Cute video

My teacher friends and I dancing for the holidays! :)

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Breakfast with Santa

We had a great time at Breakfast with Santa this morning!  We went to the same place as last year, the VFW Hall in Brighton.  They do such a nice job.  There was a delicious breakfast buffet, relaxed pictures with Santa, a little craft area for the kids, and we got to leave with a photo.  The boys were a little crabby at first, but they warmed up and had a nice time.  I will post pics as soon as I get them scanned. :)

"Take it easy and rest"

That is a phrase I do not do very well with, but that's what I was told yesterday.  The baby has been pushing down a ton this week on my pelvis, and on top of a little spotting and cramping, I'm home today resting.  It may sound silly, but I'm not really sure what to do besides sit around.  It's weird.  I want to pick things up, clean the kitchen, run errands...but I'm not!  I'm just sitting here with my feet propped up blogging and Christams shopping online!  So, here's to a day of complete rest! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow!  We're going to John's parents, and are in charge of bringing cranberry relish and sweet potatoes.  We'll also bring the pies, but I cheated and got those at Costco!  I'm using two new recipes this year for cranberry relish and sweet potatoes.  I made the cranberry relish this morning and can't keep John and JD out of it, so it must be pretty tasty!  We're going to work on the sweet potatoes in the morning, but the recipe sounds delicious!!  John insisted something other than the traditional marshmellow sweet potato casserolle, so hope this is just as good! :)

We enjoyed a lovely church service this evening.  I love going to church in the evening.  There's something about the darkness and candles that is super special.  JD and I then took a quick trip to Meijers for a few last minute items, then a drive thru McDonalds for cookies and an egg nog shake!  I'm sure craving cold milk with this baby...and the egg nog shake did the trick!

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, complete with everything good!! xoxo

Wowsers!

Our sweet baby girl is now the size of a cantaloupe! That's so crazy to me! The last few days has been so fun sharing our news! It's starting to sink in...and I'm ready to buy some PINK!! :) My mom bought us the Vera Bradley diaper bag yesterday in "Purple Punch" which is a mix of brown, pink, and purple. I love it! It is going to be so fun having a little girl!!!

Exciting News!

We found out today that we're having a baby girl!! We are "tickled pink" over this news!! :) The boys are excited they are going to have a sister. They predicted correctly all along!!

Happy Halloween!

JD and Ethan had a very fun Halloween weekend! On Friday night we went to Trunk-R-Treat at church. It was fun to see all our church friends dressed up and having so much fun! On Saturday we carved our pumpkins (pictures coming soon!) and on Sunday we went to our friends, the Cartmills, to Trick-or-Treat. JD, Ethan, Ian, and Nicholas had so much fun together! (Those pics coming soon, too!) JD was Buzz Lightyear and Ethan was Woody. They were a cute combo!! :)

My sister-in-law saw a similar shirt on a blog earlier in the week, so I polished up my crafty skills, made a trip out for iron-on paper and a black shirt, and solicited help from my art teacher friend to create this masterpiece! It was a lot of work, but I think it turned out pretty well. All my students loved it and every time Ethan walks by he rubs my belly and says, "Hi, Goovie." So cute!! This pic will definitely be going into the baby book. :)

Onion!

In my email today it says that the baby's now the size of an onion! I'm 17 weeks today. It's flying by! Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. His umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints.

In just a few weeks we will find out the sex of our little "Goovie." John named the baby that and it stuck! I'm hoping we can change it once this baby is born, because I don't love the name AT ALL! But, at least for 9 months he can get his way! :) Once we find out if baby Goovie is a boy or girl, we can start focusing more on names. At this point we haven't agreed on anything!

