34 Weeks and my Christmas Surprise!

I am 34 weeks this week! As I sit and type this Burke is moving all over it feels like! What a wonderful feeling. I've been told that once you have your baby you will miss the feeling of having them inside you. I can definitely see how you can miss this.

Greg and I got quite the surprise early Christmas morning. Around 2:00 a.m. the doorbell started ringing nonstop. Greg flew out of bed and went to the door. There stood my parents in Santa hats ringing jingle bells! Talk about thrilled and surprised! Have I mentioned that I have the BEST parents?! Goodness gracious did they surprise us! It was one of the best surprises! Of course, my mom had brought all the groceries for our Christmas dinner and then some! We had made plans to go to our dear friends, Carrie and Brian's, for Christmas dinner, so Mom knew I would not have any dinner planned. She came in with a cooler full of food! I was so happy to see them. Mom and Dad stayed until Sunday morning, so we had a great visit with them. My sister and her family came Friday and just left today. We had a wonderful holiday together. We ate too much, played tons of cards, I watched others enjoy coffee and beer, and just enjoyed hanging out! Thanks again, Mom and Dad!

Greg goes back to work tomorrow. I am so bummed that he has to go back. Greg spoiled me and got me the Coach handbag and wallet for Christmas that I had been wanting. You know the one that I lost the bet over. Well, I never went and bought it for myself. I just couldn't. I love the purse and am so glad he got it for me...even though he went way over our set amount to spend on each other this year. I got Greg the newspaper from when the Jayhawks won the NCAA tournament framed. It looks great!

Here is a picture of my Gregie...I rarely get a good picture of him so I had to include it! Isn't he a cutie!




The best present was having all my family here though. Greg and I had a fun time! I thought a lot over Christmas how next year will be so different! I really can't imagine! Neither Greg nor I can wait to be Santa. Even though we know Burke won't have a clue what is going on...we will and we are excited!


I couldn't leave out my nieces Summer and Lilly...they are just too cute!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I see my OB again on Wed. I go every week from now on. I will update if anything were to change.

Love,

Alicia

Merry Christmas!

Hi Friends and Family!

I just can't believe today is Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is my favorite day! I love it, in that I am always with my family, cooking, baking, giving my dad a hard time about not making the Bierocks correctly, being too hot with the oven on and the fire place roaring, drinking so much coffee that I can't sit still, playing cards, eating too much, but mainly being with my family! Christmas Eve is just the best to me. Don't get me wrong, Christmas Day is wonderful. But once the presents are open it is always kind of a let down to me. This year I am so thankful for baby Burke. So thrilled that he is doing so awesome. So thankful that I get to meet him in less than two months. So incredibly thankful that miracles still happen to very ordinary people. I am sad though too. It is just Greg and I. I have been sad since Thanksgiving. I feel bad that I am sad, I have so much to be thankful for this Christmas, but my heart hurts not seeing my parents and sister. I am a 33 year old baby.

We saw my OB yesterday. Burke is doing wonderful! There is only one thing that is driving both Greg and I crazy. You see, Greg makes decisions all day. He is a manager for the railroad and they are pretty significant decisions. He always gets an outcome. If the outcome isn't good, he fixes it. I am a planner. I know what we will be having for supper at eight in the morning. I make lists and generally I achieve everything on my list. Obviously, I am not like Greg, but I control everything in my life. Well, being pregnant is different. Nothing is definite. We are told one thing, but everything can change. We want to know our baby will be born on this day. Unfortunately, that just isn't how pregnancy works. It is a wait and see game. A game that is driving us crazy! We don't want Burke to come too early, obviously, but we REALLY want to know when we get to hold him, see him, and give him tons of kisses.

This year will be our 16th Christmas together! I can't imagine how exciting next Christmas will be with Baby Burke! This Christmas already feels extra special, because Burke is with us. I just can't imagine how next year will be! Greg and I bought a video camera yesterday...a family present. Just think...next year you all will be watching video of my baby boy opening his presents from Santa! God is so good.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas!

Love,

Alicia and Burke

Happy Birthday Riley!

Today my first baby boy turns five! Five years ago Riley was born in Humble, Texas. On Christmas Eve, I found an add in the Houston Newspaper for a Bulldog. I called the breeder and asked if she had any left. She said, she didn't have anymore that were in the paper, but that another liter had just been born on the 17th of December. That they would be ready on Valentine's day!

I have so enjoyed having Riley. He was literally my first baby. He has lived in Texas, North Dakota, and then back to Texas. He has been my friend when I knew no one and was new to an area. He has slept beside my bed when my RA was ugly. He has heard me cry when I couldn't understand why I couldn't have a baby. We have had many fun times too! He loves car rides, he loves playing with his bone and dumbbell, and he loves watching me make a salad as he loves carrots and green peppers...raw of course ! And now he is about to have a baby in his house. A baby that will surely drive him crazy, who will cry at all hours of the night, who will enjoy having toys scattered from one room to the other, and a baby that will take almost all of my attention. Poor Riley, life will never be the same!

So today, I got up bright and early and made him an egg with carrots and green peppers sprinkled on top! He was thrilled! Happy Birthday Riley! Thanks for being my first baby! I will always love you, even when your baby brother arrives!

He's BIG!

We saw Dr. K today and Burke is doing awesome! He is a BIG boy though! He is weighing in at 5 pounds 3 ounces! I am 32 weeks and technically he shouldn't be this big until 35 weeks. Dr. K said, "we are going to get you to 36-37 weeks and get him out"! I cannot lie, I was a little surprised with this news as I had always assumed he would be small. Greg said, my eyes had a look of total shock when he said he was significantly bigger. You see, we just took our birthing class this weekend and I heard all the horror stories of having a big baby. I, of course, told myself that none of these situations apply to me because Burke is going to be small. Haha! This week has been one enlightening moment after another! So, we see Dr. K on January 6 and it looks like a BIG decision will be made at that appointment. I had assumed I would have Burke around the 26th of January, now it looks more like the 11th!!! OMGOSH...I'm so excited!

