olive’s day with olivia

Posted on May 24, 2014 by tandem in love

we were so excited to have olivia watch over olive one day this past week!

it was so kind of olivia to spend her day with little miss olive. it was an early morning for all of us, olivia came bright and early so she could see our new house. hc did a quick walk through with her while i got ready for work. we chitchatted for a bit and i walked olivia through olive’s routine – her eating schedule, her naps, her behaviors, likes, dislikes, etc. then off i went!

i was excited they were spending the day together! when we were in florida, olive was so overwhelmed by her environment that olivia didn’t get to spend a lot time holding her and playing together. so this was their catch up time!

[olive and olivia about to start their day!]

[a selfie sent to me while i was at work!]

midday, olivia sent me a snapshot of themselves and a recap of their day so far. awwww, they are so cute together! everything was going well and they were having a great time playing.

when i arrived home from work, hc had just gotten there prior to me; so olive, olivia, and hc went for a walk to the liquor store. right?! the liquor store…olive’s first trip to buy alcohol! when they arrived home, olive was wearing her hand knit cap {from my friend kristin, who’s friend actually did the knitting!} and it was so adorable on her! what a cutie.

[returning from a walk outside]

[returning from work to find these two cuties]

olivia stayed for dinner and hung out for a bit longer. i am so glad this gal is back in chicago! we now can have our girly lunches and time back!

thanks so much olivia for taking care of olive. we love you!

xoxo

first mother’s day ~ part two

Posted on May 20, 2014 by tandem in love

soooo on sunday funday mother’s day celebration…olive and i started the day lazily lounging in bed. i love this little peanut. hc got this momma another starbucks start! we relaxed together, that morning, before we headed to parker’s for a mother’s day brunch.

[morning selfie]

[watching videos together]

[morning pick me up]

we got ready and merrily went on our way to the restaurant. we pit stopped for some beautiful flowers for the famille at the grocery store. on our way there, the babes decided to take a little nap. how cute is she?!

[nap time before brunch]

[beautiful flowers for some beautiful ladies]

we arrived at our destination. it was a madhouse inside! whoa. dan was the first to get there and then boom…everyone was there, the whole family literally trickled in within seconds! we were seated right away and ready to eat! it was a brunch buffet, so we literally sat for a minute while the server took our drink orders and then we all scurried to the buffet tables, ready to fill up our little plates.

[kir royale…favorite drink]

[our coordinating outfits // olive is in little tots long sleeve onesie, gapkids pants, and hair clip by etsy]

[buttercream topped cupcakes, it was really good!]

[olive having a moment with uncle dan]

[olive having a smiley moment with her cousin]

[celebrating moms]

after brunch, we trekked our way home for a just a second to then head back out. we took my mom to a pretty little garden center so she could pick out flowers for the yard!

[flower shopping]

after that, we headed back home to my parent’s. we relaxed for a bit there before we headed back out to our home {ya know…that long car ride home we have}! of course, more work had to be done on our house, so wasting the day away is never an option!

[coffee break with my chunker munker]

overall, it was quite an amazing mother’s day. i am thankful for my beautiful mom, my wonderful husband, and my amazing daughter.

my first mother’s day could not have been better. i am so blessed to be a mom. i am so blessed to have such a loving mother. i am amazed that it was my first mother’s day and i am in awe that this little baby is ours…making it quite a special day for me. i still cannot believe that i am mom, it’s a milestone in my life that is a dream come true.

i know that i just rambled a bit. i wish i was more eloquent about it. i have so many thoughts and wonderful feelings around this…it’s hard to capture it all in words without spewing a lot of random phrases!

God bless all the mother’s out there!

xoxo

first mother’s day ~ part one

Posted on May 19, 2014 by tandem in love

mother’s day celebrations started on saturday. i woke up to a very relaxing morning. hc and grace went out and purchased starbucks coffee for us {bonus points!}. they also arrived home with a beautiful bouquet of lilies for me {extra credit}! what a great start to my mother’s day weekend.

i was very excited for my first mother’s day! after all these years of celebrating my mom and other moms, it was my turn to revel in this day! how special and exciting. being a mom is amazing and i am in so in love with it…having had olive has changed my life completely in every positive way! so celebrating that fact was delightful in itself. it’s taken on a whole new meaning and i was feeling quite loved and blessed.

[lovely lilies]

[my gorgeous mother’s day bouquet picked out by grace and olive]

[selfies while we wait for breakfast]

continuing on with my mother’s day celebration, hc started to whip up a delicious breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and eggs. yummy! he’s such a perfect partner…always so caring and loving.