The boys are excited. They kiss my belly and talk to the baby all the time. It's very sweet. I think I'm going to like having three kids. :)

Bed time videos :)

We had fun with the camera tonight at bed time! I love my boys so much!! :)

JD reading

Ethan saying the Lord's Prayer

Little kicker! :)

On Friday, at exactly 12 weeks pregnant, the little peanut in my belly kicked me! The boys thought it was hilarious! When not pregnant, you sometimes forget how incredible that is...the little things...like a baby kick from the inside. And to think, that little peanut at just about 3" long can make such an impact on my body! I love it!! :)

Baby #3!!

We are so excited to share our news...Baby Burch #3 will be here in March! My official due date is March 25. The boys are super excited! :)11 weeks
(head at bottom, legs crossed at top)

You know you're pregnant when...

Tonight cracked me up a bit. All morning and into the early afternoon I was quite nauseous. The last two days have been a little bit like that. So, this evening JD and I went to Kroger and suddenly I was hungry. I bought the most random combo of food and for my evening snack I enjoyed Steak Taquitos, Fritos with French Onion Dip, Tomato/Basil/Mozzarella slices, and a huge glass of milk! Seriously?? Yep...I'm pregnant! LOL

telling!

We told the boys about the baby in mommy's tummy when I was 6 weeks and 1 day along (7-31-10). It was cute. JD wasn't really sure about the whole thing and Ethan just kept kissing my belly. :)

When my mom and dad came over that afternoon, I tried to get JD to tell them, but he wasn't interested, so Ethan whispered to my mom "My mom has a baby in her belly." It was so sweet. My parents are excited, too!

Chicken - yuck!

It finally hit me last night...nausea. While I was cutting up and cooking chicken for dinner, I started to get queasy. I tried to stomach it once dinner was served, but really couldn't. JD kept wanting more so he was happy I gave him mine! Tonight we got Chinese and again, I just couldn't eat the chicken! SO...it must be "for real" now!! lol The little sesame seed is making me sick! YAY

Hand, Foot, and Mouth (oh my!)

Ethan and I spent Sunday night in the ER. I thought he was having an allergic reaction because he had blisters all over his mouth, hands, arms, legs, and feet. It turns out that he has Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. It's a virus, so we've been home-bound this week! He has been quite crabby and was up several times last night. I'm hoping that with a dose of Motrin before bed and this being the 3rd day, that he's going to sleep better tonight! (fingers crossed!)

Tomorrow the boys are joining Grandma and Grandpa Burch up in Traverse City. They're pretty excited! I think they'll have fun playing, picking cherries, and swimming with their Grandparents! John and I are looking forward to another date night...I think this may be the last one for awhile. I think I might make muscles and crab for him! I'll post pics after the boys return from their adventure!

basement pics!

Here are a few pics of the basement:

sitting area (right side of main room)

left side of main room

(play room and game table)

play room
My craft area...a work in progress!
I still haven't found the table/desk space I love,
so I'm working off a utility table for now.
The door on the far wall goes to an unfinished bathroom.
We'll finish it someday when we have more money! :)

John's space...untouched as of yet!

I wonder what he'll do with this space?!

We love our new basement! It's perfect for our family!! Can't wait for you all to see it in person! Let us know when you wanna come over!! :)

5 weeks!

Baby's heart begins to pump blood this week! I know I've been through this twice before, but it's crazy to believe a little sesame seed is growing inside me! I haven't been sick much...feeling great! We are planning to tell the Burch family at the BBQ on August 22. I think we'll tell JD and Ethan the week before, after we have our ultrasound and make sure everything looks good. :) I can't wait to tell the boys...I think they will be super excited!!

Bike Ride!

We enjoyed a fun bike ride tonight. This was the first time JD rode himself. He was so excited about riding and did a great job!! We went up to Captain Frosty's for ice cream and back. He rode into the bushes twice and a fence once, but bounced right up each time and kept riding! I was really proud of him! :)

Basement update

Almost perfect, but not quite! That's how I feel about the basement at this point in the summer. The structural part is finished and looks absolutely beautiful! I love the way the carpet and the paint works well together. It's light and is a great space! We're working on getting it just the way we want it in a decorating sense.

