The pile is growing....

It has been quite a while since my last post. I keep trying to be better at posting more regularly, but then either nothing that I think of as "noteworthy" happens or I just get too busy that I forget. Most of the time I feel like I am under a pile of life "stuff" that boggs me down, and lately it seems to be growing. Here's hoping that this year will bring time to MAKE things noteworthy!

I found out last fall that my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. My grandpa had been diagnosed in the '90's so my dad was getting his PSA levels checked regularly, thankfully. This is the reason that it was caught so early, and the reason that he was able to have robotic surgery to remove his prostate and required no further treatment. I didn't accept the news all that well when my parents first told me. For those that really know me, it is no surprise - I don't initially handle bad news all that great if it deals with life & death, and have not always handled death gracefully. Once I really absorbed what they had told me and got all of the pieces of information, I was able to realize that this was not bad news. Yes it was cancer, but the bottom line is that it is not a bad cancer to have and it was caught so early that he had options. The day came and my sis and I stayed with my mom while dad was in surgery, chatting and perusing the hospital gift shop. Everything came out great and the pathology showed that it was all contained and removed, THANK YOU GOD.

He had 6 weeks to recover and then he was to undergo his second surgery/hospitalization of his life (quite impressive really that both happened within a few months of his 65th birthday), a 3 level spinal fusion. Spinal stenosis has been causing problems for him for a while and after working with a neurosurgeon for almost a year it was decided that surgery was his option. Once again we found ourselves in a hospital for what was this time a very long day. Surgery went perfectly and after wearing a collar for a month he got the OK to take it off this past Friday, and he is once again able to drive! That made my mom's day more than anything ;-)

Christmas this year was a lot of fun with E. He definitely knows how to unwrap presents, but we enjoyed watching him so focused on what he was getting that he would forget he had more to unwrap and I would have to finish for him while he played with his new toys/books. By the third family celebration he was finally unwrapping all of his gifts instead of the first one or two. I try to keep the amount of toys we have down to an amount that he can play with everything he has - I never want him to have so much that he doesn't know what he has and doesn't play with half of it. We got a lot of great books this year and a few great toys too.

We continue to want to expand our family, but there have been some issues this time that forced us to take a month off of treatment. Hub has also (during that month) started seeing a neurosurgeon for his continued back problems. His latest MRI showed something his doc didn't care for, so the referral process began. Thankfully, the neuro they sent him to was dad's surgeon, so I had met him and got a great first impression from him that day. Surgery is an option, but they are trying everything they can before they bring that to the table. We spent an hour last Wednesday in a pain management center while he got an epidural to help the sciatica he has been suffering from. As of this morning a shot that should have helped him for 2 weeks is no longer helping, and barely did at all anyway. He has been limited in the things he is allowed to (or can) do with/for Eli and that has really been bothering him. Hoping and praying that something gives soon so he can restrengthen the bond he and E have! More tests and whatnot in the immediate future and hopefully a decision will be made by the beginning of next month what to do to help him. Not sure what that means for the baby thing for us, but I have faith that if our family is meant to expand then it will, when HE says it's time.

E is growing SO much. He is starting to get a little bit of an attitude at times, showing us the "twos" are right around the corner. At the same time though his independence is rapidly growing too. Once he learns he can do something on his own he does it repeatedly and does NOT want help with it, no matter what. His vocabulary is off the charts - we have officially lost track of what he knows because there is just so much. He is the parrot that I never knew I always wanted ;-) 

Hope you all are healthy and happy and had a wonderful Christmas and New Year full of blessings!

