Kirkham Krew

Happy Birthday Yakob!

2012-01-22T13:56:00.000-05:00

I started out Jake's birthday by managing to have his diploma run over by a Ford F-250. Cheap Target glass took most of the hit. Emmi started yelling "DAD DAD MOM RUINED YOUR BIRTHDAY!" when he got home. She meant to say Birthday Present. I took it to have it professionally framed...but I made a rookie mistake of taking my two children to a custom framing shop. The rest of the story is just a mess.

JUST A MESS.

I made it all up to him by purchasing him the

actual frame he wanted from BYU (and a brand new diploma) and baking a magnificent cake and

drum roll....WEARING SOMETHING OTHER THAN EXERCISE SHOES AND JEANS to dinner. Ah the little things in life :)

His little children ADORE him and they adoringly sang to him for his Birthday; off key and dinosaur screaming and all :). Love you buddy!

Potty Training Take Two

2012-01-22T13:23:00.000-05:00

So back in August we tried to potty train Emmi. Epic Fail. She wasn't ready, I wasn't ready, my carpet wasn't ready! Emmi kept telling everyone that she wasn't old enough. So we decided "No kindergartener goes to school in diapers. It'll just happen"

AND IT DID.

Got home from Christmas break and Jake used his magic psychological powers to help her understand that she was grown up enough to be potty trained. The convo went something like this.

Dad: "Do you eat candy Emmi?"
Emmi: "Oh I LOVE CANDY do you have some?"
Dad: "Does Noah eat candy?"
Emmi: "NO WAY! He could choke. Hes just a little baby"
Dad: "Oh so you have to be a big kid to eat candy"
Emmi: "Uh yes!"
Dad:"Do you like watcing movies and eating popcorn!?"
Emmi: "YES!!! I want to watch CINDERELLA!'
Dad: "Does Noah watch movies and eat popcorn?"
Emmi: "No. he has to go to bed and he could choke on popcorn."
Dad: "Does Noah go poo poo and pee in the potty?"
Emmi: "NO HE WEARS DIAPERS cause he is a BAABY!"
Dad: "You still wear diapers. I think you cant watch movies or have candy or eat popcorn anymore."

LIGHT BULB.

And in a matter of a week she was potty trained...EVEN AT NIGHT! She realized she was a big kid and if she wanted to keep doing all the things big kids do she had to ditch those diapers. We had a little bit of a stall when she was scared to poop on the potty...but with a little help from the diaper fairy...she got the hang of it.

See the diaper fairy comes and takes your diapers away when you poop on the potty all by yourself. She takes the diapers to little babies that need them and leaves you a FANTASTIC toy. Flavia is her name and she helps little boys and girl all over the world grow up. Shes best friends with the Binky Fairy, Doria. (This kid is all strategy and although it seems cruel to fill her head full of nonsensical fairytales and made of wishes...she gets it. and it works. Shes even asked that when Noah turns 3 she could help him poop in the potty and make sure the diaper fairy brings HIM a toy. I'm game. I'm so game)

Diaper Fairy Left This...(shes a high roller apparently)

Christmas Tree for Jesus

2012-01-22T12:59:00.000-05:00

I forgot to post about this back in December (oh wait I haven't actually blogged for about a year), but in an effort to better document Noah and Emory's life here we go.

I found this idea in the December "Friend" and it turned out to be so fun! Emmi and I made a paper Christmas tree and cut out 15 Christmas ornaments to place on the tree each day that we were in Delaware before Christmas (we ended up in Utah for the last 10 days and Christmas day). Everyday Emmi and I sat down together and talked about the true meaning of Christmas and the things that we knew about Jesus. She had some of the sweetest things to write about Jesus. Here are a few...

"Mary is his mommy and she wears a hood"
"He died for me and for you and for Noah and even for Dad!"
'He was a baby in a manger and there were animals there when he came out of Mary's tummy"
"Heavenly Father loves Jesus. He is the Son of God"

What a fun tradition and Emmi STILL asks what happened to our tree for Jesus....maybe this should be a year round tradition.

FYI: Emmi was allowed to play with my makeup the evening I took these pictures... hence the snookie-esque face. Perfect pictures are boring right?

With Love from Utah

2011-12-29T11:26:00.001-05:00

In no particular order (because I don't understand blogger anymore:) )

Our Christmas Vacation was great. The kids and I headed out to Utah for some R&R and then 9 days later Jake joined us for Christmas. After a 16 hour travel day to get back to DE we decided we need to invent teleporting. Some day. Some day.

Christmas Day Best
Emmi is plotting something...that little clever grin is always the give away.

I think she ended up just tickling him. Sigh of relief :)

Post Church. We loved listening to Michael Ballum speak in the Quailbluff Ward. Very neat.

Christmas morning. Noah tell us how you really feel about Emmi's dress.

Christmas Eve Jammers! Thanks Grandma Kathi

(please explain why both my kids shove their hands in their mouth whenever we try to take a picture!?)

A little nativity joy. Emmi decided who everyone would be...Grandpa was the donkey. Um yes.

Santa was a big hit for Emmi...except his "brown beard". Noah not so much.

Aunt Jessica and Uncle Jeremy were sealed in the Logan temple. So exciting! ONLY MY DAUGHTER would presume to wear a crown to someone else's special day. I tell you. So we had two princesses that day.

Adorning all our FABULOUS gifts from Jake's little brother Isaac who is in Russia on a mission.

No moment is complete without a Noah sandwich. This kid is so kissable.

Noah was not the culprit for Emmi's crying...or was he?

Happy Christmas to all! We are looking forward to a great year.

Siblings

2011-12-11T23:55:00.000-05:00

These two would not be who they are without each other. I love that he makes her a little less crazy and she makes him a little more orderly. How perfect they are. Heavenly Father surely knew they needed to be brother and sister.

Love

2011-12-04T20:41:00.000-05:00

So in love with this picture.

Life is Good

2011-12-01T16:46:00.000-05:00

I had a few people ask me after my last post if I'm suffering from "attorney wife" syndrome (jokingly). Sometimes its crazy not seeing Jake very often, but oh life is good with these two.

My dearest friend Alli said to me right before I had Noah "You will love having two kids. Its so much better!"

She was so right. Two is so much better than one (in many aspects of my life :)

These two bring ultimate joy! I have been trying to do a better job recording all the crazy things Emmi has been saying lately. Check me out on facebook for her daily conversational hilarity. Thankful for two very different kids and so thankful they need me in two totally different ways.

Thought

2011-11-14T11:54:00.000-05:00

So my parents would always say things like...

"Cleaning toilets and picking snow melt out of the carpet at the HFAC at BYU (for $6.75/hr)teaches hard work...and reminds you to get an education"

"Working as a PT tech and having to change wound dressings and massage backs for $6 dollars an hour is probably a good reminder to finish school.

"Scraping grease off the grills at the MTC builds character...and reminds you that education is important."

"Its good for you to work as a janitor at the local gym. Cleaning showers and picking up towels will remind you that getting an education is very important."

Well. I finished school. I got an education.

AND I clean toilets, wipe poopy bums, wipe grease off of the stove, clean showers and I pick up LOTS of towels off of the floor everyday...without pay.

I must have missed something.

(mind you I do all of this gladly...but the irony is sure funny)

"I was 2 and now I am 5!"

2011-10-24T15:46:00.001-04:00

Emmi has been convinced for weeks that she is actually turning 5 not 3. She told our neighbor she is turning 5, she told her teachers at school she is turning 5. When she asked if Uncle Isaac was coming to her party it all made sense. We have told her that when she turns 5 her uncle Isaac will be back from his mission. What a funny little bird she is...her thought must have been "if I just say I'm turning 5 then of course he will be back."

Princess cupcakes made by yours truly :)

Poor Emmi had quite the internal struggle over being Cinderella or Rapunzel at her party. Cinderella prevailed...surprisingly.

This was her face when I told her that Uncle Isaac was still on his mission. Funny bird.

