Keeping Up With The Kirk's

Halloween

2011-11-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

I know I am MONTHS behind, but better late than never, I guess. Here are a few pictures of the boys dressed up for Halloween. Liam has been obsessed with Scuba Divers ever since we went to the aquarium this summer. So, to go along with the Diver theme we has Hudson be a shark. It was pretty cute :).

Look at these little Pumpkins :)

2011-10-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

I couldn't get Hudson to smile to save my life, but he is a cutie anyways :).

A Year for Billy

2011-10-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

A Year for Billy

As many of you know, two of our closest friends, Billy Wilkerson and Ron Bailey were in a very serious car accident involving a drunk driver on July, 31st. As it is a complete miracle that they are both still here with us, they have a long road ahead in their recovery. This website has been set up for Billy and his family to help them through the next year. Please take a minute to check it out, pray about it, see where God leads you. If you are unable to help out monetarily at this time, please continue to lift both Billy, Ron and their families up in your prayers. This is going to be a long road, but with the love and support of friends, family, and complete strangers, they will begin to heal and make a new beginning. Thank you!

This is Billy and his AMAZING family :)

Billy, Brandon, Nick, Ron

First Day of Preschool!

2011-09-07T11:16:00.001-07:00

I can't believe this day is already here. I have been thinking, praying, and stressing about the details of this day since we signed him up months ago. God is SO gracious, and it went better than I could have ever imagined! We have been talking about it A LOT, so he was really excited and ready to go. Carpool was what I was most anxious about. I just imagined them pulling him from the car kicking and screaming. However, it was just the opposite. He jumped right out, waved, and said, "Bye, Mom". Yes, MOM. Not Mommy, or Mama, MOM! A little hesitation would have done this Mama's heart good, but I am glad it went so well :). The teachers said he did GREAT, and he actually CRIED when we got to the car and wanted to go back in! Maybe I will pray a little less next time (ha ha ha). Really, I am so blessed and relieved that he LOVES it!

Pancakes and bananas on his "special" plate for breakfast.

So excited to go to school!

Already sick of taking pictures...

Liam with Daddy

Sweet boys :)

Smiles with Mommy :)

Love this Kid!

So handsome!

Yeah, they have matching shirts. I'm ok with that.

Liam with his teachers. He did GREAT!!

(As you may notice, he is wearing different pants than when I dropped him off. Liam hasn't had an accident since maybe the first week of potty training, so I was concerned when I saw him in different pants. His teachers assured me it was totally their fault. You see, Liam has an aiming problem :). They now know to clear all items within a 10 ft. radius or else it will result in the need for new clothing. Oh, the joys of little boys :))

Fire Station Visit

2011-09-01T12:53:00.001-07:00

Our neighborhood playgroup took a trip to the Fire Station yesterday. They did the "friendly firefighter" program for the kids. This is just where the fireman dresses up in all his gear and talks to the kids about how firemen help you. I thought for sure Liam would be scared of him in all of his gear, since he is afraid of everything, but he wasn't at all! I think it is because he got to actually see the man put each piece of gear on, instead of just coming out all dressed up. He was fascinated, and we all had a great time!

Liam with the BIG truck!

Liam was pretty sure after seeing the oxygen tank and the mask, that the firemen were in fact divers. Only fueling his current obsession with divers :).

The "friendly fireman"

The kiddos with the fire hats I made for them to wear :).

Our Week :)

2011-08-20T12:45:00.001-07:00

This happy little guy can brighten any day! Love him to pieces.

The weather has been a little cooler this week. We made it to the park 3 times, once on our own, and 2 play dates. Fun times :)

Look at these big boys riding in the buggy. I LOVE Hudson's chubby cheeks!

My sweet boys had to get shots on Tuesday :(. This is the first time Liam has taken a nap in months! Although the shots were traumatizing, the nap was a welcomed treat.

Liam has been OBSESSED with divers ever since our trip to the Aquarium last month. Nick was able to find this book with divers in it when we went to the Library. Liam LOVES it!

Yum-O! Made some homemade doughnuts for breakfast. Haven't had them in FOREVER, they were delicious!

Hudson is 5 Months old!

2011-08-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

Little Huddy Buddy is 5 months old! He is growing and changing so fast. I am trying to be good and write down everything like I did with Liam. So far, I am keeping up pretty well :). At five months, he is rolling over in both directions, grabbing his toes, holding toys, laughing, mimicking sounds, and eating rice cereal, and a couple vegetables. I was planning on waiting until 6 months to start solids, but this little guy was acting like he was starving every time he would watch us eat. And, unlike Liam, he ate like a champ the first time I gave him cereal. He loved it! It cracked me up, I had to try with Liam for about a month and a half before he would actually eat it. We are having so much fun with our two boys. Nick and I still look at them all the time and can't believe we have 2! It is just awesome to watch them together. Liam can make Hudson laugh like no one else, it is the cutest thing ever! I will have to post a video soon.

Hudson 5 month chair picture

Liam 5 month chair picture

Hudson

Liam

Liam First Cereal

Hudson First Cereal

Liam helping :)

I LOVE Liam's face :)

Such a big boy!

Insta-Friday

2011-07-22T10:33:00.001-07:00

Here is a glimpse of our week via my iphone :)

My little Chubby Chubberson... I can't believe how fast he is growing :(

One of our craft projects, Liam is SO PROUD. He even picked a place to hang it on the wall :).

What? You don't find half eaten turkey hanging on your wall? Oh, the joys of toddlers :)

Read this book this week. One of the BEST books I have read! I was so sad when it was over. Looking forward to the movie!

Puzzles with my little guy.

Liam is having a blast with his cars we found at Goodwill. I love good finds! :)

Love. Love. Love these sweet faces :)

Insta-week :-)

2011-07-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a little bit of our week via my iphone.

One of Liam's favorite things to do a t Guh Guh's house.

Noodle painting... more on this later :)

Brought this down out of the attic, Huddy loves it :)

Liam does, too :)

This little guy is wearing BIG BOY UNDIES now!!! Yay!!

