Thanksgiving with Marley

I'm way jealous of my parents and my grandma. They got to spend Thanksgiving with little Marley. Not that Chase and I didn't have fun, because we did. Chasey booked me a hotel room in the Radisson in downtown Salt Lake City and we had the best view because we were almost on the top floor. We ate room service and watched movies all night. It was very relaxing and just the break that we both needed. But my sister sent me this picture on Thanksgiving in case I was missing the extended family, which I was. They didn't even call me but this is a separate matter. I'm assuming that this picture wasn't taken on Thanksgiving Day in Sioux Falls, SD but who knows what global warming is doing these days. I thought that I could use this opportunity to post my top five things that I'm most thankful for.

1. Izzy's sleeping patterns. My kid is awesome. She has been sleeping through the night since she was 8 weeks old. When she still awake past 9pm, she brings us her pj's and says "Time for bed." Thank you Izzy.
2. My husband's sense of humor. Chase has such a big heart. I absolutely love that about him. And it doesn't take much to make him laugh which makes him fun for everyone to be around. Yes, it can be embarrassing when we are a ridiculous movie and he's laughing while everyone else in the theater is looking at him in shock, but its all part of his character.
3. Our jobs. We have been so blessed that Chase's job hasn't been directly affected by this nasty economy. In fact, he has made more this year than last year which a lot of people can't say. Also, the fact that I'm based out of Idaho Falls now instead of Pocatello has made a huge impact on our lives.
4. My parents. That's really all I need to say but I will choose to elaborate. They have always been there for me and they continue to put up with me. They are always willing to step in and help no matter what. I love them both very much.
5. Our extended family. I have never loved my sister more than I have the last couple of years and I am so grateful for her family as well. Also, I don't think that I could have married into a better family. They are so sweet and nice to me that its my first instinct to be uncomfortable. But I couldn't appreciate these people more.

Wawweee

My kid is completely insane. I don't even know where she gets some of this stuff. Last week Chase and I took her to Best Buy and as we were walking through the store, she caught a glimpse of the Pixar movie "Wall E." She was in the cart and it was on the very bottom shelf. She screamed "Wawweee" and literally threw herself out of the cart. I thought she had broken a bone. Because the cart had been in motion, when she landed, she was about three feet away from the DVD. She started crawling on her hands and knees saying, "I want to see Wawee. I want to see. I want to see." I couldn't believe it. Neither Chase or I knew that she had even heard of this movie, let alone had such an in depth relationship with it that she would recognize it from so far away. She's lucky that her Dad was with her (he is much softer than I am) because we left with our own personal copy of Wall E.

Twilight

After a long wait, it's finally here. Actually the wait hasn't been so long for me as I just read all four books for the first time within the last couple of months. But I'm very excited. My mom is keeping Izzy tonight and I'm going out with Paula and Melissa sans kids! I don't know what I'm more excited for; a night off or the movie. Either way it will be nice. Izzy is the light of my life but being a "single" parent for weeks on end starts to get old (really quickly). In fact, last night I spent the night at my moms just to get some help. It was a horrible nights sleep (I have a cold & therefore am unable to sleep) but it was worth it. We don't have tickets until the 9 o'clock show tonight, so Izzy will have to spend the night at my moms house again. I could get used to this! My mom might have to drag me over to pick my kid on Saturday. This morning, Izzy told my mom that she wants to go to the mall tomorrow. It was cute but in the back of my head I was thinking that Izzy could keep my mom busy all day and she wouldn't notice if I didn't show up until Monday morning. Just kidding.

Bad Day

I won't be blogging today (other than this) because I'm having an extremely bad day (actually week). I might regret anything that I type.

Where's Izzy?

If Izzy is ever asked to do something she doesn't want to do, I know where to find her. Whenever I hear little feet quickly scampering away, there is a good chance that I can find Izzy wrapped up in the drapes. This is her secret hiding place that is no longer a secret but she hasn't figured that out yet. When Izzy spends the night at my mom's house, my mom thinks it is hysterical that Izzy winds herself up in the drapes to avoid being dressed in the morning. I don't find it so comical. In fact, it pretty much drives me nuts. She does it so often that it has become one quick motion on her part. A combination of running and twirling at the same time so that she thinks she's well hidden. Never mind her feet sticking out of the bottom. This morning, I couldn't believe how fast she ran to the curtains. It was crazy. And then before I knew it, she was "gone." Once I left her there for a few minutes to see who had a longer breaking point. After five minutes, I heard little giggles coming from her hiding place. She really thought she had pulled one over on me. I had to laugh with her. At least she has a safe place to go. Mostly I'm grateful that they were cheap drapes to begin with because after the abuse they have been through, they are starting to show wear and tear. When Braxton was here, I would find both kids behind the drapes playing. There must be some fascination that I haven't discovered yet.

