Nora and Holden are F.I.V.E

(i started this before having Macky and just got around to finishing it.... better late than never, yes?)


~Nora Grayce Burns~

Oh my little princess.  Being very pregnant, conversations about my others littles as babies have come up a lot.  It's funny when i think back to the first few months with Nora how much things have changed.  With H and D there were distinct things about them as babies that still hold true to their personalities today.  Nora is a different case. That fussy, unpleasant, not snuggly baby is gone.  Nora is incredibly sweet, funny, giggles all the time and she loves to snuggle.  She honestly makes our home a happier place.

She truly cares for her family--she's always trying to help out and she is turning into quite the "mother hen" around her brothers--keeping them in check and helping them however she can.  I can't wait to see how she will be with #4.   She already kisses my belly every day, tells baby good morning and good night and she has lots of questions about babies in general.  She's also started playing "babies" more than she used to.  Definitely getting ready!

Speaking of helping out, Nora has some chores she does now and she's really quite good at them.  They've been making their bed for a while now, but i swear she does it as good as an adult.  She also sweeps the floors, sorts laundry, helps fold and then puts her clothes away.  She is also becoming a help in the kitchen with getting lunches ready.  She would love to help cook every meal and really i should be more willing, but sometimes i just want to get it done with less mess and turn down her offer.  Although when i do have time to let her help she just loves it and I love having her there with me.  She can help unload the dishwasher and that's really great. Daddy did have her vacuuming some, but that backfired recently when she sucked up some clothes from the laundry pile and we had to replace the motor in our vacuum.  Haha.  I'd like to add here that she still enjoys doing these things to help us out.  I figure that will change soon, but for now that big smile and "sure i can help" attitude really makes a momma's heart happy.

And don't worry there is still PLENTY of play time around here.  And here's what she's into these days.... Princesses, Dress-Up, Barbies, My Little Pony's, Baby Dolls, Stuffed Animals and Drawing. Pretty typical girl interests and with all the other boys in the house i really am glad she's a girly girl.  Nora also LOVES playtime with other girls.  We have neighbors with 2 little girls that Nora has a great time with and then her best friend, Adelyn, from preschool.  When these girls get together it's all princesses and dress-up.  They crack us up singing "Let It Go" at the top of their lungs thinking they are just as good as Elsa herself.  I haven't broken it to her yet, but i'm not so sure singing is going to be one of her fortes :)

On the other hand, Nora is a pretty good drawer.  She spends quite a bit of time drawing things she sees around her and making pictures for family and friends.  We've also recently gotten into painting.  I find that while she struggles some with more structured things she really excels in creativity.  She has a great imagination, a good eye for making things pretty and she does really well with understanding color and simple drawing skills.  I love that we can share this interest together. 

We've seen quite a bit of improvement in her schoolwork this year.  They both still attend preschool just 2 mornings a week, but this year class is a lot less play and more learning.  Nora seems to learn things like letters, sounds, and numbers at a slower pace, but things are starting to "click".  She does however love to learn other facts whether its about animals, bible stories, the weather or plants.  She obviously listens intently and always has something new to tell me when she gets in the car and it usually starts something like " Momma did you know that...?".

As for activities/extra curricular things she's doing right now, we still have her enrolled in ballet/tap, she did her first season of soccer this past fall and she goes to Awana's Cubbie program at church.  She absolutely loves her dance class.  She is learning her ballet positions and other moves along with their correct names.  She comes home every once in a while read to show me something new.  Last year she was learning to skip and roll...this year we're doing plie's and chasse's!

~Holden Reece Burns~

Holden, our big boy.  He grows constantly.  I can't keep him in pants.  I buy them, he grows out of them.  I buy more, and he grows out of those too.  He's going to be tall-- but if he keeps growing at this rate, he may be a giant! 

Holden is a different kind of kid, full of contradictions.  He's both serious and silly.  He feels deeply but keeps it all in.  He's likes to please us yet he's extremely stubborn.  He's smart as he can be but struggles with common sense situations.  He's very curious and studies everything but at the same time he's able to completely tune us out and spends quite a bit of time off in his own head not paying us any attention.   We never really know what we're gonna get with this one. 

