Baby Brady ... the Biggest Blessing!

How to Choose the Best Christmas Card?!?!

2010-12-08T22:27:00.002-05:00

since i am one of those mommys who a.) loves to show off my kids and b.) loves to explore and spend hours on 5 or 6 different websites trying to decide on the PERFECT christmas card, i just couldn't resist the offer recently made by SHUTTERFLY! they are generously offering 50 free cards to bloggers! and since their cards are festive and fun and more reasonably priced than so many other sites i decided to go with shutterfly this year! See some examples here:
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

since adding a baby girl to our crew in july, we are excited to find the perfect card for our family of (now) 4! many family members that are far away have not seen baby presley yet so we are looking forward to using this card and the pictures to introduce her to the world! her big brother has grown up so much since our last trip to pennsylvania, so they will enjoy seeing him as well. we are many miles apart (sigh) but somehow pictures and the perfect card in the mail during the holidays make it seem a little closer!

shutterfly is also offering regular christmas cards without pictures, which are perfect for keeping in touch: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards and many other gifts for family and friends this holiday season: http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts.

check out shutterfly for your gifts and cards this year ... they rock! oh and if you're a blogger you can check out this offer at this site: http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

brady's newest word

2009-10-26T18:22:00.008-04:00

when brady was around 10 months old he would say "momma" and "dada" like a champ. well he stopped ... and now he NEVER says those words. but instead, he likes to say "shoes", "dog" and "cat". well friday daddy stayed home with brady because "aunt colleen" wasn't feeling well. when i got home from work, daddy proudly announced that brady had learned a new word. i couldn't wait!

"TREES". his new word was "trees". not "mommy" or "daddy", but "trees". he gets really excited to say it, and he actually points to the tree through the window when he says it. so cute.

it's amazing to see brady discover new things and start to recognize what words mean. i love how his little brain is constantly working and soaking in everything that goes on around him. billy and i always talk about how cute, funny and smart he is ... and then laugh because EVERY parent feels that way about their baby.

dr. saade keeps reminding me that he's not a baby anymore ... he's a toddler. but he'll always be MY baby. and i love that little boy...

happy birthday brady (on october 3rd)!

2009-10-09T21:23:00.035-04:00

is it possible that brady is already ONE? the past year has really flown by and we have loved every minute of it!

we had a very small family get-together for brady's birthday ... and had a blast watching him crawl around and be mr. social (just like his daddy). he loved the presents and the balloons but wasn't so sure about the cake ... until he tried a bite of the icing!

oh ... and we survived the 12 month shots! it wasn't happy or easy, but we survived. poor little man ... he was so upset. he got 4 total ... 2 in each leg. he weighed in at 23 pounds (75% percentile) and was 31 inches long (90th percentile). his head measurement even registered in the 75th percentile, which is shocking because the boy has GOT a big 'ole noggin! looks like we might have a long and lean little boy on our hands. well, okay ... maybe not so "lean".

i know i'm his mommy, but i do think he is adorable. everywhere he goes he just randomly smiles at people. he is so happy and even 5 minutes after his shots, he was smiling, talking and pointing at random things while saying "ooooh", as if he had forgotten all about that mean 'ole nurse and the pain he endured. what a trooper!

happy birthday brady william. we love you!

almost a YEAR old!

2009-09-24T11:33:00.015-04:00

okay ... after looking at some friend's blogs in the past couple of days, i am once again reminded that i am the worst blogger to ever walk the face of the Earth. but the truth is ... when i get home from work, i just want to soak up as much time as i can with brady ... then once brady goes to bed i want to be with my sweet husband. therefore i just run out of time! i am realizing that lack of time is how an organized person quickly becomes unorganized! sometimes i feel the stresses of trying to be everything to everyone and other times i just laugh as i look around at our messy house that was once organized, even though billy does a great job of keeping things in order when he is home.

