Moments that Matter

Boo boo

2012-02-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

Boo boo turned 5 months on January 22nd. Boo boo, who? Boo boo is the nickname Jacob gave Jonah on the way home from Indiana New Year's weekend. It's cute. We call him Boo boo a lot.

Jonah is active now with everything in his mouth, including the feet. It was so cute to watch him do this. He gnawed on his foot for at least 5 minutes! I also love these pictures because they show the cute mole on the back side of his leg! I remember right after he was born in my tiredness I couldn't understand when I couldn't get the poop off his leg. Then I realized it was a mole. :)

This is the way we often find Jonah. It is the funniest thing. He always, I mean always, has his feet in the air! Here he is taking a bottle with his feet in the air. We've even caught him sleeping in the crib with his feet in the air. He's still so active with his legs as a lot of mornings, whether he slept in a snapped or zipped sleeper, his legs are out of the leg holes and all bunched up in the belly of the sleeper. Crazy kid!

Active and rolling. He rolled belly to back a few weeks ago and finally this last week rolled back to belly. He'll be on the move soon!

We haven't started food yet with Jonah. I waited until Jacob was 5.5 months, and I'll probably start Jonah at 6 months. He's starting to get interested and is reaching for stuff a lot more. Right now he seems content with bottles. I nurse him every morning, and he typically gets 3 or 4 bottles the rest of the day with the last bottle being his formula bottle. After my test I hope to try full time breast feeding again, but we'll see if my supply will increase with on demand feedings on the weekends. My goal this time around has always been to get to at least 6 months and we're almost there. As long as he is nursing at least once a day, that's important to me.

We don't have any teeth yet, but like Jacob, he drools a lot and it has caused awful red irritation on his neck and cheeks. Poor guy.

Both Matt and I have noticed that Jonah "talks" way more than Jacob did and is more active with his hands pulling at things on his floor mat and bouncy seat. He is babbling all the time. Uh-oh! Believe me, our house already has enough chatter going on with Jacob! In the mornings he'll wake up anywhere from 6:00-6:45 usually and he just lays in his crib and talks. Jacob and I LOVE to go get him and he just looks up at us and gives us a huge smile when we peak over his crib! Even though he's hungry at this point in the morning, he is very laid back and easy going.

I fear writing this on the blog because I usually end up eating my words but he still sleeps great. Usually around 8:00-6:30. I'd say 90% of the time without a peep! I told someone at work this a few weeks ago, then sure enough I ate my words as the next two nights Jonah woke up at 4:30 AM. He "talked" for about 5 minutes then went back to bed. I didn't even get up. I remember a few nights being up with Jacob and he was crying and I would have to use the 5 S's to get him to quiet down. I have yet to be up with Jonah like that. It's crazy! I know, I'll eat my words in a few days! I tell people Jacob was an easy baby and Jonah is even easier.

He's such a blessing! We adore him!

NEW CAR!!!!!!!

2012-02-03T17:19:00.000-08:00

This picture cracks me up! This has been the scene at our house the last 4 weeks.

The picture makes me laugh for multiple reasons:

1) My car has been outside the garage the past 4 weeks which has meant scrapping it before I go to work in the morning.

2) Jacob's car is in the garage.

3) There is actually snow in this picture and the pictures below. A rare thing to see this winter.

4) We've been talking about getting a new car since after last winter. It's already picked out. While Matt and I have had MANY discussions about a different car as whether it's an SUV or a mini van, a vehicle with more room is more convenient with kids. The financial side of me doesn't feel is makes sense to do it yet. Matt would feel more comfortable with a 4 wheel drive vehicle. This was the main point of our conversations. So the humor in this picture is that Jacob got a new car first, and we have had SO LITTLE snow this winter the need for a 4 wheel drive vehicle hasn't come into play at all.

The picture makes me laugh. :)

The car was a gift for Jacob from my dad. Gotta love Craigslist. Grandpa Roger bought a John Deere tractor and gator a few years ago for all the boys to use. We just don't have room in our garage so Jacob has only been able to use it when we went to my sister's house. My dad wanted Jacob to have something, so he bought the Corvette for Jacob to enjoy!

Dad brought the car up in his trunk (yes, I said trunk, not truck!) the weekend of Jonah's dedication on January 8th. Again, we actually had a bit of snow this day, but I remember the temps were 30's and close to 40's so we enjoyed the car a bit outside.

Since Alden and Logan were up for Jonah's dedication, they got to "cruise the cul-de-sac" in the Corvette too!

And for the record, IT FITS! Matt is an amazing organizer! Just this week he reorganized our garage. We now have Cozy Coupe's and Jacob's bike hanging from the side walls in our garage, but the Corvette fits. And my car is back in the garage. Ahhhhhhh............. :)

Snow monkeys!

2012-02-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

We have snow monkeys at our house! This is the cutest picture!

One of my older sisters gave Jacob and Jonah these hats for Christmas. They are the cutest things and we get so many compliments on them!

We had both boys outside to enjoy one of the "bigger" snowfalls we've had this winter. I didn't keep Jonah out long. Typical of this winter it was "warm" out and in the 30's. Nice for January. He did well but was kind of expression-less when we were outside so I wasn't sure if he was cold or amazed by all the white. So we didn't stay out long.

Daddy had fun sledding with Jacob. The sled above was actually Matt's sled when he was a boy. When Dave sold the house this summer, he found it and gave it to the boys. Fun! I love "hand me downs". Jacob also has Matt's dresser and chest of drawers in his room from when Matt was growing up.

I already told Matt that one of the things I loved about being outside this time was when Matt sat on the sled and as he waited for Jacob to get on it with him he asked, "Jacob, do you think there is snow in heaven?" A profound question. Our hearts have been thinking about heaven lately. This is not our home. :)

An old special friend

2012-02-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

Jacob said good-bye to an old special friend last week, Froggie.

Froggie had gotten, well, stained, crinkled, and kinda gross. The last few months Jacob has started dragging him around the house more, while typically Froggie would stay in his room. He has always biten on Froggie, sometimes even saying, "One more bite," before he would put Froggie down.

Five Swans still had other Froggies, so I went and got a new one. Jacob has adjusted fine. He loves his new Froggie.

The funny thing was, "What do I do with old Froggie?" I couldn't imagine throwing him away right now. He is such a special part of Jacob's childhood. The other funny part is that when Dave sold the house this summer he gave Matt his, "Matt box." Karen had kept Matt's baby bedding, some little jerseys, toddler overalls, etc. We ended up throwing it all away. We didn't want it. Those items were special to Karen as a mom, not special to Matt as an adult.

So this mom will keep old Froggie for awhile, but eventually, probably when Jacob is really old, he will be thrown away. :)

Family time

2012-02-03T07:04:00.000-08:00

Having Matt at home has given us the blessing of more family time, most days, when I'm not studying. Since I'm home every Friday anyway, it feels like we always have 3 day weekends now!

Some of the things we've been up to a few weekends ago are "the throw game" with Jacob where we threw plastic nuts and bolts from his workbench at a ball. Of course you can't cheat and cross over the line as you throw! And pushing Jacob around in a small plastic storage container. He uses spatulas as his oars and we image we're in the ocean spotting different fish. And sometimes we stop at an island to purchase a boat for Jonah, as Jacob hands the money to "the guy". He is always thinking of Jonah! Toddlers enjoy such simple things.

We went to CCC swimming on Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday. Jacob had been asking to go swimming. This was Jonah's 2nd time in a pool. He's not fussy about it, but not real excited about it yet. As we got Jacob out of the swimming pool to dry him off he looked back at the pool and said with a contemplative tone, "Sure was fun in there." Matt and I just looked at each other and started laughing! The things this kid comes up with makes us laugh everyday!

This picture makes me laugh! Jacob, of course being silly sitting in Jonah's bouncy seat, dangled his feet off the edge and simply said, "Mom, will you rub my feet?" It was pretty cute. So this night everyone (except sleeping Jonah) got a foot rub as we brought out the lotion bottle. And Matt says I never rub his feet! :)

That same weekend Jacob and I received a blessing from my friend Shannon, "Elmo Makes Music" tickets! He and I enjoyed the show with Shannon and Addy dancing to the music and shouting out the letter and number of the day, "J" and "8". Jacob wore his Jayhawk hat to the show. At the beginning all the characters were on stage, dancing and singing. Jacob looked at me and said, "Mom, they like my Jayhawk hat!" Yes, of course that is why they are dancing, singing and having such a good time. You have your Jayhawk hat on! :) Again, where does he come up with this stuff?

Yes, I paid $15 for a spinner. Very unlike me, if you know me. But well worth it as both boys love it as Jonah loves to watch the lights and the spinning.

Jacob is such a big boy now. I feel like I noticed it when he turned 3 in December and these pictures show, he's a cool, sports dude often in his Jayhawk baseball cap and of course his football jersey.

Almost there

2012-01-29T12:51:00.000-08:00

I'm almost there. It has been a long road, but I am almost there.

I am set to take the CFP (Certification for Financial Planners) test on March 16 and 17th. The test is 4 hours on Friday and 6 hours on Saturday. I will have to wait for the results for 8 weeks.

I tell Matt that I think about what my reaction will be when I am done. After I would take each of the 5 different qualifying tests I took I never knew whether I should cry, scream, or throw up. I'm not kidding. That was how I felt after most of them.

I'm almost there. Now we combine all them into one BIG test. My mornings, afternoons, and evenings are spent studying. God, family, and relationships come first (I'm really trying to stick to this!) but most other waking hours are spent studying.

And when I'm done with this BIG test what will I do? I really think I will drop to my knees in tears of praise and relief. And then we're planning a family trip to Florida in celebration of whatever the score says! Can't wait.

I'm almost there.........

I think I did this post more for encouragement for myself than anything else. :)

Daddy at home

2012-01-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

Matt has been home for 2 weeks now and what a blessing this time is to our family!

When Jacob was born I was home on maternity leave for about 10 weeks before going back early. At that time, Matt was laid off from the recruiting industry and would get to be home for 6 weeks with Jacob. Matt and I have said many, many times how special those 6 weeks were for our family and for Jacob. We always wanted the same thing for our next baby, but were never sure how it would all work out.

God knew! We are so thankful Jonah, and Jacob, get this time to be home with daddy! Jacob still goes to school Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday but he's home Mondays with daddy, and we're all home on Fridays. I have told Matt over and over again what an amazing job he is doing with the boys! He really is!

This time is such a blessing for me to have Matt at home to help to get dinner ready before I get home at night, do laundry, dishes, etc. I have been extra careful not to give him a "honey do list" each day! :)

I also know Matt's time at home is a gift to me to ease my load right now as I cram for the CFP exam in March. Having daddy available to be with the boys makes it easier on me to be away when I have to go study.

Matt received the CCC staff exemption for me right after New Year's, and he completed a 34 page application within 5 days. His application is in process now. He's had his financial consultation and will have his face to face interview this week. Everything is moving very fast! We are very thankful all his going smoothly, but also very much enjoying this extra family time of having daddy at home!

Jonah's Dedication

2012-01-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, January 8th, we dedicated Jonah during our 5:00 service. It was a day full of lots of family.

My dad and Kris and Jared and the boys were able to come down for lunch and Stef and Trevor joined us at the house later. Melissa and Paul and the kids were with us at church. After the service we hosted a pizza party with Dave, Marcos and Lindsay, Lynn and the kids, and Brage, Myles, and Emma. We felt so loved that so many people joined us for this important day!

"Grandpa, those are my feet!"

Typical Jacob fashion lately, he puts on a concert for Grandpa and Jonah.

Auntie Stef gives Jonah some love!

As we dedicated Jonah and made the public commitment to raise him up in the ways of the Lord it brought memories back to dedicating Jacob. I remembered tears filling my eyes on stage as we dedicated Jacob. Such a big commitment but sooo important!

What was special about Jonah's dedication is that Denise McMillan, the Director of our Children's Ministries, did it. Denise knows Matt and I pretty well and she made the dedication personal to our family as she thanked the Lord for the influence Jonah's family will have on him, even the influence of Grandma Marilyn and Grandma Karen from heaven!

Tummy Time Fun!

2012-01-08T19:08:00.000-08:00

Who knew tummy time could be so fun........and so messy!

Love, love, love this baby boy! :)

January 5th, 2002

2012-01-05T04:22:00.000-08:00

It was 10 years ago today that I learned the power in a moment.

I remember coaching my grade school basketball girls that morning. I remember standing in the school parking lot that day bickering with my college bestfriend, Kelly, over who was going to drive to my nephew's birthday party. I remember her saying, "Keri, I just filled up with gas. It's my dad's car. Let me drive." At that time I had no idea how those words would still stick with me today.

I remember being at the birthday party. I still remember my mom's laugh. I remember her joking about how cold the basement was in the house and how she was going to dump out the ice in her pop because it was making her colder. We all laughed. She was always the life of the party.

I still remember trying to convince Cleon. I wanted mom and Stef to see the house I was renting. He wanted to get on the road home. After a little persuading, he agreed. Mom and Stef would come with Kelly and I. We'd meet him later.

I still remember going out to the car with Kelly to warm it up. We waited and waited for Mom and Stef to come to the car. I remember going back in the house to get them. The last thing I remember is walking out the door of Russ and Pam's house.......

I don't remember walking to the car. I don't remember offering my mom the front seat. I don't remember the collision. I don't remember the helicopter ride. I don't remember the hospital visitors. I don't remember 99% of my time in the hospital. I don't remember 99% of the speech, physical, and occupational therapy that would follow my time in the hospital.

I don't remember the 3.5 hour ride down to my mom's funeral. I don't remember 99% of the funeral. I don't remember my uncles carrying my wheel chair down through the snow to the grave site. I don't remember talking to people after the funeral. I don't remember the ride back up to the hospital in St. Cloud that night.

I remember saying good-bye. I remember someone opening my mom's casket. I remember all the family standing around her casket. I remember asking Kris if I could give her a kiss to say good-bye. I remember Kris saying she had given mom many kisses. I remember standing up from my wheel chair. I remember bending over to give her a kiss, then it's gone.............

Someday I want my boys to know the amazing story of what God did 10 years ago today and in the years that followed. I want them to know the amazing power, strength, and love that is offered to them through a relationship with their Creator. A Creator that loved me so much to give me one of the most meaningful memories of that time in my life, the memory of saying good-bye to my mom.

I said it in my Christmas card a year after the accident, "I'd go through it all again to feel the Lord so near to me (as I did during that time in my life)."

It was 10 years ago today that I learned the power in a moment.

Adventure

2012-01-03T20:42:00.000-08:00

Over 8 years ago in October 2003 Matt proposed to me and asked me to join him on an adventure called marriage. Our adventure just got a little crazier but we are SO EXCITED for the ride!

Today Matt quit his job. We are SO EXCITED! (Yes, I already said that.) Excited that he is done, but excited for what lies ahead.

Once all the logistics get worked out, Matt will be joining Campus Crusade for Christ in their Major Gifts/Acquisitions department. The main logistic that is being worked on and prayed over is that an exemption would be allowed for me, as CCC normally requires the spouse to also join the ministry. In our case, I will stay where I'm at.

This job is Matt's dreams. The Lord has divinely put all the pieces together the past 9 months. Matt commonly refers to a quote I actually told him while we were dating. I don't remember who said it but it says, "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, because what the world needs is people who come alive!"

Ministry makes Matt come alive! We know there will be a long road ahead of working to get the exemption, finishing the application process, raising a prayer support team, a financial support team, and having Matt work part-time and stay at home with the boys, but we are excited for the ADVENTURE!

The final Christmas

2011-12-31T23:50:00.000-08:00

We left Thursday for our final Christmas celebration in Indiana. This celebration would be one of a few "firsts".

With Dave, Pat, Lindsay, Marcos, Matt, me, Jacob, and Jonah, we couldn't all fit in one car anymore. This would be the first time our family of now 4 would travel alone. Due to some last minute complications with Matt's job he could not leave on Thursday, so we purchased a one-way ticket to Indy for Friday night. For the first time, I would be driving all the way to Indiana with Pat as my co-pilot and Jacob and Jonah as my passengers. And for the first time, Lindsay was bringing a friend, Marcos, to Christmas.

To make the ride easier on the boys Matt and I had planned to stay at a hotel in Rockford Illinois Thursday night. We had hoped it would be a fun family night but since he couldn't leave work Jacob and I had tons of fun in the zero entry pool and Jonah, well, he didn't like his first pool experience as much as we thought he would.

Indiana is always a fun time seeing family. We celebrated Christmas on Sunday, January 1st. As you can see, Jonah received lots of attention and love as this was his first meeting with the Burton family.

The Burton Christmas is always held at Fairfield Contractors in their basement. Matt's uncle owns the business. Paul has a huge train set that the kids always LOVE!

I asked Matt to take this picture of Jonah. I think he thought I wanted it of Jonah with the train. Really I wanted it of Jonah's matchy, matchy outfit. So a-typical of me, his shoes match his shirt!

And a little fun and games at the Burton Christmas too! :)

We celebrated the Burton Christmas on Sunday, January 1st, but I'm getting ready to print my blog book so I had to post this one in December for 2011. :)

At 4 months

2011-12-30T03:57:00.000-08:00

Jonah turned 4 months on 12/22. I can't even begin to describe how much I LOVE having a baby in the house again! We have sooo much fun with this little one!

Jonah is a very playful, smiley baby. As I have him over my shoulder and we are out and about often people start laughing and say, "He's smiling at me!" He smiles at everyone! His smiles are complimented by tons of giggles, those loud squeals and funny gasps of air as he laughs. We have a lot of fun with this one!

Daddy and Jonah have some play time together.

Jonah is an active one with his feet and legs. He often gets all tied up in his sleepers because he kicks his legs loose.

