morton arboretum

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

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

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

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[ready to go out!]

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[the moms and our babes]

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

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

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

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

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

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[loved this area]

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[hi liam]

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

http://www.cocoandluluhandmade.com

[hiiiii parker]

http://www.cocoandluluhandmade.com

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

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http://www.cocoandluluhandmade.com

[exploring]

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[learning]

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[watch and learn]

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[little independent buggers]

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[gorgeous displays everywhere]

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

xoxo

pumpking pickin’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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[matching cowboy boots]

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[my love]

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[picking out pumpkins]

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[the dizzy haystack maze]

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via tandeminlove.com[she loves rides]

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[checking out the bunnies]

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

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

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

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[ohmy! the huge piggies racing!]

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

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[sisterly love]

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[looking over and double checking our selection of pumpkins]

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[funnel cake anyone?]

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

xoxo

a quiet afternoon

i apparently forgot i had this post sitting in my files…oops! better late than never! sooo….

 i had plans to go to the renegade craft fair in wicker park. we had lived right in the area for years and it was on division every year, so there was no question i needed to go. i love checking out all the small shops, listening to their stories, and seeing all their love go into the products that they make!

on the agenda was a quick visit to andrea’s place. she had a really tight schedule that day, so i decided to traipse on over to her place before i spent some time at the craft fair. she lives just right off division, a few footsteps away from the fair. i love walking. i do. i love walking e v e r y w h e r e. it’s the best thing. i love walking along the street, admiring all the shops, soaking in the rays, and people watching along the way. living in the city, it was my favorite thing to do. just walk. i didn’t need a purpose or a destination. i just needed to get out and soak in the craziness of the city.

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[i love walking]

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[loving the beautiful annabelle]

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[precious babe]

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[haha! annabelle’s expression is like “whaaaaaa?!”]

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[i love this goofy pic of us because it looks like annabelle and i have the same surprised un-ready face going on. haha!]

after spending an hour or so at andrea’s and getting cheeky with her little babe annabelle, i headed back down the street to the fair! my number purpose was to find earth cadets and purchase some pillows. it was a bit overwhelming, because there were sooooooooo many vendors {hundreds!} and i was worried i would be looking for hours just to find her shop. lo and behold, it was literally the fifth shop i ran into! sweet! i looked around but i couldn’t find the pillows i wanted to buy. i asked a random women standing there and krissy {the shop owner} was actually ringing up a customer when she said, “did you contact me on instatgram?” why, yes, yes i did! we chitchatted a bit and talked about the product, what she did, where, how, etc. it was great getting to know her for a bit. she didn’t have the pillows on hand but she offered me a great deal and i was sold. i can’t wait to get the pillows onto our new chairs! yayyyyyyyy!

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[random snap. i obviously had my camera on and i accidentally snapped this pic of me walking. i kind of like it.]

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[earth cadet onesies]

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[i could not take a pic of this adorable doggie! sooooo cute!]

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[seriously the best craft fair around. the best.]

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[i love our city]

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[my old stomping ground and our favorite gelato place]

after i purchased the pillows, i walked around and soaked in all the greatness. so many cute shops from all over the country. i loved all the goodness, met so many great people, and found so many wonderful products. i looooooove renegade! it was such a great afternoon.

xoxo

sunday family night

a quiet, calm get together. it was a cloudy, semi-warm day and we were getting ready to host the fam over for dinner. when football season starts, the hubs loves to pull out the slow cooker and whip together some super delicious meals for sunday afternoon football games.

on the menu: roasted garlic pulled pot roast sandwiches on brioche, buttery mashed potatoes, seasoned roasted brussels sprouts, quinoa salad, and homemade apple pie! yum, right? hc prepped the ingredients and threw what he needed into the slow cooker. we did random errands throughout the day and near game time, we started finishing up the food and we started the pie.

my family came on over and we just hung out, the kids played, we conversed in the kitchen while hc and i were prepping dinner. it was a low key, relaxing affair. of course, the bears were losing {boo!} but we had a win win situation at our abode withe delicious meal and plenty of libations to go around.

olive and her cousins were having a great time. reagan is such a sweetheart with his little cousin. he dotes on her, takes care of her, watches over her, and entertains her. he is such a great ‘big brother’. i love watching them interact. olive is getting bigger where she can really interact with them and play along. it’s so darling to see them in action.

