Three Jayhawks and a Bulldog

Beckett you are 6 months!!

2011-10-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

My oh my does time fly by! I can't believe my baby boy is 6 months already! It is hard for me to remember life before you lately! You are such a happy baby and just our a joy to be around! Mommy loves you so much!

Here is some information and milestones:

-You cut your first tooth at 5 months, 29 days! You were very unhappy while it was going on. Poor baby boy!
-You are able to sit up for about two seconds. You aren't real steady yet. That's ok, we've got plenty of time to master that!
- You roll over from your tummy to back but still can't go back to tummy!
- You are eating cereal, sweet potatoes, applesauce, and bananas! Mommy makes all your food! It is fun and makes me feel like I am feeding you healthy food! Now that you are eating real food though, you could care less about the bottle.
- You LOVE Burke! You just can't get enough of him. Too bad Burke is pretty busy and doesn't give you much attention. I know someday he will and hopefully you two will be best buds!
- You have started taking an interest in Riley too! I can tell you aren't sure what that white stinky thing is!
- You wear size 3 diapers, 6-12 month clothes, and you are quite chunky! I can't wait to go to your appt. on Monday to find out where you are in height and weight!
- You LOVE to smile and your smile is so contagious! It is just precious!
- YOu love to talk! Especially to daddy!
- You are the worst napper ever. Sorry, little man, but it's true! You also sleep pretty bad as of late. You have been getting up twice a night for a bottle and then at 6 a.m. Mommy is getting a little tired!
- Bless your heart you seem to have allergies. You have had a runny nose for over a month. You can't stand to have your nose wiped either. Poor baby!
-You are now walking with mommy in the umbrella stroller. You love it!! No leaning back for you! You want to be up and see the world! You like walking with mommy! Especially now that it is cooler and you can sit back and watch and hear all the sounds.
- You like to play in your Baby Einstein Activity Center. You really like it if I take it outside!

We are having so much fun with you! You are such a mellow happy baby boy! You have made life so much more fun! I love you and your brother more than anything! I can't wait to see what the next six months brings! Love you Sweet Beckett!

Time is flying by

2011-09-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

I've neglected this blog something terrible! Greg has asked me numerous times to keep a journal of our boys and I've failed him so I've set out today to start keeping better track of the things the boys say and do!

Sweet Beckett is already 5 months old! He is growing like a weed and is just the sweetest little guy! Here are some things the cutie pie is doing!
- Becks is a chunky monkey! He weighs 15 lbs 15 ounces! I'm not sure of his length but at his four month check up he was 25% for height and 50% for weight! Yep, unfortunately for him he is taking after his momma.
-Beckett you wear size 3 diapers and wear 3-6 month clothes.
-Beckett you love to smile! You are the happiest baby I've ever known! Burke was a chill baby, but you are just HAPPY!
-Beckett you love bath time! Oh it's just your favorite time of the day! Daddy gives you the best baths! He makes you all squeaky clean and smell so good! You are dead serious while the water is running, but once he turns off the water you are all smiles!
-You love to sit in your highchair and Bumbo and watch Momma.
-You adore Burke and wish he would give you attention all the time!
- Becks you are a talker! You love to talk and hear your voice! Of course, I love it too!
-You aren't crazy about your paci, you prefer your hands.
-Beckett you sleep from 7:30-8:00 every night with an occasional bottle feeding at 6 a.m.! Whew! I know I am lucky as you have been doing this for at least two months!
-Beckett you take one very good nap in the afternoon usually for 2-3 hours! Burke takes it at the same time...again, I'm quite lucky!
-Beckett you ate cereal a couple of times. You got horrendous gas so the doctor said to wait a while to try again. It's not like you need the calories! ha! Love you Chunky Monkey!
-Beckett you love to sit up and look out! Don't lean you back! That just makes you so mad!
-Beckett you roll over and you have been since you were a month old!
-Beckett you went to Houston and stayed in a hotel, you went to the FT. Worth Zoo, and you were babysat by Kendall and Miss Dionne.

Sweet sweet Beckett you are just so precious to us! You have made our family complete! I love almost every moment with my boys. The moments I don't love I remind myself that these days are so few. Time goes by way too fast! I love you sweet Beckett!

Beckett is one month old!

2011-05-17T06:13:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby boy is one month, already!! My goodness it is going too fast! He is a doll! His big news is he rolled over at exactly one month old! Wow!! Go Beck!!

Beckett is pretty laid back except when it is feeding time! He really lets us know about it! He is 9 pounds 3 ounces! He's doing great at gaining weight. Something I am good at too! He wakes up twice at night to eat and then goes right back to sleep.

Beckett is sleeping on his tummy as he just wouldn't sleep on his back.

He is a CUDDLER!! He loves to cuddle. I can't sit and hold him all day though like I did with Burke. Some little boy wouldn't like that much and his name is Burke.

He isn't really a fan of his swing and not really into the bouncy. Maybe for a bit he will hang out, but not like Burke who would sit in it as long as I would let him!

He is starting to enjoy bath time a little more. He likes the warm water poured over his tummy.

He is lifting his head very well.

He is starting to really like his paci.

He likes to go on walks and car rides.

Beckett has Torticollis. Bummer. Greg and I couldn't believe our eyes when we noticed he was doing the same thing Burke did by looking mainly one direction. So we are doing stretching constantly. I know it isn't a big deal. Being in the NICU is a BIG deal. Having a child that needs to be stretched is not!!

