Sugar

A Love Letter to Sugar, from her Daddy....


I plan to hang a matted white frame of one of her newborn photos to the left of the mirror.



In between this space and the glider in the first photo will go This Book/ Toy Shelf, except with pink basket liners. Also, my mom is stitching a sampler for her, where we'll ink stamp her footprints... this will go framed above the shelf as well.


Sugar's Crib.... and her beautiful name. ;) Here's a hint... you can tell that there are 6 letters. LOL~ You know that she will have an "E" middle name, since her brothers have "E" middle names.

And there you have it! I'm in serious LOVE with this room. Nate did a GREAT job with painting everything (even crib). He put in a lot of work, and never once grumbled. Even he has commented that he "really likes this room." PBK Sophie bed linens, Target lamps and butterflies, vintage glass drawer pulls... my great-grandfathers sidetable....

And Spice....

The Burns Brothers new room....

Nate and I spent some time cleaning and organizing, and finally getting the boys' room together.... here you go!

Pottery Barn Kids Patchwork Stars quilts, LOVE them! Letters are from Target, but now that the boys are older, we took the ribbons off of them (and attached them via velcro).

Seth's dresser

Lucas' dresser

The nursery is almost done too... sneak peeks of that room is coming very soon! Nate even stood in there the other night and actually commented "I really like this room." LOL~ good!

Please Vote For Lucas! (FINAL ROUND!)

I entered Lucas into Baltimore's Cutest Kid contest hosted by 93.1 WPOC. Please vote for him! He made it through the first round of 200 kids, and now is in the top 20! We have a chance!

The winning prize is a trip to Disney for the family!

Click here~

http://www.wpoc.com/pages/cutestkid09.html

Lucas is kid #14 (in some cases #19)

PLEASE vote multiple times with your various email addresses! You will have to verify your vote via your email account(s).

I am the only person in my family who has ever been to Disney, I'd love to introduce Nate and kids to it!

THANK YOU so very much!

Yep, Nesting....

.... as I was steaming out bedskirt wrinkles on the crib bedding at 11:45 pm last night.

Soccer Sethro & Nesting....

Is there anything cuter than the above photo? We had our PreK Soccer Orientation meeting a couple nights ago. Seth starts soccer April 4. He was SO EXCITED to see his jersey and soccer ball when I came home. Yesterday we hit Target and I scored on getting him the rest of his gear there. I am really thrilled for Seth to be on a sports team. I never was on sports teams (just Marching Band) and am not really a sports fan. BUT, I can't wait for what this has to offer Seth in regards to social skills, running and exercising, and having another adult authoritative figure in his life.

I am in full nesting mode... and my house is a disaster b/c of it! It was midnight last night and I was sorting baby clothes into size piles for washing, lol.

Nate is finalizing some paint and drawer issues in the nursery. I am also going through boxes of boy clothing. I have a box of old Seth stuff for a friend (that won't fit Lucas) and 3 or 4 big boxes of Lucas' & Seth's old stuff to donate. I'm torn... that is a lot of money I'm about to wave goodbye to, but man will it feel great to get some storage space for other things!

My whole house is a mess because of all of this! I have a NEED to be done with all of it this week, I need cleanliness and order back in my house.

Lucas Turns TWO!

Lucas' 2nd Birthday on March 12, 2009


Let me tell you... the above photo was 3 separate tries in the making. I'll have a "meltdown of a toddler series" coming soon. Ha! He's wearing his birthday Little Uni shirt!


His Caramel Banana Cake. I printed out a BIG #2 (like full page). Then I cut it out turning the paper into a stencil. I poured the sprinkles on and carefully peeled back the paper. Worked pretty well.



Lucas was not into presents... he played with his balloons, and had to be coaxed into presents.


Lucas LOVES his bike!


But not when Big Bro was pushing....





As soon as he opened his Stove, he said "Make Soup!" And then played and stirred... he even tapped the spoon on the side of the pot, just like Mama does.



Lucas about to make a wish. And the below are from his birthday dinner at Chuck E. Cheese.



After dinner, Nana & Abuelo took my boys home with them for the weekend. Nate and I drove to PA on Friday. I had a wedding to shoot for friends. Saturday was the wedding... I was done at 10pm, we left, and got home at 2:30 am, lol. Made for a looong day and swollen feet. I got to kiss my boys again on Sunday and we've been resting....

Happy 2nd Birthday Lucas!

Could TWO whole years have passed already?

Lucas, when he was just a few wee days young.

Lucky on his first birthday, chocolate bliss.

Grover in January. (Must do 2 year portraits soon!)

two random facts about Lucas right now~

1. The boy loves shoes. He hugged my red ballet flats the other day. While I was wearing them. He tried on Sugar's teeny moc-crocs from Target last night. Of course they didn't fit, but he didn't care.

2. He is starting to repeat phrases. The funniest phrase of his right now is "What'd you say?!!?" Especially while holding a plastic pirate sword at you.

What today's Birthday looks like~

• Monkey Bread for breakfast
• Nana & Abuelo come over in the early afternoon for presents and cake
• Chuck E. Cheese for pizza and rides
• lots of hugs and kisses

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Here are some pics from Lucas' first night in the Big Boy Bed. He kind of cried pitifully for a couple minutes, but he's done pretty well!




Seth has also made the jump and is sleeping on the top bunk. He just started a few nights ago. We've made him promise to call us if he needs help for the bathroom and such. I'm still nervous, but so far, so great!

