he’s six

Posted on October 19, 2013 by tandem in love

little reagan is growing up!! i can’t believe he’s six, already! i’m such a proud auntie, he is such a smart little man! he’s always so entertaining & funny!

i headed to rainforest cafe right after work. there was a little bit of traffic but not so bad. hc was already there and i got there right after him. we had a drink and a snack at stir crazy before we met everyone at rainforest. we figured no one would be on time {hey, it’s a doan outing…we never seem to gather together on time ever :)}.

kim and famille arrived early, so we skedaddled on over to the restaurant. i got cute little hugs from the nephews. kids just love places like the rainforest…it’s so entertaining for them! we browsed around the retail shop for a bit and then we were called to be seated. we sat ourselves down and waited for the rest of the group to arrive. we ordered drinks and apps and perused the menu to figure out what we were going to feed our empty bellies.

[froggie fun]

[aren’t they adorbs?]

[food and fun]

slowly but surely, everyone found their way to the table and greeted reagan with lots of happy birthday wishes! the conversation flowed and the food came readily. it was a very enjoyable time with everyone! reagan was really looking forward to the volcano dessert! there were plenty of birthdays being celebrated there that night, so we saw many, many volcano desserts go by!

[goodies]

[reagan’s most favorite gift!]

after dinner, r opened up his presents! he got a lot of goodies from everyone…i think his most favorite gift of all was from aunt thuy! a very large power ranger!

[i love b’s face in the background]

well, reagan received double the volcano dessert! we sang happy birthday and dug in. it was super yummy, decadent, and delicious. after demolishing a lot of food, we were stuffed and ready to go home. it was a very happy birthday for r!

thanks kim and terry for hosting! happy birthday reagan…we love you lots!!!!

xoxo

saturday afternoon

Posted on October 9, 2013 by tandem in love

we had a lazy saturday afternoon with grace.

just the four of us. we hit southport nail bar for some pedis for our tootsies. as we were heading there, we saw that they were setting up a festival on southport! after we got our nails done up, we cruised through the street. it was the first ever taco fest in the area! the boutiques down southport were having discount specials for their stores {yippee!}, there were food stands, and fun kiddie stuff to do. grace wanted to ride the ponies and the camel. um, we said you ride horses every week…no to the ponies but yes to the camel!

we got grace to take a picture with her dad in front of her favorite team {we wish! she is a stinky loving whitey sox fan…boo!}. after enjoying a beautiful afternoon, we headed home to do some more relaxing. yes, it was a great, calming day for us.

[camel riding]

[grace’s favorite team 😉 ]

[pedis]

xoxo

heintz baby shower

Posted on October 4, 2013 by tandem in love

i felt very blessed to be attending my baby shower hosted by jane and missy! it was so kind of them to want to throw me a shower! it was mainly the biondo side of the family and as usual, quite entertaining!

me, grace, and rich started out our day by getting ready for church. we had to drop off some goodies {sea salt caramel pretzel brownies} i baked for fall fest {a fun event where the programs at church advertise what community work they do & sign up volunteers}.

after mass, grace really wanted to collect some goodies on all the tables, so we patiently waited around while she practically trick ‘o treated all the tables with some homemade goods! we finally had to reel her in and head on our merry way to grandma’s house!

we arrived just right after 12pm and the party was in full swing…i think we were almost the last to get there [oops!]! we mingled and gleefully talked a lot of baby talk {hello, it is a baby shower!}. the food was served and we sat ourselves down to munch on some lunch.

[hostess with the mostess, jane and missy]

[pretty pink roses]

[me and lori]

[decor]

[rich, colin, and nancy]

[kathy, rich, moi, and ruth]

[sitting down to eat]

[punch]

[lunch goodies]

[sweet treats]

[dessert time!]

[yummy cookies]

[kim’s pov]

[cake and ice cream]

soon, we proceeded onto the opening of presents! it was so much fun to open up all the cute gifts for little baby heintz! so many adorable items for her! we felt so blessed to be showered with so many clothes, gear, and toys for the little girl!

