simple night

we had a low key, simple night out with the fam. i love moments like these. we can get together, have dinner, hang out, and shop! us gals can really shop. i don’t know how and why. it cannot be explained. were we born with the shopping gene?? yup, i think we were. there is such a thing as a shopping gene, right? some people are born with it and others are not. when you have the shopping gene, you can shop for hours on end. you are able to go to one store, to the next, to the next, and the next without getting bored or exhausted. yes, that is what me and my sister’s have. the unique shopping gene. 😉

well. we started out the evening with a tasty dinner at cpk. we had our usual server, our usual order, and the usual routine. the boys colored and i fed olive her dinner. hc ordered a pizza and i wasn’t super hungry {what?!}, so i ordered a bowl of soup. split pea soup…delicious, add a dash of ground pepper and it totes is a meal!

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[selfie and cpk]

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[chunker cheeks]

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[coloring]

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[my love]

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[these two being silly!]

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[pizza! pizza!]

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we actually went shopping before dinner {because there was a wait} and before dinner ended, i ran out to pick up a few things for miss olive at babygap {a fav store of mine for the little missy}. the fam finished up at the restaurant and hc came over to tell me they were headed over to nordstrom. i made my purchases at babygap and we walked our merry way over to nordstrom kid’s shoe department. i could spot them from across the store…all three cuties had their balloon in hand!

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olive was having a great time playing peek a boo with her balloon and reagan. oh, reagan. he is the sweetest with her…always doting on her and being such a great, big cousin to little olive. it is so sweet to watch. as you can see, she was all smiles!

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[peek a boo]

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[weeeeee! weeeeee!]

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after much strolling, shopping, and a whole lotta fun, it was time to go. the usual…get miss olive home and start her nightly routine for bedtime!

having family close is the best thing. easy dinner. easy company. easy shopping partners. God bless my family and yours!

xoxo

olive’s second date

we were super excited to have a date with kim and brady! olive had a fun playdate with mr. jett recently and now she’s on her second date with mr. brady!

it was definitely long overdue. the last time we saw brady and kim, was when brady was 5 months old! so, we were looking forward to having a fun day with the both of them.

we packed ourselves up {after a long morning with olive…she went down for a late nap and boom! we were behind schedule} and headed on the road. it was a long ways to get to kim’s house. her and mikey just bought a house way up north {about 43 miles from our home}! i was super excited for them…we know the gleeful, satisfied, wonderful feeling of owning your own home, so we couldn’t wait to see it!

we pulled up to the beautiful brick front home and i pulled olive out of the car, walked up to the door, and rang the bell. i was greeted by bruster, kim, and cutie brady! yay! i pulled olive out of her car seat and she immediately started to explore her new surroundings. it was total cuteness overload! as olive crawled around, brady followed. they were curious about each other, although olive seemed more curious and intrigued by all the fun toys!

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[housewarming gift & brady’s birthday present]

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[helloooo…we haven’t seen each other since i was two mo. old and you were five mo. old!]

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[brady was so cute…he’d walk to his chair and plop down like a little cool dude]

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[such a little sweetheart]

brady was soooo sweet. he would give me hugs and kisses. i was in love! too adorbs.  he’d walk up, just fall into my arms, and give me smooches. it was beyond presh. moments likes these are to die for! these babes are soooo stinkin’ cute.

kim had ordered and picked up lunch for us {at a place down the street from her}! so kind! we immediately started chatting up a storm. oh, there was so much to catch up on. our houses, our kids, the days of our lives 😉 brady and olive were having a swell time playing together. olive was so fascinated by all of brady’s toys! baby girl only has 1/10th of what brady has! so she was in play heaven!

we gabbed for quite a bit when i realized we had ordered food and hadn’t eaten yet! so kim and i ‘sat down’ to eat. i had ordered the breaded portobello mushroom sandwich and fries. it was delicious but a bit hard to eat with olive in my arms and i’m feeding her cereal puffs! so i forked the mushroom apart, left the bun, and gobbled on the fries. yum.

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[breaded mushroom sandwich and fries]

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[my cheeky babes]

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[the beautiful momma and the handsome babes]

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[brady gets so mesmerized by the tele!]