Did I mention he loves his bottle of milk?!

Overall we are all doing well and adjusting wonderfully to being a family of four. Daddy returns to work tomorrow and I'm a little nervous. I know we will get into our own routine and things will be the new normal in no time.

Burke is still not 100% sure of Beckett. He likes him sometimes. He doesn't quite understand to be gentle. But he will learn. He loves to give him his paci. I have been able to convince him to give Beckett a kiss on the head two times. So sweet!

I love my boys so very much! I never dreamed it was possible to love two people so much at the same time.

Beckett Graham

2011-04-30T05:37:00.001-07:00

Beckett Graham arrived April 13, at 12:06 p.m. weighing in at 6 pounds 2 ounces, and 19 inches long! He is a cutie pie! He had a rough start but he is doing awesome now! I keep this blog instead of a baby book (at least at this time). Some of you may find this post boring, but I need to write it all down!

Beckett arrived and did well the first 22 hours. He was able to latch on fairly good, his blood sugar was initially low when he was born but that was no big deal and was easily fixed by giving him some formula. I sent him to the nursery from 1:30-4:30 a.m. the first night so I could get a few hours of sleep. I was feeling great when he came back at 4:30 and nursed him. At 9:00 the Pediatrician came in to meet and access Beckett. He said he looked "perfect"! At 9:30, Chantel, a recent RN grad came into access Beckett. She asked me if his temperature had been running low. I said, no. She took it 3 times and didn't like her reading. She said, I'm going to take him to the nursery and warm him up a bit. I wasn't worried....at all. About 20 minutes later she came in and said the Neonatologist was coming to look at Beck. When he got there it had already been suspected that Beck was having "Apnea", his blood sugar was way low, his resting heart beat was way low, and his temp was too low. They said they needed to keep him in the nursery to watch him but I could come see him. I went right down. i sat with him with all the monitors on him and then it happened. He turned gray. He turned a color I've never seen on a human. The monitors started going crazy. I said, "is that my baby that is making the monitors go off, what is wrong with him"? It was so frightening. When that happened it was then confirmed that Beckett had Sleep Apnea with Bradycardia. The doctor came and told me he needed to go the NICU and be monitored. My heart sank. What was happening? Why was this happening? The doctor told me Beckett was a "near term baby". He wasn't quite ready to be out of my womb. His brain was not making the connection to tell his body to breathe. He explained that Beckett would have to be 5 days without any incidences before he could go home after passing a sleep study. My mind raced. What if he never went 5 days? What if it was something not connected to being "near term"? Ugh........
I left the hospital on Sunday. That was possibly the hardest day of my life. I kissed him and cried and told him how much I loved him. It was terrible. I feel for any parent who has to leave a baby at the hospital. I knew he needed to be there but I wanted him home. But I was scared too. April 16, at 10:33 p.m. Beckett had his last episode. He had it for Daddy. And it has NEVER come back. Each day I would go see my sweet boy at 8:00 a.m. until 1:15, then I would return at 8:00 p.m. until 10:00. I was tired, but you do what you have to do. On Thursday Beckett had a sleep study and passed with flying colors. On Friday, April, 22 Beckett was released to come home!

Beckett is doing great! He weighs 6 pounds 15 ounces! He loves to eat, poop, and sleep! We go through about 4 outfits a day. Those boys and their boy parts! Beckett is on an amazing schedule, thanks to the NICU nurses. He eats every 3 hours, like clock work.

It is so wonderful to have my cutie pie home with us!

2010-12-03T07:50:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to feel like a horrible mother. When I found out I was pregnant with Burke I was a blogging maniac! In fact, I think I blogged every week. Telling all my feelings, the excitement, the symptoms, the poundage I had gained, etc. This time it has been different. I am still very excited, I've still had symptoms I haven't enjoyed, I've still gained weight, but it's different. I think the biggest thing is I have a very active toddler who keeps me busy! Just like now, I sat down to type this, because Burke was with Greg, and within less than five minutes the little cutie came in here to see what I was doing. Life just isn't the same as it was before Burke!

Because I don't want little baby #2 to throw in my face someday that he didn't get a blog dedicated to him I am going to set my blog to "open" readers again and start blogging once a week! I know all 3 of my readers have been dying for updates! So here we go!

I am 18 weeks pregnant! Can't believe I am already 18 weeks!

I have gained 7 pounds. Yuck! I still wear normal chubby girl clothes. I have two maternity shirts and I love them!

I have had several days of mild cramps. Very scary at times, but if I drink water and put my feet up they go away.

At my 16 week appointment I had an ultrasound by an RN. She is 90% sure baby #2 is a boy! We are thrilled if it is actually a boy. We feel pretty confident it is a boy and will be VERY surprised if at my 20 week ultrasound we find out different!

We have a name picked out for both a boy and girl and we will share after our 20 week appointment!

I don't have cravings...well maybe I do for lemon things. I don't have many aversions...anymore.

I am tired a lot!

We are trying to teach Burke that mommy has a baby in her tummy. So far, that is a very hard concept for Burke to understand. He now points at his belly and says "baby"!

On to Burke happenings....

Burke is 22 months old! OMG how did that happen! My little baby is growing so fast.

He wears a size 4 diaper, size 18-24 month clothes, weights 27 lbs, and is 32 inches long.