Uncle JJ and Noahy trying to escape the onslaught of princess-ness.

Cousins. Lucy and Noah are 6 months apart.

CUPCAKES. Neither Chloe or Emmi ate dinner because the thought of cupcakes was just too much to handle.

Emmi shouting for joy under her birthday sign. She exclaimed when she saw it "OH MOM THIS IS GORGEOUS!"

Emmi could not contain herself as she opened all her presents.

Daddy oversaw the present chaos. He did a fabulous job showing genuine excitement over princess stuff. I can tell hes excited to buy Noah nurf guns and whoopy cushions.

Noah was a total trooper during the whole party. At one point Princess Emmi shrieked at the thought of Noah trampling through her toys. He b-lined it in the other direction. Smart boy.

We sort of had the sleepys this morning after the party. Emmi is sure excited to be three even if her little face just said "please let me go back to bed" this morning.

Blue Eyed Babes

2011-10-06T15:13:00.000-04:00

I love these two. With all of my heart. EVEN when they get up at 6:30 am.

For Jake

2011-09-15T15:51:00.000-04:00

Cousins

2011-09-14T16:49:00.000-04:00

(weird picture, but my husband says I'm lame because I never post pictures with me in them)

So glad to have Rachel, JJ, Chloe and Lucy close by. Cousins are the best!

"Its the hap happiest time of the year!"

2011-09-12T10:46:00.000-04:00

I stole the title from my friend Emily. But this was the happiest day of my life and Emory's!

EMORY STARTED SCHOOL!

After talking about preschool for DAYS, Emory all of the sudden realized I wasn't going with her to school. Que conversation.

Mom: "You are going to have so much fun today. They have a playground, and you get to eat lunch there, and PAINT, and do play-dough!"

Emory: "Are you going to just drop me off or something?"

Mom: "Yeah! You get to go all by yourself!"

Emory: "Are you dropping Noah off somewhere too?"

Mom: "No. He is going to come home and take a nap and help me clean the house! (trying to make coming home sound super boring)

Emory: "Oh."

Mom: "You are going to be having so much fun you won't even realize you miss me"

Emory: "Well I need to play with all the toys at preschool and make some friends, not new ones mom just different friends, and then you can come back and get me or something"

Mom: "You got it."

We walked into the building and she found her room with the red door. I turned to show her where her cubby was and like that...she was off playing. I hugged her and kissed her goodbye and she said "You can go now". punch. She's been ready for this for awhile.

The other side of the Range

2011-06-25T12:13:00.001-04:00

My sis-in-law Cassie invited us to come over to the other side of the Valley and ride horses with her dad. We couldn't resist such an offer. Emmi said the entire ride over there "Mom I am going to ride a real Maximus and we are going to play together!" She was a little disappointed that the horse's name was Nibbs and he was not white...she got over it. While all the kids took turns, they managed to find rocks to build towers with and just had a great time! There is something so magical about riding a horse out in the middle of Bothwell, UT and just feeling the freedom of the air :). Just like Uncle Nick/Grandpa Nick said "The only thing that would make it better is to have more of it". We let the kids ride in the back of the truck on the way back to Uncle Nick's house (from the stables...5 min ride). You would have thought Emmi was going to burst from sheer joy. She was smiling, laughing, giggling, and grinning from ear to ear. We drove 55 min to the other side of the Valley to ride horses and the thing that made her heart sing was riding in the back of the truck. Gotta love that kid.

Emmi playing with her cousins Tate and Finn. Nothing like some good ol dirt and rocks :)

Probably telling them they are building their rock towers incorrectly...pretty sure both boys were totally ignoring her :)

Uncle Nick/Grandpa Nick (its confusing. my brother married my husband's cousin) This cowboy knows how to double task. Before he became a bishop he would not be caught dead with a cell phone by his head.

Brothers. So sweet.

Emmi and I riding Nibbs. Emmi loved hose back riding. She even went by herself!

This city girl just might know a thing or two about horses.

This is Arie. He is Emmi's brain buddy. They both love puzzles, thinking, and making perfect rock towers :)

Emmi told me about Arie "I want him to take me to the temple and be my marry husband". HILARIOUS

Uncle Nick perfecting our riding.

Learning how to make Nibbs turn.

Scroll Down

2011-06-09T19:17:00.001-04:00

LOTS OF POSTS. Scroll Down :)

Noah and Emmi

2011-06-09T19:16:00.000-04:00

Noah had just barfed on Emmi...she was NOT thrilled. Noah was exceptionally proud of his work :)

Ok I guess this little guy is ok.

Logan Canyon

2011-06-09T19:13:00.000-04:00

Here is another one of our adventures with Grandma and Grandpa. Uncle JJ was finishing up a rotation in Logan and he had the honor of carrying Noah on our hike. SO MUCH FUN!

At the end of our hike. It was so fun! (btw thats JJ not Jake carrying Noah :) )

Stopped for some dinner...which for Emmi consisted of Cheetos.

Throwing rocks in the stream with Grandpa

A very cold and tired Noah. Nothing a little booba juice and swaddle couldn't fix :)

4 Generations of Kirkhams

2011-06-09T18:46:00.000-04:00

Noah is the first Kirkham grandson to carry the Kirkham name. Quite a momentous occasion that we got to take this picture :).

Graduation

2011-06-09T18:34:00.001-04:00

Jake graduated from Law School on May 9! Both of our families came to represent and the whole weekend was fabulous. I am so proud of my Jakester! He worked tirelessly for three years and it sure paid off. On top of graduating from a top 20 law school, Jake managed to win 5 scholarships and awards and his name was printed in the graduation program 5 different times for his exceptional achievement. WAY TO GO!

After graudation all four us headed to Logan, UT for some R&R and to see Jake's younger brother leave on his mission. The uncertainty of our future as far as a job still loomed UNTIL we got a phone call the day we got to Logan. Jake immediately flew out to Wilmington, DE for an interview and by the next Wednesday we had an offer in our hand. I cannot tell you the wave of emotion and gratitude that rushed over me when we got the offer phone call. Jake and I immediately knelt down and thanked our Father in Heaven. Alma 22:16 had been a scripture I had relied on for the last year and then all of a sudden I realized I had been given that peace and hope all along. Our fears had been calmed and we knew that in the Lord's timing he would provide a way for us...and the way is Wilmington, DE! We head to DE in Aug to start our next adventure. We couldn't be more elated to be 45 min from Jake's brother, 3 hours from my brother Allan, and 6 hours from my brother Curtis. Yay for tender mercies!

Here are some pics. Enjoy!

Arizona!

2011-06-09T16:21:00.001-04:00

The kids and I decided to stay in Logan for the rest of the Summer and let Jake study for the Georgia bar in peace :). Our first adventure with Grandma and Grandpa was to drive 13 hours (uh huh) to Phoenix, AZ and watch Jake's older brother graduate from Medical School. The kids did FABULOUSLY on the drive down and we only stopped once to get out and stretch our legs. Phoenix was just the right dose of sunshine, family, pool, and food that the doctor ordered :). I FINALLY got to meet my little niece Lucy and oh oh she is such a lover bug. Emmi was in heaven having her cousin Chloe (14 weeks younger than Emmi) to play with. The whole trip was just fabulous. We are so proud of JJ and his major accomplishment of graduating from Med School....we love you Dr. Kirkham!

first rest stop at Glen Canyon Dam

Here are pictures. Enjoy!

Noah's Blessing Day

2011-05-10T13:35:00.002-04:00

Noah was blessed and named on May 8, 2011 by his dad Jacob Raymond Kirkham. Isaac Kirkham, Jay Kirkham, Bill Broadbent, and Nate Anderson all assisted in the blessing. Noah wore Jacob's blessing outfit and it looked soo cute! The blessing was absolutely gorgeous and so very very special. I felt so honored to have my little guy blessed on Mother's Day. What a special treat.

Psych!