We've moved down the living room furniture (some of you may know as the "Florida furniture") and it looks great! (Who would have thought?) We did purchase couches for the basement, but one of them was too large to fit down the stairs, so we went with a different plan and it works! We made a little sitting area focused on the TV that Jeff and Eve loaned us, and the other part of the main room is toys, toys, toys! I plan to get the storage shelving up soon so we can actually put the toys in their place. The boys are loving the space to play and run, and I love being able to craft while they play and hear what's going on! It's great!

My craft room is coming together. We have decided that the countertop isn't really what I wanted, although I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to put there now. I'm working off a utility table right now, which is fine until I find just what I want. We haven't started working on John's "man space" but plan to do that soon. Maybe next week when my parents take the boys for a few days on their annual camper adventure. We need to fit in a date night, but maybe a work night is in order, too! :) As soon as we get everything just the way we want, I'll post some pics!

Update fom JD

Here are JD's exact words about what's been going on...

We have been picking up toys. We were getting money to go to the candy place to get candy. And then we finished our basement and we put toys in our basement. And we put our sleeping bags down there. We are going to sleep down there and we are going to put furniture down there. We could put a ball down stairs. Maybe the soccer ball outside.

It's for real!

Well, I've missed my period, so I think this is for real! I am 4 weeks today. Weird. I haven't been too sick yet, just an upset stomach. I'm so curious to see if this baby is a boy or girl!! I think either would be fun!! I'm due March 25, which is exactly 12 weeks before the end of school. I'm hoping we can save enough for me to be able to take those 12 weeks off.

I made the design for the boys big brother shirts. That's how we're going to tell the family. At the end of August, after my 1st appt, we're going to have a BBQ and have them wear Big Brother shirts. I think everyone will like that! I'm going a little crazy not being able to tell anyone!!

Baby Burch #3!

Wow, that title scares and excites me all at the same time! I took a home pregnancy test yesterday and the positive line was super faint. I thought maybe I was imagining it, so I took another one today. Yep, it's there! I showed John when he got home and he was excited...kept pacing all around the room. It was cute! SO, here we go with number 3! According to babycenter.com I am about 3 weeks along, which puts me due on March 25, 2011. It's too early to "go public" so I'm blogging. Makes me feel like I'm telling someone, even though I'm the only one with permission to view this post right now! :)

July!

I can't believe it's July already! We are relaxing a bit, enjoying family, and loving summer! We spent last weekend at the lake with Jeff and Eve, who are now on their way to their navy assignment in South Carolina. We are going to miss them, but will enjoy visiting warm South Carolina when it is cold and dreary here!

Our basement is almost done. The electrician is finishing the electrical work today, then carpet is coming Tuesday. I can't wait to organize and move everything to it's place down there. I'll post pictures soon.

Tuesday I leave for the CTMH convention in DC. It should be a great girls trip, and John is looking forward to spending time with the boys!

JD and Ethan are loving being home this summer! They are playing outside on their play structure, exploring the perimeter of our yard, and riding bikes on the driveway. My girlfriend gave JD a "big boy bike" that he is itching to ride! As soon as John gets the training wheels on it, I'm sure JD will take off like crazy! Ethan loves playing in the water, especially when he has all his clothes on! It's so cute to watch him figure things out. JD loves running to the back of our yard to pick raspberries, with Ethan trailing after him. I love being home with my boys in the summer! I am so blessed to have a job that allows me this time with them. I am so lucky! :)

Balloons, Balloons!!

We went to the Howell Balloon Fest last night with our friends. The boys LOVED it! Seeing all the different balloons was very cool! We also played on the playground while we hung around for fireworks. We ended up driving over to McPherson hospital parking lot to watch the fireworks. It was a fun night! Here are a few pics from the event. :)

sitting on the blanket waiting for the show

enjoying tootsie pops and balloon watching

Mommy and Ethan balloon watching

Wow! What a beautiful show!

