movies on the green

Posted on August 7, 2014 by tandem in love

i was super excited to find out that oakbrook was hosting movies on the green! i immediately texted my sisters to let them know about it. we agreed on hitting the event on the first night. engaging in this qualified us to check off another fun activity on our summer list!

oakbrook erected a forty foot screen to host this event every wednesday throughout the month of august. the first wednesday was despicable me 2. i sped home to pick up miss olive from mary’s house {my awesome daycare neighbor!}, i had to change clothes myself, get her solids ready, nurse her, pack the stroller, pack her bag, and speed back to oakbrook to meet up with the fam.

we got there just a tad behind the start time and we excitedly walked over to our little picnic spot. my sisters and nephews were already there, we plopped down and joined the fun. i ran over to starbucks to grab a bite to eat and then fed little miss olive her food. kim so kindly took over the act and fed olive the rest of her broccoli, potato, and chicken puree.

[excited for movies on the green!]

[i looove b’s expression towards olive]

[bennett trying to get olive to clap]

[auntie/godmother kim loving o’s cheeks]

during the movie, thuy and i took the boys to macy’s to get them some froyo. being with them is always fun and goofy! they are kids and they are boys and they are so full of energy!

thuy grabbed us some coffee from starbucks and i ordered the boys some yummy frozen yogurt.

[goofing around]

[getting their froyo]

[bennet’s red white and blue star sprinkles]

[reagan’s twist aka swirl]

we came back to our spot and enjoyed the rest of the movie. it was such a beautiful night. so many people were out enjoying a perfect evening together. it was so great to be part of a fun family event at the center. what a great idea!

[movies on the green]

[show’s over!]

once the movie was over, we trekked our way back to our cars. of course we had to make a pit stop at build a bear! reagan picked out a ninja turtle and bennett could not make up his mind! little o started to get grumpy tired, so we said our goodbyes at the store and headed our way home.

it was a great way to spend our evening. i love hanging out with my family and we are super excited oakbrook is hosting such a fun event this entire month! we can’t wait to for movies on the green next week!

xoxo

boating

Posted on August 7, 2014 by tandem in love

it was olive’s first time on a boat {one of our summer to do’s}!!! we were super excited to head up to dick and jane’s house on a beautiful summer day. there was a chance of rain but we crossed our fingers to hold it off…and it worked!

the morning started off very serene. we woke up to miss olive’s cries, after her feeding she chilled in our bed for a bit. i got up to get ready and hc went out to the grocery store with miss olive to pick up some ingredients for our morning breakfast. once he came home, it was time for another feeding. so while i fed olive, hc ran out to starbucks for our usual coffee.

while olive slept, hc whipped up his famous breakfast burrito. yum! we ate, i cleaned, and we waited. and waited. and waited for miss o to get up. she slept for quite a bit {thank goodness, sometimes her naps are so short!}. once the little one was up, we packed up, and left to head up north.

[my favorite]

[my yummy breakfast burrito by hc]

we made a pit stop at a reclaimed wood shop {all american reclaim} to pick out panels to remodel a room in our house. it was a fairly new business {hidden behind a bunch of shops} and we drove in circles for a bit to find it. we finally did locate it, parked, and checked out what they had to offer inside. it was pretty cool. we looked at several colors of wood and settled on a lovely color. it was a perfect blend of tones we wanted in our room. we were very excited it was a batch that just came in. after the boys decided how much we needed, we paid, and then they helped us load it into our car. we are super excited and can’t wait to start this room!

[shopping for reclaimed wood for a home project!]

we finally arrived at gramma and papa’s house! we meeted and greeted with everyone there {papa, jean, and aunt wendy}. jane was at her bridge session, so she was on her way home. olive and daddy checked out the boat before we went out for a ride. it’s a brand new boat and super clean and nice. we were all so very excited to 1. go for a ride 2. that papa bought a new boat! 3. that is was a beautiful afternoon.

[checking out the new boat!]

[getting ready to be captain!]

after we checked out the new digs, grace and annabelle arrived. this was the first time grace got to hang out with both her sisters! they have been together before but only in passing, so today was a fun, special day!

[gracie with her sisters]

[gearing up to go boating]

[nom nom nom, i love my life jacker {not!}

[annabelle loving olive]

we geared up and everyone got on the boat. olive was not loving her life vest. oh noooo. it was bulky and awkward and she wasn’t comfortable in it unless she was standing up. poor thing, it wasn’t coming off so she had to make do!

we were ready to go! hc was captain for the day and off we went. we cruised along the river for miles. just enjoying the scenery, weather, and water. it was very relaxing and olive was enjoying herself. when we first took off though, she was not happy. she was a bit startled and wasn’t sure what was going on. after a few minutes, she settled in and enjoyed the wind blowing through her mane.

[going fast on the river, the wind blowing through her hair!]

[loving life]

[gramma loving olive]

we cruised serenely for miles, it was terrific. the boat was awesome and there weren’t a lot of folks on the river so it was rather calm. when we got on the boat, everyone said olive would fall asleep, all babies do! so we waited, and waited, and waited for o to fall asleep. um, not happening!

hc offered to take her {we probably had been cruising for almost an hour}, we were almost home. she sat merrily on hc’s lap {2nd captain!} and enjoyed the ride. then, being just a few minutes away from home, the little bella finally fell asleep!! it was too precious! she sat in her upright position and zonked out! oh, we were so delighted. it was too adorbs of a moment.

[captain of the boat!]

[the captain fell asleep at the wheel!]

we docked the boat and everyone climbed out. hc and i successfully passed olive over and she remained asleep! a miracle. i walked her up the yard and into the house. she was still asleep in my arms but then a few minutes later, she woke up. we hung out at dick and jane’s for only a few more minutes {enough time to feed her} and then left. we needed to get the little bugger home, bathed, and to bed!

we thanked dick and jane for a wonderful afternoon. it was fantastic to take a boat ride along the river on this lovely day.

xoxo

momfessions

Posted on August 6, 2014 by tandem in love

sometimes i wonder about the world of motherhood. i think about how it was a world i had no clue about. i was on the other side. i didn’t get it. i looked at people with children and wondered, ‘are they really happy?”. i didn’t know. it didn’t seem like joy, the way my friends complained how they never slept. how their lives where no longer theirs. how they never shopped for themselves anymore {what?!} and spent all their money on their kids. they said they never had time to themselves and it was go, go, go until it was bedtime. i mean, how could that possibly be great?!!

i was a bit scared to have kids. it didn’t sound appealing. i loved me time. a. lot. i enjoyed my hour long showers 😉 . i loved taking forever putting on my make up or doing whatever maintenance i need to do. i liked just spending time with hc and not have a care in the world.

the world was my oyster and i was quite happy in it.

then it happened. yes. i got pregnant.

hc and i, obviously, discussed having kids before we were married. i knew it was going to happen but i was afraid. most people fear the unknown, right?!

from the moment i found out i was pregnant…it was nothing but joy. i loved being pregnant. i loved feeling our little baby girl grow inside my belly. i loved feeling her kick and punch and hiccup inside me. but nothing prepared me for the overwhelming joy and love i would feel when she came into our world. wow. seriously, amaze. you just don’t know until you have kids. literally.

i came over to the flip side. i once had a very wise women tell me that she felt sorry for those who chose to not have children, because it is truly a joy and a beautiful blessing. those who choose to not have children will never know the fulfillment. it can never be explained nor can the emotional satisfaction ever be transferred. you can only experience it to know how utterly amazing it is.

i concur. i am amazed by olive. i love her soooooo much. i love everything about her. i love getting up early to see her cute smile and crazy bed hair. i love spending time with her. i love watching her grow. i love spending my energy on her. i love hugging her. i love hearing her heartbeat. i love her giggles. i love my life, my marriage with olive in it. i don’t want the life i had before because it was not as fulfilling as it is now.

i’ll trade in my alone time for olive time anytime! now, hc and i still need our time…our relationship is just as important! don’t get me wrong now, but this is about olive 😉

i could go on and on about the wonders of having children but you will never really know until you have one of your own. before you do, it’s just all words that bounce around at you, words that don’t really resonate with you until you have your own child and then it’s liiiike, ahhhh, now i understand.

aaannnndddd that is my momfession for the day. 🙂

xoxo

a bit of olive

Posted on August 5, 2014 by tandem in love

we were playing around the other night and olive kept on smiling for the camera! i couldn’t resist. i snapped and snapped photos of my cute little o. i love all her expressions, each photo captures her wonderful personality.

[drooly babes]

[she can be so serious sometimes]

[she loves to blow on her lips]

[i love it when she sucks in her lips…it’s soooo cute]

isn’t she just the cutest?! oooooohhhhh, how i love her to bits. happy olive day!

xoxo

somber day

Posted on August 4, 2014 by tandem in love

it started out as just an olive and me day. we got up together, as usual, well actually i get up before olive does so i am ready to go. she ate, we played, she napped, and i cleaned, blogged, and organized our home. after her nap, i got her dressed and we were about to head out when hc had called me. i missed his phone call and called him back to some startling news.

hc used to work for a company called arrowstream for five years and still has friends who work for the company. the ceo of the company was shot by an employee that morning and the employee then committed suicide. such a crazy, sad incident. hc knew the shooter and of course, the ceo. i have met them both and we are both shocked at what has happened.

hc was on his way home. for a bit, we chilled and talked about what had happened. it’s disturbing, you never ever think something so close to home could happen like this. there is a lot of disbelief and confusion. my heart goes out to both their families.

after we spent some time absorbing what had happened, we decided to head out to enjoy the day. enjoy our life, because a grave moment like this really grounds you and you slow down to really appreciate what is around you.

we stopped in downtown downers grove for a late lunch. we spent a lovely time eating alfresco and all the servers and patrons doted on olive. she is such a cutie! after lunch, we strolled around the streets and hit some shops to pick up some things we needed.

[olive staring at some people coming in]

[summer skin]

[cheers!]

[this vegetable boxty kicked my ass]

[me and my babes]

we did some more errands and then headed back home to relax. hc did some remodeling duties and olive and i played together. the night rolled by, we did a lot of reflecting, we talked a lot about stuff {our life, our relationship, our commitments}, and we cherished the time we get to spend together as a family.

xoxo

flashback friday

Posted on August 1, 2014 by tandem in love

today takes us back to september 2009.

hc and i {dating for almost a year in this pic} decided one day to do a totally tourista thing: go to navy pier! we actually had a grand ‘ol time! we drove down to evanston and from there, we rode our bikes from evanston to chicago. as we were cruising down the lake, we figured since navy pier was the closest attraction, why not swing by there since we had nothing better to do.

we walked the pier, enjoyed the scenery, ate food, reveled in the people watching, and took a lot of pictures {of course!}. we had a swell time walking along the pier with all the tourists and being touristas ourselves! it was a lovely day of riding and a wonderful day spent exploring around chicago {my favorite city, besides new york! that’s my other love}.

sometimes ya gotta step back, slow down, and look at the same old scenery and find something new and amazing in it. we tend to forget or take for granted all the wonderful offerings of this awesome city we live in…get out this weekend and enjoy an activity or something that is very chicago!!!

happy friday y’all!!!

xoxo

cruise night + dq = perfect summer night

Posted on July 31, 2014 by tandem in love

it was a wonderful summer evening. the rain held off; it was the perfect temperature, warm, and sunny. hc and i decided to hit another cruise night, this time in downtown downers grove.

we headed out in the early evening and found a parking spot right at the start of the show. hc drooled over the first car we saw. leave it to me, to not even know what kind of car it is! hee.

[hc’s car of choice]

[it was soooo bright i couldn’t even look up!]

[cruising]

[we got one!]

we started to stroll down the street, looking at car after car. it was very relaxing and chill. we were both hungry and it was great because a lot of the vendors set up shop out on the sidewalks! we were able to use our nose to find our food! pizza was on my mind, i saw a man walk by with a slice and that was what i wanted! we walked a bit more and found the pizzeria serving their slices outside. yum.

[pizza on the go]

[yum]

[daddy daughter]

grace wasn’t feeling the pizza so we walked a bit more and, of course, she wanted a hot dog! hc had dinner with me and then he had dinner with grace. we also pit stopped into a pet store and they had kitties for adoption! i begged hc for one but that was a no go! boo.

while we were sitting down and eating dinner, we decided that we would stop at the dairy queen on our way home! yay!

[hotdogs]

[admiring]

***

dairy queen, here we come!

[decisions, decisions, decisions]

i got a cone. simple. tasty. perfect. i actually could have gotten a smaller one, i didn’t realize a medium cone was so much ice cream! but nonetheless, it was delicious. we sat outside in the great weather to enjoy our delectable treats.

[soft serve me some good ice cream]

[guess what they are eyeing??]

as we were relaxing with our desserts, a family walked up with a boxer. grace and hc were intrigued. he was a cutie. they bought him a cone and he chowed it down. it was so adorbs. he ate it down to the bottom and gulped down the last bit of his cone. it was so fun to watch!

[a boxer ready to eat his cone!]

[yum, yum]

it was a very lovely evening together. we had a great time observing all the cool vehicles, getting a chance to eat greasy food, and finishing it off with some sugary treats. all in all, it was a successful evening full of not so good foods for you! hehehe.

here’s to checking off some more good stuff on our summer list!

xoxo

p!nk aunties

Posted on July 30, 2014 by tandem in love

p!nk aunties kt and kar came to visit us!

i was awaiting for miss olive to awake so we could head out to brunch. i am unfamiliar with the restaurants around the ‘burbs. we had so many favorites in the city {oh, my lovely city} and it was always so easy to pick a place! so, these moments are a lot of trial and error; picking a place, rating it, and moving on to the next.

the restaurant of choice? labriola bakery and cafe. it was quite busy when we got there. grace and i perused the menu while we waited for kt and karen. it is a place where you preorder and then sit down. grace and i drooled over the bakery displays. we wanted one of everything! after a few minutes, katie and kar finally showed up. we squealed and gave lots of hugs. we excitedly gabbed and kt and kar were just loving olive. o started fussing a bit, so i pulled her out of her car seat and karen went nutty over her!

[kt, o, and kar]

[oh em gee…s’mores cupcakes]

[*drool* i want one of each please]

[macarons + delicious buttery cookies]

we ordered our entrees, i got the california turkey on multigrain and grace got a bowl of chicken noodle soup and mashed potatoes. we went and found ourselves a table and waited for karen and kt to finish their order. it was a little awkward because it was busy so they weren’t clearing the tables right away. so, we nabbed a table with dirty dishes on it but it wasn’t cleaned up right away. kinda annoying, since we really wanted to sit down and settle in {i mean, i had a baby in my arms, drinks, a stroller to situate, grace, and the diaper bag!}.

we were served our meals but miss olive wasn’t cooperating. i had to hold the fussy missy so i only ate my chips 🙁 but that didn’t stop us from yakking nonstop! we were catching up with so many good things; love, life, relationships, kids, friends…ya know, all the good and not so good bits that makes life go round.

after noshing on our meals, we headed over to the bakery to get something sweet. we looked at the dessert cases but had briefly forgotten about the gelato! it was on the other side of the restaurant, karen mentioned it, and grace’s eyes just lit up {of course!}. we scurried over and grace chose the hazelnut gelato and started wolfing it down.

[cali sandwich and savory chips]

we packed up and headed on our way out, back to our place. once we got home, i had to feed olive and then we got down with the tour. i showed them the entire inside {and, of course, explained our remodeling plans} and walked them around the outside of the house. it was such a beautiful day!

karen soooo wanted to hold olive. i said, “go ahead! anyone can hold her, it’s about if olive will let you hold her!”. i gave karen some advice…i said to just take her. don’t gingerly grab for her. just aggressively take her and distract her. most people cautiously take her and she senses fear 😉 so, grab her she did. olive happily sat in karen’s arms!!!!! it was a miracle! i called kar the baby whisperer. not since o was a newborn had she let an unfamiliar face hold her. olive was happy as a clam in karen’s arms! i was amazed and excited. i want people to enjoy holding miss olive and it was pretty awesome to see this! i was loving it myself…although karen might have been loving it more than me! she was over the moon holding olive!

[grace, karen, o, and kt]

[karen the baby whisperer]

after touring around the house, we came inside and chatted up a storm. karen insisted on me opening olive’s present. it was soooo sweet of them! they bought little o the most adorable outfit! a putty colored knit cardigan and chambray embroidered dress from peek and the cutest, softest, stretchiest pink headband from nordstrom! it was so sweet and thoughtful of them. i love, love the outfit and i can’t wait for miss olive to wear it!

[a gift from kt + kar]

[the cutest outfit from nordstrom!! love + love peek]

after opening up her gift, kt really wanted to hold olive too! i gave her the same advice and olive was just a doll! she let kt hold her too! wow. it was a record. olive was loving her p!nk aunties and they were loving her back!

[katie super excited to be holding olive!]

[doting on olive]

after our non stop gab fest, kt and kar had to go. wah, wah. we were sad. we were having too much fun with them! grace was loving them {she said they were soooo nice!} and so was olive. we walked them out to their car, wished them safe travels, and waved goodbye.

we had such a blast with them! kt and kar, hurry back! little miss olive is missing her aunties!

xoxo

sunny funday

Posted on July 29, 2014 by tandem in love

our sunday funday consisted of great weather, warm temperature, church, brunch, furniture shopping, and long walks {a summer to do!}.

after mass, hc, olive, and i took a lovely stroll to our brunch restaurant of choice, frances. we love eating there and for some reason, after the 9:30am mass, there is always outdoor seating {any other time, there’s a wait}! we love brunching alfresco on sunny sunday mornings!

olive happily sat in her stroller while hc and i enjoyed a delicious brunch. i ordered the lox sandwich and hc ordered a spicy egg thingy breakfast. as usual, i wolfed down every delectable bit of it.

[going for a walk]

[olive in her beloved bugagoo]

[trekking along on this beautiful day]

[eating alfresco]

[me and my babes]

[lox and bagel]

after a very relaxing time outdoors, we strolled our way back to the car. we were in debate of hitting a spot in the city to walk around a little bit more {and shop, of course!} or heading back to oakbrook to do some outdoor shopping there. we decided on the latter because we wanted to furniture shop and it was more convenient because all the furniture shops there were consolidated, therefore it was easier!

we hit a bump in traffic {perfect timing for baby o to take a nap!} and finally made our way to the mall. it was so darn lovely out! we nabbed some starbucks {of course} and hit all the furnishing stores. we were mainly shopping for side chairs. we need a few {some for the kitchen area and maybe some for the living room} and exchanged ideas on color, style, and size. oooohhhhhh, the options! it’s a lot fun until you have to really decide on what you are going to buy!

we found a piece or two at crate and barrel and restoration hardware but i am also a fan of online shopping. it’s a bit more difficult that way because you can’t see it live…the way it feels, sits, and the dimensions, but i love gaining ideas that way to help with the decision process and clarifying the aesthetics.

[bar globe at restoration hardware]

anyhoo, the day was perfect. i loved seeing familiar faces at mass, being outside enjoying the beautiful weather, and spending time with my lovely family.

it was a happy sunday funday!

xoxo

happy eight months!

Posted on July 28, 2014 by tandem in love

happy eight months olive!

[photos taken on 7.27]

weight: tbd

height: tbd

well, well, well. baby olive is eight months old! oh my! she has had many great moments. as you can tell, there’s no more lying around and letting mama take some photos of her. yeah, this babes wasn’t having it, so we got some smiles and giggles while she was sitting up!

big milestone? she’s ‘crawling’!!! yes, she is doing a strange, gimp crawl. she scoots around, she does a two step crawl, she sits up, she turns a 180, she crawls with one leg bent and underneath her! but let me tell you, she gets from point a to point b in no time. at the beginning of her seven month, she was pushing around on her tummy and moving backwards everywhere, now she is totally mobile. oooohhhhh boy.

she loves to grab at everything! everything. her favorite object right now, our media console. she loves to slide the glass door open and pull out each book, one by one. we put the books back and slide the glass door shut and she shimmies back over to it and does it all over again. oy. she likes to grab for anything that isn’t her toy. how is that possible?! it’s like she knows she shouldn’t touch it, so, yes, that will be the object she will lunge for. i’ll put toys in her path but she will ignore each one of them so she can get to that tape measure that she isn’t allowed to play with.

she’s eating like a champion. she has graduated to eating her solids three times a day! i just love reading her cues, i could tell she wanted more and more she got! she loves all sorts of food. broccoli, carrots, peas, bananas, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and so forth. we try to mix it up for her every week so she can get a taste of something different and experiment with different flavors and textures. this little piggy doesn’t say no to any food!

she is still a sleeper! there was one day this past month where she randomly woke up at 4:45am. she was crying out and sometimes she does that in the middle of the night and it’s usually for a few seconds and it passes. this particular morning, she cried out and cried out. i walked into her room and consoled her on the rocker, after that she was happy as a clam but she was definitely not going back to sleep! overall, miss olive is a solid sleeper. she goes to bed to around 9pm and typically wakes up around 7am. she still naps 2-3 times during the day for an hour or two each time and is rock solid sleeping at night.

she has gotten so smiley with us. i love it. she will break out in a wide grin and it just melts my heart! another fun fact? she will grin ear to ear when you point a camera in her direction and say cheese! it’s so cute. she smiles on cue when someone is taking her picture! so funny.

her favorite, favorite program? baby genius nursery rhymes. it’s so ridiculous how much she loves it. she just lights up when we turn it on the tele. she goes into a trance and is mesmerized by all the songs, cartoons, and animals that she sees. it’s our go to when we want her preoccupied. we’ll sing along with all the songs and she smiles in happiness. thank goodness for baby genius! it entertains her, teaches her, and keeps us sane!

oh, how amazing it is to see her grow and see her little personality come alive.

little olive, we are so in love with you! you are an awesome little girl and you bring such joy into everyone’s life everyday. we love your laughs, giggles, and grins. we love seeing you getting bigger and stronger every day. we love your crazy curly hair, your chubby legs, and the funny noises you make!

we can’t wait to see you hit some wonderful milestones next month! we love you so!

xoxo