getting out

i was super excited to have plans with kim and brady!  i was even more excited to get out of our place.  i’m feeling a lot more confident and better about olive’s behavior, needs, and schedule.  she is also growing and maturing week by week, so her habits are a lot more recognizable and easy to console.  so, taking her out feels less and less stressful.  i’m getting to the point where i’m realizing, ‘i have a kid’, so if she melts down or not…it is what it is!  although, when she wakes up…it’s a scream fest!  she, at this point, doesn’t just wake up and oogle and coo.  she belts it out.  she wants you to know she’s up and hungry.  or has a dirty diaper.  or just because!

kim and i planned on meeting up at nordstrom’s restaurant, cafe bistro.  it’s a quick and easy place to eat and very kid friendly!  now as a mom, the world is a different place.  i was that single gal that really didn’t understand kids, being a mom, or that it mattered that it was a kid friendly eatery.  it just wasn’t my world and i didn’t fully understand it.  not that it completely bothered me but just not my thing.  now, it’s a whole other level of understanding.  i get it.  boy, do i get it.

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[the little mouse was so quiet and sleepy]

as i was leaving the city, she zonked out.  she was tired and grumpy all morning but wouldn’t really nap.  she took a little cat nap but that was it.  she screamed and screamed when i put her in the car seat.  as soon as i walked out of our place she calmed down and then fell asleep, and sleep she did!  she slept through our whole time at nordstrom!

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[cutest gift wrap from kim!]

i’ll leave out the awful part where i struggled with our bugaboo stroller!  it was my first time using it {yes, it makes me sad to say that because that is how little we go out or go for walks…sad. sad. sad.}!  all the other times we’ve gone out with her, it’s been me and the hubs and usually it’s a shopping trip with a cart.  so, it’s easy to take her carseat out and throw it on a shopping cart and so forth.  in the end, i had the employees at nordstrom help me with the bugaboo!  they were better rehearsed in it then me!  so, needless to say, stroller – 1, thu – 0.  i will overcome and win over this stroller next time!

i finally got the stroller going and galloped my way to our destination.  i felt so bad being so late!  anyhoo, i was so, so excited to see kim and brady!  it had been a few months {too long!  and some cancelled plans along the way} and i was glad to finally secure some time and catch up with the wonderful lady!

we have known each other for over four years now!  just like jodi, kim and i got engaged a few months apart, we got married two months and one day apart, and got pregnant just less than three months apart but our babies were born exactly three months apart!  cray, right?!  it’s amazing we have journeyed together on these big life milestones.

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[moi, kim, and handsome brady]

we chitchatted, ate {i had the citrus turkey sandwich – yum!}, and watched over our babes.  we were so excited to share stories!  i was so excited, i think i was a bit ADD!  my mind was scattered, overwhelmed with a ton of thoughts i wanted to share!  when kim and i get together, we can talk and talk and talk.  unfortunately, our time was limited today.  we usually can converse for hours!  it was not enough time spent together.  i had so much more to talk about, to say, to ask, to share!  i am thankful we have become good friends, she is such a sweet lady!

kim brought us a gift!  it was so beautifully wrapped {that’s how we roll, kim and i love wrapping up our gifts all purrty!}.  i absolutely loved every item inside!  the cutie outfit is so adorable {olive will look so purty in it!}.  i read the books, they are so fun and cute and i absolutely loved the flannel swaddle blanket she gave us!  i am all about flannel.  stella had given us the flannel swaddle blankets we registered for from pbk and it’s what olive lives in!  so warm, soft, and cuddly!

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[awesome gifts from the lovely kimberly // her owl themed gift was so stinkin’ cute]

time really flew by.  before we knew it, it had been a couple hours!  although, olive was knocked out, i knew if she woke…she would demand a feeding.  as we were walking out, we were in awe over the fact that we have little kiddies together.  such a fun time for us!  we promised each other that we would get together soon and have play dates with the kiddos!  so, sadly, we said our goodbyes and parted our separate ways.

it was such a good thing to be able to spend some time with the lovely kim and beautiful brady!

xoxo

jodi and jett

it was a great day because we were blessed with a visit from jodi and jett!

they came over on an early thursday afternoon.  jett is so adorable!  he was so intrigued by olive.  especially when she cried!  he seemed more concerned than anything.  jodi had to tell him olive was ok, that babies cry.  his look was so presh.

jett loved our place; he loved our window blinds, my slippers, t.v. remotes, and our garbage can!  who cares about all the toys jodi had brought with her.  those other items were more interesting for jett!  he’s a happy baby!  kids are so sweet, fun, and curious.