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[we couldn’t get a proper pic of brady because he was glued to the movie! so adorbs // pic by kim]

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[pic by kim]

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[pic by kim]

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[pic by kim]

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[we both so wanted a pic with the two babes sitting in the chair together…this is all we got!]

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[mommy selfie!]

we hung out with them all afternoon {and could have hung out longer, but i’m always on a schedule with olive, and i like to coordinate her naps with car rides 😉 }. we had such a fun, relaxing time. we talked, we chilled, and reveled in all of life’s happenings. it was pretty awesome to be able to just chill in her new house and have our kids running amuck with no worries!

i love kim! just like jodi, our lives are so parallel in major milestones. dating, engagements, marriage, and children! we have been able to connect with so many wonderful events in our lives throughout the years of knowing one another. we feel blessed to have them in our lives!

well, it was another successful date! olive and brady had a grand ‘ol time playing together! i’m hoping it’s not as long of a time in-between before we see each other again! as soon as olive and i drove off into the sunset, baby girl passed out in her car seat and took a good, long nap 🙂

xoxo

happy ten months!

happy ten months olive!

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[photos taken on 9.27]

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oh em gee. it’s getting so close to her birthday, birthday! wow, time is surely flying by! this past month has brought us so much joy! her personality, her quirks, her sweetness…all coming into fruition, forming her cute little self. this past month, i’ve found myself thinking, “oh my gosh, she’s becoming a little girl”. sniff, sniff.

she is still standing on her own. baby girl is no where near walking though. she, well, i wouldn’t say she’s lazy {not as ambitious?} because she does stand. she contemplates taking a step but would rather sit down and crawl because that seems easier and faster! i’m excited at the prospect of her walking but i always say, i love having her as is. don’t grow up too fast! i know once she starts walking, it’s going to be a constant chase. so, slow it down baby girl!

she loves to snuggle. oh, it’s the best! after her feedings in the mornings, she loves to roll around in bed with me. it’s intensified since her nine month mark. she loves to give me hugs and kisses. she loves to cuddle and snuggle. she loves to wrap her arms around me and just lie there, skin to skin. it’s the best feeling in the world. her sweet actions just makes my heart melt. she turns to me and kisses my lips or face. she will rest her head on my side, my leg, my arm, wherever she lies down. she loves it when i caress her cheeks. there are times when we are sitting on the floor together and she will crawl up to me, stand up, and wrap her arms around me and gives me a long hug. *sigh* those moments make life so beautiful.

eating food is her favorite activity. she loves to eat. she loves it when we feed her…she gets so excited! she is still eating solids three times a day with snacks in-between. we’ve graduated into non pureed foods. the next thing i’m about to write might gross some people out but it’s so inherent for me to do. so, yes, if you like, you can call me alicia silverstone. i actually will put food in my mouth, chew it up, and feed olive. ok, not like chew, chew, chew with my molars but i will break it down with my front incisors and then give it to olive. it helps break down the texture and it’s easier for her to eat. we love to eat like that together and it lets me feed her such things as fruit and meats, certain items that might be a little tougher for her to break down with just her gums {since she only has one tooth!}. so, overall she is still a hungry, hungry hippo!

her sleeping patterns are such a blessing. we are so lucky she’s been such an amazing sleeper since her fourth week {let me tell ya, those first four weeks were hellish, let’s just say we never slept those first weeks}. she goes down around 9:30pm and she is up around 7 or 8am. the latest she has ever slept was until 9am! the only thing that is bothering her of late are her teething episodes. but that hasn’t really stopped her from sleeping through the night! she might cry out for a minute or two but she always falls back asleep. she is just a little bit more fussy in the morning or fussy with her naps. but otherwise, she is sound asleep all night long.

exploring her surroundings has been her new thing. it’s too cute. she will crawl around the house and explore all of her surroundings. she can entertain herself for quite awhile when she is doing this. she will look inside all the rooms. she will pull things off the shelves {mostly toys in grace’s room} or just sit in a room and stare around. she loves to touch everything and look inside boxes and bags that are sitting around {like a curious cat!}. she just recently started to try to step up on the stairs or the hearth by the fireplace. that’s only been the most alarming action so far {time to buy a gate!} and it’s something we must keep our eye on at all times now!

