Aunt Katie's Visit

Ian's sister Katie came to visit us for a special time over the Christmas holiday! We were so excited to see her and have her in our neck of the woods! The boys had a blast hanging out with Aunt Katie and Talia finally got to meet her Auntie!

Here is a picture of the team at one of our favorite local burger joints… Phil's Ice House

Katie and I sitting on one of the cows on the outside playground near Amy's Ice Cream

Talia and Katie bonding time

One of the gifts Katie got the boys was an I-spy book. They loved working on it together!

The boys and Aunt Katie made a long Christmas chain one afternoon after school

Here the finished product hanging above the dining table

The boys could hardly wait to share an "early Christmas" with Aunt Katie. She had so many stocking stuffers and wrapped presents! The boys went crazy!

Thanks for all the amazing gifts!

Katie and I went to have some girl time one afternoon while the boys were in school and Ian was watching Talia. The chair massages were so aggressive they made you feel like you were riding a roller coaster! It was a hilarious way to get your nails done!

As a special treat Katie watched all the kiddos one night so Ian and I could have a date night! We were so grateful for the special time to just hang out together! We went for Thai food and caught a movie. Katie was a star babysitter! She had the boys in bed and the baby fed by the time we got home! 

The last night before Aunt Katie left we all braved the cold to see Austin's famous "Trail of Lights". It was amazing!

Pretty sure Talia slept through the whole thing, tough. :)

Couldn't miss spinning underneath the 3 story Christmas Tree!

This was way past the boys bedtime. They were literally in their PJ's. We just piled on the jackets and loaded up in the car and headed to Zilker Park.

The most difficult part was finding parking! It was packed! And, quite a workout! We walked the whole thing and Katie and Daddy ended up with a boy on their shoulders while I pushed the stroller!

We had such a blast with Aunt Katie and it really made the holidays start with a bang!

Big Boys

Our boys are getting so big! These were their precious school photos this year!

Elijah Hawk Kirkland

Age 5

Kindergarten

Joaquin Sol Kirkland

Age 4

Pre-Kindergarten

Holiday Parties

With the Christmas holiday season comes the time of holiday parties. The boys had Christmas parties at school and we had follow up activities at home! Elijah's class was first on the list of events and I volunteered to help out for the event. 

The class made cute gingerbread houses out of graham crackers, icing, pretzels, gum drops and sprinkles. They built the houses around a milk carton and they actually stayed up surprisingly well. It was a great idea! Here are some photos from the day.

Elijah and I's attempt at a selfie.

Elijah working at his table

He was proud of his final product

Complete with a candy cane door!

Meanwhile, at home, baby Talia has been working on her smile! She loves to make goo-goo eyes at her big brothers and they love to try to make her smile!

Every now and then she will give us a giggle too!

The boys worked on their own gingerbread house creation at home as well

They did a great job until one of the walls fell over. It didn't take them long to decide the house was a goner and they might as well eat it.

I didn't get any photos from Joaquin's Montessori class party for some reason. So, sorry about that. But it was a fun lunch event where all the kids served the parents and we received special ornaments they made with their school photos in them.

Middle of the Night

As strange as it may seem, I actually love my time in the middle of the night when I have to wake up and feed this precious angel.  The house is quiet and dark and there is something sacred about those moments. 

Precious Cargo

Sometimes I just sit and stare at her in complete awe...

Brilliant Artist

Joaquin came home from school the other day with this amazing drawing. He said it was his brain and I was astonished to find it really does look like one. :)

Proud mommy moment.

Thanksgiving 2013

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! The rounded up the troops and headed over to MiMi and Papaw's house on Wednesday afternoon when the temperatures began to drop. Elijah and Joaquin previously created special leaf place mats for the occasion and they were excited to have the family all together. 

This was Talia's first trip to MiMi and Papaw's house and the car was loaded up with baby necessities. It is funny how the smaller the child, the more gear they require.  All in all we made it to the house without too much traffic and still being able to see out the back window through the pack-n-play and baby bouncy.

On Thursday morning we woke up to cooking and a ring on the doorbell and a visit from my mother's parents. It was their first time to see little Talia, and it was a special union of the Great-grandparents and their first great-granddaughter.

The boys and daddy and I helped get ready for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving fell on Talia's one month old birthday! October 28th-November 28th! Auntie Melissa sent Talia this big girl bow that says "1 month" on it so celebrate her special day too!

Great-grandaddy Bill holding Talia for the first time

Joaquin gave Great-grandaddy Bill stickers as a gift for Thanksgiving

Great-Namama putting Talia to sleep

The day after Thanksgiving MiMi and Papaw took us all to the Homestead Village Festival. The boys had a blast making all sorts of homemade treats.

Joaquin made a bar of soap

He also got to experience his first horse ride!

 Talk about a happy boy! He loved the animals!

 Elijah wove a basket

Papaw and Joaquin walking around the fairgrounds

The food was all homemade! It was amazing! Elijah and I shared a huge cinnamon roll.

It was also Uncle John's first time to meet Talia. They had a long stare down conversation where she looked into his eyes and told him all that she had been up to this first month of her life. :)

Talia was precious all bundled up in her pea-coat for the occasion.

 Big brother Joaquin helped to put Talia to sleep

Daddy is all about his little girl

And Big-brother Elijah loves to cuddle with his little sister too!

Here MiMi and the boys make homemade Taffy.

(That was quite a mess, but they did it!)

 Overall we had a wonderful time with family and the boys made amazing memories that they will never forget! Now on to Christmas! :)