Happy Birthday Shea!

Boy, how time flies! Shea turned 4 years old at the beginning of May. I can't believe it. I am amazed everyday by him and how smart he is. I just love to watch how his little mind works. I must say that he is quite the little negotiator when he needs to be.

For his birthday we had a Pirate Party. All of our neighborhood friends came as well as a couple kiddos from his class. There were tons of people there! We had a great time swimming, eating cake, and opening presents. Now we just have to make room for all of the new toys!

Mr. Shea has learned SOOO much this year in preschool. He knows his most of his letters and numbers, how to write his name - yes, almost legibly. He was also fascinated by the inaguration of Obama. He chose to watch the Presidential Address on TV one evening rather than watching cartoons b/c "Bawack Obama was on TV and he lives in the White House."

He also likes his little sister - most of the time. He is always trying to teach her the importance of sharing her toys. Unfortunately, we don't practice what we preach when it comes to Shea sharing his toys! He tries to keep her in line by telling her to "be quiet b/c he can't hear his movie." She thinks this is funny which just makes her louder which in turn makes him pretty mad.

And what is Miss Mattie up to these days? TROUBLE! Aww...not really. She is now crawling and pulling herself up on all the furniture. Even though I swear she has been teething for the last 6 months we have a whopping ZERO teeth in our mouth! She is quite vocal and doesn't take any crap from anyone. Mattie has also decided that baby food is no good and only wants real food or formula and BOY can she put it away! She has made it 2 months now without an ear infection - different issues however, but no ear infection. Keep your fingers crossed - we have a check-up next week. She cracks me up with her little personality - well, I don't know how "little" it is! She is a little dramatic. Where do these dramatic children come from, I ask you? She loves to throw herself backward or slam her head to the ground when mad. I have learned to have one hand ready for catching at all times.

Proof that one of my children look somewhat like me!

A message from Mattie

Hello All!

This is Mattie and I am taking over for my mommy right now. She has just been too busy to update the blog. This is mostly my fault but - oh well!

It has been a pretty busy month around here. Daddy was out of town for almost a week so Mommy was a running around like a mad woman. Thankfully, Kaki helped us out a lot.

I think my teeth are coming in so I have been a little grouchy. Plus, I once again have an ear infection. Yep - that makes 5 in my 6 short months here on Earth! Needless to say, I have just wanted to be held ALL DAY long! Mom is complaining, but the way I see it, I am just helping her get her arms toned up. I mean - she is always saying that she needs to work out. What better way to do this than having an extra 15 pounds strapped to you as you do things around the house! Right?

I am doing all sorts of cool things these days. I can eat real food. I love oatmeal and veggies! I can roll over pretty well now - especially to get toys I want to play with. I can sit almost all by myself and gripe if I have to recline. I am a busy girl - no time to relax! Mom thinks she heard me say ba-ba for my bottle but I think she is just a little delirious from the lack of sleep.

I think my big brother is the coolest thing EVER! I love watching him and laughing at him. He actually gave me a kiss the other day. Later on, I scratched his arm on accident so he is keeping his distance now. He really is pretty sweet to me. He hands me all sorts of toys when he thinks I need something to play with. He is so smart too! He was telling mom all the letters on the fridge and what sounds they make - WOW!

I think I am getting a little sleepy so I am going to head out for a nap! Bye!

Happy Thanksgiving ...Merry Christmas...Happy New Year...Yada..yada..yada

Once again it has been a while. I have gone back to work and my kiddos are being pretty good to me! I was ready for all the fall and winter breaks though!

Thanksgiving...we introduced Mattie to our little Family tradition of the YMCA Turkey Trot. She managed to sleep all the way through it! Shea, who usually likes to do his "big runnin'" opted for a ride on the stroller this year. He and Kaci had a great time at the petting zoo after the run. They also enjoyed beating the hell out of each other! At one point we had to ban shoes from them both or we were going to be making a stop by the emergency room.

Christmas came and went so fast my head is still spinning. We were here, there, and everywhere for almost a week. Poor Shea thought Santa didn't come because it didn't snow. They really need to start making "A Christmas in Texas/Arizona/Hawaii" type holiday programs! Once again, Santa was quite good to all of us (apparently the recession didn't hurt him too bad)! Evan Mattie was quite excited by all the presents. We were excited to see all the family who we haven't seen in a while.

Happy New Year to all! Chris and Kelly actually went a New Year's party while gracious Kaki & PawPaw let both kids spend the night!

The past couple weeks have been crazy with everyone being sick. Kelly is the only one in the house that has not contracted an ear infection, strep and/or the horribly nasty stomach bug (I'll leave it that). We have also generous enough to share these germs with family members not in our household!

Mattie is getting to be such a big girl. She is 5 months old and almost sitting up. She is now eating cereal. This is after a major struggle with the Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome brought on by her mother and a bright flash (gotta capture those "firsts" you know!) She still has her little red headed temper and loves to "talk" to us all day long. She has also decided that her toes make quite a tasty addition to her diet.

Shea is as precocious as ever. We love to hear what he has to say especially when he is really dramatic and the hands and facial expressions get going. We call him "parrot" these days and we REALLY have to be careful what we say. A couple weeks ago his favorite expression was "Holy God." Well, at least it wasn't "holy shit" He has stopped getting his head busted up at school and is hanging out with the good boys. He also has started get goodbye kisses from a few of the little girls - uh oh!

Chris and Kelly are still around but nobody really cares about them anymore. Apparently, they merely serve as transporters of babies to various grandparents!

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!