First Cereals...

Peanut is just shy of 4 months and I went ahead and started him on some rice cereal...Boo thought this was hilarious and wanted to get some shots of this momentous occasion. These are from two different days of feeding him.

Really soupy rice cereal...


Mmmm...yummy!! He likes holding on to the bowl!


Good stuff!!!

Latest Video...

I so enjoy making videos of the boys...this latest one shows Peanut's personality so much!!!!

Peanut's many faces...

Peanut's personality has shot out of him lately...laughing more and crying less, which is always nice. He has mastered the art of putting his paci back in his mouth if it falls on his chest...it's the funniest thing ever and my mom and her friend enjoyed watching him do it this past weekend....so FUNNY! I will try to catch it on video if possible...Aint's he full of cuteness??

This outfit was Boo's and it has little baseballs on it and it says play ball...it's so cute...well, Peanut was having none of it at that moment. He eventually got over it and smiled, but I couldn't help catching his "not so smily" moment. :) He's still cuteness.

We are adjusting to life as a family of 4...it's different and difficult at times, and at other times it seems so easy. I don't take those easy times for granted at all. I said in the beginning that I don't know how people ever have a third...but I could see how that happens...by accident or by divine intervention. :) ha!

Enjoy!

Love,

Karen

My recent favorite picture...

Look how big he looks! This was taken two weeks ago, so he was just under 11 weeks...

Did I mention he is already wearing 3-6 month clothing??? Yeah, my big piggle.

Smily Boy

Peanut began smiling and "talking" last week...so adorable...

Cutie smile...

Brothers...

My sweet boys...I am so thankful for them.

8 weeks

Actually, these are 1 day shy of him being 8 weeks...we are getting ready to go pick up Boo from school.

So bright-eyed!

7 weeks

ahhh, all you moms and dads know the feeling...accomplishment. I never dreamed that in a week things would change so much, or maybe I did dream it, and now it's reality! Praise God!!

Peanut started going 6-7 hours between feedings at night and last night he went 8 hours! Now, I would have gotten about 7 hours if Jeremy had not been at the Tech game last night and he got home at midnight and spent the next hour recapping the day, since we hadn't seen each other all day...none the less, I still feel rested. He woke up at 5:45 and took a bottle and then went right back to sleep...yippie! This mommy is not ready to start her day at 5:45 just yet. His normal wake time is 7-730, so obviously that got pushed back to 8:30 today...which hm, won't quite work for the daily routine, but we can adjust that.

Speaking of accomplishment, I vacuumed the whole house yesterday...it normally gets vacuumed in spurts - one side of the house one day, the other side of the house another day - so this was like a BIG DEAL!

Here are some pictures of our first smiles...

And he's on his way to giving us the famous "Burdette brows"

Enjoy!

Random shots from the past...

Here are some shots from the past week...

Tummy Time

Daddy and his snuggler...

My two boys...aren't they cute??

And the Peanut...I love him

Dedication

We dedicated Peanut to the Lord at church today. He got through it with out a whimper and only spitting up right as the pastor gave him back to me...

Here is our family shot of us right before we went up...

Aren't we cuteness?

Announcing Noah

He's here!

Noah was born Friday, July 11th at 8:28 AM. He weighed in at 8 lbs, 7 oz and 20 1/2 inches long! Weighed less than Boo did, but managed to be bigger in height by 1 1/2 inches! He will be referred to on the blog as Peanut, since that what we called him the whole time in my womb.

Everyone is doing well and we are finally sleeping better...at 6 days old, sleeping better means sleeping in between feedings for me! :) Last night was the best so far. Here's to more of those.

Here are a few pics:

--Karen

MY NEW CHAIR...

I know...a chair is not all that exciting in the grand scheme of things, but people, in my life, it truly is! I have been dying for a chair of my own - I occasionally let my husband sit in it, but most of the time he feels bad and gives it up to me - because our couch needed to hit the road a few years ago and there isn't another piece of furniture for me to sit in that's comfortable...it really has been the most annoying feature of this move. But, alas, I got THE CHAIR.

It first beckoned the call of my mom who saw it at the store and said, hm...doesn't match what she has, but bet she would like it...I give in to her prodding about going to see it and behold, I fall in total likeness with THE CHAIR.

So, here she is in all her glory...well, not really, because I am not actually sitting in it...none the less, she's cute and the total MOMMY CHAIR...which means if you ever come to our house you can expect to see me sitting in it. :) I plan to have numerous pictures of me in this chair. I am sooooooo thrilled!!!

VOILA....

Baby Shower - CHECK CHECK

My two incredible girlfriends, whom I didn't even get a picture together with, threw me an awesome shower at La Madeline. Long time friends from our previous church and sweet, wonderful friends from Duluth came. My mom and my aunt Sheila enjoyed a table with who I would consider adoptive family - Mrs. Jennifer - who is Jeremy's assistant and Boo's former teacher in Sunday School and Mrs. Yvonne - our pastor's wife. The four of them together give off a total "grandma vibe", and my aunt should take that in the highest compliment, because one day she will rock as a grandma...not that she is old. :)

Here are a just the few shots I got:

The cake was made by a sweet friend, Tori. We worked in 2's together at the preschool - she's the best assistant ever...and because pregnancy is contagious (haven't you heard?) she got pregnant right towards the end of our teaching together...God is so funny and yet unpredictable...

