November 23, 2011

Hello :)

Spencer is now just over 10 weeks old and growing so much every single day. It's been amazing watching her learn and grow. She's closing in on 13 lbs and as of her last appointment a week or so ago she was still around 24 inches. She's an incredibly happy baby...always laughing and smiling. She loves to watch Bella walk around. She's discovered her tongue as well as how to blow bubbles & make funny noises. She LOVES when I make the funny noises back at her...it just cracks her up. haha :).

We're pretty excited to spend our first Thanksgiving together as a family tomorrow. Preparations will start today. Alex gets a 4-day weekend for the holiday, so that will be nice :).

As far as school goes Alex is still excelling and still enjoying what he's learning. He will be graduating at the end of January 2012 and we hope to have our orders in the next few weeks! (hopefully sooner than later). It's been a long wait!

We can't wait to get home and see our family and friends for the Christmas holiday. We love you all!

Growing Munchkin

It's almost Halloween and that means our little girl is almost 7 weeks old! I can't believe how fast time has flown since I had her. She's growing every day and I can honestly say it's nothing short of amazing to watch the new things she does and just interact with her. At her last appointment (last week) she weighed in at 11 lbs and 5 oz and was 25 inches. I can't believe how much she's grown! She's the most beautiful little baby I've ever laid eyes on :). She's smiling all the time now & is too long for her newborn onesies!

Alex is doing great in school, of course! We're hoping to get orders in the next few weeks and I'm insanely anxious!! But instead of complaining about what could happen I've decided to take on whatever destination we're given with a positive attitude. We will do the best we can with whatever we're given. You don't have much control in the military life and even after 3 years it's hard for me to accept that.

I'm starting my new work out plan to shed the last of these baby pounds...so wish me luck! I'm already down a few pounds from my plateau weight thanks to eating better! I'm 12 lbs away from my pre pregnancy weight and hope to lose 22 total! Pray for me!! :)

We're excited to come home for the holidays and see everyone..and to introduce you all to our little munchkin! She's incredible! I'm not sure what else to update about for now..but I'll try harder to keep this up to date!!

Love,
Mary <3

Our angel is here :)

I'm awful at updating but I bring good news.

At 225pm on Monday September 12, 2011 the most beautiful little girl ever born entered the world. Spencer Noelle is amazingly perfect and has a beautiful head of dark hair. As of right now it's looking like she may have blue eyes, but it's still too early to tell. She was 8lbs  3 oz and 20.5in. Our doctors gave us a clean bill of health and all of the nurses fell in love with her. She's an amazing little person and she has the best temperament. We had a few surprises with her birth though!

I was scheduled to be induced on Sunday the 11th, but apparently when there is a full moon a lot of women go into natural labor so our hospital was filled too quickly for us to continue with our scheduled induction. We were sent home and told we may get in the next day, but basically not to count on it due to the number of women going into natural labor. I went in to see my doctor on the 12th and she said that we'd better hope I was dilated to a 5 at least so we had a good reason to get sent to the hospital. Well, thankfully God was ready for us to meet our little munchkin that day because I was at 5cm exactly and 100% effaced with my water about to burst. We were sent to the hospital that very minute and the doctor burst my water. As soon as she did, she ordered an ultrasound because she was suspicious that Spencer may have flipped and set herself in a breech position. The ultrasound confirmed that she had in fact turned around and taken a nice sized poop while she was chillin in there. lol. When we heard the doctor say we had to have a C-section we were very surprised and personally, I was terrified. I had never had any surgeries in my life before then and knowing I had to suddenly go in and have one was scary. The doctors prepped and I was wheeled in and readied for my surgery. Alex came in and stood by me throughout the whole operation. I don't think I could have handled it alone. Within 15 mins of starting the surgery Spencer was out and officially in the world. Seeing our baby for the first time was one of the most amazing experiences we've ever had.

We were both a little scared at first because she didn't cry when she came out and she really didn't cry the entire time they were cleaning her and getting her stats. It turns out she's just a very content little girl. She cried 1-2 times the entire hospital stay (and she still doesn't get upset easily at all). She is a perfect little miracle. Alex is doing AMAZING with her. He took over the feedings and changings while I was healing in the hospital and he's a wonderful daddy to his little girl. We're both in love with her and can't get enough of her. We really can't wait to bring her home and show her off to everyone. We really couldn't have asked for a better baby or hospital experience. God has truly blessed us.

Our beautiful miracle. 9/13/2011 (her onesie is from her Auntie Rachel)

Way overdue update

Oh my goodness, I apologize for being awful at updating this thing!