so brady is almost a year old!! it is SO hard to believe. that little man is the captain of my heart! he is so much fun right now. he is crawling with amazing determination, standing up with a little bit of assistance from any object he can find, free-standing on occasion, and walking behind a little grocery cart, which he thinks is really funny. he can walk while holding on to our fingers, but it looks more like he is marching. it is precious how high he thinks he has to pick up his feet to take a few steps. i love that little boy. when i tell you he is all over the place ... he REALLY is all over the place! he is into everything, but especially likes to play with things that aren't meant to be played with (i.e. dog food bowls, air conditioning vents, breakable plates that are on display, the fireplace, cell phones, computers, doorknobs, the blinds, doggie door, etc.). we have to watch his every move because he can get himself into trouble FAST. he thinks the word "no" is funny, no matter how forcefully we say it. he is laughing and smiling like crazy and is a very happy baby (sorry ... "toddler") even though it feels like he has some molar activity going on in his mouth. he will occasionally say "momma" and "dada", but "dog" is by far his favorite word. he has really started to interact with buck and izzy, but especially loves to hold izzy's toy while she jumps and barks and squirms in frustration that he has her toy. he laughs outloud at her and loves that he is playing his own little game of "keep away". i always knew they would be best buddies.

i've never been a morning person. i love to sleep and i have constantly struggled to get myself out of bed in the mornings. i've always been that way. but the highlight of my day is definitely hearing brady wake up around 7:00 every morning and watching him talk and play in his crib until we go get him. he is thrilled to see us and always greets us with the biggest smile he can muster up (see picture). he squeals in excitement, as if to say "bring it on, world!".

this anti-morning girl has suddenly found a reason to LOVE getting up in the morning!!!

we are blessed, and thankful beyond words, for our little angel. life is good!

eight months old ... with SIX teeth!

2009-06-03T20:58:00.013-04:00

i cannot believe baby brady is EIGHT months old already! he is such a funny, sweet and happy baby. he has grown and changed so much over the past eight months. today i was staring at him while he sat in the bumbo seat playing (um, well maybe "banging" is a better word) the piano that aunt marilyn gave him ... and i just grinned from ear to ear. i am "that mom" who can't get enough of her baby, talks to strangers about her baby, brags to pregnant women about how much fun they are going to have, and gushes to just about anyone that will listen about the most perfect baby that God has ever created. it's amazing. everyone asks if brady is crawling yet and the answer is "no". i'm actually glad about that. i'm not ready for him to be mobile yet. billy and i like knowing where he is at all times. we like that we lay him on a blanket and he'll roll over a million times, but will generally stay in the vicinity of that blanket. he is, however, starting to get up on his knees from the belly position which i think is a clue that he is starting to grasp the concept of crawling. that's how his buddy bennett started out anyway.

we had our first family vacation over memorial day weekend to vero beach, florida. billy's mom was able to join us for the weekend, which was so much fun. she and brady loved being able to spend time together. the weather was not good for us ... it rained almost everyday, but we were still able to put brady's feet in the sand and let him feel the waves. of course mommy was insistent that he wear 50+ sunscreen, a UV protective outfit AND stay under an umbrella, but i think he enjoyed it just because he loves being outside. we had a blast. it was worth being in the car for a total of 20+ hours just to have 5 full days with my boys.

so ... life is still great ... and we are still loving this parenting journey. from the moment we peek over brady's crib in the morning and see his amazing smile and those big blue eyes, we know that ALL days will be good days. we are blessed!

some new pics...

2009-05-13T10:56:00.003-04:00

i told you they were cute! here are some updated pictures of brady. yummy!!! oh and if you need a great photographer, please let me know. he is awesome!

a new perspective on mother's day...

2009-05-11T21:08:00.011-04:00

it's funny ... i've spent my whole life celebrating MY mom on mother's day. i thank God for my mom. she is an amazing woman with a huge faith and a beautiful spirit. i am blessed beyond words to have had such a great influence in my life. i cherish celebrating this day with her. it's a tradition and i hope it never ends!

this year was even more special for all of us. for the first time i realized that someone (although he is too little to know it) will be celebrating ME on mother's day. wow. what an honor! all the mom's at church on sunday morning received a standing ovation and i just sat there, holding my baby in one arm and billy's hand in the other ... with tears in my eyes. it seemed so surreal. i can only hope and pray to be HALF the mother to brady that my mom has been to me.

billy and i are both truly, truly blessed with strong and honorable mothers. it was an incredible day. happy mother's day!!!

the worst blogger ever...

