Say hello to your friendly, neighborhood creepers..

Just thought I'd remind you all that that my sister and mom are still in town. And my love-handles are out of this world. I never knew I could put down so much premium ice cream. 
I also wanted to let you in on some of the hilarious things that my mom and sisters have been saying which have rendered me helpless on the floor like a drunk Sponge-Bob being tickled to death. 
-"Oh he's married? Married?? It doesn't matter unless they have kids." 
-"Ok, we can park here as long as everyone walks out limping."
-"I bet if we each do 100 blows we can blowup this air mattress."
-"Mom, steam rolls us." 
-Speaking of snacking during a movie: "I'm just shoving something in. I'm not eating to enjoy it." 
-"Moist? Like my thighs on a hot summers day..."
-"Shat up you little slat."
-When my post-preggo midriff peeked out: "Hey, put your bread dough away." *tear* 
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Happy General Conference, everyone! If you want to have your day up-lifted, let alone life, tune in from 10-12pm and 2-4pm MST. It was beyond excellent today! 


p.s. Happy April Fool's day too--hopefully my deodorant isn't full of cream cheese and my toilet seat covered in honey in the morning. 

When The Mom and Sisters Are In Town...

....there's lots of bum-pinching, cuddling, donut and ice cream eating, and running to compensate. 
Briana just left this past Monday and Brynne and my mom are here for another week! They've been so gracious to watch Jude while I finish up some clinicals for school and sleep in until 9:30 :). And Jude is LOVING all of the attention--little show off might just die when they leave. We love visitors :) 

The 1st Party

On Saturday, Jude put on his bow-tie, slicked his hair to the side, and had his 1st birthday party!
My mom and two sisters arrived Thursday night and we've been partying--and haven't stopped eating-- since!
We can't thank those who came and helped out enough--not to mention all of the thoughtful gifts!
Jude was in baby heaven with all of the attention, bright colors, and ridiculous amount of cake he was given. 
Like I said, I can't believe he's already 1, but today we made some serious ground with getting him off of all fours and onto those chubby twos. Stay tuned!--it'll happen any day now! 


All photos taken by Phillip Goodwin! 

Once upon a time there was a beautiful blue cake..

...that just so happened to be made for a very special day. 

And let me tell you--this little banana cake had no idea of what it was in for. 

Our little guy is one! I can't believe it. I JUST can't believe it. Sorry, but there's a mom on the other end of your screen who's heart is bursting with excitement for all of the new stages ahead of us (ahem...walking?), but who's also longing to hold her sweet little newborn--all wrapped up, chubby, and snorty--you know, when they sound like they're constantly trying to clear their throats.
*sigh*
Anyway, we threw a party with friends and family. It was a blast!
More pics to come!


All photos taken by Phillip Goodwin.

Snip Snip

Jude's had quite the baby mullet lately--well, more like the that-baby-has-so-much-hair-I'm-contemplating-perming-it look. 
Don't get me wrong.
I dug it. 
But Mr. Fun-Ruiner of Mom's fun (that'd be Adam) has been nagging me for over a month to cut it.
So Jude, I took you to a little Asian salon and got you a proper hair cut. 
(Now that I think about it, we should have gotten you a pedicure too. Those Asians do wonderssss.)
I thought they were just going to stick you in a high chair or something, but instead, I put on my own hair-smock and you plopped you and your little-baby smock on mommy's lap, and got your lusciously adorable locks snipped, while holding onto rubber ducky for dear life.  
You took it like a champ.
And I'm dying of baby-cuteness right now looking at these pictures. 
I love you, little buddy. Thanks for being so freaking squeezable. 


p.s. sorry about the nudey girls in the background. 

We're nearing the end..or the beginning...

We want you to realize that Jude's turning 1 in one week!
Holy freaking tear ducts: Be ready. Because this mama is going to start the water-works in T-minus two minutes.
This is ridiculous.
He's supposed to stay the same chubby, snuggly, cooing, and heavenly-smelling little baby that first entered our lives last March.
I'm going to be terrible at this whole having a one-year-old thing. 
Maybe I should just bake another one.
On it. 
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This week I start preparations for the little guy's birthday party and the arrival of not one, not two, but THREE Burwell women into my little living room. And my little fridge. And my little couch. It's going to be epic-ly crowded in here. But it'll be crowded with love. 
Who knows: maybe we'll all get on the same cycle. Heart-warming? Gross. 

We Saw the Animals

It was a cold, windy day, but it was also $4 day, so Jude and I and Uncle Bryon put on our coats, our bear-ears hat, and went the zoo earlier this week. 
Uncle Bryon and I were deprived of the zoo as children--we lived an hour from the Philadelphia Zoo and went ONCE, gosh dang it...for a school field trip. So it didn't even really count.
Sure, we had every stuffed animal imaginable--to the point that our stacked bunk beds resembled those kitschy old lady cars with the back window lined up with collectable Beanie-Babies. Sick. 
We also had gerbils. Who the heck had gerbils?
But our exposure to wild life was limited to a goldfish named Goldie and the occasional groundhog. So naturally, when we had the chance to go see exotic animals our inner, neglected child comes skipping and squealing through.
We had a blast.
And Jude couldn't have had more fun walking around with Bryon, banging on the African instruments, eating elephant ears, and pointing at things. 
It's so endearing. 
And he's awfully cute. 
No baby elephant or naked mole rat can touch my guy. 

When Big Brother Is In Town...

..we stay up real late watching The Simpsons, go for late-night runs, eat lots of fried food, and reminisce about our childhood. 
The other day, Jude and I showed Bryon around Portland on a stereotypically rainy day and stopped at some of our favorite spots--The Frying Scotsman and Voo Doo donuts! He loved them both. 
p.s. Oh hey Bry, remember that time we escaped Saturday morning chores, rode our bikes to the local mini-mart, bought two Hostess mini pies each, and downed them before anyone knew what happened? 
Yes. 
My brother knows how to have a good time. 
And he and Jude are the best of friends :) 

Big Brother's In Town!

I've had quite the leave of absence. I worked every day this past week and go ahead and add a double-ear infection for my sweet little cream puff and that leaves me with zero time on the computer this week.
It's ok. 
Anyway.
Guess. Who. Arrived. Here. Yesterday?
My big brother, Bryon!!
I really am a total sucker for my brother. He's always been a gentle giant of a man and an example to all around him and I'm very proud to be his sister. 
So far:
-He arrived last night and we stayed up late eating the huge black and white cookies he brought with him. 
-He woke up at 7 this morning with Jude and played with him so we could sleep in till 9 :) 
-We ate bagels, went to Little Big Burger in Portland, picked up some Tim Tams (we found them!!), stopped at the mall, and purchased a fairly repulsive amount of junk food. 

Spoiler alert: Jude is totally getting that giant rubber ducky for his birthday. 
I've got some catching up to do on reading all of your blogs! I'm so far behind :-P