And he LOVES to stand up! I call him my proud peacock when he does this. It is the funniest thing! He stands up straight, puffs his chest out, lifts his head, and shines a bright smile and if to say, "Yep, look at me!"

I don't have the stats with me as I do this update but Jonah was around 15 pounds at his check up clocking in around 55% with weight, 35% for height (gulp!), and 70% I think head circumference.

Jonah went from 85% weight to 55%. The dr. asked if I had supply issues. Jonah is sooo content and he was so big so I dropped him down from 5 feedings to 4 around Thanksgiving. He was content with it, so I figured it was ok.

We are, however, having serious supply issues. It was the perfect storm. Within 7 days I went back to work, was up all night with Jacob with the flu, busy with a birthday party, getting ready for Christmas, and I got the flu which meant I hardy ate or drank for 3 days and wasn't taking my 15 fenugreek capsules each day. The perfect storm. We'll see what happens. I can only nurse 1 or 2 a day because there isn't enough milk there and the other feedings we give breast milk and supplement 1 formula bottle a day.

It's been such a blessing to nurse Jonah. It's been fun as this kid is always so happy and fun to cuddle with. We'll continue as long as we can. We fought too hard in the beginning to be able to nurse to quit now. :)

Christmas Eve

2011-12-27T18:39:00.000-08:00

This year was a great Christmas for me. I loved being at home with all 3 of my boys for 4 days straight! Now that I'm back at work, it was just nice to be home again.

We aimed to keep Christmas simpler this year. We weren't able to see everyone, but our schedule this year was much easier on the boys (and Matt and me), especially since the flu visited our house last week.

Christmas Eve has always been spent with the Burton's. We went to the 4:40 family service and then headed upstairs to take some pictures. So glad we took the time to take these. My only regret is that Matt and I didn't take one of just the two of us. Next year!

Auntie Lindsay came home from Argentina on Wednesday, 12/21. She brought a friend, Marcos, with her. They have been spending a lot of time loving on the boys!

Yep, squirmy baby brother is about to be dropped! :)

Our 2nd annual stir fry Christmas Eve! This tradition was started last year. Matt and I had Dave and Pat over last year and we planned really well. Ha. Ha. I don't like to cook. Last year we walked into Byerly's (at about 5:00 on Christmas Eve) and were told they were closing in 5 minutes, KFC was closed, and Target was closing in 30 minutes. So we threw some things together and.....STIR FRY! It was such a hit, it's now a tradition.

Christmas Eve morning I spent a lot of time playing with Jacob. We played and worked on his tracing. If you know me you know I don't cook very well. I don't bake. I don't do arts. I don't do crafts.

But Christmas Eve morning, Jacob and I did make something. My heart was reflecting so much this Christmas and I wanted to share it with Jacob.

We made a crown. It took us 10 minutes to make it, color it, and talk about it. He wouldn't even put it on. It wasn't anything special. But while we were making it we talked about how Jesus was not only a baby at Christmas, but a KING!

My heart was touched this Christmas reflecting on Jesus as a king. The lyrics of "2000 Decembers Ago" by Joy Williams paint a beautiful picture of all of creation amazed at the coming of the king. "Did the willow trees whisper excitement? To the rivers and streams passing by. Did the joy ricochet off the mountains? "Til it filled up the valleys below." "Was anyone able to look at the stable and not see a child but a KING?"

I was excited later in the afternoon when Jacob walked up to daddy and said, "Jesus is a king!" Our greatest responsibility as mommy and daddy is to teach these boys about Jesus. Every little seed planted and prayed over helps!

Before we opened gifts Matt shared some more thoughts with everyone about Jesus as king. We read and listed to "2000 Decembers ago". Jacob had to go get his electric guitar and play along with the song. Jacob was a hoot all night! The kid was hilarious. He went to bed at 10:45 Christmas Eve night.

Oh, how Jacob LOVES his new guitar from auntie and Marcos.

Jacob enjoys Christmas Day morning with mommy, daddy, and Jonah. "Ooooooo! Lightning McQueen light up shoes!" He had tried these on 2 days previous....and then we wrapped them. Hee, hee. :)

Jacob's Vikings helmet is a big hit! He hasn't worn the full uniform much yet that we got him. I was hoping he would wear the uniform at home so I wouldn't have to wash his Vikings jersey 3 times a week. :)

A wonderful Christmas!

What one does.....

2011-12-25T06:20:00.000-08:00

.....the other must do.

And yes, Jacob wears his Vikings jersey ALL THE TIME! :)

Our 1st Christmas of 2011

2011-12-22T22:07:00.000-08:00

After Jacob's birthday party, we had our first Christmas celebration of 2011 with Kris, her boys, and dad. Jared was at home sick. :(

This Christmas is simple, which is what I like. We had leftover sloppy joes from Jacob's party and opened gifts and then played.

Boy, oh, boy! Look what Jacob got from Grandpa Roger (Santa)! He was excited to find this tool bench fully equipped with every toy a 3 year old would need! (Unfortunately, Jacob was pretty much without a lot of expression most of the day, as he was still recovering from the flu.) And of course he changed into his Vikings jersey after his party.

All 3 boys JAMMIN' on the tool bench with the tools!

One of our dining room chairs breaks a lot. Matt noticed he needed to fix it again. Perfect opportunity for ALL 3 boys to get in on the action and help! What I love about this picture? My dad's smile! I can still hear my dad laughing and laughing as he watched the 3 boys fix the chair. The joy children bring to their parents, and grandparents, is a gift from above!
Alden and Logan LOVE their baby (Look how huge he looks? Can I still call him a baby?) cousin Jonah.

My sister, mom of the year in my book, brought a gingerbread house for the boys to do on Sunday. Logan rolls into action!

Hmmmmm. What do you think is going through Logan's mind right about now? :)

December 17th & 18th was a full weekend for us but we had so much fun celebrating Jacob and then celebrating our first Christmas.

To end the weekend on Sunday, I spent the entire day after the gingerbread house in bed- throwing up! Oh joy! Oh joy! The flu finally made it to our house! Sickness has been circling around for months and we finally got it, days before Christmas.

Celebrating Jacob!

2011-12-21T03:31:00.001-08:00

On Saturday we celebrated Jacob's 3rd birthday! It was a full day for this little boy who was just getting over the flu late Thursday night into Friday morning.

We started the day at Jacob's Christmas program for school. This silly mom forgets to "go all out" with what he wears for things such as this. I just don't get into that kind of a thing. Yep, the little guy next to him was in a 3 piece suit! :)

Walking on stage. This was about as far as Jacob got. He was in tears at this point. Poor guy. He was scared. There was over 100 people in the audience. Matt went up and got him right away. Maybe next year. I was so thankful to my sister Kris, Alden and Logan, and dad who came to watch Jacob, even if he didn't sing a single note. :)

Birthday party time!!!!! Check out Jacob's cake! Thank you Miss Pat for making Jacob's construction cake! It turned out WAY BETTER than any bakery would have done! We loved it!

Daddy helps Jacob open his gifts.

Ahhh, that dump truck he's been wanting. He has one for outside, and now for inside too! Thanks Papa!

Jacob is such a joy in our family! He seems like such a grown boy now.

We are proud to be your mommy and daddy and so thankful that God has given us the blessing of calling you "ours". We love you!

Lucky number 3!

2011-12-17T04:57:00.000-08:00

Happy 3rd birthday Jacob! Today is the day! December 17th!

Since I print my blog out at the end of every year, it's a great way for me to record memories and facts about the kids. It will be a long one!

Big brother

We are fortune as Jacob continues to adore Jonah, until Jonah starts crawling I'm sure.

I didn't expect Jonah's weight to be 85% at 2 months with all the nursing problems we had early on. The night of his doctor appointment I was talking to Jonah and I said, "Are you our big boy?" Jacob heard me and said, "No, mama. Your big boy is over here." I was, of course, referring to Jonah's size as big rather than his maturity as big, as we refer to Jacob. However, big brother noticed.

I don't realize how silly I sound when I talk to Jonah, until I hear it all again, but from big brother's mouth. :) "(S)mile, Jonah, (s)mile!" "Tell us a story." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" (but he does this without pauses in between so Jonah can talk. Jacob just says the same word over and over.)

Jacob loves to make sure Jonah knows what he's doing. "Tell Jonah I run fast like daddy." "Tell Jonah I play football." "Tell Jonah watch big brother." And on and on....

Jacob "playing da piano" to Jonah.

I laid Jonah on Jacob's bed for a bit. Jacob wanted to cuddle with Jonah. :)

School

Jacob started preschool in September. At first the transition was a little difficult. Not only was it hard for Jacob that mommy and Jonah were at home, but also at Montessori their preschool rooms consist of 2.5-5 year olds. A great opportunity to learn from kids older than Jacob, but this can also cause some problems too, as Jacob grows up too fast.

The transition to preschool was quick because of Jacob's new best friend. He is fortunate to have Leo (his best friend from Miss Laila's room) in Mr. Tom's class, but he soon made a new best friend, Carter. Carter was also in Miss Laila's room with Jacob for a bit. He is 9 months older. Everyone at school knows, these two are BEST buds! They play together, get in trouble together, and talk about each other all the time.

While it may be because he is nearing 3 years old anyway, it might also be from hanging with the bigger kids, but he has learned some "bad" habits. Jacob now says, "poop" when referring to things and once he told me, "I'm going to throw apple sauce in your face!" Huh? And I've also heard, "I don't have to," "You caught me," and other things.

Jacob is learning SO many things at school. It's amazing! He loves to learn. All day long he will be pointing out objects and saying, "Mommy, that starts with..." and then he says the letter the object starts with after he sounds it out. We went into GAP a few weeks ago and their dressing rooms all have huge numbers on the doors. There was Jacob, walking back and forth along the doors spouting all the numbers off. He loves to learn!

With learning comes reading. Jacob loves to "read". Books have been a problem when he's supposed to be napping or at bed time. Twice I've had to take all the books out of his room. We've found him asleep in his bed with books. Sometimes, to wind down we'll let him "read" for a few minutes.

Can you see his book?

What does Jacob like to read? Most anything, but especially his Bible. He's 3 now. Let's just hope this continues. If I tell Jacob we can read 3 books before bed he gets the 3 different Bibles he has. His favorite stories are David and Goliath, Jonah and the whale, and Daniel and the lions.

What's he saying?

* We asked Jacob, "Who made the sun?" Jacob's reply, "Jesus Burton."

* I told Jacob we were going to the craft store, "Michael's." As we walked in the store he asked me, "Where's Mike?"

* My college best friend gave us the game "TROUBLE" to play with Jacob. He and I played the game one night when daddy was gone. As daddy came home that night and asked Jacob what his favorite part of the day was Jacob said, "Playing the naughty game."

* Jacob said, "Don't touch my head. I have a soft spot on my head." Ya think we remind him to be careful of Jonah's soft spot ever? :)

* Papa and daddy took Jacob to a Minnetonka football game versus Chanhassen. Mama said, "We need to where a turtle neck to the football game." Jacob said, "Is there a turtle on it?" Good question! I love the mind of a toddler. They are learning about everything!

* Jacob says, "Mom, I need to wash my hands." As he starts to put his hands in his mouth I notice how dirty they are and ask him not to do put them in his mouth. Jacob says, "But mom, I need to get it out!" I notice something between his front teeth so I asked what it was. He said, "A bugger!" And a bugger it was!!!!!! I am totally the mom of a boy!!!!!!

* Jacob says to mom, "When the bears roar at you I will pertect (protect) you in my arms." How sweet!

*Typically Jacob's prayers have gone like this, "Thank you for the blessings. In Jesus name. Amen." His prayers changed a few weeks ago. These are some of the ones we've heard:
- "Jesus, we come before you in name of da football player..." I couldn't even listen to the rest as I was trying hard to not laugh at the first part! He loves football!
- "Jesus, we come before you. Chicken is hot....." I had just told him to be careful because
the chicken was hot. :)
-"Jesus, we come before you....David...Goliath...pertect (protect) David." And that's about
all we can understand when he talks about David and Goliath.
- "Jesus, we come before you...you give our food to us, and that's really nice..... David and
Goliath...."

Sweetness

While Jacob did start wiping off our kisses weeks ago (both mommy and daddy and virtually all our kisses), he continues to be loving and sweet at times (He's 3 now. He can't be loving and sweet all the time!). One time before bed as I asked him what he was thankful for he said, "My mommy lay with me." Other times when I ask him he'll say, "Digger dig da dirt and bulldozer push da dirt." You just never know what he'll be thankful for!

On two different occasions he's crawled into my lap, put his legs around me to straddle me and said, "You know dat I love you mama?" He says it this way because we ask him, "Do you know that mommy (and daddy and God) loves you?"

On another occasion as we were in a store dressing room, I knelt down to give him a hug and said, "Mommy just loves you to pieces!" He said, "I love you to pieces too mommy!" And then of course there are the occasions when I make him promise to always enjoy cuddling with his mommy, even when he is 10 years old! :)

Sleep

Sleep has been interesting for Jacob at times. A few months ago he was struggling a few nights a week with night terrors or nightmares. From monsters, to bears, to "da workers downstairs", he was scared. These night terrors or nightmares have happened since he was probably 12 months old, but happen randomly. They are bad, but not as severe as I've heard other parents mention.

Then we went through a week where he woke me up 4 or 5 nights in a row to go to the bathroom. While he was wearing a diaper still at night, I told Matt it was time for a pull up. Now for the last few months the pull ups are dry most mornings, as Jacob gets up in the middle of the night by himself to go to the bathroom if he has to go. Or when he wakes up with a wet pull up and I comment about it he says, "I didn't want to go to the bathroom." Crazy kid. Sometimes he just gets lazy.

He's typically up by 6:30 every morning and now goes to bed around 8:30. Before he comes to tell me he is awake in the morning he has already taken off his pjs and pull up and put on his Vikings jersey and shorts. This is what Jacob does EVERY morning! When he gets home in the afternoon he goes to find his Viking jersey and shorts. If you come over to our house you will see him wearing this or his soccer ball shorts outfit. You may even see him with his snow boots on in the house, as these are his "pads". (That would be football pads of course!) I look at him and think, "You're making me cold just looking at you!" My mom used to say this, and Matt said Karen did too! :) We moms pass it down to each other!

Play

Don't think I've ever mentioned Jacob's imaginative play on the blog.

Jacob has had an imaginary friend, Marcus, since early summer. Auntie Lindsay's boyfriend is Marcos, but Marcus was around before auntie visited this summer. The past month he has developed another imaginary friend, Josie. The humor in this friend is that this is the name I wanted to name Jonah, if he was a girl.

Jacob's imaginary friends and animals are all very real to him. I have shaken the hands of Marcus and Josie to introduce myself. I have placed a blueberry on the corner of our kitchen table for a bear to eat it. I have let a lion out my front door so it could go to the bathroom. Poop to be exact. And Matt and I have placed a lion in our trunk to go Christmas shopping with us, just last weekend.

The four of us hide under the covers and imagine we are sleeping in a barn loft. Often at night, Jacob and I jump into the water (his bed) and then imagine we are lying on the beach feeling the sun and also the sand between our toes, listening to the waves, and seeing the birds fly by.

I like this kind of play. It doesn't involve buying any toys, storing anything, and he grows by it. So do I.

And we just play with our toys too.

Here we are all cool in our Spiderman pj's AND slippers!

It's fun to play with our cars and tractors as a "worker". Papa gave Jacob an old hard hat he had. Jacob loves it since he loves construction equipment.

I could go on and on as always. These posts help me to remember. As I've looked back over the 2 blog books I've printed from the last 3 years I'm so thankful I have them. As I look at the pictures and read the writings, I remember. Then I smile and get that warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart as I'm so thankful for my family. If my house ever started on fire, do you know what I'd grab? My blog books. :)

Looking forward to another great year with our 3 year old, Jacob Wayne Burton!

A working mom

2011-12-15T13:11:00.000-08:00

I'm a working mom again. My first week at work went well.

It's always hard to leave your children. Always. It doesn't get easier, but there were a few things that happened that made my week "easier".

Last week Wednesday (yes, just days before I went back to work) we found care for Jonah. This was a huge blessing and had the Lords fingerprints all over it! Everyday Jonah will go to a home daycare of a friend, Fontine. This was an amazing thing because I'd asked Fontine months prior if she had an infant opening on December 12th. She didn't. When I called last week, she did have an infant opening but ONLY for 1 month, and ONLY starting on December 12th! We only needed care for Jonah for 2.5 weeks, starting December 12th! She could take Jacob on Mondays too, so he doesn't have to go to preschool 4 days a week but can continue Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Perfect!

A funny thing that made my first day easier happened as a surprise. Most moms know that pumping at work isn't fun. I carry my pump bag in the hall in front of everyone, I close the blinds, lock the door, AND put a chair in front of the door- just in case! As I sat to pump my first time there it was, my surprise! I teared up as I saw 2 of Jacob's toys stuffed into my pump case. Why hadn't I seen them the night before as I packed my pump, or that morning as I double checked everything? My thoughts turned to my boys. As a working mom, you're always thinking of them, praying for them throughout the day. Tangible reminders, like finding toys during your work day, make your kids feel much closer.

And my work week was made so much easier because of my teammate. Matt has been a huge help to me this week in helping around the house, doing drop offs and picks ups, and getting the boys ready. It's such a blessing to have him by my side!

First work week down. It will all become a normal routine again very soon. :)

3 months

2011-12-08T12:17:00.000-08:00

So I'm getting caught up on all of my blogging. I think I've been a little depressed about having to leave my boys and go back to work. I haven't wanted to blog. (Very unusual for me. I write blog posts every day...in my head.) And I know that next week I won't have much time to blog. So I'll get caught up now.

