apple pickin’

we had a wonderful day planned! we were getting up early to go apple picking at a fun orchard up north. well, who knew it would be sooooooo dang warm? that was a recipe for disaster!

we had been to royal oak farm a couple years ago and really enjoyed our time there. this time was such a sweet disaster! haha! one, we weren’t dressed right for the oh so hot temperatures. two, olive had multiple meltdowns. three, hc refused to wear the ergo, so he was carrying ellie {not having your hands free when you have two kids is not a smart thing, especially if you are able to avoid it}.

we ate lunch first but the food they offered was very fried, sugary, and limited. the flies and bees were ridiculous. i mean RI-diculous! they were all over us and the food. my mom didn’t want to eat, thuy didn’t want to eat and was a bit grumpy, and we were ready to just go pick apples. although, olive was hilarious about the bugs. she kept giggling, screaming, and saying, “shoo, shoo bug! shoo!”. it was very, very cute!

we got into line to purchase our bags and we all herded onto the hayride towards the orchard. olive thought it was fun and really enjoyed being in the wagon being pulled by the john deere tractor! we arrived at our destination and began apple picking. oh my goodness, it was so hot! it was 90 degrees and the sun was beating down on us! my mom and sister wanted green apples but they weren’t ripe yet, so we kept walking around trying to find green apples. hc didn’t want to hold ellie anymore so he left to go get the stroller. while hc was gone, olive had a few meltdowns and wanted me to do this, that, hold her, she cried, mumbled, and did a bunch of things i couldn’t really help her with because i was holding ellie…sweating in the sun!

he finally made it back to help but olive was on a roll. every time the hayride came by, she wanted to get on it and we told her no and she cried and cried and cried. she didn’t want to pick apples, although i did, we were super hot and sticky, and it was just a bit crazy.

well, in the end, we got our apples, we took some marvelous pictures, and we were ready to go home! i know, what you just read probably sounded like a disaster of an outing but it was a great day despite the hot temps and the tantrums displayed by olive and her mama! ha! yes, if it was cooler, it wouldn’t have been so intense but i still loved that we did it and spent some crazy time together. we were soooooooo ready to go home and shower though!

well, next year we will make sure the temps are low so we don’t melt in the sun when we go apple picking! i am super excited to use the apples to make apple pie and candied apples this coming month! more fun activities to look forward to!

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[sweet girl who’s ready to have a few meltdowns. eep]

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[having lunch with grandma]

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[apples available to pick!]

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[wagon riding to the apple orchard]

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[ellie’s first wagon ride]

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[thuy and mom on the wagon ride]

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[thanks auntie thuy for the cute family pic]

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[it was sooooo stinkin’ hot]

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[ba with ellie]

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[olive apple picking]

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[auntie thuy chillin’ while we pick apples]

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[mom and dad]

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xoxo

cubs game!

woo hoo! i was super excited to get out, hang out with my girl dana, and go to a cubs game!

it all started with these being hc and his aunt wendy’s tickets. it’s quite a long story with some complications, emotions, and tough decisions that ended up being a win for me! i was going to have a day without the kids and i was going to a cubs game! woot woot!

hc left early with the girls which let me sleep in. oh mer gawd! it was like i was single with no kids again. i slept like a log and woke up feeling so rested and refreshed! it was amazing! i leisurely got up and got ready with no kids screaming at me or needing something! wowza! i was on slow mo. i was texting dana and we were both very chill with idea of just doing things at a slow pace.

i finally made it out of the house and on my way to meet dana. we weren’t worried about making it to the game on time {as you can already tell if you read the above paragraphs!}. i parked by her condo on lsd and we walked towards wrigley. it was a beautiful day out…the sun was shining and dana and i were having a blast just walking and talking.