He is a little talker. We took his pacifier away about two months ago and his vocabulary soared! Very good decision that we made!

He had surgery about a month ago and I am happy to report it is healing very nicely. FINALLY! It was a nightmare at first.

He has a little bit of a tendency to be a bully. We are not sure where this comes from, but we are working diligently on correcting him on this. We will not tolerate pushing and hitting.

He loves his Paige, and squeals with delight when he sees her. They are quite the couple. Paige is 6 weeks younger than Burke. They are adorable together.

We try to have a play date every couple of weeks. His friends are Melodie, Tyler, Jacob, Addison, and of course, Paige.

He is still a HORRIBLE eater. This is a very concerning for us. If he had his way he would live on fruit, cheese, and a few crackers. He won't eat meat for anything. Carrie W, I know you love that!

He loves to color and play play do! Every day he goes and gets his crayons. This week he used the kitchen tile as his paper. Nice.

He loves Team UniZommi, Dora, and Mickey Mouse Club house. He watches too much TV, but whatever!

He loves to play outside! Loves it!

Burke will be such a good big brother. It is hard for me to imagine two little Burke's running around. Actually it scares the crap out of me! Burke keeps me busy!

Until next week!

Alicia

Because I don't want to forget...

2010-10-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Burke was in the living room and "our" song came on. Last year I had to have surgery to find out if I had lymphoma. It was scary. I had a 9 month old and they thought I had lymphoma. The song by Train, "Hey Soul Sister" was popular. The night before my surgery Burke and me danced to it. I held him while big ole' tears ran down my cheeks. The unknown is so scary. It was a great feeling to dance with Burke and the song, I don't know, it was just perfect. The test all came back normal, thank God! Burke and I would hear the song all the time in the car to the point I got sick of it. I started changing the channel when it came on, those darn radio stations can ruin a song! It had been several months since Burke and I listened to the song. Well last night, while doing the dishes, the song came on. Burke was in the front room playing. Out of no where he came running to me and was just smiling and dancing away. He held his hands up to me to show me he wanted me to pick him up. We danced. Just like we did a year ago. This time big ole' tears rolled down my cheeks just because I love that little guy more than life itself!

On a completely different note here is what Burke is up to!

Burke is 20 months! Where is the time going? Please, please, slow down!

Burke knows what a cow, pig, duck, and monkey say.

Burke knows where his ears, nose, hair, belly button, tongue, and feet are.

Burke loves to read books.

Burke LOVES Dora! He loves her with a passion and just smiles so big when she comes on!

Burke can say Mama, Daddy, Grandpa, Grandma, and many other words but those are the important words

Burke has an adorable girlfriend, Paige. Every morning we meet Paige at the park. When he sees her his face lights up. His dimple is huge and he just runs to her. It is so freaking cute!

Burke is fearless. He loves a challenge from sliding down the recliner on a pillow, to attempting to climb up to the big slide.

Burke is a social butterfly! He will go raid others parties like that is a normal thing to do.

Burke eats terrible! He likes cheese sandwiches and fruit. Oh and he will eat a whole can of green beans!

Burke absolutely adores his pacifiers! Lord help me when it is time to give them up. He prefers to have one in his mouth and one in his hand.

Burke is going to be a BIG BROTHER!!

I love you Burkie. Momma can't imagine when another baby comes along, but I know we will all adjust and I know it will be good for you!

17 Months and never been this busy!

2010-06-24T07:39:00.001-07:00

Burke is 17 months! Where is the time going? It is just flying by. I can't believe my baby boy is already 17 months! I get teary eyed thinking how quickly he is growing.

So what are you up to these days Burke?

-You are a little social butterfly. You love people and you don't know a stranger. You say hi to everyone! You definately got my gift to gab!

-You love to wave to people! You do it to everyone!

-You love to go to the pool! Not because you love to swim, you do like to swim, but you LOVE seeing the kids, walking around checking out others drinks, throwing shoes in the pool, checking out what is in others bags. I so wish you would just sit in the pool and splash, but not you! You are on the go! The other day we had a pool party with some friends. We were all eating our pizza and Burke was walking around with Paige (who is 15 months). Someone said, "Alicia did you bring a Sonic drink?" To my horror there was Burke drinking a Sonic drink that he had just found sitting by the pool. EWW!!

-You are on a schedule! Well, almost! You are 17 months and I am embarassed to admit I never conquered the schedule! I have a friend and her daughter is on a great schedule. Burke and I, well we fly by the seat of our pants! No really, you go to sleep around 8:00, wake up at 5:00, yes, that would be 5:00 a.m.! You take one nap a day. I'm calling that a successful schedule!

-You love to walk to our neighbor's house. You expect every time we go outside to get to go to their house. You walk right up to the door and knock. Adorable!

-You still aren't a very good eater. You still love fruit, blueberries being your favorite, cheese (you could eat cheese and blueberries until you are sick), cookies, cheeseburgers, french fries, pizza, and yogurt. Not much else though. Maybe an occasional PB&J or grilled cheese. But you are quite finicky.

-You go into the pantry several times a day to get the cookie container. YOu bring it to me very proudly and demand a cookie! I think it is just the cutest thing! YOU are a mess!

-You scream when you don't get your way. We are working on this one! I don't care for it one bit.

-You love your Crocs and know when we put them on we are going somewhere! You also know we don't wear them in the house!