Our baby boy turned 3 months, on November 22nd. :) Yes, a few weeks ago. He is so much fun every day. He really is. I tell people, "Jacob was a GREAT baby! Jonah is even easier!" I sometimes forget what he sounds like when he cries, because he rarely cries.

However, he does fuss, rarely. Someone told me to take pictures and video tape my kids crying. It's fun to remember those moments too! :) Look at that cute pouty face!

"Oh, mom. Will you just put that camera down and pick me up already?"

Sweet, sweet love for daddy.

Jonah has always seemed to notice Jacob, but he takes EVEN MORE interest in him now. Love for big brother.

I love looking at myself with Jonah or seeing pictures of us together. It reminds me that he still is just a baby yet when I see him with me because I feel like he's so big otherwise!

Ugh. The thumb. This started a few weeks ago. We're not sure what to do with it yet. Some nights when we swaddle him, he'll sleep great and not wake up the entire night, 8:30PM-6:30AM. Other nights when we swaddle him, I can tell he wakes up wanting it (He'll wake up once and I'll unswaddle him to give him access to his thumb). And on the nights I don't swaddle him, he often is restless and doesn't sleep as well when he has his thumb available all night. And his hands get so cold! So, we're still trying to figure out what to do with that thumb! But probably 75% of the time, 8:30PM-6:30AM and not a peep!
Part of Jonah's love for his thumb might be because I think his teeth are starting to come in. He's been drooling a lot, sucking and chewing on his fingers, some rosy cheeks, and he has an awful "acid" mark on his neck. I assume from spit up that is more acidic now that his teeth are starting to come in. If he is anything like his brother, this will go on for about 2 months and then all of a sudden a bunch of teeth will come in within a week. We'll see.

He loves looking at his hands. And I love watching him look at his hands! On this day, it was almost as if he was finding his feet for the first time, and then lifting one up and showing me!

Just like his older brother, he is definitely my cuddle bug, especially after feedings.

This is one of my FAVORITE things to do! I love it so much I had Matt take a picture. We are playing in the mirror of course! If you know me well, you know I am very animated with my face. We stand and laugh, giggle, and talk in the mirror every day when I'm at home. It's so cute when he smiles and giggles, then buries his face in my chest as if he's hiding or is bashful! Jacob and I did all of this together too.

Cradle cap. Both my boys have had it. Jonah has had it bad. After my sister reminding me to "comb it out" after scrubbing, we went home and did a major bath scrub. Jonah, as always when he is in the bath, was perfect and sat very contently. Sadly, he's lost a lot of his hair now due to all the scrubbing. :(

And here he is, our 3 month boy! I think he looks long in the 2nd picture.

A touch of Christmas

2011-12-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.......

Ok. We don't have a chimney, per se. But we do have a fireplace and our stockings are hung!

For me it was funny to remember back to last year. Jacob wasn't as into decorating this year. He's a boy. It may be that way going forward every year now, we'll wait and see. He did help, however.

Organizing the ornaments. I think the funny moment this year for me was when Jacob picked up the small Caribou coffee mug and said, "A coffee cup!" The humor is that last year he "sipped" on this coffee cup for probably 30 minutes as we decorated.

We have 3 special ornaments on our tree now. We have my mom's ornament, "Merry Christmas from Heaven", a John Deere tractor ornament in memory of Grandpa Cleon, and now we have a rhinestone breast cancer ribbon in memory of Grandma Karen. We talked about them with Jacob as we hung the ornaments.

This was the first year I didn't cry as I hung my mom's ornament. Tears filled my eyes, but none dropped. I experienced so much healing last Christmas.

Last year in my MOPS group around Christmas a speaker spoke about tragedy. She talked about surviving after tragedy. I feel like I have very much survived from the tragedy I experienced, but a question she asked struck a huge chord in my heart. "How has your tragedy changed the picture you had created in your mind for your future and your Christmas?" Gulp.

My picture of my future always had my mom in it. It always had a family. That's why the weeks from November-January were always difficult for me. Those weeks are family time. My picture of a family changed when my mom died. Then it changed again when Karen died. Now it changed again with my step dad's death. The picture is going to change, again and again. And that means I need to change the picture in my mind then too.

My prayer is that my picture will always include Matt, Jacob, and Jonah- but there are no guarantees. There is only a God who sent his son at Christmas, and ultimately to die for each of us so we may spend eternity with Him and with our loved ones who also accept His gift of eternal life. That's how much God loves us in the gift He gave us in Jesus!

The picture is temporary right now. We will remember them with our ornaments and throughout the year until the picture becomes permanent, when we are with them and our Lord in heaven.

Our tradition, Jacob hanging the star with daddy. Jonah may want to enjoy this tradition next year, too. :)

A very special tradition we (Matt) started in our family this year is that each boy has a nativity scene in his room. This nativity scene was Matt's when he was a boy and I think the one in Jonah's room is from Miss Pat. We'll have to rotate them each year.

Each year I hope to add Christmas traditions to make our holiday special as a family. This year we added an Advent Wreath. This isn't anything I ever remember doing as a child, but it has helped to add tremendous meaning to the season for me. Obviously Jacob doesn't understand most of it yet. I'm thankful to Matt as he has read each Sunday and guided our discussions. And Jacob......he blows out the candles after we are done eating! :)

Tears

2011-12-05T07:19:00.000-08:00

The tears have come. On many occasions actually.

Today is Monday, December 5th. Next week at this time, I will be back at work. Ugh.

I have enjoyed being at home. I am extremely thankful I've been at home this long. I have loved being with my boys. I have loved being a full-time wife. I have loved being able to do laundry during the day, and run errands during the day like our weekly trips to Costco (of course during the lunch hour). Jacob and I like Costco so much!

Next Monday, my world will change again. I have always enjoyed the industry I am in, but I'm still getting used to the arrangement I'm part of right now. Even this morning, I've received 2 phone calls from work. The first one left me very discouraged, and the second left me hopeful and even excited.

God has always guided me professionally and blessed me tremendously with the work opportunities that have landed in my lap. So on Monday I go back to work, not at all excited about it but eager about the possibilities to come potentially that will lead to our ultimate goal- having me at home more while still honoring the gifts God has given me.

For now, I'll enjoy this last week at home and do my best to fight back the tears on Monday. :)

A simple Thanksgiving ...

2011-11-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

I like the simple things in life. :) We tried to make Thanksgiving simple this year.

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, Dave and Pat came over. Dave brought Papa Murphy's pizza. Like I said, I like things simple. I told him I didn't think the pilgrims would care. :)

Thanksgiving Day- change of plans. We were going to Kris and Jared's but due to circumstances out of their control they are between homes...we're hoping they will be in their new home later this week. We headed to my dad's in Onalaska, WI instead. Dad's renter cooked everything! It was so good. We were so grateful for all her hard work. Again, simple! :)

While the Packer and Vikings weren't playing Thanksgiving Day, Grandpa Roger wanted everyone to wear their jerseys. Jonah even wore a football outfit.

Later Thanksgiving we headed to Winona to see Gram. She suffered a stroke earlier in the week and we are so thankful she is "ok" and that we were only 30 minutes away and were able to see her.

The culmination of our simple Thanksgiving was Thursday night and Friday. We stayed with Kris and Jared in their "temporary" housing in Chatfield to watch their boys Friday while they worked.

I like the simple things in life. Sometimes I wish we could move to Africa and live there. No TV. No internet. No Blackberry. No computer. Can you imagine?!?

Their temporary housing seemed a little like Africa. No internet, no computer, 4 TV channels, and limited reception on our Blackberries. It was great! A lot like camping. The days seem longer, you have time to read, you play more with your kids, and you get creative. The moment we walked into this old house I felt relaxed.

The 3 oldest boys get creative with their play showing off their muscles!

(Check out those facial expressions!)

Dancing and jumping in the kitchen. The boys love to play! Watch Logan. He doesn't quite understand the slang "head banging". :)

Our time with the Pearson boys would not be complete without pictures of Logan and "Baby Doe-nah", as he calls him. He LOVES babies!

What I'm most thankful for

2011-11-25T23:16:00.000-08:00

My family. How I love them so.....

I'm thankful for the blessing of having a baby in the house again. As I went into Jonah's room and watched him sleep I held myself back from picking him up. I wanted to sense that tender baby touch nestled into my neck, and to smell that sweet smell of my baby that is now just starting to fade. I could sit with him all day and gaze at his bright smiles, talking with him as he babbles and coos back. How I'm thankful for our baby.

I'm thankful for the blessing of a big boy. As I went into Jacob's room and watched him sleep I thought of how proud I am of the boy he is becoming, full of life, laughter, and love. I thought of all the times he has made us laugh and how I could give him more and more hugs and kisses and it would never be enough.

I'm thankful for the blessing of a wonderful man as my teammate and partner in life. I'm thankful for the provider and leader he is for our family, for the wonderful father he is. I'm thankful for the way he made me laugh as we went through the McDonald's drive-thru tonight as he used his various accents while ordering and how he graciously took the pack n play down in our living room, after he had just put it up and moved it so we could get ready for our Christmas tree. :)

I don't need a big house, a fancy car, a big bank account, or a highly esteemed job. Just give me my family and I have way more than I could ever ask for in this life.

My cup overflows this holiday season.

Those less fortunate

2011-11-24T19:01:00.000-08:00

We desire that our boys would not only know how fortunate they are, but that they would also know those that are less fortunate.

Grandma Karen had the same passion. One of the things she enjoyed doing every year was "Operation Christmas Child," where you pack a shoe box of toys, goodies, and necessities for needy children across the world to open at Christmas.

As we were packing up the old Burton house this summer before it was sold, we found bags of items Karen had bought for the Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. This year was the first year of our new tradition. We used some of the items Grandma Karen had purchased. I know she would be very excited we are taking part in this activity.

This year we packed a box for a 5-9 year old girl, and boy. Jacob was a great help in the dollar aisle and toy aisles at Target.

We wrapped the gifts (you actually wrap the boxes the gifts are placed in) when we got home. Look at me. I'm laughing at Jacob's funny smile! Crazy kid!

Jacob loved helping me put the tape on the paper and the boxes.

A personal touch. We included our family picture from after Jonah was born, and a little note, "Merry Christmas from the Burton's! We hope you enjoy the gifts as we celebrate the greatest gift of all-Jesus!"

We are tracking our boxes online to see what country they end up in. So fun! Matt's work was collecting boxes. As Jacob and I walked out to Matt's car to put the boxes inside Jacob kept saying, "I want to give the kids the toys." So sweet. I told him maybe someday we would travel to Africa to give the kids the toys. :)

Samaritan's Purse collects thousands and thousands of these boxes every Christmas to deliver around the world. When Matt and I were in Africa in 2007 we had the fun surprise of RECEIVING an Operation Christmas Child shoe box containing gifts a pastor from Niger was giving us. He, or someone he knew, had received the Operation Christmas Child shoe box full of gifts and he was now giving gifts back to us in the same shoe box. How cool is that? :)

Fun play

2011-11-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

Last weekend (11/12 & 11/13), the weather was beautiful. We went outside for some of the last beautiful fall days.

On Friday Jacob wanted to go look for leopards and tigers so we headed out on the trails. We didn't see any leopards or tigers but we found another treat! In one of the trees was a squirrel eating an acorn. On our previous walks we have imagined finding acorns and feeding them to the squirrels, so it was fun as you could hear the squirrel gnawing on the acorn. We also were able to find another acorn to throw in his direction!

On Saturday morning Jacob and I headed outside to play football. As I've mentioned before, this is one of Jacob's favorite things to do, next to playing basketball, baseball, and soccer of course!

Getting in our football stance. Notice Jacob's helmet. That would be a bike helmet. Our neighbor saw us and said, "Oh, was Jacob out riding his bike?" No, Jacob calls this his football helmet, which he has been known to wear in the house playing football as well.

This is why my back hurts all the time! Whether inside or outside, Jacob loves to tackle!

This is something Jacob does almost every time. He learned this from TV. Football players help football players up after they tackle them. Jacob puts his hand out, expecting you to help him up and he offers his hand right away to help mommy up.

So much of our fun play is about sports. Sometimes I wish I could be a fly on the wall in our house. You would see and hear Matt and I announcing football starting line ups as well as play by play action baseball games, all focusing on Jacob of course!

I'm amazed how kids can be entertained doing just about anything. I'm starting to teach Jacob about money and coins. He loved playing with the coins and learning their different names.

Another fun thing to do at our house, which has surprised me, is looking at our blog books! Our blog books are displayed in our living room and the last few nights Jacob has taken the books out and says, "How cute! How cute!", as he looks at the pictures. It's been fun for us to sit down and look back over the past few years as a family.

A busy weekend- weekend of October 8th

2011-11-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

We were a little busy the weekend of October 8th, as I posted in the previous 2 posts. On October 9th, we all headed to Winona to visit the Great Grandmas. It had been a long time since we had been down to visit. It's even harder now that we have 2 little ones.

Great Grandma Vetsch sees baby Jonah for the first time.

This is the best picture! Kris putting socks on EXTREMELY active Logan. :)

A tackling session between cousins. Alden takes Jacob down for the count!

On to visit Gram, or Great Grandma Hanson.

The final thing that was significant about this visit was that we were saying another "good-bye" to a property. I must be the most sentimental person ever, but each property that someone owns holds so many stories and memories. This weekend we said "good-bye" to Kris and Jared's house they've lived in for over 6 years. (This is the house all 4 boys have come to know and love. Or 3 of them anyway!) Kris and Jared sold their home the end of October and are moving into a 62 acre property in Wykoff (15 miles south of Rochester) soon. We can't wait to see it!

Jacob reads to Logan in the nursery where Alden and Logan slept.

Ahhh, the last time the boys will do the dishes together in this house. Matt was at the other sink with Jared, but moved before I could get the camera out. They looked so cute at the sinks! :)

The last time the boys will take a bath together in this Jacuzzi tub.

And a sweet, sweet picture of Auntie Kris reading to Jonah.

Down on the farm- weekend of October 8th

2011-11-10T19:19:00.000-08:00

When we spent time at the farm on October 8th, we had no idea the surprise in store for the boys later that day.

Being from a small town and living in farm country, it's like one big family. Everyone knows each other. Some of the farmers were in the field the weekend we were down there. A good family friend of my dad, Arlo Schmitt, was in the field. My dad was able to organize a combine ride later that day (after we were at the farm sale) for the boys. What a treat for the 3 boys!!!! They loved it! Jacob still talks about riding in the combine and tractor!

Planning out the rides in the combine. Matt and Jacob went first. Then Jared and Logan and Jared and Alden. Arlo, loving father to 4 girls now, saved some beans by the road for when the boys showed up. Here are Jared and the boys, Kris, Mary Helen and Arlo, and dad and Cindy.

I love this picture! I feel like it explains the personality of the 3 boys well. Obedient oldest Alden looks straight at the camera. Distracted and eager Jacob looks at the combine, the purpose the visit. Off in his own world Logan, never sure what he's going to do, focuses on the ground.

These next 2 pictures bring back so many memories for me of living on a farm.

As one boy was in the combine Grandpa Roger would take another boy to Arlo's farm to get a tractor to bring to the field so Arlo would have a tractor and wagon available to unload the beans. What a treat! Each boy road in the combine and in a tractor.

A fun memory for the 3 oldest boys!

Letting Go- weekend of Oct 8th

2011-11-09T03:13:00.000-08:00

In the past 2 months both Matt and I have had to let go of our childhood homes.

This kind of a thing happens everyday. When you let go of your childhood home after losing a parent, it's different. Your family isn't just moving on to a new stage of life. You are letting go of the old stage where the parent was present. For me, it felt like the final stage of saying "good-bye" to my mom and to my childhood with her. It was letting go of my childhood with my stepfather, Cleon, who died last December. It has taken me over a month to post this. There were tears on the day I "let go" of the farm.

It's kind of hard to see but this is the old farm house where I lived.

All the cars for the sale were parked in the front lawn and along the highway.

The driveway extends up to the old barn.

Exploring around the farm was a dream come true for 3 little boys, or maybe for 3 little boys and 1 big boy. Jared did a lot of the exploring with the boys while Kris and I "said good-bye". Matt was our photographer.

The finishing house. The home to many feeder pigs over the years. Hopefully I got the term "feeder pigs" right. My dad or Dave will let me know. Kris and I lived on the farm for over13 years, but we got out of most of the farm work. :)

Auntie Kris and Jonah, under there somewhere. It was a windy day!

Cleon's kids have spent the past many months working very hard to sell all his stuff. Cleon was an avid antique and toy collector. Well known in the midwest for his collection. We didn't make it down to the 2 other sales, but I knew we couldn't miss this sale. Not only was it a chance to say "good-bye" to home, but the boys LOVED all the farm machinery that was sold.

Jacob and Uncle Trevor check out the cab in the tractor.

A farm has endless play opportunities. Boys and sticks, hard to separate the two. Unfortunately this play lasted only 10 minutes. It made me way too nervous! Alden is almost 4.5 and much more coordinated with his sword fighting. Jacob, at almost 3, is still working on this talent while holding a 5 foot stick!

I grew up with the Amish. Jacob loved seeing all the horses along the road and the Amish buggies. Matt didn't know, but some of the strict Amish followers will not allow you to take their picture. They believe their spirit leaves them when you take their picture. Something like that anyway. If you were to buy any kind of an Amish doll it would not have a face on it for this reason. Or so my mom always told me!

A big gravel pile. Loads of fun for 2 boys!

King of the hill! Look at those muscles!

Auntie Stef with Jonah.

I didn't get any interior pictures of the house. Kris has those. Those will be added at a later date.

In late August, just days after Jonah was born, Dave sold the house and Matt "let go" of his childhood home.

While Matt and Lindsay have so many memories of living here, I have my share too. This was the home where Matt introduced me to the wonderful Burton family. This was the home where Grandma Karen passed and we said "good-bye" to her a week before Jacob was born.

