The Burnett Blog

we have moved...

2010-12-07T14:16:00.002-05:00

we haven't literally moved... but we are moving the blog...

http://theburnettblog.posterous.com

please update your bookmarks, rss feeds, and other places that you keep up with us...
this blogspot site will stay here exactly like it is, so you can come reminisce any time that you would like to, and all of our old posts have been converted to the new site as well... but any new updates/pictures/and videos will only be on our new page over at posterous.
thanks for keeping up with our family!

FREE snotty nose to whoever wants one...

2010-10-29T13:46:00.002-04:00

This week we have passed around a nasty cold at our house.
thanks for sharing your sick school germs with us Russ... :)

Unfortunately sweet little Caedmon has it BAD today,

and hasn't slept well at ALL for the past two nights.
Her little cough is absolutely terrible, and she is so congested...

Bless her heart. I absolutely hate when she is sick.

We are TRYING to get lots of rest today, but her cough keeps waking her up
(she finally went down for a little snooze a little while ago, complete with a raspy snore... but hopefully she can sleep through it for a little while)

She hasn't had much of an appetite,
so we are just trying to get some fluids in her!

We're trying everything we know to make her feel better...

cause this sweet little strawberry :
needs to be ready tomorrow night for some halloween
"treating"
(she's not really into tricks...)

well come to think of it,
she's not really into eating treats yet either...

which is why this year,
instead of gathering "treats" from door-to-door...

our sweet strawberry will be delivering sweet
strawberry "treats" to some of her friends & family!!
YUMMY!

so here's hoping that she is feeling better by tomorrow!

she won't be this little forever...

2010-10-20T23:31:00.007-04:00

Right after you were born i heard it over and over from so many different people...

"she won't be this little forever, so cherish every minute of it."

And they were absolutely right. It's been 14 months and 4 days, and you aren't "little" anymore. I mean, you are still 'little', but you are so big too. All the little beginnings of "growing up" have started in your little brain and you are slowly starting to figure out life on your own.

Our time together has flown by. the fastest time has ever flown in my lifetime. even though it still ticks away one minute at a time, just like it always has.
When you grow up & have kids you will know exactly what i mean.

But no matter how fast the time feels like it is passing,
I am so glad to say that i HAVE cherished every minute.
I took the one piece of advice that so many people gave me, and i used it.

Every single day of your life has held a special place in my heart, and I am beyond grateful to your daddy for letting me stay home and experience unbelievable amounts of love that I have never experienced before. Yes, at times it feels like a lot of hard work, and sometimes I am SO happy when you finally go to sleep, so that i can rest... but even then, my HEART never rests.
It still keeps on loving you more and more.

Last night I picked you up out of your crib in the middle of the night just to hold you close. I don't know why i did it, because normally I would be furious if anyone else decided to do that, cause my baby needs her sleep. (otherwise you are cranky the next day!) But thankfully you stayed asleep.

And I am glad, cause I just needed to hold you.

So I did, just like when you were a teeny tiny baby, and you let me. I just rocked you and stared at your little eyelashes, your little belly button, touched your skin, and ran my fingers through your messy head of hair... and thanked Jesus over and over again for giving me such a wonderful gift.

Caedmon, you have taught me so many things about life. I will forever be changed all because of your little beating heart.
I don't deserve you, but God decided to bless me anyway, and i will never take that for granted. ever.

i love you as the thirsty duck loves a sudden shower.

and i always will.

mealtime is a chore at our house.

2010-10-11T23:15:00.000-04:00

i had no idea before i became a mom that i would obsess over the types of foods that my child would eat, but now that I AM a mom, and caedmon's diet fully depends on ME, and what I decide she eats, the responsibility that i feel is pretty overwhelming at times... I want her to ENJOY eating, but I also want the foods she is eating to be HEALTHY.
I solely breastfed caedmon until she was just over a year old, and then she pretty much weaned herself when she started whole milk. I had kind of planned on nursing for longer cause I really believe that is a healthy choice, but I am pretty sure she was ready, and my milk supply was slowly dwindling, and I think that her drinking as much whole milk as possible was necessary for her to put on a little more weight cause she was starting to fall off the charts at her 12 month check up.
Anyways, she has been eating homemade baby food REALLY well since she was six months old. Seriously she ate everything that i gave her and TONS of it! I made all kinds of fruit, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, eggplant, turkey, and the list goes on... sometimes she scrunched her nose at peas or carrots, but she would still eat them...
BUT since caedmon turned one and has been drinking milk and eating all kinds of real finger foods by herself, she doesn't eat baby food anymore, and I am seriously struggling with WHAT i should feed her, how MUCH to feed her, and what she will ACTUALLY eat. As of right now, I am pretty sure that she doesn't eat anywhere near the amount of vegetables she needs, (she spits most of them out) but the child can eat her WEIGHT in pretty much any kind of fruit/grain.

I have looked online at several guidelines and menu plans, to help me know what she needs, and how much to feed her... but it was so hard to fit some of the things that I found into our life/budget/schedule and so I just decided to come up with one of my own that is customized to the things that MY one year old will actually eat, plus a few foods that she doesn't enjoy but that I want to keep offering to her, in hopes that she will eventually just eat them...

I really need all the moms I know to tell me their thoughts, opinions, experiences and advice on feeding a one year old and if this menu planner is reasonable/unreasonable? too much/too little?

I just feel really clueless on all this except for the fact that caedmon's pediatrician told me that she needs at LEAST 18 ounces of whole milk a day, and all the other random things i have read/studied online! I am also terrible with math & conversions & measurements so I have no idea if what i have "guessed" is even close to the right amount of food for her... basically I just need everyone to help me fine tune this thing so that I can have a better/easier plan for meal time! Cause right now, i feel like a chicken running around with his head cut off trying to find things that she can/will eat that is GOOD for her!

you have to click on the picture of the chart to make it big enough to read!

(and if you are wondering, i intentionally left out Sunday on my chart, because that is a day where most of our meals are "on-the-go" or prepared by someone else...)

so please tell me what you think, any advice you may have, or any tips or suggestions to change this! caedmon will thank us all later when she is healthy, healthy, healthy!

a new look, and a new skill...

2010-10-06T19:53:00.015-04:00

hi, it's dixi again.

i know i am a 'struggling blogger', but life has been
absolutely amazing with a one year old
that it's getting harder and harder to find time to blog!
I mean Caedmon is just so cute that i like looking at her
way more than i like looking at this 'new post' screen... don't you agree?

speaking of Caedmon being CUTE,
you may have noticed that we added a new "look" to the blog!
i basically did this for two reasons:
my first reason was because we had some AMAZING family pictures taken by
the*reason and i wanted to show them off!
(thanks again chris+allie, we seriously LOVE you guys!)

most of these are just little "peeks" because we have special plans to save our most favorite ones for christmas cards, and possibly special gifts for our families! woo-hoo!

my second reason for adding the new "look " was because i thought that by having something fresh and new, it might give me even more inspiration to take time to post about our always exciting life!

So I hope you like the new look, and i will TRY to post more than i have lately!

Anyways, I know Russ posted a few updates in his last post from august, but caedmon is just getting so cute & smart that i have to brag on her some more!

so far this is a complete list of words (in no particular order)
that she has ACTUALLY said out loud,
WITH meaning, AND more than once:

catch
uh-oh
dada <--daddy
da <-- dog
dat <-- that
chair
nana <--mama
(but she has recently started saying mama too! she uses them interchangably...)
arthur <-- the PBS character
ba <-- bye
heather
shoes
there she is

and then there are a few words that
she is still working on and "KIND-OF" says:

light
book
storm
color

now, i know what some of you are thinking... some of these words are pretty advanced, and there is no way that a child who barely speaks can say them, but i am not joking or "parent exaggerating" (you know those exaggerations that parents make about their kids to make them seem more advanced than their kid actually is... yeah, that's not us. These words are the real deal.)

She RARELY says any of these when we ask her to (except dada, mama and catch), but throughout a regular day at home, this girl just talks and talks and talks, and she actually says all these words in conversation with me, and then she'll say them again and again on her own!

But I swear it does get pretty funny when we try to get her to say them for other people, and she acts like we are crazy.

Now to keep you in the loop with a few things
that Caedmon has been doing recently:
gives hugs & kisses
"reads" books to herself
plays peek-a boo with her hands over her face
tries to brush her hair with a brush or a comb
pretends to put "lotion" on her arms
sticks her tongue out (SO CUTE!)
dances when she hears music
tries to color
holds on to things while standing up
cruises along the furniture
walks while we hold both of her hands...

Then just over week ago Caedmon learned how to pull herself up so she can stand. She figured this one out while she was in her crib one afternoon for a nap, and that was pretty strange/funny to see in her video monitor for the first time!

Now she does it all the time, but it still makes me smile when i walk in and she is just standing there waiting on me! After these pictures were taken I ended up having to move her monitor to a shelf beside the crib and take down the canopy over her crib... i'm sure you can all guess why i had to do that... :)

And Caedmon's brand new skill that she learned this past weekend is CRAWLING!

This sweet beautiful child... that has been standing while holding on to furniture, cruising along the side of the coffee table & couch, walking while holding our hands, and pulling herself up to stand... apparently decided she was FINALLY going to crawl! haha, she just has her own unique timing for everything...

I am still lovin' the new excitement of all this new mobility for now, cause she is still pretty slow, and cautious, but i know that eventually she will be all over the place and into everything, and i will be stressin' out. I suppose that after almost 14 months, i will finally have to "baby-proof" the house... I don't think that only having two plug protectors in the whole house will suffice for this new mobile toddler.

One more little update that is somewhat of a "milestone" to us this week:
she now cruises around town in her new "big girl" carseat...

(this is the newest air protect seat from Safety 1st, hopefully, it will be a good one for us... so far so good! oh, and i couldn't find a picture on the internet of the actual color we purchased, but caedmon's is a brown/taupe color...)

anyways, if you can't already tell, caedmon is growing up so fast, but so far that about covers all of her milestones lately...

Russ got to celebrate a little milestone of his own:

he turned 27 on September 30th!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!
(Caedmon and I had to "celebrate" with him by bringing homemade cupcakes & Zaxby's to a Quik-Trip parking lot in between him teaching school in Dallas and then going to class for his masters degree in Carrollton, i swear my husband is so stinkin' great and he never complains. i love him so much.)

and my little milestone (aka: shameless plug) for the post is...

I started a brand new business from home!

Be sure to check it out and let me know if you need
any cards, invitations, announcements, logos, or anything of the sort!

click here to go to
the burnett collection!

and one more shameless plug:
the burnett collection is on facebook too.

okay that's it from our family for now...
but we DO have some
pretty exciting things that are coming up:
A Postseason Braves game! (GO BRAVES!!!)
Carving Pumpkins!
Halloween Costumes!!

And hopefully I will get the chance to post about these fun things!!

I promise I still appreciate our faithful blog readers! Love you guys!

Baby? I don't see a baby around here.

2010-08-28T18:48:00.012-04:00

Wow. Lots of things have happened since the last post and if I try to explain all of them in detail I would be finished at about the same time Caedmon starts college. The thing is, when we had our daughter, we loved her and knew she was amazing and wanted everyone else to know how amazing she was, too. But we (or at least I) found myself taking too much time to show her off and not taking enough time to just be in awe of this God's adorable little creation. So needless to say, I've been doing that a lot lately, and it's great. The good thing about that is, well, I spend lots and lots of time with my baby. The bad thing is that I don't share all the milestones and fun moments as often as I probably should. (On a side note, at what point is it not assumed that every time I blog it will be primarily about Caedmon?) But regardless, I am blogging tonight because the Braves are winning 10-1 and I don't have to watch every pitch, Caedmon is asleep, I have no school work to do, and my wife is busy playing dress up with the forgotten clothes in the back of our closet. So here we go...

A very important event happened in Caedmon's life. Well, important to me anyway. She went to her first Atlanta Braves game. She will obviously be a Braves fan for her entire life, so this first of many visits to Turner Field (I'm sure later in her life she will know it as "The House that Jones Built") is very special. The Braves won, which was nice. But what was even nicer was that our friend Adam Patrick gave her a ball thrown to him by Eddie Perez at the end of the game to commemorate her first game. Thanks Adam.

We got to take a tour of the field.

My daughter is now a talker. Her first word (besides babbling the random dadadada and mamamama) was "catch". Dixi was throwing a bouncy ball to her and saying "catch" when she threw it. I guess Caedmon just decided it was time to talk and after a minute of playing, she said "catch" as Dixi threw her the ball. Now she says it almost every time she sees a ball. It's pretty cute. A few weeks later, she had already graduated to sentences. Check out her saying "there she is" while playing with Dixi.

Did I mention that we no longer have a baby? That's right, no baby, just a toddler. Caedmon turned one year old on August 16 and had a birthday party under the hot, hot sun at Ridge Ferry Park. Lots of family and friends came and gave her tons of hugs and kisses and toys. Thanks for tolerating the heat to come to the party everyone. By the way, my wife did a pretty good job planning and decorating the party huh?

She enjoyed some cake at home on the day of her birthday.

I won't promise anymore posts anytime soon. I have better things to do. (see pictures above) But here are a few of my favorites from the past few months.

Caedmon loves boat rides. They put her to sleep.

One of my favorites.

the perfect life...

2010-06-03T23:00:00.000-04:00

this post is much deeper than your average blog post, so don't expect some light reading... if you are looking for a light read, might i suggest this post instead.

this is just something that I think about often, but only since 9 1/2 months ago. So it isn't "new" this week, but still worthy of sharing, hopefully.

turns out i am not a perfect mom. i am not a perfect wife. not a perfect sister, daughter, friend, child of God, neighbor, cook, maid... gosh the list could go on.

in my mind:

the perfect mom =
someone who never lets her baby chew on the remote control (cause apparently the battery cover can come loose, and your child can then remove the batteries and chew on them,) someone who always pairs their kid's socks together, someone who doesn't ever remove her hands from a newly sitting baby in a bathtub (cause they will fall over, hit their head on the side of the tub, and land in the water,) someone who never forgets to buckle the straps on the carseat while their baby rides home completely unsafe in the event that a terrible accident were to occur. and the list goes on.

the perfect wife =
someone who actually forgives her husband in the event that he makes a mistake, someone who completely trusts her husband no matter what, someone who never teases her husband in public, someone who has a healthy meal cooked when her husband gets home from work, someone who irons her husbands clothes, someone who doesn't "nag" their husband about getting things done. and the list goes on.

the perfect sister =
someone who checks in with their siblings regularly and knows what they are doing all the time, someone who attends all of their niece's and nephews birthday parties, someone who makes an effort to do thoughtful things for their siblings "just because," someone who always remembers to tell their siblings they love them even after a disagreement. and the list goes on.

the perfect daughter =
someone who always tells their parents thank you for all the sacrifices they made, someone who always does something special for mother's day and father's day even if they don't live close by, someone who listens and takes their parent's advice (when applicable...lol) someone who never complains about what they have or don't have growing up. and the list goes on.

okay i think you get the point.

i am not perfect.

i know this.

i don't always like it, but i know it.

i believe that for most of my life i have tried to be perfect... and i don't know why. Well, actually i do know why: it is because I try to please people around me, and try to appear like i have everything in my life put together, because I feel judged by people... this is really something i started struggling with during college, i know that sounds crazy because it seems to me like that is usually when people start to not care what people think, but it was the other way around for me for some reason. the high school days were the carefree days for me, I was confident, happy, easy-going, and laid-back. things changed sometime after moving into Berry College. i didn't even realize this until college was almost over... not that it was a bad thing, cause I am who i am today because of my past.

but fortunately for all the unperfect people out there like me, there is grace. grace mostly comes from jesus, and sometimes it comes from other people around me. and that always made it easier when i failed miserably, but it didn't always take away the disappointment of failing... time and time again.

but since becoming a mom there is one thing i am slowly learning, my life and heart are changing. i actually BELIEVE that it is okay that i am not perfect, and i don't live my life concerned about being perfect anymore, or constantly being disappointed in so many areas of my life. it is okay if other unperfect people judge me, cause it happens y'all. we are all human, i get it.

it is okay that the laundry is wrinkled, if the kitchen sink holds dirty dishes for 2-3 days, if the bed doesn't get made, if i don't manage my money well, if caedmon's hair doesn't get brushed. it is okay if i don't fix my own hair, that I drive a dirty car, that my house gets dusty, that I don't have perfect teeth, that i forget things i am supposed to do or appointments, it is okay that i don't shower every day, that i forget to call people back, that i don't blog consistently, it is okay that I don't recycle... and this list could go on and on too.

All of this is okay, because I am perfect at one thing so far, and that is loving my daughter unconditionally. I choose her over everything else in the whole world. every time. To be very transparent with all of you, I don't always do that for my husband, (I am actively working on this one though, cause this one is oh-so-important) I don't always do that for my family, I don't do it for my friends, I don't do it for Jesus, I don't do it for anything else in my life. And at times I have felt guilt and shame and disappointment because I am not perfect in all these areas... but I can't be perfect. I'm a human being, born into sin, destined for a life of imperfection. Just the way it is, folks. But I have a perfect life waiting for me, and until then, I am gonna continue to fail. And that is alright with me.

But gosh people, I absolutely love Caedmon, and I have yet to fail at loving my daughter. and I really hope I never will... even if she turns out to be a rotten toddler, or an annoying kid, or a disrespecting teenager, or a distant adult.

The best part about loving her, besides the endless quality time we spend together, and the sweet giggles and grins we share, is that she has helped me to try and love other people unconditionally (yet I still fail at this, constantly.) But regardless of my shortcomings, Jesus is using my sweet beautiful girl to teach me about his unending love. He used her to show me how to love my husband in ways that I have never loved him before (like i said, i am not a perfect wife, and our marriage is still a work-in-progress, but I can proudly say that I am - correction: we are a LONG way from where we started 3 years ago.)

Jesus consistently uses Caedmon to make me "stop, and smell the roses." Cliche I know, but the point remains, I don't worry myself with all the tasks of "daily living" anymore. I understand that my time, and relationship with her is way more crucial than whether or not dinner is on the table at 6:00. Since becoming a mother, I also understand that my relationship with Jesus is so important, because prior to motherhood it was just another thing that i wasn't perfect at, so i would live in that disappointment... but now, I am not only responsible for my own spiritual health, but for my sole purpose of being a parent is to raise my child with Jesus. What a motivation. But I am not perfect at this part of parenting either, I still fail at balancing a constant spiritual life and my constant actual life. Surprising, I know. But the unconditional love for Caedmon, it's just THERE people! And because of her, I have just let go of all the other imperfections in my life, and just accepted them. I had no idea what I was missing out on earlier in life. I was missing out because I cared too much about what my friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers thought, and I lived in that. But not anymore.