we spent the entire afternoon together.  it was awesome to just chill and relax with a good friend and her little one.  olive didn’t sleep one bit that afternoon {i don’t count her five minute cat naps}…and she was only slightly grumpy 🙂

we talked, caught up, and constantly watched over our little ones.  i’ve known jodi for over ten years and have gotten to know her really well the last five years!  we sat there, still in awe over the fact that we both have kids!  we got engaged a few months apart, we got married a little over a year apart, and had gotten pregnant under a year apart!  how cool is that?!  totally experiencing some major milestones together, that’s quite amazing.

after a few hours of hanging out, playing, & many feedings {both jett with his bottle, crackers & avocado slices & olive with her momma’s milk}, jodi and jett were ready to go. it was wonderful to be able to catch up with the pretty lady.  we can’t wait for olive to get bigger and get together with jett for more interactive play dates in the near future!

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[how cute are they?!]

see you guys soon!

xoxo

visitors

olive had many visitors!

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we had our families come over.  our moms, dads, sisters, and brothers.  i sadly missed a photo op with the darling dana!  she did visit us within the first week!

my nephew reagan just loved olive!  he was totally smitten.  he wanted to hold her repeatedly, it was so sweet.  he loves watching her and seems so fascinated!  it’s so adorable to see.

unfortunately, i missed the photo op with dana and the biondo’s!  lori, jay, aj, and jake came to visit us the first week.  lori did snapped a photo with me and olive but not vice versa {wah wah}!

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[15 day old olive // she even has bangs like me!]

we had andrea and frank visit us.  it was a double whammy.  they came around the second week of us being home and blessed us with a second visit the third week on a saturday!  the second time around, frank finally held olive lovingly…not so much like the football hold he had on her the first time!  it was so funny to see him awkwardly hold her like he was running for a touchdown!

then her auntie missy {who was on vacation and then sick} was finally able to visit!  she’s a natural with her {being a mommy herself!} and just loved little olive!  already such a great bonding relationship between them.  so adorbs.

yay!  carol was in town for the holidays and she came over in the afternoon on friday to come see the little peanut.  she spent the entire afternoon and early evening at our place.  it was so nice to relax and catch up with my bestie.  plus, it was cute to see her with baby olive…she totally adored her.  i loved watching them together!

later on, ted came over and we hung out for a bit before they headed off to a christmas party that evening.  it was fabulous to be able to spend some time with them!  we love them to bits!

matt and johann joined us on sunday.  johann was a natural!!!  i was pleasantly surprised.  i notice all of my mommy friends are so good with olive {duh!} and those who are not moms are a bit awkward…not johann!  he was so good with olive, he rocked her, he changed her diaper, he calmed her down.  i was very impressed.

thank you to everyone who has paid olive a special visit.  she appreciates it 🙂  much love to our friends and family!

xoxo

glitter, sparkle, and shine

happy new year!  wow, 2014!

here’s to an amazing year past.  2013 was full of joy, laughter, love, family, friends, and many blessings!  the most joyous event of the year?  our baby girl olive!  finding out i was pregnant since february and being on this journey almost this entire past year has been eye opening, life changing, and miraculous.

i love seeing the glass half full all the time, so any bumps in the road this past year has truly been for the better…learning from your mistakes, forgiving others or yourself, do something better for anyone, and try, try again.

thank you for my family, thank you to my family.  my greatest support system.  through trials and turbulence, family will always be there no matter what.  i am blessed to have this through the doan’s and the heintz’s.  two wonderful families, truly special people…hc and i are so fortunate to be surrounded by such strong foundations.

thank you to my friends who always stand by me.  they are the most amazing people and i am lucky to be surrounded by such good people.  as life goes on, it’s good to have some solid peeps in there.

///

we spent our new year’s eve with friends and family.  we trekked our way out in this crazy weather to have dinner at rpm.  i loved the ambience and the food was delicious!  so freakin’ yummy.

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[don’t mind me a glass of presecco]

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[our artsy, dramatic attempt]

we settled in at the bar, waiting for the rest of our party to arrive.  it’s great when you live 10 minutes away and no one is really on the road!  we ordered drinks and conversed our time away.  since everyone was running a bit behind {holy snow!}, we decided to order apps.  we had the smoked salmon crostini, prime beef meatballs, gnocchi alla romana, and the crispy ravioli.  small bites that were way too small ’cause every morsel was so yummy, i wanted more!

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[the ladies bedazzled for the evening…obviously i don’t know which direction to look at]

anyhoo, our party finally got there {phew!  safe and sound!}, and we were seated!  yay!  and away we went with our over consumption of food for the evening!

