Happy

Happy

I am reading, and by the way, loving, Happier at Home. It's by Gretchen Rubin. 

It was the perfect gift for Christmas. (thanks, Stevo)

I forgot how good it is to have a thought-provoking book on hand. I find myself coming back to it, thinking new thoughts, and being more inspired than usual.

She invites the reader with her thoughtful and precise approach to life to notice.

To notice what makes us happy or grumpy,

To "be heather,"

Or "under react to a disaster." 

So I've been actively writing about what makes me happy.

And itx's been so fun to realize what does.

I was happy to find that her book let's you find out what makes your life more happy.

Because everyone is different not everything that makes me happy makes you happy.

It's been so exhilarating, friends, to think about it.

What about you? Have you heard of her books? 

Or, ever thought of doing a Happiness a project? 

I'm Back

You know how you feel sometimes like you're out of it?

And sometimes that feeling lasts months and months.

Well, I'm back.

Crafty me.

Journal-ing me.

Laughing and giggling me.

Rational me.

Fun me.

Early morning me.

It just happened all of a sudden.

After lots of tears, days of sad me, and hopelessness.

All of a sudden I'm back.

And I'm so happy about it.

This might need some explanation. 

After all, this blog hasn't really gone into me that deeply. 

Mostly it's just a day-to-day thing that you can read. 

Outings, news. 

But I just wanted to write a little more personally here today.

Because it's been a long road (or so it feels like) to get here.

Having a baby changes you.

For real.

You always hear that and it gets you excited.

You think yeah, bring on the change! I want that. Awesome.

But you forget that with change comes broken hearts that need to mend, tears that need to be shed, and real hard work that needs to be done. 

You forget until it's time for the changing. And it's then that you don't want it.

All of a sudden you think, oh, well, if this is what change is I'd like my old self and life back. Please and thank you.

And for a while you really wish that were true.

And you go through the changes and you have a tough time of it. 

You really do.

And you kind of think that it's too much.

Because it really feels like it.

And you reach days that you feel couldn't get any worse. And then they do.

And then your husband gives you a blessing, and things start to look better.

They start to change and you see the good again. 

And then, just like that...

you're back.

(photo credit to Lauren Elise Photography.)

An Outing

Saturday seemed like the perfect day to go see Navy Pier.

The weather was P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

I couldn't have asked for better.

We hopped on the 66 bus and headed towards the pier on a slightly cloudy but beautiful day.

Olivia was in her Bjorn, Steven and I were holding hands, and we were so looking forward to a little trip out.

We got to the Pier and looked around at some of the shops inside.

We decided to go on the Ferris Wheel.

I didn't know they really allowed babies on Ferris Wheels.

But we went and enjoyed the amazing view from up top. 

Just the three of us.

Olivia smiling, oblivious to how high she was.

And then there was me trying to not think about how we swayed every time the wind blew our little metal box. You would think I had just bungee jumped or something. I seriously was a little freaked out we were going to die.

But we still had fun!

Just in case you wanted an awful quality photo, here you go!

We exited the Ferris Wheel and headed to walk along the waterfront.

The air smelled so fresh.

I couldn't get enough.

Olivia fell asleep as we walked along the water.

It was beautiful.

We meandered our way back to the bus and hopped back on.

Olivia was awake again and people couldn't get enough of her!

Sometimes she definitely puts her cheese on. 

But only when she wants to.

And just as we arrived home it started to rain.

We had the perfect outing.

A Very Lovely Weekend

I had been looking forward to this weekend for a long time. 

Girl's weekend. 

Shopping. 

Chocolate.

Mom's in town.

Here she is with Olivia, whose hat is somewhat askew.

I was so excited to have her visit.

Here was our list of things we did:

Sprinkles Cupcakes...

just to see if they compare to the Cocoa Bean.

They were lovely, but they didn't. 

But it was still lovely.

Trader Joe's...

 to take a peak at all of their delicious foods.

Whole Foods for some natural makeup and other groceries...

 I'm pretty sure after visiting these two stores she has grocery store envy. Who wouldn't? I love me some Trader Joe's. And Whole Foods, if I could afford their prices! :)

Dinner at home on Friday...

 Pasta and whole wheat baguette. Mmm.

Shopping...

Anthropologie, where we checked out a huge book and some sweet outfits and lovely things.

Ann Taylor, where I enjoyed their 30% off sale and bought some needed new shirts.

Nordstrom Rack, where I treated myself to some warm tights for these cold Chicago days.

And finally, Topshop, where my mom thought everything belonged in a Thrift Store. She didn't like it very much.

We also visited Lush, where we loved smelling all the scents and feeling very indulgent when we bought a couple things.

Date With Steven...

Mom was so sweet and babysat for us on Saturday.

We went out for the first time alone in the big city and explored a bit.

We ended up going to Thai Food, a favorite of ours.

We also ended up going to the Hershey's store and feeling a little disgusted that they have the largest candy bars in the world there. 

Then we went over to Ghirdelli where we received a free square of chocolate, thank you very much. And we looked at their normal sized bits of decadent chocolate and we felt much better and that all was right in the world.

We returned home to a happy baby with grandma, playing on the floor.

Lunch with my cousin and her boyfran!

We went to Epic Burger.

So yummy.

They even have a portabello mushroom burger, which my mom enjoyed eating.

PS: Aren't they just so cute?

Did I also mention that mom did Tai Chi with Olivia when she was fussy and put her to sleep? 

She's a magician. I love that about her.

So far, Steven and I still haven't been able to do the same thing with Olivia.

It's grandma magic or something.

What a fun weekend! We miss grandma! 

A list of (exciting) updates!