she hasn’t yet spoken a solid word. we are waiting. so excitedly waiting. she mumbles a lot of different things and she has said mama and dada but hasn’t yet used it in a way that has it’s true meaning. like, she hasn’t cried and called out to me, addressing me as mama. so, i’m anxiously waiting!

this past month, she has been loving the act of throwing herself back onto the bed. oh, she thinks it’s soooo funny. what a clown. i will place her down on the bed and she will give me a sly smile and then throw herself back onto the bed. she then giggles and rolls back around to do it again. she also loves it when i take her and throw her [face first} onto our bed of pillows, she pushes herself off, and then gleefully throws herself backwards onto the bed! she will smile ear to ear and waits for me to do it all over again! what a funny gal!

well, those are olive’s ten month milestones, quirks, and memories. she has been such joy for us. we love, love watching her grow. we love listening to her giggle and ‘talk’. we love how much she brightens up our lives. we can’t wait to share olive’s eleven month fun! happy monthly birthday to our little love!

xoxo

olive’s first time in a pool!

another fun activity crossed off our summer to do list!

well, we did do this awhile ago, but i’m finally getting around to posting it. life is just so busy sometimes and getting a blog post published can take up so much time and it’s harder since i have the little one! i used to go, go, go but now {ok, now some people might say i’m still like that} but now i slow down and put things to the side because i’d rather have a little more snuggle time with olive, more one on one time with her, and more cuddly moments. the truth is…i know these moments don’t last forever and i am doing my best to cherish her little baby moments.

ok, so this was fantastic! i was so excited for olive and couldn’t wait to see her reaction. after a lovely brunch with my friend andrea and her friends and family, we headed to the hotel {palomar}, that they were staying at, to hang out at the pool.

i, unwillingly, changed into my swimsuit {um, having a baby does cray things to your body and i just ate lunch, hello!} and i dressed olive in her minnie mouse swimsuit {a present from gramma jane!}. we excitedly scurried to the pool, i couldn’t wait to get her into the water! i wasn’t worried she wouldn’t like it, i was sure she would love it! she loves bath time and has become so fascinated by the water.

so there i went, gingerly stepping into the pool {it was cold!}, my feet hit the ground and in olive went. she immediately loved it! yaaay! it was too presh. she cooed, mumbled, and splashed her way all around the pool. she was having the best time evah! annddd so was her momma! i loved watching her and i was super happy to see her love it so much!

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[here we go!]

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[she’s loving it! or am i loving it more?!]

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[look at that face!]

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[in the water!]

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[honestly, olive really did have a blast, although it looks like i am having more fun]

we actually stayed in the pool for quite some time. maybe 45 minutes? the only reason we got out was because i needed to head home. it was time for another nap for the little one and a car ride home would suffice. so, we got our raisin hands and toes out of the water, changed our clothes, and went on our merry way. baby girl zonked, i mean zonked out in the car! out like a light once we started moving on the road.

it was so fabulous to have experienced olive’s first time in the pool. we both had a blast! we can’t wait for future pool dates together!

here’s a little vimeo of her in action!

xoxo

august snapshots

really?! august has come and gone?! what a great month it was. there was a lot of time hanging out with family and friends. definitely how life should be spent. i love life and i really do see the glass half full. life is too short to not revel in all the good things in your life. i try my hardest to live by those rules. i’m not always successful but i do believe i always have a sunny disposition that will always take me to the brighter side.

of course, a lot of these snapshots are of our beautiful, baby girl olive. she brightens our day, everyday. 🙂 this past month, we were able to celebrate my nephews birthday, my sister kim’s birthday, do a lot of outdoor activities, and enjoy the last bits of warm weather!

oh, summer…you are coming to an end and we are not ready. we love having you around and all that warm weather you bring. if you stay, i promise i will bake you a cake 😉 or maybe hc will bake you the cake. no matter, you will get cake, as long as you stay. pretty please. with sprinkles on top. and a side of ice cream. yum.

so, here is our past month in rewind. i hope you enjoy the pics and the many pics of our darling baby girl! here’s to another fabulous month to come!