- You like to help me do laundry. You will pull the laundry out of the washing/dryer machine and hand them to me or just put on the floor!

- Every night before bath time, Daddy gets you nude. Once you are naked you run to me just to show me you are ready for your bath. It is so stinking cute! I love it!

-This month you had a scary moment with the vacuum cleaner. You unplugged it while I was vacuuming. When I went to plug it back in you took off towards the vacuum and were standing right by it. When I plugged it back in it immeditely came back on. It scared the poop out of you and you took off running. I hated to laugh but it was funny. You also tripped so you couldn't get away. I know it sounds horrible but it was too funny!

-When you see Paige you go up to her and say, "Hi" like you've missed her. It is so cute!

-Whatever Paige is drinking even if you have your own tippy cup you both will swap cups just like that's how it is supposed to be. Very funny!

-You like to sit in things. Unfortunatley you are getting bigger and you can't understand why you can't fit.

- You love clutter! I will organize everything and you will notice that your toys are organized and you will just trash it all.

- You are in love with your pacifier. Lord help me when we take it away. I am so dreading that day!

You are the love of my life. Each day is different. You are a mess and I love you being that way! You keep Momma on her toes! I can't imagine not having you. I can't imagine how boring my life must have been. You are the little man of my dreams and I thank God for you daily!

16 months and catch up!

2010-05-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

I know it has been forever since my last blog post. I'm sorry for failing in the blogging world. You see Facebook has made it so easy to keep in contact with everyone that I kind of let this blog slip by. A good friend, started a blo,g as she is having twin,s and well, it reminded me of my blogging while I was pregnant. So, I am going to start blogging again!

Burkie, sweet, sweet, Burkie. Man, oh man, do you keep me moving! Let's see Burke is just growing and growing. He is now 25 pounds and 30 inches long. Maybe a little taller and heavier these days. He is the most adorable little boy I've ever known. He started walking at 14 months and talking! It took him a little longer to walk, but once he learned how he never looked back! He is into everything! Nothing, and I mean nothing, is safe! Burke mainly says "hi", uh oh, and Mama. He can also say ball and dog. He still signs and I have found signing to be rather neat!

Burke LOVES to be outside! He will play outside to sheer exhaustion!

Burke also LOVES older kids. You know the kids that he is way too young to play with. It makes him so mad when I bring him back to the toddler play ground as he so badly wants to play with the big kids.

Burke loves to go to our neighbors house, when they answer he says in his proud voice, "hi" and walks right in! Speaking of going to our neighbors house, Burke loves stairs. He is quite fast at them and can't get enough. We don't have stairs so they are extremely fun for Burke at other people's house.

Burke is sleeping through the night..whew! That was a hard one to figure out at our house! He usually takes one good nap a day. He wakes up at the butt crack of dawn. Literally, he wakes at 5:00 every morning. We really need to work on getting him to sleep longer! He goes to bed though at 7:30. So who knows...clearly we don't! ha!

Burke LOVES TV. He adores Imagination Movers and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I know the smart people say TV is bad for kids, but we just don't fight it.

Burke loves cheese, tortillas, puffs, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, bananas, mandarin oranges, and pizza. He is not a fan of meat. We try at all meals, but usually he spits it out.

The sweetest thing Burke does is come give me a hug. He can be playing and having a ball. Then suddenly he will walk over to me and give me a hug. It's just a quick hug, but boy do I love it!

Burke's favorite part of the day is bath time! He could sit in the tub for hours! Speaking of water, we have gone to the pool a couple of times, and he thinks that is just the best! He loves to get in the water, but he also loves to go search every ones pool bags! haha! He's been known to take a sun block or two!

Did I mention that Burke is the sweetest, cutest, and most adorable baby I've ever known? I have no idea what I used to do before Burke. I love my life! Life with Burke is so fun! Greg and I spend a lot of time giggling at him. He can be quite fun to watch! Like when we go out to eat and he basically joins another table. It's like he has no interest in us, it's all about the table next to us. Or how when he throws something and says "uh oh" about 30 times. Life is so fun with him!

I am doing well! I absolutely love my neighborhood. I have met some of the best girlfriends! Burke has a good friend, Paige. They are so cute when they are together. Paige is just adorable!

I feel like I am forgetting so much. But with any luck I will post more soon!

Oh yeah...well my son can sign!

2010-01-12T06:37:00.000-08:00

Yeah, Yeah, I know what I said about not being impressed about signing. I take that all back. When Burke signed for milk it just made me so excited! While Burke was so sick he had to have Nebulizer treatments every two hours. Getting an 11 month old to sit still during a treatment was pure torteture on him and me. I found that he didn't mind the treatments so much if he could watch Immagination Movers and Baby Einstein videos. So we kind of got in a rut and have been watching the baby signs about once a day. I noticed a few days ago that he was trying to sign. He would do a lot with his hands while watching. And then it happened. While watching the video he saw the milk and did the sign!! Yay, Burke!! This morning when I was making his bottle he did the sign again for milk!

So yeah, my son can sign! And I am just thrilled!!!

Furke? Bert? Brooke?

2010-01-06T06:15:00.001-08:00

I NEVER dreamed Burke would be a difficult name. I mean it is simple. At least we think. I know it isn't a common name. I know it is a surname. I realize it isn't on the top 10 or even top 100 names. But I love it!