once we arrived at wrigley, we grabbed some beers and found our seats. holy cow! they were great seats…right by third base and the first two seats of the row! woo hoo! we were having a grand ol’ time. we couldn’t stop chit chatting, so much so, we weren’t really watching the game. that was a bit different for me because i am a game watcher. anytime i go to a cubs game, i love watching them play but not this time. eep! they were not playing very well anyways. ugh!

after the 7th inning stretch, we decided to make a run for the bathroom! as we were walking towards the restrooms, we were elated there wasn’t a line! oh em gee…the 30 seconds it took us to walk up to the line, it formed so expeditiously from no line to at least 20 people in front of us! after the restroom, we needed to find the first aid room so i could pump. we walked out of the bathroom and the line to the women’s restroom stretched back so far, it hit the next women’s restroom line! yikes!

we found the first aid area and the women behind the desk walked us to a clean room where another mom was pumping, then another mom came in to pump, and then another mom came in to nurse. it was a milk pumping party in there! thank goodness they have this area because the women’s restroom and the family restrooms were disgusting! there was no room, it was dirty, and no shelf to be able to put your bag/pump anywhere!

after the restroom and pumping, we met up with dana’s friends mara and amanda. before we knew it, it was the end of the game. whaaaaaa?! we left during the 7th inning and by the time we were done, it was the bottom of the 9th…how did that happen?

we decided to go to vines on clark for some more drinks. it was so darn nice out! perfect temperature and weather! it was packed, as expected, but we found a bench spot in the sun, yay! we just drank and talked and had a lot of fun being silly. i had so much fun with these three! amanda and i realized we were picture soul mates! haha! we both love taking pictures no matter what the situation or environment! after an hour or so, we decided to part ways. yes, i missed my family and i was ready to go home. after hours of having fun, i was ready to see my babies!

we all walked back towards dana’s place and we said our goodbyes and gave our hugs. i got into my car to hit very, very heavy traffic and finally made it home to my hubby and girls! it was a fantastic day out! i had the best time and i am so happy to have had a little me time! it was an absolutely awesome day spent with my dear, sweet friend dana!

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[hanging with my bae]

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[3rd base seats]

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[hanging out at vines on clark]

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[amanda, dana, moi, and mara]

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[completing a photo shoot while at vines on clark]

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[we dab everywhere]

xoxo

ellie’s baptism

we had the craziest start to our day…ugh, not in a good way. we poorly planned our time and ended up running sooooooo behind getting to the church for ellie’s baptism. how bad was that?! oh so bad. getting out the door is such a project, a circus, and so much of it depends on me and i always get the sh*t end of the stick on getting ready. yes, i am controlling but during times like this, i wish hc took the reigns on helping out with girls!! i have to get myself dressed, i had to prepare all their outfits, i had to style olive’s hair, i have to feed ellie {which of course hc can’t do}, i have to remember the camera, the baptism dress & accessories, dress the girls, and hc was the one who got ready first and left me with barely 40 minutes to get everything else done and feeding ellie takes at least 15 minutes of that time…soooo, therefore we were LATE.

we arrived at the church in record time. i think it took us 37 minutes or so…it was redic how fast hc was driving. we won’t mention the warp speed he was driving at. anyhoo, we arrived right at 9:30am…the music just started playing and the procession started. we were suppose to walk up with fr. ken but instead we were sitting in the pew. i was fretting over the fact that ellie wasn’t in her baptism gown. hc kept brushing it off to not change her until we got to the church. well, fr. ken nodded at us to step up to the altar in front of the parish and there was ellie…wearing a green dress. yup, my daughter for her baptism was wearing a green dress in front of everyone. there goes the symbolic white garment the baby is supposed to wear.

anyhoo, the service was amazing. fr. ken is so great and everything went smoothly thereafter. once we sat down the first time, we changed ellie into her gown and everything was just fine. fr. ken called us and we went through the ritual of denouncing satan, believing in God, dunking ellie in the holy water, anointing her forehead with the sacred oil, and lighting the candle as the light of christ. it was a beautiful ceremony!