We did not get any pictures of Burke this visit. We saw him on the screen in 3D, but Dr. K was busy getting a lot of measurements. Which by the way, I found out Burke's placenta is an anterior placenta. Which doesn't mean much regarding Burke, but it does explain why it took so long for me to feel my little guy move and kick. Basically his placenta is guarding my belly so he has to kick hard for me to really feel him. It was a full day and I feel so good to know Burke is big rather than small. Even if I was rather shocked!

At our Birthing Class we had a local celebrity in it, click here for more info! The class was very informative, but like I said much of the time I was like "oh my"!

I am very tired today, but I wanted to tell you all about my visit to see Dr. K. I am so happy that Burke is doing well! I can't wait to meet him and see his face in real life!

Can you believe I am 31 weeks pregnant?!

I certainly cannot believe I am 31 weeks! Whoohoo! Burke and I are cruising along and doing very well. He puts on his nightly show and moves, kicks, squirms...I swear he is going to be a football player! Even if he is just the punter. He loves ice cream which should be a given, since his parents love ice cream. Every night after ice cream he just goes crazy. I absolutely love the feeling he gives me! It is so amazing and the most wonderful gift!

We attended the Railroad Christmas party last Saturday. It was a lot of fun and great to meet all the people Greg works with. I found out just how proud Greg is to be a daddy, as everyone I met knew I was pregnant. I danced a couple of songs, but I am klutz and just knew I would wipe out. I didn't want to take any chances, especially since I about wiped out just walking down the stairs to get to the party. Someone at the party took our picture and it is a great picture, but we haven't received it yet. I'll post it as soon as we get it!

We see Dr. K on Monday. He is the BIG doctor. The one that makes me nervous...the one who can really tell if something is not going right. We will have another Level 2ultrasound, and we will leave hopefully feeling as elated as we did last time! We are really excited to see Burke in 4D again. At 20 weeks, he was super skinny. And it stressed me out. I have worried about him a lot due to the pictures. I was told that was perfectly normal, for him to be so skinny, but it stressed me. 32 weeks is optimal time to have a 4D ultrasound, so we can't wait to see our little guy again! Hopefully, he will be chubbier! Plus, we get to see him in 4D for free! Meaning we don't pay extra for those amazing pictures! I tell you, being high risks does have its perks!! Dr. K will be checking to make sure Burke is growing fast enough. Lovenox, the shots I take, can slow down his growth. I have no reason to believe he isn't growing fast enough, as his kicks show me he is a strong little guy! Please pray though that our news is positive and I hear once again that my baby boy is doing perfectly!

I feel like I am leaving something out. Oh yes, I finished that grueling book!!! Hooray for me! I feel like I am an adult now. I did not enjoy that darn book one bit, but I set myself out to finish it and I did. I will not tell you what it is, because it seems to be quite popular right now. I would hate to sway you one way or the other.

I'll let you know on Monday what Dr. K says.

Love,

Alicia and Burke

30 Weeks!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a great time with all my family here. I hated to see them all go. I won't see my parents again until Burke is here. That makes me sad. I wish we all lived closer. My sister and her family will be here a couple days after Christmas, but for the most part it will just be Greg and I. It was great to have them for Thanksgiving and I am so thankful this year. When my dad said the prayer before our turkey dinner he prayed for Burke. I still get a lump in my throat right now thinking about it. While I pray for Burke every day, it was so wonderful to hear MY BABY being prayed for out loud by others. Huge tears welled up in my eyes, just as they are now. Thank you God for this baby. OK, I am getting too emotional, onto other things.

We saw Dr. P this week. Burke and I are doing awesome. I am having no blood pressure issues, my weight is slowly creeping up, but nothing too much, Burke is growing strong. I have to tell you about my nurse, Andrea. I have mentioned her many times. I should call her my friend, but I want you all to know that she is technically my nurse. Well, when Greg and I arrived she took us to our room and said she'd be right back. When she returned she had a bag FULL of clothes and diapers. Brand new clothes, many with the tags still on. They are all so cute! I have washed them and have them hanging in Burke's closet! She said her baby boy couldn't wear them and she wanted us to have them, as my blog touched her. Out of all the patients she sees every day she picked our baby Burke to get these clothes! Greg had big ole tears in his eyes when she walked out the door. Of course, I had tears too. Andrea, thank you so much! Burke will look great in his new clothes! We think the world of you!

So, this week I am tired. I have been going nonstop since last Wed. and I feel super tired. I have been having moments of panic where I feel like I must get EVERYTHING done for Burke. I have a lot of stuff bought, but nothing is truly functioning yet. This has me stressed. Today I went and bought bottles, wash clothes, a few toys, bassinet sheets, etc. I have done Christmas shopping, house decorating, tree decorating, lunch dates, etc. It has all been fun, but I am whipped by the time Greg gets home. Plus, I joined a book club and can't get into the book...which needs to be read by next Saturday. HELP!! Other than being tired I feel great though! I officially look pregnant as people have started to stop me and say "when are you due". I am sure I must beam from ear to ear as I am so thrilled! My OB wants me to do kick counts and so I have started doing that twice a day. Luckily, Burke goes to town and doesn't make me wait around too much. He already is such a good baby!

I don't know how this happened, but I did not get a picture of Greg or myself this Thanksgiving. Talk about being annoyed. I am the picture taker in my family and I forget to say "stop, take a picture of me"! This weekend we have the railroad Christmas party so I will try to get a picture of the proud parents to be!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Alicia