My little chef :)

We got to spend the day at Aunt E's! Always fun!

Four months :)

2011-07-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

Hudson 4 Months

Liam 4 months

Hudson 4 months

Liam 4 months

Such a cutie :)

Melt my heart!

Liam loves his little brother!

Our little Huddy Buddy is already four months old! I swear with the second, it seems to be going by twice as fast. I guess it is because I am chasing a 2yr. old around and don't have the chance to sit there and stare at him as much as I did with Liam. We had our 4mo. check up yesterday, and he is doing great! He is 16 lbs. and 13 oz. (82%), 25 1/4 inches long (60%) and his head is 16 3/4 inches (56%). He is the same length Liam was at this age, but 2 lbs less! Now wonder Liam looked SO chubby! And UN-like Liam, he actually has a smallish head:). Liam's head is still in the 90%, just lots of room for his super smart brains :).

Hudson is getting to be so much fun, and we are enjoying him more every day. He is laughing, smiling, and cooing. He enjoys sitting in his bumbo seat and looking around. He loves music, and gets a kick out of his big brother! I just love seeing them play together. Liam loves making Hudson laugh and "talk" it is SO cute! He is reaching for toys, trying to roll over, and he has also started sucking his thumb. I know, I know, thumb sucking is supposedly "bad", but let me tell you, it is the CUTEST thing I have ever seen. I swear, every time I see him do it I run and get either my phone or camera to take a picture. I just love it!

I have TONS more to blog, so come back and check in the next few days :)

A glimpse of our week

2011-07-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little friend turned 3 :), and we found out that Liam is terrified of Monkey Joe :(. I guess a 7 ft. purple monkey can be intimidating to a 2 year old.

Our little Huddy buddy has found his thumb. It is just so precious.

Enough said.

Puppy love.

Have you ever danced in the rain? If not, do it! Sweet times with my little man :)

Little brothers are very entertaining.

Liam loves his Dino-tail. Check out this great tutorial if you would like one, too!

Finding fun stuff to do inside, it's just too hot out there for this Mama!

Hehe. Cute.

Loving our craft paper :0)

Pioneer Woman's iced coffee. Try it. Now.

Masterpiece Mixers with some friends. Fun girls night!

How was your week?

Our Week :)

2011-07-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

Just a glimpse of our week from my iphone.

Huddy and his tongue, it cracks me up :)

$30. Yep. Liam will be pretty much set for Fall. One of my sister's clients was getting rid of her children's old clothes, and she told Emily that she could have whatever she could fit in this tub for $30. I got about 15 pairs of pants, 20 or more shirts, shoes, pj's, jackets, and even a few summer things and some stuff for Hudson, too! Happy Mama!

I got to get my toes done this week :). I was having a rough day. You know, one of those days where you question if your child will EVER get through the day without a spanking or timeout. EVER. In their LIFETIME. EVER. Yeah, one of those days. That is right when my sister came to drop off the above tub of clothes for the kiddos. She walked in the door, gave me a hug, and I just burst into tears. She took one look at me and said "Just go, I got the kids" I didn't ask questions. I hopped in the car and ended up at the nail salon. Just what I needed. I have THE BEST sister in the world! And, when I got back, she had canceled her clients for the rest of the day and took Liam to hang out with her. Like I said, I have THE BEST sister in the world!

This is why visiting Daddy at work is so much fun!

Nick had a flat tire this week :(. But, thankfully I have an AWESOME brother, too. He fixed it for free, and Liam got to help Nick put it back on. He thought that was pretty neat.

$1 squirt guns are perfect for 2 year olds!

Went swimming at "E"'s pool

While I was tending to Hudson, Liam decided to fix himself a snack. Yes, that is an entire bag of Cheetos poured into a bowl. And just so you know, I didn't let him eat all of those :)

Liam's choice of clothing at times is amusing.

Insta-Friday

2011-06-25T07:55:00.001-07:00

The simple, sweet, and crazy of our week via instagram

Huddy buddy's sweet kissable cheeks. Just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!

Nick took Liam to his very first movie this week, Cars 2! There was A LOT of excitement and build-up surrounding this movie, and in the end Liam lasted maybe 30 minutes before he was "all done cars" and they had to leave. Nick was quite disappointed in their first movie experience, but it was still nice for them to have a Father and son day.

My Precious boys! Can't I just freeze time and keep them this way forever? Please?

Huddy looking completely adorable in his overalls. I just LOVE little boys in overalls. SO CUTE!

Potty training often leads to many moments like this :)

Oh, and Liam fixed us breakfast this week. Nice, right.

So proud of my boy, learning how to share.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-20T06:00:00.001-07:00

I could not ask for a more loving, hard working, and wonderful father for our boys! I am beyond blessed to have such a wonderful Godly example for our boys. Happy Father's Day to one AWESOME Dad!

Three Months

2011-06-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

What they say is SO true, it takes three months to get back to your "new normal". I totally felt that way with Liam, and this time around has been the same. I finally feel like I have gotten back into some sort of rhythm, and all the necessities are getting done, which makes everyone happy :). Hudson is doing wonderful, and as you will see, growing like a weed. A really fat weed :). He is just precious, and we are all just loving having him around. Liam absolutely adores him, and is constantly giving him hugs, kisses, and even attempts high fives and fist bumps, too. Like Liam, Hudson is a chunky monkey. He is already wearing 6 month clothes, and has the squishiest little legs you have ever seen. He is sleeping really well at night, which is great! We usually get about a 7-8 hour stretch, then he will nurse and go back to sleep for about 3 more hours. I have no complaints with that at all! The only sleeping issues we are having is with the other kiddo. Liam has not slept through the night in HIS bed since we brought Hudson home. He will go to sleep in his bed, but usually by 3am he had made his way into our bed. At first it was just him, now he has started bringing along "friends". Sometimes it's snuffy, sometimes Buzz or "EE", his monkey. Last night it was Big Bird. How do I know this, well at about 2am I hear Nick say "ouch" So, I ask him what's wrong, and his response was "I think I just got stabbed in the back with Big Bird's beak. I had to laugh.