Well we're here in Florida. We've been here since May. It's beautiful, but extremely hot and humid (a different humidity than back home in KS). It's hard for a big pregnant woman like me to get out in the heat too much so Alex and I have only been to the beach a handful of times. It's still nice to know that we're only 20 mins from white sandy beaches and rolling oceans though :).

I'm 30 weeks along as of yesterday and more ready than ever to get the little munchkin out! She's growing and constantly moving- making breathing and getting up/down off furniture difficult. lol. Don't take your mobility for granted! She is measuring normal, as am I and she still has a healthy heartbeat (as of my appointment today).

I was recently in Kansas and we had the baby shower. Thank you so much to everyone who was able to come and to everyone who gave baby Spencer something. We love and appreciate everything! We're going to begin the set up process this week, as we'll be getting the rest of her goodies in from the shower. I was only able to stuff the clothes in my luggage! We plan to do some major baby shopping here in a few weeks to get the last of her furniture. Alex has felt her kick and move more often lately, which has been exciting for us both. We can't wait to meet our little girl!

Also- two good friends of mine got married on July 3 and I was very thankful to be a part of their wedding. Congrats Sadie and Dylan! I love you both!

Alex is STILL excelling in school, scoring very high on all assessments and enjoying the things he's learning. I think we're both ready for school to be over with and to get our little family somewhere stable though. We're anxious to find out where the army will send us after Florida....hopefully Ft. Riley :).

Our pups have had a hard adjustment to Florida life. If you've met Beau you know he's a bit on the tubby side, plus his coat is black so the heat really gets to him. It ain't easy being fat. haha. He misses his "other mommy" (Alex's mom) and his girls (the other dogs at the Burdge house). He has no one to boss around except Bella and she doesn't listen well. lol. We recently had to buy a crate for them, which we call their "home" as to not bring back the horrible crate training memories for Beau. Beau had developed a habit of pooping inside as soon as we left and Bella decided to eat the walls of our rental house so now they get to spend time in their home when we're away. They've adjusted surprisingly well though so it was obviously a good move! :)

Life is crazy and we're both pretty tired of me being pregnant. I'm sure we have different reasons..Alex is surely sick of my whining and desire to be waited on by now and I'm tired of having to be rolled off the bed/couch and having my feet look as though they belong to a 400 lb woman. But baby girl still has some more growing to do! Soon enough. :)

I hope this updated everyone well enough! We love and miss you all and can't wait to post pics of Spencer once she gets here!! <3

Phew!

Life is insanely busy. Anita and I recently got back from Alabama/Florida where we managed to avoid all of the tornadoes. Thank God. Alex managed to stay safe during all of the horrible storms as well.

Anita and I are now back and I'm happy/relieved to report we found and were approved for a house in Niceville, FL. It was such a stressful week! We did manage to sneak to the beach a few times though and it was MUCH needed. And I'm excited to report we're going to be able to bring both of our pups with us down south, which was a big concern!

And in even more exciting news, Alex and I will be finding out the gender of our baby on Monday and we couldn't be more excited. I may die waiting it out this weekend! We have names picked out no matter which way it goes and we're ready to start calling the little one by name!

Speaking of little one, he/she has been moving around like crazy! At first, I wasn't sure if what I was feeling were baby movements but at this point I'm positive and it's one of the most unusual/special feelings. It seems like every few days the movements get stronger which gives me a sense of comfort and security, knowing baby is getting stronger. Every day it becomes a bit more of a reality that we are going to be "mommy" and "daddy" to this little being in a matter of months. I have to be honest though, it's exhilarating and terrifying all at once.

Alex and I can't wait to finally be united in the same state again. 9 months in Florida will be nice, even though he will have a pretty demanding school schedule.

Rob is flying to NC as we speak to meet Alex and move all of our household items down to the new house. I'm heading down to FL for good in a little over a week. Rach and I are making the trip with the pups and I'm sure it'll be interesting! It's been a stressful few weeks for Alex and I , but we've GREATLY appreciated all the help and support/love we've received from family and friends.
 

Updates will be made once we find out more about Baby Burdge!

Excitement

Hello our dear friends!

I'm still feeling fairly well, fairly regularly and I'm still VERY thankful for that!