He excels in a scheduled environment and thrives on routine. Change really bothers him.  Big changes in life always affect his behavior and spontaneous changes in daily plans can wreak havoc with his mind and make him feel lost.  

He seems to respond best when we spend a lot of quality/one on one time with him.  Individual attention is the best way to get a smile on his face.  He loves to go out to the store with Daddy, or help him do work outside.  Working with legos, building complicated train tracks, or constructing ramps to jumps his cars from are his favorite things to do and he really loves it when we sit down and do those things with him.  Holden was at his absolute best the month that Mike was home after Macky was born.  I was afraid the change of a new baby would really throw him off, but i think instead Holden really benefitted from all the extra time and attention that Mike was able to give to him. 

Holden is a very straight-forward kind of guy.  Just like his routines, he prefers to do things exactly how they 'should be'.  He's the exact opposite of creative.  When he gets a new toy, he constructs it exactly like the picture on the box or in the instructions.  I actually have a hard time getting those booklets and pieces of paper away from him.  There are tattered paper booklets full of examples of what you can build with his legos or blocks stuffed in drawers everywhere in his room and he doesn't want me to throw them away.  Nora will take those blocks and just start making something and it drives Holden crazy, if it's anything different from the original picture.  

The one place that Holden is creative is with his food.  He eats it into shapes and then tells me what they look like....chips, sandwiches, pancakes, pretzels....he's always turning them into something.  It always makes me laugh, and don't you know Davis has picked up the game. 

He's been doing Taekwondo for a while now.  He started off doing a lot of standing in class and watching and studying everyone, but a few months later he's getting into it and doing really well.  This activity seems to be a perfect fit for him.  It provides structure like he likes, it's an individual activity and it provides a good environment to get out all of that litlte boy energy.  

Holden loves to play with other kids but seems to do best with just a few at a time.  He's not the kind of kid who will just walk up to another child and start a conversation, but if a child walks up to him Holden and starts talking and playing, Holden will jump right in.  He usually plays one and one with other kids and i rarely see him participating in big groups.  His current best friend in town is Daniel who is about 3 years older than him and happens to be Nora's best friend's brother.  Holden looks up to Daniel and thinks he's great.  Daniel is great with Holden too and loves to teach him about new legos, how to play games and lately Daniel has been reading to Holden when they are together, it's really kind of cute :)  

Speaking of friends, he has struggled this past year with his other best friend, Jack, moving to California.  Jack and Holden did everything together and i think when Jack left Holden felt a bit lost.  He still brings Jack up a lot and tells me that he misses him.  It's also not unusual for me to find him looking at his photo album of all the fun things they did together.  Although moving this summer will most likely be hard on Holden, I am looking forward to him going Kindergarten and hopefully finding a good friend he can be with everyday.    

Holden is also a great helper around the house.  He also loves to help in the kitchen when he gets a chance, but his everyday chores include taking out the trash, helping with the laundry, and sweeping. He's also really great with Davis and is always willing to help Davis out--whether its getting dressed and ready to go, helping him put toys aways or helping him play with certain toys.  They mostly get along very well together and Davis definitely looks up to Holden and tries to do whatever he does.  

Holden is still very interested in super heroes but he has also picked up an interest in Star Wars this past year with the help of Daddy and Daniel.  He also likes to build things--legos, blocks, tracks....he can sit and play with those things for hours. When he's not putting things together he is taking things apart trying to figure out how they work.  This results in lots of broken toys and that really drives us crazy! Holden still reads/looks at books a lot and I think he's probably able to start learning to read now.  He already puts letters and sounds together.  I love that he loves books, I hope it is always fun for him.  

Lastly, my big boy is still a great snuggler.  He's got plenty of love and smiles to give on a daily basis.  I love the way he will climb up in bed or on the couch and curl up by my side.  He also will randomly during the day tell me he loves me or that i look pretty.  Melt My Heart Every Time. 

and speaking of melting my heart...these two love each other so much and i love watching them together. 

