Sunday, December 23, 2012

Oklahoma Christmas





Goood morning people!!! 


  After driving 10 hours all night (we are real parents now), Oklahoma greeted us with a beautiful sunrise, a wide eyed baby & two very tired parents!! Friends, family and the famous Kirkland cornbread dressing awaited us, so we put the pedal to the metal all night to get there!  


All smiles after some yummy food!!
  Kirkland Christmas was Sunday- and boy oh boy did we have fun! The house was full, the noise level was LOUD, and the food was delish (5 pans of Kirkland cornbread dressing). Dirty Santa was a hit as always, mostly because Jon & I made out with the "good stuff."  A beautiful blue glass vase and a $10 Sonic gift card!  The cousins played, the parents enjoyed a good meal and the grandparents were tickled pink to have everyone around!!  Ella loved all of her presents, but mostly she loved eating the paper & bows.  We got to see our chocolate lab Boomer, Ella's new best friend!! Every morning she'd crawl to the back door to bang on the glass door as Boomer sat & did tricks for her! 

  After Kirkland Christmas we had Ella's "first birthday" with Jon's family! What a hoot!! I can't wait for her real first birthday now!  Kaitlyn, Ella's cousin, made her a beautiful smash cake! So we striped her naked (diaper still on of course) & placed her in the center of the room- with all eyes staring at her & a birthday cake coming towards her, we began to sing "Happy Birthday." She looked up at me with a completely perplexed look as if to say "What in the heck lady?"  And after we blew out the candle and placed the cake in front of her- the REAL fun began!  After a few "tastings" she dug into that cake with furry! When all the fun was over she was covered in purple icing and on a sugar high! (And I won't even tell you what her diaper looked like the next day--ughh!!) 
What's all the attention for people? PS- i'm cold!
"What in the world is going on?"



I'd say this tastes pretty good.....

Mommy- get away from my cake! 

Full on smash cake mode!! 

  After all of our fun at Gramms & Papa's house- it was on to Smith Christmas!!  We were greeting in Tulsa with the fresh smell of cookies, bread, and wonderful treats!!! Kristy was able to get a few days off of her ER rotation and the house was in full Christmas mode.  It is hard to believe it's been 4 months since my dad died, it's hard to have Christmas without him.  Although we are all convinced he's playing golf in Heaven with his dad in some warm tropical place! :)  Ella was spoiled yet again by both Nana and Auntie KK! I'm pretty sure she has more toys than there are days in the year & an entire new wardrobe for the new year!! 
Ella's pile of gifts! (And a few we already opened in the background)

Best self photo we could get! 

"Kiss"

Awesome Christmas PJ's Auntie KK bought Ella! 

Nana and Ella having fun in their matching PJ's! 

Come on people- let's open these up!! 

Rrriiippee goes the paper

Nice book, but I'll just eat play with the paper! 

Spoiled much?! And that's only a 1/3 of her stash! 

   After two Christmas's, a practice first birthday, tons of yummy food & goodies, and all the fun Oklahoma could offer we were off to Minnesota & blessed to get the "bubonic plague" of 2012 from Ella!! After being sick for a week in Oklahoma- Ella passed her cold onto us :(  So it's OJ, cold medicines, hot showers, saline in the nose & zinc for me, Jon & Nana! I have high hopes that we will wake up feeling better tomorrow! Although our 3rd and final Christmas will be very low key!

   We also had a very successful house hunting experience while in Tulsa!! We bought a house!! It's just being built so we get to pick everything out & are very excited for this experience! We are building our forever house to grow old in (and put all of those toys in)!! The neighborhood is great!! It has 2 pools, a splash pad, 7 acres of parks and some awesome neighbors! Lots more pictures to come in the next few months! 
What?? You bought me a house-- yay! A place for ALL my new toys!! 

Our new house :) 

Oh Ella- you really much quit your Starbucks addiction! Early flight to MN
 
  So life is over all very good- we are extremely blessed! We had a wonderful time in Oklahoma, but are excited that next Christmas we will be a very short 15 minute & 1 1/2 hour drive away- no more of these 12-10 hour drives! Ella continues to delight us! She can stand on her own, and "walk" with the assistance of hands or toys! Her vocabulary is expanding- she can say "Ella-Ella-Ella" and then some crazy gibberish that only she understands! 


We miss you everyday Dad! Life will never be the same without you. 




Sunday, December 9, 2012

Friends Make the Season Bright

I love Christmas time (as I previously stated in my last entry)!! And one of the things I love the most is spending time with friends and family!  Well- our families get to see us in 6 days, and we just spent a wonderful& relaxing Friday afternoon eating Christmas cookies and playing with our great friends! Our Minneapolis friends have made our Christmas season bright!

