WinterFest 2009

Last March, Adam asked for a total of four surprises for his 32nd birthday. I had to make plans, and surprise him. So, for surprise number three, I embarked on taking him, the dog, and Kenly Shae on a road trip to Blowing Rock, NC for Winterfest. How hard can it be to take a road trip? The easiest part was planning. Don't get me wrong. We had a good time, but traveling with a child and a dog can make for a few interesting stories.

Friday afternoon Adam signed out early so that we could get to Blowing Rock by dark. He had no idea where he was going or what he was going to do. So, I had us mostly packed by the time he got home. We loaded the car, and had a peaceful drive, complete with a sleeping baby. We got to Blowing Rock, unload the piles of "stuff" you need to survive with a child and dog, and realized we were starving. There was a bonfire in the park, complete with Smores, but we needed real food. We searched high and low for a place called PJ's Almost Famous Cheeseburgers Grille, but we could never find it. So, we decided to have a picnic in our tiny hotel room. We went to a gas station and purchased fancy deli sandwiches, cheese, olives, and crackers. We had a blast just hanging out and eating our gas station grub. We were so tired that we put the baby to bed and went to sleep at 8:00. We thought we'd get a peaceful night's sleep, but no...Kenly cried all night. We probably got 2 good hours of sleep. She was sleeping ON me during those hours. There is no where to hide in a hotel room. Adam, the dog, and I all suffered through that sleepless night. The dog was so out of sorts the next day that he had an upset stomach all morning. We had two babies to care for. After a restless night, Kenly decided that she wanted to rise and shine at 6:30 AM. We ate a pound cake for breakfast because nothing was open. We embarked on our day full of events tired and out of sorts. Did I mention there were tons of people at this event? People everywhere...I never really knew that crowds and sleep deprivation didn't go together until this weekend. We ate a second breakfast at Sonny's and headed to the Polar Plunge where people willingly threw themselves into a frozen lake. A crew had to break the ice before they could jump in...all in the name of charity and worthy causes of course. Kenly fell asleep after that, so we walked around Blowing Rock in the freezing cold to keep from waking her up. Then it was time for the Chili Cookoff. I willingly bought my husband tickets to an event where he could sample 51 different kinds. What was I thinking? The place was so crowded and there really was not rhyme or reason to how the crowd was coursing though the space to get chili. I left Adam feasting to go feed the baby. I had no idea how long a chili tasting could last. We took a short nap, and then went to see the ice sculpture and take a hay ride though town. Needless to say, we didn't make it to the bonfire again. We fell into bed. Kenly slept a tad bit better, but not tons. She decided we'd get up a 6:00AM, so when Adam asked what we wanted to do for the day, I voted for going home. We were back in Hendersonville, smiling but a little scathed from our first road trip experience with child, by 11:30. I'm not afraid to do it again, but I'm not signing up for a trip this weekend either.

Kenly and Mommy bundled up on the hay ride through town. Not the coolest hay ride, but a hay ride nonetheless.
I wonder if my tongue will stick?

Adam took this shot, and I think it is so beautiful. This was one of the sculptures...believe it or not, it was past its prime.

The frozen lake people jumped into.

Here are a few of the brave souls...they all wore costumes too, so it was really funny. The oldest participants were in their 80s.

MLK Christmas

In Kenly's mind, the best thing about Christmas is all the kisses you get from your family. She was extra glad that we had three Christmas celebrations this year. What more could a baby ask for? Uncle Travis and Aunt Carrie are reading Kenly a cool book that she got for Christmas. It is called What Makes a Rainbow?. Each page adds a new ribbon until a full ribbon rainbow appears on the last page. Kenly will surely destroy it right now with her urge to grab anything that catches her eye, so we're saving it for sleepy times and for when she's a just a little bit older.

Papa got just what he wanted for Christmas...Kenly Shae. Actually this huge bag was a present from Uncle Travis, Aunt Carrie, Timber, and Mason. Papa wanted to see what she'd do down in the bag. She was delighted. Bows, tissue paper, boxes, and wrapping paper all thrilled her.

Part of our Christmas festivities included a trip to the bowling alley. I only got to bowl one game because for the second time in my life I left the house without a bottle. Sure, I had formula and rice cereal, but NOTHING to put them in. I even set everything on the counter so that I would not forget. I had to drive home and drive back in order to feed the baby. I think motherhood is killing brain cells.

Nana and Papa had a great time feeding Kenly. They helped introduce Kenly to her first fruit--PEARS. We knew she didn't have an allergy to pear juice because she's been drinking it for over a month, so we thought pears would be a safe place to start. Nana, Papa, and Aunt Carrie had great success with the feedings. I give them the credit for getting her to eat solid food. She looked like a giant food geyser every time I fed her.

