Wednesday, September 26, 2012

It's been a while.....

So it's been a while since I've blogged, mostly because we have been busy getting "back to reality" like my last post said & because I'm trying to take full advantage of the beautiful fall weather here in Minneapolis before winter hits! :/   But here's a little bit of what we've been up to:

Ella continues to grow and become more "active" each day!  She's really determined to crawl, apparently she's decided the army crawl is not as efficient as a regular crawl would be. She's trying to pull up on everything & loves it when we hold her fingers so she can stand like a big girl or jump up & down! She is such a happy and fun baby! Her expressions crack me up! Her smile is infectious! Definitely a mommas girl :)  We started music class last week and she LOVES to shake things now. Maracas, eggs, bottles, keys.....everything gets to "shake shake shake." She has started doing her own laundry, although she prefers to pull it out after I've folded it....but she's learning right? She loves to put on her Sooner gear & cheer for OU! While she can't quite say Boomer Sooner.... Jon is convinced she knows what it means, as she smiles SO big every time we say it!  We recently took Ella on a trip to the local apple orchard where she fell in love with apples (she literally ate one to the core) and to the Como Zoo.  We also joined the Sea Life aquarium at the Mall of America and she loves to look at all the pretty colorful fish!

Morning playtime in our jammies! 

BOOMER SOONER!

Helping with the laundry..... or shake-shake-shaking it all up :)

Look at those teeth :) 

Wild Child--It' a little too early for music class mom! But I'll shake my scarf :) 

I've been busy doing a little bit of everything & enjoying my new mommy friends!!  We've recently decided to try a weekly meal exchange program where we each cook 4-5 portions of 1 meal and then get together at someones house to play and exchanges the meals! Therefore my week of dinners is already done :)  This was our first week- and so far YUM! It's so nice to have such a supportive & encouraging group of new friends! Plus all the little ones love to play, pull, & terrorize each other! Since this is my favorite season- I've decorated for fall and constantly have my pumpkin candles burning! Like I said earlier the weather has been amazing here and the trees are turning beautiful shades of orange, red and yellow! We love taking walks around our neighborhood or around the various lakes!  My craftiness has kicked in and I have taken on the task of making Superhero costumes for the babies in our mommy group! Can't wait to see them all in them! And of course I'm baking up a storm as usual! Pumpkin breads, cookies, chex-mix (Jon is very happy), and trying out new meals! 

Never too early to start her off with an LV :) 

BOOMER SOONER!! 

Fun times at the apple orchard (Ella was less than amused at the tractor ride)

Jon is enjoying his time a the "spa VA" hospital.  (They call it that because the hours are much much much more reasonable-  it's a government hospital)  And we are enjoying being able to see him more! His weekends when he isn't on call are spent playing with us, eating Chex-Mix and watching FOOTBALL! He is a happy man! 
Daddy & Ella at the apple orchard

At the Como Zoo seeing the Polar Bears! 

So that's what the Krazy Kirklands have been up to lately! Never a dull moment for us! We are heading to Chicago tonight to spend a long weekend with friends, for Jon to attend a conference and for mommy & Ella to shop!  Then NaNa comes next week to visit Minneapolis!! Life is good!  
Something tells me she is going to be trouble....

But with this smile I'll forgive her






Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Back to Life- Back to Reality

I can sit up by myself now!! 


After a whirl-wind couple of weeks the Kirkland's are finally back in Minneapolis & back to reality! First I must thank you all for your sweet thoughts, prayers & words of encouragement during such a difficult time for us!  Thank you, thank you! It will be a difficult time to create a new "normal" but I'm blessed to have such amazing support!!  We were so lucky to be able to spend his last few days together as a family at home!  We will remind Ella of how great her PaPa was everyday!
He loved on Ella up until the end!! 

And she LOVED him too!


Second I must brag about how awesome my little Ella is! Not only is she a great flyer, extremely flexible and super happy- but she is now a great cross country car traveler!  After the funeral in Tulsa, we drove 14 hours across the U.S. (In 2 days with a 6 1/2 month old & dog) to my parents hometown of Charleston West Virginia for a family service.  And Ella was GREAT!  She played, slept & cried a few times just to let us know she was there! I'm a very lucky mommy to have such a happy & flexible baby willing to do what needs to be done! She was also able to spend time with her great-grandparents who adore her! She charmed them all with her giggles, smiles & "tricks."
Are we there yet? These KRAZY ladies are causing me to start drinking early :)

Pit stop along the highway for Fro Yo! YUM!

You people have worn me out- goodnight! Wake me when we get there!



Ella has learned how to sit up and "army crawl" across the room to get her toys (or most likely paper, garbage or something she's not suppose to have)!  She's keeping me busy for sure!! She also loves to eat toast and english muffins!  She's a carb lover for sure! She has 2 bottom teeth that popped up over night! She's learned how to pull off her head bows & how to chew/teeth on her sippy cup! We headed to Lake Calhoun for Labor day to celebrate being back in Minneapolis and spend some quality time with Jon!  Ella had a blast- probably because we let her teeth on a grape freezy pop that was bigger than her! The lakes here are beautiful and have tons of activities!  The weather has been great- so we are taking full advantage of it!

Yum YUM YUMMY!!

This thing is bigger than ME! 

Feels SO good on my new teeth!

Yeah- not gonna smile...too busy chewing!! 


So it's back to the grind we go! Laundry to do, dishes to wash, a baby to take care of and play-dates to attend!