Let's Celebrate

As we were setting up for Burke’s birthday party at the park, the Santa Ana winds picked up and blew everything everywhere.  Nothing was safe.  Brynn was chasing down the cupcake tree, while grandma was grabbing the treat bags, and I was holding down the tents.   Therefore, roughly ten minutes before guests were expected to arrive we had a venue change.  Cameron was in charge of notifying the guests, I was packing the car, and grandma was grabbing everything else. 

Over the next 15 minutes it was all-hands-on-deck.  We moved furniture, cleaned-up, sat out the food, and found some entertainment.  Everyone showed up on time and pitched in to help.  Once everything was set up, the fun began.

The kids wore cute animal ears and played in little camping tents with woodland stuffed animals.  They pulled toys out of the bins and munched on apple sauce and gold fish till their stomachs were full.  For the next birthday party I don’t think I will prepare anything else!!  Burke loved playing with his friends and running from room to room to see what was going on. 

This was until it was cake time.  We put him in his chair and lit the candle.  Fear came over Burke’s eyes quickly.  Burke was petrified and quickly started to cry and shake.  Brynn quickly blew out the candle in hopes Burke would calm down.  The poor guy wanted nothing to do with the cake with or without the candle, people around, singing…you name it ....he HATED it.

Yummy cupcakes!

It ended up being a great party with a few friends and family.  It was not exactly what I had envisioned but it was comfortable and cozy with happy children running around playing and laughing.  

1 Year Old

I cannot believe Burke is ONE year old.  I swear we just brought him home from the hospital a couple of months ago.  We were all sitting around holding him, Brynn was singing twinkle twinkle to calm him down and we were all getting used to being a family of four.  And the craziest part is, he is not a baby anymore, he is a little boy.  He is running around getting into everything and moving up to the “big kid” room at daycare.  Too many changes, too quickly for this momma.  Burke is such a sweet little guy with his little grin and eye twinkle.  But don’t let it fool you.  He is just plotting his next adventure and will soon be up to no good.    

    

His class at daycare celebrated his birthday at exactly 11:09am when he was born.  It was so sweet of his teachers to do that and to remember to send me some pictures immediately after.  We also celebrated at home with Burke’s favorite meal of lasagna, bread, and strawberries.  We had a cake and sang but he was not happy with that.  So we opened gifts instead.  Happy birthday Sweet Boy!!  I cannot wait to see what the next year brings.

Stats:

• Weight - 22 lbs 10 oz (50-75 percentile)
• Height - 31 1/2 inches (95-98 percentile)
• Head Circumference - 46 1/2 cm (50-75 percentile)  

* Burke is exactly 1 lb heavier and a 1/2 inch taller than Brynn was on her 1st birthday.  However, their percentiles are exactly the same.  

Burke loves:

• Climbing (on everything)
• Music
• Airplanes and cars
• Sorting and stacking blocks

Burke is working on:

• Eating at the "big boy" table at daycare
• Getting more teeth
• Eating more vegetables
• Drinking whole milk

Christmas 2014

We had a delightful Christmas with 10 days of Christmas activities in Sioux Falls.  We saw lots of family and friends and even got to enjoy some snow.  Unfortunately, I was so focused on all of the festivities I did not take many pictures.  But the best part was spending ten days of quality time with these two adorable kiddos.  Enjoy!!

Putting the stockings out for Santa

Merry Christmas

Looking at the tree with amazement

Running to see what Santa brought

Burke and Kade with Grandma

Finally!!!  Snow!!

Sledding!!

11 Months Old

I thought I had this parenting thing down.  Brynn was always a nice, quiet, playful baby that ate fruits and vegetables.  As long as she had a clean diaper, milk and some cucumbers life was easy.  Well I have come to realize that is not good parenting, it is just personality differences.  We have parented Burke almost the same way as Brynn and they could not be much more different.  Burke is crazy.  He is into everything.  And I mean, the second you pull him out of one situation and put away whatever he was not supposed to be doing he is already into something else.  And the climbing….oh the climbing!  He climbs on everything – his toys, speakers, furniture, boxes, people.  He now knows how to get up onto our ottoman and couch without stepping on anything.   Oh man, it is a nightmare!!  He knows how to climb up, but cannot climb down safely.  He either just walks straight off the couch or gets down head first.  You would think he would have figured this out by now, but no.  Despite his craziness, we love him dearly and cannot believe is going to be one years old soon.  He is the funniest, silliest little “old” man we know. 

You would never know he is so crazy by looking at this face

What up?

Burke Loves:

• Climbing
• Rough-housing with his sister
• Meat and potatoes with a few pears
• A good party
• To dance

Burke is working on:

• Figuring out how to get off the couch without going head first
• More teeth
• Drinking whole milk - He HATES it!

Christmas Program

As not to add any more chaos to our lives during the holiday season, Brynn’s Christmas program ended up being scheduled for the morning we were leaving to go back to Sioux Falls for 10 days.  On top of that, a note was sent home with very specific clothing items she was supposed to wear.  So in addition to packing for the 3 of us (Cameron can handle his own chaos), I had to hunt down a red dress, white tights, and black shoes.  Because I was on such a time crunch the dress ended up being too short, the tights too big, and the shoes slipped off when she walked too fast.  I mean come on!!  In any sense, we made it work and she looked adorable. 

Brynn loves music, loves singing, and loves dancing.  Therefore, she could not wait to perform at the Christmas program.  I would catch her practicing the songs while she played with her dolls or colored.  She would immediately stop practicing the second she thought I was getting too close.  It was too cute.  She did a great performance.  She sang loudly and did all the hand motions (as Mom cringed when she had to lift her arms).  All in all it was a great performance and her class was by far the best and the cutest.  Mrs. Jenny always goes above and beyond.  

Its Beginning to Look a lot Like….

Christmas is just right around the corner and the anticipation is building in the house.  The kids helped decorate the tree and just love to sit and stare at it.  Burke is amazed at the lights.  And when he first went to touch the tree he got pricked.  For the next few days afterwards, he shied away from touching the tree and would just look.  Unfortunately, those shiny ornaments and bright lights got the best of him and he went in after them.  Which means instead of just gazing at the tree every night, we are constantly yelling “Burke, NO TOUCH”.  Well at least he has not brought the tree down, YET.  Brynn loves to check the water every day to make sure the tree is not thirsty but unfortunately she still reminds me that she wants a “snowy” (or flocked) tree next year.  She says the snowy tree is like South Dakota where we celebrate Christmas.    

No holiday season is complete without a trip to visit Santa Clause.  Luckily for us it did not entail long lines or impatient Santas’.  There was no line so we got to sit back and check him out before building up enough courage to sit on his lap.  Burke was stiff as a board and very unsure of the situation.  I think another few seconds and we would have lost him.  But once Brynn warmed up to Santa, she did not want to leave.  She kept chatting with him and went through her entire Christmas list item by item. 

1. Play-doh cake
2. Doll
3. Dora bracelet
4. Lunch box

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a very quiet Thanksgiving this year.  We spent the long weekend relaxing and getting ready for Christmas.  The weather was beautiful so we spent the morning at the beach walking and playing hide-and-go-seek.  We later spent the day at our close friends’ house playing with the kids and eating a nice meal. 

This year we are most Thankful for:

• Two healthy and happy children
• The love and support of our family and friends
• The chance to spend so much time with our loved ones this year
• The hours between 10pm and 7am when the kids are sleeping