arboretum squared

we headed out to the arboretum on a cool autumn day. my brother huy and tashina were in town and we wanted to snap some pics {ya gotta take advantage of your photographer brother when he’s in // huyfoto}.

it was a perfect day. total sweater weather. not too cold and not too warm. a wonderful fall day. i previously mentioned to the hubs about getting a membership to the arboretum because i heard from others, that it is so cheap and going there twice pretty much pays for your membership.

we pulled up and yessssss, it was quite pricey to get in. we asked how much a membership would be for four people and gasped at the fact that it would be down right stupid not to get one!

huy and tashina had just arrived right before us and huy wanted to drive around to explore and find a good spot to snap some photos. we drove around and found a beautiful {well everything at the arboretum is gorgeous} little spot. we continued to cruise around and found another little nook that was beautiful to capture in the photos. after our escapade, we decided to head back to the children’s area so olive could play around a bit. we walked into the building and hc signed us up for a membership, we grabbed coffee, and a little bite to eat. after our snack, we headed out to the children’s garden.

we had to so much fun walking around, exploring, and watching little olive’s curiosity. the first area we went into was the maze. it was fun to walk around and decide which direction we should head to and wonder where it would take you and where you would end up! they also had an amazing tree fort that we explored. olive had fun running around in circles with me chasing her!

after the maze, we explored the garden area. it’s pretty cool to watch her have so much fun with the same thing, over and over again. she loved the spinning wheels, the leaves, the fun interactive activities all around the area. we probably could have been there all day.

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[coming out of the maze]

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[look at those fall colors!!!]

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[such a gorgeous day]

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[she loved putting the little balls into the noise maker]

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after a bit, huy and tashina needed to get some stuff done before they headed out to a wedding that evening. we stayed a bit longer, soaking in the goodness around us. as we were leaving, they totally get you with the smell of popcorn…it was a sweet and delicious aroma. we caved in, bought a bag and popped a squat to enjoy our treats. yummy!

once we spent some time eating, enjoying the perfect weather, and absorbing the amazing environment, we decided to head out. it was a truly lovely morning. we had a really great time with everyone. i love spending time with my family and getting out to do fun stuff like this really is my jam.

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happy day everyone! enjoy every moment and be thankful for your health, your family, their health, and the little things in life. be kind and love one another. peace.

xoxo

happy halloweeeeeen!

oh! i love halloween! it’s always the kick start to the holiday season but i love halloween for all the cute kiddie goodness. i love that it’s such a kid holiday to me. i enjoyed it soooo much as a kid and now, i love that my daughter will love it too!

i’m into the cute kiddy, spooky, fun part of it. not the gory, scary, bloody part of it. nope. not that at all. i love charlie brown’s pumpkin patch, i love all the kid’s shows that display a halloween theme, i love hocus pocus, i love fun pumpkins, yummy candy, cute little costumes, and spooky fun decorations.

halloween has always been a holiday of imagination and eery haunts. so, every year i look forward most to the trick or treaters! oh, it’s so much fun for me to give out candy to the little ones. i love seeing all their costumes and the giddy looks on their faces when they get a big handful of candy!

when i was younger, my most favorite thing to do was to decorate our house {mainly our front door} with fun, festive decor. i would play spooky music on a radio {hidden in the garage} and look forward to every ring of the doorbell! i would sometimes go so far and make dozen of treat bags. yes i did. a total sign of my overzealous, crafty nature. i would buy fun little halloween treat bags; fill each bag with candy, festive stickers, spider rings, trinkets, and anything i considered fun halloween items a kid would love!

as a kid, i loved running home to see what was in my bag of goodies and going through all the fun stuff that was given to me. my most favorite items were always the unique treats. whether it’d be a coloring book, or a fun pack of goodies, or something different that you didn’t see every day. of course, my most favorite candies were reese’s peanut butter cups, heath, bit o honey, and sweet tarts. yum.