[hc starting on a yummy breakfast for this momma]

[seasoned eggs, maple sausage, and buttery rich pancakes]

after breakfast, we had a very relaxing day of doing much of nothing…ok, well i did much of nothing while hc manicured our lawn {ummmmm, that took 3 1/2 hours! whaaaaa? damn yard}.

so, relaxing i did with little miss olive by my side. we sat around, we played, she slept, and i chilled. it was quite a beautiful day…sunny and warm. my dad also made a pit stop by the house to say hi to the babes. my parents miss little olive so much all the time. thank goodness we are right around the corner! they are able to stop by anytime and pinch her cheeks!

that afternoon, miss grace so lovingly gave me a sweet mother’s day card. she’s such a doll…it was a very thoughtful card and it had the best words written inside from her. how splendid.

later on in the evening, hc made a tasty dinner of burgers and sautéed brussel sprouts. he was happily grilling our organic burgers and assembling a wonderful dinner while i downed cold, crisp, thirst quenching coronitas…ahhhh.

[my summer drink]

[onion and gorgonzola burger on a brioche bun with sautéed brussel sprouts]

after finishing up dinner and with it being a beautiful night out, we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood! our first walk together since we have moved in. it was so awesome. the night was perfect, the sky was clear, the temperature was just right. we explored our delightful neighborhood…it is such a cute little area.

[a perfect evening for nighttime stroll]

after 40 minutes of walking, it was time to return back home so we could put little olive down for the night.

once we settled in, i had a nightcap of refreshing, cold, creamy coffee ice-cream! a well deserved treat for my hard day of work…being a mom is tough 😉

[a perfect nightcap…coffee ice-cream]

well, that was my first day of my mother’s day celebration. it couldn’t have been any better, i love that my husband is so kind, caring, considerate, and thoughtful. he really is the best. i am a lucky gal. i love him to bits.

he always makes every day feel like it’s mother’s day.

xoxo

hb to my dear dad

Posted on May 15, 2014 by tandem in love

we celebrated my dad’s birthday on a beautiful, sunny sunday {common theme of late…i just can’t get enough of the sunshine right now}.

we all met up at pf chang’s, in lombard, for a birthday lunch in honor of our papa. little o was having a good ol’ time in her carseat before she got a little fussy. i had to then pull her out so she can get all nosey and see what was going on around her!

we ordered apps and waited for my parents to show up {um, the guest of honor was late!}. they finally did arrive, along with my lovely o voung. i love my aunt. she’s such a sweet, sweet lady. i was so happy she was there to celebrate with us!

[selfie at the restaurant]

[wearing their favorite hockey team]

[my two loves]

[olive being all melancholy]

after lunch, we invited everyone back to our place for cake and ice-cream! yay! my parents walked my aunt through our new house as i prepped for serving desserts! i purchased two yummy, yummy cakes from whole foods. a decadent carrot cake and a sweet vanilla cake to serve. we topped off each piece with either chocolate or vanilla ice-cream. nom nom.

[party utensils…getting ready to get our cake on]

[carrot cake…it was so moist and delicious]

[happy birthday decor]

[sweet vanilla confetti sprinkle cake // moist delicious carrot cake]

[me, dan, r + b]

[blowing out the birthday candles]

[cake and ice-cream]

so i am the worst picture taker ever on this day. i didn’t get to snap a photo of everyone who joined us in my dad’s birthday celebration {ya don’t see kim, terry, my mom, aunt, or thuy} and worst so…i didn’t even snap a pic of my dad! whaaat?!

anyhoo, it was a great day to celebrate my dad’s 77th birthday. happy birthday to the best dad ever.

xoxo

olive’s 5 month loves

Posted on May 8, 2014 by tandem in love

month five.

vulli sophie natural soother // pbk bunny thumbie // feel and learn book // hair flower clips from etsy // angel dear muslin swaddle // easter bunny softie rabbit from etsy

everyone who sees olive tells me she must be teething. annddd she might be. i felt her gums the other day and no teeth yet but they could be slicing in. she’s drooling, jamming her fist in her mouth, and gnawing like a crazy baby on anything sophie right now! i love all the products this line offers and the rubber soother is a must right now for little o to chomp her gums on to ease her discomfort! we initially received ours from buybuybaby but they are sold out right now, so i found a site that offers it there!

olive is a bit young right now to really love her thumbie but she is starting to like the softness. she pulls it up against her face and rubs the plush fabric on her skin. we have both the rattle and the thumbie, olive loves them both! the rattle keeps her occupied and the thumbie soothes her.

