Our Big Boy

Neacel is growing up so fast! 20 months old now and understanding a ton. He is talking more and more every day. He seems to finally understand what I'm saying to him, not that he listens most of the time but he does sometimes.

One morning I was outside pulling weeds and Neacel wanted to help. So were sitting in the dirt and he was picking up the weeds and putting them in the garbage for me. Next thing I know, he was picking up bugs, mostly spiders. Now I'm not terrified of spiders, but I don't like them, they make me squirm. So Neacel picks up a nasty looking spider and looks at me and says "ider" I said "yup its a spider. Why don't you put him down?" I got a firm NO with a mean look. So I just ignore it. Next thing I know he has another spider, and I again, tell him to put him down so the spider can go home to his family. This time I get a different response..."NO, MOM! Hand? NOW!" I said "No thank you, mommy doesn't want the spider" He looks at me, now looking angry and said "Mom. Hand. Now" He grabs my hand and puts the spider in my hand. Then Neacel starts clapping and says "Yay Mommy, ider." The fear of spiders has grown a tad since then...I saw some pretty nasty looking ones, and the worse ones were the ones Neacel wanted me to hold. This all repeated itself a couple of times till I suggested going inside.

Here are some random pictures from the summer so far. Enjoy!

Being a ham

Decorating Nana's card. I drew my first circle this night, and haven't even tried again.

Mandy at the Coca Cola store in Vegas....

Neacel looking at the flamingo's in Vegas

The heat in Vegas was horrible...it was about 105-110 the whole time we were there.
Neacel did alot of sleeping, and very little whining

The fish loved Neacel
Neacel loved the fish

Neacel aka Mini Nick and Nick

Sleeping again...shocker!

Relaxing as soon as we got to the room at Circus Circus in Vegas!

Neacel playing in the sprinkler...

And on a side note, but a very important one Nick is done working! He just got home with a box with his stuff. He was at NBS for almost 3 years, he doesn't love working, but he enjoyed his job and the people he worked with. He went on a "drink run" every morning with some of the guys, they ate breakfast and lunch together and when Nick was running late we would hear from Donna (his co worker) asking where he was because the guys were worried. He made some good friends, and is sad to leave them, but didn't hesitate to leave the job! This is a picture of him and John Durrant at lunch today. A group of them went to The Philidephian today, if you haven't tried that place, please do!

We Are Still Alive

Things are getting pretty nuts around here. Blogging isn't on my to-do list but since I have maybe 10 minutes I figured I would catch everyone up on what's going on in the Burt home.

-Next week is Nick's last week of work.
-We leave Utah in 21 days.
-We have an apartment in Cuyahoga Falls, Oh. The complex is The Towers at Wyoga Lake Commons. It's on a lake, has 3 pools (including a kiddie pool) out in the middle of nowhere, nothing but trees and the lake around us. There is a gym, playgrounds for neacel and is in a 100% safe area. My parents fell in love with the place. I'm excited to see it in person, not just the pictures online.
-I'm about 24 weeks along and Broden is a little kicker, nothing like Neacel but I no longer have to chug juice at night just to get him to move.
-Packing sucks with a 20 month old, 90 degree temps, a child kicking you in the bladder, and not to mention bending over isn't too easy anymore. I have 2 rooms about 98% packed already, and plenty of other random boxes packed as well.
-Nick ordered his books for school today and is excited to start school soon. He wasn't excited to spend $350.00 however.
-Neacel is talking a ton. Mostly its "I want (juice, hot dog, cereal, etc.) Though he does say "I love you" now, which is cute.
-Neacel burnt the bottom of his foot on July 3rd, a huge blister and everything. He is just now willing to walk on it all the time; it was pretty nasty looking. A 2nd degree burn from a sparkler, we won't forget shoes for now on.
-Neacel likes to help me "pack" and will throw his toys in boxes then will throw them all over the room and say "All Done!"
-We are having a yard sale this weekend, and let me say, we have a ton of junk!

Well, I need to get a grocery list together and stop Neacel from unpacking. I'll try and get some pictures posted of random things soon. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. And we hope to see everyone before we leave!

I would like to introduce....

