Funny Moments

We put Brady in his bumbo chair for the first time to see how he would do. He was still a little floppy, so we made sure to have our hand behind him incase he flopped backwards, but he's getting stronger. Skinny K can also sit in the bumbo seat.


My mom's friend Annemarie is in town from Holland and brought K these slippers that resemble dutch wooden clogs. Katelyn loves wearing them and even slept in them the first night. When her pj's are on, she has the slippers on at all times. Brady has a pair of blue ones, but he has to grow a bit before they fit.



K and the slippers.




I heard Brady giggling and belly laughing and saw he was pulling the mirror on his play gym towards him to catch his reflection.





Katelyn likes to show Brady how to lift his head when he's doing tummy time.

Halloween 2008

Katelyn at her school's halloween party with DJ's little brother Daniel. They trick or treated in each classroom and had a little parade, then had a party after lunch with treats and juice.


The kids and I at a make shift pumpkin patch....there were only 20 pumpkins left, so the lady working there helped me stage a picture.

Our little cinderella. The high heels didn't make it trick or treating...just for the picture.

This Halloween, we had some special guests. My Uncle Kim and Auntie Carol from South Africa came over with my parents to experience their first Halloween. After ordering some chinese food, we got Katelyn dressed in her cinderella ("cinder-brella" as K says) costume. Bryan, U. Kim, and my dad got a beer and they trick or treated with Katelyn. Our street was pretty quiet, but the street behind us is happening...garages turned into haunted houses, lawns decorated with those inflatable ghosts and jack-o-lanterns, etc. At one point, Katelyn returned home to dump her full treat bag, then went back out to fill it up again!! She doesn't even really like candy, but loved being outside and ringing the doorbells. Brady stayed home with us (my mom and a. carol) and we handed out the candy.

Dora Birthday Party

Dora birthday cake...1/2 vanilla, 1/2 chocolate...very good cake from Target!


Mimi the clown does her magic show. The kids loved it!



DJ and Katelyn with their Tiger face paints.



For Katelyn's 4th Birthday, she wanted a Dora/Diego theme birthday party. I was surprised by her choice...we never watch those shows, so I wasn't sure where she got that idea. She insisted that's what she wanted, so we got the invitations, balloons, plates, cups, tableclothes, etc. We were Dora crazy! We also hired Mimi the Clown to come and do a small (but very cute) magic show for the kids, then they lined up for face painting. The kids loved it! And it was the perfect thing to keep them occupied. Once the clown finished, we had hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone, then the Dora birthday cake and then it was over. It really flew by!! Brady slept through the whole party and Katelyn started to come undone as the party progressed (just too much excitement and a bad night's sleep after a long day at Epcot the day before), but she held it together. We received so many great gifts for Katelyn and she loved them all!

Happy 4th Birthday to Katelyn!

Katelyn Isabelle Burless, born Oct. 27, 2004. My baby girl!


Now 4 yrs. old. Blowing out candles on the cupcakes we made...she didn't want to take her new helmet off. In fact, she wanted to sleep in her helmet!



Surprised to get a new bike for her birthday.




Taking the new bike for a spin in our house.





Birthday girl at her party.





Four years ago, I entered North Florida Regional Hospital six days overdue and more than ready to have my baby girl. Our first baby. A dream pregnancy. A nursery at home stocked with more pink clothes than any baby could possibly wear. The first grandchild on both sides of the family. Everyone was so excited to meet this little girl. We kept her name a secret (and good thing because we totally changed it 3 weeks before she was born, she was going to be Sarah, but we couldn't agree on a middle name). I was thrilled to finally have a room (we were supposed to be induced 2 days earlier, but the maternity ward was too full). We felt very prepared for labor and delivery and I had watched every episode of "A Baby Story", so I thought I knew exactly what to expect. Our childbirth teacher told us contractions would feel like "bad diarhea cramps" and if we breathed through it, we could do it without an epidural. Wow...was she wrong! Once our pitocin kicked in, I was in so much pain. My water broke in front of my dad and I was mortified. I had dilated to 7cm before I could get an epidural. Then I pushed for over 2 hours with no luck. My dr. tried to vacum her out. No luck. Heart rate dropping...rushed into the OR...cord wrapped around the neck...and finally at 6:56pm on Oct. 27, Katelyn was delivered via emergency c-section. We had a quiet moment where they held Katelyn up to my cheek...I could finally feel her, smell her, hear her breath....what a relief!!