The beautiful back yard Jacob loved to play in and kick the soccer ball around.

Grandma Karen loved this fire pit. Matt and I loved the few times we enjoyed smores with Dave and Karen at the fire pit. We should have done it more. I miss it now.

Many conversations happened around this table, even in my short time I've known the Burton's while they lived here. I remember discussing wedding plans with Karen in this kitchen. I remember discussing baby names for Jacob with Dave and Karen at this table too.

This blog is about Moments that Matter. I include things that, while maybe not important to others, define and shape our family. Events and experiences we can look back on for years.

I want our children to know where Matt and I grew up. At the end of every year, I print out my blog. I have a printed copy of all our memories! I love it! I know we'll be showing our boys when they get older pictures on this blog of where we both grew up.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

Halloween is over, but the candy remains. Some of it anyway. The great thing about having a 2.5 year old around is that he has no idea you are eating his candy. Jacob has forgotten he even has candy! Oh, good! That means more for mom! My husband doesn't even know about the bag of Halloween candy I bought, hid, and ate by myself. I'm following in my mother's foot steps....hide the candy. That way no one else will eat it and no one knows how much you are eating! :) (Unless you post it on your blog of course!)

Halloween gets better and better every year! We had a fire fighter and a baby zebra. Jacob's monkey costume I had was too small and his Elmo costume was too big. Jacob was so excited to pick out a new fire fighter costume. He had the hat and coat and our bright yellow Mickey Mouse rain boots matched perfectly! Jacob told me he needed a hose. (Actually I think he called it "hoses". We're dealing with singular and plural issues here sometimes.) Mom put her thinking cap on. A hose? A hose? A hose? Ahhhh, the vacuum cleaner attachment worked great for this 2.5 year old! :)

Here is our Halloween week and festivities in review.....

Carving pumpkins in the basement. We didn't bring Jonah outside to take a picture by the pumpkins. Next year.

I let Jacob pick out the picture he wanted me to carve. Silly idea mom. He picked out the owl. Hard stuff! I didn't carve out everything in the picture but it turned out pretty well.

Part of having a cool Halloween costume is wearing it around all week before Halloween. This picture is a fun memory for me. We were outside playing. Loading rocks in Jacob's dump truck. We were building a doctor building (Jacob has many memories going to "the doctor building", 212 Medical Center, with me for my pregnancy appointments.) We had to go get one rock at a time and walk down and load them in the dump truck. This A-type personality mom tried to convince my 2.5 year old that it would be much more efficient if we loaded 4 or 5 rocks in our hands and carried them to where we were building the doctor building. Jacob wasn't convinced. Ahhh, I'm learning how to just "play" and be a kid again!

One of the activities we enjoyed for Halloween was Trunk-N-Treat at our church. We had so much fun eating the "fair food", talking to friends, and trick or treating at the car trunks.

Our baby zebra stayed warm and cozy while we were outside trick or treating.

Jacob did SO good with Trunk-N-Treat! There were a lot of people and kids! At one point during the night he lost sight of us. He was surrounded by people! He started to cry. Some of the teaching moments have started now that he's getting older. I said, "If you ever can't find mommy and daddy, stay where you are. Stay where you are! Mommy and daddy will always find you. We will always find you!" It's just fun to be a mommy and teach your little one.

At first a bit hesitant, but never scared, to go up to each car Jacob had no problems approaching each vehicle by the end of the night. The driver of one vehicle had a football helmet on. Jacob continually asked, "I want to go see the football player." It took some convincing to get our little sports nut to go to the OTHER cars and get more candy.

Jacob had a great night at Trunk-N-Treat. At the end of the night he kept saying, "More cars mommy. More cars." Ahhhh, little did he know he still had Halloween yet to come.

Here they are on Halloween night. Jacob is spraying water with his hose!

Trick or treating with Jacob's favorite neighbor.....Rob.

Mommy stayed inside with Jonah and handed out candy. Matt and Jacob met up with our neighbors, Austin, and Addy and went door to door with them. We had a ninja, Scooby Doo, and our fire fighter.

At the end of the night my door bell rang one last time. I know I had a HUGE smile on my face as I looked out the window and saw this adorable, little, bright yellow fire fighter on my front door step saying "Trick or Treat".

Whew!

2011-11-02T14:23:00.001-07:00

I passed.

I passed my 5th and final test this past weekend. I have now qualified to be able to sit for the CFP exam, which will be in March now for me.

Feels good to be done, but I am continuing to study. Now I will be combining all 5 tests into one big one in March, so I'm starting to review. It's a lot of information, but I love it!

Now that a lot of the pressure is off (for the time being), it's really fun to study. I have been blessed by always knowing what I wanted to do for a profession.

I grew up watching my dad working with clients in insurance and then later investments too. I think he is one of the main reasons I love the industry.

I was the one as a junior in Mr. Roppe's class who gave a presentation about 3 buckets in how I handled my money. It wasn't until I was older that I realized even in high school I was saving for short-term, intermediate, and long-term financial needs with my "3 bucket philosophy" I'd made up myself at that time.

I remember after the car accident when they told me I wouldn't be able to operate in the financial services industry, due to my cognitive injuries. Everyone told me, "At 23, you're young. Now you can figure out what you really want to do the rest of your life." My response was always, "But this IS the profession I want to do the rest of my life!"

I'm very blessed to have enjoyed my profession and to be back in it again. I love helping people with their money. Thank you Lord.

We also hope we are getting closer to getting Matt in the "profession" he enjoys. Only time will tell..........

2 months- We have a big boy!

2011-10-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

On Monday Jonah turned 9 weeks old.

We hear it all the time, from people who know Jacob and Jonah and people who don't know them. From people who knew how Jacob looked as a baby, and from people who didn't know Jacob as a baby. "My, does he look his big brother or what?" For Jonah's 9 week picture, I dressed him in the same sleeper Jacob wore at 9 weeks.

Jonah is officially past the 2 month mark. We had his 2 month appointment on Tuesday. We have a big boy! Not that we didn't know that already by looking at him.

Jonah clocked in at 22 3/4 inches (50%), 13 lbs and 4.5 oz (85%), and 40.9 cm head circumference (75%). At 2 months Jacob was, 23 1/2 inches (75%), 12 lbs 9 oz (75%), and 40.2 cm head circumference (50%). It's funny with these measurements because the slightest incorrect measurement can skew things. However, with weight, you can't really get that wrong. The scale doesn't lie. Jonah's double chin doesn't lie. He's a big boy right now.

Look at those chubby legs, that adorable belly, and that double chin!

We love this baby boy so much. All of us. I often refer to Jonah as, "My baby." I can't anymore. Or not when big brother is around. Jacob corrects me every time, "No mommy. He's my baby, your baby, and daddy's baby." We love this baby boy so much.

One of his favorite blankets, "Snuggles" as I call them. He has a white one too. It's so cute to watch him pull these up by his face, rub them on his face, try to put them in his mouth, and coo while he's doing it.

Everyday he and I have play times together when he's lying on the pack and play table or on the floor. He loves to be on the floor!

At these times when we play, he smiles often. His eyes sparkle. It's like his eyes are communicating the words his mouth can't yet communicate. Sometimes his eyes and smile are flirtatious and schnooky like he's saying, "I don't know mama. I'm going to make it hard for you to get me to smile." Sometimes his eyes are fun and silly as if he's laughing inside and saying, "Mom, you're the best!". Other times his eyes simply say, "Ohhhh, I just love you mommy." At these times, I really can see in his eyes that he loves his mama. If you would hear my eyes, at this point I know they would be saying back, "I love you MORE!" We have so much fun together right now. I love this baby boy.

Also, as of Monday, I am definitely over the half-way mark with my maternity leave. Boo hoo! I think I thanked the Lord almost every day last week for the blessing that I am able to be at home now. Enjoying each day......but knowing that the Lord has called me to the workplace for now in my life. I want to do what He wants me to do and right now it's the blessing of being at home. On December 12th, it will be the blessing of being back at work. Both are good. (Some have asked. Yes, I'll be going back to work.)

Fall fun

2011-10-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

We thought we'd try Sever's Corn Maze this year. We went last Saturday before Matt and I had our date night. WOW, it was windy, but we had so much fun! There was TONS to do!

One of the things we did first was the Wildlife Show. It was very informative and I know Jacob didn't understand much of what they talked about, but he sat great and loved seeing the animals.

On to the petting zoo! They had a huge petting zoo with probably 12-15 different kinds of animals. Jacob was a little scared at first and clung close to daddy. They check out the miniature horse first.

Jacob started to get more comfortable with the animals and he started having so much fun! He was just giddy with the goats. He would jump towards them and then squeal and laugh has he backed away. Silly boy!

Of course daddy and Jacob enjoyed the tractors too!

Jacob even milked a cow. A "fake cow" that is! Water came out as you milked the cow. After he was done Jacob said, "Daddy, the cow had to go potty." Not quite. :)

I took Jonah back to the car to nurse and daddy and Jacob enjoyed probably the best part of the day-THE CORN PIT with over 10,000 bushels of corn kernels! You can tell by the pictures, Jacob LOVED this! Papa said 10,000 bushels is over $65,000 worth of corn. Daddy should have told Jacob to fill up his pockets full! :)

Randomly we ran into good friends, the Hansons, when we were there. Emma and Jacob had a blast together!

Just what every girl wants, corn thrown all over her. Jacob knows how to treat the ladies! :)

Finally, we picked out our pumpkins. There were pumpkins on both sides of the road. I kid you not, Jacob walked all over both areas of pumpkins before he picked one out.

After surveying all the pumpkins he told daddy, "This one is my favorite." Crazy kid!

Despite the wind we had a great day! We stayed a lot longer than we anticipated, enjoying all the activities. Didn't get any pictures of the pig races! Yes, there were pig races! Jacob also never got a chance to jump on the jump balloon either. Just too much to do!

A great family day!

Fall leaves

2011-10-23T01:44:00.001-07:00

One of the blessings we have with where we live is that we have full grown trees all around our townhome. With full grown trees comes LOTS of leaves in the fall! Our association cleans it all up for us :), but Jacob and I went out and had some fun in early October on 10/7.

Raking up a pile of leaves. Can you see it? Jacob went and got his little blue sand rake to help.

Our pile DID get bigger, but if you're going to have a pile of leaves you MUST run through it!

I love watching Jacob run. It's soooo cute! He's such a boy! :)

And of course you must, JJUUUMMMPPP in the leaves!!!!!

Ahhhhh! Loads of fun!

And if you have a pile of leaves you must lay and tackle in them too!

And you must hide in the leaves too!

It's a good idea to use your dump truck to move the leaves too. Jacob's "motorcycle" didn't work so well driving through the leaves.

What did Jonah do while Jacob and I played? He had fun watching us play in the leaves.

Just the two of us

2011-10-18T01:31:00.000-07:00

Matt and I got away Saturday night. Just the two of us.

I love just "being" with my husband. It had been a long time since we had been out, just the two of us.

As we drove to Eden Prairie to Santorini I started getting weepy. I gave Matt the disclaimer, "I'm sorry if I'm a little weepy tonight. I'm crying for 3 reasons. 1- I'm so excited to go out with you tonight 2- I miss the boys 3- I'm so tired (we had a busy Saturday enjoying the fall weather)".

We had much to talk about. Much to discuss and make decisions on. We had much fun!

Falling in love with.....

2011-10-12T07:14:00.000-07:00

....those baby feet........

...those baby hands.......

.....those baby snuggles.....

...that fun Jonah hair.........

....those squeals and giggles as he pulls his hair....

....those cuddle times when I just sit and smell my baby....

We've fallen in love with Jonah Matthew. I adore him. I am so thankful for him.

I've been wondering for weeks what nickname Jonah would have. It wasn't until yesterday morning when Jacob went in Jonah's room with me to wake Jonah up that I realized I had given Jonah a nickname. Jacob climbed up onto the railing on the crib and said, "Hi sweetie! Hi sweetie!" I started laughing and as I turned around as I heard Matt walk into the room, he had a big smile on his face too.

Jonah is my sweetie. I call him this all the time. Both my boys have been so sweet (as I'm sure every mother would say), but Jonah just seems to be extra sweet. :) I've always had a taste for anything sweet and he's a sweetie!

Postponed

2011-10-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day. The last day to sign up to take the CFP (Certified Financial Planners) test in November. The test is offered 3 times each year across the US.

- 45 textbooks read over the last 7 months

- Approximately 4,000 pages read

- Approximately 135 hours of online class work or 4.5 hours each week

- Total of 24 hours of online testing as each test is 4 hours long

- Other hours studying, calculating, reviewing

And I postponed my test. Going into this I knew the most difficult time for me would be the end of August-November, as now I had the blessing of a baby to love and care for.

Each session has been 6 weeks long. I started 3 weeks late due to the delivery complications I experienced. I was stressed trying to get caught up and spend as much time as possible loving on Jonah too!

I flunked. Yep. I flunked my Estate Planning test. Not once, but twice. I got a 68, tested again the next day and got a 59. I was heart broken. I cried and cried. Matt, Jacob, and Jonah came home from being at Dave's during the 4 hour test. Jacob climbed into bed with me, gave me a hug and said, "I love you mommy. I believe in you." Brings tears to my eyes right now as I remember that night. Daddy had told him to say it but hearing it from the sweet mouth of your babe means so much. I am doing ALL of this for them, for my family. It's hard to understand now, but the purpose will be much clearer in the months and years ahead.

I will test in March. Things will be crazy then. I'll be back to work at that time.

One of my good friends laughed when I told her how I could see God in the fact I flunked twice. Had I passed this last test I would not have been allowed to postpone my review and test in March. There is so much studying to do and I was so stressed, there is no way I would have been ready in November.

God is good! I'm thankful I flunked and now have 5 months to prepare for March.

Skippin' school

2011-10-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

I've been picking Jacob up early in the afternoon from preschool. Skippin' out of school a little early to enjoy the weather together! :)

We make frequent trips to the playground at the elementary school by our house when we skip out of school. We were excited to find Shannon, Addy, and Austin there one day as well. Jacob and Addy ride together on the "alligator", as Jacob calls it.

If you walk further on the trails behind our house along the lake, you come to an old shelter and a beach. We wanted to play in the sand. A good excuse to skip out of preschool! :) When I took this picture Jacob said, "Mom, don't take a picture." Not sure why, but he doesn't like me to take pictures with the cell phone.

Fall is beautiful! I love my double stroller! We use it all the time. The funny thing about this trip was that I knew it would be a hike to get to this beach. I was ready for a workout. It took me 20 minutes to push the 50 pounds (that's how much a double stroller with a 2.5 year old and a baby weighs!) to the beach and a lot longer to push it back!

While we were at the beach I heard those words every mom dreads, "Mom, I have to go poopy!" Are you kidding me? That's why we went potty before we left! :) The old shelter did NOT have a bathroom. Thankfully we made it back ok.

One of the things I loved about our walk back was when Jacob got out of the stroller. He wanted to run back for awhile. Sounded like a great idea to this winded mommy!

I loved pushing the stroller and watching him run ahead as he yelled back at me, talking the whole time as he always does, pointing out the trees and everything else he saw. I remember that it was at this moment that I thanked the Lord for being a mommy to these boys and for the blessing of enjoying these sweet moments with them. I love that I have them on my blog to always remember them!

Fall Picnic

2011-10-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

The weather has been beautiful lately! Jacob is home with me Monday and Fridays and goes to preschool Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Today we decided to enjoy the day at a playground, with a picnic! It was great as my friend and neighbor Shannon and her daughter Addy joined us. I love the blessing of being home with my boys!

What did we pack to eat at our picnic? PB & J sandwiches of course! Jacob helped mama make the sandwiches. He even counted 4 pieces of bread out of the bag. We also enjoyed apples, carrots, and string cheese for our picnic.

Enjoying our picnic in the shade on a beautiful fall day!

Jacob has become quite the adventurer on the playgrounds in the last month or so. As a mama, I always ask, should I let him do this? I love to continue to foster his confidence and independence, but one fall and things wouldn't be so good. He is at least 8 feet up when he gets to the top.

Jacob is ALL boy. Nothing more exciting than playing in the dirt and wood chips.

Addy likes to get dirty too. She joins in the fun!

All dirty! The picture doesn't do justice to how dirty he was. In his hair, his ears, his eyebrows look fake because there is so much dirt in them! He just had a bath yesterday. Almost everyday last week he looked like this too. Jacob and Leo, his bestfriend at school, like to play in the dirt and wood chips at school. O'well. I love raising boys and with boys comes a lot of dirt!

Dude

2011-09-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

At our house we call Jacob, "Little Man", "Peanut", and "Bud". Matt and I have talked many times over the past few months about how Jacob is, "such a dude."

What do I mean? It's hard to explain, but it's in the way he walks sometimes, with his cool dude swagger. It's in the way he talks, with his facial expressions and determined looks on his face when he plays sports or concentrates on something. It's in what he says as he refers to Matt and I as "guys". He makes us laugh all the time with his cool dude ways!

Another thing that makes Jacob such a dude is 2 of his favorite things, music and instruments and sports.

Jacob loves to play the guitar and the drums. He jams, and I mean JAMS, on his toy battery guitar. He makes the "dude" face as he jams and even puts one leg out a bit as he strokes the guitar. Where did he learn this? At church of course! We often go to a contemporary service and we bring Jacob in for the worship. He LOVES to go with daddy close up front and watches the guitar players and drummer. We've even caught him numerous times watching his reflection in the fireplace as he jams on his guitar.

This is one of Jacob's drums. He's been using this one lately, but usually uses a Christmas tin container I have. He often uses plastic bowling pins as drum sticks. Jacob drums everywhere. I mean, everywhere. It's constant. With bowling pins, pens, on the couch, on the floor, on Jonah's wipe warmer. Everywhere. I asked Jacob the other day what his favorite instrument is. He said, "Drums." I said, "What about the guitar?" "No, drums." Darn. Our house won't be quiet for the next 15-16 years!