Broden Christopher Burt! Yup, another boy! We are so excited, and can't wait for Neacel to have a little brother. Because everyone convinced me it was a girl, I was so shocked and excited!! He is smaller then Neacel was at this point, not as active (thank goodness) and just as cute. My due date according to his measurements its November 13th (Neacel's birthday) but luckily they aren't changing it, so its still November 6th. Broden looks healthy and everything is where it should be and working. Neacel is already saying Baby Broden, only it sounds more like Bogen, but still cute. Now Ive got to find some cute sports crib bedding so they can have a sport themed room, that they can share!!!

Baby Burt

In about 2 hours, baby burt will have a name! I can't explain how excited I am. But chugging a glass of water and a glass of juice while pregnant, and not allowed to run to the bathroom is already killing me and I still have a while before I can take care of that! I have alot of updates that I need to get on here, and I promise I will work on those this week. Vegas, moving, Neacel and of course this baby!!! Be on the look out for everything with plenty of pictures :)

Pediatrician, Dermatologist and Ob's...OH MY!

Well, our poor son was born with super sensitive skin and I have been kinda lazy about it. Shame on Mommy! Thursday night I noticed a little bump on one of his elbows. I told Nick that I thought Neacel had a wart and we should get something for it. Friday, I checked the "wart" and everything looked the same. Saturday, we were getting ready to leave the house for the day and we notice he has more bumps on his legs and arms. I text my good friend Jen who is a nurse, and alot easier to get a hold of than the pediatrician's nurse, and she mentioned it might be chickenpox, among a few other things. We don't worry about it much, but later that evening notice that the bumps are getting bigger and that there are a good amount more; some even are fluid filled.

So Saturday night, I call about 3 or 4 different clinics that are open late and talk to the Dr. or nurse on call. They all say that by the sound of these bumps that it's chickenpox. For me this turns into a panic, as I didn't have chickenpox that bad as a child and have been told that because it was such a mild case, I can get them again. So my dear hubby runs Neacel to Kids Care 3 minutes before they close (10 pm), because we can't take the risk of this being chickenpox and me catching it while pregnant. He comes home saying that they said it was Gianoti Crosti Syndrome, it's not contagious, and it could have been brought on by the immunization he got at his checkup. I couldn't remember the shot, but for some reason I thought it was Hep B, which can be a cause for the illness.

We go about Sunday not worrying about anything and just keeping an eye on him. We noticed some more bumps but after being told what it was and that it wasn't contagious we weren't too worried. After talking about it we decided that I would take Neacel to the pediatrician's Monday, to get a second opinion.

Monday, Nick goes to the appointment with us, and Dr. Palmieri and one of her partners both say it's chickenpox. SERIOUSLY? I'm kinda freaking out because now I've been exposed for a good amount of time and I have to start making calls to all our friends we have seen in the past week and tell them that Neacel has the chickenpox. How embarrassing! They say that there is a 50% chance it isn't chickenpox but can't confirm anything until Neacel sees a dermatologist. She also says that the shot he had this past Wednesday was the HIB shot, which won't cause Gianoti Crosti. She then tells me that I need to get ahold of my OB and get a blood test to see if I'm immune to chickenpox or not.

So after a few calls, I get to the hospital and get that test done (still waiting on results of course). So we treated him like it was chickenpox, because you can never be too sure, right?

Today, we saw the dermatologist, who takes one look at his skin and says it's the Gianoti Crosti Syndrome, not chickenpox. Oh thank goodness! His eczema has gotten the best of him, and because we haven't been too wonderful at remembering to put his lotion on, this is what has happened. I feel horrible. She was explaining to us that the skin barrier is thin with eczema, and so it was easy for him to catch whatever virus caused the rash.

After seeing some pictures of kids with this, we were concerned about how much worse it was going to get. Luckily, she thinks it's at its peak and won't get worse. He has it all over his legs and bum, and then around his elbows. She gave us a stronger lotion to build the skin barrier and one to help the bumps. I'm mostly worried about people that see it and think that he has the chickenpox, and why the heck would we take him out in public? So anyone that sees us and notices his skin, I promise you, he is safe and not contagious! Don't believe me, Google it!

I've learned many important things, and am so thankful for things that I don't even think about. I learned that if the Dr. tells you to remember to put lotion on your child's skin a few times a day, DO IT!

If you aren't sure about something that you have been told, a second, or maybe even third opinion is always best.

I'm so thankful for Nick's job that has been more than understanding with everything. He took off half the day yesterday and all of today to help me take Neacel to the appointments and to make sure I was ok, along with the little baby.