I love my boys, and I love my life. As nice as it would be to have our bed to ourselves again, these are the days I will want back when they are too big too cuddle and hold close. So, instead of complaining about bird beaks in our back, our butts hanging off the bed, or the tossing and turning of a 2 year old, we are choosing to love the moment we are in, because it will be gone all too soon.

Hudson 3 months

Liam 3 Months

Liam's "Cheese" Face

Sweet baby yawns

Chubby Huddy Buddy

He is obsessed...

2011-06-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

He bumps his head, "I get a bam-baid, Mama". He has a bug bite, "I get a bam-baid, Mama". He falls down, "I get a bam-baid, Mama". Pretty much at all times you will find at least one "bam-baid" on my child. Oh, and he has to un-wrap ALL of them so he can see which character he wants. This is very important in the boo-boo healing process, you know.

Sprinkler Fun

2011-05-20T06:54:00.001-07:00

We have had some nice warm days here lately, so until the pool opens, we are making due with the sprinkler. Liam LOVES the water. The only problem is, before it is all said and done he usually ends up naked, and then we are those neighbors :). Oh well... boys will be boys.

He looks like such a big boy here.

One of those days...

2011-05-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was having one of those days... You know the ones, the baby's crying non-stop, the toddler is in terror mode, and Mama is sporting the same thing she slept in and it is nearing 6:00 pm. Yep, one of those days. Well, Nick comes home from work, and without missing a beat, can see in my eyes (or maybe by the spit-up covered pj's that I have been wearing for 2 days) that I need a break. He immediately entertains Liam, fixes us all dinner, gives Liam a bath and then sits down to watch a movie with the boys before putting them to bed. And at the end of one of those hectic days, this is what makes it all worth it :) I am blessed.

2 Months

2011-05-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

Hudson is already 2 months old! He is doing great, and growing like a weed. At his his check-up he weighed 12 lbs. and 6 oz. (67%) 22 1/4 inches long (28%) and his head was 15.5 in (37%). When he went for his check-up he was running a low grade fever (100.2), and was a little congested, so we had to watch him overnight and take him back this morning just to make sure all was well. He got the all clear, and is acting more alert and a lot less fussy, so that is always good! At least we got his first cold out of the way nice and early. He has started smiling, which is SO cute. However, he only does it for a select few people right now. I am looking forward to lots more smiles, giggles and "talking" in the next couple months. It is always fun when they start to interact with you, it sure does make the sleepless nights all worth it :).

Hudson 2 Months chair picture

Liam 2 Month chair picture

Liam 2 Months

Bubbles

2011-05-02T11:56:00.000-07:00

Liam is a big fan of bubbles...

Hudson, not so much.

Happy Easter

2011-04-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

These are just some of my favorite pictures of the boys in their Easter outfits. I have a lot more pictures to come. Sweet, sweet boys!

Brotherly Love

2011-04-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

One Month!

2011-04-09T16:31:00.000-07:00

Man, if I thought time went by fast with one baby, it seems to be going double time with two. We have all been enjoying getting to know the newest member of the family, and we think he is pretty sweet.

As of his one month check-up on Friday he had gained 3lbs. and grown an inch! He is going to take after his brother and be a little chunk in no time :). He is up to 9 lbs. and 3 oz. and 21 inches long. As far as sleeping goes, he does a lot of that, but still wakes about every 3 hours at night to eat. I am not expecting him to sleep through the night anytime soon. Liam was 8 months old before he slept through the night, so I will be sleep deprived for quite some time.

I am excited to be doing the monthly chair pictures like I did with Liam. I love looking back and seeing just how fast they grow and change in just a months time. I am also going to try to put a few comparison pictures of the boys each month for fun :).

Hudson 1 Month

Liam 1 Month

(I didn't start the bear pics with Liam until 2 months)

Hudson's First Bath

Liam's First Bath

Sweet sleeping Hudson

Monkey Joes!

2011-04-03T05:27:00.000-07:00

We took Liam to Monkey Joes for the first time on Saturday. It was SO much fun! Him and Nick had a blast, and I even got to go down the slides a couple times, too :). Liam became slightly obsessed with one of the cars, and would run and jump in it after he got off of every slide. It was pretty cute :). For children 2 and under it is only $5 and adults get in free. Nick said he can't wait to go back. I think he had more fun than Liam :).

Official Announcement

2011-03-29T10:10:00.001-07:00

Welcome Hudson John Kirk!

2011-03-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, in true Kirk fashion, this little man also had to make an early appearance. Hudson was born at 12:07 am on Tuesday, March 8th 2011. He was born at 35 weeks and 6 days gestation. He is absolutely perfect, and best of all we got to take him home with us less than 48 hours later, NO NICU! Such a blessing!

Hudson's Birth Story...

I had my 36 week appointment with my Midwife on Monday morning. Before my appointment that morning I was talking with my best friend, who is a L&D nurse at Athens Regional where I was planning on delivering. She was working that day, and I jokingly told her that maybe I would already be 8cm dilated and they would send me on over to see her.

Well, things almost happened just like that... At my appointment my Midwife asked me all the normal questions; how are you feeling, any contractions, signs of labor, etc. I told her I was feeling fine, just having a few "weird" pains, but I just figured it was pressure from the baby. After checking things out we soon found out that my "weird pains" were actually more than just pressure. I was already 5cm dilated and 50% effaced. She went on to tell me that if I started to have regular contractions or any other signs of labor that I was to head to the hospital, and call her on my way since we live about 40 minutes from there. So, soon after I left my appointment, I of corse started having contractions. I just figured it was because she had checked me and that they would soon subside. Well, that didn't seem to be happening. I got home, still contracting, put my feet up, still contracting, laid down, yep, still contracting. So, I figured I should at least time them... yeah, 2-3 minutes apart. So, I make the call to my midwife, and of corse she says she will meet me at the hospital. By the way, Nick is on set filming, and everyone else is at work at this time, so I have to make phone calls to get Nick here and my mom here to watch Liam ASAP.