Caedmon thank you for REALLY teaching me how to realize what is important in my life, Seriously, there are countless times when I THOUGHT that I knew my priorities, but those moments were always short-lived. and Jesus thank you for using Caedmon to bring my heart to this new place.

So, all that to say this: if you think my life, my house, my schedule, my laundry, or my hair isn't isn't picture perfect, then I am sorry, but I don't care what you think (gosh, that sounds so harsh, but the truth of it is, I really DON'T care). My priority is US. (Me, Jesus, Russ, & Caedmon) I understand that there are so many other things happening in my life here on earth that are important, and i will do my best to succeed at them, but I already know I will fail, time and time again, and I am okay with that. And I don't have to prove myself to anyone. Because if that were the case, I would only be able to prove to you how crappy i am at regularly mopping my floors, or getting out of debt, or procrastinating, or every other thing i do "wrong".

So I live my life now "smelling the roses", and not constantly worrying about all the tasks involved with daily life, but understanding that yes, I still have to wash clothes sometimes, and yes, I still live in this world and have to follow the practical, social, and relational rules that apply to building God's kingdom. But all that comes after the tasks that involve Jesus, my husband, and my daughter.

So judge me all you want. But I don't care, cause regardless of what the world around me thinks, my priorities are exactly where they need to be.

Family: Part Three

2010-04-26T20:28:00.008-04:00

Oh my, it's been a while. There are more than three people in our family, I promise. We have just been a leeetle bit busy with an amazing little baby who now has a couple of sharp little teeth.

Continuing with our Family series, we're gonna head back over to the Burnett side of the family tree. Many of you may not know this, but Caedmon isn't the only adorable little person on the Burnett side of the family. She has a cousin, Malachi, (flip the channel to Comedy Central in about 15 years and I'm sure you'll see him) that is just about the coolest little man I know. He has a couple of cool parents, too (turns out that parents are an essential part of having babies): my brother, Drew, and his wife Amy. Amy is an elementary school teacher and Drew is a manager at Chick-Fil-A. Unfortunately Caedmon doesn't get to see them as much as she would like, but that's just the way it goes sometimes. So without further ado, more family for you.

Amy and Caedmon at a very familiar meeting place: Grandmom's house.

Malachi is definitely, absolutely, positively a Burnett.

Malachi loves giving Caedmon kisses.

Amy and a 5 day old Caedmon.

Drew and Malachi came to visit Caedmon. Malachi didn't understand why she wouldn't give him a high five...

Caedmon and Drew. That's Drew on the right.

One thing they can both agree on: Elmo.

Caedmon loves her Aunt Amy.

Family: Part 2

2010-02-18T21:55:00.005-05:00

Erin Laci Baldwin. Younger sister to Dixi. Knower of all things about the English language. Former roommate of Russ and Dixi. Possible ninja. How else do you explain the swords (or katanas, or whatever you call them) and this and this that I found in your room? Anyway, we wish Erin lived closer, but she doesn't. She is one of the few people that can tolerate, and possibly even enjoy being around, our dog Storm. We miss you and so do Caedmon and Storm.

Proof that Storm once stood still.

Erin got Caedmon this awesome Elmo and book for Christmas.

"Why don't you blink?"

LOST

2010-02-18T20:59:00.006-05:00

This post is going to be unlike the rest, so if you are not a fan of Lost, please ignore it. If you are a fan of lost and aren't quite caught up with this season, don't read because you'll see spoilers. I feel like an idiot for posting this, because I make fun of everyone who is obsessed with a television show, but Lost has had me entranced since episode 1. This isn't all original, it's just what makes the most sense from a couple things I read...

Ethan was the doctor in both timelines when Claire had her baby. Kate was there both times, too. What if everything that happens on the island like Claire having her baby while Kate was there and Ethan was the original doctor, Locke walking again (because he will probably call Jack in the "no crash" timeline and have some sort of surgery), and possibly even Charlie dying, happens on and off the island. Jack is the only person that has any recollection of the island (recognizing Desmond, seeing his scratch, etc.) so he will end up being "the one" that is chosen by Jacob and protects the island. The whole time we are seeing this alternate timeline, it is really just the ending to the show. It's what really happens to everyone because Jack will be chosen by Jacob and destroy the Smoke Monster. This would make sense, right?

I love you, Hurley.

Family: Part 1

2010-02-17T11:24:00.010-05:00

So we love our family. Fortunately, a lot of our family members live in Rome and we get to see them anytime we want. It is so helpful to have them here so that anytime we want to go on a date, need someone to bring us dinner, or want someone to play Fuzion Frenzy with, we can give them a call and they can be here in five minutes. But unfortunately, not all of our family members live within a few minutes of us. So we are going to dedicate a few blogs to our family, from Orlando to Zebulon to Cedar Bluff. To start, the newly engaged couple, Mike and Heather. Congratulations you two. Thanks for the many nights of hide and go seek, Mario Kart Wii, and Rook. (Most of these pictures will include Caedmon, because she loves her family, too.)

Mike and Heather

Mike proposed at Garden Lakes Park.

He was pretty excited.

Mike left Caedmon a hidden message in her nursery.

Right after Caedmon was born.

At Drew and Amy's house for Halloween.

Caedmon loves her soon to be Aunt Heather.

Love Grows Love

2010-02-04T20:04:00.006-05:00

So evidently my wife is not the super blogger that I thought she was, and I am the one having to do all the make-up work. It's been since before Christmas since you've heard from us, and obviously lots of things have changed with us and Caedmon. Since I would have to write a book to go into detail about all of the new milestones and fun things happening with our family, I will just post some really cute pictures of my daughter, because if you are like me, you don't care about reading anything when there is an adorable little girl around. So if I were you, I would just look to the right side of your screen. There you will see a scrolling bar with an up arrow and a down arrow. Click the down arrow for a few seconds until you see some color. Then you may stop and smile, because that's what Caedmon is best at, making us all smile.

For all of you boring people out there that actually like to read (Whatever that is. I think it has something to do with words and not babies. Doesn't sound very appealing...), here are some milestones and cool stuff that has happened in the Burnett house.

- Caedmon lifts her head and and props herself up on her arms from her belly. She has rolled over a couple of times, but has since decided to stop. We're not sure why. I guess she thought to herself, "Every time I roll over, these weird people put me back on my belly and want me to do it again. But if I just stay on my belly, they leave me alone."

-Probably the third best night of my life. Caedmon saw her first snow and saw Alabama win the national championship on the same day. School was also canceled the next day. So needless to say I went to bed a happy man.

- We are "attempting" to feed Caedmon cereal. As you will see in the pictures, she doesn't quite understand the whole "swallowing" concept. She is so sweet when she does it though. As soon as we feed it to her she gives it right back to us. She's so generous...

- My wife, it turns out, is an excellent cook. She made homemade apple butter and bread that were both delicious. She keeps the house (almost) perfectly clean. She feeds me, Caedmon, and Storm (and none of us eat the same thing...). She takes care of our daughter every second that she is awake. She designs crafts, reads books, does schoolwork for me, and looks like she never breaks a sweat. She must somehow have more hours in her day than the rest of us. Quit making me look bad Dixi...

- Caedmon stayed with her grandmom (Kim) without Dixi and I for a few hours. This was her first real time being kept by someone else for a significant amount of time. She still doesn't take a bottle consistently (or hardly at all) so we had to come feed her when she got hungry.*

- My grandmother, Mer, bought Dixi and I an amazing fence. It's a shadow box wooden privacy fence (installed by Lowe's if anyone needs one; we definitely recommend them). Getting a privacy fence has been a goal of ours, and lately it has seemed a little out of reach, especially for the next couple of years. Mer graciously offered to buy it after she came and visited Caedmon a couple of months ago. Storm loves it because she doesn't have to be on a cable. I can't wait for Caedmon to be able to go play in what seems like our nice, new backyard.

- Last but not least, we celebrated our first Christmas as a family of three. If you are reading this and do not have kids, and you love Christmas, I have some advice for you. You probably think that Christmas couldn't be any better, but you are wrong. My advice to you is this: go out and have a baby (preferably not out of wedlock, but hey, drastic times call for drastic measures), adopt one, borrow one, steal one (Not from me though. Please. Maybe from Octomom, she'll never notice. Or maybe even Brangelina...), or at least buy one of those lifelike ones from Wal-Mart. Then take it home. Keep it until Christmas morning. Wake up. Go pick up your child from his/her crib. Celebrate Christmas with your family. You'll thank me later.

The boring stuff, AKA, not Caedmon related.

- Dixi and I (as if you care...) are doing great. Dixi is still beautiful and loves staying at home with Caedmon. She does lots of mommy things and lots of wifey things. My job is still amazing. I love the people I work with. Most of you probably know this, but I work in an EBD (Emotional Behavior Disorders) classroom. Needless to say, it can get very, very stressful. I am a pretty laid back and patient person by nature, but it would be almost impossible for me not to get stressed out sometimes. My coworkers are so helpful and encouraging it's ridiculous. I can't tell you how many things I have screwed up, forgotten about, written incorrectly, used bad judgment about, and flat out done wrong. But I have not gotten so much as a hint of negative criticism. My administration and coworkers are absolutely the best people I have ever worked with.

Anyway, on to the pictures. There's no particular order, and I only captioned some. The others are just fun to look at.

Caedmon's first time being sick. How pitiful.

Uncle Jody made Caedmon this rocking horse. Thanks so much Jody.

This is probably my favorite picture ever taken of her.

A snowball from Caedmon's first snow.

Our other baby: Storm.

First time pushing up from her belly. Mommy caught it on camera.

Dixi's delicious homemade bread and apple butter.

First time eating cereal. She has beautiful eyes. (In other news, rain is wet.)

First Christmas.

Our niece and nephew, Ema and Tobey, during Christmas in Zebulon.

Two thirds of the Burnett family.

Malachi and Addison thinking about what mischievous things they will get into with Caedmon one day.

Malachi and Caedmon in what will soon be all of the grandparents' computer backgrounds, printed out to show everyone at work, and smiled at for hours on end.

Here's what I now know. Sometimes sleep can wait. Sometimes you'll just have to put the laundry off until tomorrow. Sometimes you'll just have to watch Lost on the ABC.com the next day. I am the worst about wanting to get as many things done during the day as I can and not waste time. But what I know now is even though the house may be a wreck and you have a million things on your list, holding, kissing, singing to, rocking, playing peek-a-boo with, and loving your child always, always, always take precedence over these things. This sounds so cliche, but man oh man, it's real. You have to trust me on this.

*"We" didn't actually have to come feed her, Dixi did. I just happened to be with Dixi. I can't exactly feed her. As you dads to be will soon find out, when your child is breast fed, you're pretty useless at feeding time.

Up Next: The (Entire) Family

We are the parents of a 4 month old? Really?

2009-12-18T21:53:00.011-05:00

Per my last post, the new "take the time" motto has been applied to taking time to be with my baby, (who is growing up WAY too fast...) enjoy my husband, celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends, and get ready for Caedmon's first christmas... obviously, I haven't taken the time to update the blog in the last month, but in 10 years, I don't want to say, "Man, I wish I had been able to blog more often, and not held my baby girl so much." Cause that would make me retarded. I am quickly learning that all of this new baby stuff goes by in the blink of an eye, and I don't want to waste a single second with Caedmon.

With that said, I have laid her down to sleep, and should be doing something else around the house like sleeping cause it's 2 am... or cleaning up for some out of town guests that are coming to stay with us tomorrow (that I am super excited about!) , but I will get to all that cleaning stuff later...

So, two days ago Caedmon celebrated her 4 month birthday with a trip to the doctor to get three shots in her leg. I think she thought it was a wonderful birthday present... haha or maybe those screams weren't screams of delight... oh well... She is now 24 3/4 inches long (75th%) and weighs 12 lbs 11.2oz which means she gained less than half a pound in TWO MONTHS! WHAT? That can't be! She went from being in the 80th % to the 40th % for her age... The doctor didn't seem concerned, so we won't be concerned. She is kind of starting to look a little thinner... or maybe she just lost most of her second chin, okay nevermind, the second chin is still there! oh well, she is still as beautiful as ever... See for yourself.

(This picture is from her 3 month birthday! We dressed up for an amateur photo shoot. Didn't turn out so good, holding the camera, propping up the baby on a chair with a broken armrest, all while trying to get her to smile... next time I will wait until daddy gets home to help! But I did like this picture cause it is like she is saying "hey, look at my pretty dress!")

Now, back to business. We have LOTS to catch this blog up on!

First of all, Caedmon is officially a thumb sucker. See below.

I swear she might love her thumb more than she loves her mommy, which is saying a lot, cause she stinkin' loves her mommy!

(and she loves her daddy too... but mommy is writing the blog... haha)

Anyways, here are all her "milestones" as of one month ago (a lot happens in just one month!)

She laughed for the first time on the 12th of November (one tiny little weak one, but it was still adorable!) I don't know why I didn't put that in the blog for her 3 month birthday, probably because I wasn't sure if it was a really real laugh at the time, but over the course of this month she has laughed more and more, so I know now it WAS her laugh! We haven't captured it on video yet, but when we do, we will post it for the world to see.

She babbles and talks like CRAZY! She has really been doing this for awhile now, but she does it SO much now that I have to make mention of it!

She reached out to touch something for the first time like the day after her 3 month birthday, it was a silver Nilla Wafer bag (like the sealed inner bag that comes in the box...) I was just holding Caedmon in my lap & snacking away when all of a sudden I felt another hand going for my nilla wafers! Then we pulled out the video camera to capture the moment. She was focused hard on that bag! My favorite part is that she is so gentle with her little fingers, not really harsh about touching it, just sweet and lady like... haha, i love it. just watch.

After reaching out to touch things, she quickly learned to hold things in her hands, sometimes she isn't aware she is still holding something after awhile, but she holds it none the less! This picture was from the first time she actually hung on to something (some little plastic keys) and she held them long enough to fall asleep (after sticking her thumb in her mouth of course...)

She LOVES taking baths (well... sometimes! I swear we have to catch her in just the right mood, otherwise she lets us know she doesn't want to take a bath.) Here is a bath in just the right mood:

She celebrated her first Thanksgiving with lots of family! Unfortunately she didn't get to eat all that much... there is always next year!

We went on our first vacation with her to Gatlinburg, TN the weekend after Thanksgiving. We went with several of our friends and their babies. And had SUCH a great time just hanging out for the weekend.

And just as a little side note about this vacation... I was so nervous about how she would be during the trip, being away from home and normal things, but Caedmon was absolutely perfect the WHOLE time! I don't know why i was so worried, cause it turns out that I was the proudest mother in the world! I love that feeling.

She moved up to a size 2 diaper about 3 weeks ago, but I think we could probably move back down to a size one, cause I think she hit the peak of a really big growth spurt and then she thinned back down a little...

We decorated the house for Christmas and she likes to stare at the christmas lights!
(Obviously she isn't staring at the tree in this picture, but there are christmas lights up on top of some cabinets too, and that is actually what she was looking at in this picture... just wanted to clarify so i didn't sound like an idiot...)

We put her in the church nursery for the first time 2 weeks ago. I got to church that Sunday and she was wide awake, and so I was nervous that she would just babble and squeal during church, and then found that our favorite friend Kelly was in the nursery that Sunday, so we left her! While i was filling out her little nursery name sticker I told Russ, that was the first time I felt like a "real" parent... i loved that moment.

And not really a milestone for Caedmon, but more of a milestone for mommy. I made her some leggings out of women's socks! I got the idea off of another blog and just tried it while i was still sitting at the computer! I love them! and they are so warm! (BUT no more sewing by hand cause I am getting a sewing machine for Christmas! Now maybe we will be able to have more cute pictures of new homemade clothes/ideas to post in the next few months!)

Along with all the exciting parts about Caedmon growing and getting bigger comes the hard parts too. Our hard part so far: teething. My poor baby was miserable for the whole week last week. Crying, screaming, wiggling, squirming, chewing on fingers, not sleeping, etc, etc, etc the list goes on. It was a super hard week cause I have been so ridiculously spoiled with such a great baby who only "cries" when she is sleepy and hungry and by "cries" I don't mean the CRY CRY. Teething makes her CRY CRY. Are you following me here? "Cries" is a like a little yell of dissatisfaction telling me that she kinda needs something... that is what we have been used to. the CRY CRY is the piercing scream and falling tears where she is unconsolable for a few minutes... we never really heard the CRY CRY till this past week. But fortunately, she returned to her normal sweet self after 4 or 5 days. She is still chewing on her fingers a lot, and has the occasional whine here and there, but she is nowhere near as bad as she was last week. I am so thankful. (I am pretty sure that during that week the CRY CRY could be heard from Mommy too... it was a tough, tough week.) no pictures to go with this one... not until she actually gets some teeth to come through her gums... then we will all see what she (we) worked so hard to achieve... haha

So, I think that just about catches us up. One more thing before I wrap up... remember that iPod i talked about so lovingly on my November 12th post...

...Luckily i can easily jot down these "things i love" on my ipod touch so i am still keeping up with those (more on how much i love the ipod touch later... i am working on a list that i will post on or around Thanksgiving, of the things i am thankful for as a new mother...)

...well. we lost it. (by we, I mean: I am not placing blame because I should have helped keep up with it, but this person knows who he is... i love you babe) it happened during our trip to Gatlinburg. it's gone now, along with my most recent things i love lists, my new mother thankful list I was going to post after Thanksgiving, all my contacts & info, my games, my music, my easily accessible internet/email, and everything else i loved about that iPod. gone. i won't shed a tear over a piece of electronic equipment, but if i did, this would be the piece of equipment I would shed a tear for. oh well. life goes on. maybe it will turn up again. I will hope for that day.

So without the "convenience" of this magical little tool I haven't kept up with my things i love... i know, call me lazy. Why is it so hard to just go get a piece of paper and a pencil... seriously though. I will have to start back up with it, and just fill in a few for the weeks I missed... So sorry Caedmon!

Thanks for reading!

three months & counting...

2009-11-16T05:08:00.001-05:00

well. it is officially caedmon's three month birthday today and I don't know how it is possible, but I love her more today than I did the first day I saw her. my heart got bigger somehow. I can't even imagine my life without her now! Seriously three months of having her here with us has been beyond amazing. though i have to admit that watching her grow out of that newborn baby stage isn't so fun cause I know she will never be that teeny tiny ever again and I already miss it... but I have to remind myself to continue to look ahead and be excited about the next stage for her, and just be grateful for the experiences in the past!