Davis is TWO

~Davison Luke Burns~ 

my very happy, very silly, very busy, very smart, very sweet little boy

He's changing every day from a baby to a little boy...he's been hard to keep up from the very beginning of his life and nothing has changed.  I am constantly surprised by things he can do and say.  This little guy is determined to not be left behind--he thinks he's just as big as his siblings and tries to prove it constantly--keeping us all on our toes. 

I don't think a night goes by that Mike and don't lie in bed and laugh about something Davis has said or done that day.  He cracks us up.  Just the other night while trying to get him to stop joking around with his brother and sister during dinner, we turned him around in his high chair so he was facing the wall.  A few minutes later he started grunting and then yelled out--"daddy!  not working! not see them!"  like duh, little dude.  that's the point. 

The kid is absolutely never quiet, and if for some reason he is, you better go and find him!  But really he talks constantly. His vocabulary is enormous compared to the twins at this age.  Occasionally when he gets something wrong and i correct him, he always responds back, "Oh".  He also pronounces most things correctly--except for motorcycles and bicycles.  He calls them "michael cylces" and we love it and have no intention of correcting him :) 

Speaking of "Michael".  Davis also likes to use our first names when we are not paying attention to him.  He calls us mommy, daddy, brother and sister on a normal basis...but if he needs our attention, Davis is quick to yell out "MIKE!" or whoever he needs, to get what he wants.  

Just the other day after church when the twins were telling us everything they had learned and done that morning, Davis loudly interrupted, trying to get everyone to listen to him.  When we focused our attention on him he said the following..." play friends", "sit down and BE QUIET", sing, Jesus. ... it was obvious he was trying to tell us what he did today and then of course hearing him say Jesus warmed my heart. 

Davis is of course my little buddy being that he is with me almost all the time.  He loves loves loves to help me...or as he says "HELPING!"  He helps me unload the dishwasher (and does a pretty decent job), he helps clean up, helps put groceries on the conveyor, helps carry them into the house, etc.  He gets pretty upset when i don't allow him to "help" and takes it as a personal offense.  

He's also become quite the shopper...it wasn't a year ago that he cried and fussed the whole time, but now he really enjoys it.  He likes to help me when he can, but when i'm distracted, he put his attention towards the other shoppers and starts conversations with everyone.  He's got his greeting's down pat saying things like "hey", "how you doing", [how] "Are You?", "good day", "BYE!", "later gator", and occasionally he'll tell someone "sweet dreams".  He also likes to show off his clothes to other people.  It's become routine to tell our preschool director everything he's wearing every morning when we walk into school.  

I honestly don't know his stats.  We've been super lax on his appointments.  My guess is he weighs somewhere in the mid 20's.  He seems to be a lot like the twins, maybe a little bigger than Holden was at this age, but not much. At 2 years old he wears mainly 24mo/2T clothes...so average size i suppose. Just with a BIG personality :)

I know i've already mentioned a few times how busy he is, but the past 6 months have shown a lot of improvement on his increased attention span.  He will now sit and play happily with a toy for an extended period of time--especially trains or kitchen stuff.  He likes to read books and will sit and listen to certain ones.  TV is starting to catch his attention a little bit--it just depends on the show...Mickey Mouse and Curious George seem to go over best.  I'm just thankful to have a few things to keep him occupied for short amounts of time. Of course even though independent playing is going better, he'd always prefer to be talking and interacting with people.  

Our sweet boy still sleeps just as well as he always has.  He is very attached to both his room and his bed.  I love that he feels so safe there.  His crib is just getting more and more crowded with his favorite stuffed animals or as we call them his "friends".  Every morning and after most nap times it is normal to find him propped up in the corner of his bed with a pillow behind his back, blanket on his legs and all of his "friends" sitting all around them while he is talking to them about who knows what.  When we walk in, his first comment is always "hey mommy" or "hey daddy" followed by telling us which friends he plans to bring downstairs for breakfast on that day.  