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[snuggling with daddy]

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[not happy and very tired, teething babes]

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[tired little peanut]

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[olive, hc, and b]

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[best fast food burger ever]

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[typical look of disgust from our baby girl]

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[baby yoga while sleeping]

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[bath time // that’s reagan’s hand]

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[scooting around with cousin reagan]

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[bennett’s awesome birthday cake]

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[personalized cheese plate courtesy of my sis in law, missy]

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[sq. 1: “why is gracie still sleeping? sq. 2: “hmmm, i’m looking at you!” sq. 3: “heeheehee” sq. 4: “yaaayyyyy! she’s awake!”]

xoxo

olive’s 9 month loves

month nine.

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happy puff cereal puffs // wolfgang amadeus piano // avent sippy cup // honest bug spray // farm fun book // bugaboo stroller

we introduced puffy cereal to little o right after her eight month mark. i was a little nervous {like any new mom!} that she would choke on it but was encouraged to know that it would help her fine motor skills; plus any baby that could sit up and hold up their own head can eat solids just fine. and fine she did with eating the cereal puffs! she loves, loves, loves them. i just adore watching her grab each puff and messily aim for her mouth. at first she was a bit clumsy with it but now she’s a pro. this baby girl loves to eat!

oh, where do i start with this? she loves this piano {future rock star?}! this is, honestly, the best buy evah! she loves playing with it and it totally entertains her. she will bang on the keys, then look up at me in-between her banging with that sweet face, and giggle and smile…it melts my heart! it’s a mini size piano and it’s perfect for little o. it’s cute, it’s tiny, and i absolutely love the red color. it perfectly matches her room. so bonus points all around!

this sippy cup is fantastic. my parents started giving olive water in a bottle a few months ago, then i started giving her water in this sippy cup. at first, she wasn’t very keen on it. the nozzle was different and she wasn’t quite sure about it all but i kept on introducing it to her at every meal. she eventually caught on and totally loves drinking from it! at first, she didn’t hold the bottle {lazy girl or spoiled girl??} and she didn’t know that she needed to tip the bottle up to get the liquid to go through the nozzle. but nowwwww, she guzzles it and drools all over herself! she hasn’t quite mastered the idea of every time you sip, you swallow…so she sips and sips and then maybe swallows, therefor she dribbles and drools all over herself! we love this sippy cup!

during the month of august, the mosquitos were in full force. oh my goodness, they were like an army that battled their way through anything just to get a little nip on you! we love honest products and we love their honest bug spray. it’s not made with deet and is perfectly safe for you and the babes. the spray smells citrusy and totally repelled those little blood suckers! ha ha mosquitos! take that, touché!

olive loves this book! it was a gift from our friends kevin and lisa {so thoughtful!}. i have a bunch of books that sit on olive’s play mat and when she crawls over to them, she always grabs this book! she opens it up, flips through the pages, mumbles like she’s reading, and is mesmerized by the colors and pictures. plus, she loves it even more when i read her the book and make all the fun animal noises. she just grins ear to ear when i do that, which in turn melts me into a puddle of mush. so, therefor, this is our new favorite book!

well, baby girl is still in the infant car seat {she’s still a wee one} but that time has passed where we are able to leave her in the car seat, attached to the stroller. this past month, she was not having it. she didn’t want to be in the car seat {the halfway, lay down position} while we walked around with her, she was too curious and wanted to sit up so she could see everything. so, she graduated into the seat part of the stroller! now, she has the best time when we walk around with her in it. she can sit up, lay back, kick up her little legs, and twist her big noggin all around to see all the fun things whizzing by!

there you go! olive’s nine month loves. we had an amazing time this past month learning together, playing together, and laughing together. we look forward to sharing olive’s ten month loves soon! yay!

xoxo

brunch with jod

there was so much going on {ya know, life!} between me and jodi, we were lucky to finally set up a brunch date together!

my morning started off swell but the rain really, really put a damper on my start out the house! ugh, yucky rain…when it does rain, oh my, it slows everyone down on the road {more on that later}.