Alex, Anita and I have been busy house hunting online for the past week or so and I've got to say I'm not a fan of this task. We've found a few potential homes that meet our "non-negotiables" and our price range, but this process may drive me to insanity! We found the PERFECT starter home for our small, growing family but there is some other person in line ahead of us to rent it. So POOP. It really was ideal, but that just means God has something else in mind for us, huh? :)

Anita and I are prepping ourselves as our trip to Alabama then Florida is fast approaching. We are leaving at the crack of dawn (well, 5am and if you know if me that's an ungodly hour in my world..) Saturday morning so that we can get to Huntsville to see Antoine Dodson...err..I mean..Alex in time for dinner and in time to make it to Carmax to sell my Sentra so we can start paying off our Jeep debt! :)

Alex, being the wonderful husband that he is, spent this past weekend braving the fierce storms of the east so that he could retrieve my new Jeep Patriot from Raleigh, NC. He made it there and back safely thanks to wise driving and God's grace. Thank you Charlie and Lindsay for the lovely new ride. It was already time for an upgrade, as we have to make room for our new little addition which will be here some time in September! And on a side note- my prayers and thoughts go out to everyone who lost someone, was injured or suffered property damage due to the storms of the past weekend. I simply can't believe how hard Fayetteville and surrounding areas were hit. It is weird to grow up in Kansas and never see a tornado and then to have your east coast home be violently attacked by tornadic activity.

Alex is finishing up his last week at the Alabama portion of school and he'll be heading to Eglin AFB within the next few weeks to start the last chunk of his schooling. He's doing GREAT and is really enjoying it. We're both thankful for him to have a career he enjoys and can feel good about.

I'm currently 17 weeks and 3 days along with little baby Burdge. Our next OB appointment is this upcoming Friday. And in what is perhaps more exciting news, we will find out the gender a few short weeks after that appointment. I plan on rampaging target directly after the sonogram to buy my baby a few of his or her first outfits. This child is going to be spoiled beyond belief, it's just unavoidable. :)

Baby shower planning is also in high gear. The event will take place in Kansas in July, but I'm hoping to do something to get my NC friends together at some point. We'll see what we can work out!

Updates will be made WITH pictures once we finish our AL/FL trip and get a sonogram of Baby B! Thanks for checking in on us, friends and family. We love you all!

Baby, baby, baby...ooooh!

Hello friends!

Good news to report. I'm feeling much better :). I can't even express how thankful I am for my health and ability to LIVE after being stuck inside next to the toilet for 4 months. Thank you, God. I've even been able to enjoy two of my favorite Mexican places in the past few days...and that was the last type of food I thought I'd ever be able to eat during this pregnancy.

Well we had our first appointment a few weeks ago and everything seemed to be going great! Baby had a heart rate of 146, which is in the normal range. We're thankful for that. And in 4 short weeks we will be finding out if we're having a boy or a girl! And we've finally agreed on a male and female name, which I thought may never happen because Alex is terribly picky.

The weather here in Kansas is finally warm and spring-like, thankfully. Hopefully mother nature will allow it to stay that way and not try to sneak any more winter in on us. Alex has had some true spring weather down in Alabama, fully equipped with tornadoes and the whole she-bang. Nothing too serious yet though, thank goodness...and he is safe and well!

In three weeks Anita and I will be heading down to GA for an Easter visit with Alex and then we'll move on to Florida where I have full control over deciding what our house for the next 9 months will look like. HAHA! Don't worry, Alex has SOME say, but I just like feeling the power since he can't come with us to house hunt, lol. I have to keep him scared, right? :) What fun would it be otherwise?

I'm also to the point where my normal jeans and tighter shirts are not fitting as comfortably, so if any of you have maternity clothes/size large shirts or jeans bigger than a 7/8 I would be eternally grateful to you if you could pass them on to me. Maternity clothing is so expensive and I hate the idea of spending a ton on something I'll only be in for a few months. Thanks in advance!


Well that's all that comes to mind for now. Hopefully I'll be seeing some of you soon since I'm feeling well again! Have a wonderful week!

Finally

Well today is my first "official" OB appt. I'm a little nervous, just because I haven't had an appt. yet, even though I think I'm pretty aware of what will go on. Unfortunately I'm still not far enough along to find out if we will be having a baby girl or baby boy, but we should definitely know before I leave for Florida :). I'm 14 weeks along today! I do think I should hear the heartbeat today, which I'm incredibly anxious about..that's proof that I have a life inside of me..and what an incredible/strange feeling! I'll update about the appointment later :)!

We're creeping closer and closer to house hunting in Florida and to my little trip to Alabama to see Alex. Did I mention he's in Huntsville? Hide yo kids, hide yo wife.

Morning sickness has calmed down a TON. I'm still dealing with some nausea but I have only gotten sick ONCE this week! It's really incredible to be able to leave the house without the fear of throwing up all over a public place. If the myths are true, then this is definitely a girl inside me! I'm also finally getting some resemblance of a pregnant belly and not just a girl who ate one too many cheeseburgers lol.

