Judah - 3 months

Judah, you are 3 months old! These last 3 months have been full of exhaustion, but they have been simply delightful - you are such a sweet guy.

Weight: Not sure

Height: Not sure about this either. We will know @ 4 months!

Sizes: You are solidly in all of your 3 month clothes. Shorts and pants are long and baggy, but all of your onesies are just right. You are wearing size 1 diapers. And you wear your newborn shoes to church.

What you're up to:
- You are laughing and cooing and trying to talk. You especially come alive with noises after Elysen has gone to bed when you have alone time with Daddy and I. I imagine that you must spend all day listening to the constant chatter from your sister, so when she's not around, it's finally your turn to talk! I wouldn't be surprised if that's the way you are for a long time.

- You are very ticklish. It makes me laugh so much. You are especially ticklish around your tummy and behind your ears. You laugh out loud if something tickles you - and of course, that makes me do it more because it's so cute.

- You went on your first family vacation this month. We went to Beaver's Bend with Da, Marmee, Ashley, Allison and JB at the beginning of July. You loved being around everyone, but you didn't love being in a strange place at night. Between you and your sister, your daddy and I got very little sleep at night during vacation, but we still had a blast.

At Brookshire's Wildlife Museum

Meeting Granny for the first time

- You are interested in everything. I put you in the Baby Bjorn for the first time last week and you LOVE it. You like to gaze at everything around you or at me while we walk around.

- These days, you chew on EVERYTHING! You love to chew your hands, or my hands, or my arm, or your paci, or my shoulder.....seriously....you chew everything!

- You're still nursing all day and at night. We give you one bottle - usually your middle of the night feeding because it's a fast way to feed you enough so that we can all get back to sleep. Unlike your sister, you do not sleep through the night yet. You still wake up every 3-4 hours at night. You managed to sleep for 7 hours 1 night about 2 weeks ago and haven't repeated that since....we sure wish you would, but I know you are growing and learning too much to sleep right now. :)

Playing with ReeRee

- You and I have been working on rolling over this month. We always spend some time on the floor talking to each other and singing and working on tummy time. You like this much better than you did a few weeks ago.

After your 2 month shots....so sad

- You are still completely in love with your sister. She makes you smile each time you see her. Granted, I think she also scares you to death, but you love her just the same. It's a good thing that you love seeing and hearing her so much because she loves you like crazy. If she gets up before you in the morning, she's so sad and asks for you until you get up.

Sister always helps with bath time

- You still fight when it's time to go to sleep, but I think we're getting better about this now that you're awake for longer during the day. The workers in the nursery at church love you, but they always tell me how you fight sleeping.

- Your future friend Will Scism was born this month. You two have yet to meet, but I'm sure it won't be long before we visit them.

- I think you're going to like music like your sister. You love it when I sing to you, so I sing a lot. Most of the time, it's "You are My Sunshine" but occasionally we put a few others in the mix.

Sleeping with Aunt Ash

Well, you're still my easy-going, sweet and smiley guy. I wish I could capture your sweetness at this age and have it later on in life. You are just so happy to be with us, and we are happy to be with you! I love to snuggle with you and make you laugh. I know that you'll want to be independent before I know it, so I'll take advantage of this sweet time.

I love you so much, my sweet boy. You are a joy to my life.

 Judah @ 3 months - Elysen @ 3 months

Judah - 2 months

Judah Burke, you are 2 months old! Again, this month has just flown by!

You are my sweet boy and I love every minute with you. I am cherishing this time of you being small because I know it won't last.

Weight: Don't know yet - will update at your 2 month appointment in July
On July 11 - 2.5 months - you weighed 11 lbs, 9 oz. You've grown so much! (This is the 20th percentile)

Height: July 11 - 22 inches (5th percentile)

Sizes: Until about 2 days ago, you were still wearing your newborn clothes. But I've started putting you into the 0-3 month onesies now. The others were a little snug. You are wearing size 1 diapers. You wore newborn diapers until about a week ago when we ran out, and I decided you were close enough to a size 1 that we didn't want to buy more newborn diapers. They were huge for awhile, but now, they fit you better.

