Team Bourlon

Luke's phone

2012-01-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

So we finally backed up (almost all) the pictures from Luke's phone. Thought I'd share this cute one from one year ago at her one year old check up. So much has changed with her, but she still has the same mischievous sparkle in her eyes. Jojo will be 2 next Wednesday and I can't believe how quickly these past couple years have flown by. It's going to be amazing to go from a family of three to five in one day, but I will always cherish our time alone with Jolene and our little family of three.

Amelia turned 2 yesterday and this picture from last summer still pretty much sums up their relationship. Silly little girls!
I just had to include this recent one of Jojo and her favorite girl cousin, Bella. She thinks Bella is a rock star and Bella is SO sweet and great with her...which is pretty much a wonderful thing for me because Bella is like a little Mommy!

(kind of) recent photos

2011-12-21T18:45:00.000-08:00

These are in reverse chronological order. I'm too lazy to rearrange them...so we'll start with December and work our way back to October.

Saying "Yay" to going to see Santa Claus at the Christmas Affair. She changed her tone once we got to Santa's lap and she is officially NOT a fan of the fat guy. For days after this, she would tell me first thing every morning, "no see Santa" and "Jojo cry Santa."

Mommy's lazy homemade kitten costume.

The group shot of the kiddos at the Tarrytown United Methodist pumpkin patch. They all seem so confused.

Ring around the rosie girls.

Her "blue steel" look. Girl knows her angles.

My excuse for not blogging....

2011-11-10T13:01:00.000-08:00

The past few months have been a whirlwind in the Bourlon home. We sold our house on Mt. Bonnell, moved to the 28th floor of a high rise apartment in downtown, and misplaced our camera cord. Thus, no new blog posts and no updated pictures of baby girl, who now coincidentally, is a big girl.

These all seem like great excuses for not blogging, but the biggest reason is that I have been sick and exhausted for the last few months...three to be exact. For those who have endured the first trimester of pregnancy, you know what I'm talkingabout. No home cooked meals, no housework, and limited mobility after Daddy gets home from work.

So our good news is that I'm 16 weeks pregnant with little babies! That's right, babies, as in plural. Two babies to be exact. We are going to have little twins join the family in April and unbelievably our family will grow from 3 to 5! I'm going to have to update the name of this blog. Our doctor told us yesterday she is 85% sure that they are a BOY and a GIRL! We'll find out for sure at our 20 week ultrasound, but my fingers are crossed for this amazing combination.

People always ask if twins run in our family and my negative reply usually leads them to ask if they were conceived naturally. The first time someone asked me this, I had no idea what they were talking about. I get it now and understand that a lot of twins today are a result of fertility treatments. Thankfully, this was an absolute act of God that required no medical intervention. The first thing I said when we saw the ultrasound was that God really has an interesting sense of humor. I bet He chuckled as we moved into our two bedroom apartment knowing he had just created the two little souls that had recently taken up residence in my womb.

Here are a few snapshots of our life in the last few months. Jojo is getting so big and she is such a delight to be around...most of the time. ;)

Summer watermelon eating.

4th of July trip to the Galbreath's family lake house. Brooke G, I promise to send you pics of this and several other events I neglected to upload all summer (Jo's playroom).

My little thrill seekers.

Aunt Ivette, Uncle Kyle, Jake, and Timothy came to visit. Don't Jojo and Jake look alike?

Fun in the tree with Noni and Grandpa

Monday mornings at the Children's Museum.

Colorado trip with Luke's family (Me, Brooke, and Mary Beth about to go fly fishing)

I'll post more recent pictures later. My computer is taking forever to upload for some reason.

Spring flew by...

2011-06-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from our recent Spring adventures. Lately, we've cut done on our outdoor activities unless it involves water because it's so HOT!

Impromptu family photo session at Mt. Bonnell

We had the opportunity to host these folks from the Ugandan Mwangaza children's choir over Easter weekend. They were so sweet and we loved getting to know them.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! JoJo kept trying to kiss this donkey. He wasn't that into her.

We met up with our friends, the Galbreaths, at a little Mexican restaurant to celebrate. They had Spanish dancers, a pinata, a donkey, and yummy sangria.

Untitled from Courtney Bourlon on Vimeo.

Jolene stomped it up on the dance floor and cried when we had to get her off the stage so the real dancer could perform.

We went to the Austin zoo with Morgan and Amelia one Saturday morning...lots of kisses on the train ride.

She looks like such a big girl here.

Luke and I went to an Astro's game with my parents and we had amazing seats...thanks, Dad! Jolene got to spend the evening with her Houston cousins playing dress up.

This girls loves beans. It's one of the staples of her diet considering at this point she only had two bottom teeth. She finally got two more on bottom last week and three are poking through up top as of yesterday.

Grandpa teaches Jolene how to drive the dump truck.

Beau, Uncle Hal, Joley, and Daddy (with Jesse James trying to comfort a fussy baby).

Sweet cousin Bella who loved playing with Jolene. The cousins are so sweet to her!