first off, i thought it was going to be warm out. nope. i walked outside and turned around to change my outfit, again. it was chilly! so that slowed me down. i was constantly forgetting something of olive. oy vey. whether it was her toy, her snacks, or her {just kidding!}, that slowed me down. well then, i was already having a late start out the house and i needed to do a few errands before i met up with jodi. no bueno already.

i knew i was going to be late, so i text jod to give her the heads up. of course, traffic was sloooooooww. everyone drives like there is ice on the streets! hello. it wasn’t even raining anymore but the trouble it causes! so, as i made my way into the city, inner city traffic was just as bad. i needed to hit river north to stop by my salon to pick something up. then i needed to make my way into lincoln park to pick something up from boka. that. took. forever. i finally made it to the restaurant, wishbone, just a few minutes after jodi and jett showed up!

then the cuteness began! they were soooo adorbs together. jett kept saying ‘baby! baby!’. then he wanted to hold her hand. *sigh* you just wanted to melt looking and listening to these two babes. cutie jett wanted to give olive all his food…which of course, olive would take in a heart beat but she wasn’t allowed to eat it. i’m going to wait a bit before i feed olive tortilla chips 😉

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[they were just toooooo adorbs together!!]

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[scrunchy face]

jodi and i immediately started to catch up on all the latest news. i was super duper excited for her and matt, they had just bought a house! our lives have been almost mirror images of one another, just months apart in succession. she got engaged, then i got engaged, she got married, then i got married, she got pregnant, then i got pregnant, i bought a house, then she bought a house. we love sharing our experiences together and celebrating the good bits and working out the tough ones.

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[our two cuties!]

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we made sure we perused the menu and decided on our orders before we dove deep into our conversations. i chose the yankee scramble…it was soooo delish! and the bacon was amaze {amaze}. there was so much food, i couldn’t finish it all or rather, you shouldn’t eat this much food?!

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[sooooo good]

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after eating and talking for an hour or so, we packed up our things and headed out. jodi and jett had a commitment to attend to in the ‘burbs and i had olive’s doctor’s appointment down the street.

it was too cute, jett really wanted to push the stroller so push he did! we were in stitches on how stinkin’ cute it was to see him push olive down the street. he couldn’t see, he had no idea where he was going with that stroller, but he sure did a great job getting that stroller down the street!

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oh, it was such a cute afternoon {despite the crazy road rage to get there!} and i was super happy to have met up with jodi and cutie jett. i love these two, the little bugger is so darling!

it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon and olive and i enjoyed our sunny walk to her doctor’s appointment. i love walks, i love sunny days, and i love being with my little olive. oh happy day.

xoxo

olive’s room

we finally put the final touches on miss olive’s room! oooohhhhhh yay!

her room is perfect. i love everything about it. it’s light, whimsical, and fun. all things a baby’s room should be!

if you have been following my blog, you might have seen this post and this post from the past about olive’s room {also, we have already completed grace’s room in the new house here}. it explains the compilation of her room, when we were living in chicago, and olive’s nursery was as big as a closet {that was quite a challenge but we made it work!}! now she has a lot of space and we absolutely love spending our time in there.

if you click on the links above, you will see where most of the decor comes from.

olive’s room was inspired by the land of nod, blog sites, pinterest, my love for anything whimsy, soft colors, modern and clean lines. i was the anti-theme soon to be momma. i did not want anything ‘themed’. it’s so not my style. no monkeys, no winnie the pooh, no caterpillars, no nothing. a lot of people asked me what my theme was going to be for the baby’s room and i would say nothing {which was true…i mean, what was i suppose to say? it’s going to be the coolest, chicest, baby’s room ever done?? okaaayyyy, i did say that a few times :)} and i would get a blank stare in return {gasp! no theme?!}. i would say something like, “it’s going to be a cool room but no theme” but peeps still didn’t understand.

anyhoo, when we were decorating olive’s room in the city, we knew it wasn’t going to be permanent. we knew that we were going to be in a house soon {at the time, how soon? we weren’t sure}, so we didn’t want to go all out in her room {i still had a few tricks up my sleeve with the decor}.

so, once we bought our house, olive’s room was number one priority! i couldn’t wait to finish it. hc worked very hard on it and worked hard on getting it done. since we had so much more room, we purchased a few more pieces of furniture to complete her nursery.