We arrive at the hospital and get checked in, and I am happy to see that Stephanie (my BFF) was already assigned to be my nurse :). Because of my plan to have an unmedicated birth, I only had to have intermittent monitoring and didn't have to be hooked up to anything which was wonderful! When my Midwife first arrived and checked my progress, I was still only 5cm but now about 75% effaced. She didn't feel comfortable sending me home, so she had me walk the halls for about and hour and a half to see if things would progress further. After the walking my contractions were getting stronger and I was now dilated another 1 1/2cm. Because I did not want any medication, instead of giving pitocin she went ahead and broke my water. After that, things happened pretty quickly.

While I was laboring, Stephanie was working on getting me into another room that had a shower and tub so I could sit in the hot water for some pain relief. Someone else had just delivered in there, so once it was all clean, Steph said we could go ahead and go in there and get in the tub, and they could set up the room for delivery while I was soaking in the bath. That was the plan anyways. Well, I was in the tub maybe 5 minutes and Nick is in the bathroom with me pouring warm water over my belly and all the sudden I feel like I have to push. I look at Nick and ask him if Meredith (my Midwife) is in the room, and he say No, then I ask if Stephanie is there, and THANK GOD he said yes! She comes in and I tell her I have to push. She hurries up and gets me out of the bath, and keeps telling me "don't push" "don't push". The room was still not ready, and Meredith was in another delivery. For those of you who have had a baby, you know, when it's time to push, it is time to push. I have another contraction, and I begin to push. Meredith runs in the room with one glove on and is waving the other hand around yelling "I only have one glove" "I only have one glove" all the while trying to deliver my baby. It was crazy chaotic, but only two pushes and my little man was here! It couldn't have been more perfect! I must say, toward the end I did doubt myself, and if things would have lasted 5 more minutes I probably would have been begging for pain medication, but thank GOD I had a fast delivery, and was able to do it all natural!

Hudson was 6 lbs. 14 oz. and 19.5 inches long. He is absolutely perfect!

35 week belly shot!

2011-03-02T11:46:00.001-08:00

I am 35 weeks! Only a little over a month the go! I can't believe it! Feeling huge and miserable at times, but hanging in there and trying to enjoy every moment I have with Liam while he is still the baby in the house. Yeah, I cry at least once a day (or more) when I think about him not being my baby any more, and how he is going to react to a new little one in the house. Praying for a smooth transition and that I will love little Hudson as much as I love Liam. It is hard to imagine that it is possible, but I know in my heart that it is. Praying I only have a couple more weeks. My midwife keeps saying he is going to be big, so as soon as I hit 37 weeks, I am going to be eating eggplant every night : ).

Getting ready for Hudson!

2011-02-27T08:19:00.001-08:00

I have been in a sewing mood lately, in the last 2 days I have had a chance to get a few things made for Hudson so thought I would share :). I just love this fabric line, and think it is so cute for a little boy.

It is hard to believe that I only have a little over a month left until he is here!

28 Weeks!

2011-01-13T09:06:00.000-08:00

I have officially made it to the third trimester! It is hard to believe that I am just 4 weeks away from when Liam was born. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of that, and this little guy will keep cooking for at least 8-10 more weeks. My last doctor's appointment went well, and all the tests came back with good results and no signs of pre-term labor. I did miss my appointment this week due to the snow, so hopefully I will be able to get in next week to get everything checked out.

We have started getting Liam's big boy room ready, and it is coming together nicely. I have the walls and furniture all painted, curtains and pictures hung, now I just need to get some shelves and storage bins for all of his toys and books then we will be set. It makes me sad that my little boy is growing up so fast :(. I will post pictures of his new room once it is all together.

Snow Day!!

2011-01-10T15:59:00.000-08:00

We all thought it was a little funny when Nick got a sled for Christmas, but we have already used it two times in three weeks! I guess Gaga knew something we didn't :). This morning we woke up to about 6 inches of snow, and we have had a great time getting to play in it! And yes, even me at over 7 months pregnant was sledding down the hill!

24 weeks!

2010-12-16T07:32:00.001-08:00

I made it another month :)! Feeling great, and so far all is looking good with no signs of early labor! I have been on my p17 (progesterone) shots since 18weeks and will continue those up to 36 weeks to hopefully help reduce my chances of pre-term labor. I had a couple more tests done this week and everything is looking good. I will continue my appointments every 2 weeks just to keep a closer eye on things, but so far, so good. This pregnancy seems to be flying by, and I am getting excited about meeting the newest member of our family! I still have TONS to do, as I really haven't even began to prepare for his arrival as far as buying things or getting his room ready, but thankfully Aunt E and Gaga have some time off during the Holidays, so I am hoping to get A LOT done over the next few weeks!

We are still quite anxious about moving Liam to a "big boy" bed. He is such a good sleeper and I am just so scared that the transition isn't going to go well. Keeping fingers crossed, and praying for good results. As far as the room switch-a-roo, we are planning on just keeping Liam's current room pretty much as is for Hudson, and moving him over to my now craft room and making that his "big boy" room. Hopefully he will be excited about it. We are planning on a robot theme since he is for some reason OBSESSED with them at the moment. Hopefully it will last a couple years : ). Here are a few pictures of some of the things for his room.

These are some prints I am ordering off Etsy to frame for his walls. I just love the happy little robots. And these are the sheets I am using along with just a solid colored comforter for his bed. I think it is going to be really cute! I will be posting pictures once we get everything started.

Rudolph the Red Nose Family : )

2010-12-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Magic Snow!

2010-12-08T18:02:00.000-08:00

We are having so much fun doing our Advent Calendar activities each day. Tonight we made"Magic Snow". If you haven't tried this, it is A LOT of fun! I got mine off of Ebay for $6.99, and it makes 3 gallons of snow! Just wanted to share some of the cute pictures of Liam playing with the snow. I don't know who had more fun, Nick or Liam : )

20 weeks!