[ready to open gifts for baby]

[how adorbs!]

[super excited over carrie, nancy, and pat’s gift!!!]

[missy’s cute gifts]

[absolutely LOVED grace’s gift!]

[sisters]

[kathy and carrie]

[morgan and darci]

[aunt vicki]

[favors]

thank you to everyone for attending and being so kind and generous! a huge thank you to missy and jane for throwing such a wonderful shower for our little baby girl!

each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 corinthians 9:7

xoxo

cha quyen’s 40th

Posted on September 23, 2013 by tandem in love

well that time had come, it was father quyen’s 40th year as an ordained priest! we celebrated at the altar villa banquet hall out in addison. it was quite a fete! i could be exaggerating but i think it was close to 600 folks at the event.

[mingling]

[coaster favors]

[me + hc]

[honoring cha quyen]

[with tricia!]

[vietnamese entertainment]

[with chu thong!]

[with the man of the hour]

[dad, mom, old friend, + dan]

i, as usual, cruised there straight from work. i waited in the parking lot for my hubby charming to meet up with me, he was driving in from the city. once we were together, we walked in and ran straight into my mom and dad. yay! we were immediately pinned with a rose flower {identifying us as family of cha quyen’s} and shuffled to our table. although, we were amongst only a few who had tables reserved for us, i still have to fight off a bunch of vietnamese peeps from stealing the table! they don’t care it says reserved, they will steal it from under this pregger lady! so there i sat, waiting for the rest of my family to arrive.

[old friends]

in the mean time, i was so excited to see my grandma [in from l.a.} and my parent’s old friends, di thu and chu thong {in from texas!}! it was a total reunion that night! we saw so many people we haven’t seen in awhile, it was so good to catch up! it was a great evening except for the singing {oy…it was so loud, it was uncomfortable!}, it’s not a vietnamese event without some loud music and loud singing. my brother dan said all vietnamese music/songs sound like a james bond theme song {funny statement of the night!}.

[love!]

[family]

[grandma! as huy calls her, ‘lil shorty]

anyhoo, after much socializing, eating, and picture taking, it was time to go home! we said our goodbyes and jetted out! it truly was a good night!

xoxo

happiness is

Posted on September 5, 2013 by tandem in love

happiness is when hubby charming is home.

when hubby charming comes home and i am happy as a clam.

happiness is a home cooked meal by hc.

happiness is snuggling with hc and a good movie is on t.v.

happiness is spending a lazy day with hc before this bebe comes.

happiness is when hc cooks me a a delcious breakfast in the morning.

happiness is going shopping with hc and getting his opinion on things.

happiness is waking up next to hc in the mornings.

happiness is attending mass together.

happiness is when hc and i can go on walks and hold hands.

i am most happy when i get to spend time with my hubby charming.

i love you to bits.

[a delicious home cooked meal by hc]

xoxo

haircut day

Posted on September 3, 2013 by tandem in love

a beautiful day for a sassy a haircut. typically, we like scheduling three haircuts in a row…me, kim, & thuy but this time kim couldn’t make it! so, it was just thuy and me. it was a lovely sunny day for us!

i trekked in first due to thuy coming straight from work. hubby charming and moi got there early and misako was able to take me right away. i just love her! she has been cutting my hair for 12 years! she actually didn’t know i was pregnant! last time i saw her, i was at the 3 month mark and i couldn’t tell her because i hadn’t told the family yet!

anyhoo, we chit chatted, caught up, talked about baby stuff, and just really enjoyed each other’s company. she trimmed my hair up all fresh and clean…holy long hair! once i was done, i settled onto the couch and waited for thuy to get there for her haircut.

after both our sessions, we traipsed our way to an eatery we all haven’t been to, farmhouse. it was sooo good! delicious. we were very satisfied and happy!

