A Holiday Card Contender

I can't believe Thanksgiving is in ONE week. Christmas is just around the corner! So it's finally time for us to send out our 1st family Christmas card! It's been fun shopping around for cards and uploading photos to see how they look.  Hehe...I love this one of Maddie showing her silly side!  I ended up choosing a card that had multiple photos to show off the awesome work our friend, Joseph Kang, took of our family.

Our Autumn Family Photoshoot

We had our family photos taken by our wonderfully talented friend, Joseph Kang!  Our girls were naturals in front of the camera. They were big troopers for hamming it up for quite a few hours! Lucky for their Aunt A(aka Gomo) for being in town the same weekend.  We got in a few shots with her. :)

A Mile-High Adventure Theme Bridal Shower

Just a quick post... (a post for my SIL's wedding invitation to come soon!) 

I had the pleasure of designing my SIL's bridal shower invitation and co-hosting her shower last weekend. One of her other BM's came up w/ this clever theme for the party.  It was perfect for the SIL since her wedding will be in Denver, and she and the fiancé have a love for traveling. We carried the theme further by taking a Trapeze Class with all the guests after the shower!

Coming up with a way to incorporate the theme into something tangible was a little tricky.  I brainstormed a bunch of different ideas (hot air balloons? love is in the air? swings?) And finally settled on a cloud theme. As I was at the party store looking for inspiration on how to make a backdrop, my eyes landed on the paper plates. I'd remembered seeing a party on Hostess With the Mostess with a backdrop made out of paper plates. Genius!! Pinterest and I became best friends as I was planning this party. I found the idea to use a cloud paper punch for the cupcake toppers and straw toppers (not pictured) on Pinterest. A cute and quick way to continue the cloud theme. Quick being the operative word for this momma of twins! I'm so pleased with the way things turned out!

Finally caught on camera!

I dunno why, but it's so hard to capture Sophie's laugh on camera. Maybe b/c she only smiles when she's moving around? This was taken as she was bouncing in the Jumperoo. Every time she bounced, she would laugh. But when she paused, she wouldn't smile. She's started to wrinkle her nose as she laughs and smiles.  It's adorable, isn't it?  If you look closely, her 2 bottom teeth are coming in!

homemade breakfast, a wedding, and a walk

that's what my weekend consisted of.  (if anyone still reads my blog...) how was yours?  

i spent saturday morning with my college roomies. jennine (37+ weeks pregnant!) made us a full breakfast of french toast, kale and onion frittata, and fresh fruit. i seriously love homemade breakfasts...and i seriously LOVED that frittata.  i enjoyed it so much, i just might have to remake it.  she got the recipe from this Williams and Sonoma cookbook. must order now!

later that evening, the husband and i left the girls with the in-laws and went to a friend's wedding. holy cow...does M have the case of stranger anxiety or what??  she cried for a good couple of hours before finally falling asleep.  she did the same thing last weekend too when our cousin babysat.  so sad...

is it possible that this awful heat wave has finally broken? sunday was gorgeous with low humidity and sunny skies.  so we took our girls on a walk in Lincoln Park and found a new route along the picturesque North Pond.  

Modern + Unique Prints

how unique are these beautiful prints by Cozamia?  i came across them a few months ago on the the Decor8 blog here.  the second print is my favorite.  i would love to add some of these lovely pieces in my house!

I love this face

[M at 33 weeks]

t h i r t y - f o u r

Apologies for such a long hiatus!  Life w/ my twin girls has been busy busy busy. I can't believe they're already 8.5 months old! Here's an update on what's going on at 8 months:

::m a d d i e::

• is able to sit unassisted. once in awhile, she'll topple over.
• is more content with being still
• loves to flap her arms and legs when she's on her belly
• has just started to get on all fours. crawling is near! (33 weeks)
• is able to shimmy backwards on her tummy
• is impossible to feed sometimes.  she will only open her mouth halfway.
• has the most contagious smile
• has the juiciest, chubby thighs that i love to squeeze
• makes a winking face while scrunching up her nose (33 weeks)

::s o p h i e::

• is able to sit unassisted for a decent amount of time, but prefers to...
• army crawl (drags her body) every which way to explore
• is curious about EVERYTHING 
• will reach out, grab, and eat anything she can get her hands on
• LOVES to eat
• will open her mouth w i d e and will whine if we don't feed her fast enough!
• is super active and always on the move
• loves the Jumperoo and bouncing
• has the cutest, gummy smile
• has her 2 bottom teeth growing in (33 weeks)
• scrunches up her nose when she smiles (32 weeks)

[6 months]

[7 months]

8 months

Bold & Colorful Statement Necklaces

I love bold, bright necklaces. It gives a simple t-shirt and jeans (or shorts) outfit instant pizzazz! Sadly, I'll have to refrain from wearing or buying any for now. My babies love to tug and gnaw on anything and everything. The only necklace I've been wearing is a simple gold necklace. They grab it all.the.time. I'll just have to admire these beautiful necklaces from afar. Sigh...

Source: reddressboutique.com via Cindy on Pinteres

Source: reddressboutique.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: francescascollections.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: jcrew.com via Cindy on Pinterest

baby bump photos...finally completed!

It's hard to believe I was once so BIG! I must say I wasn't one of those women who loved being pregnant.  I was ridiculously uncomfortable throughout most of it.  The first 4 months involved daily migraines and vomiting.  It became much better after the retching stopped, but then an onslaught of other pains and pregnancy-related symptoms began.  Yuck! But that's all over and done with.  Phew!

The very last photo was taken right before I left for the hospital.  Hence the tired face and poor lighting.  I'd just taken a shower and was waiting for the husband to hurry home from work.

It's fun to look back at the progression. It's amazing how the body changes. I would definitely recommend taking regular photos of your baby bump.