am cherishing every moment, constantly thinking it’s my last. i love every kick, every bump, every twirl this little baby girl is doing inside my belly. it’s the best thing ever and oh so amazing.

food cravings: the cravings have tapered off quite a bit. i have become a bit more routine. i usually eat a raisin bagel or have a cherry yogurt in the morning. i snack before lunch and usually eat a sandwich and have some soup for lunch, snack again, and then eat dinner with hc every night {whatever he whips up}. then like clockwork, i usually eat a small bowl of cereal before bed. yup. just like that.

bump status: big ol’ belly. big. big. big. and feeling heavy already. man, the second time around is really much bigger!

gender reveal: as y’all know, it’s a girl!

xoxo

we do love target

i love my days with olive. the days that are lazy, relaxing, and we don’t have an agenda. these are the best kind of days. we love making trips to target; olive has become so keen on going. it’s too cute!

she loves to visit the target dog every.single.time. she knows exactly where he is and when we are heading in that direction. the funny thing is, she won’t sit on the bench with him. nope. not her jam but she definitely loves to say hello and touch his paws. when i tell her it’s time to go, she says, “bye doggie, bye!”.

we love to walk all the aisles, see what’s new, and definitely buy stuff we don’t need. isn’t that what everyone does when they go to target? you go in for milk and come out with too many things you think you need!

i am so loving olive right now. her personality is shining through and i love how funny, quirky, and comical she is. she completely entertains me! i love watching her and the new and funny things she does and says. her movements just melt my heart!

we frequent target so much that many of the workers know olive and know her by name. we spend way too much time there, it’s just so much fun! especially now, because she loves to play and play and play. that is what takes so long! she will explore, play hide and seek, and go ‘shopping’. she loves to look at everything but so far {’cause mama doesn’t buy her anything} she is so good at putting everything back when i tell her to. gosh…how long with that last?! i hope awhile!!!!

anyhoo, we love our lazy days together. i just love spending my time with this little lady! she is so much fun. cheers to silly, quality time together!

via tandeminlove.com[i am really sad that target just got rid of these open carts and replaced it with with really high, bulky seats. olive loved these carts]

via tandeminlove.com[her usual routine, saying hit to the target dog]

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[she loves to play hide and seek in the clothes racks]

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[peek a boo]

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[she was having so much fun!]

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[she’s so sweet]

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xoxo

happy st. patty’s day

we are not much of a st. patrick’s day kind of family, although, hc is 15% irish. well, hc wanted to make corned beef and cabbage in celebration of st. patty’s day! so, we invited family over to enjoy a simple dinner and some beer, natch!

of course, i can’t have people over without some sort of fun decor in lieu of a holiday! nothing crazy though, because ain’t nobody got time for that. hahaha! i bought some balloons, green plates, i dug out some old decor, and decorated a sweets table and ta da! that was it. very simple.

my sister kim brought over the beer and dessert and we were set! everyone came over close to 7 and we served food right away and just chilled. it was a very calm, relaxing evening with some great food and drinks.

the kids had so much fun playing around. they ran around and screamed and did silly things. i love watching and listening to them play together. it’s so sweet that they are cousins and are so close to one another. they’re so silly and i love them being just that, giddy little kids having a blast playing together with no limitations.

well, it was a really lovely evening. hc and i had such a great time having them over {as usual}. the food was so good {thank you so much hc! you’re amazing!} and the company even better.

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[ya always have to get some festive balloons!]

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[we are so lucky to have one another!]

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[i must always have matching straws…just my thing. 🙂 ]

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[just waiting for the dessert to show up! mmmm]

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[she really wanted her toy on the table]

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[and she won. haha!]

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[mmmmm delicious]

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[yeahhhhh, that’s a very irish name. pshhh]

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[love these two]

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[love this one too]

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[hc’s corned beef was soooooo delicious]

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[i love vegetables]

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[such silly kids…we tried to get a good pic…]

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[olive was having a blast with all the balloons tangled on her but obviously auntie kim was not. haha!]

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[hc chill in with my dad // we are alllllllmost done with our kitchen remode! yay!]