2010-11-18T12:12:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that I am already half way done with this pregnancy! It has been totally different than my last, and I have been enjoying every moment of it. I have been feeling GREAT, and if it weren't for the belly poking out and the wonderful little kicks, I wouldn't even know I was pregnant. Hopefully the next 20 weeks will be as easy as the first, I sure am praying they are. Here is a little belly shot I took on my phone this morning. Little Hudson John is making himself known ; )!

BLUE!!!

2010-11-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

We found out baby #2's gender on Liam's birthday. So, we decided to have a little fun with it and make it a surprise for EVERYONE, including Nick and I! So when we got our ultrasound we came prepared with two envelopes with a toy for Liam inside each. One with a pink toy and one with a blue toy. That morning Liam and I decorated one of the envelopes and had it all ready to take with us. After the ultrasound we had the tech. place the correct toy in the decorated envelope along with the ultrasound picture and seal it up for Liam to open up that night with the family. Oh, and yes, the other toy was placed in the other envelope and also sealed so there was no peaking : )! Before the ultrasound, I thought I would be crazy waiting for 6:00 to get there, but actually after the ultrasound was finished and we knew everything looked healthy with the baby, the gender was really secondary. So, finally after the family arrived Liam opened his special present and revealed that indeed baby #2 is going to be a BOY!! There were defiantly a lot of surprised faces, but we are all thrilled to have another sweet little boy to love! And, we are also excited to let everyone know that baby boy #2 will be named...... Hudson John Kirk. I just love his name, and am excited we will be able to honor Nick's dad by using his name as well. Very special.

Halloween

2010-11-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun Trick-or-Treating! Ummm... I mean, Liam had so much fun! I think it is more fun for the parents than the kids, but Liam did have a great time, too! It only took him a couple houses to figure out what this was all about, then he would run to the next house saying "more treat" "more treat" He was very polite and said "thank you" to everyone, and even tried to share his candy with the people, too :-). I was AMAZED that he kept his elephant hood on the whole time and didn't even attempt to take it off! He looked so adorable! I know before too long he will want to dress up like a superhero or something scary, so I will take advantage of these couple years that I can dress him up as cute little animals :-).

Ohio Trip

2010-10-14T08:47:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, Liam and I along with my sister and Mom headed up to Ohio for a few days to visit with family. We got to spend time at my Grandpa's pumpkin patch, go to the local fair, and visit with family we haven't seen in years. It was a great trip! This was also Liam's first time on an Airplane which was super stressful for me, and Liam was, how should I say... less than pleasant to fly with. But, we made it there and we made it home, so I guess that was a success. This was also one of the first times Liam had really been away from home, so sleeping and napping were also a struggle which made for a grumpy little boy most of the time :(. Although our trip was wonderful, I have never been happier to get Liam home and back in his normal routine.

Liam, Grandpa and I at his pumpkin patch

Nana, Papa, and Liam

"E" and Liam

"E", Nana, and Liam

Liam and I at Papa's

Helping Papa with the pumpkins

Getting a special little pumpkin from Papa

So precious!

Wagon ride

FAIR FOOD!!!

YUMMM!!!

Checkin' out the tractors with Nana

Petting the cows

This was a HUGE pig!

Petting the baby goat

So cute!

REAL pony rides!

So fun!

More fair food, Fried pickles and vegetables.

It's Official!

2010-08-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

Liam is going to be a BIG BROTHER!!!!

We are all VERY excited for this new chapter in our lives, and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to have another child. God is so good, and becoming a mother has been the greatest joy of my life. I am looking forward to what lies ahead, and am praying for a healthy, FULL TERM baby!

Here is a picture of the first ultrasound. The expected due date is April 6th!

No one told me...

2010-08-04T07:23:00.000-07:00

You aren't supposed to swim with your clothes on.

I opened the door the other day to let Lucy out, and before I could catch him, Liam ran out and jumped right in the kiddy pool. He then looked and me like, "what?" is this not ok?

He loves to play in the water. I love this sequence of pictures, it is so dramatic :-)

Kirk Family "Staycation"

2010-07-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we took our Family "Staycation". We had a lot of fun hanging around Atlanta and doing some fun things around town, and just relaxing :-). We went to the Aquarium and the Zoo, took Liam to build-a-bear and to ride the merry-go-round at the mall. We also went to Six Flags (for a minute :-)) and had a date night to see Phantom of the Opera at the Fox. It was a great week :-) Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our week.

Liam LOVED the zoo! Although it was blazing hot, it was a lot of fun. His favorite part was the tigers. He kept wanting to go back and see them, and kept saying "raarrrrr". It was the first time I had ever been too, so I really enjoyed it.

This was the first time we had taken Liam on the horses at the mall. I think we have been on them at least a dozen times since then. We can now not go to the mall with out having $2 in cash on us or it will be a very bad day!

LOVE this picture! A big shark swam over him right when I snapped this, and he made this terrified face.

I think the moving sidewalk was the highlight for Liam. He was fascinated by it.

Forth of July Fun!

2010-07-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun celebrating the 4th with our family! We were able to enjoy the Chateau Elan Fireworks up the street from the Ace Hardware parking lot this year. MUCH better than braving the traffic at Chateau Elan like last year! Liam was sacred of them at first, but towards the end he started enjoying them more. It was so cute, when we got home I was getting him out of the car and I asked him if he had fun, and he looked at me and put his hands up in the air and said "boom" "boom". He cracks me up :-)

One of his favorite things with one of his favorite people! Bubbles and grandmother :-)

Kisses from Aunt "E"

"Libengood" Family

"Kirk" Family

Liam loving his big chair

He got plenty of love from Grandmother

and Nana, too :-)

These boots were made for walking...

2010-07-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

...Or maybe just playing in the rain... whatever :-)

Water Baby

2010-06-23T17:59:00.001-07:00

My mom bought this Elmo sprinkler for Liam before he was even born. Now that he is finally old enough to play in it, we brought it home and hooked it up the other night. It has been SO blazing hot here lately, so it was refreshing for all of us :-).

Daddy and Liam had fun running running through the sprinkles.

But Liam sure has a way of letting us know when he has had enough.

Check out this face... such DRAMA!