I am totally amazed and annoyed with the people who can't figure out Burke's name. When I tell people his name, I say, "Burke, with a K". I usually get this response, "is it a family name?" Nope. Just a name we like! God forbid that the person asking be over 60. If they are over 60 you will never convince them his name is not Bert! Yesterday the health department called regarding B's whooping cough. This is how it went...
Me: Hello
Lady: Can I speak with Woolen's mom?
Me: This is Burke Woolen's mom
Lady: I am calling to get info on Woolen's Pertussis.
Me: Ok. My son's name is Burke his last name is Woolen..the lady paused.
Lady: I need some info on your son.

Now I knew Burke was a surname...but isn't Burke more of a first name than Woolen??

Another time Burke was called Furke! Really? You really think I would name my son Furke?

The doctor's office always calls him Brooke. Just ask me...I'll proudly tell you his name is Burke, with a K!

Happy 2010!

2010-01-04T08:08:00.001-08:00

This blog has turned into a blog for Burke. I'm sorry if it bores some, but I don't have that many readers...so please bear with me!

Burke's first Christmas!

Where do I begin my little sweetheart?! I told Daddy I didn't need/want anything this year because I got the best gift in January! This was by far the best Christmas ever! It was wonderful to hold my baby boy on Christmas. To wrap presents for my baby boy. To bake things that my baby boy would taste. To see my baby boy sit on Santa. To hang my baby boy's stocking! To see gifts to my baby boy. It was PERFECT in every way. Well, except we got sick, but I'll get to that later. On your first Christmas Grandma and Grandpa got here about 2:30 a.m. Dec. 24! Auntie and her family came on the 24th around 1:00. That is when our house got super crazy! Grandpa and Mommy made bierocks. You didn't care for them. Which is ok...most kids don't like bierocks. We all ate and visited. You watched your cousins run around and you tried to keep up! You got pretty tired but refused to go to sleep. You really showed off that you run our house! You had Mommy and Daddy all worked up because you were just so excited and wouldn't sleep! Mommy got all kinds of advice from Grandma and Auntie. When I went to bed my head was spinning. I think I heard enough advice to last a lifetime!!

Christmas Eve we took pictures of us in front of the tree. Then we let each child open a gift. You got a dump truck and school bus from Grandma and Grandpa. You really liked it. You also liked the Barbies that Mommy got for Summer and Lilly! You finally fell asleep around 8:00.

Christmas morning you woke up bright and early! You woke up at 4:45!!! I think you were excited to see what Santa had brought you! You weren't too excited about your gifts. You weren't old enough to unwrap the presents and you couldn't make the connection that they were toys! Oh well...next year. What you did notice and like VERY much was Lilly's Barbie Dream Condo! You LOVED it!!! Forget your chair, bath toy, KU text book, Retro Rocket, Learning Easel, adorable outfit, Planet Earth Blue Ray, Giraffe rug/pillow, forget all that...you wanted that Barbie condo! All day Mommy heard this, "Auntie can you get Burkie?", "Auntie Burke won't leave us alone." You simply wanted that condo! Too cute! On Christmas you still didn't want to sleep. You watched your cousins and you tried so hard to keep up. You ate Peppernuts, Grandma's sugar cookies, summer sausage, crackers, pumpkin bread, poppyseed bread, and you loved it all! There was a lot of commotion but you kept going and going! Until finally you slept.

On Sunday, Grandpa made Biscuits and Gravy and you liked it almost as much as pancakes! You ate it up!

Our company was here until Monday! You had a fun time playing with Summer, Lilly, and Addy. I think next year you and Addy will be quite good friends. This year she was a little too old for you, but next year you will be older and able to stand your ground with her. You had a fun time with Grandma and Grandpa. You think they are both very neat and special. And you are right! They love you so much!

Everyone left on Monday and we slept! We all started battling a cough and cold. So on Tuesday I called the doctor and to my horror I found out you have Whooping Cough. OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had taken you to the doctor Dec. 22 for your cough and runny nose. They tested you for Whooping Cough but I never dreamed you would have it. I was shocked and still am that you got whooping cough. It appears that you got it from Daddy. Daddy had a bad cough for about a month and since we were on the delayed vaccine schedule you were not fully immunized against it. Unfortunately, you got it. I'm so sorry. So they started all of us on antibiotics and said we couldn't take you outside the house for six days! Oh boy! By New Year's Eve you were sounding much worse and we got scared. You were wheezing and running a temperature. So we went back to the doctor. Dr. Owen's said you got RSV/Pneumonia on top of Whooping Cough. You were one sick baby! You have been doing Nebulizer Treatments every 2-4 hours since. Needless to say your New Year's was not too exciting. You were asleep by 7:00 and Mommy (who was now sick too) was asleep at 8:00! Daddy got sick too and so did poor Grandma in Missouri!

On New Year's day we stayed home because we were all sick! We did Nebulizer treatments, gave you bottles, and slept all day. It was a crummy day!

Today though is January 4, 2010 and you are happy and feeling so much better! And so is Mommy and Daddy! You are napping away as I type this. You have smiled so much in the last 24 hours. I have been reading other people's blogs about their baby's first Holiday season and it makes me kind of sad. Sad that we didn't ring in the New Year together. We don't even have pictures of us on New Year's. But I know it is just another day. We will have many more New Year's together. And even though we were sick this was by far the BEST holiday season EVER! I so enjoyed sharing it with you and Daddy. You made me smile so much! Every time I look at you I am reminded how much I am blessed. I am so blessed to be your Mommy. I am so blessed to be able to spend every day with you. I am so blessed that your daddy is my best friend. We are a blessed family. You are the best Christmas present ever. I love you sweet boy.