after mass, we all lingered and took pictures. thank goodness for ellie’s godfather, huy, being a photographer! fr. ken came back down to join us and i was so happy to have connected with him a bit. i love that man…he’s such a inspiration. we took pics with fr. ken, the godparents ~ thuy and huy, and i was utterly grateful and thankful that huy took some amazing pics of the service. i am the one always taking pics and i was worried no one else would snap any good pics to remember!

we headed back home and soon everyone came over and we served lunch and had a great, great time with our friends and family. our luncheon turned into a causal dinner party! after most of the guests left, it was just my family lingering behind and we decided to have dinner together as well {plus, huy is rarely in town & we need to spend that time all together!}. everyone left to change their clothes and came back all comfy and casual. we ordered portillos {yum!} and hung out all night.

it was such a fabulous day! it started out super crazy and stressful and ended up being such a beautiful event. ellie being baptized was so moving and meaningful. she is now welcomed into the catholic faith and is truly a child of God.

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[ellie’s gown, originally olive’s. custom made by miss tashina]

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[the dress is made out of french chantilly lace, silk charmeuse, and silk chiffon]

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[in her auntie’s arms]

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[there she goes! *dunk*]

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[she is like…what happened??}

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[anointing of the oil]

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[ellie with her godmother]

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[with olivia and aaron]

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[ellie’s godparents ~ huy & thuy, and with my favorite priest…fr. ken!]

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[ellie with her grandparents and godmother]

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[my heart…minus olive having a meltdown]

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[hydrangeas + baby’s breath]

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[i love this banner!]

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[i am a child of god]

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[dessert table]

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[my diy decor]

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[ubiquitous shot of macarons]

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[a gift from her godfather]

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[a gift from her godmother]

xoxo

bouncy birthday party

we were invited to mila and nolan’s birthday party!

it was a beautiful, perfect day ~ weather wise. as we were walking towards their house, kevin happen to be outside to greet us and olive immediately laid eyes on a paw patrol bouncy house!!! whoa! she looooooves paw patrol!

the party was in full swing when we arrived. hc’s family was already there and we joined in of the fun. olive immediately ran towards the swing set…she had to get comfortable with the idea of getting into that bouncy house first. she really took to a little blonde girl there and it was so sweet to see her interested and wanting to play with her.

it was great visiting with everyone…i said hello to kevin and ryan’s mom, hc’s parents, sister missy, nephew daniel, girlfriend rachel, grace, and a few other folks. we just hung out, had drinks, and i took a gazillion pics of olive.

after an hour or so, olive asked to go inside the bouncy. no wayyyyyyy! i was excited that she wanted to. she can be a bit afraid of other kids and especially, boys. boys tend to be too loud, crazy, and rough for olive’s taste and she’d prefer not to interact…she’s too demure! i asked her again and she said she wanted to go inside! jane decided to take her; she took off her shoes, and helped her inside the bouncy house and boom! olive took off! she giggled, screamed, and had the time of her life! i was in love! my heart was so full watching her have so much fun! she was a pro…she bounced, fell, bounced, giggled, fell, and repeated every step. we couldn’t get her out! it was such a joy to see her so happy!

after a few hours, we ate, they served cake, and we continued to mingle. honestly, we thought we would be there for an hour or so but we ended up being there for over four hours! we had such a great time. we loved catching up with everyone, especially ryan…hc’s cousin who recently moved out of town. olive had a blast and by the end of the party, we were all tuckered out!

we said our goodbyes and headed out. both girls were zonked out in the back seat and we were all happy campers heading to our home sweet home.

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[i love this girl]

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[silly girl]

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[shining star grace]

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[nice hair ellie]

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[gramma and papa]

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[yup, she’s like, “whaaaaaa? more pictures mom?!”]

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[cousins]

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[she was so independent and excited to be in the bouncy house…first time! she was smiling at gramma!]

