Baby Lily Update

Russ finally agreed to a name!  Lily!!  Well, just a first name, the middle name is still to be debated, but I like Lily Faith Burton.


Yesterday was our second UVA appointment.  The baby has doubled in size (she now weighs three pounds!), but is still too small, so we have to go back in a few weeks.  I'm positive she will be just fine, but am grateful the doctors are taking the 'better safe than sorry' approach.  The specialist also said that we will be needing to see our OB every week now to do biophysical profiles, stress tests, and sonos with each visit.  I am so grateful for modern technology in medicine, as well that we will be able to make all these doctor trips without having to worry about our car breaking down, since we have already had to buy a new one.  Our OB is an hour away, and UVA is 1 1/2 hours from our home. Oh, and she still looks like her brother in the ultrasound images.  :)  Now we know she is guaranteed to be adorable.  :)
I can feel her move almost constantly now, and she has finally decided to stretch her legs and take up more space than just below my belly button (I am looking pregnant, now...!).  I am currently 32 weeks along, and will post a picture when I am feeling well enough.  She keeps me up all night, while Luke keeps me up all day.  Some days I feel like a zombie, other days I am simply running on empty.  While she has limited what kind of cardio exercise I do, I can still do my yoga almost every day, and low impact exercise machines do not bother me (like the elliptical or bike).  She does not let me eat much at all anymore, and with this fit of sickness we've been having, I am mostly drinking my meals (soup, chicken broth, orange juice, and lots of water.).  It is so strange how different pregnancies can be.  ;)


Again, I feel that the baby will be just fine, but thought that the update would be appreciated by those who cannot be here for the baby.  We love you all and hope life is wonderful for each of you.  :)  

Christmas!

Sorry it's so late; we've been really sick nearly the entire Christmas Break... but here it is!!!


Not only was it another wonderful Christmas for us, but it was our first Christmas together as a little family.  We were able to establish traditions (some adopted from Russ' family, some from mine, and some we just made), which was so much fun.  On Christmas Eve we snacked, listened to Christmas music, and watched Elf (our only Christmas movie, but Luke thought it was funny).  We just had a casual dinner of bbq ham sandwiches and homemade mac and cheese, read from Luke 2, and sang Christmas songs before putting Luke to bed.  It was very weird being the "parents"  and needing to be the ones to fill the stockings, organize the presents, etc.  :)

This is our Christmas Tree 
...sorry, I cannot figure out how to align the pictures so that you won't have to turn your head to see it properly...I have no idea what I'm doing half the time I am on the computer...




 Christmas morning was so wonderful! We woke Luke up and brought him to the living room.  It took him a bit to adjust to the fact that while he was not allowed to touch the wrapped boxes before, he was suddenly encouraged and cheered on to do so now.  That did not last long, however, once he realized what was under the wrapping paper...

Luke opening his first present (daddy had to show that its ok to do it, now)

 It was a mozart music cube! He loves pretending to be a conductor (he takes it very seriously, look at that look of concentration!)

 He got a fire truck from our friends the Knudson Family (he let out a loud "ooooo!" when he saw it. ) :)

 He didn't need any help unwrapping by now. :)

One of his favorite gifts:  a night light turtle; it lights the entire room with stars and constellations.  thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Burton!

Russ and I got some really nice gifts, too...

 Cake decorating tools!  Huzzah!

The crazy candid shot of my reaction to Russ' mom getting me a coach bag.  :)  I liked it.  :)

 Russ getting super mario brothers wii from his mom

 My Russell got me a real pearl necklace while he was at Colonial Williamsburg.  Yes, the pregnancy hormones took over and I started happy crying.  I've always wanted a pearl necklace.  :)

 Dress for Baby Lily (YES, SHE HAS A FIRST NAME, NOW!!!!)

 Really warm earmuffs that Luke seems to think belong to him. :)

Trivial Pursuit for Russell.  :)

Our first Christmas Dinner as a family:  We wanted it to be a nice dinner, but also within our small budget and small appetite, so we got....