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[festive attire // dress – last season’s akira]

we ordered a whole bunch of plates to share.  i loved tasting all the different flavors.  we then moved onto desserts…i had the tartufo, so decadent!

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[our pasta course // my yummy tartufo]

it was a snowy, wintery night for a new years’s eve celebration.

After dinner, we headed back home to ring in the new year with olive and hc’s family.

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[midnight kiss]

on new year’s day, we celebrated with a fun breakfast.  Complete with sparkles, mimosas, and lots o coffee!  it was a perfect beginning to a fabulous new year!

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[our new year’s table spread!]

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[starting off the new year right…family and a super yummy breakfast by hc]

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[olive’s one month birthday cake]

papa insisted on having cake for olive’s one month.  ask and you shall receive.  i love a good ol’ home baked cake!

cheers!

xoxo

happy new year’s eve

happy new year’s eve my lovlies!

here’s a blast from the past.  it’s us on the eve of 2012 ready to ring in 2013!!!  my what a year it has been!

we celebrated at gt fish and oyster with our friends and family last year.  it was a delicious meal…entree after delicious entree.  gluttony at it’s best.  we started our feasting at 10pm and giddily rang in the new year at the restaurant with lots o hollering and noise!

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[2013]

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[the sassy gals]

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[dana and moi always matching in something, as usual]

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[bex and james, who live in seattle, celebrating with us!]

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farewell to a fantastic 2013 and hello to a fabulous 2014!  i wish for everyone health, happiness, love, and many blessings for the coming new year.

happy new year everyone!!!

“should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne?

for auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.”

xoxo

christmas part two

on christmas day, we ventured out into woodstock to visit olivia!

she was in town with her boyfriend aaron {they currently live in florida} and i was so excited to be able to see her!  we had planned on going over to her parent’s house {can you believe that i’ve known olivia for 6+ years and i have never met her parents or her brother henry?!} and hang out on christmas day.

we slept over at hc parent’s house due to our logistics that day.  we got up and aunt wendy so kindly cooked us a christmas pancake breakfast!  she makes some really delicious cakes!  also, dick opened his gift from jane…she commissioned a canvas wrapped collage of olive pictures!

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[cute canvas wrapped collage of olive]

we gathered ourselves and finally headed our way to woodstock.  a half hour later, we were at our destination.  it was so good to see miss olivia!!!  we were greeted by her family and the socializing began.  we were offered drinks {orange juice for me and beer for hc!} and we cozied right in.  they were in awe over little miss olive.  between mrs. gantner and olivia, olive was passed back and forth…so nice for mommy to be hands free!

we ended up staying at their house for over three hours!  it was so nice to sit, relax, and catch up.  it was so wonderful to get to know her parents, they are such lovely people!  it meant a lot to us to be there!

here’s a fun fact:  when olivia and i were visiting her sister claire in d.c. {i was 4 weeks pregnant at the time and didn’t know it!}, we were walking through the grocery store across the street from her sister’s place {picking up taco ingredients for dinner, like lime for the guac!}, discussing baby names.  that’s when i decided i loved the name olive or the french pronunciation & spelling of olivia {with an accent over the a}.  crazy right?  that’s the true story behind baby olive’s name!

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[olivia with olive]

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[goofing around with my sweet olivia and cuddly, soft bruce!]

i didn’t want to leave but we needed to get back to the heintz’s for the second part of christmas day.  they were hosting it at their house and everyone was already there by the time we got back.

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[kait super happy to be holding olive]

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[daniel finally holding his cousin olive // he protested quite a few times!]

appetizers were being served and the party was in full swing!  we greeted and chitchatted with all the cousins, aunts, and uncles.  baby olive was immediately snatched away and passed amongst the family members!  i was then bombarded with gifts for baby olive.  so sweet of everyone for thinking of her.  it’s so fun to open up presents full of cuteness.

the kids ate first {mickey d cheeseburgers and fries} and then ran away to play the evening away.  then the adults got to eat!  i was hungry!  the lasagna was very delicious.  we conversed, mingled, and hung out the rest of the evening.  after much imbibing and noshing, we were ready to head home.