Here's a traditional Me, Jae and Betsy picture...long time friends, bridesmaids, confidantes, et al.

And here's the family - My Aunt Sheila, My momma (i.e. GRANDMA) and ME! And for those of you who don't know me well, I NEVER wear dresses...and I wore a dress to the shower...props to me!

Just weeks to go...

New Nephew - Check Check

Our nephew, born to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Tim and Kate, arrived on Friday in the evening time. He weighed in at 7 lbs, 13 oz and his name is William Raymond, to be called Will. Boo is thrilled about his latest cousin and in a few weeks we hope to venture over there to visit him.

This is another item on my checklist that has to happen before I am supposed to deliever our baby. I go to the doctor twice this week, ugh, but none the less, it's good since I am uncomfortable and I have lots of questions after my last u/s appt. I will keep you posted.

Spend the Night

Boo had a spend the night on Friday at his grandma's house. He was sooooooo excited...I think he actually forgot to say goodbye to me! We had a social to attend, but we really just wanted a full nights sleep. He has this annoying habit of waking up in the middle of the night and taking his pallet and bringing it to the living room and laying down on it. This morning he actually got up at 5:30 and turned the TV on...uh, no. I told him to turn it off and he did, but then he brought his pallet to my room to sleep. That lasted about 20 minutes until he crawled into bed with us. By this time, it's like 6:30, so I didn't say anything...I mean, good cuddles are fun! He actually fell back asleep, which was nice...

All that to say...nothing. Absolutely nothing.

You want a cute story? Here's the dialogue from this morning:
So after he did all that nonsense stuff, around 7:45 AM, he comes in sniffling. Sometimes when he is acting sad, he sniffles. So, he was sniffling and I said, what's wrong. He said he "wants a baby." Uh. OK. I just look at Jeremy, who starts to snicker. I picked him up and he hugs me tight and says he "wants a baby." Again, OK. So, like what would you do with a baby. Response: "Um, I would put it in the carseat and put that in the stroller and push it." That's sweet Boo...would you like a brother or a sister. "I want a brother AND a sister." On that note he leaves and I look over at Jeremy (again) and he says, hm...I hope he isn't prophetic.
I can't really decide if I would rather Boo not be prophetic about the two kids...I mean, I would like 2 more, preferably not at the same time, but ya know, God knows, and it could happen.
All that to say...I want a baby. Are you praying?

--Karen

My Friend

Last Friday my friend at the Five Powell's gave birth to a little boy! So cuteness! She just rec-created her blog, so I would love for you to drop her a visit and comment. I just spoke to her on the phone and she is in great spirits...maybe it's because it's her third child.
Don't you know how the phone calls are when it's the first child?? Come on...you remember...

First Tech Game

Oh yes, my dears, it's Football Season! Boo and Jeremy headed to Boo's first GA Tech Game this past Saturday! This is him, all decked out and ready to go. What? You are wondering what the monkey is all about? OH, I am so glad you asked!!! Ben, the monkey, came home from preschool with Boo last week. It was Boo's responsibility to take care (feed, change his clothes, journal) and then today he brought him back to class, with pictures and journaled items to talk about in circle time! It's a very cool thing and we were blessed to have Ben in our home for a few days...now, some other lucky boy or girl will take him home toward the end of the week.
Boo had a fabulous time at his first game with his daddy. I had some girl time with my mom at the very crowded Daisy Festival. Boo had so much to tell me that he did at the game, like yell "GO Jackets!" really loud. We are so proud! :)
-Karen

First Day of School and Pictures

AHHHHH! The first day of school has come and gone...and let me tell you, my feet hurt! Well, at least they did. It was one tiring day, and it was only the first and not a long one at that. We don't have lunch the first week, so it's only 4 hours worth. I will spare you the sorted details of a crying little boy and upset little girl who wouldn't part with her bag...because although it was my first day of school teaching 2 year olds, it was my little boy's first day of school too!! He has two fabulous teachers who have been working together for years. He managed to have a great first day, with only 1 accident, in which they brought him to me to change him, which was okay....he managed to stay dry and clean the rest of the day. Praise the Lord. He is getting bigger by the moments...wanna see?First Day of School picture - new shoes, new shirt, new haircut, although it looks a little rough today! hee-hee This little man of mine was so excited about going to school that while he was waiting in my classroom for the bell to ring, he kept asking me "Did the bell ring yet?", "Was that the bell?" That's how much this kid was ready for school to start!


And, since I didn't give you any pictures the last month, here are some more...
Here are my 3 favorite guys in the whole world!! Papaw, Boo and Jeremy...we are headed into the Braves game, if you can't tell by the shirts that Boo and Jeremy have on!

