Best Daddy on Earth

It goes without saying, but I'm gonna say it anyway: Mark is the MOST AMAZING DAD!  Tate is so loved by his daddy, and it's been such a gift to witness over the past 5+ weeks.  I think so often, the dad gets forgotten in the process of caring for a newborn.  So, today, I wanted to share a few pictures that do better justice to Mark's admiration and love for his boy than my words ever could:

Mark...thank you so much for being the father our beautiful boy deserves.  You amaze me every day with the fierce love and unwavering support you bring to our family.  Not only did you prove my predictions right, you've also made me aware of how much I truly underestimated how amazing you would be at this gig.  We love you...so much!

My Three Boys

When my dad, Yom and little sister, Rachel, visited us the weekend we got home from the hospital with Tate, I was so excited to be able to capture some pictures of myself and the three most important males in my life - three generations and three hearts that I carry within me always.  I'm so blessed...

I Picked You Up and Everything Changed...

Today is my due date - the day I waited patiently and excitedly to come for almost ten months. I say almost because it turns out I didn't have to wait that long.  A week ago, on September 15, 2010 at 2:30am, my water broke in my sleep and what followed was the most amazing, emotionally and physically-enduring day of my life.  And at 10:45pm, my life changed forever when my beautiful boy took his first breath and took my breath away.  I'm so exceedingly proud to introduce you to him now!

~Tate Doty Burton~

Born Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010 at 10:45pm

7lbs 2.4oz, 18.5 inches

and PERFECT

Tate is a very happy, content baby and Mark and I are having such an incredible time getting to know this little person we made with love.  We're not sure what we did to deserve him, but we sure are glad we did.  It's hard to imagine life without him; thank God we don't have to now.

This proud mama will be back with the birth story, the last belly pics, and photos of the nursery.  In the meantime, though, I'll be off enjoying every minute with my little man.  He makes me happier than I've ever been in my very happy life, and I don't want to miss a thing.  

My 'Mark' in the World

Today is the day, 32 years ago, that fate was born and began to make its slow but eventual way to me.  Does that sound weird or selfish, to call the birth of my husband a day of fate for me?  Ah well...I can see it no other way, really.  The truth is, it wasn't until I met Mark that I completely came into my own as the person I am today.  In essence, his birth turned into my own renewal, one I am blessed to relive every day I am lucky enough to wake up by his safe, kind, loving side.

It's nearly impossible to explain how I truly feel about Mark (although I've tried) and I find it absolutely impossible to celebrate this day the way he deserves it to be celebrated.  Every year I feel at a loss as to how to show him my appreciation for all he does and is to me.  I'll ask him, "What do you want for your birthday?" and he always says, "Nothing!"  He means it, too.  Of course I never oblige - that would be wrong.  This year, however, I asked him again: "What do you want for your birthday, babe?" and he - not skipping a beat - said, "A BABY!"  I laughed and asked him if it was o.k. if I opened the gift for him this time.  He didn't think that was going to be a problem.

And so, for the first time in all the years we've known each other, I finally feel like I'm prepared to give Mark something (someone!) that encompasses all that our love is and means to me.  In a matter of days, a little person created solely by our admiration and dedication to one another will arrive into the world, giving us one more reason to redefine our love for each other with every day that passes.  I imagine our love will only grow, get stronger, and have more meaning than it ever did before.  My heart stands ready to stretch and beat to the rhythmic drum of this new awakening - a new fate, if you will.  I see this as the best day of the year; it brought to me the person who has made my life infinitely greater in ways I never expected but also vow to never take for granted.

Happy birthday, baby.  I love you...so much*.

*We both have '...so much' engraved into our wedding rings; thinking of the reason why always makes me smile.  

Slacking - but only on the blog!

Oh my pretty people....I'm SO TIRED lately!  I can't sleep well with the hormones and 5-6 bathroom visits per night, but I also can't nap because I've entered the nesting phase of pregnancy and can't sit still to save my life.  And so, while the nursery is almost done and the baby clothing is washed and the yard has never looked better and the... (you get the picture), my little blog has sadly been put on standby.  Have no fear, though: when the baby gets here, you'll be relegated with photos and stories galore...once we get on a schedule, anyway.  See how that works?  I give you hope and then pull it away in nearly the same breath. 

Good news, though!  We only have 30 days left until our due date!  See?

That's some kind of insane, right?  Everyone I meet has something to say about the size of my belly these days and they all seem to think I'll go a bit early.  I have no feelings on the subject and just keep telling Chickpea to come when s/he is ready.  I'll admit I'm getting more anxious by the day, though.  I keep wondering who is in there, if it will be a boy or a girl, what it will look like, how our first days together will look.  Never have I felt more excited for anything in my life - Mark, too.  He can't stop saying, "We're going to have a BABY soon!!" and nearly jumping up and down with happiness.  He's installed the car seats, and keeps bugging me to get the hospital bag packed - it's so cute.

I'll have more belly pictures up in the next day or two, along with a story or three.  And then, I'll be uploading nursery pictures!  We just got the dresser this weekend, so we are pretty much DONE!  YAY! 

Enjoy your day!

Bump Watch: 31 & 32 Weeks

WHAT A WEEK.  I don't care to go into details, but suffice it to say it's been a bit of a rough one for the Burton fam.  The good part is that we have so, so much to be happy about and plenty of faith that all will be well.   Oh, and my husband?  Is amazing -- I'm so unbelievably proud of him for all he does and for the chances he takes to ensure we have a wonderful life.  If you see him, give him a hug; he certainly deserves it!

So the two series of photos being posted today are going to be infinitely different from one another.  The first week's photos were taken after a long day at work when all I wanted to do was put on the outfit you can find me in on a typical weeknight.  I'm looking SEX-Y in them, letmetellyou.

WEEK 31:

Like the cami and shorts look I'm sporting?  You're lucky I put a bra on for you. ;o)

Ok, seriously.  Can we talk about my belly?  More specifically, can we talk about how HUGE IT IS?!

Molly is so helpful during photo-taking time. What a sweetie!

This next week's photos are a bit more involved.  I figured since we didn't have time to take our traditional 32-week photos in the nursery, they had to be extra special.  OK, that's a lie.  We actually paid someone to take these!  If you like them and are looking for a great, VERY reasonable photographer in the Lansing, MI area, let me know and I'll be happy to recommend Cheryl.  For once I'm not going to add comments - I think these speak for themselves...

WEEK 32:

More can be found HERE.

Today, I Want for Nothing

Back in my mid-twenties, I would have given anything to wake up in the morning and think, "I have no desires today; today I am happy with exactly who I am and what I have in this precious life." Which, coincidentally, is exactly what I woke up thinking today, on my 34th birthday. 

The thing is, all of the days I woke up wishing I had more or something different are the very reason why I can appreciate the amazing life I am living.  I should really thank all those tear-filled days and those times filled with unanswered prayers, huh?  Thank you, icky days and unknown times...because you happened, I am truly, finally able to see the beauty in the world around me.

I am married to my soul mate (the most amazing person) and just 9 weeks away from giving birth to a little person we created together...  I have an incredibly loving and supportive family that has always given me reason to believe the world was my oyster and I could do anything I put my mind to...  I have many wonderful friends who make me laugh and love me just the way I am...  I have two of the sweetest dogs on Earth that make frantic little 'CLICK CLICK' noises as they excitedly dance on the wood floors when I get home from work, who shower me with smiles & messy kisses....  And, uh, I have wood floors, which means I actually have a HOME, a safe, warm (and cool - YAY!) home...  I have a job to go to each day, one that is ending on the last day of this year, which will give me some of the much-needed time I crave to spend with our Chickpea, to take time to become the mom I have always dreamed of being... And, sure, I have a ton of material things that are pretty and useful, and I have the money - for now, anyway (if Chickpea is a girl, Lord help us!) - to spend on the things we need and want.

So, yeah.  I don't need a single thing.  A dear friend sent me a text message today that said, "Think of any kicks from Chickpea today as his/her way of saying, "Happy birthday mama, I love you!"  And it made me smile from here to there.  I'm loved, and kicked from the inside, and all is right in the world.

Daddy-To-Be

Today is Father's Day, and while technically I'm still carrying our first child (one we've created together - these girls certainly do count, as well!), I already very much view Mark as a father - and an amazing one at that.  As busy as he is and as little we get to see him these days, he somehow is still magically able to meet the demands and needs that his pregnant wife and excitable puppies have.

I find myself spending a lot of time during these last months of pregnancy envisioning what it will be like to be a parent, a mama to Chickpea.  Sometimes I worry that I won't know exactly what to do, that my heart will break in two the first (and 100th) time I'm not able to comfort our little one as it cries.  I have lots of little worries about the "what-if's," but not one of them entails wondering or worrying about what kind of father Mark will be.

When I met Mark, I instantly knew I had met my equal and had no doubt he would make a wonderful father.  His tender heart, love and ability to care for those more than he ever takes care of himself are just a few reasons why I look forward to being a co-parent beside this man. I find myself daydreaming about the look on his face when he sees this baby for the first time, thinking about the time he will spend teaching and encouraging our baby from day one, and how much fun they will have together.  To say Chickpea is lucky to have the father s/he will have is a crazy understatement.  This kiddo won the Daddy Lottery, to say the least.