I am starting to realize why people always say they want another baby when they hold someone else's newborn baby. cause it just feels soo special and it just doesn't last long enough for any parent.

but like I said, I just have to remind myself to focus more on what is in store for her next and not just dwell on three months that have already gone by. listen to me, haha I sound like a crazy person! like she just turned 18 or 40 or something and she is just three months old... haha.

so anyways, if you've got a minute please wish her a happy three month birthday! she obviously can't read yet, but i'll read it to her, and one day she'll be able to read it... and she would be so happy to know how much she was loved right know!

and I just wanted to share a small revelation the lord gave to me this week... it might be my new motto, maybe even our new blog name... it is "take the time." it applies to so much for me right now, and in so many areas of my life! so much so that I am thinking of making a weekly blogpost about how God is directing me to "take the time" to do something. maybe "take the time tuesdays."

that is it for now... thanks for following our little family!

p.s. things I love: week thirteen to come later today! so come back by!

Caedmon > Football

2009-11-15T12:22:00.004-05:00

Dear Caedmon,

This is your dad. You don't know my name yet, and I'm not sure that you even recognize my face, but I know you, and I have some things I wanted to tell you. I actually told you most of these a couple of nights ago, but I'm assuming that since you just stared at me like I was an idiot that you didn't really understand. So maybe the Mayans won't give the whole world the deadly eastern european chicken pox and kill us all in 2012 and you will be able to read this someday.
First of all, I am so happy to be your father. Me and your mom love you so much. But we have told you that a million times so that's not why I'm writing this. I was thinking other day about what a big responsibility it is to be a parent, and how much the way I raise you will affect you. That's great and all, but it's also a little scary. It's scary because I am imperfect, flawed, irresponsible, forgetful, lazy and sinful. As much as I think I could and would do anything in the world for you, I can't. I would like to think that no one else can love you like I do, but I'm wrong. You see, I am your earthly father, and I am here to "train you up in the way you should go", according the the Proverbs. But you have another father, (cue the Jerry Springer "ooooos and ahhhhs"), one that loves you for no reason except that He chooses to. I have loved you since the minute you were conceived, and He loved you long before that. Only He can provide what you really need, and the funny thing is, He is all you really need. Caedmon, I would die for you without blinking an eye, but He already has. There is a void in you that I cannot fill, and I pray that one day God will turn your heart of stone to a heart of flesh.
You are so great, and will no doubt be a great woman. You will do great things, and you can do whatever you want, but I was thinking a couple of nights ago, "What is Caedmon going to be like?" There are lots of things that I want you to be, so here's what I've already decided for you (I hope that's okay with you...). I want you be creative like your mom. I want you to be funny like Mike and be confident like Drew. I want you to cook like your grandmom and smart like your grandad. I want you to be artistic like Erin and have cute kids like Jeri. I want you to laugh like Emily and be athletic like Matt. I want you to work hard like your other grandad and make things like your other grandmom. I want you to care for people like Dusty and smile a lot like Rachel. Your kids will thank you if you buy them candy like Kelley. I want you to love kids like Amy and read like Malachi. Lord help us all if you run like Addison, but to tell you the truth, I hope you do. It would be nice around the house if you were handy like Jimmy. Please be like Heather and don't waste your words. The world will be a better place if you are jolly like Michael and down to earth like Kelly. I hope that you serve people like Brad and make people feel good about themselves like Michelle. If you look like the Joslin girls that would be fine with me. Please don't look anything like Brack, but please do sing like his wife. Wow, there are lots of things that I want you to be. I won't be disappointed if you aren't all these things, but I wouldn't mind either. But please, do me one favor. You may look like me, have eyelashes like me and lord knows you're probably going to be short like me. But whatever you do, don't be like me. Be like Him.

no posts for 3 weeks equals a really long "catch up" post

2009-11-12T21:12:00.001-05:00

So, needless to say from the absence of posts in the past three weeks, I have been very preoccupied lately. I still have lots on my "to-do" list, seems like everything takes about 25 times longer than it should when you have an almost 3 month old baby! CAN YOU BELIEVE SHE WILL BE THREE MONTHS OLD IN FOUR DAYS!!?!? I think I am going to cry. Seriously, it is so bittersweet. She is doing so much "more" now. Talking, trying to hold her head up steady, pushing up just a little while she is on her tummy, consistently sleeping through the night, and smiling, smiling, smiling! But even though these things are so exciting, it is so sad to me that she isn't a teeny tiny newborn baby that i used to hold all day long while sitting on the couch, without anyone needing anything from me. I had no obligation to use the dishwasher, to wash the pile of laundry in the closet, to design anything for anyone on the computer, or get out of the house and run errands around town. Just laying on the bed or couch and cuddling with my brand new baby! That "honeymoon" period doesn't last long enough, cause life has to go on, but i sure do miss it...
Anyways, the good thing is, I am now taking the time out of all the things i have to do to catch up on some updates and 3 weeks worth of "things i love." Luckily i can easily jot down these "things i love" on my ipod touch so i am still keeping up with those (more on how much i love the ipod touch later... i am working on a list that i will post on or around Thanksgiving, of the things i am thankful for as a new mother...)

here are the things i love: week ten

#1
I love that you stared so intently at the pumpkins we carved after I lit the candles inside. you were so fascinated by the light and your eyes were so wide!

#2
I love that you will have a new aunt sometime soon! except that she will be taking your title as the newest family member... but that's okay, cause we like her! (congratulations mike & heather!)

#3
I love that you got bugs bunny bandaids when you had your shots for your two month appointment. and i am excited about the idea of buying character bandaids one day... but we will have to wait until our huge Sams Club box of regular bandaids runs out.

#4
I love that other people notice how great of a baby you are and it's not just me that thinks it! (Tha Berry says you have such a wonderful disposition... what a compliment from someone who has such a wonderful disposition herself!)

#5
I love that instead of cleaning regular old gray lint out of the dryer all the time, I get pink lint every other load now! I smile everytime I pull out the lint trap and find that it's pink, I know this is so strange but I truly love it. And i have been meaning to include this on the things I love list for quite some time now...

#6
I love when you sleep ALL night long! for your sake and for mine!! except sometimes I stay awake most of the night anyways cause I can't stop thinking about you... or getting things done that i couldn't get done during the day!

#7
I love when you try to "stand up" putting all your weight on those chunky little legs and pushing so hard!

and here are the things I love: week eleven

#1
how much you "talk" now! of course it isn't really "talking" but you can carry on a long conversation with lots and lots of oohss, ahhs, and grunt sounds! i love talking to you now!

#2
how intent you are on sucking your fist. so much so that you make "hickies" on your hand...

#3
that when you sneeze you almost always sneeze twice, and then i always say "bless you baby." after each one and it is just this normal routine we have now when you sneeze...

#4
that you have started clicking your tongue sometimes when you are hungry. it is really cute!

#5
okay I know this is a little on the gross side but I love how TEENY your boogers are!

#6
how your ears stick out a little just like russ's ears! and your right one sticks out just a little farther than your left one.

#7
when you are still awake, but so tired and so relaxed and i hold you up on my shoulder, you rest the back of your head on one side of my neck, and rest your little hand on the other side of my neck... like a sweet little hug. oh, this is truly one of my favorite things right now... cause you don't like to lay close for a long period of time anymore, so i love when you lay on me like that.

and just one more week to catch up on...

things i love: week twelve

#1
I love holding my lips against your head while I am holding you, your head is always so warm and your hair feels so soft!

#2
that you blow little spit bubbles on your lips now... they always end up on your shirt or my shirt but they are still pretty cute!

#3
when you move your hands around enough to catch your own attention and you concentrate SO hard on looking at them!

#4
how chunky your feet are that you have a crease at the base of all your toes that look like you can just pop them on and off

#5
when you hold your fists clenched tight in front of you like you are ready to fight!

#6
that the edges of your nostrils turn really white when you flare them out... which is a lot!

#7
how your hair curls up when it rains outside! I can't wait till you have long curls!

and a few more notable updates:
Caedmon celebrated her first official holiday so far... HALLOWEEN! We went to a fall festival at a friend's church on the Wednesday before Halloween, and had a great time.

Caedmon wore her cute pumpkin bib that Uncle Mike, and soon-to-be Aunt Heather gave her!

She even got to go on her first hayride (with mommy & daddy of course...)

Then we spent the Saturday of Halloween at Russ's brother's house in Cumming with some family & friends. We mostly just played with Malachi, and watched football all day, but on the way home we did stop by to "trick or treat" at the Hankins house and Russ's mom's house. Caedmon dressed up as a little ladybug! We borrowed the costume from a friend of ours, so it was free! And some other friends bought her the little treat bag as a thank you present, so that didn't cost us anything either! And since it was supposed to rain all day, before we left that morning i made an umbrella that looked like a ladybug! (so easy, i just bought two cheap umbrellas from the dollar store, one red, one black, then i just cut up the black one in circles, and mod podged the circles onto the red one!) so her whole costume/outfit only cost me $2.00! She was soo cute! I can't WAIT till next year when she can actually walk around (hopefully) and trick or treat, and actually enjoy it! This year, she was pretty overstimulated all day long (which was completely my fault for not making sure she napped enough, i am so sorry caedmon...) and she wasn't in a good mood at all. I don't think she really smiled one time all day long. BUT, she still made a pretty cute ladybug.

See for yourself...

And we also WON the fan photo contest we mentioned in the last post (thank you to everyone who "liked" our photo on the*reason's fan page!!!) So we happily spent our $50 credit on a christmas photo session with them on November 1st. I am so happy with our pictures, but you guys will have to wait until closer to christmas to see our pics, cause i am working on our christmas card! gosh i can't wait till christmas!

We are still taking lots of pictures of our sweet little baby, (trying to get at least one every day, but we miss a few days here and there sometimes...) and this post would suck if I didn't share some cute pictures with you. (We have some really cute videos too but I still need to upload them and then i will post those! you'll get to see her talk her head off!) but for now, enjoy these fun pictures.

i love watching her sleep, and fortunately she doesn't wake up when i take pictures of her sleeping!
this night was so precious! Storm slowly inched her way over to lay on caedmon. It was so cute. I think she thought we were going to get on to her for laying on caedmon's playmat, but instead we just quietly snapped some pictures!
her first time wearing overalls, i thought she looked so adorable!

In this next picture she was showing off how much weight she has gained! She weighed 12 pounds 4 ounces at her 2 month check up, and it has been a month since then so i am pretty sure she has to be 13 pounds by now! we are going to have to move up another diaper size pretty soon!
She just loves smiling. I love it too.
My precious baby. I just can't get enough of her.

Haha I wanted to play with her hair cause it is getting so much longer!
and i cheated a little in this next picture... there is a pillow holding her head up straighter! this is her first time sitting in her bumbo seat...
Well, thanks for reading this long long post. Hope it was worth the wait and that you won't be mad at us for not posting earlier!

Did anyone notice that we changed up the look of our blog just a little? Hope you like it!

help us win!

2009-10-23T21:16:00.001-04:00

okay blogger friends, we need you!

you know that one income family we decided to have when we moved into parenthood... well that means we can't afford "luxuries" these days, so we need your help!
we need everyone to "like" our picture on facebook, so that we can WIN a contest to get a $50 credit with the*reason photographers!
all you have to do is become a fan of the*reason on facebook,
and then vote for OUR photo out of all the photos in the fan photos album!

P.S. you have to have a facebook account to become a fan of their page and to "like" our picture.

We got to have our pictures made last year on a "freebie" day with these great photographers, but fortunately for them, unfortunately for us, their business is growing, so they don't offer those freebie days anymore. so our only hope for pictures is to win this contest! Take a look at the great "freebie" pictures we had taken last year. We loved them so much that we used them on our christmas cards for 2008!

this first photo is the one we submitted, and that you are hopefully going to "like" so that we can win!

as you can see, we are missing a very important part of our family in all of these great pictures...
little miss caedmon clair!
so we need the*reason to take more pictures of us this year, and that will only be possible if you help us win!

and i couldn't upload a whole post without a picture of caedmon...
so here is the cutest girl in the world...

this was this morning shortly after i woke her up because she slept for EIGHT HOURS IN HER CRIB WITHOUT WAKING UP TO NURSE! i am amazed, and hopeful that this will continue!

things I love: week nine

2009-10-21T17:48:00.003-04:00

things I love: week nine

#1
when I lay you down in your crib and you get so excited! it is hard to describe it but you start kicking your legs and making these happy noises and you smile but not the same smile that you always have it is a different one where your mouth is more open... but it is definitely a happy face!

#2
I know this one isn't really about you but it's because of you so I am going to add it... I love that my dad made you a toy box. it is so beautiful. Everyone who sees it is so impressed and I love that I get to say that your Pop made it for you. it makes it so much better than just buying it somewhere...

#3
when you smile while you are sleeping...

#4
the fact that you love it when I sing "you are my sunshine" to you. it literally solves all your problems and dries all your tears, like magic.

#5
that you only poop a few times a week now! saves us lots of time and diapers and wipes!

#6
that I know you are eating well because you are getting so so heavy!

#7
your perfect little frown. I don't like that you have to frown sometimes but when you do it is adorable.

Caedmon had her 2 month checkup today...that means shots!
so here are her before and after pictures...

BEFORE
(click me)

and 3 bugs bunny bandaids later...

AFTER
(click me)

things I love: week eight

2009-10-13T14:46:00.000-04:00

things I love: week eight

#1
making this list, I know this adding this one is like cheating but it really is something I love because I can't wait till you are old enough to read it for yourself and know how what our life was like when you first arrived.

#2
how your dad gets so excited when you smile at him.

#3
how easy going you are when we take you places. I hope you stay that way!

#4
the way your hair looks after I dry your head with a towel and then brush your hair over to the side.

#5
just simply being with you all the time. I don't ever want to leave you! how will I ever be able to send you to kindergarten?

#6
the way you grunt when you cry because you have gas

#7
how "tough" you are when you get a boo boo (storm scratched your little foot this week), and the fact that when daddy let you know that you were tough, you smiled real big!

a fun game, & random pictures that make me smile...

2009-10-08T03:47:00.005-04:00

HERE IS A FUN GAME FOR EVERYONE TO PLAY...
but let's see how well you do.
(it is harder than you think it is... maybe.)

click on this long string of pictures to make it bigger.
then see if you can tell which baby is Caedmon, and which one is her cousin, Malachi.
leave all your guesses for each numbered picture (1-10) in the comment section.
and then we will see how many people can actually get them all right...
i will post the answers in a few days, so don't forget to leave a comment with your guesses and then come back and see if they were right!

And for your further enjoyment:
I was looking through my iPhoto today and found tons of random pictures that just made me smile... and I decided to share them with you.

This first one is what i refer to as "the ragu cheese explosion." Apparently someone (either me, my husband, or some stranger in the grocery store, no one can recall the actual culprit here) had already opened this jar, used a little bit of sauce, and put it back on the shelf without tightening the lid. so when i went to shake it up a little... well you can see what happened... needless to say my shirt was ruined, and it was brand new. why was i cooking in a brand new shirt, who knows. it wouldn't fit me now anyways... i still have some of those post pregnancy pounds to lose.

This next one is a picture that i took last year with my regular ol' sony cybershot (the lovely girl in the picture is an amazing photographer herself) and it just makes me smile cause i like it. i wish i would have had my new camera while i was taking this!

And this one is self explanatory, i mean why wouldn't you smile when you look at this picture. This was taken 2 sundays ago when caedmon was 6 weeks old. we were out at berry watching russ play flag football, apparently she was having fun, and lookin' pretty dang cute at the same time.

And this last one here is the pumpkin i carved last year, and i was so proud of it!
I carved "Trick" on the backside of the pumpkin, but i had to do it backwards so that it would reflect on the wall. pretty neat huh?
It made me smile because I know that we will be carving pumpkins again so soon!
I have to come up with an even better design this year!
Any suggestions?

and, i think i am going to bed now...
seeing that it IS 4:00 in the morning,
oh the joy of having a newborn baby... and insomnia.
hopefully caedmon will sleep late in the morning... :)

things i love: week seven

2009-10-06T18:10:00.000-04:00

we will have mailed out all of Caedmon's birth annoucements as of tomorrow morning!
(they are super cute! well, at least I think so...)
so if you don't get one by this weekend, i sincerely apologize, but it is only because we didn't have your mailing address! so if you'll send it to me (dixib33@gmail.com) I would love to mail you one, plus then i will have your address to send future things like christmas cards and birthday invitations!

things I love: week seven

#1
feeling how warm you are when you are laying next to me in the bed, especially as the nights are getting cooler! we just lay close and keep each other warm!

#2
your classic double chin and all the new fat rolls all over your body... and I know that you may not think it's cute later, but it is right now! there is one thing i don't love about this though and it is how things get stuck in those little rolls of yours... like lint & grass & dirt... gross. haha

#3
the fact that you have completely transformed our little "family" into a real family where just last friday when russ got home from work I was in the kitchen cooking dinner and you were napping in your swing and I saw russ out of the kitchen window cutting the grass... and it just felt like I was watching a movie...

#4
that the "littleness" (I just made that word up...) of you never wears off to strangers. they always tell me how cute and little you are, but I get to see how much you've grown in these past seven weeks so to me you seem so big!

#5
how "normal" it is to have you with me all the time! I am so glad that I never have to leave you with someone else! your daddy is so wonderful to work so hard for us, so I don't have to leave you every day!

#6
how you hang your left leg over the side of your bath seat like you are just lounging out... (that is if you aren't screaming your head off in the bath!)

#7
thinking about how my diet and exercise affects you. it makes me want to drink more water, eat healthier more often than I do, or just get outside and go for a walk. I used to do these things for myself, but now I do them for you, so I can feed you better and take care of you better.

things we love, birthdays, and grins (and lots of pictures!)

2009-10-02T01:10:00.010-04:00

truth be told, i should be in bed sleeping since it is the middle of the night and Caedmon has been fast asleep in her crib for several hours, but here I am instead on the computer, cause i can't fall asleep. it is crazy how everyone tells you to sleep when they are sleeping, yet it is so hard to do that sometimes... oh well. let's blog.