Been There, Done That

I have been really and truly enjoying motherhood since day one, well truthfully as a whole since maybe the end of week one or beginning of week two (once we started formula since I wasn't producing anything). Part of me thinks that since it was difficult to get to motherhood that God blessed me with an easy child baby. The older he gets the less easy he is. Don't get me wrong, he is a passive soul (much like his father) but he is definitely at the beginning of tantrums when he doesn't get his way or when he feels like it. We are taking it all in stride though, because even his tantrums are still cute to us....for now ;-)
Once I got pregnant with E I heard from so many people how their bodies kicked in and started working properly once they gave birth and they didn't have to get help to have baby #2. I held onto a tiny piece of hope that that would be us. Once E turned 1 we decided to stop preventing and see what happened. BIG.FAT.NOTHING. Turns out, I am not like all those other people - my body did not get the message after all. While I was a little bummed about not being able to do things ourselves (and for free) I have at least come to the conclusion that at least we know this time around that we CAN have a baby and what it takes to get there.
So the journey to becoming a family of four has begun. After speaking with my OB a few weeks ago I was once again referred to the wonderful Dr. R. Consultations get to be skipped this time around (yay!) and the drug regiment was started after a brief phone conversation with Dr. R's fabulous nurse. I am almost 2 weeks in and had forgotten how crappy these meds make me feel. Hub & I are supposed to go to Mexico for a belated anniversary trip next week so I am hoping that I actually feel good enough to enjoy it....AND that I don't get a visitor while we're there - THAT needs to wait until we get back so I can get an ultrasound on day 1 to prepare for IUI again!! I am excited and stressed at the thought of expanding our family - but becoming a family of 3 has been so freakin' awesome that how can becoming 4 be anything less? I am so in love with my sweet E and being his mother - THIS is my purpose.
While all of this has been going on we have also been dealing with family troubles. My dad is having some health issues, fairly big ones, and that has hit hard. E will be staying with them when we are gone next week so I know that will be good medicine for him right before his surgery. Hoping and praying the recovery is easy on him, as he then turns around and has another surgery for a nerve problem in his neck that is causing him to lose his grip - one week before Christmas! Things will be interesting this year - that recovery is supposed to be pretty hard. Anyone reading this - please stop and say a prayer for him (and for my mom/family) - that God guides his surgeon's hands and that recovery isn't just awful. And for a VERY successful surgery (especially the first one!!) It is going to be a busy and probably long holiday season for our family, but hopefully next year will be a healthy one for all of us - and maybe we will have a new member of the family around.......you never know!!

A to Z of ME

Got this from my friend Blair's blog, Life of a Mamarazzi and figured I would do it too. Don't post as much as I'd like these days so maybe this will give you something new about me that you didn't know before!

A. Age: 32 and 363 days. Wednesday I once again become the same age as my hub - I always enjoy the 9 months of him being older ;-)


B. Bed size: KING!



C. Chore that you hate: Floors and/or cleaning the showers/tubs. Our shower feels so closed in so I REALLY don't care to clean it (don't worry, I do it anyway, I just don't like it)



D. Dogs: Love dogs when they are someone else's. We had a dog growing up, but it wasn't very nice so I never really became a dog lover. Plus I married a man allergic to dogs and we had a son that is allergic to ALL things furry so I am pretty sure we will never have a furry pet.



E. Essential start to your day: I have to see E. I am not a coffee drinker and rarely drink pop even, so caffeine is not a thing for me. When we are at home living normal day-to-day life, I have to go in and whisper goodbye to E if it is not my day to take him to Grandma's or "school" and he is still asleep when I leave for work. If i leave without doing that, I feel wrong all day long.



F. Favorite color: I am not sure I can answer this really. My love of colors is fairly broad and ever-changing (as far as my color obsession of the moment). Right now, I guess it would be a teal kinda green-blue color. Wanting to redo my living room (without spending much $$) and use that as a accent color!



G. Gold or Silver: I am usually silver or white gold, but I have warmed up to yellow gold lately - totally depends on what I am wearing



H. Height: 5'9"



I. Instruments you play: I took piano for a few years when I was younger (2-4 grade I think). I can still kinda read sheet music enough to play my old Christmas Carol books and some past recital pieces ;-)



J. Job title: Art Dept. at my paying job and MOM at home ;-)  oh, and wife of course!



K. Kids: So far we have Eli who is 18 months and the absolute joy of my life. He is my happiness personified ;-)



L. Live: In a suburb of OKC



M. Mother’s name: Helen - so thankful to have such an amazing role model and friend in her!!



N. Nicknames: mama, Jules



O. Overnight hospital stays: When I had Eli



P. Pet peeves: When people are stupid and don't think before they do or say things



Q. Quote from a movie: totally blank.......man......I really need to watch movies more often



R. Right or left handed: Right!



S. Siblings: Brother, Gef, who is 7 years older. Sister, Lisa, who is 4 years older. (and then a whole slew of brother and sister-in-laws)



T. Time you wake up: Well, I WAKE up at 6 every morning - I don't GET up until at least 6:30 most days - Thursdays and weekends if I am lucky I get to go back to sleep until 8ish



U. Underwear: yes ;-)  no particular brand, but no thongs!



V. Vegetable you hate: Mushrooms!!!



W. What makes you run late: If E isn't cooperating and it is just him & I. If he is in a mood it makes me run late getting ready and it spills over until I am am late to where ever we were going



X. X-Rays you’ve had: teeth, knees, hand, fingers, foot (MRI of neck/upper back/spine)



Y. Yummy food that you make: I like to pretend everything I make is yummy ;-) I follow a recipe quite well, but my favorite lately is Cinnamon Sugar Bread!!



