catching up!

Well, since it's been just about two months since my last post (oh my!) I guess it's time to catch you up on our lives!  We had a wonderful Christmas and loved seeing Kristen experience Christmas for the first time.  It was great!

Ethan turned FOUR on January 2nd.  I can't believe my little E-man is already four years old!  He is such a sweet boy and doing great! Kristen is almost 11 months and quite mobile!  She crawls all over the house after her brothers and loves to play with them!!  She stands and holds onto things, but hasn't been able to sand on her own quite yet.  She has 8 teeth and is quite a little munch  mouth!  She LOVES big people food and eats pretty much everything we do!  JD is a wonderful big brother and takes care of his little siblings so well.  He's doing great in kindergarten and loves school!  Life is good! :)

Time goes so quickly!!

I can't believe Kristen is already 5 months...and my little JD is going to Kindergarten...and Eman is starting preschool!!  Where has the time gone?!

Life is busy and exciting!  Kristen is rolling all over the place!  She found her feet on the way to FL in August, and has since been infatuated with pulling on her toes.  She is the best baby...so easy going, sleeps about 10 hours at night, and loves to be loved on by her brothers!

JD is starting Kdg in two days.  I can't believe it!  He had the chance to meet his teacher and check out his room this past Thursday.  I think he's going to love it, although when we got to the door of his classroom he said, "Mommy, I might cry."  I tried to be positive telling him he was going to learn so much and meet new friends, but at the same time I was thinking ME TOO!!  He's getting so big and is such a good helper.  He loves his little sister so much...it's so cute to watch!  He and Ethan are best buds...always playing together.  He is so kind and sweet and silly!

Ethan is growing like a weed!  I think he's shot up a few inches this summer.  He's so smart and loving...he's my cuddlebug.  He loves to sleep in and snuggle in my bed.  It's very sweet.  I am so excited for him to begin Preschool.  He is going to be in the Monkey room...appropriate, huh? :) 


We are back to the grind soon, but I'll try to keep things updated.  Here are a few recent pictures I love. :)

my kiddos and me :)

my sweetie (4 mos)

stinkin' cute (4.5 mos) at Animal Kingdom

Pigtails! (4mos)

At Magic Kingdom (8.9.11)

swimming with my boys at the hotel in Orlando

5 months and happy :)

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!

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! :)

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

sick-o boys

It's been a long week in the Burch house! JD came down with the flu on Monday night. We took him to the doctor on Tuesday and they confirmed it H1N1 and put him on Tamiflu. His fever has been up and down the last 5 days. Highest was 103.7, which freaked me out a little bit. Between the Tamiflu and Tylonel, we are keeping his temp manageable, but he is still running a bit of a fever. He is more active today, perhaps stir-crazy, but that's good. He's eating a little more, so I hope that means he's feeling better.

On Thursday evening, Ethan began running a temp, too. We took him to the doc yesterday and they found an ear infection in both ears and a sinus infection. So, we've begun new meds (we just finished Amox. for 10 days) in hopes this will kick both the ear and sinus infections!

I have a bit of a sinus/head thing going on, too....so we're really hoping all this crud goes away soon!!! Send a little prayer our way for good health. John hasn't caught any of this yet, so I'm hoping he doesn't!