we were so excited to have johnny, janice, georgia, and charlotte come to visit our new house and meet little olive!
they arrived at our house in the early evening. we decided it would be best to have a casual dinner night…pizza and beer! yum. hc toured them throughout the house and gave the usual spiel.
the girls settled down on the couch and cruised through the apple tv selection to find a movie. they snuggled in with their dolls and were quite content.
we broke open several beers and cheered to finally getting together. we chatted for quite a bit before we decided on what we were going to order. we tried a place called aurelio’s and it was delicious! we got some apps and ordered their specialty pie of the moment.
[georgia and charlotte {rich’s goddaughter!}]
[revolution brewery]
[janice and olive]
while we were waiting for the delivery, we had lots of fun catching up on all sorts of events. janice and i talked a lot about nursing, the guys did their talks, and we circled around to discuss more things like babies, triathlons, vacations, family, and life.
olive really took to johnny! oh, she loved him. she actually let him hold her and she giggled at him! awww, it was very sweet.
i love janice and johnny. they are such a cute couple and so fun. hc has been friends with them, what seems like forever! when rich and i first started dating, johnny and janice were so welcoming of me and we instantly hit it off. their humor are off the charts! we love it when we are able to get together with them.
olive also received the cutest gift from them! so, janice is from canada {oh canada!}…they got little olive a pink fleece set emblazoned with the words canada all over it. it’s just the cutest little outfit and we can’t wait until she can wear it!
[olive was very fond of johnny[
[joining us for dinner]
[aurelio’s pizza]
[these two cuties enjoying some desserts]
the pizza came, the beer was being guzzled, and good times were being had. how cute are georgia and charlotte? they are such sweet, kind, polite little ladies. they are growing up so fast!
the family brought the desserts, so after a bit, janice set them out and we devoured them! the tarts were so good! i loooved the chocolate, caramel, hazelnut one…to die for. it was amaze. it just melted in my mouth. yum. i could have eaten five of them…hehehe.
[delicious pastries from whole foods]
after several hours of hanging out and putting olive down in-between it, it was, sadly, time for the family to leave. we had a wonderful, wonderful time with them. thank you so much for the cute gift for olive and thank you for stopping by! come back soon! muwah!
dearest dana came to visit {finally}! after we moved, it was a constant debacle trying to get us together! our schedules weren’t coordinating. if we happen to have the same day off, she or i would already have plans, or she would be out of town, etc. welllll, we finally, last minute, got ourselves aligned! hallelujah!
she came over bright and early in the morning {no traffic…woo!}. i walked her through the house…a tour of what has happened {remodeled} and what was to come. we chilled at the house for a bit before heading out to brunch. dana tried multiple times to hold olive…um, fail. baby girl will only be in my arms if i am in the room *sigh*, i do wish she would let others hold her but a screaming, crying baby is no fun for anyone! dana, being dana, was so amused and found it so hilarious! thank goodness 🙂
[dear dana loving olive]
[olive giving a shoutout to the westside!]
[attempting at another round of holding olive]
so, after many tries of holding olive, we digressed and moved along on getting ourselves to the restaurant. i offered a few options and we settled on trying a place by our house. a breakfast place {new to us!} that we have been interested in trying for awhile.
[orange juice for dana, grapefruit/orange juice for moi]
it was cute inside and not busy {bonus!}. we settled into our seats and perused the menu. there were so many choices! i decided on the banana walnut pancakes with a side of bacon and dana went for the eggs over easy, hash browns, and a side of chocolate chip pancakes.
[banana walnut pancakes]
[noshing]
we did a lot of catching up over brunch. the food was yummy. the company was even better. we yapped for awhile, until olive was getting a bit fussy. it was good timing with the fact that we were dunzo…check paid, we were ready to go when olive started fussing. so, out the door we went!
we went back to the house to hang out some more. olive needed to eat her solids, so i prepared her food and asked dana if she wanted to feed her. gosh, miss olive answered that for all of us. she was liiiike, um no. momma is the only one who will feed me! what a picky lady! poor darling dana…olive wouldn’t even let her feed her!