Z. Zoo animal: Monkeys and giraffes!

Is there something in the water?

Is it just me or are more and more people having infertility issues these days? Perhaps my own experiences have just made me pay more attention, or maybe it's just talked about more? It is crazy how many people I know that have had to have the help of an RE (reproductive endocrinologist for those that don't know) to have their dreams of having a family come true. (I have just been thinking a lot about this lately and needed to purge my brain so I could actually get some work done, so here we go!) I can't help but wonder if there is some environmental factor in play here. It is just odd how many people in my life have had to experience difficulty or loss when it comes to having a family. And most of those people are my age.

I have had family members (myself included) and numerous friends from college struggle to have a family or to expand their family, all for various reasons and with various procedures and medications used. The majority that I know have had success, some still struggling and doing everything in their power to have that dream realized. People don't realize how much it can affect you mentally, emotionally and physically to want to get pregnant so badly and to try and try have nothing happen. I was near depression and my dear hub was suggesting we stop and I go to therapy because I was struggling so much. Needing a lot of help to even ovulate so the possibility of getting pregnant could even be in my future changed me. I am so thankful that I found that combination of pills and procedures to help me get there. I was terrified to get my hopes up so I think I had planned for the worst, expecting nothing to work. We had even discussed selling our house to pay for IVF or adoption if/when it came to that, and as much as I wanted to carry our baby I wasn't sure I was strong enough to try IVF and have it not work. But for us it didn't come to that and we were blessed with a wonderfully perfect-for-us little boy. I really feel like the journey to him makes me love him differently than I might if I had gotten pregnant right away and on my own. (Now, this is NOT to say that I love my kid more than anyone else loves their kid(s) - this is just me talking about my feelings pertaining to my family. Please no one be offended!) I feel like I look at every little milestone and every little experience with him in a more thankful way, like I appreciate it more. Perhaps my experience was put into my life to teach to truly be thankful and not take anything for granted - that is what I like to think anyway. Mind you I will love whatever sibling Eli has some day (hopefully) just as much as I love him whether we have that baby on our own or with help again. I think Eli just opened my heart up a little more and allowed me to love the people in my life a little deeper and to be more appreciative of their presence in my life.

For any reading this, I have four special friends (at least, there could be more that I don't know of) that are currently either expecting or working with their own REs to have babies. All have been having their own troubles, some have had VERY long and hard roads and some are at the beginning of their journey - all of them want desperately to have a baby though and all of them would be or are tremendous mothers! Please pray for my friends, that they may know the love that I have come to know and probably couldn't survive without. My journey to Eli was, in a twist, one of the best things to happen to me. I pray that my friends can say the same thing someday when they look at their children. The love you feel for your child and from your child is like no other....

Where did my baby boy go?

I know I constantly say that I don't know where time is going, but I'm sure all parents have felt that feeling that once your kid is born time speeds up and never slows down again. I still feel like it was last month that we had our last IUI that brought us Eli, and here we are and he is 15 months old and turning into a true little boy. He is walking all over the place, even starting to run more as he showed me his skills IN HIS CRIB last night (as visions of him smashing his face into the railing as he went down danced through my head - he isn't very sturdy when he's tired and despite the running he was tired).

We had the pleasure of turning his carseat around this past weekend. They changed the recommended age a few weeks before his birthday from one year to two years and as much as I don't necessarily agree with it I figured I would wait and ask his doc. I forgot when we were there for his 1 yr so at his 15 mo. last week I asked and his doc responded saying that those guidelines are based on size and that I have a kid that is plenty big to be safely facing forward - SCORE! I have to admit, it was getting difficult to get him in and out of that thing with it rear-facing, but if his doc would have recommended we stay that way I probably would have listened. However, we were told we could/should turn him so now he has the pleasure of facing the front! You would think most kids would be excited to see where they were going instead of facing a seat back but not my kid. He may like it, but if he does then he hides the excitement really well. I think he has raised his hands like he was riding a roller coaster two or three times for a few seconds and squealed, but other than that he sits very stone-faced staring ahead, it kinda cracks me up. He weighed in at a wonderful 28 1/2 pounds and is 33 inches tall by the way, 90+% on both ;-)
He is also expanding his vocabulary on what I feel like is a daily basis. Ball I think is his favorite word and toy, along with his cars. He points at every ball he sees, no matter where we are, and announces to us that he sees it (which I really love) and even manages to find the balls hidden in pictures as we read. His appetite is steady as ever, he really loves having family dinner with G and I too, he just sits there and smiles and looks at us as he eats....melts my heart every time!

I went back to work another day a little while back. I miss my Tuesdays with him now, but the extra money is nice (got a raise for giving up a free day too!) and will come in handy to save up for creating a sibling for E someday (if we have to go back to our RE for assistance that is). Besides, I still have my Thursdays off to get some mommy & E time! I would really LOVE for him to have a younger sibling, but if it isn't meant for us to have another baby ourselves then maybe we'll revisit adoption - that is a discussion for G and I to have if/when that time comes though. Neither of us really want him to be an only child (no offense to those out there, we have both gotten to reap the benefits of having siblings though) but we are not in control so I guess we shall see.

I should probably get back to work now. I have just gotten SO bad about writing anything on here, mainly because I am not sure who in the world would want to read about my daily life these days, but I decided that I didn't care and am going to try to get back to it anyway. It's cheaper than therapy!

E is 1!!

I know I am past his birthday by a good two months, but I am a little slow keeping this current these days. We had my favorite photographer (CAT Photography) take E's one year pics the weekend before his birthday and they turned out great! Here are some of my favorites....

As well as one last pic from his birthday party, where he polished off his chocolate cupcake....the ENTIRE thing....

Such a Slacker

Well, I have been enjoying life too much I guess to take the time to sit and update this thing. Busier than I have ever been, that is for sure. So now, as my precious E sits and finishes his cereal & bananas for breakfast before "school" I have a minute. I am in awe at how fast this year has gone. We struggled for what seemed like forever to have a baby and when we finally have one a year passes in the blink of an eye. My baby boy is going to be ONE next Friday - what?! How can that be already? I sit and watch him now and sometimes have trouble remembering how he was before he moved - not that I couldn't look at the thousands of pictures and videos we have ;-) It seems every day he is learning some new "trick" or skill and I am constantly amazed at this kid. His former reluctance for real fruits and veggies has almost gone and he has been enjoying bananas, strawberries, blueberries, edamame, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. We still have a few more staples for our house to work on, but I am enjoying this part of eating so much! He might not be too far from walking - he certainly cruises the furniture and has even started walking a bit holding only one of my hands instead of both! He's not completely sure about that yet, but he does it for about 5-10 steps before he reaches out for the other hand. What a kid ;-)

Just Shy of 8 Months

I seriously cannot believe how fast time is going. Eli will be 8 months in a little over a week and that just blows my mind. I spent today putting up the Christmas tree and decorations and even though he was sitting there watching me while he played I think it really hit me when I put his stocking up - we get to have Christmas as a family of THREE this year!! He is SUCH a happy and laid back little boy and he is growing like a weed. He had his first sickness this past week (an ear infection) and at his doctors appointment he weighed 21 pounds 10 ounces - yikes! He is getting chubbier and chubbier since he is content not crawling and just laying or sitting and playing and rolling around if he wants something, but he is still really active. He is the absolute joy of my life, even in his most trying moments. This is going to be one heck of a Christmas!!

Happy Halloween!

Yes, I realize I am MASSIVELY behind in posting. Someday I hope to get back to it, but right now is not the time as I am about to feed the kiddo and head out to a carnival with our little Yoda! Hope you all have a great halloween!