I'd like to also report that he eats great, but that would be a total lie. Davis started out a huge eater, but has turned into a typical picky two year old.  Granted Mike and I have already had our fair share of practice with picky Nora...it's still extremely frustrating at times.  It seems that each week he turns down more and more food instead of his likes increasing.  Thankfully breakfast is always a hit--eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, cereal, oatmeal, grits, yogurt (soy), granola and all fruits... that's where the calories come from.  And he'll tell you that [peanut] 'butter-jelly' sandwiches are his favorite.  It's dinner we struggle with.  He eats no other meats other than breakfast meat, no pasta or rice.  Occasionally we might get peas, or raw carrots in him and thankfully he does like sweet potatoes--but that's it on the veggie front.  Beans are hit or miss...more more of a miss these days. Of course on top of that we still have some dairy issues, so we give him small amounts, but don't overdo it.    Needless to say, he almost never eats dinner--cause this momma isn't a short order cook!  Good news is, our once seriously picky eating daughter has turned into quite a good eater these days, so i have hope for this one as well. 

What Davis loves most in this world is his brother and sister.  He whines when we drop them off at school each time, even though we've been doing it for 2 months now and then he gets super excited when we go to pick them up.  He always wants to be where they are and play what they are playing.  The three of them have a sweet nighttime routine where they hug and kiss each other.  Nora even helps me sing to him some nights.  Yes, there is the normal sibling disagreements over sharing and personal space, but for the most part, the twins really take care of Davis and Davis looks up to them and goes to them for help and comfort just as often as he comes to us.  I love their relationship and pray it always stays this way. 

Other Likes: 

Blanket, Scout, Meow, Snoopy 

Animals...especially cats and our frogs--Jumper and Jumper Jr. 

Going Outside

Trains 

Cookies! 

Bath Time

Night Night Book

Sliding ("go go slides!")

Dislikes: 

Being left out 

Getting out of his routine 

Water on his face

Being Still and Being Quiet 

Riding in the car on long trips

Pasta....makes him seriously gag

Reveal

in case you missed it on one of the other social media networks, we finally had our anatomy ultrasound.... 

yep.  another Burns Boy will be here soon.  

and he says "Hi!" to you all :)

I did it.

i updated the picture site.  gasp.  it's only been over a year since i've done it.  so parents...enjoy :) click HERE for the link in case you lost it.

AND...
i started posting old videos again.  the uploading process has gotten a lot easier since i was last doing it, which is great! ...there's a lot to do to catch up on but as of today i posted 60.  Click HERE for the link.  Enjoy :)

See Below :)

Day.258

The day Daddy came home. 

Mike wasn't scheduled to come in until late Thursday night.  So that night, i got the kids to bed like normal.  They wore their special shirts we made for Daddy, we celebrated our last night doing bedtime without our Daddy, and i told them that we would go get Daddy in the morning when they woke up. 

Daddy, get your Hugs and Kisses HERE!

 Dad = Hero

 Welcome Home Daddy. Your Princess missed you!

 ready for Daddy love and help reading our night night book!

 so excited!

His van pulled up at 1:15 am Friday morning.  I was there with a friend, ready to pick up our husbands and get the heck outta there.  As expected it was by far the least celebrated homecoming i'd ever been to, but it was so nice to see my husbands sweet face in person and get that first big hug after months of just looking at each over a computer.  

Finally Home

Friday morning and went and got the kids up and told them we had to hurry up and go get Daddy.  Mike had put his uniform on and went outside to surprise the kiddos.  It was a super sweet moment.  Nora was excited and clingy.  Holden was a hesitant and a little stunned.  Davis was a bit confused.  You could see him piecing it all together in his head...how the same daddy that was on his doll and on the computer was standing in front of him.  In true mom fashion, I may have cried a little ;)

oh how i love that smile

Seeing Daddy for the first time

Welcome Home Husband, Daddy and Our Hero

 and then of course we put him right to work making his famous pancakes!

 M&M pancakes.  How we celebrate around here!

 and then it was time to play! Holden went from being hesitant to not leaving Mike's side.  It was so sweet to hear all the sounds of fun, imaginative play coming from upstairs.  I may have cried a bit more downstairs while listening to them.  

 The weekend Daddy came home was also beautiful after a ton of rain we had been having so we were able to enjoy a lot of outdoor play as well.  Being on the trampoline with my whole family brought back memories of how we spent our last evening together before he left.  It was also a beautiful summer evening but i remember being so sad and hurt (PICS HERE).  On this day, so happy and peaceful, it felt we'd come full circle-- we made it through.