[thuy’s new do]

[farmhouse]

[farmhouse’s cool interior]

[haircuttery]

[menu perusing]

[my tasty meal // forest mushroom and poblano pepper old world grains burger]

after lunch, thuy had commitments to go to and so did we! it was fab haircut day and delicious feasting. a great way to spend our afternoon together!

xoxo

b’s beurffday!

Posted on August 24, 2013 by tandem in love

we celebrated b’s 4th birthday!

it was hosted by my ever loving sister, kim, and bro in law, terry! it was at brunswick bowling and it was a blast. we geared up our tootsies with some snazzy bowling shoes…hello! of course i brought socks!

[ready to get started]

[bowling shoes…check!}

so, the bowling began, and off to a rocky start. wow…you could tell it’s been awhile since most of us bowled {hee}!!! i tried my best to balance my pregger belly with that somewhat heavy bowling ball but my awesome swing/throw was off kilter! gutter balls, fouls, and no pins down later {um, that is a sum up of the group., minus pete & dan…show offs!}, we then started munching on some yummy snacks ordered {classic bowling grub…pizza, cheese sticks, nachos, onion rings…}!

[candy balls]

[kim’s amaze gutter ball throws]

[dan’s professional bowling league]

[soeurs]

[ladies who lunch]

near the end of our bowling run, we finally gave in to b’s relentless requests for cake and presents! we proceeded to sing happy birthday {yes…his decor represented his like for the boston bruins…don’t ask} and he happily proceeded with his gifts! he was so cute! he insisted on opening the cards first and then politely opened each gift. cars, hockey stick, clothes, skate board, and more toys later, b was a happy birthday boy!

[present time!]

[happy birthday!]

[yummy!]

[look at that smile!]

[cute little favor bags by kim]

we finished up our bowling games and went on our merry ways! all in all, it was a wonderful time celebrating b’s birthday! he was a happy little guy!

xoxo

saturday outing

Posted on August 8, 2013 by tandem in love

it’s very, very rare i get a saturday off. i typically have to request it off and it’s usually because i have something planned. well, lo and behold i had a saturday off without asking for it!!! no complaints from me!

the day started off with lunch with the sista, thuy. i cabbed it to gt fish & oyster to meet her for a breezy, sunny morning fare. we sat outside on this beautiful day, it was so lovely out. sunny, warm, and the perfect temperature!

she ordered a mimosa and i ordered a tasty lemonade. we perused the menu and quickly settled upon our choices. we were going to share some delicious country potatoes; thuy ordered the pancakes {apples and burton’s maplewood syrup} and i ordered the grilled cheese with tomato soup {sourdough bread and wisconsin cheddar cheese}!

[soooo good!]

after devouring our good eats, we traipsed our way downtown to go shopping. we spent the afternoon just lazily walking around and enjoying our time in each shop. we could literally shop for hours upon hours {no joke, we once spent 12 hours shopping one day…it was the holidays folks!}.

we walked up and down michigan ave., after spending 4 hours shopping dt, we were dunzo {temporarily}, well, done with our most favorite stores! we then headed on way home!

it was a fabulous saturday outing! what a great way to spend the afternoon.

say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake. genesis 12:13

xoxo

grace’s birthday

Posted on July 27, 2013 by tandem in love

we celebrated grace’s birthday last weekend! oh my gosh, she turned 11!! my how time flies!

we started off the day with pedis! we all went to nail bar on southport and got our tootisies all purtied up! blue for grace and a pinky orange for moi! after our appointment, grace got to choose where we were going to go to eat. we went to frances, a plain burger for grace, a salad for me, and i can’t remember hc’s order…ha!

[getting her nails done! such a pro, chillin’ and reading her gossip mag]

[birthday lunch]

[our fun pedi’s]

[lunch time fun]

after lunch, we stopped by cycle smithy to check out bikes. hc lured grace to the shop by saying he needed some supplies but we were really shopping for her! it was her surprise birthday gift! she was super excited when we told her! after perusing the bike shop, we decided to go the village cycle. there we found her a trek bike! she really liked it, which worried us at first…ya know how kids can be…they never can decide!

we headed back home to drop me off {i had to go to my p’s house to prep for the party], and they took their bikes to the lake to go riding! it was great! they met up with us back at the cheesecake factory for grace’s birthday dinner with my family.