Three Months plus some

Three and a half months have passed in the blink of an eye. Every single day this little boy amazes me by doing something new. He goes to town jumping in his jumperoo, he can sit with the help of his bebe pod or some pillows, he can roll from his belly to his back, he is a little chatterbox and he eats like no three and a half month old I have ever seen. His pediatrician had us start adding cereal to his bottle three times a day to hopefully help fill him up a little better so he doesn't gain as much weight as he has been. His daily meals consist of three bottles that are 4 oz. formula and 4 tbsp. cereal and one bottle that is 7 oz. formula. Half of the time he drinks an extra 2 oz. of formula after his cereal because he is still hungry - yet even with all of this food my little guy isn't a big chubby baby! We have tried eating the cereal off of a spoon, but he isn't totally ready for that yet. His problem is he eats fast so when I feed him off of a spoon he can't and that makes him very mad. We keep trying though and he lasts a little bit longer every time we try. He is such a happy baby - he LOVES to play with his frog toy bar on his carrier and he laughs and laughs. Some people focus on the things they gave up when they had children, but I don't even remember those things. I look in his face and it just makes me so happy to know that we have this little boy in our lives. I would give up everything every single day if I had to just to have him in my life. I have never loved someone so completely before - even my husband whom I love and adore with all of my heart. A mother's love is a different kind altogether.

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone has (or had) a safe and happy 4th of July!!

Two months old

I am in complete disbelief that two months have gone by. I mean, I have a two month old son, that is craziness! He is pure sweetness though, isn't he?! How could you not love that face?? This has been an interesting past two months. I have to say, we have been very blessed with a child that sleeps well and eats very well and is healthy and happy - we really won the lottery with this kiddo! E is eating a ton - at least 6 bottles a day, 5 1/2 to 6 ounces a bottle. Over the past month he has gone from 9 pounds 15 ounces to a whopping 13 pounds 8 ounces (yep, you read that right!) and has shot up from 21 3/4 inches to 23 3/4 inches tall. He is in the 80th percentile straight across the board for his 2 month check-up! He is sleeping at least 6 hours at night, sometimes more, which makes mama very happy! His pediatrician said that if his weight gain stays this steady and he is over the 95th percentile next month then we will probably be starting cereal after next month's check-up to keep his weight gain and calorie intake under control. He got his first round of shots today and he did really well, although I am a little fearful of tonight because he has pretty much been sleeping all day since we got home so this could be a really long night!

Motherhood is so much better than I ever could have imagined. Maybe if I had a kiddo with more normal eating & sleeping habits I might not be as in love with it as I am, but I am a person who has NEVER considered staying at home with my children and I now wish more than anything that we could afford for me to so I could spend more time with him. I am so thankful every day for the opportunity to be this little boy's mother. He is truly amazing and I love every minute that I get to spend with him. This life of mine is going to be one wild ride ;-)

One Month

One month ago today our lives changed and this great little guy entered the world. Life these days is a little slower, but much sweeter. Eli is getting bigger every day. He eats between 4 1/2 and 5 ounces each feeding, sometimes as much as 7 1/2! He loves to play on the floor, especially laying on his tummy. He turns his head from side to side and lifts his leg like he's practicing for the day when he's ready to roll over. We love to watch him observe his surroundings and coo and smile. Most of all I love when all he needs to relax is to snuggle on my chest - we know how precious these days are and we are loving and cherishing every moment with our little boy.

our precious little boy

So Eli had his first real photo shoot last Thursday on his one week birthday. He was SO good and didn't fuss a bit. If anything he was maybe a little more awake and curious than she was expecting, but we couldn't be happier with the results. Here is a sneak peek at a few of the pictures:

Boys N Berries Photography

Welcome to the world, Eli!

Elijah Royal Burks was born on April 8, 2010 at 4:57pm. He weighed a surprising and whopping 9 pounds and was 21 3/4 inches long - quite the big boy!! We are home and he is now a week old - time is already flying by like the blink of an eye. We are adjusting to life as a family of three, but loving it all. It is amazing how much your heart grows when you meet your child for the first time - Greg and I never could've imagined loving someone so much that we were just meeting.

The end is in sight!!

Well, I have spent the past 3 days laboring to have this baby and my body apparently has other plans. After having contractions ALL day Sunday and all morning Monday my doc sent me to triage to be monitored and check on Monday afternoon. After spending a few hours hooked up they determined that while I was having really good and regular contractions, NOTHING was changing. So they sent me home and I spent all day yesterday having regular contractions and continue to have them this morning. I did have my appointment this morning though and while I am STILL having regular and good contractions (that have gotten stronger mind you) only a tiny bit has changed. Since this is the case and since it is making me uncomfortable and unable to go to work I am getting checked in to the hospital tonight so they can give me some meds that will move along the effacement process and then tomorrow morning they will induce and Eli will join the world sometime tomorrow!!!