2011-05-04T22:32:00.000-04:00

Georgia can't get rid of us that easily. We will most likely still be moving in September, but for now we get to stay put. Miracles happened and we are immensely blessed. After packing our entire house in a month...I have successfully unpacked it in a week.

Leaving...

2011-04-27T14:52:00.000-04:00

So you say we are moving? Well this peacock is always excited for a move. We're going to stay here in GA with my best friend Olivia right?

What?!?!?! You're telling me I have to move away. This peacock is just a wee bit sad.

Emmi is very excited to see her grandpa and grandma in Logan Ut, but she is very sad to be leaving. We all are. I seem to be walking around our increasingly empty house and finding myself at a loss. Our future is so uncertain and we have really loved our life here. I have to remind Jake not to slip on the puddles of tears I keep leaving everywhere. Emmi thinks something is wrong with me because I cry so much. So here's to a new start; hopefully we'll find ourselves back GA in 6 months. Fingers crossed.

Being a Kirkham

2011-03-19T20:27:00.000-04:00

Noah seems to think its pretty grand. We think so too!

Noah is now almost 11 lbs and growing too fast! He will be one month old on Monday and I'm clinging to his newborn-ness. His big sister calls him "Noahy" and it absolutely melts us. She is really starting to take a liking to him and thinks his hiccups and sneezes are hilarious.

As far as an update...we have no news. :( Prayers are being sent up daily. We know that in the Lord's time and in the Lord's way we will find our future. We're holding onto faith.

My loves

2011-03-04T08:45:00.003-05:00

Go here to see a sneak peak of pics of my loves. They steal my heart everyday.

Noah Jacob Kirkham

2011-02-26T20:25:00.000-05:00

Noah Jacob Kirkham

Feb 21 2011
7 lbs 15 oz

21 in

We already feel like hes been with us all along.

Christmas Cards for FREE

2010-11-26T13:24:00.001-05:00

Go HERE and sign up to receive 50 free Shutterfly Christmas Cards.

I have used Shutterfly three years in a row for Christmas Cards, Emmi's Birth Announcement, and Picture Books. So go CHECK IT OUT!

"Fun Birthday Party!" er...Halloween Party I mean

2010-11-01T18:47:00.004-04:00

Halloween was pretty laid back in the Kirkham House. We had a busy day getting Grandma and Grandpa home safely and then Emmi came down with a fever. We laid around trying to decide whether or not we should go to the ward Trunk or Treat. We decided to go.

Commence mammoth melt down over just the THOUGHT of wearing the Halloween costume we bought for Emmi. (I returned it to Old Navy today) We wiped her tears and hugged her close and said "what do you want to wear to the party". With a smile from ear to ear and gleaming eyes she said "Be Princess Emmi!?" Princess Emmi she was. We draped her with all of her princess birthday presents (shoes, necklaces, beautiful purple outfit, crown, and wand). She was in heaven.

We didn't stay for the actual trunk or treating because the party was running late. We let Emmi have one piece of candy on the way home and she exclaimed "Fun Birthday Party! Thanks Mom!". Exactly Emmi. We get Halloween about as much as Emmi gets Halloween.

Grandma "Kaffi!"

2010-10-31T16:32:00.004-04:00

October was a big month for us! We had Jake's older brother JJ living with us and then Jake's mom was able to come and visit for a week, and then a week later my parents came. I feel like we have been opening presents for Emmi all month because of all of the visitors.

Grandma Kathi slept in Emmi's closet because of lack of sleeping space, but don't you worry... Emmi was happy to find a grandma sleeping in her closet every morning. Emmi calls her "Grandma Kaffi" and she loved every bit of her. She loved the way Grandma Kaffi smelled (it really is so yummy!) and all of her curly locks. We opened presents the last night Kathi was here for Emmi's birthday and Emmi was in heaven. A zoo pass, coloring books, church quiet toys (by parent request) and the most yummy hug! Thanks Grandma Kaffi for loving our little pumpkin!

Pinkalicious Birthday!

2010-10-31T16:28:00.004-04:00

Emory's actual birthday was on a Sunday...aka NO TIME TO CELEBRATE.

We were able to give her the day she rightfully deserved on Friday Oct 29. It was perfectly Pinkalicious in every way. Emory's grandma and grandpa came all the way from CA for the big day!

We took Emory to the zoo, took long naps, opened presents, ate pinkalicious cupcakes (homemade by her dad!) and celebrated with friends at Felinis. Emory couldn't have been happier when she went to bed that night dressed in all her birthday loot. (Pinkalicious shoes, necklaces, crown, earrings, and wand).

Ta Ta Ta Two!

2010-10-24T19:41:00.004-04:00

Emory Reese Kirkham

We love you punkin head; with all of our hearts.

From the way you say "hipopamamus" to watching you figure out how to jump on two feet and actually get off the ground. We love the way you yell "Mom where are you?" when you can't findme and we love when you give us the best loves in the world. We just love love love you.

Crying in front of your kids....

2010-10-20T20:56:00.003-04:00

Tonight I pulled out my most favorite picture book to read to Emory. As I was reading a stream of tears started running down my face. I couldn't even read the words on the page without balling. Emory kept hugging me and turning around to see what in the world was going on. Mostly I am pregnant, but I'm also realizing how much I need the life I have.

If you want to have a good cry... read this book. Make sure to grab a box of tissues.

Stay and Swim Awhile

2010-09-03T15:18:00.003-04:00

"Emory be like the stick bug"-mom

"Swim to daddy....underwater :)"-mom

"1,2,4 JUMP" -e

"Fix goggles please daddy"-e

"Emory do you love to swim?"

Emory loves to swim.

We swam probably 4-6 times a week this summer.

Many laughs were shared by all.

We spent so much time in the water with Emory that we never stopped to take any pictures.

I finally got some.

Here's to hoping your brother is a fish (I'm pretty sure Emory will make sure he is regardless)

Grocery Store Conversation

2010-08-30T19:49:00.004-04:00

Today we went to the grocery store. Emory was doing such a great job helping me count the apples to put in the bag and chucking other items into the cart upon my request. Awesome grocery store buddy indeed. We were rounding the corner and going towards the check out line when someone stopped me..."I love your hair! Where do you get it cut? Oh and look how beautiful your daughter is." I smiled and took the well needed compliment. Nice to know even strangers think we don't look as bedraggled as we feel sometimes.

THEN. I put all my groceries on the conveyer and Emory is quietly playing with the buttons on the credit card machine when the clerk says to Emory "Well oh my goodness. Whats your name little girl?"

Emory looked up at the clerk and said "Emry Kirkum" with much pride. (my heart was just melting seeing her say her full name)

Clerk said "Oh girl! You must look just like your daddy because you got NONE of your mommy in you. What a damn shame"

In my head I was like "WTF!". Are you telling me I'm ugly or that my kid is ugly, or that my husband is ugly. OR that my kid looks like a boy. Really lady? REALLY!

I smiled at the clerk and said "Yes she is all her daddy. Beautiful blue eyes and all."

The clerk says "Well its just a shame she got none of you in her. Just a shame." Profusely shaking her head all the while.

Not knowing what the heck to say to this woman (who btw broke one of my eggs), I said "well I'm pregnant with our son and maybe he'll have a glimmer of his mama in him"

Clerk says "Oh maybe, but you're lost on this child"

A quick sign of the reciept and shove the cart away as fast as possible.

I heard you the first time. The nerve!

For the picture only readers...

Emory feels the need to make herself look like a car crash victim when she eats PB&J.

You are funny Emory. Very funny.

Longing

2010-08-20T16:47:00.002-04:00

With the another baby on his way I find myself quietly longing for this....

I vividly remember how chilly it was and how I was so worried Emory was cold. In all seriousness Emory was positively roasting in the pile of blankets I wrapped around her. I remember how she smelled and I remember just pouring over her cheeks and wishing I could just mum on them all day long. I am really looking forward to snuggling my little boy. The love a mother has for her daughter is breathtaking. I want her to be strong, smart, independent, beautiful and to love every minute of life. But the love I am starting to feel for this little boy is so very very different. Hope hes a snuggler like Emory is. I really really hope so!