All better :-)

I hope you all are enjoying your summer, and finding ways to keep cool!

And we wonder why...

2010-06-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

Liam throws everything. Well, probably because his Daddy taught him :-)

Silly Boys!

Tot School

2010-06-05T08:54:00.001-07:00

I started Tot School with Liam this week, we had a lot of fun! You can check out all the details here. But of corse I will share a few pictures here, too :-)

18 mo. Well Check

2010-05-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

Liam had his 18 mo. well check yesterday. Dr. Evans said he is doing GREAT! She was impressed with his signing, and said he is developing right on track and doesn't show any delays from his prematurity. That was good to hear. He is still LARGE, 34 in. tall (87%), 34 lbs. (99%), and his head 20 in. (98%)!! BIG BOY! She wasn't concerned with his size, she said he has always been "big" and he is developing on track according to his previous check-ups, so good news there.

Although Liam will always be my "baby" he is now totally a toddler! I am so excited with everything he is learning and how fast he is able to pick things up these days. Because he is at an age where he is learning so quickly, I have decided to start taking a more structured approach to his learning. My friend recently introduced me to this blog. AMAZING!! If you have a toddler I highly recommend it!! I have been gathering supplies and getting ready to start our first "lesson" next week! I would LOVE for you to keep up with us on this journey, so I started a blog called La La Learning to highlight all the "learning" activities we will be doing! There are so many fun resources out there to help mom's teach their children not only about colors and numbers, but scriptures, virtues, and character lessons as well. I feel so blessed to be able to be here with Liam every day, these years are so precious and I know they will be gone in a blink. So, while I have him here, I hope to do my very best to raise him up to be a Godly man.

Strawberry Pickin'

2010-05-24T14:19:00.001-07:00

Stephanie, Kim and I took the kiddos strawberry picking this weekend. Let me tell you, an 8 month old and 18 month old make this quite an adventure. Liam had a great time picking the berries, eating the dirt, and playing with the rocks he found along the way. He may have gotten them confused a couple times, but that never seemed to slow him down. I was able to make a strawberry pie and 12 jars of jam from our berries, so I consider that a successful trip!

Liam loved the water pumps!

Yep, he is eating a rock :-)

Sweet Ella

Liam and Ella had a great time chomping down on the berries :-)

Chris and Stephanie let Liam borrow Ella's Cozy Coupe until she is big enough to use it. Liam LOVES it!! Car, Car, Car is what he says. He gets in and out of it 100 times a day. It is so cute!

Prayer Request Update

2010-05-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who took time to pray for the McEntee family today. I ask that you continue to pray now more than ever. Irena McEntee and her friend Carissa Ireland were found this morning unresponsive, and later pronounced dead at the hospital. I can not imagine what her parents are going through, and I just ask prayers of strength as they face the days ahead. The death of their daughter comes on the heals of the death of their son less than a year ago. Life is so fragile, please say a prayer for them during this time.

Please Pray!

2010-05-17T05:59:00.000-07:00

Please take a moment today and pray for the McEntee Family who are members of our church. Their 18 year old daughter and her friend went missing yesterday while on a kayaking trip. The Coast Guard is searching, but nothing has turned up so far. Please pray, pray hard, pray for a miracle!

Heartless:The Story of the Tin Man

2010-05-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share the latest project from Whitestone Motion Pictures that Nick has been working on. I am so proud of them, and can't wait for you to see the movie! They all did an AMAZING job, and I must say the music is just superb (not that I am partial). Check it out here!

This Dog...

2010-04-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

Liam LOVES her!!

And I guess she loves him, too ;-)

Gardening

2010-04-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

In hopes of not becoming "those neighbors" we decided to try to spruce up the yard a bit. Weed pulling, mulch laying, and even a little flower planting. There is only so much an 18 month old can do to help out, so flower planting was his job :-). I don't know how many spoon fulls of dirt he ate, but he sure had a good time helping :-). I can't believe how big he looks in these pictures! My little man is growing up TOO FAST!!

OUCH!

2010-04-16T14:27:00.001-07:00

It was bound to happen one day...

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T07:26:00.000-07:00

Liam's second Easter was very different than his first! He is so aware of EVERYTHING and quickly caught on to what is hiding inside those eggs! CANDY (dried fruit, but we won't tell :-)) Nick played at all four services, so Liam and I had lunch and spent time with my family that afternoon. You can tell he is the only child/grandchild, you would think it was Christmas again by all the stuff he got. But, I guess that is the benefit of being the first :-). I hope you all had a wonderful Easter as well.

Liam's First Easter Egg Hunt :-)

2010-03-29T09:27:00.001-07:00

Liam went on his first Easter Egg Hunt over the weekend. I was surprised that he knew exactly what to do. The first egg he saw he picked it right up and put it in his basket! So cute. With egg number two, he leaned down threw out the first egg, and replaced it with the second. Ok, so maybe he didn't know EXACTLY how it worked, but he got the hang of it ;-) He was quite excited when he found out there was CANDY inside those eggs. Man oh man. For the remainder of the weekend if he even saw the Easter basket sitting on the counter he was signing "candy" for the next 10 minutes...

EASTER PICTURES

2010-03-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, these are the first "real" pictures we have had made. I had a coupon at JcPenny's and planned on spending about $10.00 and only getting ONE pose. Well, $85.00 later..... He just looks so darn cute in his Easter outfit :-)

Silly Faces

2010-03-10T11:18:00.001-08:00

I sure do love this kid!

My Little Man

2010-02-18T13:04:00.001-08:00

Yay!! SNOW!!!

2010-02-12T15:50:00.001-08:00

So glad that Nick got home early from work in time to enjoy the snow with us :-) It is so pretty! It is still snowing, and I hope it will stay around until at least tomorrow.

Drumroll Please....

2010-02-05T10:24:00.000-08:00

So, we now have a drum set in our house.... thrilled, no. Loud, yes. Precious moments for daddy and son, Of corse!

