Following the Kirks

Our family thanksgiving is always a fun one with good times to be had and lots on the agenda. My parents have our family over and also people over who don't have families close by.  We cook all the normal side dishes, the normal turkey or two, and the abnormal whole pig!  This year my mom got all the side dishes done a couple nights before so we could really focus on the appetizers and desserts and boy did everything turn out looking amazing!!!!    My sister brought the cake pops, my mom made the gingerbread eggnog cheesecakes, pumpkin bars, and the cutest little turkeys, and I made the Rice Krispie turkey and pumpkins, some mini cherry pies, and bought fabulous cookies from Becky's Bakeshop to go with our pig themed Thanksgiving. The appetizers were outstanding and flew the second they were set out.  We also get together to take family pictures but with kids involved these days and the length of drinking we partake in things don't always work out the way they a...

With daddy being a New England Patriots fan and mommy being a Denver Broncos fan, you can bet your bottom there are quite a few arguments and battles on Sundays. I must say my chitlens look pretty fabulous in their Broncos attire..... Oh and I'm pretty sure Zeke has fully converted....

On Novemeber 6th we celebrated both our dogs birthdays. Yes they share the same birthday.  Well not exactly but close enough.  Sir Brady of New England was actually born on November 6th 2009 and Fenway of Boston MA is a foster and was born sometime in November.  We decided to give them the same day so we don't forget them!!!  Zeke was super excited about their birthday so we got them each their very own pumpkin pie. They were thrilled!!!!!

Now is when I say "time, please slow down"!!!!!! This little nugget is so amazing!  Zoie is a talking machine. No actual words yet but definitely babbling.  She is rolling over, moving around and wants to crawl badly.  I have a feeling it isn't too far in the future. Earlier this month, she had a major sleep regression period. She was waking up in no particular pattern, but just kicking and laughing and ready to play. Super cute but not when sleep is necessary!!!  She is loving her solid foods! I couldn't tell you what her favorite it, but I do know she isn't digging the peas.  Here are some fabulous outtakes during our photo sesh. Zeke needs to get in on it! 

Having one of the babes understand a little bit better about Halloween made this year that much more special.  We obviously gave Zeke the option of what he wanted to be. His first choice was a penguin. Once we got the Party City catalog we let him look through it and he chose a Ninja Turtle. Since he always has a daycare party, I got both of them.  He ended up wearing the penguin costume to go trunk or treating with my mom!  Instead of saying the typical "trick or treat", this little penguin made penguin noises "ee ee ee"  We took the ninja turtle costume idea and ran with it! Since there are four of them and four of us......we decided to be the four pack for our costumes!  As for Halloween night, we had some people over for some festive food, libations, candy passing, trick or treating, and a Bonfire.  I love how much fun all the fall festivities have been! Now that Halloween is behind us, bring on Turkey Day, but I'm not going to deny that I am so ready f...

I have always envied the corn stalks my family puts up in Illinois. So in true Illinois, corn making state, tradition I went on a hunt to find corn stalks to tie to our front columns.   The corn stalks and mums were my starting point this year. After that, I incorporated all my other decorations and it turned out so festive and gorgeous.  On to the inside...... I feel like I might be missing a box of decorations, but I could definitely remain festive without that box, ha!!!!! I took some green, purple, and bright orange out of the mix last year as it just doesn't flow with our style and regular decor. I love my little couples,.....skeletons, mummies, and scarecrows oh my!!!!!  I can't wait for the most festive week of October with lots of plans and fun! Any good suggestions for a little Halloween get together? 

After being cooped up in the house for 2 days with the flu, we had a great visit from my cousin from Illinois.  He forces us to enjoy our little town and have a mini staycation!!!!! And that's exactly what we did..... We explored some wine country  Hung out poolside  Visited our Old Town And just enjoyed some scenery  Lots of fun having a staycation in between working, parenting, living, and everything else! 

Our annual Apple picking trip with great friends occurred. After a couple detours and some difficult scheduling we were able to make it happen. If you haven't heard California is in an extreme drought. This made apples very scarce this year. We had to change our location up a little, but had a great time doing it. There were so many activities for the kids besides just Apple picking.  They had pumpkin cutting, flowers everywhere, live folk/country music, restaurants and more! Having all this at one place was great for the kids and our big group.  And just a little planned marriage shot... Any easy Apple recipe ideas???

Yep this precious little girl of ours is 4 months old.  She is the happiest little bundle ever. I mean what baby do you know that wakes you up by laughing? I'm pretty sure kicking her legs and laughing are her favorite activities.  She started going to daycare with her brother while I've been working. She rolled over for the first time earlier this month but conquered it on her exact 4 month birthday.  She is madly sweetly in love with her brother and will laugh at all his goofiness. He is seriously the best big bro ever.  We had a little sleep regression this month but we are doing okay and getting better.  All in all, this little girl is super happy, a great baby, and we can't wait to keep watching her grow!!!

I have had this vintage window frame for quite some time now.   I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it but have received lots of opinions and feedback on how to mount the picture. I had heard mount the picture on something sturdy before stapling it to the window, cut the picture into 6 boxes and have it touch the glass since there's a gap in the back, or my original and easy idea of just stapling the picture to the back of the window.  That is exactly what I did and it was the easiest thing ever. I cannot believe I waited so long to get it on and up!  I am completely obsessed with it and finally have a wedding picture up in our house. On to the next project......

We have been busy bees around this hive.  September marked Zoie's 3 months of life! My return to work from maternity leave  :(.  Leaving my precious little mini was definitely hard but her being with big brudder and having her in a great home with one of my close friends taking care of her helped a lot. Also going back during the busiest month of the year kept me extremely occupied. The start of football season!  Well this split house has been a battlefield all month. Brandon has been trying to brainwash Zeke into loving the Patriots, but I've been working Zeke on the Broncos all year!!!! I t started out with who ever he was around that's whose team he loved.  The battle has come to the point that Brandon bought him a Patriots hat and Zeke was upset it wasn't a Broncos one......YES!!!!!!!! SUCCESS!!!!!  Brandon even dressed the kids all up in their Patriots gear for the first week while I was at the gym for an hour......I was not too happy about it and chan...

This is the month of nicknames......Baby girl, Girlfriend, Zoie Lynne, Mamas, Princess, Zo, Pretty girl.  I'm pretty sure she will start responding to anything. This month has been so busy and fun for this little one. She went to her first birthday party, got to meet her Mammy (Brandon's mom) and one of her cousins, and experienced a much needed vacation......haha what 3 month old needs a vacation? This one!  (Or maybe mommy and daddy just needed one).  Zoie Lynne sleeps like a champ. She is starting to like her play mat more. Absolutely adores her big brother. Has been laughing up a storm. Her smile is so contagious. Sitting up is her favorite and in turn she just started sitting in her bumbo and loves it.  After 3 months off, back to work I go on Monday :(. The comforting thing is that Zeke and Zoie will be together and we love where they go. Wish me luck on Monday.......