Name suggestions. I'm completely set but Jake and I are feeling two different names. Anything just jump out to you as a good solid Kirkham name?

Thoughtful she be....

2010-08-19T14:49:00.006-04:00

Mom sick=Word World.

We couldn't help but smile when we saw this.

Donut

2010-08-14T17:26:00.004-04:00

Since the beginning of May I've been wanting a donut on Saturdays. Emmi has been too! Mmm see how she enjoys said Donut. Sure love this girl.

P.S. Baby #2 on his way! Valentine's Day 2011

"Shoes Mama!"

2010-06-14T18:30:00.003-04:00

If there is one thing this girl lights up over its shoes.

Grammy Sarah sent Emmi the most adorable fishy shoes and fishy hat. Emmi immediately started dancing and beggin us to put the "hish shoes" on her.

Thanks Grammy!

April, May, June...I said I'd be updating soon!

2010-06-08T08:14:00.004-04:00

April: Trip to Destin Fl with the fam. AMAZING! Finals for Jake. Katie turned 24. Married for 4 years. No time to celebrate. Emmi went to Nursery!! Did I mention Emmi went to nursery?

May: Finals O-V-E-R. The butchering of my hair followed by the worst color I've ever seen! Trip to Utah for Paul's wedding! I forgot my camera and did not take a single picture...secretly though I could not bare to document my hair. "STAYcation" with Jake and Emory when we got home before work started for Jake. Swim class for Emory. She loves this! I'm in the Primary Presidency and we spent most of May trying to find people to replace ALL our callings because everything got rearranged. It was crazy!

June: Sold Sasha :(. WORK for Jake. WORK for Katie. PLAY for Emmi. Our good friends had a baby last week and we have been able to play with their older two kids the last few days. EMORY LOVES THIS. They have a 2.5 year old that does such a good job of showing Emmi how to eat, go down the slide, say funny things, and just be cute. Emmi needs a buddy thats for sure......

"Hi"

2010-04-11T15:02:00.003-04:00

Emmi loves to say "hi". She came up to me at church today while I was directing singing time and said "hi mama". Love that girl.

Just wanted to say "hi" from sunny Florida.

Hugs and Kisses,

Kirkhams

What do you get when...

2010-04-02T21:54:00.003-04:00

What do you get when you have a blonde mother and a VERY smart child?

Oh I dunno, maybe walking out of the grocery store to find your car has been turned on and no one is in the car.

I stood there absolutely puzzled and seriously freaked out.

Emmi was sitting in the cart and she started to laugh as she clicked two buttons on my keys and the car turned off. Then she laughed again and pushed more buttons and the car turned on.

I called my husband in disbelief "HUNNY, EMMI CAN TURN ON THE CAR WITH THE KEYS!!!!"

This one comes close to the top of my "20 stupid things I've said since I've known the Kirkhams". Jake had never taught Emmi that the keys start the car. So I wondered how many other times my car has been on while we've been in a store.

Our (six year old and totally not new enough for that kind of technology) car has a remote starter.

No one told me that.

Blonde mother= smart child.

Escalator; the epitome of escalation!

2010-03-23T19:02:00.003-04:00

Cue trip to Kohls.

Emmi took a measly morning nap, it was raining, we were tired of being in the house so we ventured to Kohls. I did not take a stroller because Emmi won't sit in one anyways. Mistake #1.

I didn't bring a big enough bag to carry everything. Mistake #2.

The kids section is RIGHT next to the escalator. Mistake #3.

Went to a store with escalators. MISTAKE #4.

Are you getting the idea yet?

Emmi REALLY REALLY wanted to ride the escalators. We rode them for 10 min. I then told her we were "all done" and it was time to get some shopping done (looking for life jacket for trip to Destin and play sandals for Emmi). Emmi screamed and threw her bag of apples on the floor. First tantrum lasted 1.5 min. I did the distraction game and she got over it.

We had to walk past the escalators a little bit later and Emmi's goldfish brain went NUTS! "Mama!! Meh Meh (signing please a hundred times with vigger). Next came the "Ups!". "up, up, up, meh, meh, up, up." She wanted to go UP the DOWN escalator. I told Emmi "NO." firmly and said "hurt, hurt". She let go of my hand and ran right towards the escalator. I dropped everything I was holding and caught her in time to get her shoe stuck. I ripped her free and the tantrum ensued. She kept trying to scale out of my arms to go back. I gave her another "NO" and tried to walk away. She lied down on the floor and kicked and screamed for 8.5 min. I sat on the floor, expression-less, timing the none sense. People kept passing by and I kept from screaming at them "yes this is the product of a trained childhood development specialist!". Tantrum ended and we left.

Nothing short of wanting to punch myself, as soon as we left Emmi started whining and tantruming. I cranked the tunes in the car until she was over herself and then we had a peaceful ride home.

Lesson Learned....we can not go to Kohls without Jake to chase Emory around. Even more than that, I learned Emmi likes music by Train. nice.

"glad you had the nerve to say hello"

2010-03-20T13:24:00.003-04:00

How can I summarize three months of our lives quickly? Lets just say everyday I am learning that I'm glad Jake had the nerve to say hello to me 5 years ago. We're coming up on our anniversary and Emmi's 18-month "SHES GOING TO NURSERY" day. We are quickly realizing that we're so glad we collided 5 years ago. Its taking a collaborative effort between Jake and myself to figure out Emory's mixture of our personalities. She's STUBBORN, but thoughtful. She's particular, but care-free. She's serious, but a complete ham. She's smart, but sometimes not street smart (enter the face plant at the farm with blood and bruises). So together we are figuring out how to love her the way she needs to be loved. This parent thing is not as cut and dry as I thought........(enter "I told you so" from both grandmas).

So, Jake is finishing up year two of the JD in about 4.5 weeks. I am finishing up the school year at my preschool and starting a nanny job for the summer. Emory is finishing up baby talk and entering into Toddler Speech (aka we still have no idea what she is saying). Emory loves "shoes" and says "shoes" all day long. She sleeps in the new pair of crocs she got for the summer; every night. "Apple" is also code for "open" and "again". "Juice" and "shoe" are so close together that Jake was at Emory's mercy when he was NOT getting it right. Apparently she did not want shoes...she wanted juice.

Two mornings ago she peed through her diaper....we have to move to size 5. AH! I cleaned her up and put clean jammies on her and brought her into our bed to sleep for two more hours. (it was 5:30). She snuggled for all of thirty seconds and then said "WOR WARD!!". I said oh its not time for water its time to sleep. She shouted it again "WOR WARD!". Jake rolled over and said "She just said World Word". GULP! Our 18 month old knows how to tell us to turn the TV on and which show she wants. I guess its better than saying "sh*t" (but we think she already did that). sigh. 30 min a day is enough for a kid to get hooked on WORLD WORD I guess. She laughs when the little dog barks and when the duck character talks. Its actually really fun to watch it with her.

List of Words for my memories sake.

Wa Wa=Water

Waf Waf= Waffle

Wor Ward= Word World

Shooooo=Shoe

Joooooos=Juice

Mama=Mama

Buh Buh=Dada

Ba=Bath

Go=Go

Woof Woof=Dog

Mwaw= Cat

Moo=Moo

Cow=Cow

Ah=Allan

Kin=Corinne

Emmeh=Emmett

Emmi=Emmi

Cooo=Corn

Up=Up

Apple= apple, again, open

Meh Meh= please (our least favorite rendition)

Eya=Nutella

"Go Mama Go!"