And, of course, Jacob is a sports dude! Daddy took him to Target a few weeks ago. Daddy caved in a finally bought Jacob a jersey, a Vikings jersey. He wore it for 3 days straight. Everywhere we go he points out other kids that are wearing jerseys. If I tell him he is silly, he corrects me and says, "No, mom. I'm a football player." Oh, that's right!

Here he is! "My jersey!", as he would say.

I've had 4 or 5 people mention to me that Jacob seems pretty athletic. I usually reply that he's only 2.5 years old, and we haven't contacted the Kansas Jayhawks about a full ride scholarship JUST yet! :)

Jacob does seem to be a pretty coordinated dude. Whether it's throwing, catching, batting, hitting a moving golf ball, kicking the soccer ball as he runs, kicking a hacky sack, or riding his bike, he's our sports dude.

Getting to know Jonah

2011-09-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

Little brother turned 5 weeks on Monday. It's been fun getting to know him and the things he likes right now.

What's little brother looking at? Big brother. Always gotta know what big brother is doing. And big brother often wants to be near little brother. :)

Jonah loves to sit. In the couch. This is how I often put him during the day. This sleeper he has on is sooo cute! The feet are hippos! Who wouldn't want to have hippos for their feet? At 5 weeks now, the newborn clothes have been put away. (I so much enjoy those cute little newborn clothes!) Getting bigger each day!

Snuggly blankets. This is one of Jonah's favorite blankets. He has 2 other, smaller snuggly ones that he loves. It's fun to watch him on the changing table as he has learned to sometimes put his arms around the blanket and cuddle with it.

Brotherly love. Jonah loves his big brother. Big brother tells Jonah all the time, "I love you" or "I like you so much." I couldn't imagine them getting along any better.....right now. :)

Jonah loves the mobile. He is very good at watching the animals dance. We play the music over and over again for him.

Jonah did well in the Baby Bjorn when daddy tried it a few nights ago.

Mommy and Jacob do tummy time with Jonah. He is so good at this! Whether it's on the boppy or on the floor, we bring out "Little Beep Beep" and he moves his head to see the red flashing lights and hear the music.

Mommy says,"YAY! You did so good at tummy time!"

Jonah is very content. He loves to just hang out and watch.

SMILE! SMILE! I got it! I finally got it on camera! We haven't seen a lot of smiles, but Pat keeps saying he smiles for her, but here is a good one! I've also had to start using bibs. He didn't spit up at all early on, but wow, now after every feeding 2 or 3 shots of spit up fly out! I change his clothes 2-3 times a day, and mine usually twice a day.

Jonah is a very content baby. So sweet. A great sleeper. Last night I slept from 10:45-6:00 AM. I forgot to set my alarm to nurse him at 3:30. He didn't wake up. We might try that again! I've been getting a stretch of sleep 4 or 4.5 hours long since he was 2 weeks old. Makes life easier when you've had a little sleep. :)

The lingering burp. You can burp him sometimes for 30 minutes, but after he's asleep, if he wakes up fussy. He usually has a burp. I've learned that the whiny, pain cry is because there is a burp. The WAIL, and I mean the "my face is beat red WAIL" is the hungry cry.

Jonah has started to "talk" and coo. It is so fun to sit and talk to him and hear him coo back.

Jonah's schedule right now, which is pretty consistent, within 30 minutes or so:

6:30 AM- nurse

9:30 AM- nurse

12:30 PM- nurse

3:30 PM- nurse

6:30 PM- nurse

9:30 PM- nurse

12:00 AM- this is the feeding we dropped at 2 weeks! :)

3:30 AM- this is the feeding we missed last night, and he continued to sleep! :)

Every 3 hours. Like clock work.

This is Jonah now. It will continue to be fun to see how things change for him in the weeks ahead.

Friday Night Lights

2011-09-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

Football that is!

Daddy took Jacob to his first high school football game last night. The Minnetonka Skippers of course.

Jacob had a blast! He talked about going to the game with daddy all day and when they got home, at 9:30 PM, he had a HUGE smile on his face! As they walked to the car upon leaving the game last night daddy said that Jacob said, "I go to my first football game. I go to more games!"

Yesterday, mommy and Jacob had their own sports fun. While Jonah was sleeping, mommy and Jacob played a basketball game in our basement. Mommy was trying to teach Jacob how to jump stop and we also discussed offense and defense. He loved the defense part! He giggled and giggled as I guarded him and tried to take the ball away. Usually we just shoot hoops together, but this was a fun variation to our play. Jacob loved it!

Our little sports nut! :)

Home

2011-09-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

It's good to be home. REALLY good. I've waited and prayed for these days for months.

I realized last weekend that I needed to set goals for myself for my time at home or it would go fast, and I'd forget to enjoy it. I'm very busy right now trying to get caught up to take my next CFP exam. I can easily get caught up in my studying and forget to live in the moment.

Right now Jacob is at home on Mondays and Fridays. These will be our FUN days!

Monday was warm, but very windy. I thought, "We'll go to the Splash Pad at CCC." Umm, when did it get to be the middle of September already? The Splash Pad is closed. :) We enjoyed the ball pit instead. I loved watching Jacob's confident personality. It was good to watch him tackle adventures in the ball pit and gym he might have been timid to try in the past.

I had promised Jacob we'd go swimming. In the afternoon we headed off to Lake Ann. I love this place! I had visited this summer on play dates with friends. I didn't get any pictures on Monday, but here are some pictures of Lake Ann from the fun times with friends this summer. Play dates are not only good for Jacob, but also for mommy. I learn so much from other moms around me!

Jacob enjoying the water with Chase and Owen (5 months older than Jacob)

The boys looking for sunnies in the water. There were tons! You just had to stand still to wait for them to come around you.

Play date with my neighbors, Shannon and Melissa. Shannon has Addie (2 months older than Jacob and Austin 7). Melissa has Colt (1 year older than Jacob) and Ella (15 months younger than Jacob). Addie swims with the floatie while Colt and Jacob wade in the water.

Running off the dock! Jacob never ended up jumping. Addie on the other hand, she's a dare devil. Austin and Cole (another neighborhood kid, 9) wait at the end to catch the kids. Austin and Cole are AMAZING with these younger kids.

On Monday, Jacob LOVED swimming! He played in the sand first, then the water, then the playground. He had a huge grin from ear to ear. He'd be in the water, then come up on the sand and do a belly flop in the sand, getting sand all over his belly. I'd say, "Are you having fun?" He'd run back to the water and yell, "I'm going to go have fun in the water!" I loved watching him enjoy himself. What a sweet blessing to be home to do this!

Today on our fun day we enjoyed time at the library. I picked up some truck and baseball books, which Jacob can't get enough of and we spent some time playing games on the computer. I'm trying to teach Jacob how to use the computer. It's a necessity for kids to understand in today's day and age.

While I'm home, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are my days with Jonah. These are the "relaxing" days. It's fun to enjoy the time at home with a baby! I also spend a large amount of these days studying for my CFP. It's something I have to be doing right now. Jonah and I have been enjoying walks each day as well to get outside and enjoy the weather.

UPDATES TOO!

On Monday Jonah was 3 weeks and we went to meet with another lactation consultant to work on breast feeding. She weighed Jonah and he was 8 pounds 14.5 ounces. Way to go little guy! He's getting bigger! :) I can definitely tell he is starting to fill out more and more each day.

SMILE!!!! :)

Also, last week Friday I went to the doctor. My hemoglobin was at 9.2! A huge jump in just 2.5 weeks from 7.4 when I left the hospital. The doctors were very surprised. No wonder I'm feeling so much better, but we still have a bit to go yet to get to the normal range of 11-14.

The other update is that we're settling in with nursing. As my hemoglobin has gone up, I've seen my supply increase. Now we are only supplementing 2 or 3 ounces a day versus the 3-5 ounces. All very small in comparison to the total 20-25 ounces Jonah takes a day. Nursing is still painful, very, but I've made the commitment to do it while I'm at home and we'll see how things pan out when I go back to work.

Brothers

2011-09-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of naming Jonah months ago is that Jacob has come to know him, and love him, as Jonah.

I love having 2 boys! Here they are......our boys! :)

Ok. How cute is this little guy? :) I could just smother him with kisses right now!

Jacob is such a great big brother. He absolutely LOVES Jonah! He really does. He wants to be involved in everything Jonah is doing.

Due to my shortage of milk supply we've had to supplement breast milk I've pumped as well as a little bit of formula. Jacob likes to be right there, helping out if we give Jonah a supplement after a feeding. When Jonah cries Jacob says, "Mommy, go see what Jonah wants," or he tells Jonah, "It's ok Jonah."

Sometimes I prop Jonah up on the bed for a bit. Once I found big brother right next to him, talking to him and playing with him. :)

Jacob introduces Jonah to all his toys of course too. A lot of these toys come up on the boppy when I'm trying to nurse. Makes things a little interesting.

Big brother takes care of little brother and helps to push him in the swing.

Jacob is constantly giving Jonah kisses on the head. It is so sweet, and he is so gentle. Whether he climbs up to give him a kiss while I am nursing or he wants us to bend down so he can give Jonah a kiss, Jacob is full of affection for his baby brother.

Jacob is going to school 3 days a week right now. Gives me an extra day with Jacob at home, some time with Jonah by myself, and keeps Jacob in his routine. This week as he got home from school I bent down and asked for a big hug. He ran right by me and said, "Where's Jonah?" and went and gave Jonah a kiss. He loves his brother!

Also this week someone from church brought us a meal. The woman had her 6 year old son with her. Jacob said to this little boy whom he had never met, "Come see my brother. See, there's my brother. He's sleeping." He loves to show off his new brother!

We are loving Jonah to pieces and loving being a family of four.

The first 2 weeks........

2011-09-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

....were overwhelming. It was bringing the 2nd child home, recovering from a C-section, starting to heal from low hemoglobin, healing my bladder, trying to figure out breastfeeding, and trying to get caught up on my CFP class. To be honest, it has been a very dark first 2 weeks for me. I would cry, often, and Jacob would say, "Mommy, it's ok," and come give me a hug. :)

The first 2 weeks were also overwhelming from the love and support we received. The people around us truly were "our hands and feet". Meals, meals, meals. People came and cleaned my house. Friends who walked in with a meal and saw 2 sinks full of dishes, washed my dishes. People that were in my area running errands would text me and say, "Do you need any groceries?" Friends watched Jacob for me. A friend demanded I give her Jonah for an hour so I could have a moment by myself to spend time with the Lord. Something I desperately needed.

These people have been amazing! I hope and pray that I can raise my 2 boys to give so sacrificially and eagerly as these friends and family have given to us. We thank you!

At 2 weeks on Monday. Look at those skinny legs! :)

On Tuesday we had Jonah's 2 week check up. I was ecstatic as he weighed in at 8 pounds 6.5 ounces. He was above his birth weight! YIPEE!

We continue to work on breastfeeding, VERY hard. Due to the low hemoglobin, I'm having serious issues with supply. One fountain is already dry. :) I'm pumping hard to try to get it to spring forth again. We're also working one on one with a friend from church who used to be a lactation consultant and starting an SNS system from the hospital on Monday. I'm taking tons of fenugrek capsules. I really hope to be able to nurse Jonah long term, but I have to take each feeding as it comes right now. I want to look back and know that I gave it my all. Not giving up yet.

Now that the "dark cloud" has lifted from our situation, we are enjoying Jonah SO much! He is so sweet. So content. Such a good sleeper.

Enjoying the beautiful weather outside! I love being on maternity leave!

Someone is getting very sleepy.........

50% Mom, 50% Dad, Definitely 100% Cute!!!!

Last weekend- our first weekend home

2011-09-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

We were discharged from the hospital on Thursday, 8/25. Thankfully my sister was there ready to help. I knew I was in good hands! Not only because she's my sister, but she's also the best bedside manner nurse you'll meet, even though she doesn't work in patient care anymore.

As I walked in the door, Alden (4) greeted me by saying, "Why does Auntie still have a belly?" :) The million dollar question. Wouldn't I like to know that too? Later in the weekend, as Kris was going upstairs to bring me some food, Alden asked her, "Will that make Auntie's belly smaller?" Alden- I love you to pieces! You make me laugh! I'll see Alden this weekend at Logan's birthday party. Auntie still has a bit of a belly yet. :)

Our house was crazy with boys all weekend! We had 3 little boys running around, a baby boy, and a sick mommy. Kris and Matt did great managing all of us and my dad came to help too.

How is Jacob doing? This weekend he was preoccupied with Alden and Logan a lot. It was a very hard weekend for mommy (for many reasons). While I was in the hospital Matt and Jacob would come visit me at night, and all weekend I was in my room sleeping or nursing. I barely saw anyone. Jacob wouldn't talk to me. He wouldn't even look at me on this weekend. Thankfully our relationship is back to normal now that mommy can go up and down the stairs again and I don't need as much rest.

Jacob holds Jonah for the 1st time

Logan (almost 2) was inseparable from Jonah...he LOVES babies!!!
Alden does such a good job being the "biggest" cousin

Grandpa Roger even stopped in to help! His help was much appreciated as he was a great distraction for the 3 oldest boys!

Grandpa Roger and his four grandsons

Grandpa brought cute stuffed animals for the boys...

I think this red teddy bear from Grandpa has become a source of comfort for Jacob during this change. He sleeps with it, carries it around, and says, "Where is my bear mom?" He loves it.

...and Grandpa took everyone out for ice cream at Dairy Queen Sat night! Ok, everyone but mommy and Jonah.

Everyone ALSO went out to Culver's for ice cream Friday night. Everyone but mommy as I was resting. I figure I have a lot of ice cream coming to me soon! :) Papa met the crew there to join in on the fun!

On Friday Kris kept the older boys busy as Matt had to work (end of the month sales goals to make) and I rested upstairs all day.

She took the boys for a long walk on Friday. They explored the trail, forest, and lake behind our house. She said they saw lions, tigers, beavers, and mosquitoes on their adventure (ok, not really, but they had to have some fun with our imaginations!)! Jacob often sees lions and bears in our house. I've even laid out blueberries on our kitchen table before for a bear to eat. So it doesn't surprise me that they saw them behind our house! :)

Three big boys need a bubble bath after a long walk and playing outside all day long

Can't even begin to explain the appreciation I have for my sister for coming with her 2 boys to help me. After our mom died we made a promise. We would always be there for each other to help the other raise her family and love on them like a grandmother would. It's a joy to raise our boys together. If Auntie Stef and Uncle Trevor ever have any babies, we will do the same for them too! :)

BIG day!

2011-09-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

Jacob started Preschool today with Step By Step!

Miss Laila called me at work in early July to let me know they'd be making the transition for Jacob to Preschool on September 1st. Which teacher would I like?

I had an idea of who I wanted to teach Jacob. Not knowing many of the teachers, I deferred to Miss Laila. She knew the teachers. She knew Jacob. Who would she recommend?

She said that Jacob would work well with any of the teachers. She started explaining a little bit about each teacher. When she got to Mr. Tom she said, "He is such a great teacher. Great with the boys!"

That was all I needed to hear! She confirmed what I already saw. Jacob is in Mr. Tom's Preschool class for the next 2-3 years.

Jacob loves Mr. Tom. As we would walk by his classroom Jacob would say in his deep silly voice, "Hi, Mr. Tom" and he'd wave to him and walk by his classroom. What I love about Mr. Tom is his heart to teach the children. He's not just teaching ABC's, etc. I've watched him interract with children from other Preschool rooms, encouraging them as he sees the children take care of each other or take care of their community. He's teaching values to children as well.

To celebrate the BIG day daddy took Jacob shopping to get a new backpack. Jacob picked out Thomas the Train of course. Such a big boy now that he is a big brother!

One week!

2011-08-31T11:00:00.000-07:00

Jonah turned a week old on Monday, 8/29. Both our boys had/will have their weekly growth pictures by the Jayhawk! :)

This onesie was given to Jacob by Auntie Lindsay. Jacob never really got a chance to wear it because he was so big and it was cold in December when he was born. It says, "Pick me up!", in Spanish of course since Auntie Lindsay lives in Argentina.

And "Thank you!" on the back! Sooooo cute!

Sunday Jonah had his first bath at home. Some friends gave me the advice to involve big brother as much as possible. So we put the bath on the floor and big brother LOVED helping out!

All clean!

Sunday we also took Jonah to the doctor for a quick check up. His bilirubin levels are now where they should be. He was born at 8 lbs 4 oz, but left the hospital at 7 lbs 8 oz. He weighed 7 lbs 14 oz. on Sunday which is great, but I know the pumping and supplementing I am doing is helping. We're having some nursing problems, but are continuing to work hard! That's for sure!

Enjoying all the "1st" with baby Jonah! All 3 of us are! He is sooo sweet!

Coming home (PICTURES ADDED!)

2011-08-26T12:09:00.001-07:00

We were discharged from the hospital Thursday afternoon. It's been an interesting last few days, to say the least.

Jonah continues to do well. He has had low bilirubin levels, as many babies do, so I've been working extra hard to feed him and he spent some time in a bilirubin bed at the hospital, but we hope we are on the up tick now.

I am struggling, to put it lightly. Bringing a new baby home is never easy, but I've had a few hurdles I didn't anticipate having.

I was unaware that on Monday I walked in the hospital to deliver Jonah, being anemic. Upon taking my blood Monday during the chaotic delivery and checking my hemoglobin they discovered I was at a 9. I was anemic before I even gave birth. No wonder I was so tired. I thought it was from the stress of my maternity date and trying to study.