Mommy

Kreativ Blog Award

2009-12-14T09:24:00.000-08:00

If you stopped by to read this post you probably think it is weird that I am doing this. Clearly I should not be awarded anything for blogging, but someone who loves me thinks I deserve this award!

Here are the rules for the Kreativ Blog Award:

Thank the person who chose you for the Kreativ Blog Award--thank you Carrie!--check

Tell my readers 7 interesting things about myself that you might not already know

Choose 7 more bloggers to be awarded the Kreativ Blog Award and send them a comment so they know they have won.

So here goes. I am not really an interesting person. After reading Carrie's interesting things mine seem really uninteresting.

1. I met my husband, Greg, in the third grade and he was my boyfriend! Yes, he asked me to "go" with him and so I did. We didn't go anywhere, but he was my boyfriend. He moved that same year and long distance relationships just don't last. So we broke up and as I walked home from school he threw a quarter at me from the bus he was riding home on.

2. I got an MIP when I was a Junior in high school. What, you don't know what an MIP is? You must have been a good girl! An MIP is Minor In Possession. I was in possession of alcohol. My parents had left town for the weekend and trusted my sister and I a little too much. A couple of girlfriends and I went out and drank too much. We were hand cuffed and taken to the police station. My parents handled the situation the best out of all the parents. I was grounded for a weekend and couldn't drive my car. They were mainly annoyed because we had to attend some drinking class with our parents. That didn't thrill them to say the least!

3. Oh gee this is hard! I like to mow! Seriously, I don't mind mowing the lawn one bit! Especially when we lived in North Dakota where it was cool. Greg doesn't like that I enjoy mowing. I know it bothers him to see me out there mowing, like the neighbors think he is lazy. He hires someone to mow because he can't stand that I am out there doing it.

4. I have moved 7 times in 8 years with Greg's job! I think I am quite good at moving these days. However this last move with a baby was hard work!

5. I have a trick knee! Since I was in the fourth grade I have had knees that dislocate. Very painful to say the least. They dislocate at the worst of times. The first time I was playing Dodge Ball (love that game), followed by walking down the hall in Junior High, my Freshman year in volleyball practice (let me tell you I felt terrible that all my team mates had to do sprints, but I didn't because I hurt my knee. They had to run the sprints because of me...I was a horrible volleyball player! The last time the knee tricked out on me was after my brother's funeral. Stupid knee!

6. Since I mentioned Volleyball I thought I would tell you about my ability in athletics! I have ZERO ability! My parents had a rule that you tried out for every sport. Well, when you go to a small enough school everyone makes the team. Even the ones who shouldn't! I should have never made the team! I can't believe my parents attended the games. I would have been embarrassed to be my parents!

7. I got caught skipping school my junior year too. My mom was not happy! I had to do a Saturday school and it was horrible! Sorry, but only the really bad kids did Saturday school!

So there you have it. 7 interesting things about me. Now I need to tag 7 people. Here goes!
1. Carrie C.
2. Marcy
3. Oh no I don't know anyone else....

Alicia

Please pray

2009-12-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what else we can do at this time. I don't ask for many prayer request but I am now. If you read my blog please, pray for Marcy, Doug, and Alex. Marcy and Doug are adopting from Russia. They have tried to adopt from China(still in line there after three years), Vietnam, Kazakhstan, and now Russia. Vietnam and Kazakhstan closed their programs while they were waiting for a referral. Now Marcy and Doug are in Russia and the judge is on a major power trip and is close to not letting this couple adopt Alex. Alex, is two and has spent his life in the orphanage. He met Marcy and Doug about three months ago as Russian adoptions are different and you actually meet your child, then go home and come back when you have a court date. This judge nit picked everything Doug and Marcy turned in. It appears to me she wants Alex to sit in an orphanage. I am just sick about this. Please go check out Marcy's blog...where she can explain better than me. Thanks.

http://journey2alex.blogspot.com/

Alicia

10 Months Old!

2009-11-30T07:20:00.001-08:00

Burke is 10 months old! I can't believe my little peanut is almost one. Oh my gosh where does the time go? We are having so much fun being parents. I love, love, love my life! It is just awesome! I am so thankful for God blessing me with Burke. I keep thinking back to last year. Thinking about all I would have to be excited for "next year". I can't believe next year is here and I am buying Burke Christmas presents!

Here is what Burke is doing at 10 months!

Burke is a little cruiser! He is getting quite good at it and can drop one hand. I don't see him walking anytime soon though. Maybe for his 1 year Birthday? No hurry though.

Burke got his first "goose egg" on his head. He fell pretty hard on the tile and we ended up going to the doctor. They checked him and all was well except for a bruise and goose egg. I know it hurt him and it broke my heart.

You are such a little poser. When you hear the flash you will stop what you are doing and just cheese! You have definitely had your picture taken a time or two!

Burke is eating finger foods. But for the most part still eats baby food. He loves those Gerber Puff things.

You know how to let me know you want something I have. You just get mad and cry. You love the remote control, my iPhone, the home phone, cords, daddy's electronics, etc. Anything that could cost significant money to replace you love and want to hold and put in your mouth!! ha!