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[birthday boy]

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[birthday girl]

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[what a beautiful group of kids]

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[yay! ice cream]

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[toy story cake]

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[ready for cake]

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xoxo

happy fall y’all!

yAy! it’s the first day of fall!

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i am sooooo excited! it’s my favorite season! cool weather, layers, pumpkins, fall leaves, so many good things to come! here is a list of things i would love to do this autumn:

1. jump in a pile of leaves

2. eat apple cider donuts

3. go apple pickin’

4.  make apple pie

5. go to a pumpkin farm

6. decorate

7. make candied apples

8. carve pumpkins

9. go on a hayride

10. go walking in the cool weather

 i started number 6 and i am ready to take on the rest! i am looking forward to a fun and festive holiday season!

xoxo

renegade craft fair

for our 5th anniversary, i wanted to go to new york city. that was our plan. then we got pregnant and had a baby so nyc was out of the question, for now.

we planned a very simple evening out. hc’s parents so kindly offered to watch the kids for our anniversary night. we got ready and headed out the door…so excited for our alone time! i really wanted to hit up the renegade craft fair in wicker park. it was in our old hood and i love how it has sooooo many amazing vendors. plus, i told krissy, from earth cadets, that i would pay her a visit! {check out her shop, it’s local and full of awesomeness}

it was an absolute perfect day, just like our wedding day {our special day had temps in the mid seventies and it was a clear, sunny day}. we found a sweet parking spot, walked our way into the fair, nabbed a drink or three, and started to walk the fair. it was fabulous. we had such a great time drinking and perusing all the handmade goodies.

i know i say it all the time but i loooooooooove chicago. i love the city. i love the culture. i popped into krissy’s shop, found cute matching shirts for the girls and said hello to her! it was great seeing her and chitchatting for a bit before we finished up the fair.

we headed out to the restaurant {coast…where we had our third date} and scored another fab parking spot! we were seated right away {hc had made reservations}, ordered apps, and clinked our wine glasses in celebration of our marriage! as usual the food was amaze. i love coast because it’s exactly how sushi should be done! yummmmm.

we took our time, relaxed, and reveled in our time together with no kids! the funny but awful part of our evening out was that we were spent. oh my goodness. olive and ellie were sick and olive had a horrible night of sleeping, as in she hardly slept and either did we {ironic that it wasn’t our newborn who kept us up but our two year old!}! so when we finished our dinner…we were soooo ready to come home. hahaha! we were going to fall asleep!

nevertheless, it was quite an amazing day. hc made it so special and i am very thankful for his romantic notions. we completely enjoyed the craft fair, our dinner out, and had the most wonderful anniversary date night!

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[yesssssss, chicago cubs wine! hc bought this for our byob anniversary dinner]

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[our super, duper casual night out]

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[our old hood]

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[soooooo many awesome vendors]

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[two beers for hc and vodka lemonade for moi!]

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xoxo

anniversary morning

we had a very low key start to our anniversary day. it was calm, relaxing, and sweet. my hc is the best. he got up early to grab groceries for breakfast, let us sleep in, made me endless amounts of yummy coffee, and surprised me with beautiful flowers. i love him.

i can’t believe it’s been five years! what a milestone. i can’t believe it’s been five years since we had the best day everrrrrr! it feels like it just happened last week. wow, five years later, we now have two kids, a house, and so much more love around us. i feel so fortunate to be blessed with so much goodness, i feel like i need to pinch myself.

we’ve had our ups and downs like any relationship. we have had some awful fights. we have had high moments and tough ones. we have dealt with sick parents, the birth of our children, and so many obstacles and celebrations that have happened within the five years since we have said our i do’s. i couldn’t imagine another person to live this life with. to ride this wonderful journey of marriage with anyone other than hc. he is my rock. i might be stubborn, hot headed, and sometimes an ass but he is always there for me and i am truly thankful.

he teaches me to be patient, kind, loving, and appreciate the simple moments in life. i am very grateful for that because i sure need that in my life! he definitely balances me out. happy five years my love and cheers to many, many more wonderful happy years to come!