Mark, thank you for being such an amazing, unfaltering husband, and for giving me so much to look forward to as we venture further down this path we find ourselves navigating together. You make it all so much happier, sweeter, and more worthwhile. I hope I'm half the parent I know you'll be...and just having you by my side means I don't have to worry about much -- I know you'll always see to it that we are loved and taken care of in your quiet and gentle way. What a gift you are. We love you!

And to my own dad...

Thank you for your own quiet and gentle love over these past (almost) 34 years.  I've never doubted your love for me and that is a true gift for a child!  I love you very much! xoxo

Anniversary Weekend Rundown

As I mentioned, Mark has very little free time these days.  Being the dedicated man he is, though, he skipped a couple weekend meetings and spent a lot of time on the phone on the way to Petoskey, and was able to get away to celebrate our second wedding anniversary (despite making a whole lot of work to come back to for him).  He's the best!

We arrived to the Terrace Inn on Friday around 5pm and were greeted by the nice staff and the chef's CUTE dog, of which was hanging out in the back with no leash to keep her there.  I'd been thinking about how much I missed the girls, only to be able to instantly pet another pup!

We climbed the grandiose staircase to our queen whirlpool suite, unpacked, then went for a walk to check out the neighborhood:

We walked down to the beach (where, on Sunday, we hunted for - and found! - Petoskey Stones) and enjoyed the beautiful sky:

Later, we had dinner at the Inn's wonderful restaurant (oooooomg, it was so good), then rushed down to the shore to capture a few pictures of the amazing sunset before it nestled into the other side of the Earth for the night:

We even got a picture of the two of us, which is always hard to do when you're traveling alone:

The next day, we got up early, ate breakfast and went into town to shop for a bit before heading back to the Inn for our in-room massages (aaaaahhhh).  We walked past the most whimsical tree (which reminded me of the candlestick guy in 'Beauty and the Beast' and had me singing "Be Our Guest" for two days):

Then we bought a couple of presents for Chickpea - our first real purchases for the little one, besides some books I've been collecting over the years:

'Harper the Hippo'...could this be any cuter?!

This little pull toy was too much - I couldn't resist!

We went back to get our massages, then took a GLORIOUS nap before getting ready to go into town for a nice dinner.  Do you see a trend here?  Shop, eat, sleep.  Isn't that what trips away are all about, though?  LOVE.

The next day, we got up early, had breakfast, then headed to Traverse City and went to a couple of wineries so Mark could do some wine-tasting (we went here and here - the latter was the clear favorite, according to Mark):

It was my idea to go tasting, and while I was so happy Mark got to try some yummy wines, I'm not going to lie: it was a wee bit awkward being pregnant in that setting!  It was also quite hard to not take a sip or two (OK...so I did take a sip of one that we later bought a couple bottles of so I could enjoy it after Chickpea is here!).

We then drove into downtown T.C. and did some shopping after having a pizza lunch under the sun.  My favorite shop was the hat store!  I even got Mark to try a couple on...

And I totally ROCKED this Alice in Wonderland one, if I do say so myself:

Mark even put one on (but was a bit O-V-E-R the whole thing by this point; can you tell?):

Overall, it was a great weekend with my sweetie.  We talked and laughed so much.  On the way back, I was excited to get home to see Molly and Lucy, but also quite wistful that it meant I wouldn't have 24 hours a day to spend with Mark anymore.  He's just so fun to be with, and makes me grin in a way very few people or things can.  I can't wait to get away with him again, although I'm almost positive it won't be until after the baby is here.  What a year we have ahead of us!   

Bump Watch: 21 Weeks

Hello!  We are back from our anniversary getaway (following 5 days of no Internet at home - I'm trying to catch up on posts retroactively, as you'll soon see), which also means we are back to the grind.  We had a wonderful time together...it was so, so, SO nice to spend some time with Mark all to myself.

I haven't talked about it here, but I rarely get to see my guy these days, as he's running a statewide campaign and is working 18+ hour days.  Poor thing barely has time to sleep!  I like to think of it as his baby...I sit here and grow our baby, while he works to grow our future.  I think it's only fair. One good thing about this situation, I guess, is that I am given the chance to know that when I'm not with Mark, I really, truly miss him.  And when I'm with him again, I get reminded how how much I actually like and enjoy being with my husband!

We took a couple belly pics while we were away, but they didn't turn out so well.  Blurry (were there ghosts in the purportedly "haunted" bed & breakfast, messing with our lens?):

(Feel free to click on the photos to see just how blurry they really are...)

This was the first version of the thumbs up (whoa!): 

This one turned out better: 

Can you tell in these pictures that I'm super rested, having done nothing but sleep, eat, and laugh over the course of the weekend? *sigh* Can I go back now?!