[oh em gee…poor dana trying to feed olive…nope]
[flashdance…she’s a maniac, maniac on the floor!!]
after a few hours of lounging, dana headed out {before crazy traffic could build up}. it was fantastic to finally get together and just hang out {what we do best}. olive and i miss her already.
it was our second bridal shower that summer and it was hosted at dick and jane’s house {held outside in their backyard}. It was sooooo freakin’ hot that day! upper 90’s, sticky, hot, sunny, and humid. you did. not. stop. sweating, even when you sat very, very still. when our guests were arriving, i didn’t even give hugs…i waved at them. um, yeah. no touching when it’s that gross outside.
being engaged was definitely an amazing time in our lives. oh, i could relive these moments over and over. i loved all the joyous, celebratory, fun memories with all our friends and family. i always say it and i’ll say it again…our engagement and our wedding was like a dream come true. i loved every second of it! but i tend to really revel in a lot of things…i am so appreciative of all good things in life!
i absolutely love this picture of us. we were, obviously, being super silly gals in this photo. we love entertaining ourselves by being incredibly goofy when we take pictures. it makes for great laughs when you look back at them. i mean, c’mon. you can only take so many portraits, then you need to get creative to capture some fond, fun memories 😉
[oh! have some cake my dear!]
[p.s. i was so darn tan and skinny…those were the days!]
well, lovies…create some great memories today! i hope every has a fabulous day and weekend!
sooo…the story goes like this. last year, olivia and i visited her sister in d.c. her sister was 8 weeks pregnant. she wasn’t telling anyone yet. little did i know, i was 5 weeks pregnant {absolutely no clue i was preggers}. we had our babies weeks apart and months later, we finally introduced the little cuties to one another!!!
claire traveled {actually drove!} from san diego to chicago to spend some quality time here with her family. she was at the tail end of her stay when we finally coordinated a date together. woo!
we decided to meet halfway since our locations were so far apart. she was up in woodstock and we were probably an hour and thirty minutes south from there…at least! we decided on the restaurant wildberry. we wanted to do an early brunch…since both of us get up so early with the kiddos.
we arrived before the other half of our party did, so we put our name in for a table. it was a forty-five minutes wait!!! ugh. we decided to wait inside their foyer since it was already so hot outside. olive patiently waited with us but she was a tad grumpy. she definitely woke up that way! the day prior, we were out and about all day and she was a bit exhausted {baby girl wouldn’t nap the day before!}, so today she was not in the best mood.
[serious face]
[she was using sophie as a chin rest]
[waiting for the gantners]
[the girls!]
yay! the clan finally made it! i love them all. her mom is such a fun character, her sister is so sweet, and olivia…she is a doll. now how ’bout them babes?! it was so cool to introduce fiona to olive. babies are so funny, they kinda stare at one another and pretty much just try to grab at each other for no particular reason.
we were finally seated and perused the menu to decide on our eats. oohhhhh, olive was so fussy. she didn’t want anyone to hold her {the usual} and kept whimpering throughout our meal. she was so tired. annndddd there was fiona…happy as a clam. she just smiled and calmly sat in her high chair while everyone visited.
[aaron doing his best creepy smile]
[fiona being so good and darn cute]
i ordered their buttermilk pancakes, a side of bacon, and orange juice. my usual go to breakfast.
our gathering was short and sweet but oh so worth it. i was super, duper happy to have been able to meet up with claire and fiona. i didn’t want to miss out on seeing them while they were in town! fiona and olive had to meet!
it was a wonderful start to a great day! thanks ladies and aaron for a lovely date!
we were so excited and touched to be a part of matt and johann’s special day!
words cannot express how absolutely amazing it is and how wonderful it feels to know that two people, who love each other no matter what the case may be, can join their hands together in marriage.