And now that baby girl is 4 years old and I feel like it was a blink of an eye and here we are. That baby girl doesn't stop talking or singing or playing or running. That baby girl is now a big sister, and the best big sister there could be. She is so smart and outgoing and social. She is loving and kind and full of imagination. But she will always be my baby....

Fun time with the Coopers

Trying on a sombrero at the Mexico pavillion in Epcot. Perfect fit, don't you think?


K and Goofy at the character spot at Epcot. All the main characters are there to meet and greet all day long, but the line is unreal. Bryan waited with her while I fed Brady on a bench outside of the building. I fed Brady, went inside to change his diaper, back outside and read the map, info. on the food and wine festival, called my mom and sister and talked to both of them, watched a performance of these guys playing music on buckets, and they still weren't through the line. I think they waited over an hour. But it was worth it...Katelyn was thrilled to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto.



One of the coolest places in Epcot...the Cool Zone where you can sample coke products from around the world. Here is Bryan enjoying a sample. My personal favorite is Krest Ginger Ale from Mozambique (also sold in South Africa). They have a very bitter soda from Italy, a watermelon soda from China, a sprite from Germany, etc.




Exhausted before we even enter the park!! Brady had a blast! He was sooooo awake the whole day,(except here as we enter the park) just taking everything in.





Ready for the day! We got our money's worth and stayed for 11 hours. Yvonne had a pedometer on and at the end of the day we had walked 11.3 miles.





Bryan's best friend Sam, his wife Yvonne, and their 2 yr. old twins, Avery and Amaya drove down from Ohio and spent the week with us at the end of October. We set up pack and plays in the office for the twins and Sam and Yvonne slept on the futon in our front room. Katelyn had a blast playing with "the kids" and they all got along very well. While they were here, we went to our local playground, enjoyed the Orlando Science Center (how have I lived here this long and never gone?? What an awesome place! Katelyn loved all the hands-on exhibits and we arrived in time to watch the alligators get fed.), and went to Epcot for the day on Friday. It was a fun week! Bryan was able to take a few days off work, so he and Sam went golfing one day and then to a shooting range together. Yvonne and I also enjoyed some time away together and went to starbucks (the pumpkin lattes they have this time of year are the best!) and just wondered around Target (kid-free! We really enjoyed it). When Katelyn was at school, they took the twins to Downtown Disney and Lake Eola Park. It was nice to have to company. Hope to see them again soon!

Pirate Party

Face painting at the pirate party. Getting her face painted is one of K's new favorite activities!


Such a happy girl!



Katelyn's pirate outfit. We found beads in her dress-up box and then tied one of my scarves around her waist.




Brady in his pirate outfit.

On Oct. 18th, Bryan's work hosted a barbeque and "Pirate Party" for all the families. We got into the pirate theme and had Brady and Katelyn dress up. We raided Katelyn's closet for her costume and Brady already had an outfit with pirates on it, so that worked out perfectly. The party was held on a large lake up in Apopka, about 30 min. north of us. There was a playground there and covered pavillions with picnic tables. Katelyn loved the playground and played for hours with the other kids. This was the first year we didn't have to tend to her at all times...she played and we knew where she was. We could see her from the picnic tables and had confidence in her ability to climb the slide, etc. Brady enjoyed being passed from coworker to coworker. All the ladies were eager to hold and spoil him and he was all about it. Each family received tickets where we could enter to win a variety of prizes. The mystery prize was a flat screen tv (no, we didn't win). We did win a cuisine art sandwich maker, which Bryan really wanted and we've put to good use. Did you know you can make omelettes in it? The weather was perfect and we had a blast! We all slept well after this fun day!

Visitors and a Growing Baby Boy...

This week, Aunt Nancy and Great Grandma KooKoos (this has been Katelyn's name for her for years and it just stuck) flew down from Cleveland to visit us. This is the second time Grandma has been down since Brady has born, but the last time she saw him, he was only 2 weeks old. He's changed a lot in that time!! She just couldn't get enough of his smiles and it would bring her to tears almost every time he smiled at her. Apparently they have a little "love affair" and I had to make sure she didn't sneak him in her suitcase when they left!! They treated us to a wonderful dinner at Stonewood Rest. on Monday night, then out to a nice lunch on Tuesday while K was at school. Katelyn kept them busy with tea parties, coloring, etc. and they were more than happy to participate!! It was great to have them here, even if it was only for 2 days.

Nice to have Nancy here to have a beer with in the evening!