Alex is still doing spectacular in school and he seems to be at the top of the class. Who is surprised? Not me. I told him he was that kid in school that I hated because the teacher would offer a curve on the test and he'd score a 99. haha.

I'm also going to be in two weddings, which I'm very excited about. My dear friends Sadie and Dylan are getting married this July and I will be one of their big, pregnant bridesmaids :). HA! That should be lovely. But in all seriousness I'm thrilled that she asked me to be a part of her special day. We've been close since middle school and I'm so happy she and Dylan are FINALLY making it official. Marriage is wonderful!

I hope you all are saving your money because I expect visitors in Florida. Even if the awesomeness that Alex and I exude doesn't convince you to visit, perhaps the sunny beaches of Florida will? :)

Well I'll update after the baby appointment! Have a lovely Friday!!

Slow poke

Well I hate to say it but we've still not seen an OB! My insurance was being a pain in the butt so I had to work the kinks out there. And if you know me, you know I'm a huge procrastinator so that took much longer than it should have but hopefully I'll get an appointment ASAP. -Calling today :).


The morning sickness has calmed down some, but still hasn't gone away. Even so, I'm thankful to not be sitting by the toilet the entire time I'm awake. This is the last week in my first trimester, which is an exciting milestone as I am already ready to get this baby out haha. I can't believe how many people are pregnant right now, either..it seems like half of my friends are expecting!

It is GORGEOUS outside. It's incredible waking up and it already being 60+ degrees. If nothing else, soaking in a little sunshine helps me feel better :).

Alex is staying very busy down in Alabama. He's doing VERY well in his course; we're all proud of him! We're both ready to see one another next month. Even a year apart can't keep us from hating 3 mths apart. :).

I'm busy trying to get Alex to let me have another dog--that would make number three. Haha. I just can't decide what breed. I'm pushing for a mastiff of some sort since we have two "smaller" dogs. We're going to wait until after baby is here and we're at our new duty station before we adopt, I'm sure. It seems better...that way we can make sure I can handle three dogs and a baby during the day alone. I may lose my mind lol.

Hopefully we find out the gender within the next month then I can start my compulsive shopping habit again. Ha! This baby will have more clothes than I do, and if you've seen my closet you know that's a ridiculous amount of clothing.

Well I suppose that's it for now! Thanks for reading! :)

First post =)

Hello out there! So, at the suggestion of a friend I've decided keeping a public blog would be a great way for our friends and family to keep up with our crazy life! Most of these posts will probably be updated by me (Mary) but Alex may be allowed to contribute =). So here we go...

First of all thank you to all of you who care enough to keep up with our lives. We appreciate and greatly needed the support we've received in the last 3 years. You've helped us more than you know!

Now on to our current life...
I'm in Kansas, living with Alex's parents in Paola. And I can honestly say I'd choose Paola over Fayetteville any day. I'm thankful for the experiences we had there and the friends we made but I was glad to get the heck out! I'm 10 weeks and 4 days pregnant and have my first official OB appt tomorrow. I'm pretty nervous/excited about that. This pregnancy has been a difficult thing for both Alex and I, as I've been sick for the last 6 weeks. It seems that my mother passed down her horrible morning sickness to me. Thanks mom! =). So since about week 5 I've befriended the nearest toilet and made friends with whatever foods and beverages that are kind enough to stay in my system. Which brings me to my next thought..please forgive me if you haven't seen/heard from me in the last weeks..I've felt so out of it that I barely get out of pajamas. But I'm praying to God that we're rounding out the last bit of time being sick as most women seem to say their sickness faded around week 12. Cross your fingers!!

Baby Burdge is due in mid-late September, so I can look forward to being ginormous on my 25th birthday! yay! haha. In all seriousness though, this is quite the blessing and we certainly didn't expect to conceive so quickly! Of course I'd love a little girl and Alex is hoping for his little boy, but we'd be blessed to have either and we just pray they come out with a clean bill of health! 

  I'll be living in Kansas until the middle of May sometime. At that time Alex and I will be moving to Florida where he will begin EOD training at Eglin AFB. We'll be enjoying the Florida warmth for a little less than a year and aren't quite sure yet where the army will send us post Florida. I vote Kansas or Hawaii ;). Alex is currently in Alabama at a school/training (which is why I'm back home). Keep him and our growing family in your prayers- being apart is never easy! But he does have internet in his room, so keep in touch with him via facebook! I'm sure he'd love to hear from some familiar people.

As of now neither Alex nor I are in school (civilian school, that is). We're taking a little break from it in order to handle everything that has found its way onto our plate this year. It should be a fantastically interesting year.

That's all I can think of at the moment, we'll add more later if anything important comes to mind. Thanks for reading =)!

Love.