As my doctor now describes it, "You have a sizeable hole in your bladder." I lost a lot of blood during surgery. Not a good situation when I was already anemic. My hemoglobin is now at 7.4. The doctors decided NOT to do a blood transfusion. I never anticipated anything like this happening.

I am exhausted. Not new mommy exhausted, completely exhausted. My skin is yellow and pale. I look like death. A simple thing like walking to the bathroom to empty my catheter, exhausts me. I'm up for an hour to nurse, then sleeping for 2. Or up for 1.5 hours, and sleeping for 1.5 hours.

It will take weeks to raise my hemoglobin level. My doctor said he would expect me to be back at normal in around 3 months. I sure hope it doesn't take that long! For now, I will be "holed" up in my bedroom as much as possible sleeping, carrying "my pet" (my catheter) around with me if I do get up, and loving and nursing Jonah as much as I can.

Praying and trusting God that my hemoglobin levels rise much faster than anticipated.

The typical "going home outfit". I brought a bunch of clothes. Not sure the size of the baby we'd have. I dressed him in long sleeves, pants, and a 3 month outfit. Ooops. Guess I wasn't thinking real clearly. :) But he was cute nonetheless.

"Shhhhh!", says mama. Jacob did the same thing of getting real fussy on going home day. I probably cried because of it with Jacob. But now, as a mom of 2, I do a better job of letting go of those perfect expectations of a "perfect" going home day and let it come as it does.

Most of our family! Jacob was at school. See the "mittens" or socks? Jonah is REALLY bad about pulling at this face and he was born with really long finger nails. The hospital didn't have a clipper or nail filer, so this sufficed.

Meeting Jonah (PICTURES ADDED!)

2011-08-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Each birth is unique. Jonah's birth was completely different from Jacob's.

All weekend long, I could tell things were happening. At 5:00 PM church I told Matt I thought I was having contractions. They weren't painful but consistent at every 10-12 minutes. After church we had friends over for dinner. I think this ended up being the best thing I could have done. I was active and busy hosting and preparing food. At one point I told my friend Fontine, "I'm kind of wondering if I am in labor." :)

Finally at 9:30 at night I determined I WAS in labor. Contractions were 4-5 minutes apart, lasting about 45 seconds, but totally bearable. :) Matt and I got did some final packing and I took my sister's advice......I mopped!

Dave arrived at the house around 11:50 PM. We headed to the hospital and arrived about 12:15 AM. On the way to the hospital I told Matt that I wasn't real sure if things were that bad and even if we should go to the hospital. Ha. Ha. I also told him, "I'm tired of trying to be a rockstar. I think I'm going to get some pain medication this time." :)

We arrived at the hospital. Surprise! Surprise! The nurse checked me and she said, "You're a 9! You're at a 9!"

They were trying to get me checked in and set up as the doctor comes in and says he wants to examine me. I asked him if he would wait until the contraction was over. He examines me and says, "You're ready to go! You're at a 10! We're going to push!" I was like, "Huh? I was at a 9, I have one contraction and now I'm at a 10?" I asked about pain medication (Remember, I was done trying to be a rockstar!) He says, "We don't have time! We need to push NOW!" I was like, "Huh?" He asks, "Where is your husband?" I told him, "He's moving the car out of the handicapped spot!" A few minutes later Matt walks in the room with all my pillows and bags and a stunned look on his face! :) His wife had already started pushing as he moved our car. It was crazy and chaotic! We laugh about it now!

Within minutes concern started to set in. I was trying a VBAC and Jonah's heart rate dropped to 70. Not a devastating low number but after pushing for 11 minutes and using the vaccum to assist my pushing for 9 more minutes, his heart rate wasn't going up. We flew off to C-section.

The medical team did so good in not relaying any concern during the delivery. Afterwards the doctor told me, "I thought you might be having a uterine rupture." He also said, "You have a small pelvis." :)

All in all, we are doing very well. Jonah was healthy and I am healthy. During the C-section the only complication was that the doctor nicked my bladder and cut a small hole in it. I lost a lot of blood, and have continued to lose blood lowering my hemoglobin. I'll have to wear a cathater for 10 days and they'll continue to montior my hemoglobin levels. Good thing nurse Kris and her boys are staying with us this weekend. :)

I am so thankful to the Lord for answering prayers:

- We prayed I would make it to August 19. Jonah was born on August 22nd.

- We prayed baby boy would be around 8 pounds. Jonah weighed 8 lbs 4 ounces.

- We prayed for a quick 5 hour labor. I was in labor from 9:30-1:16, about 3.75 hours. :)

It's so fun to have a baby around again! He is so precious! Everyone says he looks so much like big brother Jacob, but with dark hair.

Checkin' him out. Making sure everything is ok.

I love to kiss the head of this little boy too. This would be at almost 3:00 AM on Monday. My first time meeting Jonah.

Oh, so sweet! My little boy! :)

Papa visits Jonah at the hospital on Monday. Jonah was about 12 hours old at their first meeting. :)

Matt with his 2 boys!

Auntie Kris came to visit Monday night at the hospital.

Alden and Logan (not pictured) had tons of fun with Jacob at the hospital.

Mommy gets a little Jacob time after she's done feeding Jonah. Loved cuddling with BOTH my 2 boys!

Mommy and Jacob

We've grown by 2 feet!

2011-08-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

He's here!

First of all, thank you to all who have prayed so diligently with us and for us these past several months as the date for Keri to receive her full maternity benefit loomed over us. I can't begin to tell you how excited she is to have that time at home with Jonah and Jacob.

And now the big news!

Jonah Matthew made his grand entrance into the world this morning (8/22/11) at 1:16am! He isn't a small baby... the Burton's don't make small babies!:)... as he weighed in at 8lbs 4ozs and is 19.5 inches long.

Baby and mamma are doing well after the C-section delivery. I know Keri will want to fill in the holes regarding the details later. I will say this about Jonah's arrival, it was completely different than his big brother Jacob. Jonah was here after only 3 hours and 45 minutes of labor verses the 30 hours it took to get Jacob out.

Here's an early picture of young Jonah!

Today

2011-08-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day! Now that the stress of making my maternity leave date is gone, I feel great!

I know that life is going to change very soon. I know my time with Jacob is going to be much more limited. Some days it may be hard to have our night time cuddle sessions before Jacob goes to bed. "You lay wit(h) me 1 more minute mommy," he says after I've laid with him for 2 minutes already. He is my cuddle bug.

We have tried to get Jacob ready for baby boy's arrival as much as possible.We have talked about baby boy, using his name all the time. We have tried to teach Jacob to be a big boy. He sleeps in his big boy bed, dresses himself, puts his shoes on the correct feet sometimes, recently learned to put his socks on, often goes potty by himself without our help, and just learned to wash his hands by himself at our tall sink. Jacob's world will change, but we know he will LOVE being a big brother and will be such a big help.

Life will change for Matt and I as well. My husband has been nothing but spectacular these past 4 weeks as I rested and tried to get to "the 19th". Taking care of Jacob, doing all the grocery shopping, all the pick ups and drop offs of Jacob, cleaning up after meals, bathing Jacob, etc, etc. He has been so selfless!

On this day we spent time together and just had fun. Good family time! After going to Papa's in the morning for his garage sale, we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at Lake Minnewashta.

Daddy and Jacob enjoy playing in the sand.

After we get our bulldozers and dump trucks all dirty we can wash them off in the water and pick up sand under the water with them too! Daddy and Jacob each had a bulldozer to use!

Playing in the pipes!

After playing at Lake Minnewashta we visited the Pow Wow in the park right next to our development. Jacob loved this and didn't want to leave! We got to listen to their drums and watch all the dancers dance in their native dress.

What better thing to do to end a great day than to play croquet outside! We were given this set for kids as a hand me down from one of Pat's kids. You can play inside (which we've done a few times) or outside. Jacob loves this!

It's all going to change very shortly. For all of us. But we couldn't be happier or more excited to meet this little guy! Our family of 3, will soon be a family of 4- CAN'T WAIT! :)

We made it! :)

2011-08-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

We've had a busy week at the Burton household.

Daddy made it!!!!!!!!

Matt has been gone a major portion of this week in Atlanta for work, while I'm 39 weeks pregnant. :) He left Sunday late morning and got back safely Wednesday night.

Matt didn't want to go. He felt he was putting his job before his family if he went. I felt like the final decision was my decision. Was I comfortable with my husband leaving, knowing there was a huge possibility he wouldn't make it back in time if the baby came?

If I really believed that God was going to take care of this situation and He was going to get me to the 19th to qualify for maternity leave- then Matt would go. He was getting back on the 17th and I wasn't having this baby until after the 19th anyway. :)

Daddy made it back. I had some great girlfriends checking up on me and willing to step in and help if I needed it. After all, my father in law couldn't watch Jacob while also getting me to the hospital! Thanks to Shannon, Tricia, and Brage for being there for me!

I did a ton of resting while Matt was gone but Jacob and I did a few things as well too......

I couldn't do a lot of standing and playing with Jacob while daddy was gone. :( Jacob plays well independently. Here he gave his tractors a bath and spiked his hair for over 1.5 hours while mommy rested. He loved this! :)

As funny as it sounds, one of my favorite things about Matt leaving was what Matt did before he left. Sunday morning he took Jacob out for a "daddy date" at Caribou. They sat and had a treat and just spent one on one time together before daddy left. As we drove to the airport, I asked Matt what they talked about. :)

During this time with our 2.5 year old, daddy was planting seeds. Matt told me how he asked Jacob to take care of mommy, to be a good listener, and a good helper to mommy. :) No, he wasn't pressuring our 2.5 year old. Daddy was planting seeds that as the years go by, will be watered and grown to help Jacob understand his role as a man in his family.

Did I see a difference in Jacob? I really think he got some of it! He was such a good helper. He picked things off of the floor for me without me asking. As I tried to get up from his bed on the floor one evening he stood up, gave me his hand and said, "Mommy, I help you." Tuesday night as I had dinner with Brage and started crying explaining the stress I was feeling, Jacob appeared out of no where (he had been playing 20 feet away in the restaurant with Emma) at my legs, hugging me. I didn't even see him come towards me, but I think he noticed my sadness and came to comfort me. After all, daddy talked about taking care of mommy while he was gone. :)

We made it!!!!!!

Today is August 19th. WE MADE IT! WE MADE IT! I found out on Wednesday, that at midnight last night, August 18th, I would qualify for maternity leave. I am ecstatic! Truly blessed and taken care of by the Lord! :) He had it all under control!

I feel like a million bucks today. I really do. I know I was believing in faith that everything would work out fine, but I was stressed too, especially when they said I was dilated to 2 cm 4 weeks ago! No more resting. No more sitting down as much as I can. No more taking it easy. Now I get to enjoy this pregnancy.

It's been an exciting day. I've received texts, emails, and phone calls congratulating me! I even had my neighbor Jackie run up to my house with a huge smile on her face, "You made it! You made it!" It's been fun. I told my sister this morning, "I feel pretty confident that baby boy won't come today. I've had sooo many people praying he comes AFTER the 19th!" Thank you for all your prayers for us!

I went to the doctor this morning. Baby continues to be healthy, as do I. I'm dilated to 4 cm now and I'm not due until Sunday. Hoping and praying labor continues to progress over the coming days. My doctor says, "Get active!" So we will be very active this weekend!

Every Friday

2011-08-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

Every Friday now we have a routine. We go to visit the land development on Bavaria. Jacob loves it! He talks about it every day. We drive by every day during the week, but the workers have usually gone home by the time we get there. :( So we go visit every Friday.

Last Friday, 8/5, we got there late and one of the workers was getting ready to leave. Scott stayed and talked to us for awhile and let Jacob get close to the machines. He even offered for Jacob to go in one of the bulldozers, but Jacob was a little scared to do that. It was fun to learn from Scott that this HUGE development site will be the future home of Southwest Christian's new high school, which many in Chaska/Chanhassen are very excited for! (Jacob usually dresses himself in the morning, but this morning I let him pick out his clothes. Which he LOVES to do! Hence, orange on orange!)

This past Friday, 8/12, we visited late morning after running a few errands, including stopping on France Avenue for Jacob to see the bulldozer and digger at a different construction site. :)

We visited at the perfect time! Just as we got there, the digger (which hasn't been working since the first time we stopped) was digging right along the road! The workers were so friendly and let us get really close and watch the digger for awhile. Jacob loved it!

Not sure yet how we're going to explain to Jacob where all the backhoes and bulldozers have went in a few months when winter comes! We'll enjoy them while we can now.

Kids say the darnest things!

2011-08-13T03:10:00.000-07:00

I've said it before, how much I LOVE this time in Jacob's life. As a mom, I feel like it's hard to pick a "favorite age". If I had to, this is probably my favorite age, 2 and 3. Anytime I've volunteered at church in the children's ministry or at VBS, I've always requested 2 and 3 year olds. I love this age!

Kids say the darnest things! Rather than logging all of Jacob's jabberings in a "quote book," I'm going to try to remember to blog about them every so often. He is such a funny boy by the things he says and does! A very unique personality! We laugh at him all the time!

Jacob's toilet talk

- As he sat on the toilet he looked at me and said very matter of factly, "Uh-oh. My bottom don('t) work ." I said, "What?" He said it again, very honestly with concern on his face, "Uh-oh. My bottom don('t) work. Poopy not coming out." I started laughing and told him, "That's just gas bud. That's just gas."

- "Is dere (there) turtle in there?" Jacob has said this 4 times. Each time when he's going potty in a port-a-potty, as he looks down "the hole". First at the MN Zoo for the Pamper's Father's Day Celebration, then we were camping, at Lake Ann swimming, and most recently at the Carver County Fair. Makes me laugh every time!

- "Mommy, I closing my shorts so I don't pee on the chair." Mommy's reply, "How about we just get up from the table and go potty instead bud?" :)

- When we watched Tucker over 4th of July weekend I worked hard that weekend on teaching Jacob to go poop in the toilet. "Tucker, you watch me go potty!" Yes, Tucker had to be in the bathroom with Jacob most times in order for Jacob to go potty.

Jacob's perspective on obedience

- "Keri, I'm looking at you!" Often when we need to teach something, especially regarding obedience, Matt and I ask Jacob "for his eyes." "Mommy needs to see your eyes. Look at mommy please." This time Jacob reminded me, and used my name, that he WAS looking at me!

- "Mommy, you not being a good listener to me." Gulp. Yes, my 2 year old said this to me one day! A good reminder that I need to give him the same respect I ask that he gives to me!

- "No, I get to ask more questions." Man, I thought I had out-smarted Jacob with this one! As of a few months ago Jacob started asking, "Why?" I thought this didn't start until 3 years old!!!!! Twice, as this "why" saga was continuing I was able to say, "Jacob, no more questions now please bud." And it worked! The 3rd time he just simply replied, "No, I get to ask more questions." Darn. :)

Jacob's slang

- "Hey guys!" Jacob says this when he wants to get our attention.

- "Ohhhh, man!" I laugh at this one every time. Jacob says this often if he's trying to do something that he can't figure out how to do, or if he drops something.

- "Come on, man!" I laugh really hard at this one each time! I don't think this is a normal thing for a 2 year old to say, but Jacob says it, similar to the one above, at moments to "frustration" or if he's trying to get something to work.

Jacob's play time

- "You're silly mommy! You're silly!"

- "Do I make you laugh?" :) Jacob just said this to me a few days ago in the kitchen. He was up early (5:30) and he came down to see what I was doing in the kitchen. I don't remember what we were doing, but I was kneeling down, had him in my arms, and we were laughing so hard. That kind of a deep belly laugh where you are having tons of fun and are really happy! He pulled away from me a bit, had a huge smile on his face and said, "Do I make you laugh?" Oh, my sweet boy, you and daddy make me laugh everyday! :)

Jacob's food

- We drink a lot of protein shakes at our house. Jacob loves them! "D(r)ink p(r)otein shake and say ahhhh!" This is what Jacob used to say as he would sit at the table during breakfast and drink some of daddy's protein shake. Daddy taught him to say "ahhh" after every gulp.

- I laughed and laughed when Matt told me about a month ago after he and Jacob went to Costco and got to sample Nesquik that the first thing Jacob said was, "P(r)otein shake!!!!" Not quite bud, but close! He loves protein shakes!

- Matt has a hand held mixer to make his protein shakes. If Jacob is in the living room playing and he hears that mixer start up he has been known to run into the kitchen saying, "P(r)otein shake!!!!!" He loves protein shakes! Oh, I already said that. :)

Lots of laughs for us from the funny things he says. :)

4 down, 1 to go

2011-08-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

Relief.

I've had three main goals the last 2 weeks. Get through last week's and this week's work week and to pass my 4th CFP test. I made it through work yesterday and tonight I passed my 4th test, Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits. And obviously the 3rd goal is to keep baby healthy and NOT have a baby yet! :)

This test was probably my most difficult. I got a 70. Content wasn't difficult but at 9 months pregnant and ready to pop, studying is the LAST thing on my mind! Not to mention very uncomfortable and tiring to try and study or sit for a 4 hour test. :)

Don't look at me, look up. When this opportunity came up for me to get my CFP, I knew God was calling me to do it. While Matt and I hesitated a bit knowing ALL the work that would be involved and that I'd be pregnant and working at the same time, we believed that if He called me to it, He'd get me through it. And He has.

My scores have been 89, 70, 80, and now 70. I only need a 70. On the 2 hardest tests, I've received 70. It's like He keeps reminding me with such close passing scores, "Keri, I'm right here. I'll get you through it. Just far enough. Just trust in me. I've called you to do this. I'm going to help you."

The purpose in all of this keeps becoming more and more clear to me. It's very exciting! There is a reason why I am doing all of this. The purpose just hasn't been fully revealed yet.