Brady is growing like a weed! I can't even tell you! He is often mistaken for being months older than he is. Big boy! His appetite is unreal. He even started waking in the middle of the night for feedings again (naughty!) and will nurse with such desparation for 30 min. before he gets full enough to go back to bed. He is 12 weeks old now, so I thought about calling the ped. to see if I could start him on a little rice cereal. But the weekend passed and then the extreme hunger seemed to pass and he was back to sleeping through the night (good baby!) and more content during the day. Guess it was a growth spurt (again). You should see the rolls on his upper thighs and upper arms. Geez.... But I have to say, he is just the most darling baby. He usually only cries when he is hungry (not the most patient when the bottle is warming...). Even when he wakes in the early morning to eat, he just kind of coughs to get my attention through the monitor. He is cooing and smiling constantly, even doing an occasional babble. He still loves his bouncey chair and floor gym and even rolled over the other day while he was so mad waiting for his bottle. So, he's not to be left on the couch now, etc.

I have pictures to post, but our computer is having major issues and I can't access them at the moment (I know, I know...pictures are why you're here). Hopefully we'll be up and running soon.

I love Facebook!!

Okay, so it's taken me a few months to really get into facebook and understand how to use it, etc. but now that I've got a handle on it, I LOVE IT!! I have reconnected with some VERY old friends that I haven't seen or talked to you in decades. Best friends from junior high, neighborhood friends from Connecticut, and an old neighbor from Massachusetts. It seems like every day I'm finding someone new or joining a fun group (elementary school alums, hometown groups, etc.). I just love it. Plus the status updates keep you in the know of everything going on with everyone. Such a great way to stay connected, esp. when you are far away from family and friends. Now I can see what my family in South Africa and Boston are up to, plus friends in Chicago, Ohio, Gainesville, etc. Still don't understand the whole "poking" thing....but everything else I love!

Days go by....

Smiling away in his bouncey seat (his favorite).

Katelyn insisted I take this picture of her "doing ballet."


Brady LOVES his bath time! This hammock is the best invention ever! He just lays there and really can't go anywhere.

This is how we do bathtime at home...get them both done at the same time. This bath time has lead to many discussions about girl part and boy parts....

Holy moly, Brady is 10 weeks old already!! I just do not know where the time goes. I say that to myself everyday...it's noon already, where did the morning go?...how can it be 10pm already???.... I just can't stand how quickly this is all going. I know it's because Brady is our last baby and I just want to savor every second with him and it's all going so quickly. Part of life, I guess. Brady is now cooing and even has a little giggle started. Every once in a while he even takes a big breath in and screeches. He's getting stronger and can hold his head up on his own now and does well with his tummy time. So far, we've avoided a flat head and that bald spot babies get on the back of their heads. His skin seems to break-out in little bumps often, not sure if it's the heat or just some baby acne. We've fallen into a great routine...wakes for the first time around 5:30am for a feeding, then goes back to sleep until 8am. Eats and is very awake until around 10:30...eats again and naps. Another feeding around 1pm and takes his long nap until approx 5-6pm. Eats and then is awake until bed time, about 10pm. Repeat. Brady is gaining lots of weight (I think we're up to a triple chin) and is just the sweetest baby. If every baby was like this, honestly I'd have a dozen more :-) Well, that's a bit much, especially after seeing that "17 kids and counting..." show last night!! I've started calling Brady "dreamboat" because he's just such a dream baby! I was so nervous I'd have a fussy baby because Katelyn was also a good baby and every warned me, "wait unitl your next one..." He does have his moments occaisionally (last night at church group he screamed so loudly...poor guy had such a bad burp!) and he does get a bit cranky at night before bed when he's tired, but other than that I'm telling you he is soooo good. Makes life soooo much easier!!


Katelyn is doing great this week. She is excellent in school and her teacher told me today she is ready for kindergarten. Too bad she has such a late birthday...we have a whole additional year of preschool next year before she can start. She really enjoys her preschool at our church and loves getting the responsibility of being line leader, snack helper, and today she was the caboose, ("I have to make sure everybody stays in the line!!").


Jealousy does come through on occasion and that is not pretty. She had a complete meltdown last week while we were out at Chuck E. Cheese and then out for a pizza lunch with friends. I thought it would help to do something fun with her friends, but instead she just couldn't handle it and had several tantrums. It was a VERY challenging day. Once we were home and she was in bed for a nap, I stood in my pantry (not sure why) and just cried. I struggle with balancing my time between the two of them and often I feel like it's Brady who gets the short end of the stick. I didn't know how easy it was to just have one child! I know every mom struggles with this, but it's still so hard. Some days go so smoothly and I think, this is okay, I can handle this and other day (like the meltdown day) I think it's nearly impossible. I've just realized you have to take it one hour at a time...

