theburleys.org

Zoe turned 1 at the end of September (22nd). Here are some photos from last month (I have to link you to my Facebook photos, since we are still having trouble getting photos uploaded here!).

We are almost settled (still tons of unpacking to do), and are SO happy with our new house. Liam is in heaven with the big backyard- he has adventures out there every day and has been conducting lots of experiments in bottles with dirt and limes from our tree and mint from the garden!

Zoe is really fun right now, and still thinks her big brother is the best thing in the world. She’s not really interested in walking on her own yet, but is talking alot.

Liam is at a new preschool down here and we love it, I even volunteered to be Room Mom for his class. His teacher is very involved and even send out personalized emails to the parents letting us know how each child is doing. It is close enough to walk- I swear we’ll do it again one of these days!

Josh’s commute is a little longer but he thinks it’s worth it. We have just been so busy but we are very very happy!
I’ll take photos of the house soon, since we changed so much, I haven’t really posted photos of it finished (probably because it is always so messy!)

we live in our new house now! remodeling schedule is way backed up (surprise surprise). will we have a kitchen in time for Zoe’s birthday party? i’m not sure! the house is a mess but we love it. am having trouble uploading photos to this web site but Josh put a couple up on facebook here and here.
we tried to be a little more “green” with our remodeling: we did sustainable eucalyptus flooring (didn’t go as far to check about the formaldehyde etc though), zero v.o.c. paint (not smelly!), and carpet made of a corn polymer, which is incredibly soft. and then it all went to hell when we chose granite countertops

We’re currently in the process of trying to get everything ready in the new house as soon as possible. We get the keys on August 31st and I will be going right in to start some demolition work. The measurements should be done that week and everything ordered. If everything goes well, we plan on having it complete by Zoe’s birthday on September 22nd.

So, three weeks for all new floors, new kitchen cabinets/appliances, paint throughout. Easy, right? Right??

Well, our first house officially belongs to someone else. The packers arrived on Tuesday and boxed up all of our stuff. They came back on Wednesday and loaded everything into the two large PODS we had on the driveway. Unfortunately it did not all fit, so the movers took our backyard stuff in their truck to their own storage facility. We moved a bunch of our temporary belongings to Clare’s Sister’s condo in Irvine, where we’re currently camping out. Clare was a super-hero and really cleaned up the old house for the new owners.

We did find a new house, however! We’re currently in Escrow on a place in Aliso Viejo. I’ve uploaded some pictures of the place we bought, as well as some pictures of another house on the same street, with the same layout, that was really nicely decorated for comparison. Our new house backs onto a fairly large street, but it has a really, really big backyard and a view. We’re planning on painting and replacing the floors with hardwood and carpet upstairs before we move in (budget allowing).

Hey, we’ve been busy, give us a break!

A quick rundown of updates… Zoe still has her blue eyes. She’s pulling loves to pull herself up on the edge of the coffee table and shuffle around. Liam turned 4, and is still a very proud big brother. We sold our house, escrow closes on August 3rd. We don’t yet have a new place but have put in an offer on one in Aliso Viejo and are waiting to hear back. It’s a long shot, but either way we’re planning on moving in with Clare’s sister in Irvine after our house closes escrow and while we’re looking for a new place.

We’ll work on putting up some proper posts soon, including new pictures!

The first month with Zoe has been great. My C-section, as promised was easier all around and I feel great! Almost back to normal. My first reaction when I saw my daughter was, wait- why is she so pretty?! I guess I didn’t have any expectations on what she would look like, except that she’d be wrinkly and look like a little monkey. Instead I saw a pretty little pink thing with strawberry blond hair! That was strange, but we considered she may have my sister’s red hair. Josh made my recovery so easy and relaxed, taking care of everything including my favorite breakfasts and midnight feedings of Zoe! I’m so lucky. He can soothe her better than I can, he is so good with her, and just adores having a daughter.

Liam has been an incredible big brother, and loves his sister so much. They snuggle every morning, he says, “Mommy put Zoe on my pillow!” He calms and entertains her, wants to play with her and show her everything, and has genuine concern when she is upset. He is so sweet to her, giving lots of hugs and kisses. No out-of-the-ordinary naughtiness so far!

As for Zoe, she is still sleeping a lot, so that has helped ease me into the transition of having two kids! I am really getting the hang of it, and it’s not as scary as I expected. Of course we’ll see how the coming weeks progress! She is still a very peaceful baby, not a lot of crying or fussing. She can sleep in the bassinet and take a bottle- two things Liam never liked. Zoe’s first checkup went great, gaining weight well etc, although to me she is still the tiniest thing! She is only just starting to fit into some of the 0-3 month clothes- I had to go and buy Newborn sizes when she was born- I wasn’t expecting such a dainty girl! We just love her so much.

Zoe Virginia Burley arrived on September 22nd at 8:06am at a healthy 7 lbs 9 oz. Both mom and daughter are doing great.

Pictures have been posted, covering the first few days. I’ll try and write more later, time to get some sleep while I can!

Here are the ones we’ve taken so far, starting at month 2. We tried to take them all in the same place, but forgot once or twice, but you can see the progression! We’re getting professional ones done next week, so they’ll be up soon.

I’m finally starting to get pretty run down, tired, uncomfortable. Counting down but still 6 1/2 more weeks to go! September 22nd is our C-section date but I have a feeling she’ll come early like Liam did! (well, fingers crossed)

Liam turned 3 years old on June 2nd. He had a great big Transformers birthday party with tons of friends, and then we went to Disneyland the day of his bday and he got his own annual pass which he’s very proud of!

He’s talking non-stop and is so excited for his baby sister to get here. He’s given her some of his stuffed animals and toys, and has been telling me all the jobs that will be his, like feeding her, bathing her, and even changing her diapers. Sounds like I won’t have too much to do!

Preschool is out for the summer and so he started swim class with Daddy and then a gym class this week too. He loves both so much. It’s been so hot that we’ve been in the pool alot so swimming is a current favorite activity.

He’s such a big boy! Photos Here.