17 Months and never been this busy!

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!

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!

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?

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!

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

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

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