2010-02-01T12:27:00.003-05:00

Emmi says "Go Mama Go" alllllll day loooooong. If we get into the car before taking a stroll through our complex she mumbles through her tears "Go Mama Go". This was extremely irritating until I took some time to think about how GREAT this age actually is. Every piece of the world is utterly amazing to Emmi. A rock on the ground is pure treasure to her. The sight of an airplane makes her stand on her tippy toes and yell "MAMA!!!" in excitement as if to tell me "LOOK AT THAT!!". I decided to read my patriarchal blessing the other night and for a moment I was reminded of things I had completely forgotten. I had forgotten how I had been counseled to love the beauty of the earth and appreciate its glory. I had forgotten about all those little things I had been counseled to focus on. And then, I heard Emmi sleep talking (yes she sleep talks all the time) on the monitor;"Go.... Mama....... Go".

Tear.

Sigh.

No way to forget with Emmi in my life.

So how to cure her desire to watch TV? Fulfill her greater desire to be outside. Problem solved.

Nope

2010-01-07T21:06:00.002-05:00

Will I blog in January.

Nope.

Will I blog in 2010.

Maybe.

Just don't have the time or creativeness right now.

Love to all who read. Grandmas....Im incredibly sorry.

Don't you worry. We are all great!

Merry Happy Uh-Oh!

2009-12-12T12:02:00.006-05:00

2009-12-03T19:29:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Her way

2009-11-22T18:59:00.004-05:00

Emmi is always doing things HER way. "The mother's curse works!" I know my mom and Jake's mom said " I hope you have children that act exactly the same way that you act!". Done and Done.

My Girl

2009-11-10T15:24:00.001-05:00

http://www.coreycivetta.com/clients

password, emory.

Pretty sure I cried for 30 min when I saw these.

I love her more than I ever thought possible to love someone.

My Nephew Arie

2009-11-09T13:34:00.002-05:00

The child who LOVES getting educational gifts! Happy Happy Birthday to our little thinker!

Baby's 2nd Halloween...the first year Jake and I actually wore costumes.

2009-10-31T23:33:00.007-04:00

We had 10 min to make costumes. Lets just say punk rockers ended up in Jake wearing my jeans, my hair being VERY high, and a young woman asking Jake if he was supposed to be Adam Lambert. MUAH hahaha!

Emmi had a blast! But at the end we had to put out the stops to make her smile!

She was showing us her blue steel right here.

Mama and Baby trunk or treating!

"CANDY!" really she was thinking that the wrapping around the candy is the best part!

Her buddy Olivia

Her tail. I couldn't resist

Towards the end I think.

The full view. Isn't she a glorious peacock...we're biased I know.

Happy 2nd Halloween kiddo. Last year was spent watching you sleep cause you were just oh so new!

My Mellow Partier

2009-10-28T13:32:00.003-04:00

Emmi didn't like the cake...not even a little bit. But she made sure Jake got a taste!

Our family...ironically an accurate picture of our personalities. sigh.

Rachel...did I do ok on the decor?

My B-day girl just lounging in her favorite chair.

Emmi's party was a huge success thanks to Jake, Emmi, and our dear dear friends here in Atlanta. Jake helped me recover from the melt down over the "1" shaped cake being backwards and Emmi was a total mellow partier which made for an easy evening.

One of the party highlights was our "How well do you know Emmi" questionnaire.

My favorite question was:

Where did Emmi get her red hair from?

A. Jake

B. Katie

C. The Milkman

D. Who knows?

Surprisingly...we got a lot of milkman responses. Hahahaha.

Happy Birthday Emmi Dear!

*promise this is the last of the Birthday posts. PROMISE!

1 year

2009-10-24T08:21:00.004-04:00

(my little squirt...who'd a thunk her hair would turn out red!?)

(she IS sitting in that pumpkin)

Oct 24 at 11:34 am you made your grand entrance. Your life in the last year has been amazing to watch. You gave us a scare at the beginning, but we should've known you would be fine; you're stubborn like that. You are so unique to us and your personality has really started to shine. You are my little pumpkin head. You are my thinker, my ponderer, my LOVER bug. In the years to come I know you and I will be so very close. You are my stalwart oldest child and I can already see you being my sidekick as we venture to expand our family. Thanks for willing to be the first kiddo. I'm sure when you drew that short stick you were still so willing and happy to be the "trial and error" kid. Your dad and I HAD a parenting plan, but we soon realized how much we didn't/don't know. Heavenly Father has blessed you with so many gifts, and melting our hearts is one of them. I tripped over your gosh darn baby gate last night and you immediately crawled over to me and gave me a hug and wiped your snotty nose all over my shoulder. Thanks Pumpkin. You understand emotions so well and you love to make it all better. Never stop giving us hugs...ok?

I love you Miss Emmi Reesey. Daddy loves you.

Thank you for making us better people.

Hugs,

Kisses,

Tears,

and another hug.

Love,

Mom

Grammy Cards

2009-10-23T21:52:00.003-04:00

Emmi sat and read her cards from her Grandmas today! I got one good shot...such is life.

For Roosker

2009-10-21T14:02:00.002-04:00

Its birthday week (starting today and going until next Wednesday!) This was Emmi's first present.

Roosker...the present is absolutely perfect!

Faces of Emmi

2009-10-17T18:36:00.004-04:00

Please notice her CRAZY hair. Its always crazy. Its her trademark.

Pumpkin Patch Experience

2009-10-17T11:00:00.004-04:00

(You want me to do what??)

(I think this is where she started to crawl away)

(Sucking on her tooth here)

Thats about all I can say for Emmi's pictures from the pumpkin patch. She experienced it. She would not smile for me. Not even a little tiny Emmi grin. Maybe its all the teething, because most of the pics she is sucking furiously on her tooth. She was laughing hysterically on the car ride there because of her pal Owen, but I think the sight of so many HUGE orange things made her skeptical.

Fun fact: Owen was the first person to ever make Emmi laugh when she was a tiny baby and he still can get this girl to belly laugh.

"What would you do-oo for a....?"

2009-10-17T10:03:00.006-04:00

I've had that Klondike jingle rolling around in my head for days. Emmi had the flu for days. Sooo...I sang "what would you do-oo for a long nap?" or "what would you do-oo for a poop-less diaper" etc. etc.

This is what we di-ii-id for the sick week.

And when sick week was over I let Emmi rock her birthday shoes. She loves them. When shes in her carseat she claps her new shoes together and says "Yay!"

Ta-Da!

2009-10-11T18:20:00.004-04:00

(I remain that it looks much better in person...these pics are after a long day)

Compare to this short cut I had 2 years ago....here.

Scared

2009-10-08T22:40:00.001-04:00

I can do this. I can chop it all off and still feel young, cute, and feminine....

Right?

Chop Chop

2009-10-07T21:23:00.002-04:00

1.
2.
3.

Its that time of year again...

MY HAIR IS DRIVING ME NUTS! I have all this new hair coming in from the hair I lost when Emmi was a baby. So I have a short hair-cut underneath my long hair basically.

So vote on which hair-do would suit me the bestest. (I've already pick my fav, but I wanna hear what you have to say.)

Stuck with you....Forever.....and most gladly so.

2009-10-04T08:55:00.004-04:00

My big little brother proposed to his awesome girlfriend last night and she said.............YES!

Another sister from another mister for me to love! woot woot. So excited and proud of you two. Pretty sure I cried three times before Paul actually proposed (and I wasn't even in the same state or time zone. I was watching my clock waiting for the text that said "SHE SAID YES")

Cassie Broadbent....mmm I love the sound of it. Now all I need is to convince them to move next door to us here in Hotlanta.

Hmmm....let the scheming begin.

What the what?

2009-09-30T17:47:00.002-04:00

I was browsing the Banana sale site and stumbled upon these lovelies...

All I gotta say is "can't touch this". I may be too young for the MC Hammer era, but I got older brothers and I know exactly what MC Hammer pants are when I see em. I coveted my oldest brother's pair of 'No Fear' Mc Hammer plaid jammy pants. I think I ended up cutting them off to be shorts when they finally came down the hand-me-down line and landed in my drawer.

The customer REVIEWS on these bad boys made me shutter. Are people nuts?

"It is really a great pant making u shinning, outstanding. Even, it make my legs look longer. Also, it is easy to wear any kind of blouse and suitable for any situation. I'm glad i have one."