[grace’s new bike]

[kiddie cocktails]

[birthday time!]

[gifts from r + b]

[the confetti cake being sliced]

once we were done, we then headed back to my parent’s house for cake, ice cream, and presents. the kids had a great time playing together, while the adults hung out.

all in all, it was a wonderful time! we had a blast celebrating grace’s birthday and i’m sure she did as well!

xoxo

gender reveal party

Posted on July 22, 2013 by tandem in love

what an amazing day!

we had our gender reveal party on sunday, and it was such a fun time! behold, there will be a lot of pictures! i had such fun concocting all the details {thanks kim for being our photographer for the day!}! a huge thanks to my sister kim for diy-ing all the vases and arranging all the beautiful flowers!!! a big thanks to my parents for letting me host it at their house!

the morning started out with a trip to corner bakery, we had the food catered by them, so we swung by to pick the goodies. we arrived at my parent’s house and the decorating began! grace was such great help {hc charming was a mission created by me and my p’s to get additional supplies}, she wiped down the chairs, helped me decorate, and set everything up with me!

at noon, the lovely guests started to arrive! one by one, we greeted in glee and the party began! we sipped our drinks and socialized for our start of the party. we finally prepped the food, and enjoyed our meal outside. thank goodness it wasn’t soooo hot. it was hot but not as hot as it has been for the past few weeks. i was so thankful for the temperature being at the tail end of the heat wave!

after the food, the kids got to hit a baby carriage piñata! who doesn’t like a piñata at a party?!

after noshing on our meals, kim and i prepared the desserts. it looked quite adorable! after, we set up the table and i announced to everyone if they wanted to know the gender of the baby?! of course they said yes! i told them that they could find the answer in the cupcakes {from magnolia bakery}! they were so excited! everyone got up to grab their cupcakes! once each person had their little treasure, everyone broke open their cupcakes at the same time!

there it was! pink frosting signifying a baby girl!!!!!! it was so much fun!

[handmade jars filled with candy by me + hc]

[the start of the table setting]

[sprinkled with confetti dots]

[cousins]

[voting!]

[gender pins]

[beautiful arrangements by kim!]

[flowers, confetti, and candy jars]

[decor]

[party tassels]

[famille – grace and i color co-ordinated our outfits to represent both genders!]

[themed party utensils]

[pink and blue plates]

[drinks]

[dana darling with her pink bow pin for her girl vote]

[lan, avery, and thuy]

[the boys + thuy]

[mes seours]

[jane + aunt wendy wearing themed party shoes]

[b + terry]

[jane + grace]

[drinking straws]

[noshing on our pink and blue plates]

[super yummy lemonade]

[b]

[famille]

[magnolia bakery cupcakes]

[yum!]

[sisters]

[tower of goodies // he she bars and pink and blue rock candy!]

[favors]

[piñata time]

[swinging at the baby carriage]

[busted!]

[classic pose]

[swaying towards the boy vote!]

[cupcake time!]

[it’s pink!!! it’s a girl!]

[pink filling]

[beautiful dana]

[pink! it’s a girl!]

[a wonderful gift from aunt wendy!]

[avery helping me open gifts // from her parents]

[lol…all the kids helping me open gifts! so cute!]

[adorbs chevron blanket from lori, jay, aj, + jake]

[what a wonderful party! thank you to everyone for celebrating with us!!!]

we truly had such a great time! what a wonderful way to spend time with our families and such a fun way to let everyone know what gender baby heintz is!!!

yay!

xoxo

tandem in love

{life is truly beautiful and it should be celebrated + shared.}

Tag Archives: famille

he’s six

saturday afternoon

heintz baby shower

each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 corinthians 9:7

cha quyen’s 40th

happiness is

haircut day

b’s beurffday!

saturday outing

say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake. genesis 12:13

grace’s birthday

gender reveal party