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i really do hope olive grows up to love halloween just as much as i do or any holiday for that matter. i hope that her imagination is vivid and inspiring to create some halloween memories and magic of her own!

happy halloweeeeeen everyone!

xoxo

september snapshots

bye bye september…hello october!

it was a glorious month. lots of fun activities and lots of great, great weather. we were so blessed with such a wonderful month filled with lots of memories! the highlight of this past month? apple picking! yay! it was so much fun {albeit the super warm temps}. i love watching olive explore and experience something new. it’s always new to a child, non? ’cause i know this baby girl has no recollection that she apple picked last year. hahaha!

we had a great month filled with brunches, brand repping goodness, craft fair fun, family fun filled days and nights. september is such a good month…a perfect transition into fall, when the weather is still warm and you squeeze in the last few activities outdoors {where you don’t freeze!} and throughly enjoy the fresh air.

anyhoozle, please enjoy the pics below! a few that summed up our fabulous month {in rewind}!

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[my pretty princess]

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[sunday night ice cream trip]

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[big pink balloon]

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[oh, just hanging out and messing things up in my crop top]

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[twinning at the apple orchard]

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[working the cheese snack]

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[a refreshing treat]

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[seafood crab night]

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[my doll]

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[nom nom nom on her bunny blankie]

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[her first time picking apples]

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[renegage craft fair]

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[lemon tee shop]

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[out to lunch with olivia]

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[i found her one morning with her shirt down by her waist]

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[funny selfies]

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[my most favorite picture]

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[homemade pie]

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[wee monster skirt and shirt]

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[anniversary dinner]

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[kid + kind tee // kidssuaveapparel pants]

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[baby in a box…how hc rolls with olive]

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[olive and cheeks tee // the twisted knot bow // little big dreamer shorts // the little wears socks]

well i hope you had a fantabulous september yourself and that you it was relaxing, enjoyable, and that it was filled with laughter and love. cheers to an outstanding october! happy fall y’all!

xoxo

baby date

we love our playdates with brady and now brooklyn! i was excited to meet up with kim, i love hanging out with her. she has become such a great friend over the years and i love that our kids are so close in age.

we gathered ourselves up and headed out to her house. it was a gorgeous day. the sun was shining and the temp was perfect. we arrived right on ‘time’ and we were ready to play!

olive walked in all cautious as usual. she was intrigued by the dog and the new environment. i was happy to see kim, got a hug from bradybear, and scanned the room for miss brooklyn…there she was, all snuggled in her bouncy. oh, she’s a chunker!!! the baby rolls were ah-maze and she’s growing up so fast! slow it down brooklyn, slow it down!

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[what’s the matter brooklyn??]

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[warming up to each other]

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[hi baby brooklyn]

of course, it took olive and brady a bit to warm up to each other. olive immediately took to the toys…brady hovered around, curious and concerned. it’s so fantastic to see them interact or lack thereof. olive totally minds her own business, she is quite content playing by herself and brady looked like he wanted to interact but didn’t quite step over that boundary, just yet.

slowly but surely they started to play together but brady being a boy, he was just a wee bit rough with olive {oh he’s a boy!}. poor olive, every time brady pushed her around, she wasn’t quite sure what to do!

kim had cooked us a delicious casserole for lunch! how lovely. we decided to ‘eat’ lunch but that is always a circus in itself. olive didn’t want to sit and eat, brady sat down for two seconds, and kim and i barely touched our lunch and wolfed down bits and pieces of it throughout the hour{s}. hahaha! #momlife #momproblems

of course, kim and i just blabbed and blabbed and blabbed on and on. our relationship has always been like that, we are quite the chatty cathies when we are together. we droned on and on from subject to another. it’s like we never have enough time to talk or when we decide it’s time to leave, we will gabbed about stuff for another hour! while we were hanging out, her hubby mikey came home to say hello! love the guy…he’s a sweetheart and quite the funny guy. it was great to spend some time catching up with him too! after a bit, he had to go {back to work!}.