"I love the pants! The pants are like saruel pants, very trendy! Those can be wear in any occasions because those made with shiny fabric and have flattering design! It will make you better looking if wear with high heels! The fabric is very soft and smooth to touch! My friends kept touching the pants :) I wish I could get those in another color, too (was sold out in my size…)."

"The cuts look pretty elegant...I have yet to find a top to match with it though..."

Thats right shopper number 3, there is no top on this planet that would bring the sexy back for these pants.

What the what?

Crazy Person says 'What'?

2009-09-28T22:48:00.003-04:00

I have been running around like a crazy person, so please excuse the MAJOR lack of blogging.

Life is just busy, and its all I can do to stay on top of things. I'm pretty sure this a general trend in the blogging world right now.

In light of this, I think I'm going to start a new post called "Funny of the Day". This funny thing might be something that happened to me, a movie quote, a TV episode quote, a funny thing someone said. Anything funny to just remind me to laugh.

So here is today's "Funny of the Day".

I caught Emmi putting the toes of her idle AVA (who is 4 years old), in her mouth. I said "Emmi!" she looked at me and laughed and continued to put Ava's toes in her mouth. Emmi worships Ava, she follows her around and can't get enough of her. Apparently, its gone so far as to putting Ava's toes in her mouth. Ava is very sweet with Emmi and continued to watch her movie while Emmi kept attempting to eat her. Nice.

This is AVA

Testing

2009-09-25T11:22:00.002-04:00

long but cute.

Just Great

2009-09-22T11:01:00.004-04:00

Emmi is going to be 1 in four weeks. How can this be?? I know every parent feels this way about their own kids, but she is just great. Yes she has her moments, but so does mommy (wink wink)

The faces she makes are great

The fact that she laughs when I laugh is great

How much she loves stuffed dogs is great

How much she LOVES looking at books is great

How chubby her belly is, is great

How red her hair is, is great!

Her chubby feet are great

Her squinty 1/2 Katie 1/2 Jake smile is great

The list goes on.

So I'm planning a little party in my head for Emmi. Any great ideas for 1 year parties? Any things that you should not do?

Tell me.

Smooth Me

2009-09-12T08:50:00.002-04:00

Emmi LOVES her sunglasses.

In desperation to get her to stay on the changing table while I changed her, I put these cute sunglasses on her. Little did I know how much she loved them. She wore them through story time and wouldn't let me take them off of her to go to bed. She was feeling "smooth" in her sunglasses.

Love you kid!

Baby Buds

2009-09-02T19:50:00.005-04:00

Emmi has a new bud. His name is Cedric. They see each other 4 days a week! (2 days I watch Cedric and 2 days Jill (Cedric's mommy) watches Emmi. Today they had a blast playing in these two ottomans that we have in our basement...see pics below.

Unfortunately I am learning that Emmi knows how to say no TOO well. Cedric would crawl over to where she was playing and Emmi would immediately start waving her arms like "don't come close to my toy". I spent most of the early parts of their play time removing Emmi from where she was playing and redirecting her. Poor Cedric..he'll learn to not let Emmi push him around. Hmm I wonder where she learned to be so stubborn and bull-headed....GEE!

Jake and I both have noticed that Emmi is a very strong-willed child and she needs calm and loving redirection. She took forever to crawl because she didn't want to. She took forever to roll over because she didn't want to. I think I've said it before...but this girl is on Emmi Standard Time. Jake and I have talked many times about helping Emmi channel this great skill for her benefit as she gets older. I'm all about her waving her arms and shoving any boys that come near her when shes older . :)

I'm very glad Emmi has so many little friends that she sees. She is learning how to share and be loving; which for the first child can be challenging. This will be great preparation for Nursery in April.

AND BTW....isn't this little boy the cutest thing you ever did see. Oh I want to just smoosh on him all the time.

Cheese is her middle name and so is HAM!

2009-08-29T10:18:00.005-04:00

Emmi's personality has REALLY started to blossom. She shakes her head no ALL the time, she's really good at getting what she wants, and she makes THIS face when you take a picture of her.

Ahhh...real parenthood has finally begun.

GPS...oh how I love thee.

2009-08-27T17:20:00.004-04:00

I have lived in Georgia for one year and 3 weeks now (went by fast huh?!). Yet, I still get lost regularly. There was a nice little surprise on my doorstep a few days ago. I opened it up and inside was a TomTom GPS system. I immediately called Jake furious and said "what did you do?! was this an approved purchase? I hate gadgets... I would so much rather spend the money on something else! etc. etc."

"Fret not!" he said. "As much as I have loved the all too frequent phone calls saying 'are you by a computer because I am majorly lost', I was ready for you to have a little helper in the car". What a dear sweet husband to think of me. Long story short, I said thank you and begrudgingly plugged it into the car, all the while thinking to myself "thats like the price of 3 beautiful dresses from babyGAP ....but nonetheless, I will appease my sweet husband"

LITTLE did I know how much I NEEDED this GPS. For example. I was on my way to watch a friend's kids and she called and said "Ava has the flu, I dont want Emmi to get sick." At a moments notice I called another friend to take Emmi so that I could still go to work and help out a friend. I typed my friend's address into the GPS and at PEAK traffic time it got me to her house and back to my other's friend's house in record time. "Oh snap!" I thought. This is cool.

This morning I had to get from South Decatur to Buckhead in 25 min (a 30 min drive even without traffic). My little TomTom scooted me through backstreets and shortcuts and made sure I arrived at work only 1 min and 3 sec late. "WHATS UP!"

Sooo... Im writing this little note to say "Thanks hubster! I would have never bought this on my own and it is saving my little brain and my toosh DAILY!"

Sigh. Don't you hate it when husbands are right?!

Work Starts

2009-08-24T21:28:00.003-04:00

No pic.

Sent Jake to school today. We had such a great summer of 24/7 together. I cried tears of joy and of sadness. Good luck hun!

Got one last day with Emmi without work.

Not looking forward to dropping her off to her nanny's tomorrow.

Love her nanny to death. She has the cutest son exactly the same age as Emmi. Just bummed it wont be me fishing stuff out of her mouth and helping her learn to stand.

Excited to start working part time.

Heres to being ok with crying when I drop her off.

Sigh.

Its going to be a great school year. I know it.

Life gives you lemons and you make lemonade. Sink or swim baby!

Oh Pickle...I forgot to post again.

2009-08-20T12:40:00.005-04:00

Where has the time gone AGAIN. July flew by...I only posted twice! And here I am on Aug 20, 2009 noticing I have only posted once. Im realizing that time is something you never have enough of when you are a parent. When Jake and I were kid-less we didn't care if we didn't have any time. We stayed up until 3 am to make time for each other or time to wash clothes. But as the clock ticks 11 pm every night, my body comes to a screaming hault and refuses to go anymore. "SLEEP" it yells at me. And so I sleep. I wake at 7am refreshed and bright eyed to see my baby standing in her crib talking to me. I kiss her, love on her, and then realize its going to be a busy day.

So amidst all the busy days that have been, heres what the Kirkham Krew has been up to. (I will list them, in no particular order,so you don't have to read a long annoying post)

1. Emmi is crawling
2. Katie has lost 40 lbs (took 8 months) and is officially down to high school weight. YEE HAW. I say high school weight because this body ain't never gonna be that young looking again.
3. Jake has applied to 55 law firms for next summer. GO JAKE GO!
4. Emmi is eating solid food...NO BABY FOOD!!! She loves ravioli, pickles, and bananas.
5. Katie has a part time job working two mornings a week for a private pre-school
6. Jakes hair grew back :)
7. Emmi is pulling to stand
8. Emmi shakes her head "no" when she doesn't want something
9. Emmi hates anything in her hair....AKA sad mommy
10. Katie bought Emmi her first pair of walking shoes
11. Emmi is sleeping on her tummy now
12. Emmi says Da Da consistently
13. Jake and Katie still have the same callings and are HAPPY that those haven't changed
14. Emmi loves stuffed animals. She holds them, snuggles them, and then laughs.
15. Emmi is bored of all her baby toys. Thank goodness her birthday is just around the corner.
16. Jake is 25, Katie is 23, Emmi is 10 months

There you have it. I have decided to start a workout journal (blog) where I can track what I am doing. If you want to follow along/send suggestions for workouts/ tell me Im crazy/ tell me Im not crazy enough or whatever go here. There will be very little fluff, just workouts.