Universal Studios

Here we are with Beetlejuice....I spilled coffee on my white t-shirt within an hour of being in the park...errr! And yes, my boobs are still ginormous.

Katelyn in the gift shop after the mummy ride in some Egyptian head gear.

K and B togehter outside the simpsons ride (the ride made me want to puke).

On Saturday, we decided to do something fun and get out of the house for the day. We have annual passes to Universal/Islands of Adventure and we've only used them once (when I was VERY pregnant in July...not such a fun experience!). I wasn't sure how Katelyn would do without a nap or how Brady would do in his stroller all day, but to me it was worth the risk...I wanted to get out and ride some rides!! The weather was awesome, although a bit hot in the sun and it was a little crowded, but we had a great time. Brady was an absolute champ in his stroller and would doze off and on during the day and when he was awake would just look around quietly. When we waited in lines, he was content being held, although Bryan and I had to pass him back and forth because our arms would burn....he is getting HEAVY! Katelyn was also great...no meltdowns and she had so much fun. One thing we learned is to hold Barney over her head (there is a little Barney Land in Universal). Anytime trouble would start, all we had to say was, "do you want to see Barney?" and trouble ended. Bryan and I took advantage of the Child Swap program, where they have an area with benches near the ride where one parent waits with the kids and the other rides, then you switch. Some rides even let parents cut in line to do this. We were able to walk right onto the mummy ride (awesome!!). There's a great Irish pub in the park where we eat and drink everytime we're there and we had our picture taken with the Beetlejuice Revue. I was able to ride the kiddie coaster with Katelyn and we had a blast, but the poor kid...once we did reach Barney...they locked his doors and she never did get into his playground. But she handled it well :-)

Finally, some pictures!!

Michelle, Mom, Brady, and Ali after B's bath. They stayed with me while Bryan was in Ft. Myers for the weekend celebrating Andy's bachelor party. Ali was kicked out of her house since that's where the party was being held, Michelle's financee was the guest of honor at the bachelor party, and mom came to help us out.

Brother and sister having a snuggle before bed...




Sleeping Brady...








Mom holding Brady. Is there anything cuter than a baby snuggled in a hooded blanket? I wish I had smell-vision so you could just smell the baby lotion and shampoo...mmm...











Brady and Katelyn laying on her bed before story time.









School project...decorate the cut-out to look like you. We dressed it in an Ohio State cheerleading outfit and made pom-poms. Here's K with her twin.






Close-up of our project.



More homework :-) K had practice writing Bb's. This one worksheet took us A LONG time because K was so stubborn about getting it done. We're in trouble if we're already having issues doing hw in preschool....

Just can't keep up...

I've turned into such a bad blogger since Brady arrived! And I have so much to say everyday and just don't seem to have an opportunity to sit and blog at all. I honestly don't know where the hours go during the day. It's not like I have anything to show for all the time that goes by...I don't cook elaborate dinners or bake desserts from scratch. My house is tidy, but not super-clean, and there's always of e-mails in my inbox to respond to or voice mails waiting to be returned. Please be patient with me :-) This adjustment from one, pretty independent child, to two children (one totally relying on me for his every need) has thrown me for a loop. I was warned and warned again that life would be v. different once Brady arrived, but until you live it, I don't think you can truly understand. It's hard to explain...it's not terribly difficult, just extremely time-consuming and exhausting. I'm very lucky because Brady is such a good sleeper and has been from day one. He's also an excellent eater...so excellent that he drains me dry and sometimes has more formula in a day than breastmilk because I just can't keep up with him. Also, I have them napping at the same time almost every day, so that does give me a break. It's barely enough time to eat lunch, clean up, and cat nap on the couch before one of them is awake, but it's still a break and I truly enjoy the silence. It's just been a big adjustment. It's hard to ever imagine there being any time or energy left for me (will I ever scrapbook again???), but I know there will be and I hate to wish away these early weeks with Brady. I know how quickly it flies by!!
So, in a nutshell, here's what's been going on in the Burless House since my last blog:
Brady is now 11 lbs. and had his first round of shots this week (he's 8wks old now). He did pretty well, just screamed during the actual pricks and later when his tylenol wore off. Poor little guy had a double ear infection and cold 2 wks. ago, very early to start all that. The pediatrician warned me that ear infections may "be his thing" and we could be looking at tubes in his ears later. We'll see!! He is smiling so much now and is cooing. He only cries when he's hungry (and you better feed him fast!!) or when there's a burp ready.
Katelyn is still so busy! She's become obsessed with "I Spy" books and "If you give a mouse a cookie." The cartoon "Arthur" has become her new favorite. Funny things she's been saying, "Mom, you're a genius!!", "sometimes you have to zip your lips at rest time" (and she tries to demonstrate), "it's fun to have a baby brother. Thank you God." Her birthday is coming up next month and she wants a Dora/Diego party and has been asking everyone for a pogo stick. Turns out Tigger bounces around on one and she thinks it looks quite fun. We've all told her it's too dangerous, but she's persistent!! It's like "A Christmas Story" when the boy wants his beebee gun. Please NO ONE get her a pogo stick!! We'll be in the ER!
Bryan has been busy with work and weddings and bacheor parties and football....etc. We're finally both back home this weekend. It's been quite hectic.
I need to pick up K from school, but I'll post pictures soon.