the institution of marriage is an endless debate. i am in favor of it. i love being married. i am old fashioned in my thinking around it {not about who but about what}. i believe in it. it is a different plateau to be on. it feels special. my relationship with hc changed for the better after we were married. it felt solid and secure…for so many positive reasons. we made that commitment to one another, we said our vows. we promised to never leave each other’s side. we believe in making each other a better person. you have to be selfless and realize that you have to give but you will get in return. all this sounds great in words but it’s definitely hard work and never ever perfect.
i think the hardest part about getting married is the work you have to do before it happens. it’s about finding the right person. how do you know it’s the right person? it sounds cliche but it’s about getting each other to a better point. you are on each other’s side, you pull one another up when the other is down. finding the right person is tough work but once you realize you are both in it to win it, it’s all worth it.
so, that morning, we got ourselves ready for the big day. we packed up olive’s many, many things. got ourselves dressed, packed up our stuff for the day, and headed out to matt and johann’s home. we cruised there! we got inside, dropped off our stuff, chit chatted for a bit with them, matt’s mom & stepdad, and then headed our way downtown to the courthouse.
[matt, peanut, and rich before we head out to the courthouse]
[cutie stella playing]
[olive totally intrigued by stella from afar // burberry dress]
[the crazy fog that blanketed the city]
we scored a close parking spot and trekked our way into the building. we got there before them {even with a pit stop to nurse olive!} and waited in the lobby. apparently, we were in the wrong building! it was so comical getting around with a stroller, not every area had an elevator, so we literally carried the stroller up escalators and through revolving doors! what a debacle.
we finally made it to the destination. everyone was already there. matt and johann invited a few select people to witness their marriage. we were so honored to be asked. hc and i have never witnessed a city hall marriage so it was interesting to experience it. it was quite a small waiting area, you have to sign up on a list, and wait until your group is called. it was so intriguing to watch all the folks who were there to get married. some were dressed up, some were dressed down, overall, a lot of unique characters.
[olive waiting for the ceremony to begin]
[engraved with the words panda and bamboo]
[pre-ceremony with the handsome couple]
[with james and daisy]
[the family…josh, liz, stella, matt’s mom, and cliff]
our group was finally called. i was so excited! we filed into the room, the judge was so cool and relaxed. she started the process and i started to cry. i was so, so happy for them. it truly was a beautiful moment to witness.
[exchanging of vows and rings!]
after the ceremony, we were all so ecstatic! lots of hugs, congratulatory words, and tears.
[husband and husband!! they are married!]
[the happy couple…look at the shadows of everyone taking a picture!]
we had some time before lunch, so we made a stop at field’s on state. we shopped around, some people grabbed a snack, and of course we made a starbucks run. it wouldn’t be an outing with me and matt without a starbucks stop!
[field’s on state]
[never without a starbucks stop // look, i match the straw!]
[starbucks]
[thanks jenny for randomly taking this photo…i love it!]
after field’s, we walked over to the restaurant, petterino’s. we had a nice, little, private corner of the restaurant. here we relaxed, mingled, reveled in the excitement, and truly enjoyed each other’s company. i was so hungry! i was excited to manger some food! the bread basket was bad news…hc called it crack bread. there were so many yummy varieties of bread to consume.
[her naps were so limited…too much excitement // holding on tight to the carrot rattle]
[the ‘crack’ bread]
[stella loving her salad]
after lunch, we headed back to matt and johann’s abode to continue the celebration. there, a lot more folks were able to join in on the festivities. i helped them host their guests…i wanted matt and johann to enjoy themselves and spend time with their friends and family. it was their day and they definitely should revel in every minute of it.
they ordered brisket from mariano’s, josh and liz took care of all the beverages, and hc and i brought the wedding cake and desserts. everyone slowly trickled in, we served drinks, set up the food, and enjoyed the company.
there were quite a few kiddos at the party. josh and liz have stella, vicki brought 8 month old eric, and alison brought her little dude. it was fun to see the little kiddies interact! olive and eric had a great time playing together. it was so sweet. they were both really calm and curious. there was a lot of staring, maybe some slight grabbing, but nonetheless…a heart melting moment to see the babies interact. so adorbs!
midway through the party, we popped some veuve clicquot and toasted the beautiful couple. johann said a few words and then liz made a lovely toast to the couple! cheer cheer!