2009-05-06T13:34:00.021-04:00

i admit it ... i am officially the worst (or laziest) blogger on the planet. i have no excuse. i mean besides the fact that i am a wife, mother, daughter, friend, tennis player, house-keeper, full time employee, cook (well, um, sometimes), laundry doer, etc., right? my friend brooke and i laugh about how much our lives have changed over the past 23 years since we first became friends. it's been an amazing ride. we went from being kids with no responsibilities ... to high school students with a little responsibility ... to college students with a little more responsibility and now we are moms and wives with tons and tons of responsibility. neither of us would trade it for the world!

brady is SEVEN months old now. he is an adorable lump of love and sweetness. he is a chunky little thing (18 pounds!) and is laughing and gigglilng a lot. he smiles at familiar voices and faces ... and is FULL of joy. he has two teeth with a third one breaking through and is finally sitting up (although still a bit unsteady). he is actually getting some hair and has a nice, natural military style at the present time :). he still laughs at his daddy the most, and thinks he is super funny. he is paying lots of attention to toys now and is grabbing at everything he can get his hands on. of course then he wants to put them in his mouth! he is babbling and making lots of noises. he is still a great sleeper and always wakes up happy. billy and i usually hear him "talking" in the morning around 7:00 a.m., and we watch him on the monitor until around 7:30 when it's time for his bottle. he is eating three meals a day, with one extra bottle, and still eats like a champ.

our little man has grown and changed so much since the last time i blogged. we have survived yet another round of shots and 2 really bad colds (so pitiful!). in march brady was dedicated at church with his best friend levi. in april we had our first easter as a family and are now looking forward to our first family vacation over memorial day weekend. time really does fly! we are blessed beyond words. brady is such an amazing addition to our family and it brings tears to my eyes to think about how incredible our life is!

we had some 6 month pictures of brady taken that i will post soon. they melt my heart! oh ... and i will try to be better at this blogging thing, i promise!

Me? An NFL fan???

2009-01-25T21:03:00.008-05:00

so i am a southern girl through and through. i LOVE college football and will watch it (and enjoy it) ... no matter who is playing. i am a georgia fan because we grew up as georgia fans (go dawgs) and i cheer for vanderbilt because they are usually the underdog, AND my brother played football there. i love the SEC, and like most southerners, believe it is the best conference out there. i love all the bowl games, watching college game day on espn, seeing sacks, fumble recoveries, hard hits and upsets. but i have NEVER liked the NFL. NEVER. the closest i have ever come to being an NFL fan was when i was in college and thought troy aikman was cute ... go cowboys! i have been to some falcons games, but have always spent my time people-watching, eating snacks and watching the cheerleaders. it has always bored me like crazy. those guys are out there playing for millions of dollars ... and a lot of them are only playing for the money. but since marrying my sweet husband i have been forced to become a steelers fan. for the past 3 football seasons i have sort of rolled my eyes as he acts like one of "those" NFL fans, waiving his "terrible towel" around before, during and after the games and spends lots of money on steelers sweatshirts and gear for himself ... and now for brady. i recently made fun of him for driving to nashville to see the steelers lose to the titans and REALLY made fun of him for driving TEN hours to see the steelers clinch their division against the ravens. i mean who is crazy enough to drive 20 hours round-trip, spend over $100 on a ticket, spend 2 nights in a hotel with 2 other men, and sit in 15 degree weather to watch a PRO football game??? BUT ... i HAVE to admit that when troy palamalu intercepted the pass against the ravens and ran it back for a touchdown to pretty much assure the steelers would win and go to the super bowl, i got really excited! i jumped up off of the couch and cheered while brady and the dogs looked at me like i was crazy. brady was all dressed up in his steelers outfit, which was probably the cutest thing i've seen in a long time (see pic), and i was wishing that i had a "terrible towel" to wave myself. so now the steelers are going to the super bowl and for the first time in my life, i will actually CARE about the outcome. gooooooooooooo steelers!!!

i'm a slacker!

2009-01-18T19:30:00.015-05:00

it has been over a MONTH since my last entry. i am such a slacker. i have no idea how time flies by so quickly, but it really does. brady is already 3 1/2 months old, i'm back to work and january (my least favorite month) is already half way over! it's been an eventful month! our pediatrian strongly encouraged us to put brady in his crib as soon as possible, but since i really liked him being close, i put it off as long as billy would let me! finally on christmas night, i bit the bullet and hesitantly put him in that BIG crib all by himself. he did great (much better than i did, of course). he only woke up once to eat and went right back to sleep. then on january 3rd, his 3 month birthday, he started sleeping through the night. that boy is a champ! i swear he's the perfect child. i know he's mine, and i'm biased, but he really is an amazing little boy. he is smiling like crazy, cooing, giggling and kicking a lot. he loves when we talk and sing to him ... and he always seems very interested in what we have to say. he still struggles a little to hold his head up, which provoked us to affectionately call him "bobble head brady". he is adorable. i'm a proud momma, what can i say? it was TOUGH for me to go back to work, since i literally spent every minute of every day with him for 14 weeks. but we are SO, SO, SO blessed to have found a family that welcomed him into their home and are taking such good care of him. God is so good to have brought us all together. brady is happy and well taken care of, which made it a little easier to get back into the working world. i cried a lot the first day ... and a little every day the rest of the week. maybe this week will be easier. being a mom is a bigger blessing than i deserve!

life really is good!