Month.Eight

I'm a little late on the monthly update but hopefully my love will be home tomorrow night, so i thought i'd sneak in an update before he gets back.

We finally made our way to the end.  This past month has been a breath of fresh air after the long and lonely winter we've had.  We've been outside, we've played a lot, and we've been happy.  With the end in sight, everything else just seemed more bearable. 

With a month left to go, we celebrated by going to Walmart to pick out our favorite candy and make countdown jars. The jars have been great.  The kids really seem to grasp that Daddy is coming home when the eggs (their candy of choice) is gone.  Thankfully the departure plan has stayed on track and i haven't had to adjust the number of eggs!  Holden would have totally noticed and been bothered by it :)

So yeah, if all goes as planned i'll be picking up my hubby tomorrow night, midnightish.  It won't be the big homecomings you have seen in past pictures...just a few soldiers coming home, being picked up at their office.  No matter how it happens though, the excitement is the same.  I can hardly wait to have my family back together.  Check back soon for pics!

Countdown Jars

Month.Seven

I'm writing right now from my swing, in the middle of the yard, on a sunny, 65 degree day, watching the twins play.  That makes everything pretty much okay.

As weird as NC weather can be, i'm thankful for this winter reprieve. My soul needed some fresh air and sunshine.

There's no need to elaborate, but the majority of this month could be tacked on to my month.six post.  It's been a rough few months.  But i keep watching the calendar and the time is ticking by--March is almost here and i'm feeling more like we're gonna make it. Well of course we are gonna make it...but i'd much appreciate my sanity still in tact when my love comes back home. I'm sure he'd appreciate that as well :)

The countdowns are officially starting.  Although we don't have a exact date, we have a time frame, and that's a good feeling.

We've been measuring time by holidays.  Daddy coming home has always been Eastertime.  Now Easter is the next holiday. I think the kids are beginning to understand that Daddy is on his way.

Mike told me this morning over skype, sharing his dinner/my breakfast, that he has 5 burgers left.  That means 5 more Saturdays (or so) on his base before the trip home begins.

This morning we bought tickets to Nickel Creek in Charleston for our Anniversary.  Exactly 2 months and 2 days from today.  I reserved a B&B at the Outer Banks for my 30th Birthday last week.  We haven't been somewhere together without kids since the before the twins were born.   The last birthday i've celebrated with mike was when i turned 26 and the twins were 6 months old.

The Army has been a blessing in our lives in many ways, but it's taken a lot from us too--most important being time.  Good news is, our time is coming and i can feel it.  Looking ahead now, i see good moments and laughter and happy faces.

7 months down.  6 weeks (ish) to go.

Month.Six

I took some time off this month as you can tell.  It's January.  It's cold (sometimes).  Mostly it's winter--literally, of course, but also in my heart (sorry Avett, stole you're line). It's time to hibernate...hunker down...WAIT.  Winter can be so sweet in the good times -- warm and cozy, an opportunity to just "be" with those we love the most.  It can also be lonely. And truth be told, that's where I am.

Weird weather and sickness have had us stuck a lot. We've yet to really get back in a routine since Christmas. I could use some routine, some predictability, and definitely something to do to pass the time.  I don't think i've ever been so thankful for all the toys we have in the house--especially all the new ones from birthdays and Christmas.  We've spent SO much time in the house this month--those toys have been worth every penny as a distraction to keep my kids happy and busy.

My devotional/study i have periodically referred to over this deployment labels this time "the desert of enough" and "a mountain for one".  I go back and forth from feeling discouraged and overwhelmed with all of the responsibility on my shoulders to pulling back and disconnecting from life--just waiting it out.  Neither of these are especially fun stages...but for sure, they are a part of the ride.

The kids are struggling more this month than they have been.  Nora especially.  She misses her Daddy.  Anything that is new, she'll immediately tell me 'we have to show Daddy'.  Anything she makes, she tells me 'Daddy will like that'.  Any good food i make, she tells me 'Daddy will want some'.  Any fun that is to be had, she tells me Daddy will want to do it too.  It seems he's in her thoughts all the time.

