And just to show what a big girl she's getting to be, here are a couple of pictures of how Anna Kate can now climb to the top of the playground...makes me nervous, but she sure has fun!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Grandma and Grandpa are here!
We are so glad to have my parents here in Camden with us for 4 months while they are in transition between their 8 years in Bolivia and their new missions assignment in Costa Rica. A church in our area has offered them their missionary house to live in while they are here which is PERFECT because it is less than 1.5 miles from our house! We have been having so much fun being able to spend this special time with them and are so thankful that they will be here for little Caroline's first few months. The other day Anna Kate and I met Grandma up at the park which is right between our houses for a little playtime!
And just to show what a big girl she's getting to be, here are a couple of pictures of how Anna Kate can now climb to the top of the playground...makes me nervous, but she sure has fun!
And just to show what a big girl she's getting to be, here are a couple of pictures of how Anna Kate can now climb to the top of the playground...makes me nervous, but she sure has fun!
Friday, September 16, 2011
36 weeks and we have a name!!!
I will be at 36 weeks on Sunday and it's hard to believe our sweet girl is going to be here so soon! We are starting to get so excited to meet her! I had a doctor appointment yesterday and everything looks great. No signs of labor yet, so that's good but means we will have to be patient another few weeks! The ultrasound estimated that she weighs about 6 pounds right now, and our doctor said she will probably gain 3/4 of a pound a week from here on out. So...another 10 pound baby? We'll see!
One special note: my mom got to come with me to this appointment to see the ultrasound! With them living overseas, this isn't something that she would normally get to do, so it was fun to have her there! We are also really enjoying having them here in SC for 4 months (more on that in another post!).
As far as this pregnancy goes, I am feeling really well and honestly enjoying these last few weeks. I don't feel nearly as puffy and swollen as I did with Anna Kate, so I am a lot more comfortable. Still the occasional heartburn, but other than that, no real complaints! I am feeling the baby move and kick around ALL the time and Luke even said today that it looked like she was trying to break out! Here are a couple of pictures we took today.
And finally, for some bigger news...we have decided on a name! I don't know why it was so much harder this time than last time, but it definitely took us longer. Maybe it's because we were overthinking the whole sibling thing...wanting the names to sound good together, but not be too matchy matchy, etc. So, without further ado, we have settled on....Caroline Hope Tolbert. Obviously, a carol is a song, and actually means "joyous song," so this little one will be our joyous song of hope! We are so excited to meet our little Caroline (whom Anna Kate has already nicknamed "Line Line")! We'll keep you all updated as we get closer to her arrival!
One special note: my mom got to come with me to this appointment to see the ultrasound! With them living overseas, this isn't something that she would normally get to do, so it was fun to have her there! We are also really enjoying having them here in SC for 4 months (more on that in another post!).
As far as this pregnancy goes, I am feeling really well and honestly enjoying these last few weeks. I don't feel nearly as puffy and swollen as I did with Anna Kate, so I am a lot more comfortable. Still the occasional heartburn, but other than that, no real complaints! I am feeling the baby move and kick around ALL the time and Luke even said today that it looked like she was trying to break out! Here are a couple of pictures we took today.
And finally, for some bigger news...we have decided on a name! I don't know why it was so much harder this time than last time, but it definitely took us longer. Maybe it's because we were overthinking the whole sibling thing...wanting the names to sound good together, but not be too matchy matchy, etc. So, without further ado, we have settled on....Caroline Hope Tolbert. Obviously, a carol is a song, and actually means "joyous song," so this little one will be our joyous song of hope! We are so excited to meet our little Caroline (whom Anna Kate has already nicknamed "Line Line")! We'll keep you all updated as we get closer to her arrival!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
18 month check-up!
Sweet Anna Kate had her 18 month doctor's appointment this morning and she did great! I can hardly believe that my little girl is a year and a half old! Since we now live literally 2 blocks from her pediatrician's office, we had some extra time this morning and thought we would take some pictures out in the yard before we left. Maybe it's just the mommy in me, but I just can't stand her cuteness sometimes!
Are we done yet?
So back to the doctor's appointment...Anna Kate seems to be growing strong and healthy and we are so grateful for what a blessing that is! Here are her stats and percentiles:
Weight: 26 lbs. 4 oz. (75th percentile)
Height: approximately 32 inches...she didn't cooperate extremely well for this one. So technically that's the 55th percentile, but our doctor said she didn't think that was very accurate!
