Monday, February 25, 2013

Back in Minneapolis!!






Snuggle time!!  My favorite time ever! 

I LOVE this little girl SO much!! 

Alright- so I guess I fall into the "by February everyone has forgotten or is ignoring their New Years resolutions" category!  But in my defense I've been in Oklahoma for the past 2 weeks visiting and planning our house, which was a much bigger & more stressful process than I had originally thought! So blogging went out the window & instead I put my focus on the tasks at hand! Do you know how many lights there are? Or doorknobs? Paint choices?! It was a busy-busy week full of decisions & excitement!  But I plan to pick right back up and blog more & do a recipe of the week again!!

We started off this week with snuggles, grocery shopping & our last Costco trip before our membership runs out! :(  Tulsa better get one soon!! SO much better than Sams Club....or maybe that's the frozen yogurt talking?? Anyway, we are back in MN and ready to start another week!

Before we left for our Oklahoma trip we were able to celebrate Ella's first birthday with her friends here in Minneapolis! We had 12-15 people over to our condo for yummy food, lots of playing and cupcakes at the end! I had such a fun time planning this little party for Ella! Here are some pictures of the event:
I do NOT want my picture taken people
Alright- alright just one more picture....

Yummy pizza mommy made! 

Where's the fire people?? 

This stuff is pretty darn yummy!! 

Pintrest inspired board of Ella's first year


Birthday Princess

Buttercream cupcakes! 

Ball pit fun!!! 



Cupcakes & Party favors


I just love this little/big girl!!


Ella was the "hit" of Oklahoma and full of giggles, smiles, snuggles & funny moments! She had yet another fist birthday party! (Seriously- this girl has had like 4)  She loved exploring Nana's house, pulling out all of her decorations and mastering her stair climbing skills! She still loves to read, talk, walk around and get into everything!! She loved playing with her cousin's at Gramms & Papa's house and mooing at the cows! Every day is a fun adventure with this little nugget & I love it!! At Ella's first birthday appointment she weighed in at 20.5 lbs, 28 inches and has 8 teeth! BIG GIRL! She has the most contagious laugh that warms my heart!! I try to cherish every snuggle, kiss, and hug! It is all going too fast!! 


I love presents- CHEESE

I know how to open this! 

Our new trick: "How big is Ella?"  "Sooo big" (with raised arms)

Boomer Sooner from Oklahoma


While in Oklahoma I also found some free time to craft a little!  Pintrest has gotten addicting to me while building a house... We painted vases & made cake plates!  They turned out beautifully! Definitely going in our new house & probably going to be given as gifts! So if you get one- congrats!

The cake plates I made.....love them! To gift or give away?? Hmmmm 

Cake plates & vases! SO easy! 

 I did a horrible job of taking pictures of the house.... it was pretty bad weather for Oklahoma (we got 2-3 inches of snow) & I'm just terrible at remembering to take pictures!  Plus it is just dry-wall and unfinished wood right now....not that much to see!  Same as the pictures from my last post! Give me another month and then I will post pictures!! So sorry to all of you who wanted to see it!  It is going to be beautiful I can tell you that!  But here's a picture of Jon's unfinished desk in his study!
Beautiful built in desk

After a fabulous trip to Oklahoma, we were ready to see daddy and happily boarded the plane to see him on Saturday!! She made multiple friends on the plane & even played with some Grandma's Ipad while we waited in St Louis!
Morning Java fix @ Starbucks

Apparently our morning shower of Starbucks..... good thing mommy had finished it! 

All buckled in and ready to go!  Such a big girl in her own seat!! 


Whew- SO glad to be home with daddy!! Hugs & Kisses to you all!











Thursday, February 14, 2013

Tulsa

 

 

Ella & I safely arrived in Tulsa Monday night after a very "fun" flight with my big 1 year old! (By fun I mean walking the airplane aisles 1000 times, eating constantly, jumping up & down, and chasing Miss Ella all over the airports bc she had to be put down). Its a whole different experience flying with a 1 month old & a 1 year old! We were greeted with hugs & kisses from Auntie KK & Nana and warm weather!! Yay!

I got started on the house right away- from tile to granite to light fixtures! Oh- and paint colors, hardwood & cabinets! There are SO many choices! By Tuesday afternoon my brain was "house mush" and I was treated to some delightfully yummy sushi from a friend to take my mind off of it! Ella & I went out to "inspect" the place for ourselves on Wednesday afternoon.

Exterior
4 car garage (Daddy is very excited)
Living room & fireplace
Dining room
Ella's room with her window "cubby"
Game room

It's been both fun & stressful to plan and decorate this house so far!! I can't imagine furnishing it yet.....good thing I have a few months to look around still!

Ella is fun as ever- walking around with her little Buddha belly sticking out!! (Not fair it's so stinkin cute on babies) She loves Riley & Queenie (my mom & sisters dogs) and follows them throughout the house! She also loves to climb my moms stairs- LOVES it! I see rock climbing in her future :).

Going for a walk in this beautiful weather!!
Happy Valentines Day

 

You are SO wise Pei Wei.....SO wise!!

 

 

Life is very good & very blessed in the Kirkland household!! It's so nice to be back with friends & family!

 

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Happy Birthday Dad

        After yesterday's amazing celebration, today is a much sadder day.  Today is my dad's first birthday & his first birthday since his death.  I'm sad I can't call him to wish him a "Happy Birthday" or to see what his big plans are!



     Last year he got all dressed up and went to PF Changs with my sister for dinner! (My mom was in Chicago with Ella & I)  He was in such high spirits that day and SO extremely proud to be a grandfather! He called everyone he knew to tell them the news..."Ella is here, I'm a papa now."  He sent flowers and candy every other day for a week to our doorstep in Chicago!  He loved Miss Ella so much! He helped give her baths, feed her, jiggle her, and always talked to her in the mornings. I'm SO incredibly grateful he was able to meet her and be a papa.

That's yummy stuff papa

Ella's first Easter

Playing

Playing with her frog


Papa giving Ella a bath, she still wasn't too found of them then. 

All clean after a bath! 



   I know that he is up in Heaven having a big cancer-free celebration today! I know that he is still with us and watches over Miss Ella!  Still not a day goes by that I don't miss him.  We love you dad! Can't wait to see you up in Heaven one day!



I got my blue eyes & red hair from him! 

Mexcio fun

Catching some rays

He loved her up until the VERY end.  Always saying such loving things to her. 

Christmas Eve 2011

Jeffrey Don Smith