Getting ready for Daddy to come home!

That's what we've been doing the past few weeks, well, pretty much since the day he left out to sea. haha :) We miss Jake alot when he's not home, but we definitely don't like his snoring when he's here! He left the 1st of December and finally will get to come home on Friday! :) They're keeping him busy on the ship, that's for sure! Because of his exemplary attitude with certain things and the attention to detail that he has, he's been assigned to a certain group of sailor's laundry duties, cleaning/assembling/preparing the ice cream machine in the galley, and another thing that I can't remember at the top of my head, dangit. I'll have to add it tomorrow if I can remember what it was... So yes, he's staying very busy! We can't wait to have him back home!

Beckham is having a rough time with all the random boxes that are stashed all over the house, he doesn't understand that he can't see what's in them. (Just a little side note: Beckham is always the first one at the door when the door bell rings, and when we get a package, he goes straight to the kitchen to grab a knife to help me open it.) So the fact that he can't open the few that we've gotten (from my grandparents and a huge one from Jake's mom and dad) is confusing the heck outta him! :p

In case you haven't noticed, we are running a bit late on Christmas cards this year, but don't worry, they're headed into the mail soon. Those of you that have sent us cards already, thanks so much, it's so nice being able to see how much families have grown and all the cute little faces.

We're still loving it here in the cute, quaint little housing community. It's very cold and there hasn't been much snow yet, but it's nice and rainy! I went to go to my car a few nights ago and was greeted by 3 huge racoons, sitting right on my front porch! They jumped a little, I screamed and almost peed my pants, and then we spent the next 10 minutes or so scrambling to find my camera and keep the dog from barking at them and scaring them away. I was SO tempted to open the door to get a better picture of their beady little eyes that were staring at me, but the images of my face marred by their razor-sharp claws and their garbage-saturated faces coming at me and eating my nose off quickly made that thought leave my head. Why did I not know that they can open my trash cans and get into them, leaving the door shut behind them?! When I went to take some garbage out the next day, the bag that was already in there had been ripped open and pilfered through!

Hope that everybody is doing well in Utah and the other places that we have family. We miss you all terribly! The holidays are creeping up on us, only a few more days. Although, if you were relying on Beckham's chocolate advent calendar to tell you how many days are left until Christmas, tonight would be Christmas Eve, because he only has ONE left. Out of 24 pieces of chocolate, he ate 23 of them. Yesterday. No wonder his stomach hurts.

Our new washer and dryer

Some that read our blog may have already seen all the excitement on Facebook, so if so, don't mind me... I just have to share that this morning, we had delivered, a brand-new washer and dryer! They're GE Profile and they're absolutely amaaaaazing! All the bells and whistles...


Just since they were delivered this morning around 9:30, I've washed the following:

• Colors

• 1st load of darks

• 2nd load of darks (Two rubbermaid totes was just a bit much, although each load was gigantic! If I was doing laundry in any other washer and dryer, it would have been FOUR loads of darks! Not even kidding!

• Bath towels (not just a few, either - there were THIRTEEN bath towels, 3 hand towels and 4 washcloths in one load!!! It was awesome!!!)

• Stinky towels and rags from the sink (even bleached 'em so they're extra clean and ran the anti-bacterial dryer setting! Woo!)

• Our big comforter (It's in the dryer now - a) It's the cleanest it's been since we purchased it and b) It's only been in the dryer for 20 minutes, and it's already almost ALL THE WAY DRY!

• 2 sets of bed sheets and pillow cases (All of them! Together! In one load!)

• Whites

In love? Yes! Obsessed...? Maybe... :p

A happy place

So here we are in Washington. Bremerton, Washington, to be exact. New car. New house. New weather. Life is good. It's very different here. Absolutely beautiful though! The Naval Shipyard is an amazing conglomeration of some of the biggest ships I've ever encountered! The Stennis is most definitely a good-sized ship! It was really cool to watch it glide through the water as we stood on the Bremerton Boardwalk. The ferry ride across to Seattle is one of the most amazing things ever! Seriously! If you get the chance, do it! It's free to go to Seattle if you're walking on, and you can take your car there and back for $23.00! We haven't had to take the car across yet, because just walking through all of Pike Street Market is suffice exercise for one day. It's so awesome across the sound. Awesome. There are so many interesting people to see, places to go, and tons of stuff to try/buy! Jake is out to see right now. Hopefully he'll be back by Thanksgiving! Beckham is super excited, because we're planning on going to go see Imagination Movers in December! We've had a little bit of excitement with the wildlife here; the raccoons decided to walk off with all 7 of my miniature pumpkins that were outside for a mere day and half! We're finding our way around the city of Bremerton and the city of Silverdale as well. The kids are ready for some dinner, too bad I don't do seafood, because there is a VERY wide variety of it here in the Puget. :p

Need your votes!