It snowed today. I wanted it to be a fun day for us.  The reality was something else.  Nora was in complete tears after about 45 minutes wanting her Daddy to come home.  It started all in her own head this morning when i went upstairs to get them, and Nora told me she wanted Daddy to come home so he could play in the snow with her.  All i could think was, how does she even know that's what Daddy's do? We've never played in the snow before. But she knows. Then our friends come over to sled with us and their Daddy did just get home.  I assume what was fun the first few minutes playing with Uncle Jake, really just turned out to be a huge kick of reality to Nora that her Daddy wasn't here to play with her.  She was sobbing by the time we came in.

We're not supposed to wish our days away.  But i'm not gonna lie--i'm over it.

On a good note. There's plans in the making for coming home.  Tentative flight dates, replacements will be there soon to be trained.  Mike and I are planning trips and projects.  We even bought some concert tickets this week.  It's coming.  I just gotta keep holding on in the mean time.

I have a few pics of Mike/Afghan...he doesn't take many really, just a few for the kids every now and then around stuff he thinks they'll like.  He sends us plane pictures a lot because he knows they like them.

working hard--doing i don't know what ;)

 i don't know what this is either...but the kids think it's cool :)

 planes, dust, etc

Month.Five

We're on the downhill now and that feels good.  But being that it's 3 days before Christmas, i am not exactly jumping for joy over here.

Christmas without Mike around is basically a lot of good moments laced in sadness.  But i'd rather not think too much on it.

So in review of the past month.  It's been mostly good.  It's been busy and full and flown by fast.  We'll take that.

I'd ask that you think of Mike during this time.  We're missing a piece of our family for sure--but he's missing everything.

Mike we love you and miss you.  You are in our thoughts all the time.  Not a day goes by that your kids don't ask for you.  Thank you for your sacrifices and keeping our family safe.  We are lucky to have you as the leader of our family and we are so proud of the work you do.

15 Month Update

~Davison Luke Burns~

Oh this little boy.  What he does to me!  He wears me ragged and drives me crazy some days.  But boy oh boy, he makes me laugh, warms my heart and shows me so much love--i can't even remember what we did or how we made it before he was here.

If you've read a thing i've ever wrote about him it's no surprise to you that Davis is a busy. busy boy.  He keeps me on my toes in a way the twins never, ever did.  Actually, i am so very thankful to have had him second so the twins can help me keep up with him as well as entertain him!

Davis has done a lot of changing in the past few months.  I see him doing new things everyday.  Lets start with talking! He has quite the vocabulary these days! He is mostly sticking to one word statements, but occasionally he'll put two together, like his new favorite--Good Job! Here is a list of what else is coming out of that sweet mouth: byebye, momma, daddy, pop pop, gra'ma, nana, brother, baby, banana, no touch, no no, milk, more, nite nite, hey, cool, wow, uh-oh, all done, diaper, stinky, bath, ball, stop, and shoe.  He also signs "please" and "all done" all other signs he has chosen to forgo and say the word instead.

He is also starting to follow commands very well.  He will: sit down, clap, kiss, wave, go get it, clean up, take a bite, give love, throw it away, come here, high five and shut the door.

He copies everything we do.  He is always at my feet while cooking dinner, which drives me crazy, and he gets into everything.  I have realized the more i've watched and the less i've scolded, he's not so much trying to get into everything but instead just mimicing what i'm doing.  He'll go right behind me and open and shut a cabinet i was just in.  He'll spin the lazy susan i just got a can from and if i'm loading the dishwasher, he wants to load it too.

Davis loves to be outside.  Outside is the perfect place for him to get all of his energy out.  He LOVES our playset, but much prefers the slide over the swing.  He will climb the stairs all on his own, slide down on his belly, feet first, laughing the whole way and then go do it again. He will also walk right off the slide when i'm not looking.  No Fear with this little guy yet!

He has joined Holden with the love of riding.  He has a radio flyer car he rides all the time in the house and every chance he can get, he'll climb on one of the twins trucks and ride shotgun.

His favorite toy for the past month has been a tea set that nora got for her birthday.  He can almost always be found walking around the house with a cup and spoon in his hand.