she absolutely loves her crinkle book! she is so into noises and textures right now. she loves to feel the softness of materials and loves, loves the sound of crinkly plastic. she likes to touch the book and explores each page you show her. she is so very curious.

now the flower clips are more so my love but olive truly doesn’t mind! she is totally fine having little flower clips and headbands on her beautiful head of hair! i love how it totally dresses up a boring outfit and adds total pizazz to her do. i have the flower hair clips {the ones you see olive wearing in previous pictures} from buybuybaby, they aren’t available right now, but found these cute ones from a seller on etsy!

i found this angel dear swaddle at a boutique while we were on vacation in florida. i fell in love with the print. it’s so stinkin’ cute! it’s perfect right now for olive because it’s so large, breathable, and muti-functional for anything. i like to wrap her in it at night, i like to use it as a blanket for her cold tootsies, i like to cover her stroller with it, i like to use it as soft pad for her head. the uses go on and on with this one! i am a fan of the different lines of products they have for this brand.

this last love is all me…i absolutely love this stuffed bunny! it was perfect for easter and it will be a great toy for her year round. it is so darling and unique. a beautiful hand made doll that will be cherished for years. it is on the pricey side but so worth it. i hope olive grows to love this little bunny toy as much as i do!

xoxo

chirp chirp…hoppy easter

Posted on May 6, 2014 by tandem in love

soooo…i’m finally getting my easter post up! woo. woo.

easter definitely was a whirlwind. being smack dab in the middle of our move, it was a much needed, forced break for us. to make it even more amazing was the fact that it was 70 degrees outside!!! so beautiful! the sunshine was wonderful and always puts me in an even better mood!

we traipsed our way downtown to zed451 to meet up with the fam for a delicious easter brunch {ah, missing the city life already}. it was the immediate famille and terry’s sister, lynne, her son patrick, and their mom barbara who joined us for this fabulous holiday!

[getting the goodies together]

[olive’s basket]

[easter bunny shoes from etsy]

[easter basket chaos // first easter bunny rattle from aunt missy]

[ta da! the final products for the kiddos!]

[my little lamb]

[ready to go!]

i really enjoyed the brunch at the restaurant, it was tasty, and very diverse in their selection of foods. their kale salad was amaze {i could have taken the whole plate to our table and eaten only that}. the cinnamon roll was sweet, fresh, and gooey. the offerings of meats were endless {brazilian steak house style}. there were lots and lots of decadent choices of accrouments to nosh on.

i love food. it makes me happy…i dislike being hungry and i will always try something new and different. i am so perplexed by people who are so steadfast in their limited, narrow choices of food. for me, life revolves around eating {savor the flavors of the earth!}, drinking, and family! there should be no limitations on ingredients, just personal exploration to really take it all in and enjoy all of your senses.

[chambray world]

[my little easter bunny]

[awesome cinnamon roll // olive with the boys, she’s staring adoringly at her uncle terry]

[sister love // bloody mary loving]

[thuy and dan]

[kim and olive // mini boden dress and tights]

[the beautiful sunshine]

[drinking beer with daddy]

after a wonderful brunch with the famille, we headed back to our house before we drove that long car ride over to my parent’s {hehe…it’s like a one minute & thirty second drive 😉 so, before we did that, we pit stopped at the home depot {we were surprised that they were open on easter}, our new favorite store, and purchased some house goods. during that field trip, our little sweet olive fell asleep…what doll.

[since we were in the middle of a move, we did a pit stop at the home depot before heading to the p’s. olive decided to nap 🙂 ]

we did an outfit change, when we arrived home, {comfy clothes, here we come} and sped our way to my parent’s house. there we had a wonderful dinner together and the kiddies received their easter baskets.

[reagan and olive]

[gift basket exchange]

[olive’s basket from kim, thuy, r + b]

[her adorbs doll // her cutie outfits]

[how cute?!]

[the aftermath]

the entire day was just wonderful. we had such a great time celebrating easter with our families! blessed be this day of love.

xoxo

happy five months!

Posted on April 28, 2014 by tandem in love

happy five months olive!