I'm so thankful for our insurance. I don't think about it much, but take advantage of having it. I was thinking about how horrible would the bills be for the past few appointments? With a move coming up, we don't have spare money to spend.

I'm so thankful for our health and for priesthood blessings, which Nick and his father gave me.

This list of course goes on and on but these are the recent ones for me.

Neacel is doing great and doesn't even realize what's on his skin, in fact I don't think he has even looked it. He is doing well, and thankfully isn't contagious! I'm so glad we didn't have to make a few horrible phone calls to some very good friends.

A Mother's Worst Nightmare

See that sweet, innocent face? Please don't let it fool you. I love this child like crazy, but he can be a little monster that; I'm pretty sure enjoys getting into trouble. Don't get me wrong, I love this smile, and those adorable blue eyes; but if you look closer, you can see he is a little monster! I promise.

Neacel has NEVER given me a reason to be a paranoid mom. He listens (most of the time) and doesn't run off. Well on Wednesday that all changed. I was visiting my friend Jen and her little girl Jaycie. Neacel and Jaycie were playing outside on the patio. She lives on the main floor of her apartment, but there are basement ones under her, so I guess you could say she is on the second floor.

Jen was making some yummy cookies and I kept glancing out at the kiddos, they were playing peek a boo and just laughing. Then we hear her little one crying, I look over and the patio door was closed. Well, Neacel has recently learned how to close doors so I thought nothing of it. So I open it and look for Neacel, he isn't there! I look around her home, he isn't in there. I look on the patio again, and on the ground, thinking he might have somehow wiggled through the bars and fell. He isn't there, thank goodness, but at the same time DARN! Then we notice the front door slightly open. I look out there and don't see Neacel. So I look inside again, thinking my child wouldn't leave. He knows better. YEAH RIGHT! I ran around her complex screaming for Neacel, asking every person I came in contact with if they had seen a little boy in a black shirt and blue jeans. No one has. There is a park that is a decent distance away, and a bridge over a ditch leads to it. Knowing my child and his love for danger, I ran over there and check the ditch. I'm screaming bloody murder the whole time and thinking, what am I going to do if we don't find him? It was a split second between checking on the kids and his magic disappearing act! I keep running around and yelling for him, then I hear Jen say that she found him. The relief I felt was incredible. She found him on the top floor, he simply climbed up the stairs! WHAT?! Since when does he do this, he usually freaks if a door is closed and he doesn't know the area, apparently the stairs were too tempting!

I was so mad at him, yet so thankful that he was safe. I never in my life have felt that scared. I'm pretty sure that I had a heart attack, followed by a stroke and a few panic attacks. I felt horrible that I lost my child. I was so thankful that he was safe and nothing happened. I never wish that feeling of a missing child, even for a split second on any mother. Not even my worst enemy. Since then, he stays a lot closer to me. Lesson: Neacel only needs a second to run off, and I'm blessed that nothing happened to him.

On a more positive note, I took Neacel to the Dr. on Thursday for his 18 month appointment. He is 28 lbs and 33 1/2 inches. She told me that she could hear him in the hallway throwing a tantrum over me undressing him. She said that he is definitely going through the terrible 2's. Good news was that it doesn't get worse, bad news was he started before he was 2! She was very impressed with his speech and motor skills. She said he talks almost as much as a 2 year old, but uses some words that kids don't say till well after they turn 2. She said that he is a 2 year old in an 18 month old body.

She gave me the ok to potty train, so we are going to start a 3 day thing next Monday. Please pray for us! All together, she was very happy with everything, and thought it was amazing he is sleeping in a twin bed and never fought us about it. He is growing at a good rate, and it looks like magically he will be taller than average! YAY!!!

Quick pregnancy update. Baby girl (I'm totally guessing but pretty sure it is a girl) is doing great. Heart beat was perfect and Dr. Terry predicts a girl from the heartbeat; he said a boy with Neacel and he was right! I can feel her moving around a little more, but if I'm not paying attention then I don't feel a thing. I was able to do some begging, along with a white lie (I know I'm horrible and impatient) and said we will be out of town most of June (white lie, we will be gone for a total of maybe 4 days) and can I get the ultrasound done a little earlier than 20 weeks. He said of course, just to schedule it as close as I can to 20 weeks.