Davis is IN LOVE with the Good Night Book, by Sandra Boynton.  It's the same book we read every night to the twins until they were 3 years old and started asking for story books instead.  I'm so glad LittleD loves it just as much.  He laughs at every page, and acts out a lot of it on his own now.  It's my favorite time of day with him.

He has shown a little separation anxiety over the past few months although, he's done better the past few weeks.  It never takes long to get over, thankfully, just puts up a bit of a cry when i hand him over to the nursery workers or friends/family i'm getting ready to leave him with--but once we're out of sight, he's usually over it--or so i hear!

Davis still loves loves loves his brother and sister.  He wants to do everything they are doing, and play in whatever room they are playing in.  He wrestles with them, loves to be chased by them, and as of lately he brings books to them and then sits in their lap so they can read to him.

My favorite Davis thing right now is kissing.  He says "muah" all the time and then leans his head in so you can kiss him.  If you are lucky, he might actually give you a kiss back.  Those are my favorite of course...even though they are wet and sloppy!

He doesn't eat as much as he used to, but still likes a lot of different kinds of foods.  He still is not tolerating much dairy and i've pretty much cut it out of his diet.  Sometimes it just gives him bad diaper rashes and rashes on his face...occasionally he will have indigestion and throw it back up.  Every once in a while the throwing up is immediate...like his body can't tolerate it at all and he can't even swallow it.

We are due for a doctor's visit but want make it until after Christmas, but i have no doubt he has done some major growing in the past 3 months.  Not that i've been the least bit concerned,  but i am sure he has moved up on the growth charts this time.  Maybe i'll get a little break from the grief the doctors give me with every visit!

oh and worth a note---he has given up his paci entirely.  Raffy is still in his crib but i rarely see him use it as a paci.  Mostly he plays with the silk tag attached to the giraffe paci.  He totally gets that from me!  As a child i was always rubbing "silkies"--funny how those things can be genetic!

Some of Davis' favorite things include:
Glow Worm
cups, plates and spoons
peanut butter and jelly
taking baths
riding his trucks
playing outside
bouncing
tickling
the night night book

Some of his dislikes include:
not being allowed to do what the big kids are doing
bread crust
water in his eyes
sitting still
being boxed in
loud noises--like the constant fire trucks that go by
being hungry--but then again who does?

4 Year Update

In the midst of all the holiday business, i really don't want to miss the chance to talk about my sweet 4 year olds. So before beginning the slew of Christmas posts, i am gonna take a minute to celebrate another year with my twins, full of fun memories and a lot of growing!

~Nora Grayce Burns~

 Nora is as long and lanky as she's always been, as you can probably tell from above.  I wonder if it will ever be easier finding clothes that fit her.  Depending on the day and what she ate for breakfast, occasionally she hits the 30lb mark, but has been holding pretty steady around 29 lbs for the past 9 months. 

She's still a sweet hearted little girl.  She loves everyone she meets.  She wants to help me whenever she can and also takes pleasure in taking care of her brothers...even when maybe they don't need it!

She's gotten a little bit better with her eating this year.  It still takes her FOREVER to finish eating, she's always the last one at the table.  We have had some big successes this year getting her to eat some more meat, especially chicken.  She will now eat broccoli and carrots, occasionally rice if its really covered in sauce, and almost all types of noodles.  I have had NO LUCK with any type of potato other than thin, crispy french fries--every once in a while.  The best news is that she doesn't pouch her food in her cheeks any longer.  That alone has made meal-time much more bearable for everyone. 

Princesses, Princesses, Princesses-- she plays with them, she talks about them, she watches them, and of course she thinks she's one.  Not that it helps that everyone calls her "princess" too.  Her favorite one changes daily between Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Rapunzel and Ariel.  If she could have her way she would be in a princess dress all of the time and speaking of that, her collection is getting pretty large! 