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[sisters. oh my belly button is an outie. ugh]

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[hc had to get in on the picture! can see olive photo bombing too? ha! plus, don’t mind the torn apart fireplace we are redoing]

xoxo

simple sunday

it was a lazy sunday afternoon and we had hc’s family over for lunch. it was low key and chill. his parents, sister, and nephew came over for a relaxing day of hanging out. apparently hc didn’t know when they were coming over {kind of…he had a time in mind but his parents had a different time}. well, i will say this, hc is is the worst with communication and remembering anything and according to his dad, his mom is the worst communicator. so together, it’s a disaster.

hc texts me, to tell me that his parents were going to be there in 15 minutes {he was out buying groceries}. olive and i had been playing around in the house in our pj’s and when i received the text from hc, i shooed olive into her room to get her changed. as we walked into her room, in comes his parents, sister, and daniel! what?! that wasn’t fifteen minutes! it was more like one minute warning. ugh. so, they were in our house while hc wasn’t home because he obviously didn’t know they were coming over that early and i was still changing olive and still in my pj’s!

well, no worries. we greeted everyone and i excused myself and changed. olive was quite excited to see everyone! she’s become so silly. this girl is so sassy, bossy, and defiant. gah! life of a two year old.

anyhoo, hc finally came home with food and we hung out and did what family does. talk, chill, eat, and watch movies {hc and papa like to tinker in the garage}. hahaha! it was great to have them over. it was a fabulous sunday afternoon with the fam. cheers to family time!

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[my funny gal]

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[mmmmm, cake]

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[being silly and blowing into the tube]

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[my favorite treats]

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[the best face olive would give with her auntie]

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[my easter decor]

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xoxo

february snapshots

february was a great month. we had a lot of fun doing festive activities. i must admit, i was glad valentine’s day was mid-month because it meant the last of the holiday creativity was coming to an end. don’t get me wrong. i love getting festive, creative, and doing fun things with olive but i felt like it was non-stop since before halloween. we aren’t huge st. patrick’s day fans so it is nice to coast through this past month and not worry about deadlines, creating stuff, and just have fun together regardless of occasions!

anyhoo, we loved this past month for many great reasons. we had our gender reveal with our family and friends! we had so much fun creating boxes for everyone and sending them out through snail mail as a special surprise.

olive finally had her one year check up and it was a good one! she was toooooo cute and it was pretty cool to see her so grown up and very understanding of what was happening!

we also did a fun set up for the gender reveal through social media! it was great and oh so cute! we had balloons, festive outfits, banners, and each other! the pics turned out so stinkin cute! i loved every single picture we took!

well, those were some highlights of this past month. it was fabulous, fun, and filled with lots of love and laughter. i really am blessed. i am always thankful for mine and everyone’s health. i am so grateful for my wonderful husband who is the most fantastic partner and father. i am so thankful to God for my little olive and her, soon to be here, little sister. i am surrounded by friends and family who love us. life couldn’t get any better than this. truly.

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[she’s so silly]

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[bath time with this silly girl]

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[love this sweet pea]

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[sticky little fingers]

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[she’s a riot]

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[gender reveal]

via tandeminlove.com [family outing]

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[it’s a girl!]

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[she’s a lovely doll]

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[she’s the sweetest]

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[my favorite salon]

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[making her own valentine’s day cards]

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[yummy treats]

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[peek a boo!]

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[my favorite macarons]

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[super bowl sunday]

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[i love her]

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[valentine’s day breakfast]

xoxo

finally!

two of my besties went and got 9-5 jobs m-f and because of that, i never really get to see them as often as i would like. it was always easy to see them on the weekdays because there was less chaos and it was much easier but our weekends are so tied up, which makes it a bit more difficult to make plans.

anyhoo, we finally made plans for brunch on a lovely Saturday afternoon. we hemmed and hawed over which place to try. we contemplated new places we haven’t tried, old places that we love, and we finally decided to go to an old favorite of ours! when olivia mentioned mhenry’s…i was sold. i haven’t been in months and i love eating there. it’s alway delicious, great service, and a fun environment. i love their bakery section in the front. it’s always so tempting to walk away with something to take home!

the wait wasn’t that long. thank goodness! it was only 15 minutes or less. we were seated in the back, i have never been seated in the back of the restaurant! i was a bit bummed because the lighting was soooooo bad for pics and it didn’t help that there was a ginormous red painting on the wall reflecting red hues everywhere! plus olivia’s red shirt and the red doors all around us. ugh!

anyhoo, we had such a fab time. really, it was. the food was so yummy and the company and conversations were even better! we were there for hours! it was perfect. we just relaxed, enjoy our tasty meals, and talked our afternoon away. it was great to catch up but what i love most about this group of ladies is that conversations flow so easily. we can gab and gab and gab non stop over everything. no matter how much time falls in-between, we are able to catch up causally on all of life’s happenings.

cheers to great friends!