Liam Signing - Take 2 :-)

2010-01-16T20:05:00.001-08:00

Here is Liam showing off some of his signing. Nick and I realized that we did forget a few more signs that he knows as well, banana, milk, and cracker. But for now, enjoy our smart little man :-)

Finger Painting with Daddy :-)

2010-01-15T10:48:00.000-08:00

Liam decided to spend some of his Christmas money on FINGER PAINTS!!! Well, ok Liam really has no concept of money, and honestly can't pick out his own toys yet, so yes, I decided to spend some of Liam's Christmas money of finger paints. But, regardless of the details of who spent who's money on what. Liam tried finger painting for the first time :-) I bought the "color wonder" kind from crayola. They are really neat, because the color only shows up in special "color wonder" paper pretty cool in this Mama's book :-)

Sweetest Picture EVER!!!

2010-01-11T06:07:00.000-08:00

My mother-in-law took this picture while babysitting this weekend. Isn't it the most precious thing you have ever seen??!!! My baby is getting so big :-(

ABC's and 123's

2010-01-03T07:23:00.000-08:00

This is one of the little stocking stuffers that Santa brought for Liam. Nick is such a sweet Daddy :-). I LOVE my boys!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-28T11:44:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a difference a year can make! It is hard to believe that Liam was this teeny tiny just one year ago. It feels like just a blink of an eye. Needless to say, this Christmas was MUCH different than last. Liam really enjoyed the wrapping paper and boxes, the toys were ok, too :-). I am looking forward to his excitement next year when he understands it a little bit more. We had a wonderful Christmas spending time with family, relaxing, and eating way too many sweets!

The Kirk Family Christmas

Libengood Family Christmas

Liam was worn out from all of the fun!

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Christmas!

Hats :-)

2009-12-19T07:25:00.001-08:00

Ella joined in on the fun, too!

Why do we as parents think it is so cute to put silly hats on our children?? I don't know, but it hasn't stopped me :-)

Liam Signing

2009-12-13T08:05:00.000-08:00

My baby is so smart :-) Not to brag or anything... well ok, maybe just a little. These are a few of his signs that we were able to catch on tape the other night. Don't mind the whining, it was bed time and we were taunting him for our own enjoyment. That's what parents are supposed to do, right?? Man, I love that baby!

(Signs: Juice, milk, eat, dog, banana, and water)

13 Months!

2009-12-08T09:23:00.001-08:00

And yes, this is the best picture I could get! He does not sit still very long AT ALL, so you take what you can get.

So proud of himself!!

Pointing to the rain

Wow!! It seems like SO much has happened in just one month! Liam is learning so much, and we are having so much fun watching him become a little person. It is so crazy how fast babies learn things. He is crawling all over the place, pulling up on everything, cruising, and walking with his push toys. He has starting say many more words, and signing A LOT! It is so cute, and really neat for him to be able to communicate with us :-). Some of his signs are. More, all done, milk, dog, juice, water, banana, ball, up, bye-bye, fan and eat. Yes, he signs dog and banana but not Mom or Dad... we are working on that :-) He points to EVERYTHING! Dat, dat, dat... Some of his words are dada, mama, lulu (lucy), fan, juice, water, bye-bye, uh-oh and dog. I have so much fun teaching him new things. I am just so proud of him!! He loves to look at books, and gets SO excited when he sees pictures of babies, cats, and dogs. It is so cute! He gives kisses now too, LOVE IT! He has such a personality, and we are enjoying each and everyday we get to spend together. Being able to stay home with him has called for sacrifices, but it has been the greatest reward I could ever ask for, getting to be here to see him grow and learn each day is truly priceless! I can't wait to update you next month on his progress. Hopefully by then he will have Mama and Dada down pat! Here is a little video is Liam walking :-)

fohawk :-)

2009-11-29T17:32:00.000-08:00

Cutest. stinkin'. kid. EVER.

Savannah with my BABY!!

2009-11-24T12:16:00.000-08:00

We finally did it, we left the kiddo with Grandma and Grandpa for the weekend and took a much needed getaway! Whitestone had a film in the Savannah Film Festival, so Nick and Brandon were down there for the week. Kim and I packed up and meet them down there on Friday and stayed the weekend with our hubbys :-)! We had a great time. One of the afternoons we rented bicycles and rode around Savannah. That was the most fun I had in a long time! I can't remember the last time I rode a bike. I couldn't believe how affordable it was, too! We will definitely do that again when we are in Savannah! Whitestone's film "That's Magic" was one of 8 films out of over 800 submitted that was chosen for the festival, so we are quite proud of our husbands, and the whole Whitestone team!

Liam did great at Grandma and Grandpa's and I know that they enjoyed getting to have some special time with him. Now that the first overnight trip is under my belt, I better start planning our next getaway! Not really, I couldn't wait to see my little man and those two nights felt like an eternity! It will be a little while before we take off again, but it is nice to have some "Mommy and Daddy" time away from the baby. I am so blessed to have a wonderful husband that I love so much, and after 11 years together I still look forward to everyday that I get to spend with him! That is a blessing!

Liam's First Birthday Party!!

2009-11-23T11:30:00.001-08:00

Well, almost three weeks later I am finally able to sit down and post some pictures of Liam's birthday party. It was a wonderful day and I still can't believe I have a one year old!! Liam loved eating his cake and we loved watching him make a royal mess. We are so blessed to have a wonderful group of friends and family to share this special day.

Liam is ONE!!!

2009-11-04T17:16:00.001-08:00

Lots more pictures coming soon. Just haven't had time to sit down and really blog lately.

Cutest Karate Kid EVER!!!

2009-10-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

I was able to make Liam's costume for $0!! 1 bath robe+ scissors+ sewing machine= Karate Kid :-) SO CUTE!!

Liam's new thing...

2009-10-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, the video is 3 minutes long... but our kid is just that cute :-)

Enjoy!!

Liam's Dedication

2009-10-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Liam's dedication. I am SO blessed by a family that loves and serves God! Liam is surrounded by so many people that not only love him, but love GOD! I could not ask for a better support system as we continue our adventure in parenthood.

Look what I found...