Daddy and his boys :)

Summer!!

We had a great first day of summer!! We ran a few errands this morning, which included picking up a new pirate ship pool for the back yard. The boys had a blast playing in the pool, sprinkler, and their playhouse in the yard today. I loved just sitting there watching them. They're such good boys and I am blessed to have them. They played so well together and I am looking forward to this summer with them! :)


The builders will finish paint and trim tomorrow in the basement. The ceiling is scheduled for Saturday, and the carpet will be delivered next week. I'm getting so excited to see the finished product!! It will be such a great space for our family, and we are so lucky we've had the opportunity to finish it this year. I'm looking forward to heading to IKEA next week for shelves and then working this summer to organize and move all the toys and my craft room down there. It's going to be great!

too long...

It's definitely been too long since I posted. It seems that May and June are probably the craziest months of the year for us! On top of school ending, we are in the midst of finishing our basement. It has been a fun adventure! I can't wait to post pictures of the finished product in a couple weeks! They put the primer on the walls today, so it shouldn't be long now!

JD finished his first year of preschool in May. They ended the year with a field trip to the farm and a Tot Spot picnic. He loved every minute in the Cow Room and can't wait to be in the Lion Room next year! He is reading like a champ and says the cutest things. For instance, in the car today he said, "Mom, I think that in Heaven Jesus pops popcorn without the black kernels cuz Heaven is everything good and no bad." Seriously...I couldn't have put it into words better myself!

Ethan is cracking us up more and more every day! He tries to keep up with JD and loves to climb and play like a big boy. I love that he says, "No way, Jose!" and "You kill me, Mommy!" even though he doesn't really know what those phrases mean...he only knows they make us laugh.

So, I promise I'll be better with the updates this summer! Tomorrow's the last day of school, so I will have plenty of time now!! :)

Birthday Pics

JD is four!! Here are a couple pics from his birthday. :)

Dinner at Red Robin

cake at home

His big present was our weekend trip to Castaway Bay in Sandusky. My camera died, so I don't have many pictures, but JD had a blast!

Exciting days around here!

It's been an exciting few weeks around here! Last Sunday was my birthday, and my boys surprised me with a wonderful breakfast in bed after allowing me to sleep in an extra hour! We went to church then celebrated with my family at brunch. The boys got me the best gift...Wii Active Personal Trainer. It's great and I've really enjoyed my workouts this week!

This past Thursday was the Mother's Day Tea at JD's school. It was precious...all those little munchkins singing and serving their mommies. I loved it!

On Friday we watched my little brother at his graduation from Dental School. I am so proud to be his sister! What an awesome accomplishment!! We celebrated at Real Seafood Company afterwards. So yummy and perfect for the occasion! We are having a reception for him at my parents church tomorrow, so today has been busy getting things ready!

We are starting the remodel of our basement, which is super exciting for our family!! Once finished it will consist of a large playroom for the kids, a library/wine area for John, and a new craft room for me (YAY)! I'm so excited. It will be so nice for the boys to have a place to play...and no more toys all over the place!! That will be GREAT! The builder said it will take about 6 weeks, so hopefully by the time school's out we'll be organizing that new space! So fun!

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and a day to stop, hug, and snuggle up with my boysies. We are going to church with the Dunwell side of the family, then for cake and relaxing with John's side of the family, then I hope a nice walk or bike ride with my own family. Happy Mother's Day!

Tuesday is JD's birthday....stay tuned for a post and pics from that fun-filled day!! 4 years old already...wow, time flies!

Easter suits!

I'm super behind in updating, but I thought I'd post a couple pics of the boys in their Easter suits! :)

Egg Hunt and updates

We had a great time at the Easter Egg Hunt this morning. The boys loved checking out the fire trucks and police cars, spending time with their friends (Ian, Nicholas, Nathan, and Nicholas), bouncing in the bounce house, and gathering as many eggs as they could!