[photos taken on 4.27]

height: 25 3/4″

weight: 15lbs 13 oz.

well, well, well. baby olive has had an eventful month! so many wonderful changes in her behavior! she loves to babble…oh boy, she loves to gurgle, screech, make noises like she’s having a full conversation with you. it was so much more consistent and clear this past month than before. it’s so endearing to listen to her sounds! i love ‘talking’ to her.

this past month, she has really latched onto objects with her eyes and hands. she really focuses her eyes onto things and looks very perplexed or intrigued by them. her grasp has gotten even stronger; she loves to hold onto her toys or reach for her playthings, touching or feeling the texture. she loves anything crinkly! that sound and texture just delights her. her favorite objects to grab right now? grabbing her toes…so adorbs! i love seeing her awareness and attention to details become so much more acute.

she’s still sleeping through the night {thank the Lord!}. she had graduated into 8-10 hours a night! yowza! sometimes she hits it at 7 1/2 hours but we’re not complaining! she does go to bed kinda late {typically around 9-10pm at night}, she gets a little cranky around 8pm and then she’s out.

she’s a sometimes napper, we try to keep a regular nap time schedule for her but there are times olive has her own agenda. even though her schedule isn’t always on track, she typically pulls in three to four hours of nap time a day. I feel so lucky to have a solid sleeping baby at night.

she is still a breastfed babes! we are almost on the verge of solid foods! she is so interested in me or anyone around her when they are eating! she loves watching me eat or even drink water, it’s like the most fascinating thing to her! she gazes in wonderment and i love watching her curious facial expressions as i’m eating.

the next event to happen is the best yet! olive can sit up on her own! yes, she did it the other day while in my lap. we were enjoying a very, very inexpensive breakfast at ikea when little miss olive decided to sit up by herself! we watched in joy as she confidently sat upright! it was amazing! i was so excited for her…what a strong little lady! now, she does need us to watch her while in act because she is still wobbly but she can most definitely sit there on her own for sometime! how cool is that?!

now the next fabulous event can be argued by hc and myself, although we have jane {my mother in law} as a witness. on a thursday evening, as i was carrying olive in the kitchen, she cried out mama! i swear she said it! jane believes she said it too! now whether olive realizes she said it or not, it definitely was distinct! hc is adamant she just made a noise that sounds like mama 😉 i beg to differ. she has done it a few more times since! so…we’ll see how she progresses next month!

onward to six months of goodness! i can’t wait to share all the wonderful milestones olive hits next month!

xoxo

hoppy easter peeps!

Posted on April 20, 2014 by tandem in love

it’s a beautiful, sunny, perfect easter day!!! i hope you are enjoying this holiday, whether it be a lovely service at church, a fun easter egg hunt with the kiddos, a charming morning with the family and your little ones, who get so excited that the easter bunny has paid them a visit!

although olive is too young and wasn’t quite sure what the easter bunny is or what to do with her basket of goodies {daddy sure does know what to do with her basket…nom, nom, nom!}. i’m sure she was super excited for it all! just look at that expression on my little lamb down below!

[hoppy easter everyone!!!! from baby lamb olive]

anyhoo, we’re off to celebrate with the famille! woo hoo! can’t wait for easter brunch!

more to come of this beautiful day in a future blog my lovies!

“Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again”

xoxo

cousins

Posted on April 16, 2014 by tandem in love

i love family. i am so excited to have olive grow up with her wonderful cousins r + b. on a beautiful sunday afternoon, we were able to get together and hang out. reagan just loves little olive. he loves holding her! whether she’s calm or crying, he just smiles contently to have olive in his arms!

on this particular day, i dressed olive in her pink ralph lauren dress that auntie kim and thuy had given her {at one of the baby showers in honor of olive}. r + b came on over to grandma and grandpa’s house dressed in ralph lauren themselves! how adorbs…coordinating cousin outfits!

[bennett, reagan, and olive all in ralph lauren]

[reagan loves olive!]

we couldn’t resist a little photo sesh with these cuties! cousin bonds…you can’t beat that true love!

xoxo

flashback friday

Posted on April 11, 2014 by tandem in love

a little something from the past. noooo, i’m not pregnant again!!!

last year {a few days from now…on hc’s birthday and a few days from another soon to be major event in our lives!}, is when i first saw our baby olive. when i first her heard her heartbeat {best sound ever}. i was so amazed, overwhelmed, elated, happy, joyous, that i cried and cried when i saw our baby on the screen. it was a reality and a dream come true.

i almost couldn’t believe that we were pregnant! what a journey we were starting on…how it’s led us to this miracle of ours, our baby girl who amazes us everyday. we feel so blessed to have had a beautiful, healthy baby girl who makes us smile at every moment!

[olive’s 8 week photo…literally a little peanut!}

All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. Isaiah 54:13

xoxo

tandem in love

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

Tag Archives: olive

olive’s day with olivia

first mother’s day ~ part two

first mother’s day ~ part one

hb to my dear dad

olive’s 5 month loves

chirp chirp…hoppy easter

happy five months!

hoppy easter peeps!

cousins

flashback friday

All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. Isaiah 54:13