The Burkett family Christmas was great. We had everyone up to our house. We filled our time with good food, fires, UNO tournaments, bowling, and a few random games of Apples to Apples. We were blessed to have Timber and Mason with us too. Chance was so happy to have his cousins up for a visit. It even snowed on Monday, so Daddy and Mama got to play in the white stuff with us for awhile. Carrie and Travis had to leave just a little too early. I'm so blessed by my family. God knew just what he was doing. The only slight downer to the whole weekend was Kenly's inability to sleep through the night. Isn't it evil when your child learns to sleep through the night and then regresses back to her sleep patterns from when she was two months old? I've been getting up with her at least 3 or 4 times a night for the past three weeks. She seems to think that we should get up at 4:00 AM. I keep telling her that nothing human or holy gets up at that hour, but we continue to have a battle of wills. Who will win? I'll keep you posted.

New Year's Interview

I'm stealing this wonderful idea from a random blog I read the other day. While I know that Kenly can't talk, her actions helped answer this interview.

Favorite food--Formula and pears (oh how I wish I could still say breast milk)
Favorite vegetable--squash (her only veggie)
Favorite toy--Elliston the elephant(name given by mama and daddy) a purple elephant that sings when you pull the ring in its nose.
Favorite game--Rocket Ship with Daddy and Near and Far with Mama
Favorite books--Up and Down, Bedtime Peek-a-boo, and Flyaway Ladybug
Favorite holiday--Christmas (whose doesn't love hanging out with your family--the twinkle lights are cool too)
Favorite animals--elephants, zebras, and a stuffed duck
What is something you like about Mama?--her snuggles
What is something you like about Daddy?--When the sugar hound attacks me and bath time with my Da.

Lost a Bet

This picture shows why Tuesdays make me feel like a druggie.

I woke up after worrying about Kenly all night and took her to the walk in clinic this morning. Last night she refused two feeding, for a baby who likes to eat, this was really abnormal. She was a real grouch too. To top it all off, she kept pulling at her left ear. I told my friend Shannon last night that I'd bet $50.00 that she had an ear infection. Well, I lost. Dr. Dephouse must think I'm a total worry wart. He looked her over an proclaimed that she was in perfect health. She weighed a whopping 15lbs and 3.5 ounces. She is a chunk.

I went to the RA doctor today. He was really pleased with my progress. He hopes that I'll be lucky enough to stay symptom free for awhile. He wants me to stay on the medicine for at least a year and then we'll try to come off of everything and see what happens. He knows that I would love to have a second child. Today for the first time I felt hope while I was at that office. It was refreshing. He truly expected me to still be swollen and achy, so my progress was amazing in his opinion. So, thanks for the prayers and keep praying. I'd like to see prayer put RA to bed for good.

Kenly Milestones

Kenly will be five months old on Friday, and I thought I should record what she can do now. She's picking up new skills every day.

*She can and will chew and drool on anything that comes near her mouth.

*She can move an object from one hand to the other.

*She can coo, squeal, and make noises. My favorite is Mama. She doesn't know what it means yet, but it still melts my heart.

*She can track an object or person as they move around the room.

*When she drops an object, it is no longer missing forever. She looks for it.

*She rubs my face and plays with my hair when she's being rocked.

*She scratches everything--She sounds like something out of a Poe short story. Sometimes when she's scratching her crib sheets, it sounds like an armada of fiddle crabs is attacking the house. I hope this is normal.

*She will grab your nose and dig in your mouth if you'll let her.

*She rolls over and scoots around on her back. It's amazing how far she can get without crawling.

*She will pull herself into a sitting position when she's been reclining on my lap.

*She will try and jump from my arms--I have a thrill seeker on my hands.

*She sleeps with a lovey we call Benny the Bunny. She actually hugs him. She also can put her binky in her own mouth.

*She is the smartest baby in the whole wide world...not that I'm partial.

Beach Bum

When we first put Kenly's toes in the water, she looked excited, but that excitement soon faded. Here's how she really felt about the whole experience. I think the noise, the temperature, and the motion of the earth moving beneath her feet were all a little too much for her.

She wasn't a big fan of the sand either. I was secretly glad. I had imagined two fists full headed straight for her mouth. I didn't have to fight that battle yet.

Here are Uncle Jason and Aunt Paula pulling baby duty. It was so nice to have extra hands around to help.

Mops and Pops were so gracious that they gave us the master suite so that Kenly could have a quiet place to rest. She now thinks that all of her accommodations should be that nice. Camping will come as a real shock, but our nature girl will roll with it.

A Few more from FL

Adam and I played on the beach with the camera at sunset. It was so fun to capture these pictures. I've wanted the second picture for a long time.

This is Kenly's first swim in a pool. It lasted about four minutes...when her lips quivvered, we pulled her out and took her upstairs for a warm bath.

Without a child, I might never have known what the beach looks like in the morning. We got up at 6:30AM every morning, so I got to see many a sunrise. It was warm enough that early for her to have a bottle on the balcony. You can tell that she's more interested in the beach than the bottle.

Mops and Pops got Kenly a gold finch to play with, and she smiles every time is chirps. She's totally going to be a bird nerd like her mommy and daddy. If she can love seagull, she'll love every bird. I'm terrified of seagull, but because they made her laugh, I tried to get them around us whenever I could.

