Look Alike??

I've gotten differing opinions on whether my girls look alike--I think they have some similarities, but of course their own unique features as well. So, I thought it would be fun to post a couple pics of Mara Kate as a baby to compare with baby Evelyn.

What do you think?!! Do they look alike? What's your opinion?...

baby Mara Kate, awake

baby Evelyn, awake.

baby Mara Kate, asleep.

baby Evelyn, asleep

Both so sweet and beautiful in my opinion, but there's no question I am biased. :)

The "Cousin Picture"

Yesterday we made a quick day trip over to Birmingham to celebrate my niece, Olivia's 3rd birthday and my nephew Liam's 9th birthday. We were only all together for a few hours, but it was a fun day for sure.

One of the other things we did while we were at my sister's house was take the most recent "cousin picture". This picture is always something we take whenever all the cousins are together, especially if a new baby has been born since the last picture was taken. Well, since Evelyn is only 8 weeks old this was the first time all the cousins had been together since she was born.

So, below you will see the MOST up to date Burton Cousin pic, but I've also included the last few, so you can see the progression of growth over the past 4 years! ha!

Christmas, 2005---Mara Kate was 1 month old.
Alley, Liam, Dresden, Grant & Mara Kate.
We refer to Grant, Dresden and Mara Kate as the "2005 babies"
as they all three were born in 2005.

...then little miss Olivia was added in 2007.

...then sweet Megan was added in 2008.

...then cute Lily was added at the very beginning of this year---January 2010.

...and now our Evie was born mid-year 2010---June 4th.
What a couch full of blessings---and look at all those cute little toes--90 in all!! :)

Favorites

These are a few of my favorite things...

...the smell of a clean (and lotioned) baby right after a bath.

...my baby girl SO content and relaxed her her Daddy's arms...so much so that her arm is completely flopped back. :)



...tiny feet and tiny toes. Perfect and sweet in every way possible.
A reflection of God's great attention to detail.

Road to Recovery & Life at Home

Sorry it's been awhile since we've updated the blog. As you can imagine, life with a new little baby has been quite busy.

Here's an update on Evelyn and how she has improved since Kane's last post.

Evelyn improved so much while in Atlanta that she was too well to stay at Egleston after only 3 days in their care. Because Children's only take and keep the sickest babies we were told she would need to be back-transported to the Rome hospital where she was born.

In Atlanta---waiting on the transport team to pick her up and take her back to Rome.

Last Monday evening a transport team came and picked her up and she arrived back at the NICU in Rome late Monday evening. Kane went and made sure she was settled in that evening and the next day we began a busy week of visiting her multiple times a day while she focused on regaining strength and learning how to eat. I had worked diligently to make sure she had enough pumped milk for each feeding (every 3 hours). I also worked with her 2-3 times a day in the NICU to learn how to nurse, but always offered her a bottle of pumped milk afterward to make sure she was eating enough. I wanted to breastfeed her more often, but we had to find a balance between pushing her to learn to nurse, without wearing her out. She wasn't strong enough while in the NICU to nurse at every feeding. But, thankfully I was able to attempt breastfeeding with her a couple feedings a day during that week. I was so glad that she took to it well and was well on her way to understanding the concept before she even came home.

The time she spent in the Rome NICU was very draining to us all. Although we were "at home" and able to sleep in our own beds, we were making multiple trips to the hospital each day, working hard with her while we were there and trying to find time to rest, pump, eat and sleep in between. Emotionally is was very difficult for me as well----going to "visit" your baby for an hour or so then just leave. I fought some feelings of guilt and had to pray through each moment of discouragement. I also prayed many, many times for patience through those days. I so badly just wanted to bring her home and having to wait until the proper time was very wearing.

During her time in the NICU my parents were here (my dad arriving the day after she was brought back to Rome) so my dad was able to come up to the hospital one time to meet Evelyn and so did my niece Alley who was visiting with my parents and helping take care of Mara Kate. Mara Kate also got to come twice during that week to visit her little sister. The first time she just got to look at her and rub her head and the second time she got to hold her, which were both very special family moments for us. I was so thankful for my mom who held down the fort at home with household things that needed to be done, cooking and taking care of Mara Kate so Kane and I could be freed up to go back and forth to the hospital. I felt like those trips and feedings each day were my full-time job for that week.

At the Rome NICU---Mara Kate meeting her new little sister for the first time.

The blankets surrounding her were ones Kane & I slept with, so she would be able to smell us even while in the NICU. Hard to see your baby attached to so many tubes, but oh so thankful there wasn't one stuck down her throat anymore, breathing for her. She was doing much, much better at this point.

Mara Kate holding Evelyn for the first time. She was very loving.