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[she loved the big bear]

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[this was pretty much brooklyn in and out]

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[mikey made a cameo appearance]

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[olive loved sitting in the bucket]

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[me and my babe]

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[hugs goodbye]

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hours and hours went by and before i knew it, it was getting past her nap time and getting too close to traffic time! we said our goodbyes for like an hour {haha!} and finally parted ways. olive gave brady and kim hugs and kisses goodbyes and we headed home. olive was out within minutes in the car and i was content that we had such a great day with kim and the kids. love her and her family! we can’t wait to see them again!

xoxo

morton arboretum

the last time i was at the morton arboretum, i was just a child. it had been soooooooooo long since! i was excited to head back and especially excited to go with my friends jaime and pam and their kiddos!

it was a perfect day. not too cool and not too warm. just a few layers and we were set. i knew the day would warm up nicely and it was going to be lovely out. we set out late {well, knowing that it was only a bit away…eep!} but arrived just a few minutes behind our agreed upon time and ended up being the first one there! jaime was unloading her car as i strolled on by and pam was just pulling up.

it was so awesome to see them! it had been awhile since we all had been together and it took awhile for us three to coordinate a time to get together again! our schedules are so crazy and busy that months later, we finally secured a date!

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[ready to go out!]

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[the moms and our babes]

we trekked inside and started walking around. it’s so beautiful there…so many lovely things to look at and i loved how kid friendly it was! the children’s garden was interactive, playful, fun, and secure. you always had an eye on your kid but you didn’t worry about losing her or having her completely out of your sight since it was almost laid out like a maze.

olive had a blast hanging out with the boys. it was so cute to see them together and at a stage where they could walk, kind of talk, and play with each other. they did a lot of running around…each babe was curious over something or another. parker and olive were a bit like two peas in a pod and liam was mr. independent.

we walked and walked and talked and talked. it was such a lovely time. we had a great time catching up and watching our cute kiddies play and explore. i love these gals. friends since childhood {pam} and high school {jaime} through my bestie carol {who lives in seattle}. i love seeing them and love their babes! it’s pretty awesome to have parallel lives and have that common ground. we all got married around the same time and had babies close to one another. that connection in life makes the bond stronger!

halfway through our exploration, we popped a squat to have lunch. each of us packed our goodies and fed our babes and ourselves…at least we tried to eat. it’s always so hard to feed and take care of yourself, sometimes, with a little one at your hands! ya know?! you stuff a few bites into your mouth and call it a meal. doh!

after lunch, we walked some more. it’s so beautiful there! pam and j were telling me about all the fun things they do, year round, at the arboretum. it’s such a great place for kids and families, we can’t wait to go back and explore it some more!

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[loved this area]

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[hi liam]

via tandeminlove.com[my little love // scarf by hobsonvilleco. // bow clip by coco.and.lulu]

http://www.cocoandluluhandmade.com

[hiiiii parker]

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[the three stooges // liam, olive, and parker]

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[exploring]

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[learning]

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[watch and learn]

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[little independent buggers]

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[gorgeous displays everywhere]

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we had such a great time hanging out with these lovely ladies and their handsome fellas! oh how i love them! such great people and such beautiful, sweet babes. olive and i loved out playdate time with them and we can’t wait to do it again. this time around, i hope it’s not months from now!!!

xoxo

pumpking pickin’

we were ready to hit the pumpkin patch. we needed pumpkins for our house to start our festive decorating and i was sooo ready to decorate! fall and october were calling my name!

we picked a pumpkin farm that wasn’t too far away from us. we wanted it to be a fun but quick trip, just spend a couple hours doing some fun activities and then head home to relax for the rest of the day.

it was perfect weather to be outside. not too warm and not too cold. a few layers of clothes and we were set. olive and i decided to twin with matching cowboy boots! when we arrived, she insisted on walking but she wanted to hold my hand. i find it so cute and funny, only because months ago, she would never hold my hand. oh, no. she would grunt and scream if i tried. it made me a little sad only because i wanted to hold her hand and she would always reject the attempt at affection. but now she is much more keen on the idea but the only problem with that is that she is two feet tall. hahaha. so, holding her hand gives me a back ache! ahhhaha! you ask and you shall receive, non?!