[getting ready for a champagne toast to the happy couple // vintage champagne glasses…over 70 years old!]
[liz giving a heartfelt toast]
after the toasting, matt and johann cut the cake! woooo! it was so cute. the cake was such a hit…everyone loved the rainbow layers. so fitting. it was a picture frenzy. the cake was the celebrity and we were the paparazzi!
it was such an incredible day. the beginning of a beautiful marriage. the wonderful company of friends and family. it seriously flew by so fast. olive was such a good little gal all day. we had the best time celebrating their beautiful union. cheers to marriage equality and cheers to the fact that love is love!
marina and corey hosted some peeps over at their house, in celebration of carol being in town. we were blessed with great weather and it was fabulous to be able to hang outside.
i brought over some cookie desserts {yum} and corey was cooking the burgers. we mingled, ate apps, and swapped babies. i was excited to hang out with amber, chris, and the family! we don’t get to see them very often, so it was nice to catch up!
[me, olive, jaime, carol, and liam]
[the boys hanging out]
[jaime, amber, and carol doting on liam]
[the beautiful ladies]
[pretty food prep for the burgers]
[olive’s bestie – jaime]
we were all in anticipation for the arrival of parker! pam and ryan were on their way to the house with their new baby boy. they finally arrived and parker was passed around amongst all the ladies. wow…my how times have changed. we are all mommies now! so many of my friends have babies. what amazing milestones we have hit. i love stepping back and reveling in on where we are at in our lives. it’s so overwhelming to see the little miracles we are making and how life circles around.
[pam and parker finally made it!]
[how adorbs is this?! hendrix and parker]
[awww…parker allen]
corey grilled up burgers, we noshed on some good eats, and relaxed. we all just hung out and shared stories, mostly about babies and fun stuff like that 😉 well the girls did, while the boys hung out outside and talked about manly things.
[yum]
[rina and me loving life]
we set up the desserts…the kids went crazy over the cookies and cookie cupcakes. so did the adults…hello! we all need our sugar fix! after that, i decided to head home. baby olive needed a bath, a feeding, and to be put down for the night. hc stayed behind to hang out and off i went.
it was another wonderful evening with some great friends. as usual, it’s fantastic to see some old friends and have a grand ol’ time with the kids! it was the last time i would see carol for her stay here in chicago but it was quite a fun filled week together!
thanks marina and corey for hosting! i hope to see everyone soon!
i was finally able to meet jaime’s baby boy, liam!
it was a rainy morning that turned into a beautiful day. we all agreed to meet at noon, but as usual, it’s always on olive’s schedule and she was on a nap marathon. baby girl finally awoke, i got her fed, dressed, packed, and off we went to j’s house.
not too shabby…we arrived only fifty minutes late! i gleefully came inside, i greeted jaime, then her mom {who was in town for the week}, and then all the girls and the kids. i was so excited to see little liam! oh, i had already forgotten how small babies can be! liam had grown to a whopping 8lbs {he was born prematurely at 30 weeks}! that was olive’s size when she was born and he was so teeny! so delicate. i can’t believe olive was that size…awww, makes me a little teary eyed.
[carol and 8 mo old baby katie]
[everyone taking turns holding cute katie!]
us girls took turns holding each other’s babies and gabbed in-between. this was the first time olive was near anyone close to her age! katie was 8 months old and we set them down together for some play time. not quite successful…katie rolled her way over to olive and happily grabbed a handful of her hair on top of her head and yanked olive’s head down to the ground!! oh em gee…it was actually cute. olive whimpered a bit but it was adorbs because kids are kids, they have no barriers and katie was like, ‘i want to pull your hair ’cause i’m intrigued’.
it was a house full of kiddies! liz has three kids; ryan, matthew, and katie. jaime has liam. i have olive and carol has travis and mackenzie. it was quite a circus!