Just to update...
JD is starting to read and I am so proud of him!! He really enjoys it and doesn't get easily frustrated. I hope this continues through school! He loves this set of George phonics books I got for him, and asks to read them every night! He is also starting to pick out words other places, so he is definitely aware of language around him. Ethan is talking more than ever! His personality is really starting to shine, and I love it! He is so polite and loves his big brother. He loves puzzles and really enjoys playing outside. He is my cuddle bug...loves to cuddle and snuggle! I love it!

That's all for now...enjoy the pics! :)

JD running off to gather eggs

my boys :)

JD loving the fire truck!

Eman chillin' in the fire truck

boys & bunny

We're SO Lucky!

Since it's St. Patty's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to finally post an update. Sorry I've been so lax lately! The boys are both growing like weeds! I think JD has grown 2 inches since Christmas. I am going to measure him tonight. I can't believe it! All of his pants are too short!! Ethan likes that, though, because now he has all JD's old clothes to wear!

The boys are loving the nice weather we've had lately (and so is Mommy!) because they can get outside to play. Last night they even wanted to eat dinner outside...which was fine because it was 63! Awesome for March 16!!

Ethan is singing all the time...ABCs, "Daisy, Daisy give me your answer do" and "You've got a friend in me" are among his favorites. He's actually pretty in tune! I love hearing him sing!! His little personality is shining through a little more now that he's putting sentences together. JD is loving preschool and got a great report card! :) Not much else new to report. We are feeling blessed that we've had such good weather, that Daddy is home more now, and that it's almost spring!! Hope all is well with your family! :)

Snow Day photos

We had a snow day yesterday and enjoyed some fun sledding with our friends! It was a wonderful day, and although Mommy is very sore (not as young as I used to be!), we can't wait to do it again soon!!
Click here to view photos

Big Boy Bed!

Last night during the night, I heard a little Eman running down the hallway about 4am. He was shouting, "I Seep Mommy Daddy Bed!!" I cuddled with him for a minute, put him back to bed, and about an hour later felt someone climbing over me to snuggle with John. Time for the Big Boy Bed, I thought. :) So, this afternoon we put up his bed. We used the side of the crib that makes into a double bed headboard. We used the double bed mattresses we had in the basement, and we put it all together. He didn't seem to like it at first, but tonight after we brushed teeth and he grabbed a book, he jumped right in. He seems to be staying in there (I keep checking), so hopefully this will be an easy transition! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!! :)

Allergies for Eman

I took Ethan to the allergist on Monday. It was very interesting. They did a prick test, because he's been struggling with allergic reactions, but we weren't completely sure what he was allergic to. Turns out that he is allergic to peanuts, walnuts, egg whites, apples, oranges, dust mites, and mold. Wow. So, we're going to cut out nuts, eggs, and citrus fruits from his diet. Hopefully this will help him get back to "normal" and stop having reactions. Please say a little prayer that this elimination diet works and that he starts feeling better! :)

Birthday Layouts

Last night I worked on getting JD's 3rd birthday and Ethan's 2nd birthday into layouts for their albums. They are growing up so fast!!

JD's layout was one I created over a month ago, but wasn't sure which pictures to put into it. When I pulled out his professional pics, I knew this layout was made for those pictures!! Took me about five minutes to slap the pictures on and journal.

Ethan's took a little more work, because he is wearing Christmas colors, but I didn't want his layout to be Christmasy. (Is that a word?) The coolest thing about Ethan's pictures is that the sweater in the bottom of the right page is the sweater Grandma Jane made for Daddy when he was little! It fit Ethan perfectly for his birthday pictures!!

Happy Birthday, Eman!!

Ethan is two today...WOW! It seems like just yesterday he was a little baby. Now he's toddling around here like he owns the place!! I love it!

This is the cake I made for him. I am so proud of myself! This is the first time I've done something out of the ordinary like this. I usually buy our birthday cakes at Costco! Ethan is going to love it!!!

Happy Birthday, little Eman! We love you!!