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[hc surprised me with flowers…as usual]

via tandeminlove.com[awesome lighting…a serene, quiet morning]

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[i love this babe]

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[olive chillin’ watching cartoons]

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[coffee…yummmm]

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[hc always cooking up something good]

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[loving her croissant]

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[croissant breakfast sandwiches]

xoxo

pink aunties

yay! we finally met up with karen and kt!

it was a lovely day…on the warmer side but no matter, we couldn’t wait to see my girls! of course, i was on time and i am usually late with juggling these two girls! karen and kt were a half hour late…thank goodness my dollies are well behaved! a half hour is an eternity when you have kids.

when they arrived, lots of hugs and squealing ensued. we ordered our food and sat down. it’s always a challenge for me to keep my thoughts straight when the kids are around. you feel so discombobulated. i had to keep ellie calm and keep olive entertained or basically, make sure both girls are well behaved and not screaming inside the restaurant. hahaha!

karen and kt are soooooo stinkin’ good with kids and they kept olive going. she was so enamored with karen but karen is soooo good with olive. she loves kids and it totally shows. she was olive’s bestie and olive just adored her.

we yapped and yapped and yapped non stop. i was so beyond excited that kt is engaged. i am so proud that i had set them up! who knew?! i was beyond persistent in setting bobby and kt together. something just told me it was right and now look! one year later they are engaged to be married and i couldn’t be happier for them!

we talked about life, relationships, weddings, kids, babies, work, you name it. we were there for a few hours but time seemed like it flew by! while we were visiting, bobby and his partner katie stopped by to say hi! it was great to see them! i was so glad i was able to see bobby and see the happy couple together.

it was such a great afternoon! i had a wonderful time, i am happy we were able to meet up, and i was glad that they were able to see olive and ellie. i love these two sweet ladies…definite staples in my life.

happy day lovelies!

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[waiting patiently for her pink aunties to show up]

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[she’s so funny]

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[she looooooved looking at the desserts]

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[my pretty girls]

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[she’s such a doll]

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[yaaaayyyyyyyyy kt’s engaged!]

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[two of the cutest ladies]

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[having a blast with karen]

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[me and my girl]

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[bobby paid us a surprise visit!]

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[pink auntie karen]

xoxo

happy two months ellie

happy two months!

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[photos taken on 9.15]

height: 22.75″

weight: 10lbs 14oz

oh girl! you’re two months already?! where is the time going? you are growing up so fast! i can’t believe how different you are, already. be still my heart.

you’re sleep digressed a bit after one month but picked back up to a regular routine in the last two weeks. thank the Lord because we are so spoiled and i don’t think i could handle all those sleepless nights like other parents {olive was terrible the first four weeks and got into her routine after that!}. gah! you are solid throughout the night. you will pull in a good 6-8 hours straight! woo hoo! we try to keep you awake from 6 pm and on. we try really, really hard to get you to sleep by 10-11pm and you will be sound for the rest of the night. sometimes you will wake around 4, feed, and sleep until 7-8 o’clock. let’s pray that you continue to be so consistent every night until you’re an adult!

one thing i forgot to mention last month was the fact that you don’t like to be swaddled. probably from the second week here and on. you slept just fine & have ever since you were home, not being wrapped up all tight! i think we swaddled olive every night up to 4 months, hoping she’d stay fast asleep but you’re a rock star sleeper with not being wrapped up like a cocoon .

you pretty much eat every 2-3 hours still. i think i said this before but nursing the second time around is so different. you know so much more, you are more comfortable, you understand your body better, and i am so much more relaxed. i wish i could say that you stopped upchucking your milk but alas, that is still your thing. oh em gee. after you eat, it’s like…wait, wait, wait for it…puuuuuuuuke. there are days i hope i can catch it with the burp cloth and there are days where you are so stinkin’ sneaky and it throw it at me when i am not looking. i have never done so much laundry in my life. i change my clothes constantly, i change you constantly, and i always think i never have enough burp cloths. they are always drenched in milk and other fabulous body fluids. yuck.