Here are my two cuties, with Boo actually giving you the cutie face! Priceless.

And the three of us enjoying each other and the game.

So, all is well in Boo-land!

Love,

Karen

Birthday Weekend

Thanks to everyone who emailed me well wishes for my birthday and condolenses for my grandmother's passing. I appreciated all of them.
My 30th birthday was indeed incredible, and isn't actually over yet...y'all know I have until the end of the month!!!!! Seriously, my two best girlfriends are having dinner with me on Thursday night at our favorite place, Cheesecake Factory. I am looking forward to that, as we are going out with no kids. They are the same two who met me on Friday at the local deli, with all our kids in tow (we are outnumberd 7 kids to 3 adults) and we actually had my mom there and one of the other girl's mom there...so, 7 to 5, not all bad. :) We let the kids play in the Pottery Barn kids for a little bit that day too...
My wonderfully, terrific, outstanding, godly husband made me an appointment for that evening at my salon to have my hair highlighted. Oh, it is indeed highlighted alright...looks a lot more blonde now.....ahhh...I have been wanting to do that for a while now. I will have to post pictures soon. After that, my boys took me to Macaroni Grill (my choice) and we had a wonderful dinner and dessert for my birthday! It was awesome!
Saturday was filled with wonderful memories as we honored my grandmother at a memorial service. I spoke and so did my husband and we played lots of her favorite music. My husband's family came and so we all had lunch together at Chili's...another favorite of mine. We spent the afternoon with my mom, uncle, aunt and cousin. It was extremely nice.

Full week ahead, with parent and child meetings this week...we are allowing the little boo man to go to his Nana and Papa's the week and will spend some last summer vacation time with them before school starts. We will be wrapping up birthday month too...in style.

--Karen

Grandma Land

Boo went to Grandma's yesterday to spend the day. Jeremy had to be "in-house" this week and we had no one to keep the little man. Luckily, the grandma came to our rescue! She picked him up at the church and then we went and got him last night. I called to check on him and her during the day...she says he talks big. I agreed. She says he looks taller. I agreed with that too. He is just growing up so fast.
Grandma Land is filled with many things, but two things are for sure...the lay of the land is all for him and the dog, Buzz, is his best friend. He is a big helper, taking trash cans back to the house, getting the mail, and always willing to walk with her when she takes Buzz for a walk. She sets up a pool for him to play and he smells like suntan lotion when I get there. He sure does love his grandma.
The last few weeks he has had some incredible time with his grandparents...I am so thankful for their willingness to take Boo and love and nuture him. They may not do everything like Jeremy and I do, but it's okay; it's the priceless moments that help mold who Boo is. Two more weeks till Papaw comes and spends a few days with us too!!! We are headed to the Braves game!!
His memory is growing and being filled with memories of the last year - Disney, Busch Gardens, and even most recently he is recalling the time he spent with Nana and Papa to us. He knows 8 scriptures very well and told me all about Jonah and the whale from reading a book the other day. He blows my mind.
Happy Saturday to all!
--Karen

Rest of the Week and Home from Camp

Been out of touch, but all for good reason...been on "vacation" from the grind and from the Boo. :) I only worked three days last week, so I was writing my Thankful Thursday from my own room! Thursday was nice! We worked out with a trainer at our apartment complex - that was not the nice part. I didn't eat breakfast, so it didn't start out so good. After an apple it got better, but after finding out the cost I fell into much nausea again. We agreed to discuss it and we would let them know.
After that, we drove up to Helen, GA. Nice drive from our place and we managed to dodge most of the rain. We watch several people make fudge and candy apples and walked around looking at all the nick-nacks. We drove up to Unicoi Lodge and scoped it out...I recalled a retreat I went to there years ago, and Jeremy and I just enjoyed being with one another, talking and sharing and laughing - lots of laughter. He took me to eat at a new seafood place near Lake Lanier park and it was yummy.
Frida we started our day at the driving range. Hubby got a new driver and wanted to try it out. I brought a book to enjoy, but managed to hit a few balls myself. :) I am still learning. We then drove and made a huge decision to join a fitness club. We liked the place, knew some friends went there, and took the plunge. This wasn't a spur of the moment decision; it's been a long time coming. I went to another appt on Tuesday where my BP was still high...it's not just stress...it's LIFE CHANGE and it needs to happen soon or I won't be around to see my child grow up. That might sounds drastic, but it's truth, and I am up to admitting that I need help, so that's why we joined the fitness club. We each have our first appointments on Monday evening.
We topped Friday night off at Stoney River Steakhouse. We didn't gorge ourselves, because, you know, the fitness club, but we did have a great meal.
Saturday, our actual anniversary, was spent going to get the BOO BEAR! We met at a 1/2 way point, had lunch, and then brought our Boo home. He looks so much taller and talks some mature. Oh my heavens...I just missed him sooooo much! I did enjoy the time with Jeremy as well, so maybe in a few months he can go back and spend some time. My sister-in-law wants him now and she didn't get that much time with him...:) He had a great week! We had a great week! Till next time....