I just entered Holden into a Halloween photo contest in the Kitsap Sun (our local newspaper) and need some votes. If you have a second, will you please go vote for my little sock monkey? It would mean the world to me! Thanks so much!

http://yourmedia.kitsapsun.com/MediaItemView.aspx?id=349866

Those interested in emailing Jake....

... I just got his email address. Email me @ 1hotsoccermom@gmail.com or jakeandsydneyburnside@yahoo.com and I'll email his address to you. :)

A little update on us

Since it's been way too long since I've posted, I figured I'd at least try to type out something. Even if it is a big rambling mess of randomness. :) We're going on week 3 since we were in Chicago. It's tough having Jake gone, but we're coping. The graduation was absolutely amazing. There are really no words to describe the feelings (and that lump in my throat) I had when I saw my husband for the first time in 9 weeks.

I'm still serving at the Golden Corral here in West Jordan. Although it's hard and sometimes I don't like it, it keeps my sanity, it's a perfect way for me to get even just a few hours away from the chaos of the boys. :) Now if I could cash my paychecks, we'd be set! But that in itself is another story. The tips are usually pretty good, so that's all that matters. :)


Beckham is growing and is as smart as ever. He can now count from 1 - 11. He knows nearly all of his colors with the exception of Red/Green. He's constantly getting them both switched around. I am a little bit curious as to why.... I have a feeling that he could possibly be color blind. Why else would those be the only two that he confuses? He knows ALL the other ones. Even pink! I just don't know how to go about getting him tested, so once I call someone and get him in, I'll let everyone know! He is convinced that every new and upcoming day is his birthday. He's convinced that Grandma, Papa, and even Aunt Jessica are coming with us when we move to "our new house". I'm amazed at the things he picks up on. He's so quick and funny. He loves to play computer. PBS Kids, Nick Jr., and even Barbie.com are some of his favorite places. He tries very hard to be a good big brother. Most days, he's a big helper. Others... not so much. Why does this kiddo not understand that sitting on Holden is NOT acceptable? I don't care if "he likes it". It's not nice. A few days ago, while playing with a car, Holden went up to where Beckham was, and he ripped the car out of Holden's hand. I asked him why he did that, cause it wasn't nice. Beckham said to me: "Mom! It's a one player game!".


When Holden isn't being pushed over by Beckham, he's into anything and everything. 2 days ago, he finally decided to do more than just leap excitedly into my arms when he's standing. He's walking! Unassisted! Woo! He's doing fabulous, 2 weeks after his yucky Swine Flu ordeal. :) He's making car noises when he has one in his hand. Blows bubbles with his spit. Says mama (still can't tell if it's directed towards me or not). Loves the bathtub (and the toilet water - blech) and playing in the kiddie pool outside. This kiddo is just like his mama - complete and utter water lover. If he has any chance to be in it, touch it, bathe in it, drink it, dump it out of his cup, he's there. He loves, loves, loves the water. He's still wearing his Plagio helmet. We go in to Dr. Warnock on Wednesday. Can't wait to see if he's finished with it or not! It's hard to believe that in just over a month, my baby boy is going to be ONE year old! Where did the year go?! It's nuts how fast he's grown. He's still little compared to Becks, but sooooo big compared to that first day I held him.


Jake's schooling is going well. He loves the city of Chicago and has been fortunate enough to be able to spend time playing and enjoying it when he's not in classes. I must say, I am SO jealous!