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[brown sugar slow cooked pulled pot roast for sandwiches]

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[getting game ready]

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[best thing everrrrrr…we love roasted garlic]

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[we also had buttery mashed potatoes…so good!]

the food was a hit. my mom gave hc the thumbs up! that’s a great thing since my mom is such an amazing cook herself! hc was quite pleased with himself that he received a stamp of approval. it was fantastic having my family over for a low key relaxing sunday night dinner.

xoxo

apple pickin’

yay! apple picking is our fall ritual. ok, so we have only done it a few years in a row but hey…it’s become one! it was a sunny, warm day. i had already planned our outfits, regardless of the temps, but i was kind of questioning my tenacity when we stepped outside. it was going to be a hot one! flannels and warm temps don’t really go hand in hand! eep!

well. no matter. we were committed and so we moved forward. we packed ourselves into the car for a quick ride on over to kuiper’s orchard. they had two separate areas for apple picking and pumpkins. i am so used to going to an apple orchard that has pumpkins, so i thought it was different that they were separate.

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[ready to go apple picking!]

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[my sanity in a cup]

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[braids, buffalo, and boots]

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[riding dirty]

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[twinsies]

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[“mom, look!”]

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we met up with our family and explored just a bit. first thing on the agenda was eating! we were soooo hangry. hahaha! we traipsed inside to the restaurant. olive was a riot! she was such a hit everywhere she walked. especially coming into this eating establishment. she had her sunnies on and was walking around like a boss! hahaha! we ordered hot dogs and burgers and waited patiently our our food to be served. in the meantime, olive gulped down chocolate milk and got sassy with everyone.

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[stomping around like she owns the place]

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[drinking chocolate milk in style]

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[family time]

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[simple please. just mustard]

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[nom nom nom, hot dog]

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[selfie]

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[she’s such a doll]

after noshing on our meals, we headed on over to the apple orchard to go picking! ugh, it was hot standing in the sun and the line was sooooooo long! no matter, we did it. it was finally our turn and when the john deere tractor pulled up, we were so relieved and excited. we packed ourselves in and off to the orchard we went! olive looooved the ‘hay’ ride, when we reached our destination she didn’t want to get off the cart. too cute.

we were greeted by a worker and given directions and advice. once that was done, we were off on our own. olive insisted on walking and anyone who has a toddler who insists on walking knows how slooooooooow they can move. oy vey. we were ten minutes behind everyone! we finally arrived at the ripe trees and started picking some golden delicious apples to take home.

olive did such a great job! she was a pro apple picker! daddy helped and she had a great time picking. it was too stinkin’ cute. i remember last year, she was 9.5 months old and all we did was carry her around. so, it was pretty cool to see her in action and picking apples herself!

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[sunshine selfie]

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[the sweetest pic. this makes my heart melt…the love for these two]

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[twist and pull olive!]

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[my precious babe]

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[she did well! get it girl!]

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[typical pic of the kids. baaahahaha!]

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[olive and auntie kim]

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[my sweet, darling, loving parents]

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[really?!!!! she’s sooooooo cute!]

after apple picking, we perused the shop and purchased a few goodies. we never go home without some apple cider donuts!!!! yum! we bought apple bread, donuts, and brought home our tasty apples so we can bake some apple pie!

it was a wonderful successful day of apple picking. we had a great time with the family and can’t wait to do it again next year! woot!

xoxo

a giveaway from my beautiful little shop

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

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

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

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

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

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[pink moccs]

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[black sequin moccs]

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[gladiator lace up]

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[romanos sandals]

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


how to enter the giveaway –

 1. follow me {@tandeminlove} and @mybeautifulittleshop

2. like the instagram giveaway post

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

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

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

good luck everyone!

xoxo

happy twenty-two months!

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

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[photo taken on 9.27.15}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

xoxo

oh summer {or more like happy fall!}

it was such a beautiful day. such a gorgeous, sunny, warm, perfect day in september. as the days become shorter and cooler, i revel in rare days like these when the temperature and weather is just right. plus, this was literally the last days of summer…’cause today is the first day of fall!

i met dana at our favorite place {southport grocery} and we brunched alfresco. the sun was so intense, i loved it. we caught up on life’s current happenings. there is always so much going on with dana {lately} due to the fact that she is getting married next year and there is always something super exciting happening.

i definitely remember that time in our lives when we were engaged. it was so much fun, exhilarating, and joyous. there were always such positive vibes coming our way. we loved the parties, the people, the attention, the love that went along with being engaged!

anyhoo, we enjoyed our meal and banter while we basked in the sun. after brunch, dana needed to complete a few errands and per usual, we did them together. we headed on over to papersource to peruse a few gift items and in typical fashion, i purchased waaaayyyyy too many cards. i absolutely love stocking up on cards. birthday cards, christmas cards, wedding cards, thank you cards…you name it, i stock it. if you ever need a card, just stop on by. haha!