2009-10-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

That's right... Liam, standing in his crib! I almost had a heart attack when I opened the door to his room to get him from his nap. There he was, just staring right at me.

He thought my expression was pretty funny.

And, in other news...

The gate went up...

As you can tell, he was not happy about this situation

He called in back-up to try to remedy the situation, but... to no avail

Pumpkins

2009-10-07T20:34:00.001-07:00

I would love to say that our first family trip to the pumpkin patch was full of sweetly posed pictures ...

Picking out the perfect pumpkins...

And lots of smiles and laughter...

However...

It was more like this...

And this...

Poor little guy...

We did get a few good pictures out of about 100 or so...

And Liam even started eating the pumpkin before we could even get home and cook it into something super yummy

In the end, it is all about the memories... and our first trip to the pumpkin patch was certainly memorable!

11 Months

2009-10-04T06:59:00.001-07:00

We are only one month away!! I Can't believe it!! Time sure has flown by. Our little man is SOOOO much fun, and even though watching him grow is bitter sweet, each new stage he reaches is better than the last. He is moving constantly. He loves chasing Lucy around, and he is still obsessed with her food bowls. And yes, this month he actually tried eating dog food... not my most proud parenting moment. But he is just so darn quick. You think you have gotten all of the pieces out of his little death grip, and yet you turn around and there he is chewing on something... yep, that would be dog food. Nice. Well, it didn't kill him, and I guess he likes the taste because he is constantly trying to go back for more. Another fun thing he learned this month is how to climb the stairs. He doesn't really notice them too often because our stairs are off to the side of the living room, but when they do catch his eye it starts about a half-hour obsession with trying to get up them. I know a baby gate will be going up SOON. He is holding fast with his eight teeth. I don't see any more trying to break through for now. He is eating everything, and gone are the days of trying to eat ANYTHING without sharing. He is still sleeping like a champ. 12-13 hrs. a night. Never up before 8am! I know... he is spoiling me. He is really starting to pay attention to books instead of just trying to tear the pages out. He actually listens to the stories and helps turn the pages. His FAVORITE thing is singing songs. He LOVES songs with hand motions. His absolute favorite right now is the itsy bitsy spider. He actually does some of the hand motions, it is SO stinkin' cute! He is pulling up now, but I have a feeling walking is still several months away. He is still "belly crawling" so I think we are safe for a couple more months at least. Well, wish me luck as I try to prepare (mentally) for the big ONE. Nick and I haven't come to an agreement on the party thing yet, so I don't know exactly what that will look like. Just family, family and friends??? Not too sure yet. We shall see.

Liam singing the "itsy bitsy spider"

You will laugh...

2009-10-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

What could possibly make doing laundry a little less dreadful??

2009-09-29T11:35:00.001-07:00

This sweet little "helper"

Don't worry, these are all clean... just waiting to be folded :-)

Dress up at Aunt Emie's

2009-09-22T17:42:00.001-07:00

As everyone pretty much knows, Nick and I are not big sports fans. Even though we both attended UGA, and I actually graduated from there, we still are not big DAWGS fans. Crazy, I know. However, I think my sister is a fan enough for all of us. While she was watching him today they had a little "dress up" time. Liam didn't seem to mind it, but he doesn't exactly look thrilled. Just thought I would share :o)!

Seriously, Aunt Emie... Football???

Huh, you want me to say GOOOO who???

Lalala

2009-09-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

Here is my little man "singing" He is such a cutie pie!!

p.s. I think I exported it in "wide screen", that is why is has the black around it... oh well...

Yellow Daisy Festival and Bath Time

2009-09-14T12:14:00.001-07:00

We went to the Yellow Daisy Festival on Saturday. It was the first time either of us had been. There were TONS of people there and TONS of crafts. We had a lot of fun looking at all of the neat crafty stuff. I use the term "we" loosely. Nick was a great sport, and I think he actually enjoyed himself too :o). Liam did great, as always... we have such a great baby! I swear Nick and I both look at each other several times a day and just say "man, we have the best baby in the world" Truly!

And a few pictures of our happy little man enjoying his bath... Doesn't he look like such a big kid with all of those teeth??

Most PRECIOUS baby EVER!!!

10 Months... A look back...

2009-09-03T09:00:00.001-07:00

Well, only two more months until my baby boy is ONE!! Looking back it is hard to believe we have come so far! From a tiny 5 lb. little boy in the NICU to my 27 lb. chunky monkey :-)! It has truly been the best 10 months of my life. Each day that goes by I love him more and more. When he was born I looked at him and instantly fell in love. At that moment I never thought I could possibly love him anymore than I did right then, but with each new day comes a new love. A greater love than I could have ever imagined. Watching him grow and change and learn new things everyday has been the greatest joy I have ever known. He is SO much fun!! It is so fun to see his little personality forming and getting to learn who he is. I know we are in for such a treat as he grows into a wonderful little boy :-)! He is doing so many new things now, some of the highlights are: crawling (well, "army crawling") his belly is not off the ground yet, but boy can he get around!!, clapping (this is SOOO cute!), peak-a-boo (he gets such a kick out of it), saying "mama" (this is not as popular as "dada" but every once in a while he says it). He is eating just about everything now, and he notices food all the time. There is no eating in front of him unless you are sharing :-). He is still sleeping like a champ, 12-13 hrs a night and 2 naps a day! He is such a good baby! No more teeth lately, he is holding steady at 7 for now. So, with 2 months to go... let the party planning begin!

WELCOME ELLA CATE HUNNICUTT!

2009-08-31T07:57:00.001-07:00

It's A GIRL!! A BEAUTIFUL little girl!! Ella Cate Hunnicutt, born August 30th 7:38 pm, 7 lbs. 10 oz. 20 1/2 inches long! JUST PERFECT!!

She looks just like her Mommy!!

She is so sweet! So laid back, she hardly made a sound.

Already a thumb sucker! SO CUTE!

CONGRATULATIONS CHRIS AND STEPHANIE!! WELCOME TO THE BEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE!!

Big Smiles!!

2009-08-28T19:44:00.000-07:00