Here we are again, pretty late with my "things i love" post for week 6, and it is almost time to post week 7... but that's okay because this isn't like a homework assignment where my teacher would give me an 'F' for turning it in late. good thing, or i would get a lot of 'F's (well i actually did get one of those one time in college... but that is another story, for another day... or never...)

so here it is: thing i love: week six

#1
giving you kisses on your bare skin. it could be on your toes,
your cheek, your belly, your back, your lips, your forehead, or anywhere.
(but only me and daddy can do that... so don't be getting any ideas...)

#2
holding other peoples children and knowing that no matter
how great they are they will never be as great as you!

#3
walking around stores with you in the shopping cart.
for some reason I just love that so much,
like it just makes something so regular & mundane
like grocery shopping or a quick trip to walmart, so great and fun.
cause I can just look at you the whole time!

#4
that I sweat profusely when you really really cry.
this is also something I hate,
but I love it for the fact that it means my body
was made to be your mom, and it does things
beyond my control only because of you.

#5
that one of your regular faces is you
with your lips pursed in a tight "o" shape.
it is absolutely adorable.

#6
taking lots and lots of pictures of you!

#7
knowing that you look just like your dad.
y'all are the people I love the most on this earth
and I love that y'all have so many similar features.

Some other news, we FINALLY got our birth announcements delivered to us, and almost mailed! I only mailed the first half cause i didn't have enough stamps... but the rest will be going out by the end of this week!
I say that we FINALLY got them, because I ordered them on Sept 9th, and then there was a routing problem by UPS, then when they finally delivered it late, there was an EMPTY box on my doorstep, i kid you not. Then i had to make three different phone calls to the printer, and they FINALLY had them reprinted and they upgraded my shipping to Next Day Air and I received them on Oct 1st! That is a ridiculously long time to wait for an order. It wasn't the printers fault, but they tried to reconcile things with the upgraded shipping and I only ordered 100 announcements, but I am pretty sure they mailed me about 250 of them... not sure what I will do with THAT many birth announcements, but i definitely won't be mailing all of those out, cause I can't afford the postage!

And just keep on reading for lots of our latest updates (with lots of pictures):

Caedmon had another doctor's appointment on Sept. 28th with Dr. Donner, her heart doctor, and she had to have another echocardiogram, but this time I got to be in there with her and see what exactly they do. It is basically just like a pregnancy ultrasound with the handheld thing and the goo. Except they put it on her chest, and it takes a long time because it is hard for them to see what they want to see with a 6 week old squirming around... but she did really good considering it took forever, but i got to lay on the bed with her, and talk to her and sing to her, so she would be relatively still. Anyways, after that, she had another EKG where they stick a million things on her chest and hook wires up to them, and she did really good laying still for that. We finally saw Dr. Donner after all her tests and he said that everything looks the same, she still has the hole in her heart (VSD) but since she still has no symptoms (difficulty eating or breathing), he doesn't want to see her again until she is one, unless she has any unforeseen problems, which we are hoping won't happen. They measured and weighed her while we were there and she now weighs a whopping 10 lbs 14 oz, and she is 21 1/4 inches long! Man, i knew my arms have been pretty sore lately with toting her around everywhere! She's so BIG!

And our latest (Caedmon's first!) family holiday was Russ turning 26 on Sept. 30th! Unfortunately he had to work all day teaching and then work at Chick-Fil-A that night, but Caedmon and I had a couple of surprises for him before he left for work and when he got home at the end of the day.

When he woke up he found this "pile" of stuff set up in the kitchen:

Underneath this little pile is a framed picture of her being held in his hand.
(he had asked me for a big framed picture of her for his classroom,
but he decided we should hang it up here at the house cause he liked it so much.)

and the point of the "pile" was a big creative explanation for the rest of his birthday present that will be coming in the mail soon.
(you'll have to click on the picture to enlarge it so you can read the little teeny tiny lines in between...)

These are her footprints that i stamped on a piece of cardstock.

Then i scanned them on the computer and designed this t-shirt with her two footprints, minus the toes :) forming a heart, and put them on a t-shirt!

We can't wait to see it in real life!

Then when Russ got home late that evening, we had these birthday cake/cookies waiting for him! (I made the frosting from scratch! gosh, that makes me feel so motherly & domestic!)

It was hopefully going to inspire the Braves to get their act together and try to make it to the playoffs... but it didn't really help after all... at least they were fun to play with :)

We even let Caedmon eat one. Okay, maybe not, but it wasn't fair for us to eat them without her, so we pretended...

Happy 26h birthday to our husband/daddy!

And here are a few exciting moments about how she is growing and changing every single day!

#1 EYELASHES! They are growing much longer and thicker, and i am still holding out that she will develop long luxurious lashes like her daddy... and her eyes are definitely very very blue!

#2 COOS & GURGLES! She is definitely more vocal now, it is mostly when she is just waking up from a nap, or after she is finished eating, they are like her own little sounds of contentment! It is so cute! Russ's grandmother, Mer, bought her a little "Sleep Sheep" that is this little stuffed sheep with a sound machine inside it, and there are four settings, heart, rain, ocean, and whale. Well we listen to the whale setting a lot while Caedmon is awake and it sounds like ocean water in the background but with a whale sound every few seconds. Anyways Caedmon loves to watch this sheep and listens to the whales, and then "talks" back to them with her own little cooing sounds! One day when she is doing it more than once or twice every five minutes or so I will take a video and write a post on how our daughter can speak "whale." :)

#3 BIG GIRL BATHS! Since I told you her umbilical cord came off last friday we have been bathing her in the tub, and some days she loves it and some days she hates it!
Clearly she hated it this day...

#4 LONGER/THICKER/CURLIER HAIR! I really have no idea how much it has actually changed, but it definitely looks like more to me! This is what her hair looks like after we take her hooded towel off after her bath!

And for the grand finale, I mentioned in my last post that Caedmon has been
SMILING!
Every single day she smiles more and better!
And here is my sweet little girl cheesin' it up for the camera.
I really think seeing her smile is almost as good as seeing her for the very first time,
it completely melts my heart. Enjoy these absolutely incredible little grins.

OH MY GOSH, don't you just love them? They make me smile so much!

Be sure to stay tuned for week seven of the things i love (but don't be surprised if it is closer to week eight before i post them! haha)

And can i just say in conclusion that I am so glad it is fall. summer was great, but i missed most of it cause i was too pregnant and it was too hot... but now I just can't wait to be outside and let Caedmon experience my favorite season of the year!

things I love: week five

2009-09-25T23:56:00.001-04:00

sorry this is coming to you guys a little later than it was supposed to... i have no excuse.

things I love: week five

#1
the way you sometimes cross your feet when you are sleeping.

#2
when me and russ just say "I love her." out of the blue... it's like we get overwhelmed sometimes about how great you are and just have to express it out loud.

#3
that I make up new songs all the time to sing to you. they are really silly songs, about the laundry or about how gross your diaper is, or about going to sleep. they aren't good at all, but I'm pretty sure you like them...

#4
when you grab hold of my shirt with your tiny little fist while I am holding you or feeding you.

#5
that I find myself daydreaming about what our life will be like in the future with you... playing dress up together, or all of us going to the zoo, or taking family vacations, or simply packing your lunch for school.

#6
that while i was vacuuming, daddy picked you and your bouncer up while you were sleeping so that I could vacuum underneath you and you never even flinched!

#7
that I have several nicknames that I call you: baby, baby girl, my little russ, stink pot, turtle, and probably many more to come...

And we wanted to share a few milestones with everyone.
First: Caedmon smiles... not a full blown smile yet, but it is definitely a response to us talking and smiling at her rather than just gas! she does it the most when she wakes up in the morning and I'm just talking to her, and she does it when russ holds her a lot.
Second: Her umbilical cord FINALLY fell off today! When we woke up this morning it was just barely hanging on by one tiny stringy thing. (I know that sounds kinda gross, but that is the only way I could think of to describe it...) Anyways, then after dinner tonight i unwrapped the blanket she was in and lifted her shirt to check it and it was just laying on her belly! I was so excited that I screamed out, "It fell off!" and russ ran in the room thinking something was wrong... he was kinda mad, haha! But I am just so excited that we get to look at her little belly button, take real baths instead of sponge baths, and now i don't have to worry about accidently ripping it off when her clothes are over it, or when she's laying on her stomach...
And our last milestone: we are moving up a diaper size from newborn to size 1!

I really do want to apologize to our faithful friends and family who keep up with us through our blog, I promise we will update more often with posts and pictures! But everyday is filled with fun, friends, family, feeding, fixing food, folding clothes, and fussy babies (only sometimes) and blogging starts with a "b", not an "f", so it's not a top priority! haha, just kidding... I really will do better!

things i love: week four

2009-09-14T23:25:00.001-04:00

so, i was a little late getting things i love: week three posted,
and i thought i would be a little early posting week four, so i started to type a post a few days ago and got sidetracked, so i just saved it as a draft and never finished/published it! oops.
so again, i am a little bit late on week four, but here it is.

by the way, I can't believe that i have already made FOUR weeks worth of things that i love... that means my sweet baby girl is FOUR WEEKS OLD! I have to admit, time is weird though, it seems like just yesterday that she was born, but at the same time it feels like she has been in our home forever, getting her diaper changed, sleeping away in her bouncer, sitting with mommy at the computer, taking naps with daddy when he gets home from work... all the day to day stuff makes it just feel natural for her to be here. i like that.

anyways, here are the
things i love: week four

#1
how cute you look when you yawn!

#2
as russ leaves for work and he comes and stands over us while we're laying in the bed and he gives us both several kisses and tells us that he loves us like two or three times...

#3
the way your eyes blink reeeaaallllllyy slow when you get sleepy.

#4
the way your eyebrows furrow when you are trying to focus on really looking hard at something.

#5
that I never get tired of looking at you.

#6
how ridiculously soft your skin is...

#7
you sleep so good when you ride in the car, even when I have loud music on that I sing out loud to.

#8
all the staring contests we have! you are so good at staring contests.
seriously, you win every time.

#9
how proud me and daddy are of the tiniest little "advances" that you make.
this week, you follow things with your eyes, and will even turn your head a little to keep following things! you are such a big girl!

i also want to send a little shout out to my big sister, Jeri!

Jeri, i am so sorry that i forgot to call you or text you on your birthday!! it was a very busy day for me, with a doctor's appointment and Young Moms started back tonight! so by the time i remembered to finally call you, i knew the kids were already in bed... so caedmon and i made you this video instead, unfortunately it has me singing instead of her, but just pretend that she is singing along! Happy Birthday, and I promise i didn't forget, just got busy!! Love you!

things i love: week three

2009-09-09T15:36:00.001-04:00

#1

watching you while you're sleeping. your little mouth always hangs open just like russ.

#2

knowing that you are really healthy and growing after we go see the doctor. it makes me so proud that we are doing things right.

#3

the way you stretch out real big making lots of funny faces after you wake up in the morning.

#4

the night daddy danced with you in our bedroom for the first time. my favorite part is that it wasn't a sweet little slow dance, but a really fast silly dance! you just looked around as if it was completely normal, and me and russ just laughed a lot. definitely one of my favorite moments of your life so far.

#5

when you are crying and then I simply pick you up and you immediately stop crying. I really feel like a real mom in those moments...

#6

just laying on the couch watching tv while you sleep laying on my chest.

#7

when we are out in public and people ask if you are mine and I get to say yes, yes she is.

time flies when you're having fun.

2009-09-03T12:58:00.003-04:00

I think that phrase was made up by a new parent. cause it really is so much fun having a baby around, but it does seem like the time flies by so fast (everyone said it would, but i always thought that time would go by faster when she was a little bit older... but alas she is already 2 1/2 weeks old and the statement is already ringing true...)

caedmon went on her first outing to Sams Club last Saturday, we carried her in the 'baby go' body carrier thing and she slept the whole time, it was so fun having a million strangers ooh and ahh over her as we passed by them.

we also took her to church for the first time on Sunday, and again, she slept the whole time. I am convinced that the best time to take your baby anywhere is when they sleep all the time, yet so many people stay home with them until they are older. but i swear, it is so convenient to be out of the house, and not having to worry about her getting into everything, or being fussy, cause she just sleeps anytime we take her anywhere. I am sure this will all change as she starts staying awake longer, and gets older, and taking her places will be more challenging. but so far our experiences have been great.

this past monday, to keep up with the trend of getting out of the house, we had to go to her two week checkup with her pediatrician, Dr. Timberlake. She also had a follow up with Dr. Donner, her heart doctor. She had great reports at both doctor's offices, and i was so happy! It was my first time taking her out by myself cause russ had to work, but it was much easier than i expected.

The report from the pediatrician:

She now weighs 8 lbs 0.8 oz, and she is 20 inches long. She is in the 50th percentile in all three categories of her height, weight, and head circumference. So she is just an all-around average baby! The doctor was very happy with how well she was breastfeeding, and that made me feel so proud that we were doing such a good job. She said that most breastfeeding moms come in to the 2 week checkup looking and feeling "haggard" but that I looked like i was doing fine, and caedmon was happy, so that must mean she is eating very well. That made me feel really good.

The report from her heart doctor:

She had an EKG done while we were there. They stuck a ton of little pink sticker things all over her chest and attached a million wires to them and even though she was awake the whole time, she never once got upset! The results were great, and then Dr. Donner simply listened to her heart with a stethoscope and said she was doing great, her heart rate was fine, she was breathing well, eating well, and gaining weight, so he didn't think anything was out of the ordinary. We have to go back in four weeks for another echocardiogram though, but hopefully that will turn out good too, and maybe the hole will have disappeared by then!

our newly adjusted life at home has been amazing. i'm serious, every single day is absolutely great, and i love just taking care of her, and just knowing what she wants or needs (most of the time...) breast feeding is definitely a full time job, especially with a baby that eats so well... it is so funny, as soon as i start to do something around the house, it is time for her to eat again, so back and forth we go from eating to sleeping, eating then sleeping, sleeping some more, then eating again. but i am just very grateful that she is feeding really well, and that i haven't had any complications with breastfeeding so far.

we still miss russ terribly during the day. i hate that he misses out on the day to day stuff and seeing her all day long, but we are so fortunate that both of us don't have to miss the little fun stuff during the course of a regular day. I am still so thankful for my husband, allowing me to be at home with her every day. I don't think i can ever say that enough.

She is sleeping pretty well at night, with the exception of a few nights this week where she has gotten pretty fussy for about 30 minutes or so before finally falling asleep. We usually go to bed for the night anywhere between 12am and 2am, (depending on whether or not i want to stay up for her feeding at 2am) and then she wakes up every 3 or 4 hours to eat. And then we get out of bed around 10:30 or 11 the next morning. She has slept in the bed with us every night since we got home from the hospital, but two nights ago i laid her in her bassinet at the foot of our bed for the first half of the night, and i got to cuddle up right next to russ (even though he was already asleep) for the first time in a long time... i was just too uncomfortable around 8 months pregnant and beyond to be anywhere near him when we laid in the bed... is that too much information for a public blog? haha, oh well... anyways, she slept there for about 3 hours or so, till russ got up for work, then i put her back in the bed with me for the rest of the night/morning. That is the same thing that storm used to do before we had caedmon, she would sleep under the bed till russ left for work, then she would curl up next to me in the bed... i always loved that, but now i get to do it with my little girl... and i love that even more.

unfortunately storm lives in the garage now until we can get a fence for her in the backyard... but she doesn't seem to hate it too bad...

i know that a lot of this is just useless information for most people, but i love just being able to document all of these things throughout our life with her, so if you get bored reading all of this, feel free to skip over the boring parts... but if you enjoy reading, leave a comment! that way i can look back at what other people thought over the years too!

we'll be posting more pictures very soon (maybe tomorrow or saturday)

just some "around the house" pictures and some really great pictures taken by our friend grace hankins!

things i love: week two

2009-08-30T08:30:00.002-04:00

#1
cuddling in bed with you for hours after russ leaves for work in the morning.

#2
the way you completely straighten your legs right before you fart or poop.

#3
how quiet and content you are when you lay on the changing table.

#4
when storm lays so calmly beside you when you're in your bouncer. this is quite a sight to see, because storm is rarely calm, if ever.

#5
holding you in your baby carrier for a walk around the neighborhood, and while I do work around the house and you sleep through it all, even vacuuming!

#6
watching you take a nap on russ's chest when he gets home from work. you both look so peaceful.

#7
having someone else hold you and watch the way they look at you and see how much so many other people love you.

#8
the night that me and russ laid you in the middle of our bed and laughed hysterically about how only two of us can fit in the bed but we could probably fit forty of you on the bed. we actually compared the idea to the "guess how many jelly beans are in the jar" contest.

#9
that russ volunteers to get up with you in the middle of the night on weekends without me asking him to. but I let him sleep anyway, cause he works so hard during the day. he is such a great dad.

#10
simply holding you all the time, and knowing that no one will take you away from me unless I want them to. I always get first dibs cause I'm the mom. (but I do share you often, refer to #7)

our advice to you: have a child.

2009-08-29T18:20:00.009-04:00

So, first i would like to apologize to every other new mom that i know for continuously begging for information, updates, and photos right after their baby was born. I now know exactly why it always took everyone so long to get online and post pictures and blogposts. Because life is just too good to pause and get on the computer for more than a few seconds at a time. As a matter of fact I couldn't sit here and write all of this in one sitting, i wrote bits and pieces of this post over the course of three days!