Other than the height check, Anna Kate was actually much more cooperative than I thought she was going to be! She really didn't fuss too much when the Doctor wanted to look in her eyes and ears and mouth and listen to her heartbeat. She even wanted to give the doctor a hug after it was all over!
She only had to get one shot and one finger prick today, so that part went pretty quickly and she calmed right back down. Here she is being a little dramatic about it though, and showing off her wounds:
And this here too...the nerve...
The only not-so-good part of the check-up was that the Dr. confirmed what I had suspected about some dry patches on the back of Anna Kate's legs...our blonde-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned baby girl has eczema that will probably come and go especially when it is very hot or very cold out. So we now have some special soap to use for her, but if any of you all have any home remedies that have worked well for you or any of your kids, please let me know! We would love to try to go that route and avoid ongoing prescription ointments if we can. My first project is going to be making my own laundry detergent, so we'll see how it goes!
So you want me to just stand here and look cute?
How about a cheese face?
Are we done yet?
Ha ha ha, you can't catch me!
So back to the doctor's appointment...Anna Kate seems to be growing strong and healthy and we are so grateful for what a blessing that is! Here are her stats and percentiles:
Weight: 26 lbs. 4 oz. (75th percentile)
Height: approximately 32 inches...she didn't cooperate extremely well for this one. So technically that's the 55th percentile, but our doctor said she didn't think that was very accurate!
Other than the height check, Anna Kate was actually much more cooperative than I thought she was going to be! She really didn't fuss too much when the Doctor wanted to look in her eyes and ears and mouth and listen to her heartbeat. She even wanted to give the doctor a hug after it was all over!
She only had to get one shot and one finger prick today, so that part went pretty quickly and she calmed right back down. Here she is being a little dramatic about it though, and showing off her wounds:
Can you believe they did this to me?
And this here too...the nerve...
The only not-so-good part of the check-up was that the Dr. confirmed what I had suspected about some dry patches on the back of Anna Kate's legs...our blonde-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned baby girl has eczema that will probably come and go especially when it is very hot or very cold out. So we now have some special soap to use for her, but if any of you all have any home remedies that have worked well for you or any of your kids, please let me know! We would love to try to go that route and avoid ongoing prescription ointments if we can. My first project is going to be making my own laundry detergent, so we'll see how it goes!
Monday, August 22, 2011
A story in pictures
Anna Kate cracks me up...she has quite the little personality and knows exactly how she wants things to be. The other day I was cooking dinner and she was in her playroom right off the kitchen. I could hear that she was playing with her blocks and then all went quiet. So of course I went to check on her. I asked her what she was doing and this is what she pointed to:
Her shape sorter box that is normally filled with different-shaped blocks. Since it was empty, I asked her where all of her blocks were. She pointed here - to her kitchen set.
I then proceeded to look in all of the different cabinets for her blocks and found nothing. So I asked her to be more specific...where exactly did she put all of her blocks? She then went over to the side of the kitchen set, bent down and pointed underneath...
She had stashed every one of her blocks underneath her kitchen set. Why? I have no idea, but she sure thought that's where they needed to be! What a funny girl!
Her shape sorter box that is normally filled with different-shaped blocks. Since it was empty, I asked her where all of her blocks were. She pointed here - to her kitchen set.
I then proceeded to look in all of the different cabinets for her blocks and found nothing. So I asked her to be more specific...where exactly did she put all of her blocks? She then went over to the side of the kitchen set, bent down and pointed underneath...
She had stashed every one of her blocks underneath her kitchen set. Why? I have no idea, but she sure thought that's where they needed to be! What a funny girl!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
End of Summer happenings
What a crazy last couple of weeks it has been! We have been super busy doing a bunch of end of summer events with our youth group at church! Since Luke is a youth pastor, his (and therefore, our) schedule still revolves around a school calendar even though I'm not teaching in a school anymore. Just in the past week we have had a big Lake day, an Ultimate frisbee night, and a high school weekend retreat...not to mention regularly scheduled youth group meetings and Bible studies! Even though it's not always super convenient, Anna Kate and I try to participate in as much of the youth events as possible...I like to be there to spend time with and get to know the students, and Anna Kate loves to hang out with all of the big kids! So here are some pictures of our week:
MHBC Youth Lake Day 2011
Anna Kate loves the water and one of her favorite high school girls offered to take her out so I could relax with the other moms...thanks, Susanmarie!