What you're up to:

- You're still eating every three hours - at a minimum - some days you eat every 2 hrs. This applies at night as well. Since we haven't had to give you formula like we did your sister, you aren't going to be sleeping quite as well for awhile. But I am enjoying breastfeeding so much more this time around, so it's not a burden at all.

Sleeping soundly

- You are cooing and smiling all the time! You are also starting to really try to talk to us. Right after you eat, I usually put you on a mat or propped up on the Boppy and you look at the world. You love it! Unlike Elysen, you don't really like the bouncy seat - you prefer to just lay flat.

- You have been a baby on the go this month. When Elysen was born, I was terrified to take her out of the house during flu season. But this time, you have just been pulled right along with our lives. Of course, most of the time, we are at home but when I need to go out, I usually take you with me. We've gone shopping at the mall, to Target many times, out to eat with the family, and to church for 2 weeks. I just feed you in the car (or in the church nursery) if it's time for you to eat and we get right back to our activities.

On our way to the park.

- You enjoy being outside. Some nights, your daddy will sit outside with you if you're feeling fussy. And your sister loves being outside so much that you don't really have much of a choice - you're outside at least once every day.

Mommy getting some sweet hugs. 

- I've been putting you in your crib for naps occasionally, and you seem to really like it. It's cool and quiet in your room (and you don't encounter quiet time around her very much).

Father's Day 2013

- One of my favorite things is seeing you smile at and turn towards your sister. You are fascinated by her and stare at her when she's near, and you always smile when she is talking to you. She loves to comfort you, kiss your cheeks, and pat your head.

Sibling love

Basically, it all boils down to the fact that you are a relaxed baby and I am a much more relaxed Mommy this time around. You have fit into our lives so perfectly. It's hard to remember what it felt like without our precious boy around.

We love you so very much and thank God for you every day.

Judah - 1 month

Oh my goodness, Judah, you are 1 month old already! When your sister was born, the first month seemed to crawl by in a haze of no sleep, feeling overwhelmed, and walking a fussy baby. Your first month, however, has gone by so quickly!

Weight: Not exactly sure - probably about 8 lbs. You weighed 7 lbs, 6 oz at about 2 and 1/2 weeks. At your 1 week appointment, they told us that you were already back up to 7 lbs, 2 oz, but we think this was a mistake because at 2 weeks, you were exactly the same weight. I knew you were eating well, and sleeping well, so they asked us to come back in 4 days. You were over your birth weight by 1 oz so we were all happy!

Height: 20 inches (according to our at-home measurements)

Sizes: You are wearing Newborn sizes in everything - both diapers and clothes. You are finally starting to fill them out, though, so it won't be long until we move up!

Comparison pictures:

What you're up to:

- We had snow in your first month! Unbelievably, it snowed on May 3....this has never happened on record in the state of Arkansas.

First snow

- You eat every 3 hours, and have since you were born. You are very good at burping - unlike your sister - so you rarely spit up.

- You are a GREAT sleeper. When we first brought you home, you would sleep in 3-4 hour increments when someone was holding you. This was so nice during the night. Now, you pretty much wake up to eat exactly every 3 hours, whether you're being held or are in your bassinet, but I can see that soon you will be stretching that time a little longer.

- You are rarely fussy. During your first week, you had some gassy spells that made you cry, but even those were nothing too bad. After that first week, you seemed to get some of those digestive issues worked out, and now you are only fussy when you are hungry or getting a diaper change or bath.

Getting love from Uncle Dan and Aunt Janna

- You don't like your bath. You pretty much like to be warm and snuggly all the time, and bath time is not your friend. I have to get the bathroom nice and warm with the heater or you cry the whole time.

- You smiled for the first time last week, on the 23rd. It was just a small smile, but I could tell that it was not just gas. Then, the next day, you grinned such a big grin for ReeRee when she came over. Now you like to give small smiles to anyone who talks to you, but especially your sister. You've also started cooing a little - I adore those baby noises.

- You love Elysen, and she LOVES you. She loves to give you kisses and hugs and pats. She loves to show us your eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hands, feet, etc. She is just so proud of you. She only gets a little jealous when she wants to be playing with someone and they can't play because they are holding you. She calls you "Bubby" or "Brother" or "Judah" and calls herself "Big sister" all the time.