TTFN!

Emmi Lou-Whoo

2009-08-08T16:06:00.003-04:00

Oh where oh where did the Kirkham Krew go?

Oh where oh where did we be ( hehe)?

We did be in Logan hanging with Grammy and Grampa!

Loved every minute, even when the grill exploded, ah!

How have you been and what have you been doing? Im so behind on everything!

I fell in a hole.

2009-07-16T20:19:00.001-04:00

Tonight I went to dinner with friends.

We had a blast.

While walking backwards and saying goodbye I fell into a 2 foot UNCOVERED water main hole.

Bruised and Bloody yes.

What was worse was that 45 people watched this klutz eat it.

Heres to getting your ego shattered.

Thanks Taco Mac. You officially stink.

Picture Perfect

2009-07-15T22:17:00.007-04:00

OK...I have a moral objection to posting pictures of myself or anyone else for that matter that are not visibly perfect. When I say perfect, I mean no blinking, boogers, double chins, arm fat etc etc. But today I am going to throw away all my apprehensions and post some funnies from my photo gallery.

So enjoy the Kirkham Krew in our ever so humble glory. We are rarely photgenic, you just THINK we are because I select our blog worthy photos with great care.

We were really happy here too. WTheck.

You cant see them, but she has 10 marshmellows in her cheeks. NOT!

Mother's Day. JAKE INSISTED on taking a picture. Gee thanks; I really want to show our posterity this photo (sarcasm thick enough).

First road trip. Beautimous Jake.

I won't open my eyes for that stupid flash.

Drunk Nacho baby.

One of my finer moments when Emmi was a newborn.

Sick baby. Sad mommy. No Shower. Put it all together.

I just die everytime I see this picture. Emmi we love you.

First time at church. Lovely Emmi...lovely.

I asked him to do the dishes. I wonder where our kids will get it?

Ironically we were having a really good time. Like I said...HORRIBLE picture

I pooted in CRAZY EYES form. hahaha

Emmi digging on her Elmo. This one isn't too bad

Ok...this photo came off of the camera this way! CREEPY

Return to Me

2009-07-14T10:25:00.002-04:00

That was a LONG blogging break.

Last week ALL I did was SLEEP. Every time and anytime Emmi was asleep, I was asleep. I'm pretty sure it worked because I am even feeling well enough to hit the gym today. Miracle I know.

I've been trying to come up with a creative, mind-blowing, and awesome post to make my huge come back....but its been pretty silent upstairs in the thought of house of Katie K. The only things rumbling around up there have been lost episodes (I also watched about 75 of those last week and boy that show is like crack!), budgets and bills, Jake, and Emmi.

So unless you want a full recap of the last four seasons of LOST with a little bit of baby talk, poo diapers, and taxes mixed in....I think we'll just stick to a picture post.

LOVE,

Katie K

The Lost Weekend

2009-07-08T19:35:00.005-04:00

Jake here filling in for Katie. Here are some pics from 4th of July. We call this weekend the "LOST weekend" because we are pretty sure it didn't even happen. Enjoy!

Day 3

2009-07-07T06:27:00.004-04:00

Im feeling pretty good today, awake enough at 6 am with not much to do so I thought I would post some pictures and stories for family and friends. I pray that the hospital part of this adventure is over this evening, but its all up to the results of my CSF. Quick summary, if its Viral Menigitis I get to go home and tough out 6 more days of this nonsense, BUT IN MY OWN BED. If its Bacterial Menigitis I stay in the hospital for 10-12 days. Either way, prognosis is great. Everything was caught early so just keep pumping me full of whatever is making me better I say.

In the last 60 some odd hours I have received:

12 steroid shots
10 bags of antibiotics
9 bags of IV fluids
21 + visits to the rest room because I have had 9 bags of IV fluids
3 shots in my belly to keep my legs from clotting
1 nasty spinal tap
16 cross word puzzles (the fill it in kind with absolutely no need for actual knowledge, just make all the words fit)
3 balloons
2 visits from the hubby
2 phone calls from my baby Emmi
numerous calls and texts from family and friends
a lot of extra time to be thankful for modern medicine, a brother-in-law who knew what to do, a mother and father-in-law who kept it cool, a mom and dad who sent balloons and love, and in-laws and immediate family and close friends who took care of Emmi, Jake, sent prayers, and talked to me on the phone while I've been in isolation.

AND MOSTLY thanks to Jake for holding down the fort at home, being mommy and daddy to Emmi, sanitizing our house from top to bottom so that we can hopefully keep Emmi from getting this, and bringing me milkshakes and clean socks. "You're the best" -Nacho

Menigitis 0
Katie 1

So until my next bout of wakefullness and boredom, ta ta!

Did I mention I have had 12 shots of steroids...Pillsberry commericals here I come!

Golden Girl 8 months

2009-07-02T12:18:00.003-04:00

Emmi Reese is 8.5 months old! Jake and I cannot believe how fast the time went. Here are some things that we love about Emmi:

-She claps her hands when she sees Wow Wow Wubbzy and when we give her crackers

-She doesn't crawl...she rolls EVERYWHERE

- She grabs our faces in the morning and gives us big slobbery open mouth kisses

- She fake coughs when we cough

-She splashes in the bathtub and when she gets herself in the face she gasps and then makes a raspberry noise

- She LOVES electronics. When the phone rings she goes nuts because she wants to play with the phone. She sucks on remotes, old cell phones...if it has buttons she wants to suck on it.

-She sleep talks!!

-She's always babbling something

-She leans around her high chair to see Daddy when she hears the garage door open

- She sleeps 12 hours at night still :)

-She still takes 2 2.5 hour naps :)

-She freaks out when we say "you want a baba?" and starts rolling towards the kitchen so that we can make her a baba

-She loves eating graham crackers and she will only drink water from a sippy cup

-When shes done eating she starts spitting her food out (ok we don't love this, but it sure makes us laugh (after shes are done spitting because when we laugh at her she just spits more)

Emmi Reese, you're the best! Daddy and I love spending everyday with you and even when you are a stinker we can't be mad at you because you are so dang cute.

For AC

2009-06-20T00:37:00.002-04:00

Summer Time in Georgia. AC...you know you wanna come!

Hiatus (scroll scroll scroll...there will be a lot)

2009-06-14T20:25:00.004-04:00

I apologize for my blogging hiatus. The people pictured above (plus my mom, my aunty Wendy, and Emmi) are the reason for my leave of absence. We did as many touristy things as we could handle while they were in town and we had a blast. I posted the pics of us basically picking our noses because the picture of us in an organized pyramid is not a fair representation of our personalities. More fam posts to come.

Canned Peaches 2009....love you guys!

P.S. We hadn't purchased Henry's shirt (the younger boy in white) until later that day when we crowned him Canned Peach Prince. :)

Tricking us for MONTHS!

2009-06-14T10:39:00.005-04:00

Jake and I have been working to try and get Emmi to roll over both ways, but she seemed so adamant that she wasn't interested or she wasn't ready. About 3 days ago, Jake and I were playing on the floor with Emmi and both of us fell asleep (parents of the year I know). Jake woke up just a few minutes later and couldn't find Emmi. He sat up and looked around and she had rolled herself out of her room and into the hallway. As soon as Emmi saw that Jake was looking she played dead and started squawking for help to get a toy she was just able to get on her own. It took some coaxing, but we have finally gotten her to roll in front of us. This little tard has been tricking us for months. (yes I did say TARD instead of TERD). So our chubby 8 month old can roll over. What a relief! hahaha. CONGRATS EMMI we are so proud of you!!