My Daddy's At Work

My Daddy's at work is that statement that comes out of Izzy's mouth at least thirty times a day. No matter what you ask her, she responds with "My Daddy's at work." So you can imagine when she sees her Dad after three weeks of him being out on the road. It is almost hysteria. She starts bouncing and talking a mile a minute. And she forgets all about me. The person who has sustained her life for the last month without any help. The person who loves her no matter what. Oh well. Chase came home for the weekend and we had a great time. The best part was when we driving in the car and Izzy said, "My Daddy's at work." So I said, "Well then, who is that?" pointing to Chase. She said, "That's Chase!" And I said, "Isn't Chase your Daddy?" And then she said, "No, my Daddy's at work!" So I guess Isabelle knows something that I don't. But to be completely serious, I know that Izzy misses her dad like crazy and so do I! It seems like the days when he is gone drag by and our lives are seperate ordeals until he comes home. Oh well.

My Turn, Open Your Eyes & Smile!

These crazy kids! Nicole and I were trying to get some cute shots of Mia & Jade for Mia's birth announcement and there were moments of complete craziness. First and foremost, Isabelle did not like being left out of this. She kept trying to slowly slide in her foot then desperately leap into the picture. I think this kid needs a sibling. Grandma had to distract Izzy by taking pictures of her on her camera. But that only worked for a little while. It wasn't too long before she was back to her old tricks and saying, "My turn, my turn!" After we got that worked out, we asked Jade to close her eyes for one picture and from that point on, we had trouble getting her to keep her eyes open. There is a series of ten frames where her eyes are closed! Mia was definitely the best behaved. She was sweet and alert and let Jade and Izzy smother her with attention. After we were done, we threw Izzy a bone and let her get in some of the pictures and, of course, at that point, she started being unwilling to cooperate. Ryan just had surgery and was laid up back in his bedroom and my child was running around like a crazed woman. She kept slamming doors and saying, “I need to see Ryan.” I’m worried that we won’t be allowed back into their house after the commotion last night. Hopefully, Ryan & Nicole wil forgive us!

One Of Her Favoritest Things!

This is what I call Izzy's grouchy face. Doesn't she look mean? But this is her hat that Aunt Heidi bought her last Christmas and it has become her new favorite possession. She doesn't even take it off to go to nap. When we first got it, I couldn't keep it on her and now the world has ended it we leave the room without it. But I think she's pretty cute!

Bandaiditis

My kid loves bandaids. We have gone through many a boxes without so much as a paper cut. When people ask me what happened, I tell them that she suffers from a severe case of bandaiditis. Every time she hurts, we put a bandaid on it and it seems to make her feel much better. But this time, it made me feel much worse. I put one on her cheek and when we went to pull it off, it left huge red welts. I couldn't believe it. I felt absolutely horrible. The skin on her face must be very sensitive and it looks like I beat the poor kid. I felt bad all night long and every time I saw her face, I felt like crying. She seemed to be alright though and let me rub lotion all over it. It looked a lot better this morning, which was a huge relief. Izzy had fun in the bath though. The kid loves the water and would spend every day all day in it if we let her. It is not uncommon for me to give her a bath at night and then find her outside the shower door trying to get in with me the very next morning. Often whenI pick her up in the evening, she's not wearing what I sent her in because she goes to the water fountain and tries to bathe in it. It's crazy! But I know some parents who have to fight their kids in and out of the bathtub and I feel lucky that is one thing I will probably never have to worry about. She's a regular fish!

She's Sneaky!

You have to give Izzy props for never giving up. This kid kills me sometimes. Last night, I put her to bed and continued with what I was doing, which was watching The Girls Next Door (this is a real priority). I went to check on her and this is what I found. She moved her and her baby to my bed and had turned on the TV. Of course she was watching an infomercial for a new kind of steam mop but she wasn't sleeping nonetheless. She was so cute that I was tempted to leave her in my bed but then I had flashbacks of the last time that I did that and she spent the entire night trying to get comfortable on top of me. So back to her bed she went. When I took this picture, she kept saying, "Do it again Mommy, do it again." Anything to put off bed! But there is no doubt that this kid can be very enduring when she want to be.

Baby's House Outside!

My little daughter is so sweet. I ran across this picture today and was taken back by how little and innocent Isabelle was at one point. Unfortunately, right now, she's not feeling very well. She ended up getting sick last night and I feel very bad for her. But hopefully she recovers soon. I was teasing her yesterday about the baby moving into her room. I told her that she would have to sleep in the hallway because the new baby in Mommy's belly needed her room. She looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said, "Baby's house outside!" She doesn't really understand the whole sharing thing yet and I'm a little worried about it. But I don't think that we will make the baby sleep outside.