- You hold your head up pretty well and love to look around. You have become very alert in the last week - watching, observing, and taking in your world. Again, you're just so calm and sweet!

My first Mother's Day with 2 babies!

- You have the skinniest legs and hips - they are so cute. Elysen was starting to get chunkier at this age, and you are still looking pretty slim.

- You really like your room. If you do have a bout of fussiness, we can take you in there and walk around or rock (in Elysen's old rocking chair) and you usually settle down within minutes.

- We aren't really sure who you look like. You aren't your daddy's twin like Elysen was at this stage, and you look much more like my baby pictures, but there's definitely a little of both of us in you. I know that you are going to be such a handsome man!

On the way to town for a visit to Chick-fil-A

Oh, my sweet son, you are an AMAZING baby. Everyone who is around you says how calm and sweet you are, and how little you cry. Your Daddy and I can't wait to see your personality develop. Your sister came into this world full of drama and excitement, and she was so fussy for the first few months. You could not be more different - you are cool, collected, and relaxed. I imagine that you're going to be a very laid-back and happy person.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about having a boy - I just didn't know what I'd do without hair bows and dresses. But I was so silly to have been afraid. I felt the most precious bond with you from your first minute of life and I knew that I was going to love being a mom to a boy just as much as I love being a mom to a girl. We are having so much fun with you around. Our family feels so much more complete now that you are here.

I thank God for you each and every day and for the blessing that you are to our family. We love you!

Judah's arrival

Well, here we are - 1 week and 3 days after welcoming our precious Judah into this world. I never knew that my heart still had so much room to love another person. He is the sweetest, most accommodating baby I've ever seen (especially compared to his sister at this age).

We went to my 39 week drs appointment on April 18th and I told Dr. Birch that I wasn't ready to induce yet. I was 2 cm dilated and about 60% effaced. I just KNEW he would be coming along any day now. She told me that we would probably see her in just a few days....

A few days turned into a week. I had contractions on and off - some strong, some not. I was feeling frustrated at the wait - I was just ready to see his sweet face! Mom and Dad decided to come stay with us on the 20th so they could be here when I went into labor. We had a feeling the delivery would be fast, so they wanted to be here.

Well....each day passed and we said "I'm sure it will be tomorrow"....but it never was. At my 40 week appointment on the 25th I told Dr. Birch we were ready to induce. So we made plans to be at the hospital at 6 a.m. Our last night as a family of 3 was spent surrounded by our whole family. We went to Red Lobster to eat (I was having major contractions the whole time...but never regular) with David's family and my parents. David and I spent the evening packing and loading the car, checking the car seat, etc. We were READY!!

The afternoon before our induction!

We left the house at 5:30 a.m. on the 26th. It was rainy and cool outside. We drove to the hospital ER entrance and were promptly wheeled up to labor and delivery. After getting checked in, changing into a gown and getting hooked up to an IV, it was about 7 a.m. The nurses started my pitocin drip as soon as they could (I think it was probably around 8) and we made progress towards getting my epidural. It was around 10 or 11 when everything was hooked up, plugged in, and ready to go. I was feeling great - very calm and rested. I ate some ice and popsicles and visited with David and Brittany.

Around noon, the nurses asked me to start turning on my side to move him around a little. The first time I shifted to my right side, I noticed that my right leg started losing some of the "deadness" associated with the epidural, but I didn't think much of it. But soon, I knew that the epidural had shifted or somehow changed positions because slowly, but surely, I began to be able to feel my contractions more strongly. The nurses were so sweet and called the anesthesiologist back into the room. She gave me several extra kicks of medicine, but none of them really seemed to help. Dr. Birch kept coming in to check on me - and she told us that I was getting very close to being ready to push.

At this point, I was hurting a LOT. I still felt the numbness in my legs, but I felt each contraction - and they were getting stronger and closer together. The poor anesthesiologist tried to help, but I finally just told her not to worry about it - we were almost to the finish line. (I think it was at this point that she kindly patted my ankle and told me, "You're a good patient". Ha!)