I already know this post is going to be long, because I have so much to catch up on. But I will stick mostly to the details and just add a few personal thoughts in between to keep this from being a novel...

labor and delivery:
We went to the hospital on Saturday, August 15th at about 2:45pm. I think that day we were more anxious than ANY other time in our life. We originally had a plan to go in and be induced that day since Russ was home from work all weekend (he works an hour away, and i was really nervous about actually going into labor without him close by), and the doctor i wanted to deliver my baby was on call at the hospital.
I was only dilated to a 1, but was having semi-regular contractions already and i didn't even know it. So they went ahead and admitted me about an hour and a half later, and let me have contractions on my own until about 6:30 pm when they gave me a pitocin drip to help move things along. I then started having contractions too close together, so they dropped my pitocin down to a very minimal amount and i stayed that way until about 3:30 in the morning when my water broke on it's own. I had only dilated to a 3 or so when my water broke, so i just stayed on some pain medicine and then got my epidural about 2 1/2 hours later, then just a short time later i had dilated to a 9 almost 10, and they started bringing everything in for delivery, we just had to wait for the doctor. Finally, around 11 am i started pushing, and she was born at 11:34 and 56 seconds on Sunday, August 16th. She weighed 7 lbs, 11.8 oz, 19 inches long, and more beautiful than any baby i have ever seen. Seeing her for the first time, hearing her cry, and then holding her in my arms was a moment in time that I will absolutely never ever forget, I think I was too exhausted to cry as much as i wanted to, but there were definitely tears of joy from both me and russ. I am crying more right now thinking about it all again. My heart is so full.

in the hospital:
There were so many people there to visit us after Caedmon was born. She is very loved, by so many people. We got to see everyone briefly about an hour or so after she was born in the labor and delivery room, and then they brought me a tray of food (i was so happy about this) and i got to sleep for a little bit before they moved me into a "real room."
While there, from Sunday afternoon till Tuesday afternoon, we had so many visitors, but those moments in between visitors, and later in the evenings, the moments that just me and russ and caedmon were alone together will forever stay with me. Monday night was the first time that it really hit me that we had a daughter. I cried for quite awhile just holding her, and telling russ everything that i loved about having our own family. He just sat and listened to me, and i loved him so much for just letting me go on and on and on. Geez, i am crying so much right now going over all this in my mind and heart again... it is all so indescribable, so i won't even try to describe how i felt in that moment, or how i feel right now. God is just so good.
I'll keep going now.
On Monday morning Caedmon's pediatrician, Dr. Timberlake, came in to examine her for the first time, and then came in our room to discuss everything about her examination with us. Everything was just perfect, except that she had heard a slightly abnormal heart murmur when checking caedmon's heart. Russ and I were absolutely scared to death. She couldn't really tell us more, but she did let us know that an echocardiologist was coming later that day to look further into the situation and give her an echocardiogram? i don't really remember exactly what they did, or how they did it, because all i could think about was how worried i was, so i apologize for not having concrete information about that whole conversation... Anyways, we had to wait until her heart doctor, Dr. Donner, came to the hospital to review the test results before we would know anything else. That whole morning/afternoon was very cloudy cause i was just trying not to think about it, but couldn't help it, cause i was just so concerned for our little girl. Finally, he came in to talk to us about what they found, and basically this is the final diagnosis:
All babies are born with a heart murmur (a teeny tiny hole) in the top two chambers of the heart. They all have to have this little hole in order to survive in the womb. Caedmon has a tiny hole in the top two chambers just like she is supposed to, but she also has a tiny hole in between the bottom two chambers, and they diagnose this as VSD, Ventricular Septal Defect. I won't try to explain exactly what this means, cause i won't do it right, but here is a link on what exactly VSD is. (I hope you all feel a little smarter after reading about this medical stuff, cause I sure did...) The doctor wasn't concerned about the size of the hole, but would like to regularly monitor her in hopes that the hole will eventually heal itself. So the bad news, became a little better after finally knowing what the situation was, and knowing that we wouldn't have to do anything like take medication, or treat her any differently than a regular newborn. We were relieved at
We got to leave the hospital around 2 or 3 on Tuesday afternoon, and headed home for the first time as a family of three.

life at home:
So far Caedmon has been so wonderful. She is breast feeding so well, sleeping so well, and peeing/pooping so well. that is basically all she does so far... haha, but spending time with her all day long is so incredible. We continue to have lots of visitors at home, bringing us dinner, and just giving us some good company. I love having people over, and showing her off, I have never been so proud of anything my whole life. Getting my driver's license, graduating high school or college, getting any job I have ever had, owning a home, absolutely nothing can compare. I love being a mom, and figuring out how to live with her at home. Just feeding her, sleeping with her, giving her a bath, changing her diaper (russ has become a master at changing her too!) doing housework while she sleeps, taking short walks around the neighborhood with her, all the normal day-to-day adjustments have been so great, and I wouldn't like to spend my day doing anything besides being a mom. I like to consider all this new mom stuff as playing "house."
I do miss my husband terribly during the day, (he started back to work this past monday) but I can't describe how thankful I am for that man. Every single day i wait for him to get home and be with us. I think I have thanked him 100 times for working so hard for us, so I get to stay home with her. Our financial situation isn't the most ideal with only one income in this terrible economy right now, but it works for us, and we wouldn't change it for anything. I love that I get to experience everything that goes with being a parent all day long, rather than having to adjust all over again if i had to go back to work...

Here are a few highlights from her first two weeks: (these are directed towards caedmon so she can read them one day when she is older, and know all the little things that happened to her when she was brand new...)

- Your first bath at home went SO well! (and i was so nervous about bathing you for some reason before you got here) you didn't cry one single tear, you were so awake and alert and just looked at your daddy the whole time. You did spit up a little in the bathtub, but you were already naked, so we just washed it right off. After your bath things got a little messier... We thought you looked so adorable in your little hooded towel and we wanted to take pictures of you, even though i was hurrying your daddy to get a diaper on you, I made him stop for "one more picture" and just as i said that you pooped right in the floor. Your dad called it a "rookie mistake" and we both laughed. And then you peed on the changing pad cover. It was quite a funny first experience for all of us...

- Once this past week, while you were breastfeeding, milk came out of your nose and it blew a big bubble out of your nostril. I got really nervous cause you didn't breathe for a second, but then i laughed at how funny it all was (after you started breathing again... of course.)

- You slept through the night before you were two weeks old! We stayed up late (around 1:45 or 2am) and then you slept till almost 9 am! We were very surprised, but unfortunately i woke up in the night checking on you several times and russ had to wake up at 5:30 for work, so we didn't get to sleep through the night, but at least you did!

- You had your first car accident before you were even a week old... oops! We took you to your first doctor's appointment the Friday after you were born, and on our way out of our parking spot, the car directly behind us backed into our car! It was very scary at first, but you were asleep and never even batted your eyelid... It was the first time I had ever been in any kind of car accident even just a tiny "fender bender" that I can remember (unless my mom and dad had an accident when i was little and in the car with them, but i am unaware of any...) so we shared that first together (i think.)

There is so much more to say, and i will try to update often, but like i said at the very beginning of the post, life is just too good spending lots of time with this newborn baby, that I can't promise a daily post... but i have started on a "Things I Love" list and will hopefully continue this list for the first year of her life. I am simply writing down a short thought (or two) every day about something that i love about caedmon, about being her mom, about her amazing dad, etc.
I will try my best to post those every week.

things i love: week one
#1
the way russ always holds you just a little longer and gives you several more kisses everytime i'm ready for him to hand you to me.

#2
the cute little breathing/throat sounds you make when I'm feeding you.

#3
when you are sleeping and I lay you on my stomach and your arms hang down my sides and it looks like you are hugging me.

#4
I absolutely love looking into your big beautiful blue? eyes when you are awake. you stare right at me and my heart just feels so happy right then.

#5
that everyone tells me your beautiful and I know they aren't just saying that. it makes me so proud to be your mom.

#6
the really long hair on your ears (but for your sake, I hope it eventually goes away...)

#7
the way my shirt and hands smell after I've been holding you.

stay tuned for things i love: week two coming tomorrow!

Now it's picture time!

Everyone meet my beautiful baby girl, Caedmon Clair Burnett:

I have so many pictures that i want to show everyone but instead of
uploading all one million of them individually, i made a slideshow. There are a little over 60 pictures, but i promise it will take less than four and a half minutes to get through all the pictures. (it is worth it to see how cute she is in all the pictures!)

(you can turn the captions on or off by scrolling over the box until the menu bar
appears at the bottom of the box and simply click captions.)

thanks so much for reading our blog. we are so ridiculously happy to be parents, and we love sharing our new experiences with everyone. we hope that everyone else will love our little girl almost as much as we do. (there is no way anyone else can love her more than me & russ, except Jesus.)

P.S. Russ told me I was a great mom today, it felt really good to hear that. I think he's an even better dad.

her room is waiting on her!

2009-08-14T22:05:00.005-04:00

here are full pictures of Caedmon's room for everyone who waited so patiently!

now the only thing left to put in this room (besides her name over the closet doors, which i so forgot to do...) is a sweet little girl! and hopefully we will have one of those tomorrow!

we will keep everyone as updated as we can!

and we just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who has been so sweet to us over the past nine months, thank you for your prayers and support, and we can't wait for everyone to meet our little caedmon.

a whole bunch of words...

2009-08-13T23:07:00.003-04:00

i have to apologize that there there was no update on the room today,
but i had a pretty exciting doctor's appointment this afternoon,
and couldn't focus on anything else except the fact that my doctor told me...

(drumroll please)

that he would induce me on Saturday!

So hopefully, tomorrow i will be wrapping
up with a last look at Caedmon's room
with full photos!

cause hopefully the next post after that
will be after she is born!

i had lots and lots of different thoughts running around in my head today, with such unexpected news from the doctor... and i think in ten years i would like to remember what i was thinking and feeling at this particular moment in my life, so i will share them with you all too!

first:
family really is so important to me. i want to share all the best times of my life with these people. these are people that will be in my life forever, and not just a season of my life, and just with that perspective alone, I feel such a love and appreciation for every one of them.
i can't even describe how i feel about having a family of my own, and how much i already love and care about this little girl inside me. what a precious gift that has been given to me, and can't help but feel an overwhelming responsibility to do everything right, even though i know that i will fail sometimes. but she is my own flesh and blood, my family, a product of me and of russ, and we will forever be bonded by that. i know that regardless of whether or not i do exactly the right thing, it will never change the fact that we are and always will be connected to each other. And i love that all of these things roll into our relationships with our other family members. Whether or not we all do exactly the right things, these people are still the people that i love so much.

second:
i love that i have supportive friends. even though life doesn't guarantee that I will have the same
people around me forever, i feel like there are so many people in my life that i can look back on and know the purpose that God had for their relationship with me. even in middle school! so a word to the teenagers, it really does make a difference who your friends are when you are young, because these are the people that will shape and mold you into who you are today. no one is perfect, and it seems that during so many points of my life, there has been someone to call me out, give me their honest opinion, or just be there to say only what i need them to say and agree with me, or cry with me, or laugh with me... i mean, i am about to have my first baby, and i am beyond excited, and i am glad that i can have people to be excited with me. i am so blessed to have any friends at such an incredible time in my life, even if it was just one. but thankfully, i have so many more than that.

third:
The Lord is pretty stinkin' amazing. And i don't deserve to be so loved by Him. I don't pray enough, i don't read scripture enough, i don't trust him enough, i don't love people around me enough, i am not disciplined enough. sometimes i become apathetic in my relationship with Him, i am selfish, and full of sin, and make terrible decisions daily. But he still loves me. And cares for me. And he daily provides for me. How can people not believe in that love and power? I am just in awe. He makes miracles happen every single day. He completely created a brand new person inside me, from nothing. She has ears, eyes, arms, legs, a beating heart, all because God designed her exactly the way he wanted her to be. She is perfect because of Him.

fourth:
my husband really is a solid foundation for our family, and i never thought i would feel that way about him the very first time i met him, cause he played video games, and spent all of his money on candy and cokes.
i am so thankful for his support/encouragement/protection/love for me, and i love watching this spill over into how he feels for our daughter that will be here so very soon. I am in awe of how God designed our relationship to be so perfect for us to learn how to love and respect each other in marriage. even though we fight and argue over the silliest stuff sometimes, i never doubt that his commitment to me and now to our very own family is unwavering. i love that man with every piece of me, even when i don't want to. i love that he makes me laugh, and doesn't want me to cry or be upset, or watch me hurt in any way. i love that he makes sacrifices that he never brags or boasts about.
i love that he tries so hard to make the best decisions for our family, and that he thinks of me in those decisions. I love that i can depend on him, and stand on his decisions, and that we can walk through this life together, rather than both of us searching for answers/advice on our own, and then trying to come to an agreement. i can simply ask Russ, and know that whatever he says, regardless of what the decision is about, is what we will do, and we will do it together.

Russ, so many people have told me that they can't remember what life was like in their marriage before they had kids, but i hope that i will never forget these moments that we had in our first two years, just the two of us. the fun times we had, the laughs we shared, the fights that helped us figure out how to communicate with each other, and the love that we have had for each other. even in your imperfections, you are perfect. thank you for being so sensitive and not scared to show your emotions, or admit when you are wrong. i absolutely love that about you. saying i love you isn't close to enough for what i feel for you right now. you are the love of my life, the leader of our home, and i hope that one day our daughter will look at our marriage and see a picture of christ loving his church, and want that for herself.
i cannot wait to watch you look at your daughter for the very first time.
i can't believe that we created something so wonderful together.
and i hope she has your eyelashes.

and last but not least:
i can not believe that i am about to have a real life person to call my daughter. the idea of this completely overwhelms me sometimes that i just have to cry. not because i am sad, but because i am so ridiculously happy. for probably the past month or so, i have woken up every morning, and just walked into her room and just stood there just looking around. the sunlight in the morning is so great in her room, and i love just feeling complete joy for those few minutes. i have thoughts all the time of what she will be like at a certain age, or just the little things that she will say and do that i will want to share with the whole world. i can't wait to be there for her when she is sick or scared, or upset. i can't wait to be there for her when she is really happy or excited or really proud of something she did. i love that she will be ours, and that no one else can make a decision for her, besides me and russ (until she can make decisions on her own, and by then i hope that russ and i have taught her everything she needs to know to make a good decision for herself) i know that comes with responsibility, but i am so ready.

I know that things won't be perfect all the time, and that accidents will happen, and we will do things that we might not KNOW are the right thing, but thankfully we both (Russ & I) trust Jesus to continue to take care of us regardless of what we do. We won't be the perfect parents (who is?), but we'll be parents just the same, and i am pretty excited about that.

Caedmon, i love you so much,
and i hope you will be able to feel all of that
love the moment you first lay in my arms.

going green without saving the planet...

2009-08-12T21:15:00.001-04:00

today's highlight:

going green without saving the planet...

as much as i agree that we should be saving the planet,
none of our "green" things will actually do that.
we just simply love the color...
so here are some pictures of "green"
but not so eco-friendly things in caedmon's room...

of course her walls are green...
as i am sure you have already seen from previous painting pictures.

and her bedding has green polka dots!

that match her window valances

that also match the mobile

and the little leaves on her canopy

then we have these baskets with the little green bows

that sit on the wall shelf above her changing table

then we have a few green grass accents for decoration on another wall shelf
i seriously think i have some sort of dried grass decoration in EVERY room of my house... i mean i could do a whole separate blog post on all of them...

just a little green candle

she has lots of green baskets in her closet!

and she even has some green-to-go
with her green car seat
(it matches the stroller that Russ had on his earlier post)
(and even though they aren't green, i have to give a quick thank you to Kim for those super cute strap covers. i think they are so adorable and so SOFT)

and finally, one the newest items in her room, a green diaper bag (that i love!)
as a matter of fact i loved it so much, i made a slideshow of pictures
cause i wanted everyone to see every pocket!

the first peek in caedmon's room

2009-08-11T17:45:00.000-04:00

our first highlight from caedmon's room:

how exactly do you brush a nickel...

we'll start here because the first thing you have to do is turn
this brushed nickel door knob
to open the door to her brand new room...
welcome everyone!

we installed brushed nickel hardware on her closet doors...

to match the brushed nickel knobs we put on her changing table/dresser...

with a simple little brushed nickel reading lamp that sits on her dresser...

beside a personalized brushed nickel picture frame...

she also has a brushed nickel curtain rod...

and finally the one piece that ties everything all together:

the brushed nickel CHANDELIER!

and that concludes our first preview...

come back for tomorrow's highlight:
going green without saving the planet...

fabric is my new best friend.

2009-08-11T00:52:00.006-04:00

okay, i am fully aware that it is 1:00 in the morning, but apparently sleep is overrated when you are over 38 weeks pregnant. so instead of unsuccessfully trying to sleep tonight, I made some craft projects! I was overly inspired by "getting prepared" for our Young Moms group that will start back up in September. I am in charge of leading a craft project during each meeting for the girls that come to our group... i'll explain more about this great organization later...
Anyways, I was just too excited about how these projects turned out, that I had to get online and blog about them... and the fact that I can actually USE these excites me even more! This is the first year that I will have my very own child, rather than trying to brainstorm easy craft projects that "moms" can use...

so here they are:

two crafts that we will be assembling over the next year at Young Moms!

a trendy diaper wipes case

complete with a button embellishment

I see these things all the time at arts & craft shows, and people charge like $15-20 dollars for them! I only paid $1.50 for the case (with wipes!), and I already had the fabric and ribbon laying around... man, i love a deal.

and we will also be making this:

a fabulous notebook cover

it is just a composition notebook that i got from staples, covered with mod-podge, then fabric, and then i hot glued the ribbon on...

I seriously think this notebook cover only took about 7 minutes to make... and most of that time was me just waiting on my hot glue gun to heat up... super easy.

Okay, i'll admit that i really didn't want to go to the store (i even made Russ do the grocery shopping tonight) which is why both of these are made out of the same fabric... but I really love this fabric, so i could probably make a million things out of it! and maybe i will.

so there you have it. fabric is my new best friend. hope you enjoy looking at these as much as i enjoyed making them!

and for everyone who reads this blog and has been WAITING for pictures of the finished nursery, they will be here starting TODAY!!!
I have decided to highlight a different thing every day this week, so by the end of the week, you will have seen all the greatness there is in Caedmon's room... minus Caedmon of course... unless she decides to come this week!

okay, i think i will try some sleep now,
goodnight you princes of maine, you kings of new england.
(that line was just for russ...)

How much will Caedmon weigh?

2009-08-09T21:28:00.009-04:00

Wow, we have had a surprising number of votes (over 40!) for how much Caedmon will weigh when she is born! Thanks so much to everyone for getting involved in the fun!
Unfortunately, since so many people have been guessing we have SEVERAL repeat guesses... and the Burnetts can only afford to pay for one winner... i mean, we do have to pay for a baby now people!!
SO, our solution to this problem is this... The first person that guessed at each weight will be the winner of the ULTIMATE designed and printed christmas card prize. What does that mean if you were the second person to guess that weight? I would simply suggest you find another weight that hasn't been guessed yet, and hope to win there! Or, you can keep the same weight if you would like and just hope to be right, but just know that if you weren't first, we won't be covering your christmas cards for free this year! (I will gladly design them for you, but sadly, I will have to charge you {well worth the investment though, in my opinion...})
So sorry that I had to make rules, cause i hate rules. But I had no idea that so many people would be guessing!! I am posting a chart of everyone that has guessed so far, if your name is second (or third) and you want to reguess, just post another comment with your new guess. There are still lots of weights that haven't been guessed!

(click on the chart to make it bigger)

chart was updated on 8/14/09 3:23 p.m.

Also, the winner will be the person with the closest guess WITHOUT going over... that is how they do it on "The Price Is Right", so it is only natural for us to do it that way here on "the burnett blog"!

