Girls rule at the Burke house...literally!!!

We found out today that we will be having another Princess Burke arriving sometime in April! It's a GIRL! McKenna is going to have a little sister, and we can hardly stand it.

I had a HUGE suspicion that this baby was going to be a girl. I had prepared my mind and heart to receive the PINK news! I even put McK in a shirt that says, "It's a Girl Thing" to the dr. visit today...knowing how confident I was in her having a sister! Dave, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. He was more on the "blue" end of things and was NOT expecting me to be right (since I was totally wrong with thinking McKenna was a boy)!

The ultrasound technician took her very sweet time in measuring our sweet baby's head, tummy, spine, looked for both arms, hands, legs, feet...all were perfect...but we were REALLY wanting her to get to the "he or she" part - so this part seemed to take FOREVER!! She finally said all bubbly, "So you are wanting to know the gender correct?" We responded with a loud, enthusiastic, and simultaneous, "YES!" She said, "well...it's a girl!" I smiled with the satisfaction of knowing I was right, turned to Dave to see if I needed to scrape him off the floor, and he was smiling too. Everything happened so quickly, that I think we both wanted to double check on the "princess part". We had the technician pull up the "specific picture", blow it up a smidge, and prove to us that in fact...we are having another girl :o) We were then satisfied and trusting - still letting it allllllll sink in!

McKenna was more interested in the jelly that the nurse squirted on my belly and the hand sanitizing wipes than she was knowing if the baby was a boy or a girl ;o) She has since proved that she can say she's having a sister and that the baby in mommy's belly is a girl. This fact will obviously have a different effect on her in about 20 weeks!

So now it's on to picking out colors for the nursery and deciding a name!...That and saving money for proms, manicures, and weddings :o)

Our sweet girl at 12 weeks.


Showing off for us at 19 weeks!!!!

"Happy Hawoween! "

This was McKenna's first year to go door-to-door trick-or-treating! Last year she got a fever the day of Halloween and got a first class ticket to bed early! This year, nothing was stopping me from making sure she had a GREAT time :)


Our little Ladybug was ready for the night! She was NOT a fan of the "hood" that completed her costume, so we opted for pigtails to serve as some antennae. I should have thought ahead and foreseen this being an issue, but what can ya do? She loved her "punkin bashket" and had to have a lollipop to get her sugar juices flowing for the big night.


The few shots I got before she refused the Ladybug hood :o)


Our first house was to see the Kirton family! Grandpa Mike and Grandma Joan live down the street, so we figured this could be McKenna's practice house :) She was way more interested in their fall decorations on their porch than knocking on the door! But Grandpa Mike spoiled her with extra candy in her bucket. Kim, Kyle, Korbin, and Kelsea were there too getting ready to trick-or-treat. We love the Kirton family!!!!


McK walked around quite a bit by herself, then rode in style towards the end. She lasted a good 30 minutes before we headed home. She had 2 late nights in a row before Halloween and it chose to come back and bite us this evening :) The very last house we went to she wouldn't even look the woman in the eye or say anything...she just held out her bucket with a glare. That was all the attitude we needed to let us know it was bed time for the Ladybug!!!!

She perked up when we got back to the house. We ended up setting our chairs at the end of the driveway, passed out candy, and chatted with the neighbors. The evening cooled off towards the end and was just perfect. All in all, I think McKenna had a fun evening. She certainly enjoyed the effects of the night...all those treats!!! Dave and I liked the effects of having a trick-or-treater too :) It makes me look forward to next year, when she is one year older and able to soak it in even more!

Now...on to Thanksgiving!!!!

Gigi & Pop's Fall Visit!

It had been since June that we had seen my parents, and that is just WAAAAY too long!!! Mom was on Fall break from school, so she and Pop headed south for warmer weather! It was wonderful having them, like always. I'm so thankful that McKenna knows them (gotta love Skype, phone, and pictures) and loves them. We packed as much fun into their time in Jax as possible, but had plenty of time to relax and talk. Mom spoiled me rotten by doing dishes and bath time with McKenna. Then she and Dad spoiled me more with some new maternity clothes and Dave some Fall clothes! Parents are the BEST! We sure do love Pop & Gigi!!!!