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[she insisted that i hold her hand but it was so awkward because she is still so little…i had to walk hunched over for a bit. eep]

once we walked inside, she was completely smitten! she loved all the pumpkins and craziness that was going on! well, first things first, we decided to go through a haystack maze…um, not my cup of tea! the tunnel of swirling lights would totally make me sick and dizzy, so i literally closed my eyes and walk forward. haha! it’s a good thing i didn’t fall down walking in the dark with my eyes closed as well!

after the maze, we saw a bumble bee ride and knew olive would love something like that. so grace and olive waited in line to get their turn. she was soooo stinkin’ cute riding around and smiling ear to ear! she looooooved seeing all the live animals, she would get so excited and i would teach her the animal names and i loved that she would repeat everything. watching her learn and grow is just the best feeling and such a great gift! although, seeing all the animals caged in up in little bitty cages made me sad. such a bummer to see them in such small capacities with no real room to run around.

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[matching cowboy boots]

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[my love]

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[picking out pumpkins]

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[the dizzy haystack maze]

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via tandeminlove.com[she loves rides]

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[checking out the bunnies]

after we saw bunnies, turkeys, llamas, and more…grace really wanted to eat corn, so we hopped on over to the food joint and bought a few ears. while hc and grace chowed down on some delicious corn, olive entertained herself with the rocks and dirt and was being the cutest little girl where all the strangers were smitten with her.

after a mini snack break, we sat down in the stands for a pig race. it was crazy. there were three races in total and i felt like it went on forever. the actual races were short but the mc droned on and on! plus, with us sitting in the front row with olive, she was constantly wiggling around. she kept running up to the fence {us knowing she probably shouldn’t be near the fence} and we kept calling her to sit back down. thank goodness she was listening but we must have done that a half dozen times, at least!

the last pig race was hilarious…oh my gawd! they were the biggest, fattest pigs i ever did see!!! they were soooooo slow and charming. yes. they were so cute, big, and adorable. olive was so distracted by the audience noise that she missed the first two pig races. ha! she did not miss the last one! she ran up to the fence {and by then, i gave up trying to call her back} and was totally mesmerized by the pigs!

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[ohmy! the huge piggies racing!]

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after the pig races, we decided to pick out the pumpkins we wanted! we perused and perused and we all finally picked out the ones we liked! grace and olive had a great time playing around the pumpkin patch. everything is so novel to this little one so watching her awe and excitement is just amazing. while we were picking out pumpkins, hc was waiting in line for some funnel cake! it was in big demand, so the line was a bit long but always oh so worth it! when hc made it back with two plates of goodness, we sat our tushies down on the floor and devoured our funnel cake.

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[sisterly love]

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[looking over and double checking our selection of pumpkins]

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[funnel cake anyone?]

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it was a perfect day at the pumpkin farm. we had such a great time…it’s so fall to do fun stuff like this! the sights, the colors, the smells, the food…it just makes you so excited for the season! olive had a blast and so did we! cheers to the start of a great fall season.

xoxo

a giveaway from my beautiful little shop

we absolutely love the moccs from my beautiful little shop. nailea creates the most amazing, soft, functional, yet pretty moccasins out there! the leather that she uses is so supple and buttery and the hidden elastic around the around the top line makes it so easy to slip the shoe on your babe and it s t a y s on your little’s feet!

we have always loved moccasins…baby olive received her first pair while she was still in mommy’s tummy! that is when the shoe obsession began…eep! i love buying her shoes. i love coordinating her outfits. nailea’s moccs are a perfect accessory every.single.time. olive always get so many compliments when she’s sporting a pair!