Well, June 10th, I'll be 18 weeks and 6 days, and we will find out what we are having! I swear it's a girl, but I still want my little Broden. I got my hopes up with Neacel with everyone saying I was having a girl, but deep deep deep down I knew it was a boy, this time, I'm just going with my gut. I really want a little boy for Neacel, and I know how to be a Mom to a boy so it wouldn't be anything new, but deep down I know its a girl. I can't deny it, but will be so excited if it's a boy! Either way, I just want a happy healthy baby, but wish for a boy more then a girl. Does that sound mean?

I wish I knew...

I wish I knew how to sew, or how to be crafty in general. I'm not a crafty person at all. I pay for other people to be crafty. Ok, so the reason for the huge picture, Nick loves quilts, I'm not a big fan to be honest. But I saw on Studio 5 this morning an argyle segment. The lady was saying that it's nice to have one large piece of argyle for a room. Well, I LOVE argyle and so does Nick. The current quilt on our bed is so dark and with a darker head board, I think the room needs some color. So I got to thinking, I want a argyle quilt, where I pick out the fabric, and hire someone to make it for me! Smart right? Of course, in my mind I can see the colors and everything. Then I saw this quilt; its exactly what I want, design wise, but different colors. I'm wanting yellow, blue, green, maybe a little purple to add something girly. Now to find fabric, look at costs, and then find someone to make it for me! Easier said than done of course. I have the desire to be crafty, but thats about as far as it goes. But once we find out what we are having I do plan on making a car seat cover.

Speaking of babies, I swear this one is a girl! I keep having dreams that I give birth to little Ainsley and she has a ton of hair and big brown eyes and little rosey cheeks. The picture is stuck in my head. I still really want a boy but that hope is slowly going away. I'm happy either way, I just want a happy, healthy baby; gender doesn't matter. I'm almost 13 weeks and still doing great. I really have nothing to complain about!

Neacel is getting big and turning into a destructive little boy. Something is always being broken or torn (usually books of his). He is so curious about everything around him. He is learning so quickly and impresses us constantly with the number of words he knows/understands. The other day we were driving to Logan and I had to find a way to keep him happy the last 30ish minutes so I decided to ask him to say words for me; he said almost all the words, or at least tried. I was asking him words that I have NEVER asked him to say, like colors; he could say most of them. I was in total shock. So I'm starting to work on words a ton more with him since he seems to be catching on so quickly right now. Our little genius is getting smarter, we are in trouble!

Nick is graduating this weekend and we are so excited for him! He is officially done with school, for 3 months! He is so happy to finally be getting his degree. We are going to spend some time in Cedar City, he wants to show me around and take Neacel and I some places. So another little mini vacation before school starts!

Baby Picture

Here is our little peanuts first picture! I went to the dr yesterday and everything looks great. I was scared that something was going to be wrong, but nothing! I'm having a very very easy pregnancy. I have a feeling though its going to bite me in the butt later, either in this pregnancy or the next! Nick said that by looking at the chin that its a boy...Im still wondering where the chin is because I just see a tiny body with a head...nothing more. We already have names picked out either way, Broden Christopher for a boy and Ainsley Elizabeth for a girl. I think Nick is leaning more towards a girl and I still want a boy. We will find out in 10 weeks...ugh! I hate waiting.

The Perfect Pregnancy???

Can it really be true? I've been scared but after talking with my doctor, I think I am experiencing the perfect pregnancy! I'm not getting my hopes up and believe me it has crossed my mind that something could be wrong, but I don't want to think negative until I hear it from the doctor. I'm 10 weeks and I have had NO morning sickness, NO food aversions, NO problems with smells. In fact I don't feel pregnant. I feel absolutely positively fine! The worst symptom I have is heartburn! It has scared me for a while, so a friend gave me a pregnancy test that she had, it was a digital and luckily, those can't lie. No faint line, no second guessing just the flat out truth!

I found myself nervous that it was going to say NOT Pregnant, because of the lack of symptoms. I called my doctor and she said that I shouldn't worry and just consider myself lucky and that all pregnancies are different. I just didn't imagine a complete 180. They offered to do an ultrasound if I wanted but I figured I could wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow we will check in on our little peanut. Alot of people have told me that pregnancies this different usually mean a different gender, but I REALLY want another boy! But I'm starting to think it's a girl. Either way, as long as the baby is healthy I don't care what it is. I think Nick is hoping for a little girl so that we have one of each.