It's about that time....

Well, I have about 10 days left until my due date. I am still in shock that it has gone by so fast! At my appointment this week I was dilated to a 1, but he is still sitting high and I was not effaced at all so she didn't want to schedule to induce just yet. She said to wait and see what the next week brings and we'd revisit the idea next Wednesday. I was having contractions while I was there though, which was nice because she was able to tell me that they were real ones and not Braxton Hicks like some of the others I've been having. I continued to have them all Tuesday and Wednesday, varying from 45 minutes apart to 5, but not consistent enough to matter. They have kind of tapered off a bit today, I have had a few, but not as many as the past two days. I do have a lot more energy today though and feel better in general, so maybe that is a sign that labor is on it's way? Greg and I are sure ready for Eli to be here though.

Last night we finally installed the base to the car seat in my car so if he should come we can bring him home now anyway ;-) Greg's car will be done later - after it's cleaned! Eli's room is all ready to go and so is the cradle in our room, so we are completely just waiting now. There are a few things we could still do around the house, but I just want to try to relax a bit until he's here - we've been so busy with one thing after another for months now it seems, so we might as well get in some down time while we can! We have been making a point of going out to eat, just the two of us, once a week for the past 2 or 3 weeks so we can get some good quality time together. It has been nice to sit and chat over dinner, usually we eat at home and then split off to do our own things around the house for the rest of the night. Greg has been awesome though, making sure I don't over do it and taking charge of the laundry and such so I don't have to worry about it. He is such an incredible husband, I can't wait to see him with Eli - he's going to be FANTASTIC!

Well, hopefully the next post will be about Eli's big arrival! If not, it will be about the planning for it, including a date. Either way, we're pumped and can't wait to start this new chapter in our lives!

Eli, are those your toes....in my ribs?

I am 32 weeks along this week - 8 more to go! I am still enjoying pregnancy, although the feeling bad part is hitting me fairly frequently these days instead of early on in the pregnancy like a lot of people. I am nauseous a lot and get sick very suddenly with the only warning of a sudden acid reflux kinda of feeling. I have started having problems with my back, which I feared from the start since I hurt it almost 4 years ago. And then there is laying down.....I can't really breathe that well when I pay down so last night I started sleeping on my back with my head/chest propped up in a reclined position. I have to say, I feel like I slept better last night than I have in a while - only waking up twice (thanks to a full bladder) and quickly going back to sleep (which is unheard of lately)!

I went to the doctor last Wednesday for the start of my twice-monthly appointments. She had some suggestions for my recent issues, and I have started taking her latest advice and so far, so good! I get the pleasure of wearing a support belt from now on to see if it helps my back, but it doesn't get delivered until today so we'll see in a few days or so if it helps. I get to take Z.antac once or twice a day as needed to help with the acid issue - and boy does it help! The only day I've gotten sick since Wednesday was Sunday and I think that was because I forgot to take a Z.antac that morning - not anymore, I'm taking one every day from now on!! Unfortunately my blood pressure has been a bit high the past two visits with her, so I got to do a 24-hour urine collection on Sunday (yes, it's as glamorous as it sounds) and have labs taken yesterday for her to use as a baseline in case it keeps going up. They can also test for a protein that I think can indicate if preeclampsia is a possibility (if not it could just be gestational hypertension)....either way, oh goody! So my dear hub has been doing his best to make sure I take it easy and stay as stress-free as possible......he is truly a blessing and such an incredible man....he will be a phenomenal dad, even if he's unsure....I can just tell! So now I just get to wait and hope I don't hear from the doctor's office....no news from them means good news for me!

We got a call last night that told us our new crib was in, so we made our way to B'R'Us to pick it up after dinner......I think we are going to LOVE it! Greg didn't feel up to putting it together last night, so that is on tonight's agenda....unless he decides to do it today while he is off work. Either way, Eli's room will get put back together tonight and I will be able to take some new pictures! In case you haven't figured it out, we are naming our handsome little guy Elijah Royal Burks, Eli for short. Royal is after Greg's grandfather who passed in October - he was a big part in Greg's life and was thrilled to hear in September that he would be having a Burks great-grandbaby....unfortunately he passed before we found out it was a boy or had any pictures to show him, I know they would've loved each other!