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The Photo Challenge at TDC is "Something Old." Here's mine.... They say "All Old Things are New Again," right?


This side table was my great-grandfather's side table. (it was stained dark mahogany) After I got married my grandmother gave it to me for us to use in our bedroom. A couple years ago we re-did our bedroom and got 2 new side tables, so this one went in the basement. Now we are setting up our little girl's nursery, and we decided to use it, and paint it white, and replace the old metal knob with a vintage clear glass knob.

I'm so embarrassed at how messy that background is.... but I know ya'll realize it's b/c the nursery is all torn apart, moving Lucas from one room to the other, and painting, and.....

My Belly....

Chunky Monkey Ice Cream.... get it? Lol.



Nate does pretty good just pushing a button! ;)

MVF Art Fair

Our local Arts & Crafts Fair was this past weekend. I submitted the color photo of Seth at the piano in the angel wings (on my Session Details page on my website) and the B&W pic of the boys, where Lucas is biting Seth's nose (in my banner above). Last year I got First Place for the dog/ truck photo. However this year I entered under the Pro category, last year I was just 25+. So I thought I'd be up against stiffer competition.

I got 2 Second Places in the Pro category, and a judge sought me out to personally tell me he enjoyed my angel/ piano picture. Both 1st Places were landscapes... in fact mine were the ONLY human portraits in the Pro categories... I'll step it up for next year. ;)




You can see the first place winners right next to mine, both landscapes. The "Best in Show" for Photography was horse hooves.... lol.

What's funny, is that on a whim I entered Nate's little jewelry box he made... and he took home the 1st Place in the 25+ category for Crafts... LOL!!!



A couple other images from this weekend....



A little less than 6 weeks left....

Belly-tastic

As mentioned, I had my 32 week appointment & Ultra Sound yesterday. I've gained another 3 lbs, for a total of 28. My blood pressure was fine, Sugar's heartbeat was nice and fast at 160 bpm.

Here are the US photos... I'm actually disappointed in these... Seth's & Lucas' are these gorgeous photos with detailed lips and facial features.... These, are well.....




She is however, still quite clearly a girl, lol! They could also already see her hair, and she is right at 4 lbs. This leads me to believe that she will have dark hair like her brothers. I've always heard that babies born with hair tend to have dark hair, whereas blond babies are mostly bald, lol. She has turned, and is now face down as she should be. I knew that though, since nightly I can feel Suagr extending her feet waaaay out by my belly button.

Here are my 32 week photos~




After my appointment yesterday we came home and took a million maternity photos. There are some really fun ones, now I just need to proof. Here is one sneak peek.... check back later this week for the rest!



Nate is off to an all-day meeting in VA today. I'm thinking I'll take the boys to the mall later, Seth really needs a haircut, and its to the point where I can't trim it. I can usually trim it up once, maybe twice after a real stylist/ barber does it, but 3rd time... no way, it needs pro help, lol.

Have a happy weekend!

Serenity Now....

Thanks to everyone for their great advice and words of encouragement about the bed-wetting. I'm very happy to report that Seth has been dry the last 4 nights. If he stays dry tonight, he is allowed to go get a small pack of Legos tomorrow at TRU.

Tomorrow is my 32 week appointment and an ultrasound. I am excited, I am nervous, I am completely baffled where all of my time is going. These pregnancies seem to go much faster the more you have, lol. I just remember Seth's taking forever, and now... I am almost done.

I find myself very short in patience these days. I am very uncomfortable and cumbersome. I just can't get comfortable anywhere... on the couch or in bed. My stress level has risen, because I am finding the everyday noise just an irritant.

I am a bit nervous about tomorrow's visit. I am just praying Sugar is still a SHE. We have only painted the walls of the nursery. Everything else is just at stand still until I get get my double confirmation. Paint on the walls is no biggie to change... painting the unfinished dresser? That is a different story.

I'm really hoping to direct Nate in some maternity photos tomorrow or Saturday. I'd like to record my belly now, as opposed to grossly huge in the next few weeks, lol. I have some fresh ideas and can't wait to see if we can capture them.

March Comes in like a Lion

We are all currently snowed in... I LOATHE snow in March, it should be time for daffodils and tulips, not snow! I had a really busy weekend here! I had 2 male senior studio shoots, followed by a 9 mos old shoot Saturday.



As you know, I've been running the Photography Challenge over at TDC. Well the above photos represent the challenge "The Feeling of Happy." Four days of wearing that costume and flying like a superhero, sure gives my Ses that feeling... lol.

I have to share these below photos... Four years ago, baby Seth & Daddy napping on the couch~



Yesterday's nap on the couch. Love it. Not much has changed on Sunday afternoons.



Seth as been fully potty trained for over a year... meaning he has also been fully NIGHT trained for over a year. Nate or I always take him to the potty before we go to be, around 11pm, to help fully empty his bladder.

Over the last year he has had the random accident.

But he has now wet the bed EVERY night, the last 4 nights in a row. I don't get it. And he can't explain it. Yesterday morning he said "It's b/c my bed is warm." This morning he said "I'm scared of the dark." I'm getting very tired of washing everything everyday now.

I've asked him if it hurts when he pees (like a UTI) he said no. I asked him if he was nervous about Baby Sister coming, he said "no." I'm at a loss. Any ideas?

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