Here's Anna Kate again out with the big kids
Luke and Matt were our master chefs!
Ultimate Frisbee
(Isn't that sun beautiful?)
Luke reliving his college days...
This is what Anna Kate did during ultimate frisbee...well, this and rearrange the boundary cones a little bit!
Unfortunately, I didn't take a whole lot of pictures on our high school retreat this weekend, but let's just say that it consisted of some great times of discipleship, but also a lot of silliness! Here's Luke filling a balloon with shaving cream...I'm still not sure why the wig was necessary, but he thought it was!
Our winning team for the "High School Olympics"
Luke and Matt were our master chefs!
Ultimate Frisbee
(Isn't that sun beautiful?)
Luke reliving his college days...
This is what Anna Kate did during ultimate frisbee...well, this and rearrange the boundary cones a little bit!
Unfortunately, I didn't take a whole lot of pictures on our high school retreat this weekend, but let's just say that it consisted of some great times of discipleship, but also a lot of silliness! Here's Luke filling a balloon with shaving cream...I'm still not sure why the wig was necessary, but he thought it was!
Our winning team for the "High School Olympics"
We have one more big pool party tomorrow night, then a back to school bash on Wednesday night, and then I think things will start to slow down a little bit as the kids start school...and as we get ready for our little girl who will be here in just a few weeks!!!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Burgin siblings beach trip!
As many of you know, I am the third out of four siblings. Due to marriages and babies being born, the four of us have now multiplied into eleven! So that you can keep us all straight, here's a little rundown of who you are about to see in all these pictures:
My brother Stephen (5.5 years older than me) and his wife Rachael live in FL with their 2 year old girl, Leah.
My sister Sarah (4 years older) and her husband Dustin live in DC with 3 year old Wesley and 20-month-old Cooper.
Then comes us of course.
And finally we have (not-so-baby) brother Andrew (8 years younger) who is just starting his freshman year at the University of Florida. I say "not-so-baby" because he's almost a head taller than any of the rest of us!
Anyway, we have all been talking for quite some time about how fun it would be to all get together at a beach house somewhere between DC and FL. It's not always easy to coordinate all of our schedules, but we finally made it happen last week in Oak Island, North Carolina. None of us had ever heard of Oak Island before, but we found a great house on Craigslist and decided we would just go for it! Turns out it was a PERFECT location! Just a little ways south of Wilmington, Oak Island is one of those beach towns that doesn't have much going on except the wind and the waves. Exactly how we wanted it! So we all spent a fantastic week on the beach enjoying the beautiful weather, watching the kids play in the sand and the water, kayaking in the ocean, riding bikes, playing board games, and just spending time together. So, without further ado, here are some pictures of our week.
We sure missed having Mom and Dad with us, so we made sure to Skype with them a few times while we were there. This picture was taken on skype while we were doing just that. All four Burgin kids together doesn't happen much!
We found an old cabana-style tent in the garage of the place we were staying. Unfortunately, it was in pretty rough shape and missing some pieces...we made it work though!
The guys did some rigging after the first day though, and made it look like this!
Here is what the babies did all day, every day!
Anna Kate liked to pretend that this bucket was her purse...what can I say, she's a little girly!
Daddy is a great sandcastle builder!
Playing in the ocean with Anna Kate and my niece, Leah.
Leah liked the water, but when it came to the sand, she would rather be under the tent with the mommies! Here she is singing "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes!"
We spent every day from about 9am until noon on the beach and then headed back to the house for lunch and naps. Or in Anna Kate's case, both at the same time! She was so tired out one day that she fell asleep while eating lunch! Here's a picture, but the video says it better!
I think these babies got more baths this week than they ever have! We had to bathe them all at lunchtime after being on the beach all morning, and then again before bed after playing outside again all afternoon/evening! Here are the two sweet girl cousins getting their hair shampooed!
The house we were staying at was very kid-friendly and we found plenty of ride-on equipment for the babies! They LOVED going for walks in the evenings on their various modes of transportation: Anna Kate on the tricycle she thought she was riding herself, but actually has a push handle; Cooper and Leah in the wagon; and Wesley on a little bike with training wheels!
Another one of the babies' activities of choice was reading stories - stories first thing in the morning, stories in the afternoons, stories before bed, you name it!
Leah, for those of you who don't know, is blind and she had so much fun showing her cousins how to read all of her braille books. Here they all are taking turns touching the pages of "Goodnight Moon" before bed one night.