You got two more teeth this month! You now have three teeth on the bottom and one on top!

You love your pacifier! Lord, help me when I have to take them away. You shove it in your mouth and can do all sorts of tricks with it. Many times you will have a paci in your mouth and one in each hand. Just in case!

You love to take off the door stops and put the little plastic end piece in your mouth. Which about gave me a heart attack when I realized that was what was in your mouth!

You were a bat for Halloween! You looked so cute, but you did not know why you were dressed up! You sucked on a little bit of a Kit Kat! Yummy!

You are such a good baby. You do so well when we go out to eat! Which we are so thankful for because we love to go out to eat! I think that you like to go out because you watch all the people and just chat away.

You love bath time! You love to watch the water come out of the facet. Thank goodness you like baths...your mom is a bit of a clean freak!

Your eyes get bluer and bluer each day. Man are they blue! And you have beautiful strawberry blonde hair with curls. You are just adorable and the love of my life! I love you Burke! Mommy

To my blogging friends. I will try to do better with posting. I decided to leave my blog open for now. I did make it so you can no longer comment as anonymous. You will need to register. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Love,

Alicia

A Change

2009-11-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

I have decided to change my blog. There is a lot I would like to share with my five or so readers, but I don't feel comfortable posting information about Burke to strangers. When this was Alicia's blog it wasn't a big deal. Now that Burke is here I just worry that some people might read my blog for the wrong reasons. Plus, there is a lot I would like to share, but feel it is too personal to share with the world! I am in the process of inviting readers. If you would like to read my blog please let me know. I will post more this week! Have a great weekend!

Love,

Alicia

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-09T17:36:00.000-07:00

Signing and Ice Cream

2009-08-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

Can you believe I am about to write another blog entry?! I mean it hasn't been two weeks since my last entry. I must be crazy!! I have two things to share. The first is about Burke using sign language. Our great friends, Carrie and Brian's daughter, Grace is a signing maniac. Truly, she signs like crazy. While I think this is neat and all I am not quite as turned on by the whole idea. I will be ok if Burke never signs to me. But we do have a video that Carrie got us and we have been watching it. Actually, Greg and Burke watch it. When I sit Burke down to watch tv it is so I can get something done, it isn't so I can watch tv with him! But Greg will sit down and watch the signing videos. And being the great daddy he is, he will do the signs and repeat them to Burke. Occasionally he will sign to Burke "milk", "Daddy", etc. Me, not too into it. Well, Burke has started waving. Like he is saying "hi". I said, "how cute he is saying hi". Greg said, "oh no, he is saying milk". I laughed and said, "yeah, right!" But I did give in and gave Burke milk. He wasn't interested. Greg thinks Burke is learning sign language. Milk being the first sign. I think Burke is waving. Burke thinks, my parents are stupid. I am just figuring out these hands are pretty cool! Carrie this post was for you!

Ice Cream! Greg and I love ice cream! Like truly we love ice cream. Which is the last thing we need to love, but oh well. So the other night we went to Dairy Queen. Yummy! When we got home I gave Burke a little taste. He LOVED it! He screamed and cried when I took it away. I am so proud of him. He knows what good is!

I hope you all are having a great week!

Love,

Alicia

And now for some pictures!

2009-08-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

Update...I have no idea what I have done to my blog. I will hopefully get it fixed some year!

Isn't he a cutie pie?! I know I'm his Momma, but he sure is perfect to me! I am too tired of uploading these to put them in the right order. The pictures are going from oldest to youngest. If someone knows an easy way to upload let me know. I always have to copy and paste them in the correct order. Oh, I just realized I could upload them in order. Can you tell I am tired? Oh well. Just enjoy seeing pics of Burkie! Until next month..or so I hope!

Burke and his dog, Riley

Absolutely adorable!

Adorable!

Yum Yum!

Burke having a fun time in his swing.

Burke sitting in the high chair that I used to sit at! It's an antique! Ha!

Burke is 7 Months old!

2009-08-19T06:46:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I'm really sorry I have been so bad about blogging, but we have had a very busy couple of months, and well, blogging just isn't that important anymore. Whew...where do I begin?! Life has been crazy busy for us. Greg took a new position for the Railroad and left for the new job Memorial Day weekend. Our house went on the market June 12 and we had a contract in three days! I spent about two months being a single parent, I have no idea how people do it. It was hard! Every night we would go to our neighbor Dionne's house for supper and for me to have a wine cooler! Dionne was such a great friend for me! And such a good babysitter for Burke! In the middle of all this we were able to take a week trip to my parents! We had a great time on the lake! Burke got his helmet too. And we celebrated Burke turning six months! We are now all settled in our new house in the Austin, TX area. The boxes are all unpacked and we are getting back into a routine. It is so nice when Greg comes home at night. I hope to never have to be a "single mom" again! I love our new house! I was able to get a one story! My old lady joints really hated the stairs! I finally got a brand new house too! Did I mention I really like it!

On to Burke news! Burke got his helmet June 24. He had his six month shots the next day and the helmet was a no go. He cried and cried and I thought it was from the helmet. Then we went on vacation and Greg and I decided it was just too hot for him to wear it. So at that point we lost about three weeks of wearing time. When we came home July 13 I was determined to have him wear it. I put it on him and only took it off for baths. Well, our hard work paid off. We saw his doctor last week and he said his head looked great and that he didn't need it anymore! I was so happy! His head corrected itself so quickly. We had been told he would probably wear it for three months. Ha! He wore it barely a month! And he didn't mind wearing it one bit. In fact he slept better wearing it!