So far Jake has


• attended a Chicago Fire game
• ridden on a water taxi
• seen Navy Pier
• gone to Shedd Aquarium
• eaten at Giordano's not once, but TWICE


That's just the things that I remember/he's told me they've done. He is taking his very first test tomorrow, and if he scores well, he'll have his foot in the door for the Advanced Placement something-or-another - which will make him come out of schooling as an E-4!!! I miss him terribly. The boys miss him, especially Beckham. Beckham is always asking about his daddy and telling me that he misses him. It's tough. We don't have too much longer and we'll be together again! I can't wait! We're supposed to be getting our PCS orders on Friday. So I am sure I will share that exciting news too!

We're headed to the Windy City of Chicago!

Hooray! We're flying from Salt Lake City tomorrow afternoon, to O'Hare Airport in Chicago! The day has finally come! Just a few more days and we get to see Jake! What a long and lonesome 9 weeks this has been! I can't wait to get to the airport and fly. Beckham has only been on an airplane once, when he was 5 months old, but the circumstances were much lower spirits then (a friend passed away in a car accident). So now, it is with so much anxiety, excitement, joy that we're finally going to see Jake! My handsome sailor of a hubby! I cannot flippin wait! I will be tweetin' as the trip goes, so make sure you stay updated with me that way! :)

Wish me luck, as much as you can spare, I think 2 kids, 1 stroller, 2 car seats, 3 suitcases, a camera bag, and my purse is about hitting my max for amount of limbs that are able to be used to hold onto the stuff and prevent my stroller-jumping-sassafrass-of-a-three-year-old from running away.

We call him Speed Racer....

... just to be funny. :) I think the jokes and laughing keep it from annoying/embarrasing me. Anyways, here is our "Helmet Holden". He sure didn't like it at first, now onto day three, he's getting used to it.

For anyone interested the helmet is called a StarBand and it's manufactured by OrthoAmerica.
Here is a little snippet from their site:

30 days?!

Oh boy. The countdown is on. ONE month until my sweet, handsome husband heads to Basic.
(Try saying that one 3 times fast!)

We've made a few trips to the Recruiters office in the past few weeks, to get things all squared away. I think with each new thing that happens and each new thing that's said makes it all sink in that the day isn't just coming, it's coming FAST.

• Medical release form - CHECK
• Holden's Birth Certificate - CHECK
• Beckham's Social Security Card - CHECK
• Physical fitness testing - CHECK
• Updated paperwork for Jake to sign - Going first thing tomorrow morning

It's coming. The day is really coming. I am not sure I can even begin to describe
the feelings that are running through my head, and I'm scared to even THINK of the
thoughts that are running through JAKE'S head. After all, HE is the one that's flying
to a city over 1400 miles away to go through Basic Training @ Great Lakes. I am so darn proud of him for making this choice for our family, and for being such a responsible person! I can't wait for the changes it will bring. Trust me, it will bring them... and it's going to bring them alot faster than I realized!

Plagiocephaly

So Holden has been diagnosed by his Pedi as having Plagiocephaly, possibly due to the sutures in his skull closing too early. Plagiocephaly is a "malformation of the head marked by an oblique slant to the main axis of the skull." It's also called "flat head syndrome". Which really sucks, because Holden is only on his back in his carseat and when he's sleeping. Nearly all of his other time is spent on his belly. I was looking at some pictures from when he was born and his forehead now is definitley more bulging now than it was when he was born. We're going in on May 6th to have an assesment done. If he ends up needing a helmet, it isn't covered by most insurances, including ours. So we'll have a pretty big sum ($2500.00 - $4500.00) to pay to get his head back to normal shape. Here are a few shots of my little man, just for comparison.

We're going to the temple...

... because we didn't go when we got married.




Yep. Jake and I are taking the steps to go through the temple
and be sealed forever! I can't wait.
We just started the classes at church,
and we're hoping that maybe, just maybe we'll
be able to go through right before
he leaves for Basic Training! Woo hoo! :)

Video - Holden Laughing

Valentine's Day - 1 year ago!

3 years ago...

... we welcomed our little man, Beckham Jacob Burnside into this world! At 9:09 on February 5th, 2006, he came into this world. Weighing in @ 6 pounds, 13 ounces and 19 inches long, he was absolutely adorable. Changed our lives forever. :) I can't believe my sweet baby boy is THREE years old today!

Just a random shot of my little man's gummy grins!