Poor Second Baby

I know...I know...there is no mention of Miss Mattie in this blog other than she was born! The reason is that she does NOT like to be alone or put down so it is rather difficult to type while holding a bobble-head! Let me bring you up to speed on our little girl.

1. Colic - enough said? Poor Mattie basically screamed her way through the first few months of life. Chris was about to trade her in!

2. Red Head - enough said? She wants what she wants when she wants it and she wanted it 10 minutes ago! Some say she gets this from her mother but I don't know what they are talking about!

3. Non-napper. We only take cap naps. Thank goodness she started sleeping through the night very early on!

4. Cheeks. She has the fluffiest, squishiest cheekies ever - LOVE them

5. Bouncy Seat - She loves to be bounced and shake in her little chair. Shea is very good at helping us out with this. He did however almost send her into orbit one day.

6. Little Sister - Mattie thinks that Shea is the coolest thing ever. She watches him all the time. She even tries to imitate his little "Happy Feet" dance.

7. Precious - Of course we just adore her! She makes the silliest little face and laughs. It is amazing how a tiny hand holding your finger or a big gummy smile can make you melt!

Where, Oh Where, Has My Baby Shea Gone?

Those you you who regularly read the blog know that I rarely have a sappy entry. (I find passive-aggressive sarcasm a much better "voice" for me.) Anyway, yesterday something happened to me that I feel I need to write about. You always hear people say to cherish the moments you have with your kids because they grow up too fast. Yesterday afternoon this hit me like a ton of bricks. I was playing with Shea in his bedroom and we were having a good time just hanging out, painting and coloring. Then, he climbed into my lap and threw himself backward like he usually does when we are playing. As I was looking at him, I couldn't figure out why he looked so "weird" to me. Then it hit me - he was no longer my little baby Shea. He is now my little "boy" Shea. I know I was warned, but I really just can't believe he has grown up so fast!

I started this blog almost a year ago so there are no "baby" picture of Shea so forgive me while I stroll down memory lane for a little while.

Look at what I can do!

Lassie Comes Home!

We are excited to let everyone know that baby girl Mattie Anne Burks was born 08-08-08 at 6:15am. She was very good to momma - 5 hour labor and about a 10 minute delivery! My kids are good to me :)

If you are wondering about the title I need to explain that Shea has been calling the baby "Lassie" through the whole pregnancy. Not quite sure - but maybe he was hoping for a puppy!

Things have been been a little hectic around here but we are finally starting to settle into a routine.

Shea has had his nose a little out of joint with the new baby but is quite protective of her. At first he really didn't want much to do with her but has lately come around and has been quite the little helper. He likes to get her rocking in her bouncy seat and turns on the music to her swing when she is crying. The other day Mattie was crying in the car and Shea told me that she did not like the song that was playing and that I needed to turn the radio off.

Some day I might actually get a picture of them together but here are a few separate ones until then!

New Living Room

After having the floors done in or living room, I realized we were living in a wooden box with the wood floors and paneled walls. So, we decided that we would finally get the living room painted. Well...the project turned out to be a lot bigger than that and started LOTS later than was supposed to! Here is the list of what all we had done: ripped out the wet bar to turn it into a little office area since Shea's room is now where the office was; tore out the windows and door to the patio and added sliding french doors; tore off all the paneling in the living room had the walls textured and painted; then you will see Chris's new entertainment center!

Like I said before, this started WAY later than anticipated. It started about a week and a half before my due date. Let me give you a little play by play on how this all "went down."

Wednesday: doors come and start to be installed. Shea and I spend the night at my mom's because there is still a huge hole in my house and no AC - pregnant women don't like this :)

Thursday: finish installing doors.

Friday morning - 1:30am: Kelly goes into labor

Saturday: nothing happens - kelly in hospital

Sunday: nothing happens - Kelly & baby come home from hospital

Monday: painters start and are so loud that Kelly, Mattie and Shea go to her parents house to escape the noise

Tuesday: Painters are no shows - trapped in bedroom

Wednesday: Painters tape and bed the walls - trapped in bedroom

Thursday: Painters texture walls - trapped in the bedroom

Friday: Paint the walls. Kelly, Shea, and Mattie once again head to her mom's to escape the smell and spend the night

Saturday: TV installer comes. Kelly, Shea & Mattie still @ mom's because we aren't allowed to touch anything :)

Sunday: Put the whole house back together b/c the housekeepers are coming on Monday to do a deep cleaning.

Monday: Housekeepers come and the house if finally back to normal by the afternoon!

Before Pictures:

After Pictures:

Baby Boot Camp

I jokingly told many people that this summer was going to be Baby Boot Camp for Shea. We needed to break several habits before the baby gets here in August. I must brag on my little man because he has done a FABULOUS job with all that we have set out to accomplish.



