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• Fun Friday

  03Jul
  Categories: Ella Joy, Frankie, Jennifer Comments: 0

  
  

  Ella and I signed up for the public library’s summer reading program during my maternity leave.  We hadn’t had a chance to get back to get credit for all our reading since I went back to work.  Since I have today off for the 4th of July, Ella, Frankie and I decided to get some errands done as well as hitting the library.  We started at the bank and Target, then turned in our library books at the Nora library.  The children’s books are in a room designed to look like a castle, which Ella loves.  While we were there we were able to read a couple books since Frankie was snoozing and grab a bunch more to read at home.  Our next stop was Holliday Park.  We were enjoying a lovely picnic when Bob Segall from our NBC station,  WHTR, showed up to film a segment and saw my lame attempts at a self portrait with Ella & Frankie.  He kindly offered to take the picture you see below and resumed filming…this time he was close enough for me to hear his bit.  It was a piece on precautions to take since the picnic tables in city parks are treated with arsenic.  I was so glad I brought plates for Ella and me to eat off of and used several wipes to clean our hands after lunch!  Ella enjoyed the swings, climbing walls and slides and tolerated the port-a-potty before Frankie let it be known that he had had quite enough and we headed home!

  

  

• Ella’s posse

  03Jul
  Categories: The Holohans Comments: 0

  

  Emma and Anna, sisters who live at the end of our street, have sort of adopted Ella.  They have come over to play a few times and even made Ella a beaded necklace with their 3 names on it.  Wednesday they came over with their friend Kyra and all four girls made flower necklaces with the kit Mema brought Ella in June.  Even though Ella is a bit younger than the other girls, she hangs right in there with them!

• Hanging out with the Holohans

  03Jul
  Categories: The Holohans Comments: 0

  

  Since Kristen, Steven and Cooper drove all the way from Florida, we were happy to drive to Dwight to visit with them.  Kristen coordinated her visit with their cousin Erica who brought her family in from Arizona, so there was an impromptu family reunion on Saturday.  It was a really nice low key get together and as nice as it was to see Ryan with his cousins, it was just as neat to see how the next generation of cousins hit it off.  As always when you eat at the Holohans, the food was as fabulous as it was plentiful.  After stuffing ourselves we went back to Dawn and Mike’s house (Miss Dawn’s hotel, as Ella calls it) to crash for the night.  We were so beat we didn’t even hear the storm that night!  After a breakfast of powdered donuts and a dip in the pool, we headed home to Indy.  Frankie was considerate enough to sleep the entire trip!  Ella misses Cooper and can’t wait for the Jones family to come to Indy!

  

  

• Frankie’s 2 month checkup

  26Jun
  Categories: Frankie Comments: 1

  

  Frankie had his 2 month checkup this afternoon and he has grown some…he’s 13 pounds, 6 ounces and 24.5 inches tall.  He wasn’t happy to be woken up to get stripped down to his diaper for the exam, but luckily he was not unduly upset at his shots.  He definitely cried, but pretty much quit crying once we got out of the office.  Frankie’s doctor said he looks very healthy and is doing great developmentally as well!

• Mimi’s new wheels!

  26Jun
  Categories: The Holohans Comments: 0

  I asked Mom to pick me up at the dealership so I wouldn’t have to wait around during my car’s 75,000 mile service and look what else she picked up:

  

  Mom’s old CRV had 150,000 miles on it and she was already looking so it was not an impulse buy!  The new CRVs are really awesome, I am especially jealous of the wide opening doors and the multiple power outlets.  And the MP3 jack.  As Ella would say, I would rock that car!

• Ohio, Day Two

  26Jun
  Categories: Ella Joy, Frankie, Jennifer Comments: 1

       

  Sunday morning we got ready, enjoyed a lovely breakfast at the hotel and went to church before we went to Aunt Kathy’s.  We had a good time catching up with Kathy and Archie, and Charlie and Dad also came by so we had the bonus of getting to see them.  After some fruit and donuts, we headed down to the barn where Ella got to feed carrots to the bunnies and horses before racing Nina to catch the ball Archie would hit out into the field.  Nina dove into a water trough when she needed a break, Ella opted to sit on a rock.  Ella really enjoyed feeding each of the animals as well as her game of chase, and Mom and I enjoyed seeing the barn and its occupants.  It was great to see Dad on Father’s Day as well!  After Ella conned Kathy out of one of her buckeyes (which she pronounces with a strong emphasis on the 2nd syllable), we headed for home.  Everyone did great for the first 4 hours of the 5 hour drive, but Frankie decided he was done with the car seat right around the Indiana state line and pretty much cried the rest of the way home.  This prompted Ella to yell “Too loud!” and cry as well.  Even with that soundtrack, the getting to see family was well worth it!

       

• Ben’s Graduation Party

  25Jun
  Categories: Ella Joy, Frankie, Jennifer Comments: 0

  Ella, Frankie and I went with my mother to Cleveland on Saturday for my cousin’s son (second cousin? cousin once removed?)’s high school graduation party.  I was a little bit nervous about the 5 hour drive, but it couldn’t have gone better.  Frankie slept most of the way there and Ella kept herself occupied with books and a movie.  We had a great time at the party, I got to see all of my Kampf cousins and Ella got to do some sidewalk chalk drawing with Allyson.  It was really wonderful just to sit and chat with everyone.  After we were partied out we got back in the car and headed to the hotel, where Ella got to go swimming with Mimi while I tended to Frankie.  Did I mention that Ella greatly enjoyed the chocolate fountain?

                

• We’re all wet

  22Jun
  Categories: The Holohans Comments: 0

  
  

  After Ryan and Ella hit the pool Sunday, we all headed to the zoo for Frankie’s first visit.  He slept in the stroller so there’s no telling if he enjoyed the trip, but Ella got to feed a giraffe a slice of sweet potato and play in the splash zone.  We were surprised by a rain shower as we left the zoo but still went to a local drive-in, Mug n Bun, for lunch on the way home.  Their root beer is the best!  Shortly after we placed our order, Frankie woke up and began to cry, prompting us to request our order to go.  The wails did not subside once we got moving - instead they were joined by Ella’s howls, “he’s too loud!”.  Not long after that ruckus began, it started to pour.   I was going about 30 mph on the highway with my wipers on full blast but we made it home safe and sound and Ella was still able to eat in the car!

  

• Frankie Smiles!

  15Jun
  Categories: Frankie Comments: 0

  

  Frankie has been kind of smiling in his sleep for a little while now, but on Monday he really started to smile those smiles that feel like they’re really meant for you and not just some muscle spasm.  Then on Thursday, Ryan discovered that he could make Frankie smile by rubbing his head.  This trick doesn’t work all the time but I was able to get  one good photo with it!

• Swimming

  11Jun
  Categories: Ella Joy Comments: 0

  

  Ella’s swimming lessons began the Tuesday after Memorial Day, and since the pool is not heated there have been a few days when she has found it a bit too chilly to swim.  When she does take to the pool she enjoys climbing in, doing bobs and kicking.  Tuesday night we attended our first swim meet - Ella isn’t on the team yet, but we had dinner at the concession stand and cheered on one of our neighbors.  I think it may have given Ella a little incentive to stay in the pool a little longer even when it is chilly because she stayed in the water for almost the entire class yesterday!