Vacation Preparation

 The Kirkendall's are getting vacation fever! We are slated to go on vacation during the first two weeks of August. We will begin our vaca. in Fort Davis, Texas with the Jones family. From there we will drive North to New Mexico were the three of us will camp for a few days. After that we plan to visit my best friend Becca and her husband Ronnie in Red River, New Mexico. And our final destination is Telluride CO to vacation with the Kirkendall's!! That being said, Sam and I are getting in hiking shape and working on acclimating Elle to her tent, her outdoor get up, and outdoor hiking.

Here is Elle in her "hiking boots".

 Ahh and I got a little carried away and thought it best to fit Elle with her mountain shirt and outdoor hat.

 Papa and Ahh bought this shirt for us when we were expecting. It was so fun to think about who our little baby that would fill this shirt out would be. We could have never imagined such a delightful little girl!

  We need to get Elle acquainted not only with her hiking boots but her cowgirl boots too. We want her to be properly equipped for the West Texas mountains!!

 Sam bought Elle a great sun protected breathable hiking outfit as well as some sunglasses for our bright summer days. She could not be more thrilled.

Two peas in a pod!

 We "hiked" to our neighborhood nature center. It was bursting with life.

We are looking forward to our summer adventure!

Maw-Maw & Paw-Paw

As I was typing my last post I began to see glimpses of what these blog post will mean to Elle when she is older. This thought inspired me to make a special post about her meeting Paw-Paw and Maw-Maw (Punk and Mary Belle Jones Parents to Elle's Ma, Ray Moore) for the first time. This was such an important and cherished moment in mine, Sam, and Elle's life. One main reason is that Punk and Mary Belle are her only living great-grandparents. Elle unfortunately did not have the opportunity to meet the late Jewell and AJ Moore parents of Elle's Pa, Stan Moore. Nor did she have the blessing to meet Walter and Margret Kirkendall parents to Elle's Papa, Bud Kirkendall and Elam and Adeline Scull parents to Elle's Ahh, Alice Kirkendall. 

Elle is so blessed to have so many loving relatives as well as rich stories of the life and times of her great grandparents. They were all wonderfully unique individuals full of life, love, and great joy. We are so grateful to be able to introduce Elle to one set of her great-grandparents. Even though Elle will not remember this moment the union of Elle's skin on Maw-Maw and Paw Paw's, her laugh and cry enclosed in the same room as their weathered voices is one that will live in in my memory.

 

Elle sitting in Maw-Maw's lap

 

When we were young one of our favorite things to do was sit in Maw-Maw's lap let her "pinch" our neck. She would just lightly touch the skin of our necks with her index finger and thumb.  The Jones cousins all coveted this individual time with our esteemed grandmother.

Maw-Maw said she wore that necklace just for Elle. She knew she would love playing with it. ;)

 

Here Paw-Paw is singing a little song. As you can tell Elle was captivated by the sound of his cowboy tune.  

Six Months

I am sure you are all surprised to see Elle's excitement over her  her 6 months! We have really begun to slow down and savor these moments as we realize she will not be an infant for much longer. Elle's 6th month was filled with new developments and lots of activity. We did our best to capture these adventures.

Elizabeth Enck Kirkendall

15 lbs. 2 oz.

25 1/2 in.

with tiny, tiny feet ;)

I just love this picture, it perfectly captures her happy, content disposition.

One of Elle's favorite things is sitting up! She doesn't seem to have any interest in crawling around the house, as long as she is sitting up she is happy to play with her toys all day long.

I caught Elle looking at her clothes this month. She really loves her hearts ;)

Elle is so glad that mom gets a break from work so we can spend more time with Charlie, Evie, and Ford  in Lakewood!

Elle is still enjoying the world of solids

One of our big excitements this past month was Dad's birthday. He turned the big 29. We were THRILLED to have acquired a family tent as a gift from Papa and Ahh.

Ashley Tuggle, one of my childhood friends, stopped in for a visit, we so enjoyed our girl time.

Although Elle is content with sitting she does love to rumble and tumble. This is what I found one day when I walked into the living room.

Elle also got to visit one of her long time friends Zion Albertson while we were in Amarillo for Jenn and Toby's wedding.

She also got to meet new family! Here is a picture of Elle and Alice Lowrance meeting for the first time.

The most anticipated meeting of all was when Elle got to meet her great grandparents, Paw-Paw and Maw-Maw. They have been so anxious to meet Elle that Maw-Maw has been dreaming of play time with her and Paw-Paw named one of his calfs after Elle.

Here Elle is very proud of her biggness, riding in the cart all by herself.

We are so grateful for our Elle Belle. What a wonderful 6 months!

Aunt Jenn's Wedding!

My family and I had the pleasure of planning and hosting my sister's wedding. Her and Toby decided about 6 months ago that they wanted a small family wedding at my parents house. I know for sure none of us knew what we were getting into however it came together quite nicely. I don't have many pictures because I was so caught up in getting things ready as well as the beauty of the ceremony. Here is what I do have:

Our good friends Mimo (who is hiding behind the tree) and Gina played at the ceremony. They sounded amazing!

Mom and dad coming down the isle with some of the Jones clan in the picture.

Elle sat with Aunt Barbara, cousin Sarah, and cousin Vivi. She talked and giggled the whole time, she is so excited to have a new uncle ;).

Some of our close friends sitting on blankets at the ceremony. It was a perfect backyard wedding. 

Play time during the ceremony. 

The beautiful bride! We are so happy for you Aunt Jenn!