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[mmmmm, refreshing iced coffee]

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[hi dana…you’re the best]

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[my usual, the southern]

a last minute thought i had was to get our nails done! sweet! dana was game and so i made some last minute appointments at a nail salon i have been to. the nail bar that i frequented often was actually on southport. the lovely place was bought out to put in bigger retailers {boo!} and the techs relocated to different locations. i found out my tech had relocated to a shop just down the street, so that is now the nail place i go to but getting an appointment with her is always a tough task!

well, she was booked that day, so i had to, unfortunately, go with someone else and let me tell you! this nail tech was alright. she was a little rough and that was no bueno. in the end, my tootsies were done and i was a happy camper. dana and i managed to pick out the same nail color {without knowing}. if you know dana and i by now, we tend to show up in similar outfits, so picking out the same nail colors was a given! ha!

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[give me some color]

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[selfie at the nail salon]

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[we chose pinks. my pedi and her mani and some bling]

after a relaxing time at the nail salon, we headed out to a bookstore where dana needed to do an errand. we perused the wonderful items on the shelves. my favorite section was the kid’s book area. i loved reading as a child and i hope the same for olive. kids books nowadays are so cute, cool, and chic. yes, they are! dana gifted olive with the cutest book ever too! i must say, this girl knows a good, perfect, hit the nail on the head kind of gift to give. she is always on point.

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[boys town chicago]

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after several wonderful hours together, we parted ways. dana walked home and i headed back to go see my beautiful babe. it was a lovely, serene, relaxing day together. a much needed time to spend with my dear friend.

xoxo

railroad date

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

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

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

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

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

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[here we go!]

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

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[selfie time]

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[we loved watching the train go round and round]

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[olive chewing on some cheese curds]

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[she’s finally eating her lunch]

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[olive mesmerized by the train set]

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

xoxo

stop being so crabby

sunday funday consisted of trying out a new restaurant and sweet treats to top it off.

my sisters were interested in trying this new restaurant called crab and spice. we all gathered there and were then led to our table in the back. it was brand spanking new and they didn’t have a liquor license yet! i definitely can say it was clean. we sat down and perused the menu. i let my sisters do the ordering, they are more keen on the seafood picks and i am always along for the ride.

they ordered the shrimp, crawfish, and snow crab. we had a few yummy sides of corn, potatoes, and rice. i was partial to the shrimp. it was the best dish on the table. it unpeeled it all, mixed it with my rice, and had a hearty, spicy, tasty meal. olive ate some of the shrimp and rice but mostly noshed on the french fries that my nephews had ordered!

we were absolutely amused because our server {tyler??} was obvs new and very inexperienced. the poor guy. he had no clue. he was so nice but just did.not.get.it. he forgot our drinks twice. he couldn’t answer our questions. he was sooo confused when we ordered. he didn’t tell us what they were out of, so we were bombing every time we wanted something. when it was time to pay, we asked him to put the cash towards the check and then split the bill in two. he had NO idea how to split the check on two credit cards, even though we did our best to simplify it for him! oh boy.

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[she kept saying “baawooon! baawoooon!”]

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[getting ready to get their crab on]

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[crabtastic]

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[the boys, ready to eat]

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[cheers to plastic bibs]

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[i love my crabby girl]

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[shrimp, crab, crawfish, rice oh my!]

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[nobody puts baby in a corner!]

after we finished up dinner, we all drove over to downtown downers grove and everyone got some sort of sweet treat at every day’s a sundae!  we have been going to this place since we were kids! it was such a beautiful night. just perfect. we sat outside and ate our ice cream. the kids ran around and screamed. olive was absolutely fascinated by the train. every time a train rolled by, olive would wave and say ‘bye train! bye train!’ and blow it kisses. so adorbs.

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[classic dg]

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[mmmmm, which one?!]

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[best smile everrrrrr]

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[refreshing sweet treats]

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[throwing kisses at the train]

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[“bye twain! bye twain!’]

it was such a fun, low key evening. we had a great time hanging out with the fam. evenings like these on warm summer nights are what i am going to miss! oh summer, your visits are way too short. please stay a little longer.

xoxo