2008-12-16T19:05:00.011-05:00

is there anything cuter than a little boy in his very first pair of "real" pajamas? i don't think so! yesterday brady and i went to lunch and shopping with a good friend of mine (shannon) and her new son (charlie) and i found these pajamas on sale at jake's house. i just couldn't resist ... and they were 50% off! even though brady is 9 pounds now, it is still a little bit of a challenge to find clothes that fit him. he's kind of in between newborn and 0-3 months. the plain 'ole 3 month clothes are still too big, bless his heart. but he's growing! we went to the pediatrician for his first set of shots the week after thanksgiving and he did GREAT. i am not ashamed to tell you that mommy waited in the car while daddy held brady's hand. supposedly he only cried for about 15 seconds until billy picked him up ... and then he was FINE. i think i was MUCH more of a whimp than brady was. yikes.

it's been a while since i've had a chance to blog. how does time pass so quickly?? we had a great thanksgiving ... billy's brother, sister-in-law, nephew and mom were here from pennsylvania, which was such a blessing. we had so much fun being together and introducing brady to his cousin, evan for the first time. oh how we wish they lived closer! the other exciting news is that my best friend (since 6th grade) officially adopted a little boy that was born on december 3rd!!! we were friends through middle school and high school ... we were college roommates and even roommates after college ... we have been by each other's sides through lots of drama, good times and bad ... and now we get to raise our sons together. it's been an incredible journey for their family (if you are a blogger, feel free to go to http://www.cowenadoption.blogspot.com/ to read all about it)! just one more blessing to remind us all how good life is!

four more weeks until i have to start back to work. i am still cherishing every moment with brady. today billy is out of town and there were a million things that i wanted to accomplish. but somehow i found myself napping on the couch with brady on my chest, savoring every moment because i know i will LONG for those moments when i go back to work. those thank you notes will get written at some point and my checkbook can be balanced later. in that moment i just wanted to snuggle with my boy. those are the most priceless moments in the world.

i love this time of year ... i love receiving christmas cards with letters and pictures of family and friends sharing what is going on in their lives. the holidays somehow make this world that we live in seem a little less crazy. they make the problems with our nation and economy seem a little less important. and they remind me that family and friends are really what make life so enjoyable. i've spent a lot of time thinking over the past 10 weeks that i have had off of work. perhaps the "quietness" of not being in the hustle and bustle of the working world has made me reflect on life in a different way. but i have become a much more thankful person, one who truly cherishes family and friends more than ever before.

so yes, life is good and i thank God every single day for the blessings. until next time...

the best thanksgiving ever...

2008-11-24T13:16:00.005-05:00

wow ... do we have a lot to be thankful for! this time last year i was thankful to have an amazing fiance, and we were planning our december wedding. little did we know that in less than a year our family would be expanding and all of our dreams would come true! billy and i got married on december 29th (what an AMAZING day) and found out on february 21st that little brady was on the way! we were 4 weeks along and were filled with joy. God has been so good to us! brady is doing great ... he is eating like crazy and has started sleeping almost 5 hours at a time. i am in my 8th week of maternity leave and am already dreading the fact that i will have to leave him in january. BUT, we are thankful for an amazing lady that is going to be taking care of him during the day. God really answered that prayer in a mighty way! more things that make us thankful: old friends and new friends, family that is close to home and family that is far away, our health, a roof over our heads, jobs, benefits, freedom, our dogs, the simplicity of a lazy saturday morning, a cozy warm bed, prayers, marriage, love and a hopeful future. when i look back over the past several years, i realize that things, however crazy and hard they may seem, always work out for the good. that is not just a cliche' to me ... it is so true. i think we've all been through tough times where we could not imagine WHY we were going through those things. but to be able to look back and make sense of it all REALLY makes me thankful!

time flies!