Keep those guesses coming friends!!!

P.S. Pictures of a completed nursery will be coming so very soon... the chandelier is hung, but we are still waiting on the crib to get here!

Ultrasound Pictures, and a chance to win a FREE design!

2009-08-06T15:20:00.008-04:00

AN UPDATE ON GUESSING CAEDMON'S BIRTH WEIGHT CONTEST:
I just told my ultra-cheap husband about our little weight guessing contest that we have going on, and how many people have already made a guess today and just out of the blue, he said he would pay to have the winner's cards printed! So you not only get a FREE really cute card design from me, but Russ will pay to have your christmas cards printed! Man, this is becoming quite a great deal... so be sure and make your guess below!

As promised, here are the latest pictures of little Caedmon. These were taken on July 28th. At my appointment two weeks before that, Dr. Pickins said I was measuring just a little smaller than i should be, and he couldn't accurately determine her positioning, so he scheduled us for another ultrasound. I was a little nervous at first because they usually only give two ultrasounds during the course of a normal pregnancy, and we had already had our first two. But after seeing the ultrasound everything was okay, she was head down, and i had plenty of fluid. Then I was just glad that we got to see her one more time before she gets here!

I also took a 36 weeks belly picture when we got home from our ultrasound,
so this is what she looks like outside:

and this is what she looks like inside:

She is getting MUCH bigger, and you can already tell her cheeks are pretty chubby! They estimated that she was already 7 pounds, but everyone says they never really know by looking at the ultrasound... but I am going to assume that is probably pretty close...

I am going to bet that she weighs 9 lbs 1 oz.

I know! Let's all take bets on what we think she will weigh!
Leave a comment with your guess,
and the closest to her actual birth weight
will win a FREE christmas postcard design!
(you'll have to pay to print them {around $40, depending on quantities}...
but i will design them for FREE)
UPDATE: RUSS IS PICKING UP THE PRINTING TAB, SEE THE PARAGRAPH AT THE TOP OF THIS POST!
And not to boast or anything, but i think our christmas cards were pretty stinkin' cute last year...
here is a reminder if you haven't already seen it...

the front:

and the back:

So let the guessing begin! Yay, this is fun.

Roll Tide!

2009-08-05T21:07:00.008-04:00

So, as you can probably tell, I didn't have a lot to do today except update the blog... (that means that Caedmon's room is pretty much ready, decorated, and organized!! (minus a crib and a chandelier being hung, but i hope those are coming really soon!)

I promise this is my last post for the day, but stay tuned for more tomorrow, it is definitely worth it (hint: ultrasound pictures!) But the best part about this particular post is that it is RECENT, and not something I am having to go back and catch up on, yay for me! But don't forget to read the first three posts from today before this one!

So now we get to the point of this recent post:

Last night Russ went with me to Wal-Mart to pick up an online order that I placed about a week ago, and while we were there I wanted to get some fabric for a little picture frame project I wanted to do for Caedmon's wall...
This is my final product:
(it is kinda hard to see in the picture, but looks better in real life)

BUT, the point of this story isn't about my craft project... it is about my sweet, adorable husband who apparently knows how to sew...

While in the fabric department of Wal-Mart Russ found some fabric that his daughter had to have.

So he bought a yard of this fabric, a bag of stuffing, and a spool of pink thread and stayed up REALLY late and he made her a pillow. and it is absolutely perfect. i hope she loves this pillow and the man that made it as much as i do...

And since we are already on the topic of how sweet, sentimental, and CRAFTY my husband is, I thought I would just top things off by showing you the Mother's Day card that he made me back in May. I cried for about 20 minutes after reading this... but i was very "pregnant emotional" for some reason that day...

This is the front:

And this is the inside:
(click on it to make it bigger so you can see teeny tiny Caedmon)

He is a pretty great dad already.

Our Final Baby Shower!

2009-08-05T20:40:00.002-04:00

This was our fifth and last baby shower that we had for Caedmon!

That means she is so CLOSE to being here!!
My older sister Jeri hosted a shower in Pike County for some friends and family on July 25th. It was a great time spent with friends that I hadn't seen in a really long time and I got to see some family that I hadn't seen in a few months!

Russ came down with me (we didn't think it was smart for me to travel that far alone at 8 months pregnant) and so did Miss. Abbey Hankins, so she could spend some time with her "best friend" Ema.

We got some GREAT gifts, and had some delicious food. And a really cute idea that my little sister, Erin had was to "design" onesies for Caedmon, so they made one and put everyone's name that was at the shower, and then Ema and Abbey made one for her. I can't wait till Caedmon can wear these one-of-a-kind outfits!

It is so hard not to say the same thing about every baby shower that we had, because we REALLY are so thankful, and so blessed, but how many times does everyone want to read the same thing over and over... so for a little variety in this post, I have included a video that we took while we were at the shower of my nephew Tobey singing to Baby Caedmon, hope you enjoy it as much as we did (minus the part where I am singing...)

P.S. I think you have to click play and wait a few seconds for it to "buffer" and then click it again to play... since this is our first posted video, I am not sure exactly how it works, but I know it does, cause it eventually played when i clicked it a couple of times... Also you will have to click the pause button on the music player in the right sidebar, so that you can hear the video.

Our Third & Fourth Baby Showers!

2009-08-05T20:10:00.001-04:00

On July 5th, our friends at Chick-fil-A hosted our third baby shower for us. And it was such a fun shower (including some good Chick-fil-A food.) I don't have pictures from the shower because I forgot to take my camera, oops! (Russ wasn't very happy with me about that...sorry babe)
But we invited men and women alike, and Russ got to open all the presents! It was so fun listening to all the guys "ooh and ahh" over all the cute little pink stuff! We were so glad to share that time with everyone that we love at Chick-fil-A!

I did have one great highlight to post about it: Miss Emma Clare Wells designed the cake for Caedmon, and she was so very excited about having such a big a part in planning the shower.
Here are her "blueprints" for the cake. I hope you can read all of the words on the image I scanned, because she was very detailed in all her plans! Thank you so much KayLynne for saving these for us to have!

And Russ did take a picture of the actual cake with our camera phone, he is so smart! It wasn't EXACTLY the same as Emma Clare had planned, (I don't know if we needed a 2 1/2 ft tall cake...haha) but the final product was very very close!

Thank you to EVERYONE at Chick-fil-A for loving us so much. You are all such a big part of our hearts, and we couldn't be more grateful for your friendships!

And then we had our FOURTH baby shower:
My good friends/family, Emily, Amy, and Heather threw us another shower on July 11th.
It was a super cute shower, and we received MORE stuff! Seriously, I don't think we could have ever had a baby if it weren't for so many people being so generous to us. We really couldn't have afforded everything we needed without the help of great friends and family.

We got lots of great things including a really nice activity center/bouncer from Russ's mom, Kim. We haven't put it together yet though, cause she can't use it until she sits up. So pictures of Caedmon in the bouncer will come later!
We also got a nice pocket video camera from Kelley, Russ's stepmom, which was a necessity in my mind! Now we can record everything from her first days, to her first smile, to her first words, to her first steps, etc. And then share them with everyone who reads our blog! I'm really excited about using it when Caedmon finally gets here!
And another notable gift was from Lib Rogers, she crocheted/knitted Caedmon two sweet little blankets. That is kind of her "trademark" gift for new babies, so I was very excited to get them!

And the girls who hosted the shower got us the bedding for the crib!! It is really pretty and the colors match her walls perfectly.

We also got so many other gifts that are all well worth mentioning, but this post would have to be forever long. But please know that all the gifts were so very much appreciated!

Russ didn't actually attend this shower, but he did get the chance to stop by on his way to work to sneak a peek and steal a plate of food! And we got a picture together while he was there...

Thank you so much to Emily, Amy, and Heather for putting on such a great shower! I am so lucky/glad that I can call you guys both friends and family (well maybe not yet "family" for Heather... but maybe soon...)
And one last thank you to everyone else who came to the shower, we are so thankful! Everything was absolutely wonderful...

Ema's Vacation to Rome

2009-08-05T17:01:00.000-04:00

One of these days I am going to blog about more recent events instead of waiting a month, then blogging, but life has been super busy getting ready for little caedmon clair... so, just be patient... I will eventually catch up, I promise!

On my (Dixi's) last post about our baby shower at Kelly's house, I mentioned my sweet six year old niece Ema. Well, fortunately for you, there is more Ema for our blog, cause she came to stay with us for a whole week at the beginning of July! Here are just a FEW highlights from a crazy, fun, exhausting (but well worth it) week!

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

we made pancakes. we painted craft boxes with abbey. we blew bubbles. we played in our yard sprinklers (really fun!) we painted our nails. abbey spent the night TWICE! we stayed up really late watching disney princess protection program. (it took 5 trips to the redbox for us to finally be able to rent it...) we swam almost every day. russ came to swim too! we had a car picnic with emma clare (cause apparently you can't take food into the baseball stadium...oops!) we danced and rolled down homerun hill at the rome braves game. we went to the world of coke with the hankins. we drank lots of coke!

It was a great week, and I can't wait till she comes back next summer!

Keep the change ya filthy animal...

2009-07-31T01:10:00.009-04:00

Russ here. I have a few thoughts and I would love to share them with you; I hope that's okay with Dixi. I do not like change one bit. I mean none. I have been eating the same thing at every restaurant I go to since I can remember. I have had the same haircut since 8th grade. I tell myself that I am okay with leaving Rome one day, but secretly I am okay with staying here the rest of my life. I mean seriously, I don't like change. But here's the problem with that: I am about to become a father. Some people have even told me that being a parent will require me to make small changes to my lifestyle (yeah, who knew?). This originally scared/worried/freaked me out. I wanted to convince myself that somehow I could be a loving, caring, responsible parent and continue the same lifestyle I have always lived. But reality is quickly catching up to me. Things have got to change, and change soon.

See, I wasn't lying...

I hope no one expected me to say that since the realization of the inevitable changes that need to take place, I have become a responsible, early to bed, early to rise, regularly showering, tie-wearing adult. Well sorry to disappoint, but I'm a slow learner. After getting married and moving into my own house (Really? I am a homeowner? I'm just getting good at tying my shoes and they want me to take care of a house?), I guess I expected/wanted everything to be like I had it growing up, once again going back to the fact that I hate change. But to my initial, selfish disappointment, I don't get to watch every single Braves game, dinner may not always be on the table the second I get hungry, and dishes don't magically clean themselves like they did the first 24 years of my life. The day I moved in, I guess this place didn't immediately become "my home". But all that said, this home, this crazy dog, and most importantly, this family of mine; they are hopefully what my daughter will look back on someday and say, "I loved the way mom made me french toast in the morning", or "I hope I have a dog that is as much fun as Storm was". I am slowly but surely beginning to realize that, even though there are still a few things that I'm going to have to get used to, I couldn't imagine anything in my life being any better than it is right now. My wife gladly lets me watch the Braves and cheers with me. She made this house beautiful. She is smokin' hot. Why would I change any of that?

This is my family. This is my home. I love them. Thank you Dixi, for not hating me for hating change. Thank you for watching the Braves with me almost every time they come on. Thank you for brewing sweet tea (I love it, by the way). You and Caedmon are my family now. And for once, I'll gladly keep the change.

Goes down smooth...

On a lighter, more adorable note, I want to give you all the pleasure of having your "awww" moment for the day. I present to you, my nephew Malachi:

Also, I'm sure Dixi would be okay with me showing off our new stroller. It's awesome. We took a walk with it and pretended like Caedmon was in it.

Dog butt not included.

Last but not least, one of my favorite changes. I haven't had a rubber ducky in my bathroom in a long, long time.

I can't wait for you to be here...

Shower for Caedmon at Kelly's House

2009-07-23T21:16:00.005-04:00

On June 27th, my good friends Kelly, Michelle, and Jordan threw me a baby shower! And it was absolutely fabulous. If you ever want to have a shower/party get Kelly to have it at her house, cause it was so great!

We had SO many great things given to us, but there were just a few in particular just made me smile, cause they were so unexpected and thoughtful.

Michelle (check out her blog) crocheted Caedmon a little blanket, and later told me that she would just sit for hours crocheting and praying for Caedmon. I almost cried. Thank you Michelle.

Here is a little story explaining how thoughtful this next gift is:
My 6 year old niece, Ema, got this little elephant blanket when she was born and for years she carried (still carries) "buddy" with her EVERYWHERE. She always had (has) to have her "buddy." Needless to say with the very frequent use of this blanket/stuffed animal, it got pretty dirty and beat up so her parents bought her a new "buddy," but it just wasn't the same, so Grandmama stitched up the original buddy, and "buddy" got a bath so Ema wouldn't be sad over not having her "buddy." So she had this new "extra buddy" for awhile and when she came to the shower she gave it to Baby Caedmon (that is what Ema calls her right now). Her own handwritten card said:

Baby Caedmon,
This is Buddy. I love you.
Ema

It was such a sweet moment, and I HOPE that one day Caedmon will appreciate what a special gift she got from Ema.

Here is Caedmon's "buddy" trying out her new baby carrier. (Thanks Cindi!)

I am so thankful to have such a unique church/area with GREAT ladies to do GREAT things for me and russ. There is never that awkwardness where people you barely know get together for something formal and uncomfortable in a stark white fellowship hall. It is just good people who love Jesus and love hanging out, and love being sweet, generous, and friendly. All these ladies are seriously so wonderful to me, and I couldn't be more blessed.

click on the picture to make it bigger!

And one more picture just to show how loved Caedmon is already! Chloe, Abbey and Ema just wanted to hold/touch/hug her all day long! Unfortunately Caedmon was a little too shy (or maybe overwhelmed) to move around when they were "holding her."

Father's Day 2009

2009-07-23T20:43:00.005-04:00

So like i said in the previous post there are lots of events to catch up on... and I don't know why it has taken me so long to post everything! I suppose i just got blog-lazy... but tonight and tomorrow there will just be a series of blog posts about everything i have missed blogging about!

Last month we celebrated Russ's "first" father's day at the lake with his dad. Got a chance to go out on the boat again, and just hang out with his family.

Russ got a chance to wake surf for the first time, and he stayed up pretty good for his first time. Pregnant girls don't get to wake surf, but it was fun to watch!

Amy and Malachi were like the cheerleaders for all the surfer dads! Malachi kept clapping and yelling out for his dad and "ruh ruh" that is what he calls russ!

Amy got all the "dads" a cake, and it was super cute. I was excited that Russ got to be included for the first time ever in celebrating as a dad, even though we haven't actually met our little girl yet...

We got to spend the rest of the day just hanging out with our nephew Malachi , and as always took lots of pictures.

Me and Malachi hanging out on the porch drinking some juice and looking out at the lake!

This is him and uncle "ruh ruh." For some reason, he never took a good picture with Russ the whole time... this was the best one.

He is getting so big and acts so grown up! Here he is wearing Russ's sunglasses...

It was such a fun day, and I can't wait until next year on Father's Day, we can take Caedmon out on the boat to watch her dad wake surf!

33 weeks picture update

2009-07-08T13:52:00.004-04:00

so this post isn't going to be nearly as good as the last post by russ, but it does have a new picture of how big caedmon is inside my belly!

countdown till Caedmon's due date is now only 46 days!!

here we are at 33 weeks (and a few days)

stay tuned for more posts catching up on father's day, a visit from my six year old niece, and several baby showers!

and thank you to all who read and commented on russ's post! we hit our all time high visitor count with that post, and i told russ he was going have to post more, cause everyone loved reading his post more than all of mine... but that is okay, cause i admit it was much much better, even though it made me cry.

Just a Swing

2009-07-05T22:33:00.012-04:00

So here is my first and only post (I think...). Dixi is in bed with a terrible headache and I have been sitting here for ten minutes trying to figure out how to add a picture to a post. I mean how was I supposed to know that the big colored icon of a picture directly above the space I am typing in that says "Add Image" when I scroll over it allows me to add an image? Anyway, you must be wondering, "Russ, why, after all this time, do you decide to post? Don't you have more important, manly things to do like change the oil in your car or win an arm wrestling match?" Well the answer is, yes, yes I do; but this is important.

My wife is 33 weeks pregnant. I will have a baby daughter in 7 or so weeks (or 10, if things go like they have been lately with all of these mothers-to-be). I have a closet full of tiny, pink clothes. I have been to baby showers, I have more bibs in my house than I do dollars in my checking account. My wife looks like a normal sized person for once in her life. All these things should of slapped me in the face by now to make me realize one very important thing: I am about to be a dad. But to tell you the truth, they really haven't, until tonight...

About a third of the clothes; with two baby

showers to go.

Now don't get me wrong, I realize that my life is about to change. I realize that for years to come, I will never have a visitor at my house that is here to see me. I know that I'm about to never get any sleep. I know that I'm going to have to learn to get used to seeing some gross things. But tonight something happened. You see, I am somewhat of a baby myself and there is a side of me that would get me laughed at by many of my male friends if they knew what a sissy I really am. One thing this emotional, girly side of me makes me do is go into the nursery and lay in the floor, and try to comprehend what is really about to happen in my life. Tonight, we had a baby shower put on by the amazing people at Chick-fil-a (more on that from Dixi later I'm sure). But as I was sitting in the nursery tonight, trying to organize all the things that were given to Caedmon today, I looked to my right and saw this...

Just a swing. I am around lots of babies, and I see these all the time. This one has been sitting in the nursery for several days and I have looked at it many times without a second thought. But tonight, when I looked at it, it was different. Instead of just seeing a swing, I saw a swing that, in just a few short weeks, will be frequented by none other than my own daughter. Caedmon Clair Burnett will be laying in it (and I will surely never take my eyes off of her for fear that I put it together wrong and it breaks.) All I could do was picture her, with one of her many adorable outfits on, looking up at me with her inevitably beautiful eyes (if she looks anything like her mom), and it will all become real. I will not go into detail about how I reacted to this realization, but let's just say I was trying to think of excuses of what to tell Dixi just in case she happened to get out of bed and come to the nursery ("I was just thinking about how bad the Braves played today", "Just reminiscing about the good ole days", "Remembering the end of 'Marley and Me", "I just have something in my eye"...). Thankfully she stayed asleep.

As I regained my composure, I started to think about the fact that this isn't "going to be real", it already is real. Inside my wife is a tiny little girl, with innumerable little functions happening in her body and Dixi's body that make me dumbfounded as to why some people try to explain it as anything except divine. She is real. I cannot wait to see her. To touch her tiny hands. To hear her cry. To take her to her first Braves game. So I will wait patiently (okay who I am kidding, very impatiently) for her to come into this world while my amazing friends and family continue to give and give and spoil my baby before she is even here. Let's just hope she's not as girly as me...

she has the hiccups!