Started off the visit with pampering and playing outside!

We went to a nature preserves to enjoy the cooler weather. The mosquitoes were HORRIBLE so we opted to take our picnic to the beach!

McK loves the beach and it was fun for my parents to take in the sights while they were here.

Of course we put them to work while they were here. Mom, Dad, and Dave (with some "help" from McKenna and none from me) painted McKenna's big girl room. We got it decorated oh-so-pretty and it is almost move-in ready for Miss McK. Gigi scraped the ugly cherub border down from what will stay the nursery. We will be ready to paint the nursery once we find out if this 2nd baby is a he or a she! For all their hard work, we took them out for seafood at Singleton's. It was YUMMY!!!!

We got to take Pop & Gigi to Connor's A-Maize-ing Acres. McK and I had already gone, but Dave got to come this time too! McKenna enjoyed some other things that we didn't get to do with our MOPS group. Pop took her on the cars and Gigi took her on the cow train! We did get to feed the cows again on the hay ride which was a highlight.

Gigi dug in the "sand" (dirt) with her and Daddy pushed her on the tractor. She is such a loved little girl.

We had to power up for more fun with a picnic and then fed and got slobbered on by the animals!

I love having my parents here when they can come to church with us. We love our church family so much, it always makes my heart happy to have them there and to show them off. We cleaned up good for Sunday morning and had to snap some pictures! They left Sunday evening and McKenna & I cried on the way home! It's so hard leaving...always is...but we just got tickets to see them in January, so it helps to have that to look forward to. Until then we will keep looking at pictures, talking on the phone, and Skyping! Thank you for a WONDERFUL time together Mom and Dad. We love you oh-so-much!!!!

'Ode to October!

When the weather started to cool off (ya know...low 80s) us Burkes just wanted to be outside! Whether it has been evening rides on the bike, going to the local Preserves, or trips to the park we just enjoy being out of the house!

On one of Dave's days off, we took a trip down to St. Augustine to enjoy the day as a family! We played in the park and ate a picnic at the Fort. We walked around St. George street and got some yummy treats. It was a great day just us 3. It did my heart a world of good.


McKenna did NOT enjoy the carousal. She didn't cry, but we couldn't get her to smile to save our lives! She was a different girl on the swings though! She enjoyed the REST of the playground...wonder what it was about the merry-go-round??

Walking around the fort to find a spot to picnic.


The day was fun for us ALL. McK was asleep before we even got out of St. Augustine.

Our first trip to the Pumpkin Patch!


McKenna LOVED all the "punkins".


When she climbed to the top she yelled, "I did it!" She also called their scarecrows her "friends" and she wanted Mommy to take a picture of her with her friends!


I couldn't wait to go back to Connor's A-maize-ing Acres this Fall. We were able to go once last year and McKenna (along with Dave & I) had a blast! I knew she'd be a year older and would love it even more. I was right! We went with our MOPS (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) group and had a fabulous time!

We lasted about 8 minutes in the corn maize before I had had enough! A maize just isn't my idea of fun and I didn't want to chance having a cranky McK for the rest of our time there...nor did I want to end up having to carry a tired McK :o) We settled for playing in the corn-box or the "popcorn" as McKenna called it. This made Mommy and Toddler much more happy!


A new highlight for this Fall was a hayride and feeding the cows. McKenna was not scared one bit and squealed with delight over feeding the cows!!!

As we were walking back to the car to grab our coolers for lunch I got ahead of McKenna and had to keep encouraging her to "follow Mommy" and "we are almost there". I turned around to find her sitting and sulking. Her face and body language were PRICELESS! I was laughing soooo hard! McKenna did not find this situation humorous in the least! I had to carry her the rest of the way to the car and we got our stroller to bring her back! She was pooped!!!!

As usual McKenna loved the animals the best. She could have stayed with this donkey all morning. I think the Donkey was quite fond of her too. He stayed perfectly still and let her pet him, talk to him, and walk beside him. Maybe she'll be a veterinarian when she grows up!