 Our Cornish Hen!  We thought it looked so funny because of how small it was that we decided to dress it up and add to the humour.  :)

 The feast! (cornish hen, mashed potatoes, my mom's amazing rolls, veggies, and cranberry sauce in the form of the can...russ was very specific about that). :).  If you did not previously know, Russ and Luke are both intense cranberry sauce lovers, so getting just one can was risky...

 Luke gets really hyper after eating three foods:  ranch, ranch with chicken, cranberry sauce.  Christmas day he had all three.  :)

 Laughing at whatever Daddy was doing.  :)

 Russ attacking the hen.  poor thing didn't stand a chance.  :)

 I think Russ won...

Christmas morning we had cinnamon rolls and frozen berries.  Luke doesn't like bread, but loves the berries.  :)

Alrighty, that was our Christmas.  It was wonderful to be able to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, recieve wonderful gifts from family and friends, and spend time together as a family.  May we be able to keep the spirit of Christmas throughout the year and into next Christmas.  We love you all and pray that the Lord will continue to bless you in 2011.  Merry Christmas!  

Catch Up Before the Christmas Hustle

I was looking through some pictures that some friends had taken of us prior to Russell getting his new camera, and some of them I wanted family to see. So, without further ado, the photos:

 Luke playing with baby Zoie (our friend Hillary's little girl) September 2010.  He is so sweet and gentle with babies; he's going to be such a wonderful big brother.  In this picture he was helping her keep her binky in her mouth.  :)

 Luke and Daddy at Penny Park, I want to say end of October because I just got to the 6 months pregnant part when we spent the day at the park.

Luke racing through the tunnels at the park.  If you couldn't tell, he loved it.  :)

Luke and I playing at a friends house the day after we played in the park.

My little boy is so darling.  :)  These pictures were taken right before Thanksgiving, so I was just starting my third trimester.  :)

Family photo, same day.  Russ and I both look weird because we had to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" and blow raspberries right before each picture was taken to make Luke smile for the picture. I don't care, though, it was worth it.  Look at his smile!  

 This is one that I found and just had to put up.  It was taken in August when we made a very last minute trip to MS so we could return the Buick to Russell's parents before school started.  Not the smartest thing to do with a kid, but it was so nice seeing Russell's family, especially his dad because he was leaving to Iraq in November. 
  

Baby Burton #2 Update

On Thursday Russ, Luke, and I went to UVA for a fetal echo and an ultrasound.  The results for our baby are in, and thank goodness they are good:  The heart is in fact normal size as well as the stomache, but what made it not look good to our Dr. was because the baby was very small.  She is in the 14th percentile of her weight and size (she weighs 1 1/2 pounds when she should be weighing 3).  As for her irregular heartbeat- there is nothing they can do about that during the pregnancy except keep an eye on it.  If it is more serious than a PAC, then they will do something about it after she is born.  We will be going back to UVA Hospital on December 30th to check on the growth of the baby-if she is still not progressing as they would like, then we may need to do an early delivery, but I honestly don't think that will be the case.  I am feeling much better now that we have these results.  :)
Now I want to share something that I personally found to be exciting:  I think that Luke and his baby sister (still no name) will have the same mouth and nose.  Here is Luke's ultrasound image at 23 or 24 weeks (don't mind the reflection, the paper is super shiny on the sono images):

 

Here is baby burton's 29 week sono:

And, of course, I couldn't resist adding this.  I put him down for his nap (in his new toddler bed), tucked him in, gave him a kiss, and left the room to him snuggling with his bear. While in the living room, I hear noises coming from his bedroom for about 15 minutes, then absolute silence.  I went to check on him, and I found him like this.  I am so grateful Russ' mom got Russ a camera for his birthday, otherwise I would not have been able to record this precious moment.  :)  I have the cutest little toddler boy ever!!

Our Little Man

For those who have not seen Luke much (or not at all), this post is for you.
Luke Sterling Burton was born May 23rd, 2009 in Fishersville, VA.  He weighed 7 lb, 2 oz and was in perfect health.  From day one he was showered with love, well wishes, and wonderful gifts from family, friends, and ward members from all over.  The love and support from these wonderful people helped strengthen Russ and I as we adjusted to parenthood, and raise our family in love.
Luke got big fast, and was the ideal newborn.  He had a hearty appetite, slept well, was the perfect traveler (as long as Mom was next to him), and was a very happy baby.