When I first moved to Minneapolis I thought "how am I ever going to meet some friends?" I had such wonderful friends in Chicago- but with everyone's fellowships in different areas we were all scattered to different parts of the country! The first few weeks were loong and lonely, but with the help of Ella & an online mom's group.....success was had! I met four of the most wonderful, supportive, creative, thoughtful and helpful mom's in Minneapolis! L, S, A & C! They have truly made the past 6 months and my transition here very easy & natural- in fact it will be extremely hard to say goodbye to them! We do meal exchanges, afternoon play dates at each others home where we share our favorite foods & talented cooking skills, we go to Sealife at the Mall of America (an aquarium), we work out together at Lifetime, we take our babies to music classes and we love a good girls night out (complete with wine of course)!  But most importantly we experience everything motherhood has to offer with each other- the good, the bad, and the nasty (smells)! They have helped me through some dark times and always bring a smile to mine & Ella's faces! I love what talents, creativity & vibe each of them brings to our "group." I am thankful for all of them!!
Cute mommas & their cute babies @ Sea Life


Oh- and did I mention their adorable & lovely babies?! I love their little ones and so does Ella! They are full of spunk, smiles, drool and energy! They crawl around & pull on each other & play very well together! I feel like I've seen each of them "grow" over the months as some have started talking, walking & sitting up on their own! Each of them has their own special personality, which is so amazing to continually see grow & change.  They are Ella's bestest friends and bring joy to my heart! They make our days so FUN!

Playtime silliness! 

Loving some yummy bread!

Such a sweet snuggled he is!

Best friends at music class

Super Baby with her super curly hair!

Another super baby! 

Growing into a man- trying to watch TV

On another note we had our first real snow here in Minneapolis. 8+ inches and possibly more tonight. We decided to take Ella out in it after her nap, after all she has a snow suit & snow boots!  At first she was not really impressed but after a tasting, feelings & sitting in the snow- I think she decided she liked it!  Mommy & Daddy however--are less than impressed because all this snow means bad traffic, bad roads & bad traveling! But it is really pretty! 
I can barely move mom

What is this stuff? 

Yummy- it's nice and cold

Ok people- I like it! 

Ella & Daddy walking out in the snow for the first time

Ella turned 10 months this past week! 10 whole months we've gotten to experience the energizing joy that is Ella! We apparently celebrated with ice cream, as Ella decided that she was going to share mommy & daddy's Salted Caramel Yogurt! Pretty sure she ate like 1/4 of the container! Loving ice cream like her mommy! She talks more everyday, but she speaks "Ella" language right now. Aside from Da-da & Ba-ba I can't make anything out! We continue to work on Ma-ma...but we just aren't there yet! She's still into everything and really enjoys playing with other kids! She's learning to share and always offers her gooey/drooly food to people, such a thoughtful little one! She love Elmo...if we are fussy, tired, cranky or sad--- put on an Elmo video & snap = happy Ella jumping & dancing! It's great! We are attending "Sesame Street Live" in January here with our mom friends & kiddos! It should be very entertaining! 
I think I'll eat this! Looks tasty! 

I like edamame like mommy too! 

I've got style people

Bright & Sunny in Minneapolis (this was before the snow storm)

Hey everybody- I'm 10 months! 

Happy Girl


Want some waffle? It's really good!


So that's been our past week! Lots of fun with our wonderful friends- lots of fun in the snow and always lots of fun playing!!   Tis the Season to be Jolly!! Enjoy your friends and family!!





Saturday, December 1, 2012

Tis the Season....

First Thanksgiving smiles

Tis the Season to be Jolly!!!  Oh how I LOVE Christmas time!  Its full of wonder, cheer, bright lights, christmas cookies, cards, music, parties and the birth of our Lord!  What a great season! And having Ella around this year makes it even more fun!  Although I'm not sure she knows what is going on!
We wrote a letter to Santa at Macy's

Ella had a looooong list Santa

I DO love Santa

Yes- I do have a different outfit for everyday in December



Ella is into everything these days, but she is so full of JOY! She laughs, she smiles, she's ticklish, she crawls around and plays with everything. She loves playing with other kiddos and thinks she is a "big girl" at the gym when she's allowed to play in the kids area. She loves to help me cook in the kitchen and is a great eater (like her daddy).  Bath time is her favorite time- she's splash's and kicks, plays with her bath toys and laughs at everything.  We had her 9 months appointment and she is right on track! She weighs 18lbs and is 27.5 inches tall- averaging in the 35-40%.  Her head full of brains is still in the 55% :)  Makes her daddy proud.  Everyday is a fun adventure with Ella- her daddy and I just love her to pieces. 
Who would give shots to this sweet face?

I love me some oranges


I'll find just the right spice for dinner mommy


You want how many cups? 

Have you seen my oranges? 

I love apples too!


We are blessed beyond words to call Ella Lillian Kirkland our daughter- I can't believe she will be 10 months old this week! The year has flown by too quickly (and not quickly enough at some moments)! The joy she brings to everyone is contagious!