[yay! baby liam and liz]
[my babes]
[look at that face!]
[olive and katie playing]
[photobombed by olive and jaime! we switched babes! liam and i match!]
liz and carol started to prepare lunch for the kiddos while we conversed and watched over each other’s kids. once the kids ate, us mommies scarfed down our jimmy john sandwiches and chips. yeah…this mom ate standing up ’cause olive wasn’t having it, she didn’t want to sit in my lap while i sat at the table!
[baby swapping! olive loved jaime…her new bestie!!!]
[our quick lunch!]
after i ate, i warmed up olive’s food {pears!} and fed her. she loves eating! she has totally learned how to swallow her food instead of pushing it out and around her mouth. so now she is having a blast swallowing big spoonfuls of yummy goodness.
after lunch, carol lit two candles on two cupcakes to celebrate travis and ryan’s birthday! how sweet. they share the same birthday! yum is for tasty cupcakes!
[katie and ryan]
[celebrating travis and ryan’s birthday…they share the same date!]
[travis blowing out his candle before we even finished singing!]
[katie clapping for the first time!!!]
[matthew’s chocolate cupcake face! so cute.]
after the craziness of lunch, us gals relaxed in jaime’s living room {as much as we can relax!}. i was pleasantly surprised how calm and entertained olive was in my lap. she sat there for an hour, just chilling and entertaining herself with some toys!
after several hours at j’s house, i finally packed up my things and we left to go home to see the hubs! it was seriously a great afternoon! we had such a wonderful time hanging out with everyone. i was so happy to have met liam james and to have spent some solid quality time with the ladies!
we were very excited to have carol come over to visit us at our new house!
but before carol came over…hc and olive were hanging out at the grandparent’s house. they enjoyed the morning and afternoon over at dick and jane’s place.
it was the first time olive rode in a swing! she loved it! you can see it in the picture below. what a cutie. hc reported that olive had a great time hanging out with gramma and papa! duh…of course she did!
[looking cute in her new sun hat]
[super smiley with papa]
[how adorbs are these two?!]
***
carol and famille came into town for a week and we had planned on her and the kids to visit us at our new abode. they came over on a sunday afternoon to hang out and eat dinner with us. hc was able to walk carol around our place while she gladly held olive in her arms. kenzie and travis gleefully ran around the property while carol received the tour.
[carol and olive loving each other]
[mackenzie being cute]
hc cooked a delicious meal for us and the kids {he’s seriously so awesome}. carol caught us up on all the latest of life’s happenings. every time she comes into town, she has such a crazy, busy week! she meets up with everyone and is booked solid every day!
we casually hung out, while the kids ran around and played {well, played as much as they could…our house does lack in the toy department}. olive let carol hold her a few times without having a grumpy moment to be back into mommy’s arms {miraculous…although each time she held her, it was short lived}.
travis did have a very, very cute moment with olive. he actually held her and sang to her! how freakin’ cute! it was such a sweet moment!
[travis being so loving with olive]
[my favorite peeps // olive’s current thing…talking while she waves her thumb around in her mouth]
carol had to get back home to her mom’s house…motherly duties called {giving the kids baths and getting them down}. it was a perfect evening together. we were able to show her our new house, eat some yummy food prepared by hc, and spend some good moments together. it was a great start to a upcoming great week!
andrea and i were finally able to set a date for lunch. oh em gee…it was way, way too long overdue for a girly gab session with her!
hc and the gals headed to the grandparent’s house, so i had the morning and early afternoon to myself! that is such a rare thing for me! when I am at home, i always have olive, so to not have her is an odd thing for me. i’ve got to learn to appreciate my time without her {i mean, i do enjoy it but it’s not often so it’s not easy to acclimate}! i do love being with that little gal all the time!
i headed out and quickly cruised to the city. i met andrea at her house. we needed to go over some event planning {some future fun stuff in store} and fine tune some of the details involved. after our gab session and hashing out some great ideas, we headed out to brunch.
our choice to manger? the savoy. it was a beautiful day and we traipsed our way to the restaurant. none of us had ever tried this place so we were quite curious about it. we walked into some cool decor and we were seated right away.