On his first Halloween, we couldn't find an affordable costume, so he was...a...pumpkin...?  :)

Our friend Joel holding Luke at our Halloween Party, October 2009

We were blessed to go to Kansas  for his first Thanksgiving, and Mississippi for his first Christmas.

Luke November 2009

Luke with Grandma Burton December 2009

We celebrated Easter with an Easter Egg hunt in our backyard.

his first birthday was alot of fun.  Uncle Kim came down to celebrate and we had many of our friends come.  

His birthday cake was the first cake I had decorated with fondant.  :)

Each summer Russ goes to a 4-5 week ROTC training.  Since Luke and I cannot go with him, we go to Kansas or Mississippi.  This year Grandma Gonzalez came up from Santiago, Chile.  By the end of our visit, Luke understood just as much spanish as english.  :)

Abuelita, Luke and I, July 2010

Unfortunately our camera has not been working, but this year for Halloween Luke was a Knight.  The Dollar Tree had a good collection, and Goodwill had grey pants!  He still likes to walk around wearing his shield and breastplate.

On Thanksgiving we discovered that Luke is not only a passionate black olive and cheese eater, but he loves his cranberry sauce.  No one had a chance to get any because Luke ate the whole can!

Happenings during the Holidays

I do not think it is a hidden fact that Russell and I are both terrible at keeping in frequent contact with our many loved ones.  While we regularly think and pray for our amazing and supportive family and friends, we do not write them as frequently as they deserve.  It is our hope that this blog will help us improve on this flaw, and that you all will be able to enjoy keeping up with the Burtons. :)

As many of you know, Russ went on a Historic Virginia Trip with the University during the Thanksgiving Holiday.  He visited a few plantations, had thanksgiving dinner at Jamestown (where the first thanksgiving dinner took place), and had the opportunity to spend a few days at Colonial Williamsburg.  It was a great experience for him, but unfortunately our camera is not working so he was not able to take pictures.  Here are, however, some pictures from the Colonial Williamsburg site.

While he was there, Luke and I spent Thanksgiving with some friends and got the house ready for Christmas.  Luke was a very good helper and learned fast not to play with the Christmas ornaments.  :)

Luke is the typical toddler- very curious but shy.  He runs, he tries to jump, he loves Winnie the Pooh, and farm animals.  I can honestly say (not just because I am his mother) that he has a very sweet spirit and is quick to give you a kiss or a hug without being asked to.  He loves nursery and is always sad to leave.  He is 18 months now and is already a big fan of Mozart's symphonies.  :)

Russ is non stop busy this semester with preparing for his senior recital, leading the ROTC cadets at SVU, working at the university's cafe, and finishing up his senior year.  We just celebrated his fake birthday (his real birthday is so close to Christmas that his family created a fake birthday for him, and it has stuck with us).  We spent that evening with a small group of friends, and Luke discovered the heavenly goodness of chocolate-covered peanut butter balls.  :)

As for myself and this pregnancy, it has been very different than my experience with Luke.  I cannot even begin to say how excited I am to be having a girl.  We have, however, recently come across some unfortunate news with the baby.  At our last ultrasound the doctor noticed several things that caused concern.  The amniotic fluid level was low, her heart was larger than normal, she had an irregular heartbeat, and her stomach was much smaller than it should have been.  We are scheduled to see a specialist at UVA Hospital in Charlottesville next week.  While none of these symptoms are good, we are relying on the Lord that this little girl will be alright.  We are currently just focusing on living our normal and busy schedules, keeping the spirit of Christmas in perspective, and praying for the baby to be alright.    We are so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel and the peace and comfort it brings to our lives during our more difficult times.

To end in a more positive note: Life is sweet, and the Lord is so good to us. May we all enjoy the holidays and the sweet spirit that comes with celebrating the birth of our Savior.