Eli is very active still.....this past week it has felt like he has moved from the lower left side of my belly and taken up residence right under my rib cage. All morning I have felt the bizarre sensation of something on the bottom of my ribs.....I can only guess it's his fingers or toes playing around in there! Such a strange feeling, but still so very cool! Greg will put his hand on my belly when Eli is being active at night and just sit there commenting on how strange that is - and I respond by telling him he wouldn't disagree if it was his belly moving. Very natural feeling to me, but there is still something a little strange about it!

On a different note, he has finished his main PT sessions and they have asked our insurance for approval to do 24 more sessions with him. He had a new x-ray done last Friday so we are hoping they can tell if there has been any improvement. He has had hardly any lower back pain at all since he's been going, but now his upper back is hurting more so we're not sure if that is just the PT working it to strengthen it or what. Hopefully though he does good.....he's actually been taking it easy when he hurts and using a heating pad like a normal person instead of ignoring the pain like he usually does, so that in itself is improvement to me!!

sweet baby E

beginnings

I have been really bad at keeping up with posting, as my cousin so lovingly points out from time to time ;-) Well, she's just got a better way with words than I do, and more to say I guess. Hopefully this year will inspire me to write more, I'm sure I'll have a ton to day after my little love arrives in April. I ended last year with a trip to Alabama with my family to see my Grandma, aunt, uncle and cousin who met us there from Mississippi. My cousin's hub couldn't make the trip and neither could mine, but it was the closest thing we've had to having the entire family together in a while. It was really great to see everyone, although I did miss joining in on the late night wine drinking and chatting - I still chatted, it's just not the same without a glass of wine in hand! We enjoyed a bit of sight-seeing at a local Frank Lloyd Wright house and stopped by Helen Keller's birthplace for a picture, but mostly we just enjoyed being together.

Christmas was an adventure this year. Christmas Eve started things off with a bang by bringing Oklahoma their first blizzard (at least the first on in my lifetime). It was crazy, snow blowing everywhere with drifts in front of our house over 2 feet tall! We managed to make it to mom & dad's for the afternoon for Christmas with my family, although it took us 30 minutes to get there where it normally takes about 7. Gef had a windshield wiper break on the way there so he dropped his fam off and headed to the store to get a new one. Lisa's significant other got stuck on dad's driveway so the men spent a good deal of time in the cold trying to get his car out, eventually succeeding and allowing Mike to get his boys to their mom's for their Christmas with her. We got stuck backing out of the driveway and had to have dad and Gef push and rock our SUV to finally get us moving, only so we could get home and not even be able to get up our driveway! Christmas Eve in Norman with Greg's dad's side was cancelled but his brother caught a ride home from work and got dropped off at our place to do our annual Christmas Eve movie night and spend the night since his SUV was stuck at work. Christmas day started off a little better with the weather clearing up a bit and roads becoming easier to manage. Greg's mom, stepdad and older brother came over to do our normal Christmas day activity. I got a headache shortly before they got there and ended up in bed by 3 with a migraine that wouldn't go away. Greg's family stayed until around 6:30 and then got stuck a few blocks from our house and Greg had to go pick them up and bring them back to wait for a tow truck, which finally arrived around 8:15. Christmas in Norman was rescheduled for the following Tuesday, which ended up bringing us more snow. Luckily this was just wet snow so it didn't cause any travel issues and we were able to have a nice Christmas with the Burks family.

New Years Eve was quiet for us, which is fine by me. Greg painted the ceiling of the nursery and got the walls ready for me to paint on New Years Day. His older brother came over and we had another movie night and rang in the new year before heading to bed. Quiet, but great. New Year's Day I painted the nursery and in the days to follow we moved the furniture back in and put the bedding on and installed a new closet system. It looks like an actual nursery now!! If I were to have him now he would have a room to come home to ;-) I catch myself standing in the doorway now just staring, in disbelief I'm sure that this room will be inhabited in a few short months by a little person that we made!! I will post some pictures soon, they are at home.

Now we are into this year, getting ready to celebrate Greg's birthday tomorrow and to see our sweet boy's face on Friday when we have a 3D ultrasound! I am not sure I could be any more excited for Friday - I will post all of the good pics we get from our session so you can see his precious face too! He's really a mover - if that's any indication of things to come after he's born we are in for a crazy ride!!! I hope you all had safe and happy Christmases and New Years and that this year brings you a whole new world of possibility, I know it will for us - this year is the beginning of a whole new world!