2008-11-20T19:24:00.004-05:00

i cannot believe that brady will be SEVEN WEEKS old tomorrow. it has flown by so quickly. so many of my girlfriends have told me to enjoy this "baby time" because it will go by so fast. i am beginning to see what they mean! brady is growing like crazy and is long and lean like his daddy. he doesn't feel as fragile as he did when we first brought him home (thank God for that!). our pediatrician recommended, since he was so small at birth and we are now into flu season, that we keep him close to home for 8 weeks. that sounded like an eternity to me at the time, but it has been the sweetest time of my life. he is such an amazing blessing and i am reminded every time i look at him how sweet God's love is. having a child has given me a whole new faith and appreciation for the miracle of life. even at 4:00 in the morning when i get up to feed our hungry little boy and then rock him while he is lying on my chest, i am joyful. i constantly look at him and smile. even when he's crying (oh and by the way, he ONLY cries when he's hungry). he is a happy little dude, eats like a champ and sleeps until he's ready to eat again. thankfully my husband is a trooper and a team player (again, i am so thankful), so he typically gets up for the first feeding around midnight and i get up around 4:00 a.m. it's a great life! since his name is brady william, billy likes to call him "bee dubs" ... you know, like a stage name ... just to be funny. when he says that to brady now, he smiles. he is starting to focus in on our eyes and will occasionally flash that big, gummy smile that will melt your heart. he is so yummy!!! when we went to the pediatrician last tuesday for his one month check-up (which was actually at 5 1/2 weeks) he weighed SEVEN pounds EIGHT ounces. our little man is growing! we are so proud of him. i am grateful to have seven more weeks at home with him and to spend the holidays with my new family. december will be a big month for us ... billy and i will be celebrating our one year anniversary and brady will have his first christmas. God is soooooo good!!

brady william burke

2008-11-08T14:11:00.000-05:00

brady came into the world on october 3, 2008 at 7:48 p.m. we knew he was breech and because of that, had scheduled a c-section for october 21st (one week prior to my due date). well brady decided to break my water 3 1/2 weeks early, so needless to say, we were not prepared! God loves to sneak up on us, doesn't he? i had just had lunch with my boss and was headed to an office when my water broke. i calmly called my doctor, my husband, my mom, my sister-in-law ... and NO ONE answered the phone. i finally got in touch with a nurse who told me to head straight to the hospital since brady was breech ... they didn't want to chance me going into labor. i also finally got in touch with billy (whose cell phone wasn't working) and we agreed to meet at the hospital. we had not packed a bag, so billy was running around the house (with the dogs following his every move ... they knew something was going on) trying to gather what he thought i might need to have a baby! since i had just eaten lunch, we had to wait 5 hours to get the epidural. i was not contracting, so i was not in any pain at all, which was a huge blessing. once billy arrived at the hospital, we just waited in a room, talked, laughed and were almost giddy with excitement about meeting our little man. after the epidural at 7:30 p.m. and a few pre-op technicalities, brady was born! he was such a trooper ... only weighed 5 pounds 3 ounces, but passed ALL tests with flying colors. his lungs were fully developed and he was a champ with the suck, swallow and breathe reflex. he was totally 100% healthy and the doctors had NO concerns whatsoever. we were all shocked at how small he was. turns out i had a HUGE fibroid on my uterus that may have prevented much more growth and probably caused my water to break. dr. scott was able to remove the fibroid during the procedure (thank God!). hearing our baby cry and seeing his little face was the most amazing moment of our lives. he was (and is) perfect ... and looks just like his daddy. what a handsome devil he is!! the love that fills our hearts for him is overwhelming. everyone tells you how incredible it is, but you truly can't understand it until you experience your own child. unbelievable. we are so very blessed and thank God for little brady william burke!

here we go!

2008-11-08T11:45:00.000-05:00

so billy and i have finally given into the "blogging rage" that surrounds us! i was in denial for a long time and refused to be a "blogger", because after all, who really cares about what we're doing? but after viewing ... and enjoying ... many friend's blogs i realzed how interesting and enjoyable it is to read and learn about people through their blogs, discover other people through their blogs, etc. etc. it's an amazing way to stay connected! i finally came to the conclusion that since it is such an easy, fun way to keep in touch, we should try it! the idea of this blog started so that billy's HUGE family in pennsylvania could be updated on stories about brady, pictures of brady and the happenings of the atlanta burke family. our visits are (sadly) few and far between with family, so this will hopefully help shorten the miles between us and somehow bridge the distance to make us all feel closer. be patient with us, as we are learning to become more comfortable with this blogging thing. it's going to be fun!