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[olive’s room pre-makeover]

olive’s room was painted this awful blue color and had lots of nails and holes in the walls. like i’ve said before, the whole house is trimmed in this oakey wood color. every door, every window is in this blah color {just not our style}. hc patched up everything, repainted, and replaced all the wood base boards. he fixed up the closet {new shelf, bar, and paint}, he replaced the closet doors, replaced the knobs with an antique rubbed bronze color, and cleaned and redid the window and window frame. that set it up for a clean slate and ready to decorate!

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[pouf from land of nod // lamp from ikea]

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[pbk sheep rocker]

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[paper tassels with rifle paper lettering]

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[oh joy cherry pillow]

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[cloud garland from land of nod]

olive’s old room in the city had just a small window. so we only had one silk panel and it was perfect. when we moved into the new house, we needed to buy another panel. it was actually hard to track down! nevertheless, we purchased another matching panel…phew! we also had to put money into altering it! the panels were too long and we purchased the shortest length they had. oh my. it cost almost as much as one panel to do the alterations…holy cow!

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[pbk toy basket]

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[wall decals by mur]

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[fawn clock from land of nod]

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originally, we only had one little sloane leaning bookcase. basically, that was all we could fit {actually the bookcase barely fit!}! once we put the bookcase into the new room, we knew we needed another one. now it’s perfectly balanced and we have more storage space for olive’s toys.

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i love how her dresser drawer turned out. hc replaced and painted the drawer fronts and i purchased the prettiest pink glass knobs from anthro to personalize and perfect her dresser. it’s perfect for the changer {we draped a waterproof sheet saver over her changer to catch any accidents!} and her diaper caddy, from land of nod, is the perfect size. it houses all her essentials: lots of huggies diapers, butt paste, mustela body lotion, gold bond powder, babyganics sunscreen, and organic apricot oil {for cradle cap}.

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i love pottery barn kids for their cute personalized pieces. her olive hamper is perfectly sized. it houses all her dirty garments and looks super cute while doing so!

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[jonathan adler giraffe]

we love the ceramic giraffe but we knew it wouldn’t be so safe once she started crawling. with great surprise, she doesn’t touch it! she might pet it but that is about it! amazing. she really has no interest in it…so far 😉

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we love her little cloud shelves. such a perfect fit in her room and perfectly placed above her changing table. she can’t reach it and it houses all her cute, fun books and toys. don’t you love the ‘olive you’ print?? it was a gift from olivia and aaron. so cute.

well, that is olive’s room! we hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoy living in it! we are so happy with the updates and how her room was transformed. thank you so much to hc for working so hard on it and together we have made it a cozy, cute, cuddly little room for the babes. it’s now full of fuzzy toys, comfy blankies, and filled with love.

xoxo

concert in the park

we crossed off two summer to do’s on our list! we attended a concert in the park and then some.

we met up with my famille in downtown hinsdale. it was a beautiful evening. hc and i parked up the street, south of the tracks, and walked our way towards the park. it was a lovely, leisurely, short stroll. there was a band playing there called 7th heaven. apparently, way, way, way back in the days, they were an opening band for bon jovi.

my sister had already popped a squat by the fountain and we made our way back there. everyone started to gather within the hour. terry came by, then mike and sam, thuy, then helen and gabrielle! we mingled around a bit; the boys eventually went towards the booze and food area to grab us some grub and drinks.

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[seventh heaven was the band]

 olive was out. she fell asleep in the car {she was a tired little peanut…she didn’t have much of any naps that day} and was zonked out with all the craziness and noise around her. she finally awoke an hour later and everyone got a chance to dote on her!

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[baby girl fell asleep and slept through all the noise]

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[big ass taco…it was prob 10″ wide in diameter!]

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[sister, sister]

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[ready for some bubbles…on our summer to do list!]

we were relaxing, enjoying our surroundings, and reveling in the wonderful weather and temps. then it was time for me to break out some bubbly {uh, no, not that kind of bubbly!}! the boys were so excited! they went nutty over the bubble guns and so did the kids around them. they were like pied pipers with these bubble machines! wherever they were, the kids followed and surrounded them to break all the bubbles and break out in sweet giggles!