Fun in FL

Here is Kenly chilling in her mini skirt and sun glasses...okay, they're way too big, but a girl needs her shade at the beach. She has to be able to conceal which hot guys she's checking out.

Here is Kenly's first straw experience. I now know how to entertain her in a restaurant.

Mops and Kenly having a moment. Kenly almost always has her fingers in her mouth.

Here is fun guy getting a laugh or two..Kenly's probably got a little confused--wait, he look like my Daddy, but he's not my daddy. What do I do?

This picture was taken right after Kenly saw the ocean for the first time. I like to think that she's saying, "Look mom, the ocean is this big."

Glimpses of Christmas

Here's Kenly and Daddy with all her Christmas loot. We didn't go crazy, but we had fun.
This might be one of my favorite pictures. By the time we had helped her open a few presents, she got the hang of it and started ripping the paper herself.

I love this shot. She's trying to hold the present with her hands and feet, just in case it tried to get away.

This is another Christmas outfit she got. I had to get a picture of the little hat even though it was way too small for her head.

Here are the girls in their Christmas jammies on Christmas morning.

Christmas Report

Adam, Kenly, Chance and I had a lovely Christmas. We got up slow and enjoyed an easy breakfast. Kenly got tired again before she could open her presents from Santa and from us, so we all decided to be lazy. When she woke up, we put her in her Christmas dress that Mops provided, and we dove into the presents. For those of you who know our dog and his love for opening presents, the hour or so it took to open presents consisted of many comments like, "Chance, that's not your present....Chance, please let Kenly open her own present." I think we finally broke down and let him help a little. I do know that he got all the used paper and boxes, so he made a little pile of ripped paper big enough for a 15 pound hamster to nest in...maybe he is part hamster.

Kenly got a few little things--4 activity blocks, a crinkle ball, 3 books, a CD of African lullabies, and a shape sorter thingy. She likes everything, so I feel like I know what she'll enjoy. It was good fun watching her explore all her new stuff.

We then packed like madmen all day Friday so that we could leave for sunny Florida. We had an amazing time playing with the Brand family. Uncle Jason earned the name Fun-Guy for his ability to make Kenly laugh all the time. All he had to do was walk in the room by the end of the week. Aunt Paula introduce Kenly to the fun of playing games. She also saved Kenly from many a fit by providing entertainment and a lap to sit on. Mops and Pops also entertained her for hours on end--allowing Mommy and Daddy some much needed run away time. Today Kenly decided that I was boring--she wants to go back to Florida where her entertainment staff resides. I guess she'll have to get used to life with boring Mommy again.

Here were a few Kenly firsts:
1. Flying in an airplane--She was such a savvy traveler that she didn't cry a peep on the first two flights. On the way home, she only cried a little on the very last puddle jumper.
2. Putting her feet in salt water.
3. Swimming in a pool.
4. Losing her mind over seagulls--The video of this discovery is too great for words.
5. Riding in the Baby Bjorn front facing.
6. Chewing on a straw--she almost got a mouth full of Coke. Luckily Mommy still moves fast.
7. Playing in an Exersaucer--she loved the new freedom.
8. Watching fireworks.

It was awesome to see the beach through her eyes. Everything was new and exciting. All in all, we had an amazing Christmas. Adam and I were able to do everything we wanted to do while in Florida, so it was a perfect get away. In addition to that, we had awesome weather, so I had a week where I could forget that I have RA. It was a nice reprieve from reality. Christmas isn't over either. My family is coming up for a visit over MLK weekend, and the fun will continue. So, we're leaving the tree and the lights up until then. Who knows...if we get busy, we might be looking at the tree in February. Oh the beauty of a fake tree.

Opening my Arms to 2009

Kenly woke up at 11:57 on New Year's Eve and wanted to help us bring in the New Year. She didn't know what all the fuss was about, and three yawns later had decided that she's see more of 2009 in the morning.

What can I say? I'm happy that 2009 is here. The year 2008 was so bitter sweet, mixed with so many rich blessings and turbulent trials. I'm expecting great things out of 2009. I've made a few resolutions that I'd like to share. I have not made resolutions for the past three years, but I decided that this year, I needed something to strive for, so I sat down and made a list after a long walk on the beach with just my husband.

Goals for 2009:

1. Write a children's book
2. Blog/journal at least once a week. (I almost expect this one to crash and burn.)

3. Exercise twice a week for at least 30 minutes.

4. Look into/join Stroller Club, Baby-Mommy Yoga, or MOPS.

5. Read a book a month.

6. Cook more fresh/local/organic food--I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbra Kingsolver) right now, and it's enough to make you want to live as a hunter-gatherer for the rest of your life.

7. Teach Kenly at least 5 signs. I feel a little silly signing to her right now and making her make the signs, but hopefully it will pay off in the end.

There are others, but those are the ones I feel like sharing publicly. I want to reach my goals and more. Who knows...maybe those things will become so second nature that I can add other things as 2009 progesses.