you are starting to ‘talk’ back. it’s the cuuuuuutest thing! you recognize people, you perk up when you hear familiar voices, you smile at your mama alllllllll the time! i am so in love. i can’t even take it when you coo back and respond to me! it’s the best feeling in the world, it makes me so happy to see you growing! your smiles and facial expressions are so fun to watch and i can just stare at you for hours…well, actually i do. hahaha!

it means so much to her to have us around. if we leave her in her swing or dock a tot and walk away, it makes her very upset. she loves it when we are sitting right next to her, she loves it even more when she is by her sister. she loves looking and listening to olive. it makes you happy. ditto for olive…she is so in love, overprotective, and oh so sweet towards you. you love to be held, you love to be touched, and you love having your sweet little family right by your side. it’s so apparent in your reactions…i hope that is how you will always feel.

you have kept your hair, your double chin is out of this world, your cheeks have grown exponentially but it’s all not as big as your belly. your belly is so beyond ginormous! it’s sooooo stinkin’ cute! i love your little thigh rolls, your pointy little nose, and your sweet. sweet eyes. i try my best to soak in all your features, reactions, & sweetness because i don’t want to forget, take for granted, and miss out on all your baby goodness.

those moments are so so precious and that is truly what life is about right now. my family, the moments together, my girls, my husband, and life in the moment because you can’t take back that time and should savor every moment God has given to us. life is too beautiful to waste it.

happy two months my baby girl. it’s been the most fabulous two months since your debut and we are so blessed to have you here.

xoxo

oh kids

last time kim and i met up, it was at the zoo, and it was a bit of a debacle. well, we decided this time around to head on up to kim’s abode to chill.

i made a few wrong turns driving up there {helloooo, so silly}, and it took freakin’ 20 more minutes to get to her house than it should have but alas, we made it. olive fell asleep five minutes before we got there but i was surprised she pleasantly woke up and willingly came inside the house. of course ellie was out! she was on a sleeping marathon.

once inside, i see the little people play set and knew olive would only play with that the entire time! and i was right. she did. brady was being energetic and it overwhelmed olive. awwww, poor girl. she kept staring at brady like he was entertainment and she was super intrigued. brooklyn was napping but when she woke up, she was just super cute {as usual} and minded her own business. these two kids are so stinkin’ cute and they seriously are twinsies! they soooo look like one another…so handsome and beautiful!

well, the kids played and kim and i became engrossed in our conversations…we eventually had lunch and continued on with our play date in fun fashion. i love hanging out there, it’s fun, relaxing, and always a great time. it’s always a hit or miss with these toddlers. near the end of our visit, olive became possessive over the little people toys and didn’t want brooklyn to play with them. oh my goodness…it’s so hard to get toddlers to understand that they need to share…it’s so hard to get toddlers to understand a lot! olive kept crying and i tried telling her that they were not her toys and that brooklyn was letting her play with them. tears and meltdowns ensued. ugh.

it was finally time to leave {without a few meltdowns, ellie waking up right when i was about to walk out the door, the dog barking like crazy, and kim’s brother in laws popping in right then} and after a few glitches, we finally got out the door and headed on our way home.

we had a really great time…the hiccups and craziness make it all the more fun being moms of two kiddos each. i still can’t believe our personal journeys have been so parallel and i am so fortunate kim has become such a great friend to me. love this girl! well, until next time…i always look forward to our play dates!

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[yes, quite the odd pic…brady and olive were playing ‘doctor’. hahaha!]

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[yummy caesar salad for lunch]

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[she was content playing by herself…eep!]

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[i was seriously stupid taking this selfie. i couldn’t look at the camera…hahaha!]

xoxo