Working on a bottle of mommy's milk---getting stronger by the day!

We were SO thankful when doctor in Rome told us she could come home on Saturday (June 12, only 1 week and 1 day after birth), once her round of antibiotics was finished. It was wonderful waking up that morning knowing that I'd get to go pick up my baby and bring her home to STAY! We did exactly that and it was fun to finally see all the wires, iv port and electrodes removed from her chest and arms and be able to dress her up in the "coming home outfit" I had bought. It is hard to believe it was only 8 days since she was in such critical condition until the time that she was perfectly healthy and ready to come home. When we were getting her ready to come home the doctor told us, "You should care for her as if she is a normal, healthy newborn---because that's what she is." All I can say is---ONLY GOD!!

Getting her dressed to come home!

All dressed up---with a bow! As someone said,
"She's a gift from God and came home wrapped in a bow!"

Finally home

Mara Kate (and my parents and niece) were waiting
and ready to greet her when we arrived.

We have had such a wonderful time having Evelyn at home. Life actually feels much calmer now that we aren't having to think about when to be at the hospital next or when I should pump. She is rapidly becoming a nursing champ and I've already put away all the bottles and the breast pump. We've spent a lot of time cuddling together and just learning more each day about who this new little family member is!

So far she has been a pretty easy baby. She only cries when she has a good reason to and she sleeps fairly well too (as well as can be expected from a 2 week old). I feel much calmer and more confident in the mothering realm this time around, which is nice and Mara Kate is learning how to be gentle yet still loving. It been a wonderful week all the way around!

My parents have gone now and Kane's mom Tuie is here and is also enjoying lots of Evie cuddles. Evelyn will meet some more family this weekend too! We are simply enjoying our baby, enjoying time with family and enjoying the help they've all been to us as well!

Life at Home...

Awake and happy---swaddled in her cradle.

Snoozing in the bouncy seat

Getting lots of attention

First bath at home

Squeaky clean :)

Sporting their matching Big Sister & Little Sister t-shirts
As a friend on facebook said,
"SO big, SO little... SO awake, SO asleep!"
:)

We are just extremely thankful to God for giving her back to us after we thought we might be losing her! We are humbled at the gift she is and are praising God for her life and for the love He has given us for her. My heart is much bigger today than it was even just a few weeks ago---simply amazing!

Thank you to EACH and EVERY friend and person who said a prayer for us and for our sweet little Evelyn. We truly needed and felt your prayers and love!!!

We are so very blessed!

Ponderings

We are getting closer and closer to Evelyn's arrival and in some ways it still doesn't seem real that she'll be here soon.

Maybe it hasn't hit me yet because when you wait 9 months for something to happen, by the time it finally arrives it kind of takes you by surprise. I know our life is about to change forever, by welcoming another member into our family.

I've been thinking about the dynamic of our family and how it has been around here for the past 4 and 1/2 years with just Kane, Mara Kate and I and how in just a few short weeks it'll be changing forever and will never go back to the way it was.

I'm very excited, a little anxious/nervous and also a little concerned about the adjustment it will be for us all. I am ready to see how Mara Kate does with another child in the house. A sibling. I know the concept is completely foreign to her and that she is old enough to really remember this change as it happens. We have had babies come visit. She loves it when her younger cousins come visit for a few days, but then they always go home and it always has gone back to being just the three of us. I wonder how long it will take for her to really "get" the fact that this baby is just as much a part of our family as she is and isn't leaving. Maybe it won't be hard at all and I hope the adjustment is easy and wonderful---but still--I wonder how she'll take it all in. I want to help her adjust, but at the same time, I know some of it will just happen--by just living life.

I'm starting to remember the sleepless nights and all the little needs that come with having a new baby in your home. I'm trying to mentally prepare myself to go back to those days of having a newborn after so long of not having to think about it. I haven't had to worry about naps, nursing, diapers, etc. for quite awhile. We pretty much have a routine down with Mara Kate. And the routine we have is very easy & mostly predictable. We know at bedtime that she will go to bed easily and sleep for close to 11 hours (unless she is sick or something unusual is going on). We have gotten into a groove and I know we are getting ready to be bumped out of it and I'm trying to brace myself for the ride that's coming!

I have thought since Mara Kate has been able to communicate how nice it is when something is wrong, she can just tell us what it is...where she hurts, etc. With a baby it's always a guessing game---why are they crying, what is wrong? This is something I'm also trying to prepare myself for.