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[love, love these two so much!]

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[i made dana smile for me so i could test my camera…got ya!]

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[one of my favorite brunch places]

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[love this girl]

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[my most favorite dish there, ever]

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[treats galore]

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[my girls]

xoxo

20 week ultrasound

we had our 20 week ultrasound and it was pretty amazing. it was a tough day for us but nevertheless, the ultrasound was quite awesome. how could it not be? it was thrilling to see all her parts and to get the thumbs up that she is growing so well and all her bits are in tact and looking fantastic.

i always feel that once you get the ok from the ultrasound, it’s all good from here until delivery. yes, the baby has to develop fully but it feels so good to know that she’s growing in the right way and on her way!

i always have qualms about the delivery, because you’re never ever safe until that babe comes out and gets the stamp of approval. so, until then, we cannot wait to meet this babe!

i think the best, best party of the ultrasound was when the tech zoomed onto her face. up on the screen flashed her face, partially shown, and lo and behold – baby girl had a big lip pout going on!!! i gasped! are you serious?! just like her sister! i can’t believe the babes was pouting in the womb!

that was so crazy. olive has been pouting since she came out of the womb, so it was amazing to see her baby sister doing the same in the ultrasound! gah! it makes me all the more curious on what she will look like!

judging from her profile pics, i really think this babe is going to look very different from olive. this babe has a higher, pointier nose and a more prominent profile overall. her face seems more defined than flat and compact like olive’s was in the ultrasound.

eep! we can’t wait to meet her!

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[her eyes are blacked out but you can see her nose, lips, and chin. her right arm is over her face. for some reason, some people can’t make out the pic! but seriously, that pout!!! just like her sister]

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[her bitty little foot]

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[her legs are up over her head. her profile is definitely different than olive’s. i think this babe is going to look soooo different!]

xoxo

brady and olive date

we had planned a date and i was totally looking forward to kim, brady, and brooklyn coming over to our house.

in typical fashion, i crammed too many things into the morning. kim and i agreed on 11am but i thought she was going to text me when she left but instead, she text me when she was twenty minutes away! eep! i was totally in the middle of taking pictures with olive and we had so many outfits lined up and i didn’t want to cut it short. so, we sped through all the outfits {she’s become really accommodating, cooperative, and cute with taking pics}, i put away all her supplies {snacks, lollipops, pretzels, etc.}, folded and hung away all her clothes, cleaned up the props, re-set her room {yes, i do all this work for photos}, cleaned up everything, redressed olive, got myself spruced up, started prepping food, and i still beat kim before she got to my house! to give her credit…she did get a little lost, which favored on my side with time!

once she arrived, the gabbing began and never stops until she leaves. olive was still in her room and was being shy and didn’t want to come out. brady ran into her room, screamed, and ran out. olive was probably like wtf? hahaha! we then joined olive in her room to hang out. she was so intrigued with brady but slightly scared. it was oh so funny and cute. of course, miss brooklyn was as chill as can be. she’s such a great baby and so quiet and calm.

after we hung out in her room, we transferred out into the kitchen and living room. i started to set the table while the clan hung out in the living room. we sat down to eat, we chit chatted, and brady and olive were still trying to adjust to one another. they did finally start to get along and ran around, screaming, together. olive was just a bit overwhelmed with brady’s boisterous personality that she kept screaming at him to ‘stop right now!’. hahaha! they were seriously too cute together.

after a few hours of hanging out upstairs, downstairs, and everywhere, it was time for kim and the kids to head out. we were sad to see them go but had such a great time together! we looooove seeing this group of fab people. we love them so much! we will definitely squeeze in a few dates before the second babe arrives!

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[you can’t go wrong with macarons]

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[she was so intrigued and a bit scared by brady]

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[how adorable is she??]

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[opening up her gift from kim, brady, and brooklyn]

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[how adorable is this gift for the new babes??]

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[we need a little spring in our lives]

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[table spread: pretzel buns, deli options, veggies & dip, fruit, and pasta salad]

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[the beautiful girls]

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[sweetest hugs goodbye]

xoxo