Because he's a bit older than the rest of the babies, Wesley was the only one who really understood (or cared!) that he will soon be having another baby girl cousin. He loved to feel her kick around and every time he would walk into a room where I was, he would come up to me and say, "Aunt Patty, the baby is getting bigger and bigger! She's about to outgrow her little house in there!" Yes, Wesley, I know...haha!
I do have to put up a couple of funny pictures of my little brother, Andrew. He sure kept us laughing this week with his crazy antics! As a joke one evening, Sarah and Dustin bought him a package of Bacon and Cheese flavored crickets. That's right, real dried crickets. He was not about to back down from a challenge, so of course, he had to try them!
And so you'll believe it, here's the video!
He has no fear. This was also demonstrated when he saw a fisherman catch a baby shark just off the coast (I know, scary!). Andrew decided he would just have to go over there and hold said shark. Alive and flopping. I had nothing to do with this except to send Luke over there to take the picture!
What a crazy kid...who knows what kind of trouble he's going to get himself into now that he's off to college! UF better be prepared!
Finally, on our last night we decided we would go out for a special dinner all together. We went to a cute little town called Southport (about a 20 min drive from where we were) and walked around all the little shops. Anna Kate loved snuggling her daddy in the Ergo!
Here we all are enjoying a wonderful seafood dinner right on the water.
And one of just our little family out on the dock. It's also a good 30 week tummy shot!
What an absolutely wonderful week! We are so thankful for the blessing of family to share life with, even though we live far apart. Check back for pictures next year when we can hopefully make our 2nd annual trip!
My brother Stephen (5.5 years older than me) and his wife Rachael live in FL with their 2 year old girl, Leah.
My sister Sarah (4 years older) and her husband Dustin live in DC with 3 year old Wesley and 20-month-old Cooper.
Then comes us of course.
And finally we have (not-so-baby) brother Andrew (8 years younger) who is just starting his freshman year at the University of Florida. I say "not-so-baby" because he's almost a head taller than any of the rest of us!
Anyway, we have all been talking for quite some time about how fun it would be to all get together at a beach house somewhere between DC and FL. It's not always easy to coordinate all of our schedules, but we finally made it happen last week in Oak Island, North Carolina. None of us had ever heard of Oak Island before, but we found a great house on Craigslist and decided we would just go for it! Turns out it was a PERFECT location! Just a little ways south of Wilmington, Oak Island is one of those beach towns that doesn't have much going on except the wind and the waves. Exactly how we wanted it! So we all spent a fantastic week on the beach enjoying the beautiful weather, watching the kids play in the sand and the water, kayaking in the ocean, riding bikes, playing board games, and just spending time together. So, without further ado, here are some pictures of our week.
We sure missed having Mom and Dad with us, so we made sure to Skype with them a few times while we were there. This picture was taken on skype while we were doing just that. All four Burgin kids together doesn't happen much!
We found an old cabana-style tent in the garage of the place we were staying. Unfortunately, it was in pretty rough shape and missing some pieces...we made it work though!
The guys did some rigging after the first day though, and made it look like this!
Here is what the babies did all day, every day!
Anna Kate liked to pretend that this bucket was her purse...what can I say, she's a little girly!
My pretty girl
Daddy is a great sandcastle builder!
Playing in the ocean with Anna Kate and my niece, Leah.
Leah liked the water, but when it came to the sand, she would rather be under the tent with the mommies! Here she is singing "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes!"
We spent every day from about 9am until noon on the beach and then headed back to the house for lunch and naps. Or in Anna Kate's case, both at the same time! She was so tired out one day that she fell asleep while eating lunch! Here's a picture, but the video says it better!
I think these babies got more baths this week than they ever have! We had to bathe them all at lunchtime after being on the beach all morning, and then again before bed after playing outside again all afternoon/evening! Here are the two sweet girl cousins getting their hair shampooed!
The house we were staying at was very kid-friendly and we found plenty of ride-on equipment for the babies! They LOVED going for walks in the evenings on their various modes of transportation: Anna Kate on the tricycle she thought she was riding herself, but actually has a push handle; Cooper and Leah in the wagon; and Wesley on a little bike with training wheels!
Anna Kate absolutely LOVED this thing and cried so pitifully each time she had to get off. One of her favorite parts was the little bell on the handlebars. I think we know what to get her for Christmas...if we can wait that long!