I have had several people tell me that having #2 isn't as overwhelming emotionally because (even though it's been a while) I have done this all before! I'm hoping that is all comes back to me, like riding a bike, but I guess there is a little part of me that knows that right now I'm in the calm before the storm. :)

I really am looking forward to meeting this baby and can't wait to just see what she looks like. When I picture her, all I can see is Mara Kate's newborn face. I don't have any other point of reference and it'll be so interesting to see if there are similarities or not in my girls. When I think about labor and delivery all I can think about is how it was with Mara Kate. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I'll have different memories surrounding Evelyn's arrival and will need to try to keep them straight in my mind (and write them in the baby book so I don't forget).

I've also had people tell me that before #2 arrives it's sometimes hard to imagine loving another child the way you love the one you already have, but that your heart grows instantaneously once the second one arrives. I'm so looking forward to falling in love with Evelyn in that way once she is in our arms.

I am officially considered "full-term" now that I've reached 37 weeks. It feels good to get to the point of knowing that if she came today, although she'd still be early, she wouldn't be considered a premature. That's a comforting place to be.

I have an ultra-sound scheduled for tomorrow so they can confirm if she is head-down the way she is supposed to be. It'll be good to have that knowledge as we continue to wait and prepare for her arrival.

Almost Ready

If you know me at all then you know that I literally live my life by lists. I make lists for almost everything I do. I feel organized when I do this, I don't forget things (most of the time) and I tend to be very productive when I can check things off of a physical list as I get them done.

So, at the beginning of my pregnancy when ideas started popping into my head and I started thinking about all that needed to be ready by the time this baby arrived I promptly sat down and made a list. In time the list grew as I thought of more things that needed to be done, but at this point I feel like I've thought through everything and I feel like we are almost ready for Evelyn to arrive! What a wonderful feeling!

Below is the list I made several months ago and I'm pleased to say that almost everything is DONE.


Before Baby Arrives--To Do's and Purchases

-car seat (check---we received this at our shower, which was awesome!)

-Joovy Caboose double stroller (check- my sister found a barely used one at a consignment store in Birmingham so we got a great deal on this purchase, praise the Lord!)

-register for baby shower (check)

-buy fabric and make nursing cover (check)

-sew ribbon on burp cloths (check)

-buy diaper bag on eBay (check)

-have diaper bag embroidered (check)

-clean out/organize closet in guest room (check)

-dresser for baby's closet (check--Evelyn actually got the dresser that was in Mara Kate's room as it fit better in the more narrow closet in our guest room. We bought Mara Kate a new white dresser to match her white furniture from IKEA---we love IKEA!)

-buy or make bed skirt for guest bed, in order to hide everything I moved from the closet to underneath the bed (check--thanks to my mother in law for sewing the skirt panels for me when I was feeling quite overwhelmed by this project)

-pre-register at the hospital (check)

-tour labor and delivery floor at hospital (check)

-hang letters on wall of baby's name (check--thanks to my dear husband for installing the cabinet knobs I found at Lowe's to make this project turn out just the way I was imagining. He's wonderful like that!)

-buy baby book (check---it has been ordered online and I'm anxiously awaiting it's arrival)

-order interchangeable headbands for baby, these hold bows and if you know me at all you know how I am about bows on my girls! (check--got a great deal on eBay)

-diapers, wipes, desitin, gas drops, lotion, shampoo (check-- of course these items will be purchased again and again in time, but we at least have some to get us started)

-make room sign/hang sign on door (check)

-buy "coming home" outfit (NOT DONE--I'm still shopping for the perfect thing)

So, I'll continue shopping for the perfect outfit for Evelyn to wear home from the hospital. For some reason this is important to me. Also, my in-laws are coming to visit next weekend and there are a few more baby items they will bring to us that are currently stored in their basement. So, after their visit I will be able to set up the baby cradle in our room, which is where Evelyn will be in her first weeks. They are also bringing the baby swing and the rest of the components to our pack n play so we can take advantage of the bassinet setting.

Evelyn's things are in our guest room/office for now. I think it will actually be nice to have a bed in the room where the baby's things are. We didn't use a full sized crib with Mara Kate, due to lack of space and we decided we didn't need one for this baby either. I'll set the pack in play up in a corner of the guest room and that will be her bed. I have a little table in the corner of the room with some "baby items" on it and the closet directly to the right of this table is where all the other baby stuff is. I brought Mara Kate home to a one bedroom apartment and she lived with us there until she was 18 months old, so I feel confident that Evelyn will do just fine using two corners of our guest room, rather than having an entire nursery to herself. I'm guessing she won't even know the difference. :)

Evelyn's corner

I had forgotten just how tiny newborn diapers are.