1st was getting him out of our bed and sleeping all night in his room. With a major bribe of a new train set when he did this for several weeks - we met the goal and now are the owners of a new train set. Shea thinks it is a Thomas the Train set but mom is way to cheap to shell out those big bucks - our's is the generic!



2nd was potty training. To be honest - I didn't think this was ever going to happen. All of a sudden he got the hang of it and we have been out of diapers, pull-ups, etc for 3 weeks with only 1 accident! Yea for Shea! This does not include bed-time. We will get to that later!



I am ready to have this baby. Only four more weeks until little Mattie graces us with her presence. I am very excited but still have a ton to do around here! The summer has been hot and I am sure my electric bill is going to be near $10,000 by the time summer is over!

Birthday Boy!

Well - our little man is now 3 years old. I can't believe how fast time is flying by. We had a Diego themed birthday party with a Madagscar cake (they don't make Diego cakes - Dora yes - but NO Diego). Shea changed his mind several times on the theme and I think I actually did invitations 3 times. Anyway, the party was a success and I think everyone had a good time. The pool was nice and warm so Shea was only persuaded to come out for cake and presents!

Now that we are a big boy, Shea has moved into the other room with all of his big boy stuff. He is really liking his room. Potty training is going okay and we may actually have it down by the time he is 12!

Shea has become the ultimate momma's boy the past few weeks. I must say it is quite flattering for me but Chris is getting a little tired or being told to go away because he only wants Mommy. I am a little worried about how he is going to feel when the baby gets here. He did pick out an animal print sheet for "Lassie's" bed and he likes to talk to her through my now "popped" belly button! Mostly he likes smacking my tummy and yelling at her to wake up.

Spring Break

We were all super excited to go to San Diego for Spring Break this year. Chris and I thought this would be a great way to spend some family time together before the baby comes. Shea LOVES anything to do with animals so we went to the San Diego Zoo and to Sea World.

Shea and Mommy

Toby the Koala Bear

After searching for about an hour and a half for the elephants this is what we were greeted with when we finally got there - NICE!!


I think Sin-Liu the panda was Shea's favorite.

The next day was our trip to Sea World. Chris thought it would "be fun" to sit in the "soak zone" so we could get a little splash. When Shamu drenched us Shea threw a fit and wanted to leave IMMEDIATELY!! Now, he tells everyone that "Shamu splashed ALL of us and it is all Daddy's fault." Of course, I helped with that last part!

Other highlights from the trip:

Great Balls of Fire: this is the actual piano that Goose plays in "Top Gun" Yes - I took my baby to a bar.

Shea the fighter pilot on the USS Midway

Boat tour around our hotel

The very cold beach

Easter

Here are a few pictures from the many Easter Egg hunts that we went to this Easter. Our neighborhood put on one and we went to Mimi & Pop-Pop's new neighborhood for the other. Apparently the Easter Bunny is a little scarier than Santa Claus, and most importantly, did not have a large sack of presents to ahnd out!

And of course, the Easter Bunny visited our house Easter morning as well! I wish that I had taken a video to show his reaction when I told him that the Easter Bunny had come to visit our house. Notice we needed one basket for our eggs and one basket for out other goodies. Zora even had a good time hunting for eggs. She managed to find one stuffed with Hershey kisses!

Eat Your Heart Out

We spent some time outside this morning enjoying the warm weather. Those of you not in the Dallas area need to understand the wild weather around here lately. It was 80 last weekend 60's all week and then it snowed on Thursday. By Saturday we were back up into the high 60's. CRAZY!! We needed some outside time this morning to enjoy the non-snowy/rainiy day. Shea decided that he needed to have his very cool madras hat and shades because it was "too bwight." Maybe this is just mom talking but check out how cute he is! Look at that pose! I dunno - do we see Time Square billboards in this kid's future?

What's New

Well, it has been a while since our last post. We have lost the memory stick to our camera and are still on the lookout but I figured I could send an update.

We all had a great Christmas even though Shea was a tad under the weather. He was fortunate to get a ear infection that lasted the week of Christmas. Other than that he thought Christmas was FANTASTIC! He was thoroughly spoiled by all sides of the family. We now need a bigger house to accomodate all of his toys!

Chris has enjoyed lots of snowboarding this January. Was was able to go on two different trips leaving his poor, pregnant wife and crazy 2 year old behind. Don't worry - he is being made to suffer now!

I am thankful to be in my last week of my 1st trimester of baby #2. I must say that this kiddo is WAY different than Shea. With the 24 hours of "morning" sickness and extreme tiredness - I think that we may be in for trouble! We are very excited about our new addition and can't wait to find out if Shea will have a brother or a sister!