Almost a year since my last blog....

Wow, it has been almost 1 year since my last blog.  I basically stopped blogging after Jack was born.  I guess returning to work and having 3 children changed my work flow so to speak.  I would really like to get back into blogging again and I hope to do that soon.  I have been lacking in so many things.  I am not taking or posting as many pictures as I have in the past and I really miss that.  I am hoping that now that Jack is becoming a little less dependent on me (who am I kidding....now that he is mobile and I don't have to carry him as much) that I might be able to take more pictures and get back into my extra curricular activities.  So, here is to hoping that you will be seeing more posts and more pictures from me in the near future.

Here is just a brief update on things with our family.  Brian and I relocated within the Kaiser system shortly after Jack was born in order to better accommodate our family.  Brian is now working in labor and delivery scrubbing c-sections and many other projects for their department.  I am now working on the mother/baby unit taking care of the new mother's and their babies.  We are both working nights and between the 2 of us we are able to stay home w/ our children.

Addison started Kindergarten this year and she loves it.  She only goes 1/2 a day and is in the morning class, Brian drives her to school and she loves riding the bus home (her choice).  Brian and I have been able to volunteer in  her classroom and attend her first field trip to the pumpkin patch.  This first quarter she exceeded her benchmarks and actually nearly passed all of them from the upcoming quarter as well.  Addison played soccer this Fall and really enjoyed it!  She scored goals nearly every game and really bonded w/ her teammates.  We can't wait for her to play other sports in the coming seasons!

Kennedy is enjoying her time w/ dad while Addison is at school, since she doesn't get too much one-on-one times these days, we try to take advantage of it as much as we can.  Kennedy really likes to pretend play and to play dress up.  Every chance she gets she is in a pair of her dress up heels.  She is really developing her language skills, as if she wasn't already!  Kennedy is so articulate and really thinks to get the right word, it is so cute!  Kennedy is looking forward to playing soccer next year, she wasn't old enough this year, but she did meet a friend that she couldn't wait to see every game/practice.  Kennedy is a very good big sister to Jack and is always trying to "mother" him, silly girl!

Jack is changing all of the time.  He is definitely attached to me, more so than the girls were at this age.  It was a bit of an adjustment for Brian and Jack both when I went back to work, but they have really gotten into a groove and enjoy their man time together.  Jack is 11 months old now, he has 6 teeth and counting, he is going through a biting phase right now, which is not so much fun!  He started really walking at 10 months and he picked up on it quick. He went from a step here and there to practically running, pivoting and bending over and picking things up in 2 weeks!  Jack is much more curious than the girls were, he is constantly trying to toilet dive, climb the stairs, and get into every cupboard and drawer within his reach.  He is going to keep us on our toes!

Well, that is an update on our little family!  I will do my best to upload pictures soon!

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Welcome Jack Dalton Burleigh

Forgive me for the delay in posting, but as you can imagine we have been a bit busy these past few weeks!  We welcomed Jack Dalton Burleigh into our family on 12/16/2011 @ 3:25AM, he weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 21 inches long.  I went in to the labor and delivery department at 10:30PM and he arrived just short of 5 hours later.  I had an easy labor and he came out so quick he was quite bruised :(  We stayed in the hospital for a night and were released home on Saturday with a bili blanket and instruction to follow up on his bilirubin levels on Sunday, as he was at a pretty high risk for jaundice due to the bruising.  On Sunday his levels were elevated but not too terribly high to require hospitilization for treatment of his jaundice.  We repeated his levels on Monday, Tuesday and being that on Wednesday his levels were still rising we were admitted to the Special Care Nursery for quadruple bank bili light therapy.  I was lucky enough to be able to stay in a room right near the nursery and made visits every 3 hours to feed Jack or deliver freshly pumped milk.  On Thursday we were released home and thus far his jaundice is still slightly present but nothing to be concerned about.  

As for the rest of the family, Brian and I are so thrilled to have Jack in our lives, he is so precious!  Addison and Kennedy are proud big sisters and want to hold and kiss Jack every chance they get.  We are one lucky family!

A Visit w/ Santa & Cousin Pics

Today I took the girls to visit Santa at the Clackamas Town Center Mall.  The girls were first in line, they were there even before Santa arrived (yay for not waiting in an hour long line to see Santa!!!).  The girls did very well, they snuggled with Santa and told him that they wanted LaLaLoopsy (sp?) dolls (little do they know they will be getting them for Christmas already!) and Kennedy wants a new dress.  After our lovely visit with Santa, we strolled to the other end of the mall to Picture People for our portrait session with the rest of the Burleigh kids, Cooper, Hudson, & Madelyn.  All in all the kids did very well, considering it is a lot to ask to have 5 kids from 3 weeks to almost 5 years old to sit and pose for various pictures, especially when there are so many fun props in the room to play with!  We were able to get a pretty good photo of all of the kids in a timely fashion.  I must say I am getting a little tired of all our portrait sessions lately, but 'tis the season ;)

Thanksgiving 2011

Brian and I were pleased to host Thanksgiving at our house this year.  Brian was excited to make the turkey, stuffing, apple pie & many other sides, while I prepared the mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and gluten free pumpkin pie.  I must say that our cooking went off without a hitch!  Everything turned out as planned and in a timely fashion.  We were joined by Cheryl (Brian's mom), Vicki (my mom), Phil & Dianne (my dad & step mom), & Sarah, Chad & Cooper (my sister's family).  We enjoyed a lovely dinner and some nice catching up.  We are thankful to have such an amazing family!  Thank you all for joining us!

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream Recipe

Yep, it is that time of year & you all know how much I love pumpkin anything!  So, I had to share my new recipe for pumpkin pie ice cream.  I am so loving this & no, it is not just because I am pregnant, although that probably doesn't help me craving any!  Here is the recipe that I have been using, I prefer it much better than the recipe I was using last year.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin puree or 1-3/4 cups homemade cooked pumpkin puree, well-draiined
• 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/4 light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Preparation:

Place pumpkin puree into a strainer lined with cheesecloth for 15 minutes to drain any excess water.

Gently heat heavy cream, white sugar, and brown sugar until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan, stirring often. Do not boil. Remove from heat and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.

Beat drained pumpkin puree, sweetened cream mixture, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, scraping sides often.

Pour mixture into ice cream machine. Start machine and freeze for 20 minutes, or as per manufacturer's recommendations for your machine.

Yield: 1 quart 

Maternity Photo Session

I came across an amazing opportunity this past weekend, I was a maternity model for a wonderful photographer's mentor photo session.  I learned about this opportunity on Facebook and thought, sure, why not!  I hadn't really considered doing this before and was really a bit nervous about it, but her photos are so amazing that I thought it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.  Also, she normally charges $300 for a session and I got to model for her for free and receive 2-8x10 and 2-5x7 prints of my choosing with the option to purchase more of course.  From the few shots that she showed me, I was very impressed and am so excited to see the results!  She may also need newborn models for the beginning of January, so I may have the opportunity to have Jack model for her.  How fun would that be?!