Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  I'm exhausted with work, all of the family get-togethers and hustle & bustle (not to mention being in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy!) but I really enjoyed the holiday.  My mom came in town from Minnesota to spend Christmas with us and it was really nice to have her here.  Jeff had some cousins in town so it was good to see them as well...I think fun times were had by all!  Baby Shay made out like a little bandit with the Christmas gifts and she's not even born yet!

Here's a pic of some of the stuff for Baby Shay and this was just from my side of the family!

As a special surprise we took both of our moms out to lunch at P.F. Chang's and then over to get a 4D ultrasound on the 23rd.  They were really excited to be able to see the baby live and we walked away with a DVD and some photo prints.  Baby Shay pretty much slept the entire time but she woke up long enough to give us a good yawn.  Here are a couple of the color pics with close ups of her sweet face:

29 Weeks: 4D Ultrasound

29 Weeks: 4D Ultrasound

This year, I have a special appreciation for all that Mary went through to bring baby Jesus into the world.  Might sound cliche but there are some things I never really thought about or understood until this point in my life.  While I'm reading up on all of the health care pregnancy issues, Mary had no modern prenatal care.  While I'm trying to figure out what to pack for the hospital, she and Joseph were traveling to Bethlehem (and certainly not by car).  While I'm worrying about what labor will be like even in a hospital that has all of the modern luxuries (electricity, plumbing, soft beds, pillows, temperature control, state of the art medicine and machines, doctors, etc.), she  gave birth in what was basically a dirty cave stable at night.  While Jeff & I put together a pristine, beautiful new crib, Jesus was laid in an unsanitary manger. 

And Joseph...I don't forgot about him either.  He stuck by Mary despite all of the judgement and criticism thrown his way for being engaged to a pregnant woman.  After all, how many people really believed that she was a virgin and carrying the Son of God?!  Jeff has taken on an active role taking care of me and committing to being at every OB appointment but I know he feels a little helpless in not being able to do anything when I don't feel well.  How must Joseph have felt?  When Mary was giving birth in that stable, was he running around just trying to do whatever he could not to feel helpless as she laid there in pain?  While most new dads just have to worry about raising a baby in a typical upbringing, Joseph was charged with being the dad to God Himself!

These are just a few of the thoughts that crossed my mind over the last couple of weeks.  And how much more of a miracle it seems that God would choose to show His love to us in this way?  By coming to Earth as a baby...wow!

Well, the tree is still up, but Christmas is officially over.  Usually this time comes with a little bit of a let down but so much is ahead of us in the coming year that the end of the holiday season is bringing a new sense of excitement and purpose.  January kicks off a busy month at work and for the Burton's as classes start in full swing.  Beginning on the 16th, we have a series of Lamaze classes every Saturday.  Scattered throughout the coming weeks will also be a Newborn Care class, Infant CPR & Safety and some others. 

Just had our 30 week check up yesterday and everything looks good with baby and with me.  At this point, we'll be seeing the doctor every other week until I hit the 36 week point at which time we will go in every week until I deliver.  I have no idea why but both Jeff & I think Baby Shay will arrive a little early.  He's thinking Feb. 28th.  I'm thinking Mar. 5th.  No rhyme or reason why really...we're probably both way off but we look forward to whenever her arrival is.  Can't wait to see and hold our baby girl!

Happy New Year everyone...may it bring lots of happiness and many, many blessings!

I'll leave you with some photos from the last week:

Jeff & me...I wish him luck giving birth to that one!

Forget "Goodnight Moon."  We have "Goodnight Minnesota!"

Mom, me & Jeff at New River Fellowship after the candlelight Christmas Eve service

Big huge tree at the Opryland Hotel

Jeff's dad Larry & his "Grandpa Larry" t-shirt

My mom and her "I'm Too Sexy To Be Called Grandma" mug

The baby carrier Nana got us (and the goofball wearing it!)

Alive & Kickin'

Chalk it up to one of those "Duh" moments, but a few weeks ago, I think I finally understood the phrase "Alive & kickin'."  Because the only way I know that baby Shay is alive is when she's kicking me.  So, although sometimes I want her to stop if I'm trying to go to sleep, I am glad when she gives me a few kicks or rolls to let me know she's okay.  And she's giving me bigger and stronger kicks by the day.  I think this baby thinks she's a Rockette or a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader in a kickline or something.

Really not a lot of news to report but I was feeling guilty that I haven't updated this blog lately.  Life has been really busy with work & preparing for the holidays.  Plus I get tired out a lot easier than I used to.  We had our 28 week check up yesterday and Dr. Mackey said that everything looks "perfectly healthy" and that she "has no concerns at all."  Baby is growing well and her heartbeat is strong, so we can't ask for better than that!  I did have to drink a bottle full of orange flavored nastiness for a glucose tolerance test which is a routine early screen for gestational diabetes.  Jeff found it amusing to watch me chug the stuff and make faces.  Won't get the results back until the end of the week but I'm not too concerned about it.  Although, after all of the Christmas sweets, perhaps I should rethink that!

A little crib drama update:  After all of the running around to get the crib & changing table, we tried to put them together the next day only to find that the big backboard piece of the crib was severly cracked all the way up one side.  So we contacted the company and they sent a replacement piece a couple of weeks later.  Well, Jeff opened the box and it was the WRONG PIECE!  Another phone call to the company and they said that they would send the correct piece and arrange for the other to be picked up.  Another couple of weeks later and the big box containing the wrong piece is still hanging out in our dining room.  Glad we didn't start this process a month before the due date or baby Shay might not have a bed!

Speaking of bed, Jeff has begun reading "Goodnight Moon" to baby every night.  Apparently, her ears are developed enough to hear sounds outside the womb and babies can recognize their parents' voices at birth and it can calm them.  My OB's office has a website with a link to week-by-week pregnancy timeline if you want to check it out.  The development on a week-to-week basis is amazing and I love reading up on it...truly a miracle!

Here's a couple of pregnancy portraits we had done for our Christmas card.  Please excuse the quality...we only had prints and our scanner isn't quite the best thing around: