sleepy time.
i love moments like these. when she falls asleep on my chest. so adorbs. such sweet, precious moments. the little person that she is, it’s so amazing to me. the little blend of me and the hubs. yes, although it’s so hard to see his features now {just wait!}, it’s the little miracle we made and we just love her so much!
[the little angel…when she sleeps 😉 // 4 weeks old]
xoxo
today is the start of the lenten season.
40 days to repent, think on our sins, ponder and strive to do better. it’s a time to reflect on our relationship with God. to consider your journey with Him and challenge yourself to live a more fulfilling life that will give back to those around you.
giving up something for the season is always a big argument in my head. Jesus suffered, so what will i part with to remind me of Jesus’s sacrifices for us? how can i also better myself and become closer with God during this time?
you are dust, and to dust you shall return genesis 3:19
mass this morning was wonderful and a perfect start to the day. fr. ken presided over the service; it was a somber and thought provoking hour. i thoroughly enjoyed his homily about life and death…to look up from the grave and appreciate the world around you. don’t fret about the menial, petty things that can cause frustration within you but truly enjoy life in all it’s glory and positive aspects.
i’m excited for this season of lent..i’m looking forward to working on my commitments, the renewal of myself, and the renewal of all the things around me.
i hope your journey this season is a reflective and fulfiling one!
xoxo
i was talking with jod the other day when we agreed to go in together on a gift for our friend, dawn.
dawn is pregnant with her fourth child! cray! i can see why, kids are so cute and family is so wonderful, that having little babies is awesome! it’s a lot work but having your own kids is just so adorbs and special!
it was quite cold. damn this polar vortex. the high today was only 7 degrees, ugh. not ideal for my baby girl. i did bundle her up all cute though! olive was ready to face the cold with me! our first stop was pbk. i met jodi and jett there to pick out a gift for dawn. we circled around and around until we finally decided on some really adorable items for the little babes! i can’t wait to give it to her!
after shopping, we skipped on over to panera bread for a quick lunch. i ordered a healthy choice of oatmeal, brown sugar, strawberries, and pecans…yum!! it was sooo good! we nibbled on our food and chatted away the rest of the morning together. we were catching up on the latest gossip, the latest baby talk, and about life in general…so many good changes and fun happenings soon. as always, it’s so good to hang out with jodi and jett. love them both! jett was definitely in the entertaining mood! he threw everything jodi had handed to him on the ground and amused everyone in the restaurant with his shrieks! that’s a cute little baby for ya! the little bugger thought he was so cute, in which he was!
[little babe olive in her bear hooded coat from our cousins kait and sara!]
[my selfie with jett…doesn’t he look amused?!]
[look at that chubby face! jett was grabbing for the phone!]
[jodi and jett]
i had an appointment with our nanny that afternoon, so after a few hours together i had to head out to meet her at our place. we said our goodbyes and parted ways on this cold but very sunny day! hey, at least the sun was shining! a sun shiny day always puts me in a good mood! 🙂
xoxo
we trekked our way to jay and lori’s house a few weeks ago for a birthday party! it was aj and jake’s birthday! aj turned 7 and jake turned 3; they are getting so big…my how time flies! it doesn’t seem that long ago when i first met aj…he was barely two years old!
we drove and drove and drove to their house {close to a two hour commute!}. we finally got there and the party was in full swing, everyone was already there. the fun part about this party? it was a baby land. lori’s sisters, kari and christi both have little babies! kari’s baby is two days older than olive and christi’s baby is about a month older than both. here’s a crazy fact: gunner and olive are about the same age but he is almost seven pounds heavier than o!!! he was a brick house compared to little olive. wow, i know boys are bigger but wow!
[olive getting ready to party!]
[grandma and olive, the few minutes she let someone else hold her!]
we mingled with everyone and ogled all the babies but poor olive, she was not having it with other peeps holding her! maybe it was overwhelming for her but she was not happy being in other’s people’s arms. she let grandma and grandpa hold her when we got there, but after that? nope. she only wanted to be in momma’s arms. oh olive. you will learn, i cannot come to the rescue like that {um, like when momma goes back to work!}, although i wish i could.
[pizza and salad]
[aj and jake ready for their birthday cake!]
after a dinner of salad and pizza, we had cake and ice cream {it’s a birthday party, duh!}. now this was too funny, when it was time to sing happy birthday to the boys, poor jake had a freak out. little fellow was not in good spirits! as we were singing, he cried and then hid under his chair! so, that is why you only see aj blowing out the birthday candles!
[lol, jake freaked out so aj blew out all the candles!]
[opening up a lot of ninja turtle toys!]
[momma with a tired olive]
it was wonderful to see and hang out with everyone. it’s always great to chill out with family, to see beautiful babies, and celebrate special occasions together!
hb to aj and jake!
xoxo
happy three months olive!
[photos taken on 2.27]
length: 23 1/2″
weight: 12lbs 6 oz.
oh baby olive, my how you have grown and changed {and that crazy hair of yours!}. you love to sit upright on the couch, you started to like tummy time, you still love watching t.v., you love ‘talking’ back, you love bath time, you love flailing your arms, kicking your legs, and smiling!
the first officials for this past month? a few days before her three month mark, she laughed out loud! yes…it was amazing! grace was sitting on the couch and hc was in the bathroom at the time. i had put olive in the swing and we were playing peekaboo and the next thing i know, she giggles out loud! grace jumped off the couch and asked, “was that her first laugh out loud?!”. i said yes! hc came out of the bathroom and asked if that was olive laughing out loud…why yes it was! that was pretty cool.
another wonderful first? olive sleeping in her crib {hallelujah}! it was absolutely fantastic. for a long time, that crib was collecting dust and she was quite cozy in her bouncy next to our bed. so, we started to notice that is was getting easier and easier for her to fall asleep flat on the couch or our bed {after a feeding in the morning she was would just fall asleep on the bed}. we then decided to try a run at the crib one night. lo and behold, she slept beautifully through the night {all swaddled snug as a bug}! it’s been amazing ever since.
now this first really did happen. i’m not sure if it will happen again very soon but the proof is through the video footage i took of it. so, i put olive on her tummy for some time to do her push ups {she’s gotta work those arms, neck, and back muscles!}. she was very much enjoying her time on her tummy and staring and smiling at herself in the mirror {very cute}. it was so adorbs that i whipped out my phone and started to record the cuteness when out of nowhere, she rolled over!!!! yes, she pushed herself up with her right arm and rolled to her side! now, granted it was a half roll because she was stopped by her left arm and the bunny pillow that got in her way of a complete roll over but darn it, she rolled over! i couldn’t believe it and i actually caught it on video! that was super exciting!
well, those are some highlights of olive’s third month. we are looking forward and so excited to see the wonderful things our baby girl will do within her fourth month! we love you so much baby olive!
xoxo
hc and i had a love book personalized for our baby girl olive.
it is such a delightful book by paper hat press. they customize the story to your child’s favorite items! olive received the christmas mouse book from her aunties kim and thuy this past holiday {you can see it here}. it definitely was my favorite christmas gift for olive.
so, i as was surfing the web, i stumbled upon a valentine’s day themed book through pbk. of course, i couldn’t pass it up!
we received the final product the day before valentine’s day. how perfect! so, we were able to read olive’s book to her on this past wonderful vday.
[i was super, duper excited to see this package in the mail!]
[how sweet! isn’t it just adorbs?!]
[awwwwwwww]
[i love the illustrations]
[aaanndd we do love our pasta!]
how sweet is this book?!
sweeter than this cupcake ↓ i voraciously consumed from previous weeks!
xoxo
this is so cute. i couldn’t pass it up. i was playing with olive, shaking her vera bradley bunny rattle {courtesy of aunt missy!}, when i captured this adorable photo of her!
it reminds me of a fun movie i just saw with grace…’wallace and gromit: the curse of the were-rabbit‘. a great movie; a funny, cute must watch with the kids!
xoxo
such great things are happening this year!
included in one of those things is dana buying her own place! i am so excited for her, what a grown up thing to do 🙂 she moved in a few weeks ago and we were in limbo on when we were going to visit her. either it was too cold and snowy for me to tote olive around or she had workers coming to her place on her day off and that wouldn’t be a good time as well. so, finally we agreed on a date {not without complications!} and we were able to see her on a thursday night.
hc came home and we relaxed for a bit before we gathered ourselves to head out the door close to 5:30pm. not ideal, due to the high traffic timeframe, but c’est la vie! we pit stopped at starbucks, although it was 5 degrees outside, i wanted an iced coffee. an iced grande vanilla latte to be exact! yum!
we scored rockstar parking in front and trekked our way to the front of the building. there were some residents coming home and they just let us in {at least we didn’t look dangerous…a man, a women, and a baby aren’t threatening!}! the building was gorgeous inside! i loved the entry way. so pretty!
[the foyer]
[dana and moi relishing in her beautiful condo!]
[olive pouting in dana’s new abode]
now this is hilarious! dana is having a good amount of work done on her place. the floors being re-stained, painting of rooms, new kitchen counter tops, window blinds, etc. so, we walked into her bedroom to find this. no, peeps, it’s not a work of art that you see or some might consider it a work of art! she doesn’t have her curtains or have had blinds delivered yet, so she taped up holiday wrapping paper over her window with blue painter’s tape! we could not stop laughing at this crazy looking display! oh dana!
this was too cute. rosie was scared? nervous? curious? over baby olive. she didn’t know what to do with herself. i don’t think rosie had ever seen a baby before! she was freaking out, barking, and pacing like a mad animal! olive was laying on the couch and dana was playing with her. rosie was acting so funny! as dana leaned over to play with olive, rosie kept leaning over her shoulder to see what was going on but she definitely didn’t want to get too close, in fear the baby might attack {lol}. how cute is rosie in this picture?!
[dana’s reading nook]
we got the tour {fabulous}, we relaxed {ahhh!}, and chatted. we absolutely love her place! we are so excited for her and can’t wait to see her complete the decorating {how fun!}
xoxo
month two
mustela cleansing cream // pbk hooded towel // saftey 1st clippers
graco swing // lansinoh storage bags // blowout blockers
aden and anais bibs // lon carrot rattle // safety 1st brush
iron man 3 movie
***
i love the mustela cleansing cream for o. it smells wonderful, it’s tear free, and cleans her little body so gently!
not having a cute little hooded towel for your baby is impossible! i love the pbk ones…i also have the animal terry towels too! olive looks absolutely adorable after her bath in one. you just want to squeeze her, there’s so much cuteness!
i avoided clipping her nails for a long time. it made me nervous. those little, itty, bitty fingers and toes are so delicate! i finally succumb to it and trimmed her tootsies all nice. i love these safety 1st clippers because they are easy to use and snips a clean, quick line with a fussy baby.
oy vey…parents, get a swing! your baby will love it and it will help calm a crying/fussy baby. i must admit…it didn’t work with olive right away. she preferred her ‘daddy’ swing {hc plopped her into the carseat and had to swing it back and forth until olive fell asleep…yowza}. it’s a great distraction for olive and she can be content in it for a bit. if i rock her to sleep, i’ll place her in the swing to keep the motion going.
at first, i started using the avent milk storage bottles but it became cumbersome in the freezer {and too pricey to buy}. i do love storing milk in the bottles because it’s so easy to warm up and feed but when you’re storing mass quantities, you gotta find some other means! i love the lansinoh storage bags! they take up less space and are very convenient to store, archive, and tote around.
soooo, the blowout blockers. our baby girl pooped like it was a rocket coming out of her behind! not pretty! sometimes her number two’s would shoot straight up the back of her diapy, yes…new parents, it’s true. it scared the bajeezus out of me to travel with her with a possible accident like that waiting to happen {and it’s happened. you have to then clean her, the clothes, the carseat cover, the car seat…and so on}. the blowout blockers prevents a crazy mess from happening! total peace of mind with this product!
the aden and anais bibs were essential the second month. she started to spit up and throw up a bit more often. it also protected her clothes from major accidents {projectile vomit anyone?!}. these were good because she’s not drooling a lot {yet} and they are soft, comfortable, and pretty for her.
i found out during the second month, her eyes really latched onto objets! she really liked her carrot rattle. i would rattle it back and forth above her and she would be fixated on it. plus, it’s a stinkin’ cute toy!
since baby girl was born with a head full of awesome hair, having a brush came in handy right away! after her baths, her hair would be crazy mangled and this safety 1st brush is super gentle on her little noggin.
last but not least, i’m sure you’re wondering why i have the iron man movie listed? olive loves watching this action flick! she’s glued to the tube when it’s playing. so sad but true, i’ve probably seen this movie hundreds of times. no joke.
there ya go! olives’s monthly loves!
xoxo
i was very excited to have plans with matt and ande. i absolutely love getting together with them. we are such a fun bunch, if i do say so myself!
we had planned to meet up on division street at prasino but this weather has been atrocious. it snowed the night before and during the day of our plans. after mucho texting with each other, matt suggested that they come over to our place instead. of course, i am not against that at all. it was a nice idea to be able to relax at our place without worrying if we were holding anyone up, since we gab non-stop.
i was all psyched to break out the stroller and traipse my way to the restaurant, since it was only a few blocks away. that meant i could get some exercise and get out but i was foiled by the weather again!
hc was actually working from home that day and took a lunch break when they came by. he met them at a local deli, rosie’s west town, and grabbed some bites to eat, while i stayed in with the babes. they came back and we sat down for some tasty food. ande was excited to see olive {she hadn’t yet met her!} and see her nursery!
i love the sandwiches at rosie’s!! it is so delicious. they have great soups, sandwiches, and desserts. it makes me happy to have such good, local businesses like that around us.
[matt and ande…some very good peeps. love them!]
[matching sweaters!]
[tiramisu and brownie desserts]
[the girls!]
[hc and i relaxing after our visitors. little o was napping :)]
after several hours of hanging out together and catching up on the latest news, it was sadly time for them to part. it was a really, really great visit in so many ways. mostly because of the wonderful news we heard from ande! we had good eats, they got to say hi to the baby, and we had such wonderful things to talk about!
thanks for coming our way for our lunch date! love you guys!
xoxo