After just 20 minutes of pushing (this felt like NOTHING compared to an hr with Elysen), my Judah Burke was here! He was born at 1:34 p.m. weighing 7 lbs, 5 oz. He was 19.5 inches long. He barely cried, but just started looking around at everything.

Holding this precious boy for the first time

Our family of 4!

Elysen was amazed when she saw him. She loved looking at him through the nursery glass (except when he was crying), and she loved seeing him for the first time in my hospital room. I think it made her nervous to see me in the hospital bed since we had just been at the hospital a few weeks prior for ReeRee's broken hip. I think she probably thought I was hurt. But she did a great job and played in all of the cabinets of the hospital room.

Judah's big sister gift for Elysen - A Rapunzel doll, an Ariel doll, a Dr. Seuss book, and a coloring book

Our first night went smoothly, except for Judah's eating habits. He did a great job nursing the very first time and then he fell asleep for the next 12 hours. I could get him to eat a little, but not much - even the nurses couldn't get him to wake up! He finally awakened the next morning so he ate and we started getting ready to go home! I have never been so ready to be home in my life (I HATE being in a hospital bed). I did everything I could to feel normal - took a shower, washed and dried my hair, put on makeup, got dressed - and still felt so ready to be home.

SO sweet!!

Allison, JB, and Ashley made it to Fayetteville late Friday night so they came up on Saturday morning to see the new addition. We left the hospital early Saturday afternoon and made it home safe and sound.

In the week since, I have been so blessed to see what it means to love a second baby just as much as I love the first. It's amazing. God has given us so much capacity for love and I can't wait to continue to get to know this little guy!

Another baby with a full head of hair.

My heart could burst when I see this sweetness. 

What 2 Looks Like...

My sweet, spunky, energetic, dynamic, loving, caring girl, you are 2 years old!

Actually, you have been 2 for a couple of months, but I am just now getting around to writing this post.

The birthday girl at her party!

I must start by saying that every age is more fun than the next. It's fun to think of starting all of the developmental stages over again with your brother, but I LOVE what 2 is bringing for us with you.

Weight: 26 pounds (at your 2 year check up on April 12, you were up to 26.6). (This is approximately 50th percentile)

Height: 31.1 inches (Still down at about the 5th percentile)

Sizes: You've been wearing size 5 diapers for awhile now, and I think you'll probably stay in them until you potty train (sometime....someday....). You wear mostly size 24 month clothes, but some 2T things fit you and some of your older 18 month clothes (especially the pants) fit you.

What you're up to:

- You have a growing and ever-astonishing vocabulary. At your second birthday, you were speaking in clear phrases of 2-3 words, but since that time your language has really taken off. You use complete sentences most of the time (even if we have to fill in a word or two). Some of your favorite things to say are "I sorry" (you say this even if you have done nothing wrong), "Momma (or Daddy) hold you", "Marmee's (or ReeRee's or Daddy's) comin?", "No jumpin'" (to the dogs), "Ooooh, sweet baby (or sweet Remus or sweet Darsee), and "I'm cookin!"

- You know all of your ABCs. We practiced and practiced before Christmas and when you got your alphabet puzzle from Santa, that helped a lot. It won't be long until you can spell your name. (We're working on that).

- You can count up to about 15. Then you usually repeat "sixteen" about 4 times and say "twenty". We went to the park with the Scisms last week and you had a better time counting the links on the bridge at the playground than you did actually playing on the bridge.

- You love to play with your babies. Marmee and Dah got you a Cabbage Patch named Shelley Elle for your birthday and you love her. You call her "Shawey". Aunt Ashley got you a Merida doll from the movie "Brave" and you love her too (even though she spends most of her time being dragged around by her hair.

- You love to pretend that you are "cookin'" in your Sesame Street kitchen. You especially love to make us "coffee" for some reason.

You love to paint!

- Your favorite place to be is outside. Now that the weather is getting nice, you want to go out as soon as we get home from Amanda's every day. And most days, we stay out there with the dogs until Daddy gets home from work. You play in your house (which we finally moved outside) and play in the boat and collect rocks and chase the dogs....you are a never-ending bundle of energy outside. For Easter, Marmee got you some sidewalk chalk, so now we play with that every time we're outside. You ask me to draw pictures of everyone in our family and every animal and object you can think of. (My artistic skills are sooooo not prepared for this).