my little beautiful shop offers so many wonderful styles. she has your classic fringed moccs, which are probably the most popular. we have been a fan of her sandals, gladiators, and most recently i am loving her booties for fall! the booties have a higher ankle rise, they lace up, and look fabulous with leggings, leg warmers, and tights for the cooler weather!

she also specializes in unique styles such a ballet slippers with wrap around satin ribbons. those sandals are so romantic and perfect for your little dancer babe. my two favorite shoes to coordinate with most of olive’s outfits are her pink and gold moccs. the most versatile moccs in her closet. they are total opposites on how i want to impact olive’s outfit, one to add a punch of color or the other to add demure sparkle and shine to her ootd. those are my go to’s when in doubt.

to celebrate fall, my beautiful little shop and myself have partnered together to give away a pair of her gorgeous moccs {moccs of your choice!}! i am so excited to host this giveaway on my instagram account! please read the directions on how to enter the giveaway below! yay!

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[pink moccs]

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[black sequin moccs]

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[gladiator lace up]

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[romanos sandals]

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[baby olive will be very disappointed if you don’t enter the giveaway!]


how to enter the giveaway –

 1. follow me {@tandeminlove} and @mybeautifulittleshop

2. like the instagram giveaway post

3. tag as many friends as you like on the giveaway post…one tag per comment, each tag is an entry!

4. for bonus entries…tag me @tandeminlove and my hubby @dickie_customs

the giveaway ends on friday, 10.2.15 at 10:00p {cst} and the winner will be announced on saturday, 10.3.15.

good luck everyone!

xoxo

happy twenty-two months!

oh baby olive. she is officially twenty-two months old. oh my goodness, that means she is almost two years old!!! whaaaaaaaa?!

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[photo taken on 9.27.15}

top by czarina’s project, bow by coco and lulu, shoes by mini melissa

wow…she’s become such a cute, little, opinionated, sweet, bossy babe. hahaha! she’s definitely hit the almost terrible two’s. it’s not been so terrible but totally taxing on my sanity and patience. i completely understand that she is unaware of how to channel her emotions. i get that she doesn’t know right from wrong. i do my best to guide her and be as compassionate as possible. she’s a funny one. i get her by now, though. yes. no. yes. no. yes. no. i get all freudian on her. so, in the end i win! muwahahaha!

she still loves to eat. she’s got some chunky legs but her arms are so itty bitty! i only say ‘still’ because ya know how kids can be…they can get picky! so far, so good with miss olive but yes, she is still little. we usually start her morning with yogurt, fruit, and/or cereal. for lunch, we go in for an all beef hotdog, fruit, and cheese. she will get a snack in the afternoon and that will typically consist of annie’s cheddar bunnies, fruit, dried cranberries, applesauce, or horizon peanut butter sandwich crackers. for dinner, she will eat whatever we eat but we will add in fruit or veggies if we lack in those areas.

baby olive is a trooper sleeper. such a good, great, awesome sleeper. she has the occasional interrupted sleep {mostly her afternoon naps}, where she cries out for a minute or less but other than that, she’s pretty solid. she is a night owl. yes, baby girl looooooooves to stay up late. where most kids her age go to bed at 7 or 8 o’clock, olive is all milk drunk partying it up at night. she won’t hit the sack until 9-10 o’clock and sometimes she will lay in her crib and hum or talk to herself for another 45 minutes or so.  but like clockwork, she will stir at 8 o’clock {give or take} every day. she will hum or talk to herself for a half hour or so before she starts to scream my name. “mom! mom! mom! mom!”, over and over again. even if i answer her she will keep screaming it until i go into her room. sometimes she will converse with me from across the hallway {and that is soooo adorbs!} but most of the time, she won’t stop until i make an appearance.

goofing off is her middle name. she loves to be so crazy {toddler life}. she loves to chase me, grab at my legs and say, “i got you! rawr!”. she loves to say that over and over as we chase each other and play ‘tag’. she loves to jump on the couch {bad habit we don’t stop! eep}. her current love? jumping everywhere. she doesn’t walk, she will jump, jump, jump to point a to point b. she loves it when we throw her in the air, she loves to play hide and seek, she loves to read and be read to. her favorite book of the moment is the little engine that could. she loves it when i read to her in the morning, that’s her routine.