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[sisters, olive, and helen]

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[we were watching the train roll by as we were leaving the park]

it was getting late {late by baby standards} and we had to go. it’s always this: leave early, get olive home, give her a bath, feed her, and put her down…all by 9pm, every night.

we walked our way back to the car {such a beautiful night!} and as we were crossing the tracks, a freight train rolled by! we stopped to watch the train go by…olive wasn’t very impressed. so move along we did. we got home, scurried around, and everyone got settled and snuggled in.

it was another fabulous summer evening with friends and family! yay to warm weather! we love you!

xoxo

happy nine months!

happy nine months olive!

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[photos taken on 9.27]

weight: 18lbs 6 oz

height: 27 3/4″

oh baby olive, you are at a month, pre-having a baby, where i thought this was the cutest month a baby could be! you get cuter and cuter each month! we are enjoying every moment with you…it’s one new thing to another we look forward to!

she will no longer sit still {leading into the next paragraph}, so trying to catch a good pic of her is so difficult! and that hair!!! i had the hardest time taming her do…she woke up with the crazy hairstyle, so crazy hair pics is what I got! too sweet.

you are on the move! a mover and a shaker, you are! you crawl with speed and curiosity. you are so adorable and troublesome at the same time! oy. i love watching you explore. you crawl around the house with a sly look. you coyly smile and pucker those lips with mischievous eyes as you peek from room to room. you pull yourself up on the furniture with such pride and you gleefully pull everything off the table with a smirk! it’s such a game! once you have pulled everything off one table, you smoothly and gingerly move your little footsies, one baby step at at time, and scoot over to the next table to do the same. you are on your way to trouble!

i love that you shake your head when i say “shake your head!”. i love it when you hear the song, ‘if you’re happy and you know it clap your hands’ and you clap your hands! i love that when i say “goodbye” you wave your hand! i love it when someone says cheese, you scrunch your face. i love it when i say “high five”, you put your hand in the air and don’t leave me hangin’!

you have become so snuggly. in the mornings, after your breakfast, you love to lie around and snuggle. you love hugs, you love back scratches, and you love to put your head in my lap and lay there {as long as i am rubbing your back!}. you like to sit on the couch with us, when you get tired, and relax by our side. oh it’s soooo adorbs. i love being cheek to cheek with you and having you wrapped up in my arms. i am cherishing these sweet, tender moments with you. ’cause i know these precious moments won’t last long!

holy moley…your first tooth has come in! your bottom left incisor! oh, you were a grumpy one {and still will be…we gotta a lot of teeth to go!}, you were fussy going to bed. fussy getting up. fussy overall. i felt so bad for my little girl, there is only so much i can do to relieve your sore gums 🙁 all i could do was console my teary eyed babes. at first we didn’t know what was wrong with your fussy bedtimes {and random moments} but once i ran my finger over those gums…i felt your little tooth right at the surface! and it all made sense!

food is your best friend. you love to eat. you eat solids three times a day and gobble down every meal. you are still nursing six times a day as well! you love chicken, onions, spinach, peas, carrots, apples, mango, and so forth. there isn’t a food you don’t consume. we are now at a point where you eat cereal puffs and cut up pieces of soft, squishy fruit. it’s so fun and lovely to watch you pick up your foods and feed yourself {and it’s a total mess too!}.

sleep is still great. you go down at your usual time, 9pm ish, and wake up at 6,7, or lately, 8am! you sometimes cry out at night for a few seconds {or a few minutes…bad dream??} but you always go back into a slumber. in the mornings, you sometimes wake up and babble, or you let us know right away to come get you by shrieking! i love walking into your room in the morning, it’s the most adorable moment…you have the craziest bed hair and i love greeting you with “good morning”s! i get the biggest smiles and hugs!

i can’t believe you are nine months old! it’s been such a fun ride already. you are so sweet, fickle, smiley, lovey, coy, curious, and beautiful. we love you to bits and can’t wait to see what the next month hold for us!

xoxo