Little basket of baby goodies.
I found these precious little booties for $1 at a consignment store here in Rome

Closet--full of teeny, tiny, frilly, girl-y clothes. :)
(and my sewing machine)

bows, shoes, socks, bloomers, hats
(I absolutely LOVE the drawer organizers from IKEA)

pj's and gowns

onesies, pacifiers, grooming kit, etc.

burp cloths and various extra supplies

New pink and brown car seat, with infant head support.
(We bought a second hand travel system that we used with Mara Kate and decided not to keep it after she outgrew it. So, it'll be fun to have a brand new car seat for baby #2!)

Dear Evelyn, your mommy is also a second born and I totally understand that you need a few things of your own that were NOT handed down to you from your older sister! :)

So we've got a little under 7 weeks to go!!!

All About Evelyn

We are getting more and more excited to welcome our second daughter into our hearts and home in just a few more weeks! Here are pictures of some of the things I've been working on to carve out a little place for her at our house.

(even though her "room" is also currently our office and guest room, it will still be considered hers)

close up

Name letters hung on the wall.

I bought the cheapest cabinet knobs they sell at Lowe's (who uses pale pink ceramic knobs on kitchen cabinets these days anyway??) and had Kane hang the letters from the decorative knobs rather than just nails. Love the look it gives. Kane also got a new toy..er, I mean...tool in the process. A big bolt cutter! If you are interested in how to hang knobs in the wall, let me know and I'll send you the tutorial I found online.

New "girly" diaper bag.
My sister bought this same bag for her newest baby, Lily and I totally copied her for Evelyn! I got it on eBay for just $1.29 (plus $10 shipping), but still a really great deal!

close up

Also, my aunt Jane who lives in Arkansas is making coordinating big sister/little sister shirts for the girls to wear. She has an amazing embroidery machine (wish we lived closer). I'm also having her personalize a few burp cloths as well. Once I get them I'll be sure to post pictures of them as well!

This is one of the really FUN parts about finding out the gender ahead of time---being able to have time to think and be creative (before you are TOO tired to do so) and have some cute things personalized and ready to go when they arrive!

31 weeks

The last belly pic I posted was at 26 weeks. So, here's another one...

Baby Evelyn and I at 31 weeks.
Only 9 weeks to go!

Fun with Friends

Earlier this week Mara Kate and I made an overnight trip to Atlanta. I had really been wanting to get my hands on my friend Christy's new baby, Jack and we also made plans to see the Lopez family (since Andria and I had been wanting to catch up for awhile. We are both pregnant and due just days from one another, so we thought it would be fun to talk about our coming babies and just hang out too). Also, Katie and I had been talking for awhile about getting the girls together for their first official sleep over so since I was going to be in Atlanta we made plans to just bring Ella Ann home with us. So, even though I didn't get to see everyone this visit, we did get some good quality time with a couple people and had fun bringing a friend home with us to play with Mara Kate and spend the night.

We arrived at the Lopez's house Tuesday afternoon and the kids had fun playing outside for awhile before supper time.

Mara Kate and Diego playing with an outdoor rocket toy. Very fun!

Alexia just enjoying being outside with everyone---what a happy girl she is!

More rocket fun!

Once Ricardo got home from work we all loaded up in their van and headed over to Home Depot. The Lopez's are planning to plant a few new trees in their yard soon and wanted to get an idea of what was available. The kids enjoyed looking at all the trees and herbs too and just running around together while we were there.

After our stop at Home Depot we headed out for a fun and yummy supper at La Fonda Latina. Their chicken tacos, beans and rice were oh.so.yummy. I want to go back again soon!

Andria & me

And us again with our babies! We are due just 3 days apart!
It'll be fun to see which baby makes it's appearance first when the time comes!

Mara Kate and Diego hanging out in the back seat of the van, just having fun!

Mara Kate & Alexia sitting together at breakfast the next morning. Enjoying the beautiful morning and the pretty back yard.

"Hi girls!"

After our time with the Lopez's we went to see Christy, Andre and baby Jack. It was great to see Christy and catch up a bit, hold baby Jack and also let Mara Kate get in a little snuggle time too.

Mara Kate & baby Jack.
Still seems hard to believe that in less than 3 months we'll have a tiny baby like this around our house again.

Then, it was time to go over to the Jensen's. Katie had planned to surprise Ella Ann about us being in town for a visit and also the plan of her coming home with us to spend the night. Mara Kate and I went with Katie to pick Ella Ann up from preschool. It was fun surprising her and she was very excited to see us and to find out that we had invited her to come home with us for lots of good play time with Mara Kate.

Sweet friends excited to be together!

The sleepover went well and we'll meet up with Katie this afternoon to return Ella Ann, but until then the girls are having a blast playing, playing, playing.

I'll be posting about the sleepover soon, so stay tuned for pictures and details. :)