Cannonball!!

As most people know, Brynn is a fish.  She loves the water and goes swimming every chance she gets.  She has been begging us to take Burke swimming in the pool (most days he just hangs poolside with Mom).  So this past weekend Brynn was so happy that Burke got to go swimming with her and loved it!!  Of course he did, his big sister loves it!!  At first Cam tried to ease him into the water until a big splash came from Brynn.  A wet face and a delightful smile from Burke and the three of them were cruising around the pool.  Not long after that Brynn was asking Burke if he wanted to learn how to do “Cannonballs”.  What a good big sister, making sure her brother gets to experience the finer things in life.  She held his hand tightly and counted down until she yelled “Cannonball” at the top of her lungs.  The two jumped in.  Brynn barely made it up above the water and she was asking Burke if he wanted to do it again.  Burke squealed with delight and the two of them would be setting up to do it AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN.  I think we might have another water baby on our hands.          

Perfect "Angels"

For Father’s Day the kids had gotten Cameron tickets to an Angels baseball game for the entire family.  Brynn looked forward to going to the game and had been counting down the days till we got to go.  The day of the game finally arrived but she had gotten sick and had to go to urgent care instead.  She was bummed and was doing everything she could to convince us she felt fine.  You could just see it in her eyes – she felt terrible. 

From that day forward, Brynn was constantly asking when we were going to get to go to a game.  After rearranging some schedules we found a home game that would work.  It was a Friday night game against the Detroit Tigers.  Brynn was thrilled.  She made sure everyone had their Angels shirts and a jacket so they would not get cold.  It was a great game!!  The kids were perfect “Angels” and had a blast.  Brynn intently watched the game while Burke giggled at everyone in the stands.  The kids surprisingly made it through the entire game and the game concluded with fireworks as the Angels beat the Tigers 1-2.  A victory for all!!

Family Fun

Angels Biggest Fan

6 Months Old

Burke is six months old going on 10 months.  He never ceases to amaze me.  He is growing up so quickly and progressing faster than I remember with Brynn.  Since last month he is now crawling.  The army crawl still comes out every once in awhile but for the most part is full on crawling.  He is sitting up tall like a big boy.  And can get to the seated position all by himself.  He is pulling himself up.  And just the other day when we went to get him out of his crib in the morning he was standing up giggling and bouncing.  He was pretty much looking at me saying “mommy look at me”. Let’s just say we were very quick to drop his crib down after that.  More importantly after a break-through at Grandmas, Burke is eating solid foods.  It started off a little rough but now he is eating it with no problems.  He loves it all!!  But he does like to do it himself.  Luckily he will now eat from a spoon and let me guide him.

Stats:

• Weight – 17 pounds 14 ounces (30^th percentile)
• Height – 28 inches (95^th percentile)  
• Head Circumference – 43 cm (50^th percentile)

 

Burke loves:

• His big sister
• Cars and trucks
• Pears
• Holding his own bottle

 

Burke is working on:

• Getting a tooth
• Growing into 12 month clothes
• Keeping up with his big sister

4th of July

The 4^th of July was bitter sweet for us this year.  We had to suddenly go home to say goodbye to Cameron’s grandmother.  She had been ill for a little while.  We did not know how much time we would have with her so we had been trying to make a point to see her the past few times we had been home.  The service was beautiful everything from the flowers, the weather, the service, and the burial.  People traveled from everywhere to say goodbye to a lovely woman.  

Cameron’s entire family came together in Mitchell for the service.  The kids’ spent hours together laughing, playing and swimming.  Brynn shocked me when she even went down the big water slide at the hotel.  I think I have a little daredevil on my hands.  Next, we headed to Sioux Falls for the night to spend time with Grandma Sharon.  After a quick stop at the fireworks stand, Brynn was grinning from ear to ear.  Hours later, after snaps, smoke balls, parachutes, and ladybugs, Brynn was tuckered out.  Here we learned that Burke likes solid foods but wants to feed himself.  He had no problem eating avocado and bananas as long as we put it on the end of a toy that was large enough for him to hold himself.  What a silly boy!    

Lastly we headed to Lake Madison to spend the 4^th of July with Cameron’s family.  Here Brynn spent 2 days following Aiden and Cooper around, playing with Kinley and getting love from Grandma Nancy.  It was cute to watch Brynn develop relationships with her cousins.  She idolizes Aiden and wants to do everything he does.  Kinley and her played so well together.  They rarely fought over toys and were always right next to each other.  During nap time we could hear them talk and giggle – it was so cute.  The weather was beautiful and not too hot.   Burke enjoyed the fresh air and took long naps.

Despite having to say goodbye to a wonderful women, it was great to be together and spend the weekend celebrating Grandma Weber’s life and the 4^th of July with family.  

Five Months Old

Burke turned five months old on Sunday.  Brynn celebrated by baking cupcakes and Burke celebrated by taking an extra-long nap.  Over the past month Burke has started to eat oatmeal, is rolling over both directions, is trying to crawl and likes to stand.  The funniest of accomplishments is Burke trying to crawl.  His little legs get going so quickly that his arms can’t keep up and he ends up just scooting across the carpet.  I always worry his poor cheeks are going to get red from rubbing on the carpet so I am quick to pick him up or make him lay on his back and roll.  Plus, I am not quite ready for him to be quite that mobile. 

Cupcakes!!

5 Months Old

Burke loves:

• Being outside

• Toys

• Standing

• To belly laugh

Burke is working on:

• Eating  his vegetables

• Holding his own bottle

• Crawling

Holy Water

Father Cimpl held a lovely baptismal ceremony for Burke while we were home at the end of May.  As he did for Brynn a few years back, Father Cimpl gathered the family together at St. Michael's to welcome Burke into the Catholic community. 

Unlike his sister, Burke was happy to be there and happy to get the holy water poured on his head.  He smiled and cooed throughout the entire ceremony and was amazed by the candle one of his godparents lit for him. 

The ceremony reminded me of all the joys of the church, its community, and having the experience to go to O’Gorman and grow in your faith with all of your friends around you.  I hope my children can experience something as special as that one day.  The ceremony also reminded me of all of our wonderful friends and family that support us and are great role models for my kids despite us living 1,800 miles away.    

The Newest Addition

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit Cameron’s sister over Memorial Day weekend and meet their newest addition.  Kade Weinstein was born on May 9^th and was only two weeks old when we arrived.  He is so sweet and such a good baby. 

The weekend was wonderful and too short as always.  Kade and Burke ate and slept all weekend.  Luckily for all of us, the two babies were “along for the ride” and cooperated the entire weekend.  Separate from the babies were the exhausted girl cousins, Kinley and Brynn, that had many late nights and played till their hearts were content.  The dads took the girls swimming every day where they would swim around the lazy river and relax in the hot tub.  The weekend included the zoo, barbies, bubbles, roasting marshmallows, and slumber parties. 

It is going to be wonderful to watch the set of boys and the set of girls grow up together and be close friends like many of us were with our cousins.  We can already see that with the girls as they remember each other and remember how much fun they have together.  Brynn is already asking when we get to see the Weinstein family again.  

Where to next?

How about the gorillas?

We made it!!