2009-06-26T20:51:00.002-04:00

so, nothing really elaborate about this post, but I felt Caedmon's first case of the hiccups tonight.
I was a little worried at first about what was going on, so of course I googled it, and I am pretty sure from what i found, hiccups were the diagnosis! It didn't hurt at all, just felt a constant rhythmic pattern over and over again in the same spot... it was so weird feeling, but once i learned that it was just the hiccups, I enjoyed feeling it, and even laughed out loud, and called Russ at work to tell him what was happening! So there it is, her first case of the hiccups is now documented... in a blog post.

it is summertime

2009-06-18T14:11:00.006-04:00

Russ and i got to go down to his dad's house this past tuesday and wednesday to hang out on the lake, and it was so much fun! it was the first time that i have been to their house since christmas, so it was good to get down there again! we absolutely love visiting jay and kelley, and wish we had more spare time to visit them more, but hopefully since this is my last week working we can plan to get down there way more often!
they practically live out on the water, and jay has a really nice new boat, so we got to join them for a nice evening, with dinner on the boat (Subway sandwiches, my favorite right now!)

Here we are out on the boat, ready for a great relaxing evening on Weiss Lake!

This is Kelley, Russ's stepmom.

And this is Jay, Russ's dad.

We also got to watch Jay ski for a bit (he used to be a professional!) Here are several shots of him out on the water. I played on Picnik with all these, so enjoy!

you can click on this sequence one below to make it a little bigger. It is a little backward though since we read left to right, but he was jumping from the right to left side... i guess chinese people would think it looked right though...

Kelley also has several videos of him wakesurfing on Youtube, they are pretty cool! You should check them out! This is his most recent one.

We spent the night and woke up Wednesday afternoon, laid out on the dock, played in the water, and did a little fishing (we never even had a bite, i think it was way too hot...)

Russ rode around on the jet ski for a little while. I really wanted to go out there with him, and he promised he would go really slow, but thought it better to wait till after Caedmon arrives before I try getting on a jet ski again... being 30 weeks pregnant and being on a jet-ski didn't sound like a really good idea...

There are so many fun things to do on the lake! Thanks to Jay & Kelley for having us!

2009-06-12T17:40:00.004-04:00

this will be the last post for the week... i promise! can you believe I posted four days in a row? never done that before... but i have to say, it feels good. haha

just wanted to share with you a new belly shot, at (almost) 30 weeks. In just three weeks, since the last time i took one of these, i feel like i have doubled in size, but i know it will just keep getting even bigger with 10 more weeks to go!

my weight as of my last doctor's appointment on tuesday was 146, which means, i have officially gained over 25 pounds so far! geez. that is craziness. i think this little girl is going to be pretty big!

And one more piece of exciting news! Russ's dad has offered to complete the refinishing project on Caedmon's crib, so Russ doesn't have to stretch his time so thin in between working at CFA, starting his master's degree classes at West GA (he started this past Monday, and i am so proud of him!) cutting the grass and other "manly" chores around the house, and spending time with his pregnant wife... So a BIG thank you to Jay for taking that on, and a BIG thank you to his wife Kelley for volunteering him! ;)

a great craigslist find, and an even greater little sister!

2009-06-11T17:01:00.005-04:00

Well, I have been searching high and low for a cost-friendly chandelier for Caedmon's room, and today I finally found one on Craigslist! And the best part about it is, that my sweet little sister, Erin is going to pick it up for me right now, cause she lives much closer to the seller than I do! So thanks to Craigslist for making it so easy to buy cheap used items from other people from the comfort of my own computer chair. And A BIG THANK YOU to Erin, for going to get it for me!!! It really doesn't get much easier for a pregnant girl to do some bargain shopping! Here are the pictures of the chandelier that the seller posted on craigslist, but when I actually get it and install it in her room, I will post some more!

YAY! I am so excited! Thanks again Erin!!!!!

one thing at a time...

2009-06-10T09:41:00.001-04:00

So, like I said, we are slowly but surely getting ready for Caedmon to finally get here... and so far here are the most recent additions to her nursery...

We went to IKEA last Sunday on the way home from the Braves game to pick up a couple of things, and to find some more furniture options. We ended up buying some dark brown wicker baskets, some white curtains, and the CANOPY that i have wanted FOREVER!

Russ stayed up late Sunday night just to hang the curtain rods cause we were both so excited to have something real in the room besides paint on the walls... and here is the finished product! I love the simplicity of her room. I can't wait to complete it!

(He is still refinishing the crib...it is a very time consuming project, and my husband is such an incredibly hardworking man that he doesn't have much time to spare, but I am so grateful that he is doing it, cause I can't!)

And then I "illegally" stood on a chair alone at home to hang this canopy up, cause i finally found the hardware I needed, but I was very careful! It is just too cute to keep it sitting in the closet, and I waited so long to have it, I just couldn't wait any longer!

(And obviously, the crib will go where the crib mattress is laying.)

And here is a picture of the changing table/shelf that Russ and I picked out, and are going to go back and buy from IKEA. It is almost a perfect match to the $10 Crib that we are refinishing! We will put all the brown wicker baskets that we bought on all the shelves for lots of storage!

A huge bonus feature to this changing table/shelf is the fact that after we are finished using it as a changing table, we can take off the front changing table part, and it is just a little bookcase! We also bought some little lights to install underneath the top shelf for a little more lighting in her room!

And so far, that is all we have... but more will come soon (hopefully!)

baby showers and braves baseball.

2009-06-09T08:23:00.006-04:00

There have been several things I should have posted about earlier, that way I wouldn't have to roll them all into one post... but unfortunately time did not allow that to happen. So, here are a couple of recent updates from our world!

We had our very first baby shower given by Russ's school on June 1st! It was so much fun, and everyone was so very sweet to us! We had a cute cake, lots of great snacks, and so many people showed up to congratulate us!

We were so grateful to everyone for all the sweet cards/notes/comments, and so very appreciative of all the WONDERFUL gifts! We were surprised at everyone's overwhelming generosity, and left the afternoon smiling so much! It was so great!

This is my sweet husband, and just one of the many presents we received that day for Caedmon. His facial expression here pretty much sums it all up. We were so blessed that day!

Thank you again to everyone at East Paulding Middle School! You are such a huge blessing to our little family!

Now, on to another update:

We got to go to another Braves game last Sunday, and it turned out to be an amazing game.
I know I am not an avid sports fans, but I do love watching the Braves with Russ, and have really enjoyed this season a whole lot. I think it's just cause I bought Russ tickets, so i feel like i have invested something in them, so I find it much more appealing to watch. But Russ is really educating me on all the complicated stuff that I never really knew besides the elementary basics of baseball. Anyways, here is my female, unsports-minded run down of the game...
We got to watch Tommy Hansen pitch for the first time in the major league. Russ was super excited about that. This was his very first pitch.

There were lots of great moments in the game, 2 Homeruns by Chipper, Doubles by McCann & McLouth in the 8th inning to tie the game, and Escobar's single to bring McLouth home for the game winning run!

The turning point of the game in my opinion was McCann's first at bat with his double to bring home Prado. He is my favorite player, so i had to get a picture! This was the play that really got the crowd back in the game after we were down 7-5.

We won 8-7 with Gonzalez pitching to hold off the Brewers in the 9th. It is so fun watching Gonzalez pitch, cause he gets so pumped after he does good.
So that is my version of the game, and I am sure Russ is laughing at how I probably messed up some sports term, or stat... but oh well, I enjoyed the game, and I love going to games where we win!
I forgot to mention the absolute best part about the game, which was the fact that I didn't die being there 29 weeks pregnant for an afternoon game in the hot sun! It was actually very bearable, and I wasn't miserable at all!

Stay tuned for another update soon with some small additions to Caedmon's room!! We are slowly but surely going to finish it before she gets here!

By the way our countdown is now only 75 days till our due date... geez, time is going by so fast... but we seriously can't wait!

dixi + russ = married for 2 years

2009-05-28T16:55:00.007-04:00

Russ and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary this past Tuesday, and it was so much fun!

I surprised Russ and took him out to Lake Weiss to have a picnic dinner on the dock, and to go fishing!

He closed his eyes/put my purse over his head all the way from Rome, so he wouldn't know where we were going. I wish I had taken a picture of this, cause it was pretty funny. Anyways, I drove out to a lake house that a friend of ours owns (Thank you so much Tha!), and left him in the car with his eyes closed while I set everything up for us, and then went to get him out of the car.

This is what he saw when he finally opened his eyes:

a Subway picnic on the dock, complete with sparkling white grape juice, and some presents!He was very surprised, and was shocked that he had no idea where we were, cause it was his first time visiting our friend's lake house.

Then we chowed into our fancy Subway sandwiches, and then opened our presents for each other.

Russ bought me a cute little mommy activity book to use with Caedmon when she gets a little older.

And he also got me a super nice sketch pad, an art book, and graphite pencils.
It has been a long time since I have been able to creatively draw, and he figured since I would be at home for a few months before Caedmon is born, that I might find some time to draw again! I was so impressed! It was really great.
Then it was his turn to open his presents.

I designed him a picture and framed it in a frame that has hung empty in our bedroom since we moved into our house over 2 years ago...haha. The background is the vows that I said to him 2 years ago at our wedding with a fancy ornate logo of our last name in the middle.

Then he opened up a new pair of shoes! He has been wanting a new pair for a really long time. I was really nervous that he wouldn't like them, but turns out he thought they were perfect, so I was very glad!

Then we did a little fishing, and Russ was so impressed that I thought of surprising him with going fishing for our anniversary. He smiled a whole lot, and not because I was making him smile for the pictures!
Then I caught the first fish! I was so proud of myself! And I even think Russ might have been more excited than I was that I caught the first one!
We ended up catching 4 fish that night, I caught two and he caught two, It was the perfect night cause we both left completely satisfied with our two catches!
It was a perfect night, the rain let up, and held out long enough for us to have a really great time! Our favorite part about it, was that the fun factor was so high yet the cost factor was so low! (minus the presents that we both splurged on for each other)
Seriously, we spent a total of 8 dollars at Subway, 7 dollars on fishing bait (live minnows), and 3 dollars on Sparkling White Grape Juice. So our grand total was 18 dollars spent on a super perfect evening together. It really doesn't get much better than that!

Our 2 Year Anniversary!
Russell Jay,
I am so proud of where we are 2 years into our marriage. I find more reasons to love you, and respect you every time I turn around. Thank you for making me exactly who I am today because of your love and commitment to me. Thank you for always making me feel beautiful and for providing so much for us. I seriously can't wait to be parents together, and to celebrate 100 more wedding anniversaries with you.
I love you.
-your wife

p.s. next year it is your turn to surprise me with great plans for our 3rd anniversary! ;)
i really enjoy disney world...

(almost) 27 weeks.

2009-05-21T08:28:00.001-04:00

so technically, I am not 27 weeks yet, more like 26 weeks and 4 days , but I wanted to go ahead and post cause Russ and I are going to be pretty busy this weekend. But I had to go ahead and put 27 weeks, cause none of the other pictures have had the # weeks + 2/3 mark on them, and it all has to look uniform! So there is my disclaimer that I am not quite yet 27 weeks, but almost!

caedmon is doing great! my last doctor's appointment was this past monday, and everything is going very smoothly. the visit was super short, minus the part where i had to wait an hour for my blood test to make sure i haven't developed gestational diabetes. I will only find out the results of the test if I have a sugar count above 140. But if everything is normal they won't contact me, so I am hoping that the next time i hear from them will be on the day of my next appointment, June 9th.

i have officially gained 20 pounds so far! apparently i am going to be pretty large by the time August gets here...

we finally got a crib for her room, and it is in the process of being refinished as we speak. It is $10 yard sale find by Russ's mom, and it is in great great shape. Russ started sanding it down Tuesday night so we can refinish it. I originally had it in my mind to be white, but I may try staining it dark brown, and if that doesn't work, then we will probably go back to white. So stay tuned for the crib project updates!

here is my adorably sexy handy-man working hard in the garage with his electric sander.

caedmon moves around constantly, and I am now enjoying feeling her move around, cause that is the only way i feel like she can communicate with us right now. I love feeling like she is right there in the middle of everything that I am doing. This sentence may be removed from this post in about a year when i don't enjoy her being in the middle of everything I am doing anymore! But for now, I love it.

i have one more month left at Chick-fil-A, and it is definitely going to be a bittersweet moment in my life. bitter in the fact that it will be very sad to leave such amazing people, and such an amazing place where God has grown me into such a different person, but it will be very sweet because it means I am THAT much closer to holding my baby in my arms, and not having to be completely exhausted from standing on my feet for long long long periods of time! my body just doesn't function as effortlessly as it once did... and 8 hour shifts at work make me realize that more and more.

that is all for now, and thank you so much for continuing to read along with our family! all of these moments will be forever remembered in our minds, and it is so nice to share them with our friends, family, and the occasional stranger that stops by!

please feel free to comment and let us know that you read, it is so nice to find out so many people had been reading that we had no idea about!

the countdown begins!

2009-05-16T11:07:00.006-04:00

So yesterday we started the official countdown from 100 days till Caedmon Clair Burnett arrives (even though we know she won't arrive exactly on schedule, but hey we have to start somewhere!)

To celebrate we all went to the Atlanta Braves game at Turner Field, and had a blast!

I forgot to take my camera to the game, which made me so very very upset. But I did get to take a few pictures from my phone, so the quality kinda sucks, but the memories will still remain!

And to top off a great evening at the ballpark, the Braves won 4-3 against Arizona with a very exciting bottom of the ninth sacrifice pop fly to centerfield by Escobar for Schafer to score the winning run.

this picture is from mlb.com

They even shot off some amazing fireworks after the game to celebrate our 100 day countdown! Or maybe it was because they have fireworks at every friday home game, but we are going to stick to the idea that it was for Caedmon...

Today's countdown: 99 days!!!

Pink & Posh

2009-05-08T09:03:00.005-04:00

so, my older sister, Jeri, has this pretty cool website called Pink & Posh where you can enter to win tons of free stuff, you should check it out! Lots of baby things on there!!

Right now she has a giveaway for any pair of kids shoes from a company called See Kai Run. And wow, they are real cute.

I am trying to win these shoes...

so many exciting things, all rolled into one blog post!!

2009-05-06T23:00:00.005-04:00

So I have to apologize, I was a terrible blogger in keeping up with the posts about finding out what we were having, but fortunately facebook and twitter got to keep up... Please forgive me! But I promise you this post will be well worth the wait with tons of exciting news with lots of pictures to go with it!!

On April 20th, I was 22 weeks when we had our ultrasound appointment, and we got to see the baby for almost thirty minutes on the ultrasound screen while the nurse/tech looked at everything. We couldn't get a profile shot of the face cause the baby hid from us the WHOLE time, but it was so great to just watch for so long.

Then the nurse/tech finally showed us an area that she described as what we would see if we were holding the baby's legs up like when you change a diaper, and she pointed the little mouse cursor at a the private parts area, and it was so clear! She asked us if we knew what we were looking at, and I immediately said, "A little girl!" And she confirmed that it was in fact a little girl, and oh my gosh, it took our breath away.

Russ and I both had a few tears while we watched, but I just kept wiping my eyes so that I wouldn't miss anything while we got to look at her. It was like the best movie I had ever seen. The lights were turned out in the room, just like in the theater, and Russ was holding my hand/arm, just like in the theater, and i thought surely they were about to bring me some popcorn and candy... but they didn't...

Anyways, she is forming perfectly normal so far, and the doctor said i was having a pretty easy/normal pregnancy, which we are so thankful for!

Here are several pictures from the ultrasound:

Her toes look EXACTLY like Russ's toes with the second one longer than the first one!

Since then, we have painted her nursery, getting ready for her to "move in" with us. This is seriously like the best new roommate anyone could possibly prepare for...
Mike and Jimmy helped me paint the room, and Russ and I painted her a little message before we put the final coat on top.

The color is absolutely perfect. It is called Lake Marsh. I LOVE it!

And the latest most exciting update since we found out she was a girl, is that I have worried/stressed/prayed/& worried some more about what to name her, cause we literally liked so many different names... but today Russ and I finally decided what to name her!

drumroll please...

Miss. Caedmon Clair Burnett

Caedmon after Russ's all time favorite music group Caedmon's Call, and Clair after his mom's side of the family. (The St. Clair's)
I am so thrilled that I don't have to stress out over her name anymore, and I can actually call her by name, instead of "the baby girl", or "she/her" all the time! And we absolutely fell in love with the name!! So now everyone can head off to the monogram/embroidery shops to get all her stuff personalized!!

I am now 24 weeks, and well over halfway there! Our next appointment is May 18th, so hopefully we will have another good report! Stay tuned for more girly things to come as we get ready to decorate her freshly painted room!

Here is a tummy shot at 24 weeks.

Check out my new facebook album to see all the pictures side by side, to see how fast she is growing! My weekly update said that at 24 weeks, my uterus should be the size of a soccer ball... my ribs are upset about this, believe me.

Thanks for catching up with us, and so sorry again for such a delay in posting! I'll try to do better next time!!

20+ weeks

2009-04-08T19:47:00.004-04:00

well, i said i would try to get some pictures up this week, and here is what the baby now looks like (inside my stomach of course...)

Getting bigger huh? The baby moves around a lot more now too. Just recently i have started to kinda push around a little bit just to see what i can feel in there, and I made Russ do it last night, and I am pretty sure we probably irritated the little thing. And we felt lots of "unknown" things, shoulders, or legs perhaps... but it was still pretty neat.

I am still very aware of my changing body, and I have to say, that buying a maternity bathing suit wasn't really something I ever thought I would do. I mean, when you think about getting pregnant and having babies, you only think about the before and after part (well at least I did anyways) I never really thought about the little things in between, like not being able to wear cute bikinis to the beach... Seriously, last time I went to the beach was on my honeymoon almost two years ago, and not that I am anywhere close to supermodel status, but who doesn't feel sexy on their honeymoon? But now, I am hoping that I won't gross anyone out too much at the beach next week...
But the positive thing here is that at least I got a cute bathing suit. So even if my pale expanding body looks disgusting, my swimsuit will still be cute! Here it is: not on me of course but on the cute supermodel who probably isn't really pregnant...

Well that is it for now, like I said in a previous post, I am heading to Texas all next week, leaving Friday, and returning next Saturday, and just days after that, we find out what our baby is! So that will be my next very exciting post!