Estate Planning starts on Monday. I'm off work through Tuesday! YIPEE! Matt leaves for Atlanta Sunday-Wednesday evening. Jacob and I will be hanging out, putting the final touches on getting ready for baby boy.....and resting. :)

38

2011-08-07T15:38:00.001-07:00

I'm 38 weeks pregnant today. On July 22, when I was almost 36 weeks pregnant, I was 2 cm dilated. Normally something to be very excited about, but when you're trying to hold baby IN until August 19th to be eligible for a 16 week maternity leave, my feelings were mixed.

I'm still pregnant. :) I take it one day at a time. Praying before I go to bed that I wouldn't wake up with contractions, and praising God in the morning that I didn't wake up with contractions.

I've seen the doctor twice since then. I've declined all pelvic exams, unless medically necessary (which they usually aren't). I have no idea how far dilated I am. Adds to my peace and doesn't stir things up more for me. I feel a lot of stuff going on with my body, but no contractions. I think the Lord is preparing my body for the 5 hour labor I've asked for. :)

I rest a lot more now. Which is hard for me. Matt, and Jacob, have been very helpful.

Baby and I continue to be healthy (which is good!) and my belly continues to DROP! At the bakery yesterday the lady said to me, "How long until your baby comes?" I said, "2 weeks." With wide eyes she said, "You're REALLY low!" At work on Thursday as the stock market went crazy and the Dow dropped over 500 points someone said, "What do Keri Burton and the stock market have in common? They both keep going lower and lower and lower!" Baby is really low.

The plan

God has the plan of WHEN baby boy will come, but we had to plan out a little of HOW baby boy would come.

Jacob came by c-section. After much prayer and consideration, I will try a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section). VBAC's are common today, but VERY risky, but very unlikely anything will happen. There is a .4% chance the uterine scar will rupture, but when it does-it's bad, real bad. As I was told, "We have 2 minutes to get the baby out and 9 minutes to get you secured." Gulp.

With a VBAC I have to go into labor by myself. They will NOT induce me due to the risk of the scar because contractions are harder with pitocin. If I don't go into labor on my own, the c-section date is already set. We're just keeping it a secret! They WILL let me go overdue, just not too long overdue. The longer baby cooks, the bigger baby gets, and bigger babies can mean difficult labors and the risk of that scar rupturing.

If I go into labor on my own, I have to go to the hospital immediately for monitoring. The first sign of the scar rupturing shows on the baby's stress level. If I check in and the baby is showing stress, meaning a possible rupture, they may take me to surgery immediately.

The decision to do a VBAC was hard for me initially knowing my role as a mommy is to protect my baby and not cause it harm. Finally, I realized that I am called to live by faith, not by fear. I'm praying I go into labor after August 19th, and I'm able to deliver this baby safely.

Understanding

The past 3 weeks the Lord continues to bring to me one of my favorite verses. He brought it to me on July 21st, as I started to wonder if I'd make it to August 19. This was the day before I found out I was 2 cm along. He brought it to me through a friend who sent me a devotional she thought I should read. And he brought it to me tonight as I started to lose faith again. I skipped church tonight to "be still" with God and there it was, on the pages of my devotional for August 7th.

Proverbs 3:5- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding."

He says to me, "Trust in me, Keri, with ALL your heart. Lean not on your understanding of what the doctors say, what you are feeling in your body, and in all that is going on. Trust ME."

So at 38 weeks pregnant, we WAIT eagerly to meet baby boy. I sit in his room often thinking of him, and praying for him. A few more weeks and I'll get to hold him. :)

Trusting and believing!

National Night Out

2011-08-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

Last night our neighborhood celebrated National Night Out. It was our first time celebrating. One of our neighbors, Melissa, did a great job planning it. I was going to help, but have been trying to lay low and rest more, so she did everything!

We had so much fun! Melissa had organized a visit from a fire truck. Jacob was initially scared, but eventually warmed up and took a ride in the truck with daddy and all the other neighborhood kids. He loved the horn, sirens, and lights!

Melissa and Ed have Colt (3) and Ella (1). They brought out their kiddie pool. Jacob had a BLAST "swimming" with the other kids. He loved jumping in the pool to land on the flotation devices. He's such a boy!

The police showed up for a visit too!

And the night wouldn't be complete without McGruff the Crime Dog! We've learned that Jacob is scared of anyone in a costume. He was scared of McGruff just like he was scared of the Panda at the Pamper's Father's Day Celebration this summer. Mascots aren't his thing! Unless it's a Jayhawk of course! :)

A great, beautiful night hanging out with the neighbors!

A little boy's dream

2011-07-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

We live in the suburbs. It seems like someone is always building a new development somewhere. On our way home from school, on Bavaria, they are starting a new development. It's huge! As Jacob and I drive by at night we marvel at all the bulldozers, tractors, and the huge orange digger!

Thursday night, rather than all the equipment being parked, they were working! As we drove by, I pointed them out to Jacob. They were too close to the road and since his car seat sits lower than the door he couldn't see them. I did what any mother would do-I turned around to drive by again.

I drove by a 2nd time from the other direction. Again, he couldn't see them. I did what any mother would do-I turned around. This time in driving by I pulled over, parked the car along the road, and we got out!

Ahhhh, a little boy's dream! To be that close to all those bulldozers (there were probably 4 working when we were there), tractors, and to see that huge digger in action scooping and unloading the dirt! What a treat! Jacob was in awe! He just stared, rarely said anything except, "Ohhhh! He scoop the dirt!"

We visited again today (Friday) in the late afternoon. The digger wasn't operating but one of the bulldozers was. It was so fun because the bulldozer purposely drove right by us really close and raised the blade as he got in front of us! We smiled, pointed, and waved to the driver who gave us a huge smile back!

As we put Jacob to bed tonight we asked him his favorite part of the day. No hesitation as he said, "Watching da bulldozer push the dirt!" A simple way of making a little boy's dream come true!

This time around

2011-07-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

As I near the end, this time around things have been very different with my pregnancy. It isn't that I haven't enjoyed being pregnant, I've just had a lot of other things going on including some very unenjoyable circumstances that have made my pregnancy less enjoyable. That's all I'll say about that. :)

As we get closer, I want to remember this pregnancy. This baby boy has been very active. I think probably more active than Jacob now I realize. We could be in trouble! The movements have been a lot harsher. This means that this baby has some REALLY sharp elbows or heels because it has caused uncomfortableness and pain for me. It's like I can feel the elbow scraping along the side of my belly! Specifically, intense bursts of pain the last 6 weeks or so in my lower left abdomen. Numerous people have seen me wince in pain. I've told my doctor, "He has to be kicking the same organ over and over again because it hurts and it feels the same way every time!"

This little one gets the hiccups, ALL THE TIME! Almost every time after I eat. It's this consistent, gentle- thump, thump, thump in my belly for about 5 minutes. :)

This pregnancy has been different because I'm not in very good shape right now. I feel a lot more winded (the heat and being busy has to do with that too) and my lower back is sore. All my fault. I haven't prepared my body to carry this little guy.

Sometimes after work or dinner, I need to lie down, even just for a bit. These times have been special as Jacob often joins me. He is my cuddle bug. "I rest wit(h) mommy." "I lay wit(h) you."

A few weeks ago, I went to lie down after dinner. Jacob wanted to be with me. Usually he lays beside me, but this particular time he wanted to get extra close and put his arm around me. My sweet boy!

We both love, love, love our cuddle times!

One hand. It started.

2011-07-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

We are counting down on one hand now. I was 36 weeks pregnant yesterday. :) We're excited to meet this little guy….after August 19th.

Baby continues to drop. I noticed it on Tuesday at work when I was sitting, in getting up, and in walking around. The suspicion was confirmed when I went to the doctor on Friday. I still remember my doctor looking at me with amazement and saying, "You're 2 cm dilated!!!"

So, it has started.

To be honest, I'm completely surprised. I went 42 or 42.5 weeks with Jacob and was maybe 1 cm when I finally went into labor. My sister, with both boys, didn't show much progress until she finally went into labor. I am shocked to be starting this early.

This weekend has been a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I am so thankful for friends in my life reminding me not to freak out! I go from worry that I won't get maternity leave (going back to work after 6 weeks with baby #2 is A LOT different than after 16 weeks!), to having faith that this baby won't come until August 19th, to freaking out as we're still getting ready for baby boy. I just want to be home to have some time to be a full time mom and wife! And then I quit being selfish for a bit and realize 36 weeks is full term. I'm barely full term right now. The best place for baby boy right now, is in my belly. Every day is a chance for him to grow stronger.

I think I've settled in now. I've given this to the Lord. He is in control. I know He's good either way. I'd REALLY like maternity leave, but I know He'll give me the strength to do what I need to do whatever the situation is.

Here we are at 36 weeks. Jacob loves to take pictures with me. He also loves to show off the "?????" in his belly. For those that don't know, baby boy has been named for quite awhile. We're just not posting it on the blog or facebook.

I think my belly looks really small in these pictures. I told Matt, "I barely look pregnant! That's so sad!" I want to have a big baby, just not too big. :) As my sister says, her 8 lb 5 oz baby was a lot easier to push out than her 8 lb 14 oz baby. Here I am at 37 weeks with Jacob.

I have prayed often during this pregnancy. That baby boy would come after August 19th, that I would be able to deliver this baby (Jacob was 30 hours with 3 hours of pushing, 3 failed vacuum attempts and finally a C-section because his head was crooked), that I would have around an 8 pound baby, and that my labor would be 5 hours, from start to finish. :) I am asking the Lord for VERY specific things! :) If I'm already 2 cm, a 5 hour labor is definitely possible!

Waiting very patiently.............

The Hoosier state

2011-07-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

We made a trip to Indiana this past weekend. I'd say our annual trip, but that is usually around Christmas. Auntie Lindsay, Matt's sister, is home from Argentina for a few weeks so we all went to Indiana together to see the Burton family!

I wasn't concerned about traveling. I actually forgot to mention it to my doctor. Then the letter came from Great Grandma Bebe before we left saying she had a doctor lined up, just in case. Then came the comment from someone at work, "You're going to spend 9-10 hours in a car and you'll be 35 weeks pregnant this weekend?!?!?" Oh, was I supposed to be worried? :)

It went pretty well. The ride down was a lot tougher than the ride home as we left at 3:30 and didn't get in to Indiana until 1:30 AM (MN time, 2:30 IN time). I didn't sleep a wink. The 2 hours of sleep I got before I woke up in the morning would be hard to manage. The ride home went easier for me as it was during the day.

Jacob did great in the car. We did puzzles, played with Tucker, read books, played with our Leap Frog letter biscuits, played with Auntie Lindsay, sang Bible songs.

We didn't take a whole lot of pictures while we were there, but here are some pictures of "the Burton tradition"- rubbing feet. Matt's Aunt Carol has always rubbed the feet of the grandchildren. Here Pat rubs Papa's feet, as she teaches Jacob how to rub Auntie Lindsay's feet.

I think Little Man received a little pampering and love of his own too!

Jacob was so excited to be "on the farm". We'd say, "We are going back to Great Grandma Bebe's house." Jacob would correct us, "No, Grandma Bebe's FARM!" He loves the farm!

Jacob took to the John Deere pedal tractor right away. Can you see him on the road?

I love this picture. Such a little farmer. Jacob loved seeing the tractors on the roads too. We don't see a lot of tractors cruisin' down I-494 around here, ya know? :)

Jacob pampers daddy.

Crazy Burton sisters. Dave's twin sisters, Carol and Ferol, taught Jacob a "farm" song. They all had GREAT fun singing it at the piano Saturday night. Jacob loved it!

"Oh, the cow kicked Nelly in the belly in the barn

Didn't do her any good

Didn't do her any harm

Oh, the cow kicked Nelly in the belly in the barn

Didn't do her any GOOOOODDDD

Didn't do her any harm!"

I love this video! It brings many, many laughs of the fun we had in Indiana.

Lindsay sings- "Didn't do her any GOOOODDDD!"

I haven't posted about it for awhile, but I realized last weekend that I think I can probably call Jacob potty trained. (When do you know for sure?) We put a diaper on him for both long car rides. He refused to go in the diaper, holding it until our next pit stop. At nap time we tried to put a diaper on him. Again, he refused. We'd have preferred taking the diaper away for nap time at OUR house, rather than on someone else's bed, but he didn't have any problems. He goes back and forth pooping in the toilet at school (great for a week, then 2 days of accidents), but I think it's an obedience issue more than anything because he doesn't have problems at home. So while someone at school told me, "He has to be potty trained for a month with no accidents to be declared "potty trained", I beg to differ. I'm calling him potty trained. :)

It's hot

2011-07-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

Real hot. Real high humidity. Don't you wish you were 9 months pregnant right now? :)

It's way too hot to be outside during the day but last evening our neighbors, Scott and Shannon, sprayed the hose for Austin (7) and Addy (2). I let Jacob go out on the deck for a bit and watch. He sat with a puppy dog face watching and wanting to join in. Too hot for mommy to be outside, but when daddy came home Jacob got to join in on the fun!

Scott sprays the hose while daddy, Austin, and Addy watch. Guess who is getting sprayed this time? Jacob of course!

Austin, Addy, and Jacob run through the hose in our back yard! They loved it and a great way for the kids to cool off, even for a quick 20 minutes!

How hot it is? A friend at work told me the weather man said that in MN we haven't had over 80% humidity for CUMULATIVELY over 22 hours since we've been tracking humidity levels. I don't know what all the humidity levels have been at, but the fact they're mentioning it means our levels have been high. I keep hearing heat indexes of 115 and 118 on the radio. It's hot.

Back to my original question- don't you wish you were 9 months pregnant right now? :) I've had some really tough moments the past few days.

After our long trip to Indiana this past weekend (more to come on that) I was exhausted yesterday and took the day off. I found myself in tears last night I felt so awful. My whole belly would tighten up, while at the same time my chest felt like someone laid a 20 pound weight on it. I couldn't catch my breath. I felt like I was starting to hyper-ventilate. Walking, especially upstairs, made my heart rate race and I felt like maybe I would pass out?

The secret? Water. :) LOTS of it! I felt the same way at work this morning. I didn't know how long I'd make it. Then I started guzzling water. I've drank probably over 130 ounces of water alone today. I feel tons better. Just don't ask me to run a marathon.

It's hot. It's humid. Drink your water people! :)

Sleeping...outside

2011-07-15T05:30:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to go camping all summer. A few weeks ago my neighbor and friend Shannon and I were going to sleep in our backyards with our kids. Our plans fell through.

I was ecstatic when my sister said she was going to go to the Annual Denstad weekend, and camp out. The Denstad's are relatives of my grandmother. About 30 years ago they started a tradition of having a hog roast, camping, fireworks, and tons of fun the weekend after 4th of July on their SE MN property. Kris and I haven't been to the Denstad campout in YEARS, but enjoyed the festivities immensely this year, as did our boys. Our little boys especially. :)

Matt and Jared did great putting up the tents, and then moving them. :) It was hot. After putting them up we realized they'd be a lot cooler if we moved them to the other side of the road. The Burton's had a cool HUGE tent for 7 people loaned to us by my dad. We didn't know if the 3.5 of us could fit in our 3 person tent. :)

Snack time for the boys as the tents are almost up. Rosy cheeks= HOT!

Jacob's first experience "peeing in the bushes"! I was excited when both boys pulled down their pants and they had the same Lightning MacQueen underwear on!

This is the area of MN that I grew up in. I never enjoyed the valleys growing up, but even with our little, simple camera- aren't they beautiful? :)

One of many activities for the kids. Our little sports nut spent a lot of time here playing with the big kids. He only got hit on the head once, and didn't even cry! He's dribbling the ball. He can often dribble twice and sometimes three times.

Riding the hay ride with daddy. Jacob's cheeks show again- it was hot!

Smooth, white sand to play in and TONS of dump trucks, diggers, and bulldozers=a little boy's dream sandbox! Grandpa Roger joined in on the fun too.

These two are two peas in a pod. I can tell my dad enjoys Logan's CRAZY personality! I can tell Logan enjoys Grandpa Roger too!

Matt was thinking. We bought glow sticks for all 3 boys. They loved them! It also made it easier to find each of them in the dark campground.

They had a DJ Saturday night that kicked off a little music before the fireworks show at 10:00. Mommy and daddy got to do some dancing together and, of course, Jacob TORE UP the dance floor! He put on quite the show for my aunts, actively playing to their reactions and laughter. He is such a cracker jack sometimes! :) Logan showed his moves too!

I love this video of us dancing. You can see Matt and I at first, we thought my sister was taking a picture, not a video. Then watch Jacob and Logan- they eye the bike riding around them at first at the beginning of the video and then Jacob eyes it at the end. He loves bikes right now.

We camped. We made it. We had so much fun. All 3 little boys did AMAZING all day and all night!

So, how did we sleep? The DJ played (loud) music until 1:30 and other adults were up enjoying the night until 3:00 or so. Matt fell asleep for a bit around 11:15. Jacob around 11:30. We were all up on and off all night. I know I did sleep from around 2:00-4:30. At 4:45 I heard this sweet, Logan voice from the other tent say, "Jacob". Kris and Jared didn't hear it, they must have been sleeping. I think Jacob was up around 5:30.

How did I do camping? Really well. I have learned with this pregnancy that I can be in the heat, dance, and go camping, but I have to know when to limit myself. Jacob and I rested Friday afternoon getting ready for the big weekend and we BOTH took 3.5 hour naps at home Sunday afternoon.

We didn't go camping expecting to get a lot of sleep, but we had SO MUCH fun! Since everyone was up early (by 6:00) we were packed up and leaving the campground around 7:00. Just in time to miss the rain.

A great weekend!

Jacob's studying

2011-07-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning we were getting ready to leave out of town. Matt was working out. I needed to shower. When I shower, Jacob is allowed to roam in the house. He usually stays upstairs. We trust him. He generally knows what he can and can't do.