These things are so simple, but we hope you can sense our joy in each one!

We have a kitchen table. Small joys! We are finally not munching down dinner on our couch or the floor. This is a big deal. It's been almost two months. I'm pretty excited to eat my tacos at the table.

We went to the Zoo! And it's free and beautiful and a haven of children. You know how in Harry Potter you wonder where all the wizards are in this muggle world and then you go to Hogwarts and you feel at home? I felt at home at the zoo. So many babies. Can I not compare babies to wizards? No? OK. Sorry!

Steven is still composing A.LOT! He is doing amazing. I am so impressed with his work. He did some amazing work the other day that honestly gave me goosebumps. I felt like I was watching a movie. It was brilliant! Check out his stuff at stevenspiel.com! He'll upload his new stuff soon. 

Liv is taking naps. By herself. And only with a little help from mom to start out. This is a miracle. I think if any of my other children sleep well by themselves or put themselves to sleep or stay asleep I will just cry for joy. 

 Here are some more pictures of Olivia. Isn't it amazing how the simplest things can amuse them and fascinate them? It's so fun to give her toys and have them distract while I do much needed housework or brush my teeth. I feel very accomplished in a day if I've brushed my teeth before noon. Don't be grossed out. :)

Here is us at a Halloween party for church. My cousin Lauren gave us the idea to be nerds because I am just awful at Halloween. 

Does Liv's face speak to you?

To me, she's saying, 

"Why couldn't you make me something cute for halloween? Like a bunny... or a dog?" 

Not saying that nerds aren't cute.

They so are.

And we proved it! :)

Fall in Chicago

Let's face it.

Fall is gorgeous.

And I knew fall in the city would be splendid! 

Here are some shots from around the city this Autumn.

I call this one "My feet with leaves."

Creative, yeah?

This pictures is so pretty. There are so many cathedrals and old churches in this city and I LOVE IT.

It's so neat to see something so old within huge skyscrapers and busy city life. It's a breath of fresh air from the cookie cutter sky scrapers and glass and metal. Stone, finish, gorgeous craftsmanship. 

So breathtaking.

This picture's for Adam Spiel! There's a Rolls Royce right down the street from us. 

We always think about you when we walk by! :)

On our way home from church.

Speaking of church, I gave a talk this sunday! 

And there were so many people visiting for the Notre Dame game. 

The congregation was packed! 

We met some super nice people from out of town.

The Livs.

She's so precious. 

She gets cuter and happier every day. 

And our quality of life goes up each day she smiles more.

Let's face it. 

Happy baby, happy mama, happy dad.

As for updates?

Liv has rolled over!! Woohoo. 

So exciting! It's so funny to see her in one place one moment and then in another the next.

Steven's doing so great at school. He's working so hard at everything and trying to absorb as much as he can! 

We went to IKEA and I bought things for the house to make it feel a bit more home-y.

Steven was so sweet and understanding about it and knows that it's super important to me to feel comfy.

Having somewhere that's home is like that feeling when you make cookies and milk or granola and the smells waft through the house and you just... feel so comfortable. 

For some reason it's been even more important in the big city to make a HOME. 

And so we are. 

And it feels great.

And anytime I get homesick, I just call friends or family and usually it's all better.

Just a fun picture of Liv pretending she's a Sith Lord.

And steven being all tough with his scruff.

So I suppose that's all. We're happy, getting happier, and making a lovely life for ourselves here! 

Love you all!

                                              Chicago!

It's been awhile. 

Sorry!

You'll notice the last time I blogged was a year ago. 

We had a baby! Which means a bit lot of this at all times of the night:

But it also means this:

And sleep doesn't matter because this sweet thing loves me and it definitely makes the no-showering-I'm-so-tired-welcome-to-motherhood thing worth it. 

I've had so MANY sweet moments with this sweet thing.

I love our little Olivia.

(Why, yes, she is wearing the same outfit in the sad and happy pictures! Hah.)

Well, being in a big city is exciting! 

Luckily, with some awesome help from Steven's parents, my parents, Craig and Savannah, and my cousin Lauren we've moved onto East Pearson Street and are happily nestling into our apartment in the Gold Coast neighborhood. 

This is a picture about 5 blocks from our place, at the beach. The Hancock building's in the background. It's amazing to see the beach and the city all at once.

We had a lovely walk along the beach.

This handsome guy started school! 

He is studying composition for the film at Columbia College.

He loves it and comes home inspired every day. And with lots of writing to do.

But for one of his classes he gets to watch a movie each week. 

We do that homework together.

And so the mr. has had to get some new gear for school.

And Olivia approves.

We visited Steven at his awesome job! 

He works at the grad lounge and it's so modern.

I loved it.

We just had to try this burger joint on our block. 

seriously, the name is so perfect.

This burger was epic!

Steven eats downtown with some of his buds from class on Tuesdays and they walked by some cool art. 

He says that they are taller than he is! 

So far, the biggest adventure Olivia and I have done is to pay rent together. 

It was a ton of stops away on the train from our place and a bit of a walk as well. 

I didn't get lost! 

It was about a 3 1/2 hour trip because they told us to pay rent at the WRONG building. 

Apparently management switched right when we moved in and they didn't let us know. 

So I had to figure out how to get to the new destination and where to nurse my hungry baby.

But we did it! 

And it was only after a couple days of being in the city.

I'm just so nervous to learn how to get around in this city with a new baby so I mostly just run to the grocery or run errands with her. 

Once in a while we'll stroll around the block and go to some parks. 

When I'm feeling a bit adventurous, we take a different route home. Hah.

Any advice from city mama's?

What's something adventurous you've done as a new mommy?

Have a lovely week, all! More stories to come!