Another one of the babies' activities of choice was reading stories - stories first thing in the morning, stories in the afternoons, stories before bed, you name it!
Leah, for those of you who don't know, is blind and she had so much fun showing her cousins how to read all of her braille books. Here they all are taking turns touching the pages of "Goodnight Moon" before bed one night.
Because he's a bit older than the rest of the babies, Wesley was the only one who really understood (or cared!) that he will soon be having another baby girl cousin. He loved to feel her kick around and every time he would walk into a room where I was, he would come up to me and say, "Aunt Patty, the baby is getting bigger and bigger! She's about to outgrow her little house in there!" Yes, Wesley, I know...haha!
I do have to put up a couple of funny pictures of my little brother, Andrew. He sure kept us laughing this week with his crazy antics! As a joke one evening, Sarah and Dustin bought him a package of Bacon and Cheese flavored crickets. That's right, real dried crickets. He was not about to back down from a challenge, so of course, he had to try them!
And so you'll believe it, here's the video!
He has no fear. This was also demonstrated when he saw a fisherman catch a baby shark just off the coast (I know, scary!). Andrew decided he would just have to go over there and hold said shark. Alive and flopping. I had nothing to do with this except to send Luke over there to take the picture!
What a crazy kid...who knows what kind of trouble he's going to get himself into now that he's off to college! UF better be prepared!
Finally, on our last night we decided we would go out for a special dinner all together. We went to a cute little town called Southport (about a 20 min drive from where we were) and walked around all the little shops. Anna Kate loved snuggling her daddy in the Ergo!
Here we all are enjoying a wonderful seafood dinner right on the water.
And one of just our little family out on the dock. It's also a good 30 week tummy shot!
What an absolutely wonderful week! We are so thankful for the blessing of family to share life with, even though we live far apart. Check back for pictures next year when we can hopefully make our 2nd annual trip!
Friday, August 5, 2011
29.5 weeks!
It is hard to believe that Sunday will mark 30 weeks in this pregnancy! I feel like I get more and more excited every day to meet this sweet little girl. I also have moments of nervousness (aka sheer panic) when I think about having not one but TWO babies to take care of! Especially when for some reason Anna Kate has decided to start sleeping like a newborn the past few nights...but I know that I am not the first mother in the world to make the transition from one to two children, and I certainly will not be the last. And while there might be some difficult moments ahead, we feel so blessed to have two precious daughters to love and to care for and to raise to know and love Jesus.
So, back to this pregnancy...I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and everything looks great! Baby was hiccuping and moving around like crazy on the ultrasound which was pretty fun to watch. She also kicked our doctor's hand a couple of times! The most noteworthy finding was that she is probably going to be a big baby (surprise surprise)...according to the ultrasound estimation, she currently weighs 3.8 lbs. Which is a whole pound heavier than most babies at 29.5 weeks. So by the measurements, it looks like we better be prepared for a baby around the first week of October instead of October 16th! Hard to believe that is just 8 weeks away!!!
And I have one little anecdote to share with you before I close out this post...
I got Anna Kate a "big sister" book at the library yesterday...unfortunately, when we look at the pictures of a mommy, a daddy, a big sister and a baby, and I ask her which one is Anna Kate, she points to the baby...we may have a rough ride ahead of us! Haha...Luke read her the book a few times last night though and I think she might be starting to understand!
Sorry there's no picture today...maybe I'll upload one in the next couple days!
So, back to this pregnancy...I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and everything looks great! Baby was hiccuping and moving around like crazy on the ultrasound which was pretty fun to watch. She also kicked our doctor's hand a couple of times! The most noteworthy finding was that she is probably going to be a big baby (surprise surprise)...according to the ultrasound estimation, she currently weighs 3.8 lbs. Which is a whole pound heavier than most babies at 29.5 weeks. So by the measurements, it looks like we better be prepared for a baby around the first week of October instead of October 16th! Hard to believe that is just 8 weeks away!!!
And I have one little anecdote to share with you before I close out this post...
I got Anna Kate a "big sister" book at the library yesterday...unfortunately, when we look at the pictures of a mommy, a daddy, a big sister and a baby, and I ask her which one is Anna Kate, she points to the baby...we may have a rough ride ahead of us! Haha...Luke read her the book a few times last night though and I think she might be starting to understand!
Sorry there's no picture today...maybe I'll upload one in the next couple days!
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