words or phrases she says. “oh noooooooo, it’s sucks!” translated to, “oh nooooooo, it’s stuck!”. “i eat”. “peas” translated to “please”. “i bow, i boowwww, i bow!” translated to “i want my bow!”. “i want”. “phone”. “i wuvvv you” translated to “i love you”. “munny” translated to “bunny”. “i like it”. “mmmm, yummy”. “doggie”. “cat, meow”. “cookie”. “pop” translated to “lollipop”. “i sorry”. “pilwoah” translated to “pillow”. “book”. “bear”. “hat”. “elwafent” translated to “elephant”. “mouse”. “shoes”. “tv”. “i drink”. “back” translated to “put it back”. i could go on and on. her vocabulary grows by the day and everyday, we are teaching her new words to say and remember. she knows her name, she knows how old she is, she can count 1 – 10 guided and so forth. it’s so amazing to watch her grow and learn.

her snuggles are the best. i love that she is now so cuddly and sweet. she loves to sit in my lap, be in my arms when we are sitting on the couch watching a movie. she will lean her head on me. she loves to crawl into our bed and lay with us. she gives the best kisses and hugs. the kind of hugs where she will repeatedly tap you on your back, so stinkin’ cute. she will hold my hand, give me endless kisses, lean her face onto mine, put her arms around me…i love every second of it!

this girl loves her shoes. oh, and she had plenty of pairs to swap around! she is so good with putting on her shoes and taking them off. the other week, she put it on the wrong foot and said, “wrong foot!” and proceeded to take them off and put them on the right foot! such a smarty. if she sees her any of her shoes sitting around, she will always put them on. so far, she’s been great with letting me choose her clothes and shoes. i will be sad when the day comes and she won’t ‘let’ me dress her anymore!

well, that is oh baby olive in a nutshell. i could go on and on about all the wonderful changes and growth she has been through {typical mom talk, non?!} but i will give you the condensed version. hahaha!

she is the light of our lives. i pray every day that she will grow up to be a strong, loved, patient, kind, healthy, beautiful lady. olive, we love you so much and always want you to know how much we care, give, and do to make this world for you a better place.

xoxo

railroad date

hc took the morning off and we decided to go on a date at the train station. the all aboard diner that is! we were a bit turned around on where it was, only because gps took us somewhere it wasn’t! we were a mile away from the actual restaurant and it ended up being closer to home than what we thought! damn you gps.

anyhoozle, the restaurant looked eerily quiet. we pulled up and realized it wasn’t open until 11, so we decided to traipse around the toy store next door. eleven finally neared it’s head and we proceeded to walk our way to the restaurant. it was already bustling!

immediately olive knew where she was. she beelined for this little horsey ride and jumped on! boy oh boy was it a challenged once we got inside. olive’s head grew little horns and she instantly became fussy and difficult. she wanted to play, she didn’t want to eat when our food came, and she was huffing and puffing all over her chair. now here’s me…uh huh. nope. not gonna fly little missy. so i asked her to eat. she said no. i said if she doesn’t eat, we were leaving. she said no. i grabbed the little babes and promptly walked her outside. she cried and cried. we sat outside where there were tables and chairs and she screamed for dada. “where’s dada? where’s dada?”. she knocked on the glass window and cried for her dada.

i continued to negotiate. she continued to disagree. i finally got her to somewhat shake her head and we walked back inside. instantly she started screaming and pointed to the railroad tracks. she wanted to get down and play. nope. back up in my arms and outside we went again. she was crying and i told her if she ate her food, she could play all she wants but she needed to eat.  finally, finally she agreed. hc came outside to ‘rescue’ her and she verbally said yes that she would eat her food.

she happily scarfed down her lunch {no fussing no complaints}, i was super happy with her, and i always keep my word. as soon as she finished her food, i told her she was good and gave her a smooch. she happily climbed down from her chair and ran towards the train set and was a happy camper!