[the menu]
[love the barstools]
[fresh daisies]
andrea and i ordered the same plate…the granola pancakes {yum}. of course we ordered a side of bacon with it {i love bacon!}! annndddd, to wash down all that food, i requested coffee and orange juice as well. a perfect brunch combination.
we conversed, caught up, and had a really good time. i love hanging out with these two! after brunch, we walked back to andrea’s place and then headed out to do some fun errands together.
[the wonderful couple]
[granola pancakes and bacon]
[my girl]
[coffee and juice…i love the juice glass it was served in]
after a few fabulous hours together, i headed back home. it was a wonderful time spent with these two wonderful people. i’m so happy we were finally able to catch up and spend some quality time together.
on my day off, i had made plans with matt to meet me for lunch. it so happened to be olive’s six month check up on this day as well.
so i packed the kids up and off we went to the city. it was a gorgeous day and traffic was light. a perfect combination. we found a close parking spot and walked our way to the restaurant. our place of choice was wishbone. hc and i love this restaurant, it’s yummy southern breakfasts are the best. matt had never eaten at this place! crazy to know because i have been eating here since the late 90’s!
[outfit of the day // zara baby shirt, cherokee pants]
we had just arrived at the restaurant when matt walked through the door. we were seated and perused the menu to decide on what to nosh on. grace went with the chocolate chip pancakes…of course {everything chocolate for her}! i chose the combo of two eggs and pancakes. yum! i devoured everything!
[wishbone]
[hanging out]
[sister love]
[eggs over easy, corn muffin, cheese grits, and pancakes]
matt and i caught up on the latest happenings in life. i’m so excited matt and johann are getting married in a few weeks. we talked about what they were planning and doing for the wedding. we seriously can’t wait! we love them and look forward to celebrating their marriage together.
after catching up and eating our delicious meals, matt walked with us to olive’s doctor’s appointment. leave it to me, again, to not even snap a picture of me and matt together! darn it! sometimes being with matt is like swirling around with the tasmanian devil! i get swept up in the whirlwind and forget my purpose!
[smirky selfie]
anyhoo, we trekked inside for olive’s check up. she was weighed and measured and then we waited. and waited for dr. perlman. she finally came and examined my little girl. all was good! i love dr. perlman…she is the sweetest and smartest lady! she is so wonderful with olive.
after her time with the doctor, we waited a little bit longer and then the nurse came in to give little olive her shots. yikes. baby girl had no idea. she was playing and smiling like a champ until the nurse came in and stabbed her twice! she shrieked and then got over it. awww, my cutie.
[at the doctor’s…not her favorite place but was definitely preoccupied and happy for a moment!]
we left the office and walked our way back to the car. i must admit, much to hc’s dismay, i am terrible with paying the meter. sometimes i do, sometimes i don’t, and most of the time i don’t repay, so there is the chance of me getting a ticket for an expired meter sticker!! eekkk. i do it all the time. so, as were walking back, i had no idea when the meter sticker expired! ha! that didn’t stop me from making a pit stop at starbucks with the kiddies!
[i think i have a starbucks problem]
we made a restroom stop, ordered drinks, and made our way to the car. not without forgetting the louis vuitton diaper bag at the starbucks! omg. we were at the car {no ticket btw…and it was expired by 45 minutes…hehehe} and i was ready to put olive into the car when i looked around and screamed, “omg, we left the diaper bag at starbucks!”. thank goodness is was only across the street! grace ran back in and grabbed it. phew!
besides forgetting to snap a picture of me and matt together and forgetting the diaper bag at the starbucks, our afternoon together was absolutely wonderful!