In conclusion: I am very glad that everything is bigger in Texas, maybe my bathing suit will fit right in.

20 weeks, new appointments, and kicking babies!

2009-04-06T21:48:00.005-04:00

well, it seems as though i will be going out of town (on vacation to corpus christi, texas... without my husband... boo...) so we had to reschedule my ultrasound appointment that was originally scheduled on my birthday the 15th... our new appointment is on April 20th.

And for a very exciting update, I felt the baby actually kick me last thursday. It was in the middle of the night, and russ was already asleep, and i was still awake just laying on the couch on the laptop, and all of a sudden the little thing just kicked me right in the side, TWICE! I ran into the bedroom to wake Russ up, but apparently he didn't remember the next day...
I haven't felt anymore hard kicks but i have felt the little fluttering feeling lots more (right now as I post this as a matter of fact) It definitely tickles a little bit...

I will be posting more pics of the growing baby before I go out of town this friday.

I can't believe I am already 20 weeks, that means I am only 20 more weeks from meeting our very first baby!

And just so we can get some feedback on "the naming process" I thought I would share our thoughts on what we have come up with for the new baby.

We have for sure decided on a boy name:
Grady Jack Burnett.
"Grady" after Russ's granddad, and "Jack" after my Nanny (my grandmom) whose name isn't technically Jack, but it is her life long nickname.

And we are still up in the air about a girl name, we both like Kennedy a lot, we also like Laine for a middle name, and I like Ryann, but Russ isn't really fond of that one. I just can't make up my mind on a girl name...
Let me know what you think! This is going to be their name FOREVER!

glad we didn't get our hopes up...

2009-03-18T15:38:00.002-04:00

So, unfortunately they did not do an ultrasound today... we will definitely have one on our next visit though, so we can start getting our hopes up now! Our next appointment is on my birthday April 15th! I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present than finally find out what we are having! They will also do the full anatomy check to make sure all the fingers and toes are there, and if not, i guess we'll have to start special ordering gloves and such...

Today our appointment was with Dr. Blake, someone who we haven't seen yet, but she was super nice, and I liked her a lot. She was super energetic and very talkative, but then on our way out, Russ noticed that she was drinking one of those Monster Energy drinks, so maybe that was why...haha. But we really did like her, she was very friendly. Our next appointment is with Dr. Pickins again, and I just like him cause he has been the person we have seen every time. So I was glad to get to see him again.

She asked us today about all the testing that they do in order to see if there are any genetic diseases or what risks i have delivering a baby with any kind of disorder, and we decided not to take the test. Basically they give you a percentage of people who MIGHT have problems or complications, and I just don't think it is worth the worry... not that I worry THAT much, but it is definitely something that I have no control over, so there is just no need in getting all worked up over it. God will give us exactly what he wants us to have, and if that means having a child with down syndrome, then we would do nothing more than welcome that baby with open arms and love for it and care for it like it was any other baby in the world.

On another note, I have so far gained 8-10 pounds. (I say 8-10 because I weighed 126 when they weighed me today, and I was 118 at my very first appt. so, I thought that equaled 8, but the doctor mentioned 10 during the appointment, so I don't know if she was just rounding up or what... or maybe I can't read the scale in front of my face in the office.) But I do feel like I have gained more than that, but I guess things just look different cause things are moving around a bit, and not necessarily because I have gained a ton of weight.

Well, that is all for now, we'll keep updating throughout this month, and hopefully I'll get to feel the baby move really soon, so that will be something exciting to post about!

17 weeks... almost halfway there!

2009-03-17T19:05:00.004-04:00

Well, we have a fourth doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon, and we are really really hoping that they will take an ultrasound and find out if it is a boy or a girl! We don't know for sure if they will do that for us on this appointment, but we are keeping our fingers crossed! So, tomorrow, we may have another EXCITING post with the sex of the baby. But try not to get your hopes up, cause we may not find our this time...

Things have been progressing slowly (in my opinion.) I don't feel nauseated all the time anymore, but I'm still eating like a pig. But I have found that sometimes I don't really have an appetite when I know I should eat. I still can't sleep really well, but have found ways of making myself more comfortable with extra pillows! My stomach is still a very manageable size, (minus the fact that my pants won't button anymore!) so that isn't really the reason I feel so uncomfortable, it is mostly because my back just hurts really bad, which I find so strange since I am not very large yet... I did ask the doctor about that at my last appointment, and he said that my joint cavities are separating in my lower back, and that is causing some uncomfortable pain...

I had a little scare at work today when I almost passed out, but after going home and calling the doctor, they just told me that I am not eating as often as I should, which I thought was crazy, cause I feel like I eat all the time... They did say since I have an appointment tomorrow that they would check my blood pressure and my sugar levels then, just to make sure everything is normal.

The biggest event in life right now is that I have finally decided to leave Chick-fil-A in the beginning of June, so I can take a few months to get everything ready for when the baby comes, and just take some time for myself, and then stay at home with the baby after he/she comes. It was a very difficult decision that Russ & I wrestled with, but in the end, we know it will be for the best. And I am so thankful for my husband being so supportive, and working so hard to make this happen for us. He is truly amazing. I do think that once I leave Chick-fil-A in June, that I might start an online business for designing invitations and cards and things. But I am not committing myself to anything just yet... I just know it is something that I would like to do, and would be perfect to go ahead and get started before the baby comes, and continue to do that as the baby gets older.

I have started showing much more and people are starting to actually touch my stomach and smile... So I thought I would let everyone see the progress!

Thanks for continuing to read our blog throughout this pregnancy, and I will try to keep posting more regularly!

and the belly bump begins...

2009-02-12T19:07:00.003-05:00

Well, I wasn't sure if I was going to be one of those people who tracked their pregnancy with pictures, but just in the past week I started noticing that my belly was starting to stick out just a tad, and I got kind of excited... (And Russ is probably more excited than me!)
So, I think I might be one of those belly picture people now... but I am definitely not committed to taking these every week, because I know I won't. So they may come and go, but no matter how many there are throughout the next 28 weeks, one thing is for sure, they are only going to get bigger.

Plus, I think it will be nice to have the pictures as a reference/goal when I want to reverse the cycle after the baby is born. This way I know what I have to get back down to... but I am 100% sure that I won't be taking pictures of that progress... crazy how that works...

from seven weeks to eleven weeks...

2009-02-03T13:33:00.006-05:00

Well, we have been very busy over the past month, so I have neglected my blog updates. I do apologize!

Since our last post, we got to see the baby and hear it's heartbeat. It was probably the most surreal experience that I have ever had. To me, it felt like I was watching someone else see their ultrasound for the first time, like I was just hovering in the room watching a movie about someone else's life... I know that sounds crazy, but it was just so amazing, that it didn't feel like it was happening in real life. Unfortunately I can't post the ultrasound pictures yet because I haven't been able to scan them in the computer (one reason, because Russ left the pics at his mom's house like two weeks ago... and another reason is I haven't installed the scanner feature of my printer yet...) So we will add those as soon as possible to share them with you.

Eating has become my best friend, and we spend a lot of time together! I am not sure of my weight right now, I was up to 120 at the ultrasound appointment on January 21, but that was two weeks ago and I bet that I have put on a few more pounds since then. I still feel pretty nauseated most of the time, but eating something or having a piece of candy in my mouth always soothes me a little bit.

I finally got sick for the first time about a week ago, but fortunately that has been the only time so far. Russ got a kick out of watching me hurl up my dinner that night, enough so that he leaned on the doorway of the bathroom with a little smirk on his face... I think he was just happy about the fact that the only reason I was sick was because we're going to have a baby.

Other than those milestones in the pregnancy, everything else has been pretty normal. Work has been challenging for me with just being so tired after being on my feet for 7 or 8 hours straight. The only good thing about it so far, is that I sleep really really good at night after working. So good that I wake up in exactly the same position that i fell asleep. All other nights it is still a challenge to get a really good night's sleep.

I haven't started craving anything silly so far, but I have found a few things that I just don't like to eat anymore. One of them is macaroni and cheese. I have tried to eat it three times now, and I just don't like it... which is so strange to me. Also, I normally LOVE to eat things that are burnt, like toast, waffles, eggs, or bread rolls but now I just can't stomach the taste of anything burnt. When I get hungry, I do get picky about what I want to eat. Like I just can't open the pantry and grab anything, I have to eat exactly what is on my mind, which drives Russ crazy, but he is starting to get used to it.

I am slowly getting bigger in my waistline, but all my regular clothes still fit fine, but I can tell that they are getting a tad tighter... When I actually start showing we will put some pregnant pictures up, so you can watch me go from small to very large....

I have started to pick out colors and items for the nursery, and it is so exciting to plan it out! Here are a few items that I want in the room, or want to incorporate somehow. I know we are going paint the walls green, and we are buying a crib and a changing table set from my older sister who used it for her first two kids. It is white. And I originally thought about painting it brown, but I think I may stick with the white furniture and go with brown bedding...but i still haven't decided on the bedding yet. For the room details, I want to paint a white silhouette of a tree on the wall. I got the idea from an old Pottery Barn magazine. Here is the pic from the magazine (it's the one on the left side, the one on the right side is someone else's attempt to do the same thing. it was the only picture i could find on the internet...)

I also want to hang a canopy over the crib. It is from IKEA, it has some cute little leaves on it. I have wanted this canopy for a long time, way before we were even pregnant, cause I saw it at the IKEA store in Atlanta, and have just had it in my mind ever since! Here is what it looks like.I also want to hang two or three white shelves on the wall to set picture frames on. Here is an idea of what I want. These are from IKEA too.
Other than that, I want to keep everything really simple. The only complex idea that I have is i want to do some kind of lit wall art with artsy pictures of the baby after it's born. Like maybe three or four different sized frames collaged together on the wall and a picture light hanging above them to make it look like an art gallery wall. I haven't seen a picture of what I have in my mind exactly, so it is hard to give you a visual idea, but I can post pictures of the final outcome once it is hung on our walls.

I am still not sure of what I want exactly with the bedding set, I haven't come across anything that I absolutely love yet... but I still have some time to figure it out.

Russ and I have had an incredible month, of course it has been really hard at times, but so far it has been amazing to watch him slowly mature more and more with the idea of a baby on the way. It is so attractive to me to see him so concerned with doing things right, and making sure that everything is going to be taken care of financially, and with making sure that I am eating healthy, and taking my vitamins. He really has been so helpful, and is becoming much more of a leader in our home.

Well that is all for now, I'll definitely try to update more often, and we'll see about getting those ultrasound pictures up soon! Thanks for keeping up with our new family!

upcoming events:
next doctor's visit wednesday, february 18

{7 weeks and 5 days pregnant}

2009-01-08T18:07:00.005-05:00

So I called this past monday and scheduled an appointment at Northwest Georgia Medical Clinic OB/GYN and I had my first appointment today at 3PM!

My doctor was Dr. Pickens and he was super nice and very friendly, and a little bit funny, but i am not sure if he was just really nerdy and that made him seem funnier, or what...

This was just a brief visit where they confirmed the pregnancy and gave me an estimated delivery date (Ours is August 23rd!) but they tell you that there is a possibility that it may change after the first ultrasound, especially since i wasn't exactly sure of the date of my last period.

After today's visit it seems really real that we are going to have a baby. Like this past week we were just kinda pretending that i was pregnant, but now it's official cause a doctor said i was pregnant! It is very exciting.

My next appointment is January 20th at 2pm, and they will do the first ultrasound to hear the baby's heartbeat, and WE CAN'T WAIT! That is only 12 days away, and I am so glad that we don't have to wait forever! Russ didn't get to go with me today, since it was such short notice, but he'll be coming with me on the 20th for the first ultrasound!

So far, I still haven't gotten any sign of morning sickness, other than the occasional smells that makes me nauseated or a gag or two when i brush my teeth.

I told the doctor i started taking prenatal vitamins, and he said if i felt okay to keep taking them, if not then I shouldn't be concerned about skipping the vitamins, but that i just need to keep eating nutritious meals, and too eat often, especially if i start to get sick later on...

The most annoying part of pregnancy right now is not being able to sleep really well... I love sleep, and I am so tired and exhausted all the time, that sleep should feel great, but so far, I have had a hard time actually falling asleep once i lay down, it takes anywhere from an hour to two hours of tossing and turning in the bed, then once i am asleep i have to wake up in the middle of the night to pee, and then start all over again... so that is definitely my most unfavorite part right now...

The best piece of advice that I have gotten in the past week since we found out was from a 4 year old (almost 5...), Abbey Hankins: You should get contacts before you have your baby so it doesn't pull your glasses off your face all the time.

And the best quote I have heard so far came from the doctor today: Regardless of how you may feel, pregnancy is not a disease.

weight today: 118 (almost 119) *just so i can track it as we go along*

{a baby burnett}

2009-01-01T22:32:00.004-05:00

We're Pregnant!

We weren't necessarily planning on starting a family just yet... we would've liked to start trying towards the end of this year (2009) so we are a little ahead of our own "life schedule", but we are super excited that God decided to change our plans a little.

After very clear pregnancy symptoms, we found out that we were pregnant the night of December 30, after a couple of negative pregnancy tests earlier that week. We told everyone on Dec. 31, cause we just couldn't contain our excitement. It was wonderful surprising our friends and family, since we weren't trying, it came as a huge shock to everyone, and it was great seeing and hearing everyone's reactions.

According to the due date calendars online, I am 6 weeks pregnant, with an estimated delivery date of August 24th. But i think we'll be able to have a more definite time frame after our first doctor's appointment.

We are obviously very new at being pregnant, so i quickly had to do some research and figure out what we needed to do next... and pretty much my whole lifestyle needs to change. That wasn't very shocking news though... i get small amounts of sleep, i eat one meal a day(maybe), i stand on my feet for 12-14 hours a day... so needless to say, i knew things would have to change drastically!

So the first thing I had to do today was go grocery shopping for healthy pregnant food, because our pantry was stocked with junk. Also, got some prenatal vitamins and started taking those today. I wasn't exactly sure which brand to get, but i knew i needed one with folic acid, iron, and calcium, thanks to my "parent friends" so I decided on One A Day Women's Prenatal. Hope it was a good choice...

Called the doctor to see about scheduling my first prenatal visit, but offices were closed because of the new year, so I will have to call on Monday...

So far, I haven't had any morning sickness, but i am definitely feeling hungry all the time, and feel like i should eat like every 2 hours. Just today, I got to a point where even just thinking about certain foods made my stomach a little queasy, but so far, i haven't actually gotten sick yet. Hopefully it will stay that way...

Anyways, we'll keep posting updates as we go through this pregnancy! So keep reading with us!

life as we know it... is about to change.

2008-08-02T02:14:00.002-04:00

My husband is officially a teacher now. He starts his first ever teaching job at East Paulding Middle School on August 4th. We couldn't be more excited!
Congratulations Mr. Burnett!

our first valentines day as husband and wife!

2008-02-15T12:26:00.000-05:00

so, since the beginning, we have never really been big celebrators of valentines day. but we agreed that it is still fun to do something special for each other, especially now that we are married. so we decided to do that something special, without the typical overdone valentines day and without breaking the bank.

my boss was generous enough to give me the day off,

so i woke up early (otherwise i wouldn't have...)

and cooked russ breakfast in bed,

complete with pigs in a blanket,

cinnamon sugar toast, scrambled eggs, bacon,

grits, and passion fruit juice.

And russ wore the valentines day present that i got him:

spongebob square pants pjs with hearts all over them

(you can't see them in the picture, but he has them on.)

and of course, if there is food involved, i have to fix a plate for myself...

originally i had planned to let him pick a "morning movie" from 3 of his tear jerker favorites, so we could watch that and eat our breakfast together, but he decided to forego the movie and sleep some more before he had to go to work...

then when he got off work he cooked dinner for me while i was taking a nap (because i had to get up so early to cook for him.) we had italian chicken that he had been marinating all day long, garlic & butter crescent rolls, corn, and sparkling white grape juice in champagne glasses.

(and we forgot to take pictures... so this part is pictureless)

and he had rented a movie for us to watch after dinner while we ate dessert that he cooked (brownies, my favorite!)

He also bought me some of my favorite candy, and a ridiculous valentines card, which was actually an anniversary card but it was completely in spanish. and he signed it "and i mean every word... happy valentine's day. i love you. El Russ."

I think our total amount spent on this over-commercialized holiday was about 30 bucks for a cheap, fun, & memorable first married valentines day.

and the kitchen renovations begin...

2008-02-15T11:24:00.000-05:00

since my husband is just as excited as i am to update/remodel our kitchen he decided

to go ahead and get the ball rolling by purchasing our first upgraded item & installing it.

the kitchen faucet.

YAY!

so here are the before and after pics of our faucet!

there will be much more to come to our kitchen after we get our tax refund back!

this is our old faucet that came with the house, it is so ugly,

and you can't fit any big dishes underneath it to rinse them off...

and this is my handy husband uninstalling our old faucet, and storm stayed right there with him, even laid right on top of him at times... she was just trying to help...

comparing the old with the new... it is obvious which one is which.

and this is our brand new kitchen faucet!

it is so beautiful! (

at least we think it is.)

and you can fit big dishes underneath it to rinse them!

Our First Blog

2008-02-06T22:07:00.000-05:00

Well, we are finally going online, to give our friends & family a few updates on life as an "almost" new family of two & a half!

We have been homeowners for just over one year, and have painted and decorated pretty much every room in the house. There are still lots of things to do, and we are hoping in the next year to continue with some major improvements to the house, maybe refinishing the kitchen cabinets, putting up a fence, and adding a built-in entertainment center in the living room.
We made our first "big purchase" (besides the house) last fall when we bought a 2002 Ford Explorer, which we got a GREAT deal on, and we are definitely enjoying having a newer vehicle in the family!

We have been "parents" to our very energetic dog, Storm, for just under one year, and we are still loving her more every day... She is very very spoiled, and rules our house. There will be plenty more posts to come about her...

We have been an aunt and uncle to Dixi's older sister's children, Ema and Tobey, but we added a new nephew this November when Russ' brother and his wife had their first baby, Malachi. He is too cute, and we are looking forward to spoiling him.

We celebrated our first christmas together under our own roof, and somehow managed to make it to all of our family events on both sides of the family. It was fun to do everything together and including both of our families in our plans this christmas was so wonderful.

We are both working at Chick-Fil-A at the moment, and we are loving working together. Not sure what the future holds for either of us career-wise, but we are very open to wherever the Lord leads. Russ is looking at some teaching possibilities next semester, so we will see where that path leads.