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[here we go!]

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[hanging out at the toy store before we head to the restaurant]

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[selfie time]

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[we loved watching the train go round and round]

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[olive chewing on some cheese curds]

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[she’s finally eating her lunch]

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[olive mesmerized by the train set]

now, it’s such a novel idea for kids, this restaurant but would i come here again anytime soon? maybe not. probably when she is just a wee bit older and understand a little bit better what this whole place is about. i know through her cute big brown eyes it’s just a big play house but eating her food is in order! or maybe olive will eat a meal before we bring her and we can enjoy our lunch while she happily plays…we’ll see. i am sure i will be blogging about it the next time we go {if ever!}. hahaha!

xoxo

momfessions

most of the time, olive and i are just simply hanging out. one thing with this kiddo is that she definitely needs one on one attention. sometimes it’s really hard, sometimes it’s really easy…honestly, it just depends on what i have going on.

i, as usual, take on too much all the time. i never, naturally, can never sit still…so the more i do, the better it feels for me. i don’t mind alway being on the go and sitting still to relax is hard for me to do. the only time i ever just sat around was when i was pregnant. i had no energy or motivation to get up to do anything. it was such an anomaly. everyday i would sit on the couch and watch t.v. something i never, ever do!

well, trying to get stuff done with a kid {as any parent would understand and know} is such a feat! i do my best to accomplish stuff while olive is napping or late at night when she goes down to bed {this is where i lose sleep and it’s a tough thing to swallow. i believe good sleep = good health and i am losing this battle!}. it’s hard though, because i can’t get everything done within a few hours in a day.

that’s where i struggle. i am thankful for hc because we will share olive and take turns doting on her, depending on what each of us has on our agenda. when i am with her, she wants all my attention and i want to give it to her. there are little blimps within our day, when she will be totally focused on her toys {her play corner in the living room} and i will take advantage of that and scurry around, getting stuff done in the house.

what cracks me up are kids concept of time {or lack thereof}. olive might be by herself for 10 minutes and she will have a freak out {she probably thinks she had been alone for ages} and will come find me, nervous that she was alone. i always chuckle at this because it’s so cute.

i don’t like turning on the t.v., either, to distract her. she is now at an age where she completely zones in and becomes obsessed with the telly, so that is something we put on late at night, maybe right before bedtime so she can just chill out.

i do believe in quality time with her than quantity. like, when we are together…i try really hard not to have my cell phone or computer going. i want to give her my attention when we are together versus having my head buried in technology and social media. although, it’s hard at times when i’m on the computer {blogging, etc.} and hc is chilling with her, she will come over to have me come play with her {in which case, i can’t say no!}.

i’ve come to terms on what i can or cannot do around her. it was hard at first, because it was about finding my balance and managing my time. when i can do something, when i can’t, and when was i going to get something done! when she was a wee one, it was easy to do anything because she was stationary. now that she is mobile and interactive, the whole game plan has changed. i had to pick and choose my battles but honestly, i haven’t lost one yet. 😉

via tandeminlove.com

via tandeminlove.com

yes, peeps, the struggle is real. i’ve learned to run like a well oiled machine despite the obstacles and challenges i’ve faced at being a first time mom who’s a bit of an overachiever. hahaha! this baby girl keeps me on my toes! sometimes i want to lock myself in a closet {yes, and i want no one to find me} and sometimes i want to just sit still for a moment and not be bothered {all deep wishes here} but the joys of parenthood does not allow that. i love, love my time with olive, every second {well maybe not the tantrums} and i’ve come to terms on how to manage it. although there are days i want to rip my hair out.

in the end, the struggle, the madness, the craziness, the insanity, is overshadowed by the love, the giggles, the hugs, the kisses, and the amazing child named olive. oh how i love her so.

xoxo