Easter Weekend

This year we went to Denton for Easter. Alex didn't work on Friday, so we were able to leave Shreveport first thing in the morning. We always enjoy having an extra day or two over there. Perry loves staying at Cheetah and Papou's house and I always find it so relaxing. We spent Friday just hanging around the house and playing outside.

Cheetah was watering some plants and when Perry noticed, he ran straight for the water! 

 Pure joy!

Riding the plasma car with Daddy

On Saturday morning, Alex and all the other guys in the family set out for their big day of paintball. Blanche had given all of them a certificate for a day of paintballing as a Christmas gift. They had a blast and came home talking all about it. I think they liked the excitement and physical nature of the game, but also enjoyed hanging out with each other. While the boys were away, Blanche and I took Perry to get his hair cut at Annie's salon. Perry did so well sitting in the chair and Annie did a great job with the cut. Once Alex got home, the three of us went over to Paw and Maw's house for a visit. On Easter Sunday, Perry woke up and hunted for some eggs in the yard. It was the first time he had hunted eggs, but he knew exactly what to do. Every time he found an egg, he would open it up. There wasn't anything in the eggs, but he still felt it was important to just check!

 "Hmm...what do we have here?"

"Look at all my cracked eggs!"

 A bit out of focus, but too cute to not include!

 Alex in his festive Easter church attire

The highlight of the weekend was when all the siblings arrived for our big lunch. It was so good to see everyone! After lunch, there was a little badminton game in the back yard. The fun just never ends with this family! It was killing me that I couldn't play (because Blanche and I kicked butt in California), but I'm trying to be a "good patient".

 It was a little hard for them to play "all out" with 5 kids running around

Perry decided to get in on the action

Sweet mother/daughter shot (Katie and Bree)

We left town Sunday afternoon and made it back to Shreveport in time for Perry to see his Easter basket before bed.

Even though I wouldn't change a thing about the weekend, I really hate that we missed Sunday worship with our church family in Shreveport. I hope you all had a blessed Easter!

Daddy's shoes

It's hard to imagine that he might fit into these shoes some day.

As close as it gets

Over the past 6 months Alex and I have tossed around the idea of getting a puppy since our little boy is so in love with them. Well, after dog sitting for a week, we realized we are CERTAINLY not ready for a puppy. Thankfully Perry has a cute little puppy pull-toy that he can play with at home and he can get the real experience when we visit friends and family. He has enjoyed taking his "puppy" for walks lately and I wanted to share a couple pictures. Once Perry demonstrates that he can walk, feed, and potty train a puppy, we will reconsider the idea of getting a real one.

 He was ready to go first thing this morning

Too cute!

I had to include this last picture because I thought it was adorable. I'm pretty sure I've spent the last 3 months like this and Perry is now imitating me! 

I'm back!!

You may have noticed a lack in blogging recently. My poor husband has noticed a lack in everything recently.
My excuse..........

We are thrilled about our new addition on the way! Baby Burke #2 is due October 16 (just 4 days before Perry's birthday). I'm 13 1/2 weeks along now and happy to report that I'm starting to feel better. Woo hoo! I've been sick since about 5 weeks, so I'm beyond pleased to be feeling some relief. I have to eat frequently to avoid getting sick and I'm still taking Zofran at least once a day, but I've experienced an 80% improvement over the last week. Because of my high-risk pregnancy with Perry and the assumption that I have an incompetent cervix, my doctor wanted to give me a scheduled cerclage this time around. I had that procedure done about a week and a half ago. We are very thankful everything went well. The biggest complication I had was having a set back in my nausea/vomiting for several days following the procedure. We are praying for smooth sailing from here on out and would appreciate your prayers too as you think of us.

A Week of Visitors

We got to see a lot of Alex's family this past week and it was such a special treat! It's kind of funny the way everything developed, but it was just perfect!
Alex's mom (Cheetah) came over last Thursday to help out and spend some quality time with her littlest grandchild. Then on Friday evening, Bill (Papou) and the Beckers arrived and stayed the night. We all had dinner and the kids got to play a little before bedtime. After a big breakfast on Saturday morning, they all left for Gulf Shores. Molly stayed behind and we took care of her all week. She made herself right at home. Poor dog just couldn't get far enough away from Perry. At first, Perry was a little too excited about Molly being here and did things like yell in her face and hit (aka pet) her. Thankfully, Molly has the sweetest temperament and tolerated all the abuse very well. By day 3, Perry calmed down and the two of them turned out to be good buds.