Desperate For A Girl

I am desperate for this to be a girl, so naturally I'm putting my faith in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It is historically right 77% of the time and was correct in predicting both Izzy and Marley. If I had been smart, I would have consulted this the moment I decided to get pregnant but I must have been sitting under a lucky star because this says I'm having a girl. Yay!

Marley Jane

My grandma gave me these picutes yesterday and I thought they were priceless. We were all standing around when my dad put Marley on Spot and we were all waiting for her to freak out. But she just turned and smiled at Izzy. All of us with digital camera were scrambling trying to get them turned on and focused and then missed the moment anyway because of the delay that digital cameras tend to have. But my grandma with her trustly old fashioned film camera didn't miss it! And she also passed on the photo of Marley in Grandpa's hat. What a doll!

A Symbol of Freedom

Well, no matter the outcome, the 2008 election season is over. Thank goodness! I don't think that I could have taken another day, especially because this one has been going on for over a year. Earlier this year, when I went and saw the movie Swing Vote (by myself because Chase hates spending time with me) something really stuck out for me. There was a line in the movie about how those of us that don't work for the government or serve in the military are really asked to do very little for all the freedoms that we enjoy. All our country asks from us is to spend a few hours every four years voting. If you can't sacrifice that, then what can you sacrifice? So yesterday I decided to teach my six year old nephew about the democratic process and I took him to vote with me. On the way over we discussed how important it was to vote because there are people are there that are giving their lives for our right to such liberties and people in different countries aren't even allowed to pick their leaders. He was so cute and innocent througout the whole process. He asked the lady checking people in if she had voted yet. When she told him she had, she asked him who he was voting for and he told her aunt Katie. On the way out, he asked when he could vote and I told him when he was a grown up. And he replied, "So you mean when I turn 7?" After I got home last night, I played with the kids and went to bed. Just getting out there and voting took a huge weight off my shoulders and I didn't feel the need to keep myself up all night watching the TV because as that point I had done all I could do. The only thing left is to make my husband feel guilty for not voting. But I'm not going to work too hard at this because I have a feeling that we would have cancelled each other out and this way I still get to feel like I won.

Izzy Quirks

Isabelle definitely has some quirks. Quirks that are cute, quirks that are not so cute. But nonetheless, I will have to learn to live with them. One of her cutest little habits is to say "Too" after you say, "I love you Izzy." She can't be bothered to actually use the lung power to push out "Love you too" so she keeps it short and to the point. Too Mommy Too. Last night, I was tickling her until she said "I love you too Mommy." Needless to say, she had almost passed out from lack of oxygen from lauging so hard before she gave in. But I now know that she is capable. Another thing that she does that drives me nuts is to pull down on her car seat until she can wiggle her arms out of the straps. No matter how tight I get it, she gets out. I think that she consciously sucks in oxygen to falsely inflate her stomach so that it becomes loose once I stop looking. I'm constantly stopping the car to fix this. We have more than one car seat, so I know its her not faulty craftsmanship. Oh well. I have discovered a new trick to fix another issue we have though. No matter how excited she is to see me when I pick her up from daycare, she is upset by the time we get home. I have solved this problem by keeping dried cearal in the car. That's right. I'm teaching my child to solve her problems by turning to food. That is what these pictures are of. I give her a huge cup of dry cereal on way to the daycare in the morning and then keep the rest in the car. We are at the point now where she asks for her cup before we even get to the car to come home. But if it isn't broke, don't fix it. I guess I'm stuck with a messy kid in loose car seat straps.

Introducing Elliott Burke!

This is a horrible picture, but I'm in a hurry. Chase and I are having another baby and the newest Burke addition is due July 4th. But I know that if I'm still pregnant on July 4th, I will be suicidal so this will probably be a June baby. Happy Birthday Chase because this is the only thing you are getting! Just kidding. Last week I was tired and grouchy and I had a feeling that I was suffering from the nine month flu. But I kept taking pregnancy test (I'm embarrassed to say how many but 5) and they kept coming up negative. All of the instructions said to wait three days until taking the next one if you still suspect you are pregnant so I made myself do that even though it was very hard. And finally one came up positive and then I took two more just be sure and they were all positive. Chase and I have been thinking about another baby but we really only decided last month. But here goes!Anyway, Chase and I decided that we would name this baby Elliot no matter what the sex is because it was my grandpa's middle name and it would mean a lot to us to have a reminder. Especially because I'm pregnant right now. I know what you are thinking. Even if it's a girl? Yes! This question was the first thing out of my moms mouth and yes I did see that look Mother! It was kind of a cringe but I looked it up online and Elliott with two t's is the feminine form and Elliot with one t is the masculine form. Plus, I think that having an Izzy and an Ellie would be cute so this is no longer up for debate. But I am praying and bargaining with God for another girl. I wouldn't know what to do with a boy and I really want another girl.