Neacel is growing like a weed and talking like there is no tomorrow. He says "thank you" all the time, he has better manners then Nick and I! I'm really wanting to go full force on potty training but I'm too lazy. It's going to happen soon, at least before the next one gets here. The last thing I want to do is deal with 2 kids in diapers.

He is learning his colors and learned to count to 3 if you help him. Reason being, I give him to the count of 3 to fix the wrong thing he might be doing. The other night he kept climbing on the table. I looked at him and said "ONE" he looks at me and says "twoooo," I of course try not to smile and just say "TWO" he then looks at me again and says "FEEEE". I just got him off and basically said that was too cute and I'll let you off the hook this time. He does it here and there but not too often luckily. He eats a ton, and can't stop yackin'. His favorite word is "basketball" which comes out "backetbaw," and is obsessed with basketball.

He recently showed me that he knows what a cat says. We were walking around Nick's parent's condo and there was a cat in the window. Neacel has rarely been exposed to cats, so I kneel down to tell him what it is, he looks at me and says "meow." I looked at him and asked what he was saying and he kept saying meow minus the e. I was completely shocked! He amazes us every day with what he knows, he is such a sponge and just takes everything in. We are slowly starting nursery and so far so good. But I can't just leave him yet, so we are just doing intervals. Next week, no play time, just the lesson and snack. Pray for us!

Neacel will be getting his "big boy" bed sometime this week and we are so excited. I'm really not worried about him with it. We are hoping that when we move his new bed can be a comfort to him. As soon as he is completely done with his crib it's going to disappear until it's time for the baby to use it.

Nick is doing well, he will be graduating from SUU on April 30th. We are going to make the trip to Cedar City and he is going to do the whole ceremony thing. I'm so happy and proud of him. He is finishing up his last two classes as we speak. The end is finally near, now time for grad school! This summer will be Nick's last summer free from school for a few years. It's going to be hard, but I know he is going to do amazing.

We Are So Blessed!

Alot has been going on in our lives the past month. I was able to go home for 8 days and visit my family, but I will post about that later. Nick was accepted to Seton Hill as I posted before. We were so excited that he was accepted somewhere. Well, he found out that he needed to accept or decline their offer in 2 weeks (yikes)! We hadn't heard from any other schools. He decided to write University of Akron (Ohio) since their deadline for applications wasn't unitl March 15th and he would need to accept Seton Hill by that time. They gave him an interview and everything seemed great. He wants to go there over Seton Hill. It's closer to my family, a bigger school and a nice area. We think the small town thing might hurt us when it comes to jobs. So while I was gone Nick unfortunately got no thank you letters from Utah State (his first pick) and Seattle Pacific (his last choice).

Well, this morning Nick got his informal acceptance letter to Akron! We are so excited. He loved the school, they had tons to offer not only for him but for Neacel and myself. Gym, bowling alley, swimming, a movie theatre, etc etc. Plus we can find a 3 bedroom home for under $600/month. Why would we need 3 bedrooms you ask???

We are expecting baby #2! We found out Feb 28th that we will be giving Neacel the little brother or sister he needs and wants! I'm due around Nov 6th, that's a week exactly before Neacel's second birthday, so I'm hoping for October sometime. We are so excited to have another little bundle of joy. We love being parents and all the fun times we get with Neacel, we are so excited to watch him become the loving big brother we know he is. He is going to do great. I'm only about 6 weeks and feeling wonderful. I am super tired but being a mom, you are always tired, so nothing really changes there. Not feeling sick or anything, I have a day here and there where food sounds horrible and I feel like death, but usually by noon I'm doing great! I'm hoping for another boy since we have the clothing and everything season wise is perfect. Nick is kinda wanting a girl, but both of us will be happy either way. I just think a little girl would get me in trouble! All those little extras, bracelets, shoes, tights, skirts, dresses.

Our family has been so blessed. I'm so thankful for Nick and his desire to go to school and that he is willing to go east so I can be close to my family for a while. I'm thankful for my little monster and all the smiles and loves (hugs) we get from him. He is such a great little boy. I love watching him grow and learn. He is becoming quite the little talker! I'm thankful for the opportunity to bring another child into this world. We have so much to be thankful for, we have big changes coming, a move in August and a new baby in November, I know we will do great though. We will miss Utah but of course will be moving back once Nick is done with school, I think in about 3 years!