P.S. Don't mind Jake calling her FATSO...we had a chat and we have decided that will probably give her a complex even though we love every rolly chubby part of her. Whats a baby without being totally chubby!?

Sign says what now?

2009-05-30T08:08:00.003-04:00

Jake and I have seen and heard many funny things since moving to Georgia, but this sign topped them all. On a quiet drive to church (Emmi is always asleep on this drive) we were talking about summer plans and goals for the future when Jake stopped in the middle of his sentence and was laughing so hard he couldn't drive. I looked in the direction of his gaze and saw this sign.

My first reaction went something along the lines of "what in the hell?". Jake was dying, I was laughing, my brother Paul was in utter shock. Jake kept sputtering out lines of the sign..."Admissable in court!" followed by the loudest cackle on earth. I have to say I think this tops our Atlantic station story for sure. Love you Georgia, every single part of you.

Rain Rain Go Away

2009-05-27T11:23:00.001-04:00

Rain Rain Go Away so our HOA will fill the pool so we can swim!

Thanks!

Love Emmi

Crack is bad for you

2009-05-18T09:23:00.002-04:00

Emmi's crack is always hanging out. I couldn't resist. Please give me a "amen" for putting this into her wedding video some day. he he he.

Frozen Twerpz...we are addicted.

2009-05-18T09:17:00.002-04:00

This rare candy born in the heart of America...STOP...I have no idea where this candy is actually made but what I do know is that its IMPOSSIBLE to find in stores. Jake and I special ordered this 5 lb bag of Twizzler's TWERPZ. Freeze em, Eat em, Love em. YEAH!

Swing Monkey Swing!

2009-05-16T18:22:00.002-04:00

We took Emmi to the park and gave her a taste of the BIG kid life. She loved it. She is bottom less because she was wearing a white skirt (I know, I know) and I didn't want it to get dirty in the swing. This kid is so calm... but I can tell when she is just really content and happy. This was one of those times.

Etsy Etsy Read All About It!

2009-05-16T18:03:00.002-04:00

Where did Emmi get this beautiful hat? Go here and you will see. Ain't she just a doll?

Hats are handmade by a dear friend of the family. She does a beautiful job.

Cousin Chloe

2009-05-09T22:06:00.001-04:00

Emmi loves you and had fun meeting you!

HOTlanta!

2009-05-09T20:56:00.003-04:00

HOT + Closed Pool = Swimming time on the porch in Emmi's bathtub!

Food Desperation

2009-05-09T20:50:00.004-04:00

Emmi has all of the sudden protested eating any baby food but oatmeal....

We tried feeding her prunes the other night and she knocked the spoon out of my hands; prunes hit the tray. While I was restling her with the spoon she grabbed the bowl. I gave up and let her go to town. We just dumped more and more food on her tray. She splashed in it, sucked on her fingers, rubbed it all over her tray, rubbed it on her forhead and in her hair. Yum. What a stinker, but boy she had fun. She mostly played in the food rather than eating it, but at least it was a POSITIVE social experience. (and quite messy). Jake and I laughed for about an hour watching our little lady cover herself in her food.

The loves of my life

2009-05-09T12:41:00.004-04:00

More Fam pics HERE. aren't their eyes just YUMMY!?

pictures taken by Cassie Tingey

Back

2009-05-08T00:03:00.003-04:00

AND WE're BACK FROM OUTER SPACE! (I mean Utah). Many many posts to come. Family pics, baby pics, rock band, bridal shower, dinner, emmy and gpa, graduation, and the list goes on. Heres a pic to satiate your need to have my blog back in your life :).

I want my baby back ribs!

2009-04-20T11:48:00.003-04:00

6 months!

2009-04-18T12:05:00.003-04:00

Emmy, Emmy, dear how did you grow so fast? Emmy Reesy (thats what we call her) is now 6 months old. She is such a unique kid ( I know, Im pretty biased). I know that Emmy and I will have a very special connection as she is my first child. She will be my protector, my helper, my buddy. She is an observer and still a very calm baby. She loves LOVES LOVES the kids I nanny and they seem to be the only little people that can make Emmy giggle her little head off. She is ENTHRALLED with tags (any toy she has she goes straight for the tag), she loves music, standing up, sitting up, lying on her back and sucking on her toes. She has taught me mountains of lessons in only 6 months.

She did really well at the doctors office and showed off her ability to yell (this kid only babbles softly in the morning, in the afternoon she just loudly yells...like in a funny way) and her ability to roll over. She had three shots and unfortunately they had me hold her while they gave her shots. She was VERY MAD at me. It took 45 min to calm her down and she was pretty ticked at me. Thankfully after her nap she had completly forgotten and was enjoying watching her buddy Owen jump off the couch and laughing each time he did. She sleeps 12 hours at night and on a good day takes 2, 2 hour naps. She eats cereal 3 times a day and ACTUALLY likes green beans. She giggles when we feed them to her...can't figure that out.

Thanks for being the best first baby we could ever ask for. Just make sure you told your siblings to be just as easy going, but if you didn't or they aren't going to listen, we will fall in love with them as swiftly as we did with you. We really love you to pieces.

weight 17.1 lbs (80%)

height 27.5 in (90%)

head 17.4 in (75%)

Watch out, she'll beat you up. haha.

C-R-A-P

2009-04-15T20:18:00.005-04:00

WARNING: DO NOT PUT THIS IN ARMS REACH OF A BABY especially when you have.....

THIS!

OTHERWISE YOU BETTER HAVE my little friend pictured below ON HAND!! "Oh crap" is what mommy said when she saw the vitamins plummeting towards the ground in slow motion. Fall in a little pool of vitaminy mess for mommy to clean up? NO! RATHER, they splashed from one end of the room to the other. Hit the wall, the carpet, the crib, the dresser, did I mention it hit ALL the carpet? CRAP. Good thing I didn't say any other of those choice words. So half naked baby played in her crib while FRANTIC mommy washed the carpet of nasty staining vitamins. CRAP.

LOTS OF POSTS

2009-04-08T20:53:00.001-04:00

Scroll down....three posts today!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-04-08T20:43:00.005-04:00

See See Katie Kirkham turned 23!

Thanks for the best birthday weekend of my life hunny!

(sleeping in, day at the mall by myself, cake, dinner, breakfast in bed, foot rub...!!)

The Nursery of my Dreams!

2009-04-08T20:00:00.006-04:00

Emmy is super excited about it! (her eyes are red because she coughed then smiled)

After 6 months, I have created my dream nursery. Thanks to my secret donator for the beautiful bedding that sparked this entire creation! You know who you are and THANK YOU! The only thing I forgot to take a picture of is Emmy's reading chair that her grandma sent her. Oops! I'll get that tomorrow because Emmy is in bed. Isn't it just gorgeous!?

CT we miss you!

2009-04-08T09:18:00.005-04:00

"My this binky is good!"

Showing off her tricks to her Aunt and Uncle!

"I really like this bumbo...I promise "

Emmy lookin at her Uncle Allan...she loves him!

Saying goodbye! (this trip was just too short!)

Bye for a little while. Emmy is looking like "what are you doing?"

Movie time and some popcorn with Emmy!

Beach! Too bad it was 30 degrees!

Spring Break 2009 we went to see my awesome bro Allan and his cute wife Corinne. We were SHOCKED when we found out that direct flights from Atlanta to White Plains, NY were only 150 round trip! Jake and I didn't even have time to think before we had pressed "purchase!!" We wish so badly that we lived closer to family, but the flight was short, cheap, and easy. We dont feel so far away from our family anymore! Thanks for GOOD food, GOOD laughs, GOOD times at the mall, aquarium, and the beach, and GOOD vacation! Jake and I really needed this to keep us going for the rest of the semester. Can't wait to come back guys!

P.S. Emmy says thanks for all the baby gear you had for us!