She's not ever been into learning the basics...colors, shapes, numbers and letters.  I really have to work with her and drag it out of her when doing those things.  The perfectionist in me starts to worry about these things, but i try to remember she's four, she'll be fine, and try NOT to compare her to Holden. What she prefers to do is draw.  She's really quite good at it.  She's also really good at making things pretty--like decorating cookies, and matching her outfits.  She has a good attention to detail already.  I have no idea where she gets this from ;)

The girl LOVES to talk.  She talks to everyone she comes into contact with.  In stores, she is always striking up conversations with people.  She does not know a stranger.  She shows them her earrings, tells everyone she is four and waves and says hi to everyone passing by.  Of course then she looks up at me and tells me she just said "hi" like i wasn't just right there to witness it.  

We started Nora in ballet/tap this year.  She loves it and i love that she gets to do something so feminine.  It seems so much of what we do and who we play with revolves around boys, dancing has been good for her. She loves so much to do "girly" things, this is a good outlet for her and lets her be around other girls like herself. 

We have also started going to Cubbies this year.  I wasn't sure if i wanted to add on the extra activity to our busy schedule, but so far it has been a great experience.   They memorize scripture every week.  The first week Nora struggled and i wasn't sure how it was going to go--but since then she's been a pro.  She remember them very quickly and doesn't forget them.  Each week we review all the past weeks verses and she nails them every time.  She have learned 11 verses so far this year. 

-Nora has also made her first real best friend this year.  Adelyn goes to school with Nora and from what i hear they are inseparable.  They of course both love princesses and dress up.  They hold hands and giggle and make believe...i just love watching them play together.   

-Last year, right after writing her 3 Year Old Update, Nora and potty training finally clicked.  It was an easy transition once she was ready, going from still in a diaper to no accidents within about 3 days.  We really haven't had any regressions with her either--just occasional accidents from a little girl who doesn't want to stop playing!  She has also been doing well at nap time and at night and many times she wakes up dry.  It isn't 100% yet, but i don't think we are far off. 

Nora's favorite things are: 

Meow (her stuffed cat she loves more than anything else ever)

Princesses

Jumping on the trampoline

Playing with her friends

eating Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches and Mac N Cheese and Ice Cream

watching Tinker Bell and Cinderella

Dressing Up

Singing and Dancing 

Playing Babies

~Holden Reece Burns~

Holden is my complex child.  He's sweet and tender at times.  He seems to feel things really deeply and get over emotional at times.  Then at the same time he can seem to completely shut down and turn stone cold especially if he has done something wrong and knows he's gonna get into trouble.  He can be sneaky and mischievous one day, sweet and obedient another day and then extremely hardheaded the next day.  I really never know what i'm gonna get.    

He loves to have one on one time with people--both adults and kids and that's where he really seems to thrive.  I find that in bigger crowds he doesn't function as well.  He starts to act out when he feels left out or else just sit off to the side and do something on his own. 

Holden is extremely loving with his family.  He is a big snuggler with me, especially first thing in the morning and right before bed.  He loves to play with Nora more than anyone else and he is a fabulous big brother.  He takes care of Davis and has a lot of patience playing with him.  

Holden amazes me with how smart he is. He picks up on everything so quickly.  He's know his letters/phonics for sometime now and he's starting to write things now.  He picks up anything computerized and understands it immediately. He is fantastic at puzzles and can memorize anything. He has good directional sense and tells me how to get to places all the time. 

Holden never misses anything.  He notices when i have on a new shirt, he notices if anything is out of place and he can watch you do anything once and he's got it down pat. 

I'm still convinced he's gonna be musical.  Beats and rhythm come natural to him, he can match pitch and he got a toy piano book for his birthday that he already has figured out how to play some of the songs.  As soon as we can i plan to get him into some kind of music lessons. 

Holden is also doing great with his scripture memorization at Cubbies--just like Nora, he has 11 verses down pat. 

Potty Training was much more of an issue with him and I was worried it may never happen.  To my great delight though, this summer, right before school started back Holden finally got a handle on going potty.  This has been a LONG process with him, as he started going potty on his own back when he was 18 months.  We are still no where near getting him trained at night, but i am proud to say he NEVER has an accident during the day. 

Holden's favorite things are:

his rubber sting ray he got this summer at the beach

rescue bots

superheros

planes
riding his tractor and gator

watching magic school bus, rescue bots, and super why

eating peanut butter, cookies and chocolate