Time is flying by....

Oh my goodness....it's been 6 weeks already since Brady was born! He is growing so quickly, I can't stand it. He's outgrown all the little newborn clothes and is more alert these days. He loves to be in his bouncey chair and look around and he also loves to lay on the floor under his baby gym and swat the toys that hang above him. Overall, he's an excellent baby! He does spoil very easily and gets used to being held. After the long weekend at my parents where he was passed around and held much more than at home, we had to re-train him once we got home. He wasn't happy, but re-adjusted. Right now, he sleeps 11pm-4 or 5 am, then back to sleep until 8am. After a feeding (had some issues with nursing last week...he was going through a growth spurt and was eating constantly and I didn't have enough milk to satisfy him. He's doing much better now!), he stays up and plays until his next feeding, around 10:30-11am. Then he takes a v. long nap, waking briefly for a feeding at 3:30. He has another stretch of awake time in the evening, 5pm until bedtime, around 10pm. He used to be so fussy at this time, but he seems to be coming out of that. Yay! We had a pedatirician appt. next week, but my guess is he weighs over 10lbs already. His cheeks and belly are so full and he has little rolls on his upper thigh. The best development since my last blog is his smile!! I'll be holding him and feel him looking at me, when I turn to him I just see this big, goofy smile. He's particularly happy in the mornings and grins away. So sweet!!

Katelyn is also doing well. She is busy at school 2x a week and her behavior has been excellent at school...no time outs at all yet! She's made lots of friends and is the teacher's helper. Today she was "snack helper" which she told me means she passes out napkins to all the kids. A very important job!! We're still dealing with her excess energy...I think we'll be dealing with that for the rest of our lives :-)

Crazy side-note: Casey Anthony's family (little girl Caylee has been missing for months now) lives around the corner from us! I see their car around town and today was even driving next to them down the highway. They are doing a search for Caylee down the road from us. Such a sad story.

We had a wonderful weekend in Tampa and celebrated Michelle's bridal shower at a tea room in St. Pete. We all drank so much tea, I thought we'd float home! Everything was delicious and it was fun to dress up in crazy hats. Michelle got lots of great gifts and my sister Jenny was able to fly in from Denver to join us. Great to see Jenny! Wish she still lived here. Brady was the only boy attending and he slept the whole time in his stroller (except for the very beginning when he was crying and I changed his diaper in the stroller and he decided to spray me, himself, his cute little outfit, and hose down his stroller!).

Have to go make dinner before Brady wakes up from his long nap!

Brady's First Bath

Brady's first sponge bath (his cord hasn't fallen off yet) wasn't exactly a hit. He pretty much screamed through the whole thing, but when it was all said and done, he seemed very relaxed and he just smelled delicious!! Mmmm...that baby lotion is just intoxicating!! His hair curls right up as soon as it gets wet. He is such a sweet baby and continues to eat and sleep well.

Quick update...the antibiotics cleared up the mastitis (thank God!!) and Brady nursing has cleared my milk ducts. I no longer feel like I have stones in my boobs. My friend Alissa recommended a nipple shield to protect my poor cracked and bleeding nipple and it has worked like a charm. I told her the nipple shield has changed my life :-) I'm no longer terrified to have him latch on!! Although, since we've had to supplement with a bottle, he's getting quite used to the bottle and is starting to really prefer it over me. We'll need to keep at it and get him used to me again.

We're working through it all...