All We Want For Christmas Is...

... a brand new house!! Do you think Santa can fit it in his sleigh? I doubt it. He is letting us open our Christmas present a little bit earlier. We are scheduled to close on our new home on Wednesday morning. Yes, three days before Christmas. Yes, we are nuts. But we are so excited! Please keep us in your prayers that everything will go smooth at closing. Also, I would like to give a huge shout out to all those who are making this move possible. We are so blessed with wonderful family and friends. Thank you. We love you.

So, do you want to see a picture of the house...? Drum roll please.


And I would like to introduce you to my new kitchen. I think I'm in love. :)


But this house just wouldn't be any fun at all without this bunch bouncing around inside. Aren't they so cute!

My sweet Wesley! He is such a good baby. Don't you just want to pinch those big cheeks?

What a hunk. Joshua is turning into a little man.

And last but not least. Katelyn. I have no words. Those who know her understand.
We love you Katelyn. You are growing up way to fast. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Summer is over, but Fall is here!

Every time we go to Walmart Josh asks me to buy donuts for daddy. He knows when we are getting close to the donuts and gets upset every time I turn the cart away from the direction of the donuts. So... when we do buy donuts "for daddy", I get a very happy boy out of the deal.


The last few weeks of summer were fabulous! Some good friends invited us to stay with them at a beach house in Topsail Island, NC. It was such a fun week. The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time. Want to see what we did? Enjoy the pics.

The end of the boardwalk. Josh was pretty nervous about the big waves.

"Ocean gonna get me???"

Kate LOVED the water, as long as it was shallow.

The kids and I opted of the beach one day and headed to a
park right along the Intercostal Waterway.

Cool play set!

Cute kids. :)

One morning the kids woke up really early so we snuck out to the boardwalk to watch the sunrise. It was beautiful and one of my favorite memories from our trip.

Sleepy-eyed kiddos.

This was Wesley's toy of choice for the week.

Katelyn started dance class again. We weren't sure if we were going to sign her up this year, but as the first class got closer and closer, I couldn't help it. This was her first day of class. So cute!


Wesley went in for his 6 month check-up. Our little man weighs 21 lbs. and 11 ounces! No wonder his mommy walks so crooked! His is definitely healthy. We started him on solids last month, and now he is eating 3 meals a day with the rest of the family. He also decided that it was time to start sitting on his own so he can keep on eye on Kate and Josh for me. We love him so much!

Going Private

With all that is going on in the world these days, we think its best to make our blog private. If you would like to be part of our blog family please leave a comment with your email address or send me an email letting me know at JulieMarieBurgess@gmail.com.

Thank you!

August

Where did August go? Did I accidentally sleep through it? (No... I would have remembered the extra sleep.) It has flown by which seems to be consistent with how life has been since Wesley was born. I need to put a leash on our days and make them last just a little bit longer or before I know Wesley will be walking, Josh will be eating his third birthday cake and Katelyn will be a kindergartner! I do remember a few things from the last few weeks. We've had some silly moments and some sad moments, but all in all life is treating us well.

"School" Stuff

Practicing writing letters and numbers in a tray full of shaving cream. (Easier to clean-up!)

Practicing upper and lowercase letters with playdough.


Teaching the Important Things

Learning the right way to eat an OREO. (Dipped in milk, of course.)


Showing Wesley how to smile for the camera. (Can you believe he is 5 months old?!)


Free Day at Discovery Place

Playing at the Water Works



What kid can resist beating something with a stick?


Kate's favorite part of the whole day was getting to touch the starfish... :)


The Aquarium


Push-O-War with Ben and Katelyn


Last but not least... the drive home.

We had a great time at Discovery Place. I am pretty sure the kids will be talking about it for quite a while. We saw two 3D movies while we were there. One about a taking care of our oceans and the other was about sharks. Good times!

Sorry!

Wesley at 4 months old!

Weight: 18lb. 13 oz
Height: 25 1/2 inches
Smiles: Immeasurable!

Sorry for the lack of posts. We've been busy having too much fun!

We dance, we play, we have fun!

I'm so sorry I haven't posted any pictures of Wesley recently! He is getting so big! He is almost 3 months old now. He is as cute as ever and weighs in at a whopping 15 lbs! Check him out.

Katelyn had her big end of the year dance recital a few weekends ago. We are so proud of her and how hard she worked all year. Dance wasn't always her favorite class, but she stuck it out and now she is asking to do dance again next year. Check out our little Go Go Girl.

Kate got flowers from us and Papa and Nana Bellinghausen!


Our Cute Kiddos

New Blog

I've started another blog for anyone who may be interested.

Joy in the Journey

Mother's Day

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley



I love my kids.

Josh is TWO!

Our sweet baby boy (the first one) is two today! He has surprised us since the very beginning when he popped out with blue eyes and blonde hair. He is a total ham and loves to make people laugh. He loves his big sister Katelyn so much. He would do just about anything for her. Our favorite thing to hear him say is "I love you" because he gets a really shy, embarrassed look on his face. and he has recently insisted on giving kisses at bedtime (love that!). If he is sad, all you need is an M&M and a hug to cheer him up. He loves Thomas the Train and Lightning McQueen and, of course, NASCAR. He would spend all day long outside if we'd let him and he just might with the present his Nana and Grandpa Bellinghausen surprised him with!

The kiddos slept in this morning and when they finally came out of their rooms, Josh found birthday balloons waiting outside their door. He would probably have been just as happy to play with balloons all morning. (He's pretty easy to please!) But we headed downstairs and he discovered all of the birthday decorations and PRESENTS! We thought we'd open presents after breakfast but he dove right in as soon as he saw them. He got a mini tool bench, legos, a slip and slide, and Thomas the Train and Lightning McQueen books. Then we had our traditional chocolate chip pancakes. His was in the shape of a two, of course.

Later in the morning, Nana and Grandpa came over and surprised Josh (and Kate) with a new Power Wheels! You have to see the sequence of pictures below, they're great. The kiddos spent he next couple of hours driving the new car and playing on the slip and side. Then it was time to come in and cool off.

We decided to work on Josh's Birthday cake. We let the kids sample as went. Sticky, but very delicious! When Josh wakes up in a bit we'll have Pulled Pork Sliders and Homemade Mac and Cheese and later CAKE! Stay tuned for more pictures.