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[merry christmas!]

it was an amazing week and christmas celebration with all our friends and family.  we are so lucky to have such special, wonderful people in our lives.  God bless everyone!

xoxo

hb johann!

happy birthday johann!

we were committed to go out for johann’s birthday on a saturday night but being 39 weeks pregnant and working 5 days straight, i was beat.  seriously dunzo.  my feet ached so bad and i was having major cramps, amongst other ailments.  so, unlike me {i am not known to cancel plans}, we cancelled out on his birthday party 🙁

i was super bummed and really wanted to get together with them to celebrate his birthday {i might have missed out on saturday night but i was going to celebrate his birthday gosh darn it!}.  so we were able to work it out and get together on a tuesday night, after the weekend!  yay!

we decided on folklore {a yummy argentinian restaurant right by us}.  it’s so good!  they kindly picked us up from our abode {although i was ready to walk to the place, it’s only a few blocks from us} and dropped my preggo butt off at the restaurant {muchas gracias}.

during dinner, we exchanged gifts.  i had johann’s birthday gift but they had gotten little baby olive a gift too!  so thoughtful!  it was so sweet of them and very kind!

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[dinner by candlelight]

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[love this restaurant!]

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[the adorable couple]

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[the hubs and me]

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[opening his birthday gift]

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[loving his gift!]

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[so…we didn’t expect a gift in exchange!]

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[love the pretty card]

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[jonathan adler nightlight  // how sweet and thoughtful!!!  so perfect for the baby’s room!!!]

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[happy birthday johann!!]

we absolutely love the jonathan adler night light {huge fan of his products}!!!  it’s perfectly matched with the decor and definitely useful!  i love things that are pretty and functional!  thank you matt and johann.

after imbibing and noshing on some delicious eats {along with non-stop fun convos – i love matt’s interpretations of everything…especially his most recent trip to taiwan}, we were done and merrily we went home!

xoxo

dana date

it was long overdue, an outing with dear dana.  i am happy to get in some dana time right before the baby comes and right before the holiday craziness begins for her!

we quickly set a date to meet up and we did our usual routine.  i was on my merry way to pick her up when my baby brain kicked into full gear.  i drove right past her place.  listening intently to the music in my car, relaxed, and ready to eat some yummy food, i just plain passed up her place!  it was only until i drove up to a familiar street that i knew i was way past the street she lives on!  ha!  i called her and laughed about my story, as i was turning back around to pick her up.

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[jenis]

www.tandeminlove.com

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[fall gear // vintage boots purchased at u.s. #1 vintage clothing and denim in wicker park]

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[enjoying her buckeye]

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[selfie]

off to southport grocery we went.  i ordered the southern {house made sausage, red onion & PQM’s pimento cheese, and a jam-filled buttermilk biscuit} and dana ordered the hash {shredded potatoes, red onion, mushroom, peppers, white cheddar topped with scrambled eggs & chive-sour cream}…so delish and filling!  we just absolutely love that place!  after brunch, we walked to anthro – we always must make a pit stop there!  we oohed and awed over the glittery holiday dresses in their store.  we then stopped by cvs for some essentials and then trekked our way to  jenis for some delicious ice cream.  we sat there for a bit, deep in conversation.  it was so calm and relaxing.  i love hanging out with her!  she is such a good friend.  we can talk about anything and that is very comforting.  just a really great, fun day with a silly friend.

happy day!

xoxo

cutest baby clothes

i just discovered how freakin’ adorable little baby girl clothes can be!  yes, it’s true.  this entire time i have been pregnant, i honestly did not buy one piece of clothing for baby h.  not one.  i, for some reason, was just not that into it!

now that i am hitting the last few weeks of this pregnancy journey, i’ve truly enjoyed shopping for little baby girl clothes {much to hc’s dismay}!  just last week, i bought my first few outfits for the baby!  i’m really loving baby gap {you truly can get a deal there!}, carter’s {you can get an even better deal}, janie and jack, jcrew & nordstroms!  so many cute choices and i can’t wait to see baby h in all these fun clothes.

i am loving all the gifts we received from everyone!  soooo many cute outfits given to us!  here’s a little sampling of what baby h will be wearing.  i’m giddy over every article of clothing!

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i’m a big fan of feminine, cutesy outfits.  nothing too crazy bright, nothing too crazy pink!  more subdued, sweet, semi-preppy and pretty!  i favour greys, mint, a warm coral, navy, and soft pinks on the little one.

i’m really digging baby tights and leg warmers!  i purchased a few leg warmers from target!  they had these adorable grey ones and i also got the pink ones too!  she’s going to look so hip!

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what about these tights from baby gap??!!

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or this fox sweater from janie and jack?!

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i love this plaid jacket from janie and jack as well.

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how ’bout this festive dress??

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one of my favorite gifts?  the minnetonka booties from land of nod!

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or these sweet booties from jcrew.

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there is sooo much more i want to show you!  or maybe when baby h is here, she will model all the clothes herself!

xoxo