Burke here is what you are doing these days! Other than bringing your momma more joy and love than I ever knew possible!

- You are sitting up which you have been for a long time!
- You even sit up in the bathtub and you LOVE to splash at your toys.
- You smile a lot. Anytime I look at you and smile you smile. If I talk to you, you smile. You are a smiler.
- You are eating homemade baby food! I have made you carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, green peas, avocados, peaches, mangos, apples, bananas, blueberries. Your favorite by far is sweet potatoes! You are also eating baby yogurt and you like that. You don't like your cereal. I've tried several different things and you just don't like it.
-You out grew all your clothes almost over night. You have a few onesies and outfits that fit, but not much. I had to order from the Gap the other day as I am afraid you won't have anything and all the summer clothes are going to be gone.
- You wear size 3 diapers and 6-12 month clothes.
- You just rolled from your back to tummy yesterday. That was hard for you! You have been able to do tummy to back for a long time, but not back to tummy!
- You got your first tooth yesterday!!! Poor baby, you are cranky! I have been giving you Motrin, but you aren't your happy self.
- You sat in the big high chair at Chili's the other day! You thought you were so big and cool! It was a very pleasant meal for me and daddy!
- You sat in the grocery cart yesterday and you just looked and looked. Of course, everyone oohed and ahhed over you!
- You are trying very hard to crawl but not yet. You sure can move in your crib though. You get yourself butted up to the top and hurt your little head. When you had your helmet you could do that, but now that you don't have it, you wake up with red marks and/or crying.
- You go to bed around 8:00 pm and wake about 6:00. You take a morning nap and an afternoon nap.
- You love your exersaucer! I worried I had spent all this money on it and you didn't like it but you do! You jump and jump!
- You LOVE Riley! You like all dogs, but Riley just hangs the moon! Riley isn't too impressed with you though. What does he know!
- You always laugh for daddy! You squeal and giggle and just have a ball. But mommy can stand on her head and you just smile. I look like an idiot trying to get you to laugh but you won't. I guess I am not funny to you!
- You have become an excellent traveler! You have endured more trips to Houston than any baby should ever need too! I'm not going to brag too much on this one because we have to go back soon!
- You are reaching and grabbing for everything. You have mastered finding your paci and putting it in your mouth. That paci is your BEST friend!
- You rode in your stroller facing forward a couple of times. You seem to like that.
- You have learned if you squirm when I am giving you a bottle you won't fall asleep. It can drive me crazy! You do this especially when it is past your bed time.
- You are sunshine to my days. No matter how tired I am I always smile when I walk in your room to pick you up. You get cuter by the naps! You are so happy! I can't believe you are seven months. I mean, I seriously can't believe it. I hope time slows down a bit. Seven months has flown by. I love you so much sweet boy!

So there you have it. Burke is just a joy to be with. He has been so much fun lately.

I will try to do better with my updates. I'm just busy and I can count on one hand how many readers I have! ha! To all my Houston friends who read this...I miss you terribly. I hope to see you soon!

Love,

Alicia

Burke is 5 Months on his daddy's first Father's Day!

2009-06-21T20:10:00.001-07:00

Today my baby boy turned 5 months old! It is hard to believe. I can't imagine my life without him. I think about what I did before him and well, life was boring. My life is hoping these days! I have so much to share but tonight I will just talk about Burke.

Burke is eating cereal with applesauce in the morning and bed time. He eats with a spoon and has a great time!

Burke is sitting up! He is quite steady and can sit up long enough to play with his toys and for me to go grab the camera and get some pictures!

Burke is sleeping through the night! He sleeps from 8-6! Whohoo!

Burke is very vocal! He has a voice these days and he is very proud to hear himself! He squeals in delight and talks to me all the time. He also loves to flirt. He is quite the charmer!

Burke loves to watch TV. He only gets to watch for one hour, but he loves it!

Burke is standing strong and can't hardly sit still!

Burke realized this week that we have a dog. That this thing, is very different than his parents. He is mesmerized by Riley! He can't look away from him!

Burke also realized this week he has a tongue! He constantly is sticking his tongue out. It is funny!

Burke is a drooling maniac! His shirts are never dry. I don't like to see him in bibs all the time, so most of the time his shirts are wet.

Burke has been to our friend and neighbor Dionne's house three times now, while I've went to doctor's appt. He does great! Of course, they love on Burke almost as much as I do! It is wonderful to have neighbors you can trust and depend on. Thanks Dionne!

We had a great day celebrating Greg's first Father's Day. I love to watch and listen to Greg when he plays and loves on Burke. He is such an awesome daddy!

I have a lot to post about and I will but not tonight. Enjoy the pictures...I can't get blogger to work properly tonight. It is taking forever to upload my pictures. I'll upload more tomorrow.

Love,

Alicia

Welcome

2009-06-18T07:32:00.001-07:00

Hi! I am glad you have decided to stop by and see how we are doing. I will be updating soon on what is going on in our lives. I am still working on getting this blog just right. Stop back soon for Burke news!

Love,

Alicia

2009-04-30T13:03:00.001-07:00