As I got done with my shower, I called for him, wanting to make sure he was ok. No answer. I called his name again. No answer. This generally is not a good sign at our house. Jacob is rarely quiet. If he isn't talking or making noise, he's usually doing something he shouldn't be doing.

This is how I found him.............

I have online classes every Monday and Wednesday night. The classes are recorded. I rarely get to listen to the live version. I had tried to get some studying done in the morning. I had "paused" the tape to shower.

Jacob is not allowed at the computer. When I found Jacob the tape was playing, and he was holding the computer microphone up to his mouth, talking. I started laughing. "Who are you talking to?" I asked. Jacob simply replied, "A boy on the computer." I continued laughing and laughing.

Little Man had climbed up into the chair, un-paused my tape, pulled the microphone towards himself (like he does when he talks to Auntie Lindsay) and was talking to a man on the recording who was teaching about Defined Benefit Plans.

I love life with a toddler! You just never know the silly things they are going to do! :)

Our stay-cation- 4th of July weekend

2011-07-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the things we did on our stay-cation:

Jacob gets a hit! Uh-oh, it looks like daddy is going to get hit too! :)

Daddy got lucky. The ball drifted and he didn't get hit. :) Daddy fielded the ball and is now off to tag Jacob as Jacob "runs the bases."

Jacob made it home! Home run!

With CARS 2 in theatres, we wanted to show Jacob CARS first. He loved it! He snuggles up with daddy and watches. Note, Jacob had to wear his Lighting McQueen shirt and shorts!

Daddy said Jacob would yell, "Light(n)ing M(a)Queen!" or "Mader!" everytime Lightning McQueen or Mater came on the screen. There was a lot of jumping up and down going on too.

Daddy and Jacob, and mommy a little bit, watched CARS on Sunday. It was a good way to just rest and relax inside from the heat.

On Tuesday I worked from home (that would be studying actually) and went to pick up Jacob early from school. On Tuesday afternoon I was still really tired. We watched CARS again together. As we watched the movie my little rule keeper said, "Mommy, Mater said 'Oh, my gosh!'" We try to say, "Oh my goodness!" at our house. :) Then, towards the end of the movie I was so proud of Jacob.

At the end of the big Piston Cup race "The King" crashes. Lighting McQueen is ready to win, but he stops feet before the finish line, and goes to help "The King" and push him across the finish line in his last race. He sacrificed the big win to help! We talked about this when we watched the movie on Sunday. Tuesday, I watched Jacob when it got to this part. He had a sad look on his face when he saw "The King" crash and he said, "Help." I asked Jacob, "What should Lightning McQueen do?" Jacob said, "Go help him!"My heart was warm. Jacob had learned even a small amount from watching CARS about helping others, even if it means sacrificing something for ourselves. :)

Jacob rode his "motorcycle". This is what he calls it. Our cul-de-sac has a small decline in it. Fun for a little boy to ride down and then hit the incline as he hits the grass!

Jacob enjoyed his "new" bike from one of our neighbors. We have another bike coming too, but this one works well now. He loves it! I love this picture because it shows so much of Jacob's fun loving personality.

I hosted a BBQ in our neighborhood on 4th of July. One of our neighbors, Rob, helped out. Rob is Jacob's favorite neighbor. I don't have a picture of Rob, but he is a fun-loving bald headed guy with a big heart that has been divorced twice, but has no kids. We all grilled out and then lit off small fireworks in our cul-del-sac as we waited for the fireworks to be set off over McKnight Lake, which is right behind our house.

It's up! The crib is back up in our house! :) Matt worked very hard over the weekend to clean out our office and put the crib up. Jacob and I often turn on the mobile to listen to the music and we talk about how baby boy is going to sleep in the crib. Jacob put "Bear", baby boy's silkie, in the crib.

What else did we do? We dog sat, bird sat, phone sat, Jacob played some golf in our yard, worked on pooping in the toilet with Jacob, I studied some, and we just hung out on our stay-cation trying to get stuff done around the house....while still having some fun!

Grandpa Roger

2011-07-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

We had a visitor at our house Thursday evening, and we had so much fun! My dad was in town for meetings so he spent Thursday evening with us and stayed over night too. It was a joy to have him with us.

We went out to eat in Excelsior and then off to daddy's softball game, a favorite thing for Jacob. :) Some people are so nice and so giving! One of the mother's of a ball player cut up a bunch of watermelon for everyone to eat. Dad and Jacob enjoy some watermelon! I'm not sure what comment was made to make everyone smirk, but aren't they cute? :)

I love this picture because my dad was talking to Jacob. He was looking at him out of the corner of his eye. Jacob is looking up to Grandpa, just listening.

Daddy's softball game was in Excelsior, by Lake Minnetonka. Isn't it a beautiful place to play? We never go to a softball game without bringing Jacob's bat, ball, and glove. The kid is crazy about baseball! Grandpa pitches to Jacob. Jacob got a hit! :)

Another pitch and another hit! Good job bud!

One of things I love about being a parent, is the opportunity to see your parent be a grandparent. My dad loves to be a grandparent to all the boys. You can tell in how he plays with them, instructs them, calls them to say good-night, randomly buys them little things from garage sales.

I loved watching my dad with Jacob and I loved how helpful my dad was to me. :) My dad may not have even known that he did it, but I noticed. He was so helpful in getting Jacob in and out of his car seat and leading Jacob across the street. Simple gestures, but makes things even easier for me. A good thing! :)

Jacob loved having Grandpa around. The first thing he said Friday morning was, "Where's G(r)an(d)pa?" Then, despite mommy asking him not to do so and it being 6:30 AM, he went downstairs in our basement right away to see Grandpa. :) We hope he'll visit again soon!

MN Sea Aquarium at Mall of America

2011-06-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

After I take one of my CFP tests, as I did on Saturday, I always want to celebrate the passing score with family time! The weather has been hard to predict this summer, a lot of rain. That's ok. Makes for great indoor activities to enjoy. I've always wanted to go to the huge indoor aquarium at the Mall of America. Since Jacob LOVED the zoo, we knew he'd love this too! We had to keep telling him there were more fish to look at to get him to move past each "pool" of fish. He loved it!

Checking out the sting rays. Jacob loved banging his hand on the glass as each one would swim by, "I got you! I got you!"

Checking out the starfish in the "petting pool". Daddy touched, Jacob did not.

I don't know if you can tell in the picture, but someone's feet are OFF THE GROUND! Not because he was trying to touch the horseshoe crabs, but because he was so excited to be able to get so close to them! I think he said it like 10 times, "Mommy, look! Mommy, look!"

Oh, how he loved the beautiful jelly fish! Again, "I got you! I got you! I got the bigger one mommy!"

We let him get up really close to be able to "touch" the "bigger one." Mother hen is always close by to prevent a fall. See my belly sticking out? :)

One of Cbeyond's clients that Matt has worked with did a lot of the artistry and props. Jacob says, "Cheese!" as he sits in front of Poseidon's head.

Coolest thing ever!!!!The aquarium tunnel goes OVER you! You are surrounded by water to your left, above you, and your right. The fish in here were HUGE! I mean HUGE! And you were right next to them looking at them. The aquarium is done up very well. I was very impressed. We were viewing all of this in a shopping mall after all!

A shark comes straight at Jacob! I think these are called flathead sharks.

Like I said, HUGE! This sea turtle was 3.5 feet! It was amazing! Matt and Jacob watched it swim over our heads.

After a great time at the aquarium we went to eat at Sky Deck's restaurant in the mall. I'm not sure who liked it more, Matt or Jacob. The place was FILLED with TV's with the Twins game on. We had a great family fun night!

Father's Day

2011-06-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

Father's Day technically started on Friday at our house. I love some of the little things Step By Step (where Jacob goes) does for the families that attend. For Mother's Day, they hosted Mommy and Muffins. For Father's Day, they hosted Daddy and Donuts. Jacob and I had so much fun sitting and eating mini muffins for Mother's Day, so I knew he'd love eating donuts with daddy too. Jacob is wearing his Twins shirt and Twins visor, a regular thing for him. Daddy, well, he's dressed to go to work afterwards. :)

On Father's Day we invited Dave, Matt's dad, over for lunch. As I've mentioned before, Jacob loves telling people his name is "Jacob Wayne Burton". We've worked with him on the names of a lot of his family members. We sat at the table after lunch and Jacob listed the names: "Matthew Wayne Burton", "David Wayne Burton", "Keri Ranae Burton", and he's pretty good at Grandpa Roger, "Roger Edward Vetsch". We shared with him Pat's name, Patricia Lee Steinberg. Then, in that sweet Jacob voice he said, "What is Grandma's name?"

Oh, my sweet boy. It was silent. Tears welled up in my eyes. I composed myself as I said, "Jacob, you have 2 grandmas, their names are Marilyn Kay Wilbur and Karen Kay Burton." Yep, my mom and Matt's mom, had the same middle name of "Kay". My sister Kris, and Matt's sister Lindsay, also have the middle name of "Kae" and "Kaye". The funny thing is that it was days before Karen's death when she realized she'd been spelling her middle name wrong all her life, thinking it was "Kaye". Her birth certificate confirmed, it was "Kay", just like my mom. If we ever have a girl can you guess what her middle name will be? :)

It was amazing to me that Jacob asked this question, as I had just been reflecting to Matt the night before how I'm at a point right now in my life where I miss my mom and I miss having Karen around. It would be nice to have "a mom" to help me. We do our best to keep their memories alive and we thank God for all we've been given, 2 wonderful moms who live on in our hearts everyday. Oh, back to Father's Day! :)

After lunch we went outside to take some pictures. Papa and Jacob get a little sillly! Look to the left......

Now to the right......

Now straight ahead.......

Three generations of Burton boys. Love them! :)

Daddy and his boy. How cute are they? :)

Our family on Father's Day 2011. Matt, Keri, Jacob, and baby boy. How cute are we? :) Hee, hee.

After lunch and taking pictures, Pat sat with Jacob and read some books before nap time. Yes, I think they both took a nap. Jacob at our house and Pat took one at Papa's house. :)

We had a great Father's Day. I got to talk to my dad over the phone and my sister had him over for dinner that night. We spent last year mostly with my dad, so we'll try to spend next year with him. And there's always Matt too! We have a tradition for Mother's Day for me (still need to do it yet this summer). We need to start one for Matt for Father's Day. I"ll be thinking of something for next year.......

Pamper's Father's Day Celebration & MN Zoo

2011-06-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

I won! I won! I was excited! I won tickets to Pamper's 1st Father's Day Celebration at the MN Zoo on Saturday through a free newsletter, Macaroni Kid, my neighbor and good friend puts out. This meant a free family BBQ with games, face painting, prizes, and the Teddy Bear Band, as well as free MN Zoo tickets.

We had SO MUCH fun the entire day Saturday. The only thing that would have made it better, was the weather.

The first thing we did was paint our hand prints. For the contest Pampers asked on each contest entry to answer, "My child is a miracle because.........."and they included everyone's answers on the back of the paper. As we drove home after the full day I cried as I read what each parent wrote. What a blessing children are to the world! We love our little blessings! :)

Neighbors and friends, Shannon and Scott, were there with Austin and Addie. Another activity for the kids was making bead jewelry out of macaroni. Austin (7) got his face painted too as a spider. How cool, huh? Jacob wasn't real excited about the face painting part.

During lunch we listened to the Teddy Bear Band. I say "listened to" because, Jacob wouldn't dance. He is so sensitive to sound! He said, "Mommy, too loud! Music too loud!"

We dipped out of the festivities a little early, as we saw the rain coming and we wanted to get to the zoo. Jacob LOVED the zoo! He is at the age now, where he can start to appreciate all the animals. Jacob wanted to see "the bears" the most, but we stayed inside to avoid the rain. We'll see "the bears" next time.

Jacob was so giddy seeing all the animals. Here he looks at the seahorses. He loved putting his hand against the glass trying to "catch" the sea horses.

He also loved the viewing pool with the sting rays and bigger fish.

When it really started to pour, we enjoyed the Monorail. I love this picture! One of my favorite things to do is kiss the head of my little boy!

Happy Father's Day weekend daddy! Daddy and Jacob!

Daddy and Jacob look at camels from the Monorail. Trust me, they were camels. I'm still learning how to use our fancy camera. :)

Cute boy Jacob!

Finally, we enjoyed the dolphin show. Every time we ask Jacob, "What was your favorite part at the zoo?", he says, "Dolphins!" They are such beautiful and amazing animals. Can you see the dolphin catching the ball? Maybe I'm not so bad with our camera after all! :)

It was hard to get his picture, Matt and Jacob were so close to me. I was trying to get Jacob's giddy, excited reaction at the dolphin show. He loved it! This picture was AFTER he was all excited. Look at how intently he is watching the show. You can see his amazement and interest on his face.

We had such a great family day on Saturday. I told my friend Shannon over and over again how much fun we had! A great start to the Father's Day weekend!

Odds & Ends at 2.5

2011-06-17T02:22:00.000-07:00

Jacob turns 2.5 years old today! Often when I blog, I try to make each post a story. Sometimes I just need to do an "Odds & Ends" post. (This is more for me to have this all recorded.) Here it is…..

We are enjoying Jacob so much. He is just a fun little boy to be around. Lots of smiles and giggles. Whether it's talking in the car, talking at the dinner table, or talking in bed (Jacob does a lot of talking!), we just enjoy being around him.

* While it hasn't happened recently, we did have some problems with Jacob going outside, WITHOUT mommy and daddy. He tried to open the door knob once. I thought, "I'll teach him how to do it. A good way to help him develop his hand coordination." Bad idea. On one occasion I found Jacob outside with his sandals and coat on, once in the garage all dressed and ready to go, and once in our mudroom getting dressed to go outside. Mommy gave very stern instructions that we do not go outside without asking. No problems since, so hopefully that will continue. :)

* Jacob has two buddies at school. He still plays a lot with Leo, but his new buddy is definitely Joey. "There's Joey's mommy!", "Bye, Joey!" When I ask what he did at school, I usually get the response of, "Play with friends." When I ask who? It's always Joey. Unfortunately Joey is gone for the summer. His mom or dad must be a teacher, but he'll resume in the fall.

* Miss Laila is Jacob's main teacher, but there are other teachers or aides that are in his room everyday to help out. One such teacher is, Miss Karin. We love Miss Karin and I think she has a special place for Jacob in her heart right now. Often when I pick him up she tells me stories about Jacob's day. One day she asked me what we were eating that night. She said that Jacob was telling her we were eating, "Chicken and rice," one of his favorites. Weeks ago she asked me if we were having a boy. When I told her we didn't know at that point she got a perplexed look on her face and said, "Jacob said the baby's name is Jonah." :) I told her the baby has always been "Jonah" to Jacob. On another occasion she laughed and laughed as she talked about Jacob saying his name. If you ask Jacob his name, he will tell you- Jacob Burton or often, Jacob Wayne Burton. Everyone at school, including other teachers in other classes, call Jacob- Jacob Burton. That's how he refers to himself. As we walk out of the building at night teachers often wave to him and say, "Bye, Jacob Burton!" :) Silly boy!

* Ever since staying with my sister and her boys the end of April Jacob has been into this boy/girl thing. Jacob loves to roar! When he roars at me, I roar back. I always get the response, "Mommy, only Jacob and daddy roar." or "Mommy, girls don't roar. Only boys roar." Recently, he said to me, "Mommy, do you want to come to my softball game?" I of course said, "Yes!" He told me, "You can't bat in my game. Girls don't bat. Only daddy and Jacob bat."

* Jacob's recent bout with stuttering continued for a few months, went away for a few weeks, now I feel like it's come back again a little bit. When he wasn't stuttering I was really amazed by what he would say and how he would say it. The kid can talk, that's for sure! I wonder if I'll ever get tired of how much he talks and all he says. While it may be a developmental thing at this age, Jacob often repeats the last few words we say. I'll say, "Jacob do you want to go downstairs?" To which he'll say, "Downstairs?" or I'll say, "Let's go over there and sit." and he says, "Over there?" It's the cutest thing. Like a little echo. :)

* Another latest thing of Jacob's, "Watch! Mommy, watch!" He wants us to watch everything he does.

* A lot of times when we walk down the stairs in our house I hear, "Mommy, I go first!" or "Mommy, I go in fron(t)." I've explained that sometimes mommy goes first, and sometimes Jacob goes first. Jacob walks down the stairs a lot slower than A-type personality mommy! :)

* Yesterday morning when I went to get Jacob out of bed the first thing he said to me was, "Mommy, don'(t) talk to me. I am busy." :) LOL! I know I was like, "Huh?" but I thought it was so cute! There wasn't any malice in his voice. He just stated it matter of factly. At the breakfast table Jacob again said, "Mommy, don'(t) talk to me." This time, daddy properly redirected Jacob and let him know we don't talk to mommy that way and gave him options of how to say what he wanted differently.

* Everyday one of the first things Jacob says to me is, "Mommy, you want to go to my softball game?" or "You want to go to my football game on Friday?" or "I have 5 softball games." Get the idea? We honestly hear this all day. Earlier today when we were getting into the car to leave, on two occasions he said, "Bye mommy. I go to my softball game." and then proceeded to get into his Cozy Coupe. :) He cracks me up sometimes!

* Potty training- Today is was 3 weeks since we started. I thought we were close, but I"m not so sure anymore. No problems or accidents with pee, the poop thing is still coming. I feel like he's regressed a bit. I need to give it more thought and prayer, but I think we're going to have to use a different method. 4th of July weekend will be a big weekend again, as I'll have at least 4 days to work with him. We'll keep working on it until then.

Like I said, all this is more for me. :) I feel like I could go on and on about all the funny things he says and does. We love having a 2.5 year old in our house!