On Sunday we got to see Alex's dad and step mom. Paw and Maw joined us for church and then took us out to lunch before heading back to Denton. Perry loved seeing them and showing off for them. We all enjoyed a good, but brief, visit. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera to get a picture.
Then on Monday I got a text from Alex's sister (Annie) asking if she and Nate could come over on Tuesday and stay the night. I was super excited and honored they would want to come see us on their day off, so we made plans and geared up for their arrival. We went out to Superior Grill for dinner and then just came home and hung out. Everyone (except Alex, who was hard at work) slept in Wednesday and had a lazy morning. We met Alex for a late lunch before Annie and Nate headed back to Denton. It was another quick visit, but such quality time. Perry got so much love and attention from Annie and Nate (and Chica too). It melts my heart to know how loved he is.

On Friday the beach crew passed back through town. They stopped at the house for a good dinner and a much needed break from the car. I wasn't sure they were actually going to get back on the road for the additional 3.5 hours, but they did, so we had to say goodbye. It was an exciting week and we loved every minute of it! We are so blessed to have such wonderful and fun family to share our lives with.

The Fab 4 at Camp D

Ashley/Mary Stewart Donald, Me/Perry, Lee/James Jackson, Katharine/Ella Anderson

Several weeks ago Perry and I took a road trip to Ellijay, GA to spend the week at Camp D with some of my best friends, Lee, Ashley, and Katharine. The four of us are scattered around the Southeast--Katharine is in Charlotte, NC, Ashley is in Marietta, GA, Lee is in Baton Rouge--so it has been difficult for all of us to get together. We each made it a priority to make this trip happen and I'm so glad it all worked out! Perry and I left Shreveport on Monday and drove to Jackson, MS where we stayed the night with my friend Joanna. Lee and James drove from Baton Rouge and stayed in Jackson with us too. Joanna and Jason were such great hosts and were extra kind to take in two babies for the night. We had a great time catching up with Joanna and spending time with her before the arrival of Baby McNeel. On Tuesday morning, Lee and I and the boys hit the road at 8:00 and arrived at Camp D some time after 5:00 pm Eastern. The drive went pretty well, but we were so happy to finally get there! We were greeted by Ashley and Mary Stewart and Katharine and Ella. It was a dream come true for all of us and our kids to be together. On top of that, the only thing on our agenda for the week was to relax and hang out!

Camp D was so peaceful and beautiful! It's actually quite more then a "camp", but that's what the Donald's call it. Perry and I had the downstairs to ourselves, which turned out to be a good thing since he cried ALL NIGHT LONG the first night. He never does well the first couple nights in a pack n play. We basically stayed at the house the entire time, but we were all busy with 4 little schedules that the days passed so quickly. The kids played a lot...they played inside with toys, outside at the park, watched a little TV, roamed around on the back porch, and chased each other around. 

 Mary Stewart and Perry

 Sweet baby James (his hand was healing from a little injury)

Two little monkeys (Perry and Ella) sittin' in a chair

For me, the best part of the trip were the evenings after all the kids were asleep. The four of us would just sit around eating cookies and chatting. It was such a sweet and uplifting time. I really wish we could do it more often! 

This was the best attempt at a kids group shot.

Mary Stewart (17 months), Perry (16 months), Ella (13 months), James (7 months)

I think Perry and I were filled with enough joy and hugs to last us another year, but not a day longer! We can't wait to do it again! 

Thank you Ashley for taking such good care of us and a big thank you to Dee Dee and PaPa Donald for letting us use Camp D.

The Headband

A while back, Perry came across one of my headbands and I let him try it on. He thought it was so funny and loved looking at himself in the mirror. He has continued to enjoy wearing it, which I find so cute! I know he will not always think this is fun, so I decided I better snap some shots this morning. I hope he doesn't hate me for this in 15 years! 

"I told you to stop taking my picture!"