Our recent family happenings

We made a trip to Utah a few weeks ago, for Jake's sister's {Jessica} wedding. It was a long drive there and a long drive back, but very well worth the trip! Our boys were surprisingly well-behaved during the reception, which was held at Rio Tinto Stadium, where the MLS soccer team, Real Salt Lake plays.

{More pics of the wedding can be found here.}

Holden just had his 2nd birthday, it's hard to believe our little man is already TWO! We did a super-quick photo shoot at Gardner Village, while we were there in Utah. He did great! :) He's getting so big and he's hiliarious! He loves to copy everything Beckham says.

Beckham has started preschool at Head Start, about 6 miles from our home. He loves it! It's been such a positive change for him. His attitude is better and he is not as picky of an eater! He has started tasting and eating things he's NEVER tasted before! He is such a great big brother and helps out around the house. He is sassy at times, and sure can be boisterous, but he at the same time has such a cute, cuddly side.

We are still getting used to the idea that we are soon expecting a baby GIRL into our family. There are some days I wake up and forget we know what we're having... lol Beckham was very upset at first that he wasn't going to get another little brother, but he has come to like the idea. He says his sister is going to be "beautiful, just like a princess". He has a whole list of things for her to wear when she gets here too, among them a "princess dress, princess hat, and princess shoes". I am almost 21 weeks along, so half-way there! We are crossing our fingers that Jake will be home, in port, when the baby gets here, but we don't know yet... so we are just playing it by ear for now. Hoping. Praying. Crossing our fingers that the Stennis isn't on an underway, out to sea, thousands of miles from home when I go into labor. We know that if that's the case, we will get through it, we are after all in the military, which happens... people miss events. Births. Deaths. Illnesses... it just happens. So we are bracing ourselves for the possibility that he may not be home, but of course hoping that he will be here.

I am still working on my photography business, still trying to build it up. It's tough to find clients, but I have had several, and my experience is growing along with my portfolio. :) Thank goodness my Nikon survived it's nearly-complete immersion in the lake/water when went camping.

 Jake is working graveyards, for at least a few more weeks. The ship leaves to do some test runs sometime in the first week or so of December, so I guess until that comes, he is pretty much scraping tile and doing other maintenance-get-the-ship-remodeled stuff.

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.

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!

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!

Video - Holden Laughing

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!

Baby Einstein

I love Baby Einstein! If it weren't for the single
Baby Van Gogh tape that I have downstairs,
I would have never gotten laundry done last night!
It was Holden's first time watching it, he was crying,
wouldn't eat, wouldn't fall asleep, so finally I decided to put it
into the VCR, and laid him down on the end of the bed,
hoping he'd see it and maybe be enthralled with it,
even if just for a few minutes! Sure enough, he stopped crying...
and started kicking his feet and moving his arms and making little noises.
I loved the few minutes of time I got.
(Even if it was to get some much-needed laundry folding accomplished!)

The scoop on us

We've been busy! (Well, Jake has!) He just got a new job. He now works graveyards at the Larry H. Miller Megaplex 20. It's been tough on him, he had 2 hours of sleep between Friday and Sunday. I know it's worth it, and he is always reminding me why he's working both jobs: "So you guys can have a good Christmas." or "So we can have more food in the fridge." It breaks my heart. I sometimes feel guilty that he's working so much and I do nothing but sit at home and play with the kids. I know that's how it's meant to be, it's just difficult. I am very proud of him for getting the second job, and it's tough, cause we rarely see/talk to one another. We are making it work though. :D He's my rock and I am so proud of him!

The kids are doing great!

Beckham is 34 months (on the 5th of December) now and he's such a wild child! He's an absolute busy body. Always into things, ruining things and always going, going, going! 100 miles an hour! There is so much he can do. So much he knows. It's insane how smart he is. He amazes me each and every day. I can't wait to see the look on Beckham's face when he opens his gifts on Christmas morning! He's at such a fun age this year. :)

Holden is 7 weeks as of yesterday! He's smiling allllll the time. He coos every now and then too! It's precious. We're trying to wean him from breast feeding, my Dr. said he's a baby that would be better off on formula, both for him, and for me, because he is making my body barely able to hold on to it's weight. It's tough. We just got formula added to our WIC checks, thankfully! I don't know what I would do without it. Yesterday, for 2 cans of Similac, it was just over $30.00!!!

I'm doing fantastic! I am just trying to work on getting my business running more smooth. I haven't had the chance to sit down and re-vamp my blog or get all my posts and pages in order, but hopefully I will soon! I am going to do a family photo shoot tomorrow and I am VERY excited! It was my Brother-In-Law, Mat that was going to take them, but he couldn't make it, so he asked me to take them for him! I was completely taken aback, so honored, and so completely stoked! I can't wait! We're doing the photos at The Mayan, a jungle-themed restaraunt, before it's opened up for the day. Jake and I are planning on purchasing a Nikon D90 with our tax refund, so this photo shoot will really help me get my foot in the door!

The Boys' Halloween...

So, this year was fun, we went to quite a few houses,
Beckham loved the whole concept of
knocking on the door/ringing the doorbell and getting candy!
He was so polite, saying "Candy please!" and
"Thank you so, so much!" at each and every house.
It was cute! He was a cowboy this year, and Holden was a play-doh guy....
those ones where you twist the seat and their hair grows.
(I will have to post a link just in case people don't know what I'm talking about.)
Anyways, here's a few pics.
I wish we had a better one of the two of them, but we don't. :(



Holden, our hair-growin' play-doh man:



Beckham, the rootin', tootin' cowboy:



The only shot we got of the two of them.
(I guess I should always check the camera
when it's Jake taking the pics!)



Our first house:




And some bonus (aka: not Halloween themed) shots
because Holden will be 3 weeks old tomorrow!


He's getting such strong neck muscles!


Snoozing on the office chair:


Visiting Dad's work:


His "I'm annoyed with being on my tummy" face:


Hanging out on the couch before his bath:

My new absolute favorite picture of the little munchkin:


Watch for another post with some hilarious
pics of Beckham! I feel pretty bad, because it seems
like I never take pictures of him anymore! :(
Bad mom award my way...


♥ Sydney

My Favorite Website is www.BabyTalkBio.Com

So... some of you may have already seen/visited BabyTalk Bio, message boards for mommies and moms-to-be. I frequent the boards, and have been a member since '05.

One of my friends, Lee, has posted a contest on her blog (www.MySentimentsExactLee.com) to win a 1 month subscription to this awesome online community.

Please go check out the contest on her blog, and then go check out the boards!

(You can find my profile/information here.)


♥ Sydney

Pictures of our new little bundle of joy...

I know I haven't really posted many pics of Holden, I keep forgetting!
So... here is a handful, and if you'd like to see more you can visit my Facebook.