Playing in your house outside.

- We are working VERY hard on manners and on obedience. I know this will be something we reinforce until you are an adult, but it's certainly interesting to start the instruction. I want you to always be the little girl who says "Thank you" and "Excuse me". We are working on "Yes, ma'am" and "No, ma'am", but those are coming a little slower. Right now, we don't do a lot of spanking, your main consequence for bad behavior is sitting in the corner or having things taken away. Sometimes, it's hard on me to remember that you know enough to be held accountable for your actions. But on the whole, you are very obedient and very sweet to share and give to others around you. I'm proud of you.

At the Tyler zoo over spring break 2013

- Your favorite thing on earth is being around people. You love to FaceTime with Marmee and Dah or Dan and Janna or Allison and JB. We usually try to make the "rounds" on FaceTime at least once a week. You are ecstatic when ReeRee and Papa visit or when Sarah and Charlie come to spend some time. You look forward to church every week (especially seeing Mr. Ron), and Bible School with Amanda and Violet.
When we go to the store or to a restaurant, you look around at people and say "HI!" or "Hewwo!" in your happiest voice. It always brings a smile to my face and to the people's faces around you. This is one reason that you ask to go to the store every time we drive by Wal-Mart or the grocery. You just love the people and the adventure.

- You are usually a pretty good eater for us. Your current favorite foods are chicken (almost any kind - though Chick-fil-A nuggets are a favorite - you are my child), fruit of any kind (especially bananas, peaches, grapes, apples, oranges), green peas, beans, rolls (you say "wolls"), rice, yogurt, Goldfish ("yish") and, of course, candy of any kind. You would drink juice (especially apple) all the time if we let you, but we try to stick to water and milk with a little juice on the side. :)

Your "'Punzel" party

Eating ice cream

- You still love to dance and sing. You know all of the songs on "Tangled" and you sing along to them. You've recently started to enjoy "Cinderella" and "The Little Mermaid" too. I can't tell you how glad I am that these are starting to take the place of Elmo. You also have become obsessed with Dora the Explorer, so we watch that on occasion. And you still love your "Fraggle Rock" which makes me smile.

- You are 100% a Daddy's girl. In the middle of my 2nd trimester, right about when my lap started shrinking, you decided that you wanted Daddy to rock you at night, and that Daddy would be your favorite. I expected that this would happen, so it didn't hurt my feelings too much. It has been so sweet seeing you bond and connect with your Daddy.

- Just recently, you've started to "dress up" a lot. You put on Mommy's shoes (or Daddy's) and walk around with your necklaces on. You say "Ooooh, pwettty" or "Oooh, is cuuuute" - this cracks me up.

- Hearing you say the things we say is a funny and terrifying thing. I try to make sure that my words are always things I would want to hear you say (with the exception of when you're in trouble). But we still get the occasional "Do you hear me?" or "You in trouble". I even heard you say "Oh my gosh" once....I put a stop to that one very quickly - and now I try not to say it - even on the phone. You are definitely at the age that acts like a mirror - you reflect both my good behaviors and my bad ones. And the bad ones stick out like a sort thumb. Having children is certainly a humbling experience. Ha!

Playing Daniel Tiger on the iPad

You are still my baby girl, but I know you will seem so big when your brother arrives. You already are so independent and you play very well by yourself. I am truly thankful for your little imagination.

You bring light to my life. I look forward to seeing you every morning and every afternoon when I pick you up from Amanda's. I look forward to kissing you before bed every night and snuggling with you on the couch every morning when we get up. I am overjoyed when I get to show you new things and let you experience them for the first time. You just make my life so much fun.

You've also been teaching me so much about myself and my own strengths and weaknesses. I've learned that I can be good at teaching you things and helping you follow rules, but I've also learned that I have to have much more patience than I knew I possessed. Teaching you teaches me a lot about God and His heart for His children. I am amazed at my own need for grace as I work and play with you each day.

Thank you, sweet girl, for being one of my life's greatest blessings. I can't wait to see you as big sister.

At the Dallas Arboretum - Spring break 2013