Finally

She went to sleep at nap time today on her own and within minutes. Either our tactics (which I'm not willing to admit yet) are working, or she was so tired from a big pizza lunch with friends after church that she just couldn't help it! Either way she stayed in her bed and went to sleep!!


And we sure didn't expect to see this. I heard her rummaging around in her room a few days after the top pic. I peeked in her room to see that she'd tucked herself in along with her puppy and was "reading" Goodnight Moon out loud. She's making friends with the big girl bed after all!

Great Grandpa & Grandma

Kirkley is so lucky to have her great grandpa & grandma here and in town! She loves going over to their house to eat a popsicle from grandpa, pick grandma's flowers, and play with their dog. She is learning fast that she can go there to get anything she wants!

Texas Trip

We had such a great time in Texas! Kirkley did great on the drive, and she was just precious seeing all of her family.

We arrived during nap time, but Aunt Judi was anxious to play!

The next morning we headed to church with "Geedaddy" and Cynthia.
This was Kirkley's first time to sit in big church -- she made it almost the whole time!

A big highlight of the trip was meeting Ernie the cat.
She talked about him constantly and tried to lure him out to play.
Every once in a while she still says pitifully, "Uhnie...."

We went to the Children's Museum with Granddaddy and Cynthia --
of course the toddler playground was her fave!

Then we were off to the rodeo! She was hilarious trying on her boots. We were worried she wouldn't be able to walk in them, but she took off running in the middle of Boot City! She loves her boots and Texas outfit, Aunt Judi!

Visiting Great Grandmother Mimi.
Mimi gave her candy the first day and Kirkley will never forget!
She went to wake Mimi up the next morning, "Candy pease?

Last stop -- the zoo!

The trip was fabulous and we're missing everyone! Wish you were all closer! Glad to know we can survive 22 hours in the car -- your turn!!!

A new start?

We'll see. This little acrobat climbed/tumbled out of her crib twice last night so we're testing out a big girl bed this afternoon!! It's sticking so far. She was most excited to find out that Phoebe might sleep up there with her! We welcome any transition advice. We did a big presentation with her friends, blanket, and paci in there. She went for it! Fingers crossed for tonight too....


Update...

Two nights down! Significant difference from night one to two. She still woke up several times but was not hysterical the second night like she was the first time. She stood by our bed and said, "I get up!" This was followed by a stern talking to and return to her bed. We are plugging away!

Pudding Pops

An instant warm weather favorite! We welcomed spring in today with lots of sliding and playing at the park this morning and pudding pops this afternoon! We picked up some popsicle molds on our trip to Houston. Can't wait to try more recipes -- her first favorite recipe uses her whole organic milk. You can use any flavor instant pudding. My mom always make me chocolate. I used vanilla so that we could try alleviate some of our support of the Spray 'n Wash company.


Vanilla Pudding Pops

2 c milk
1 3.9 oz box vanilla instant pudding

- Whisk together for 2 minutes so that there are no lumps.
- Pour into popsicle molds. My molds are 2 oz each so it made 8 popsicles.
- Freeze overnight.

I read online that people freeze all sorts of things in them: marshmallows, nuts, coconut, etc. We're trying a yogurt/fruit recipe next!

Meeting Will

My sweet friend Brooke came by today so we could see Will! There were several hilarious moments today as Kirkley was meeting him for the first time. We discussed Will Vakakes ("wiw cacatus") at length before he arrived. I explained that she would not touch him, he's a small baby, be gentle, etc. I thought I had her all prepped for the visit.

Not so. I left out discussing how she would need to share her mommy! Her little feelings were so hurt when I picked him up. When I went to feed him a bottle, she was insistent that she would also sit on my lap. Pretty funny, but by the end of their visit, she was a sweet little helper rocking him in his car set. Come back soon, Will!

It's not over!

So excited to go to another game and eat popcorn!
Go tigers!!!

Hold you Peebe

Phoebe doesn't get much face time on the blog, but I have to show all of you guests in our home that have unfortunately been hissed or swatted at how sweet she is with Kirkley. Kirkley was chasing her all around today saying, "Hold you Peebe!" They really get along great. Phoebe lets her pet her and they play in Kirkley's tunnel together, but she'll always let Kirkley know when she's done playing!

Brushy Teeth

Last month Kirkley's school had a dental hygiene week. Ever since she has been begging {at all of the right times} to "brushy teeth." She asks after breakfast {as I'm brushing and moussing up her hair} and before bed. She of course wants "mo toopaste" and "mo wadah" every five seconds, but we're glad she's excited. She even helped daddy out this morning!

Basketball Season

Can't tell you how much we'll miss these games!! She talked about "Aubie basetball" all week where we go "eat pocorn" and "sit Aubie wap." We did eat lots of popcorn, but Aubie was very busy so there was no wap sitting to be had. We'll be hard pressed to find another activity that lives up to "Aubie basetball"!

SNOW DAY!

We get SUPER excited about snow since it is so rare in our part of the world! Kirkley had a blast catching, tasting, and playing! She was thrilled about her snowgirl (we're always making these with play dough!) and had fun trying to slide the hill with daddy. We played all morning, went in to warm up and put on dry clothes, and we were out again!

Last year was her first snow in Jan of 2008...