Marfa

2011-05-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

Luke surprised me on the weekend following my birthday with a trip WAAAAY out to the little West Texas town of Marfa. I went with a couple of friends a few years back and we had a great time. This time we actually stayed at a place called Cibolo Creek Ranch, just outside of Marfa, which had tons of cool history...check out this amazing and remote, resort. http://cibolocreekranch.com/

We'd love to go back someday with friends/family and have the run of the place. We left little Joley with her Gigimama for some granddaughter/grandmother bonding time. Thank you, Carole! We didn't worry for a second about how Jolene was doing because she was in such capable, loving hands. Not to mention I wrote a manifesto on "tips for taking care of Jolene" before we left.

Honestly, one of the best parts was just getting to spend alone time with Luke in the car. No crying baby, no schedules, lots of knitting, books on tape, loud music....divine!

Crossing the Pecos River on the way home.

Heading into the front of the property. Notice all the green cottonwood trees...there are natural springs that go right through the fort. An aqueduct was constructed to channel the water for their use.

On a humvee tour of the area.

The back of the fort.

Boots.

I love Texas in the springtime...

2011-04-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

By being born a Texan child, Jolene has signed herself up for a childhood of picture taking in the Spring bluebonnets every year. Here are some of my favorites. Is it really against the law to pick bluebonnets? If so, Joley is in big trouble. It is impossible to stop a 14 month old from picking flowers. Especially my 14 month old, who has decided to enter the "testing Mommy phase" a little earlier than most of her peers. I can see in her eyes this little look of defiance and limit pushing each time she does something she knows Mommy won't like. She is so spirited, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I bought this Mexican dress for my future daughter in the Spring of 2008 on a trip to Cabo. Her Noni got her a white one too, but it's still a little too big. A girl can't have too many Mexican dresses.

Gigimama entertains Jo with the dinner bell at the ranch.

Joley and Noni at cousin Amanda's shower in Boerne.

This girl loves balloons!

And I love tutus, baby bottoms, and purple converse shoes!

And we're off!

2011-02-16T09:11:00.000-08:00

Little Jo started standing up on her own without using furniture on her actual birthday, January 25. Later that week, she took a few tentative steps. The next week, she was taking about 6 steps at a time. This video is from that week when she was walking and falling all over the place. Now the kid is a pro and won't crawl anymore. She is getting fast, too! Hopefully she'll have her Daddy's speed...then again, I'd prefer to be able to catch her at least until she's about 6. I have visions already of me being that mom who has to chase her kid around the store.

More Birthday Photos

2011-02-09T12:26:00.001-08:00

Booty shot.

I love her wry grin as she is about to knock over Gain's block tower.

Cooperating and playing nice? Well...I didn't get a picture of Joley trying to push Amelia out of the way.

Cute bottoms.

Thank you to Morgan's mom for making these adorable crowns for the girls!

We had a wall where kids could draw with chalk and put "snow" on the snow man. Harper is telling Renae and I all about her art work.

Winter One-derland

2011-02-09T08:31:00.000-08:00

Morgan and I decided to have a joint party this year for the girls, since they don't know any better and because we wanted to save our friends from going to two one year old parties within a week of each other. It was a winter one-derland theme (get it?) and the girls had such a fun brrr-thday! It had snowed two days before the party and so it was looking like the weather was going to cooperate with the decorations. However, in true Texas form, it was 65 degrees out, sunny, and warm. So our s'more idea wasn't the biggest hit after all. We had fun getting everything ready for the big day, and would have still been setting it all up an hour after the party started if not for my parents, Nichole, and Luke, who were conscripted into service upon their immediate early entry to the party. That's what you get for showing up early! ;) Here are a few pics of the day.

Our family with our big girl.

Cole really liked Joley's tutu...I'm sure they'll be great buds.

My dad is obviously delirious from the whirlwind of setting up for the party.

Sweet Amelia and her cake that she devoured...Kyle had to finally take it away. Typical.

Then there's my child who looks so cute here.

This is .5 seconds later. She refused to even taste the cake and left the chair crying. Typical.

Gigimama and Noni dote on their granddaughter, who is walking now.

Table of goodies.

We put pictures of the girls from each month on the wall along with our favorites of them together.

Mas goodies.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

2010-12-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

Remembering the birth of JESUS is what it's all about and that by itself is enough reason to celebrate this season. However, being human and living in this world brings a lot of other Christmas add ons that are wonderful because they only happen once a year...lots of hot chocolate, tacky sweaters, white lights, trees inside the house, parties, presents, rich food, and Christmas carols. I already kind of miss having Christmas music playing in the house.

After a great Thanksgiving in Boerne, we stayed close to home for most of December. The Benders moved out the week before Christmas (sad) to their own place in South Austin. I think the girls might think they've lost a sister and surrogate mommy and daddy! We will miss them but know how ready they are to be in a place of their own in Austin. We spent Christmas Eve in Austin and attended our church's service with Brooke, Doug, Austin, and Mary Beth. The next day, we drove to La Grange for the big family Christmas. There were lots of presents and yummy food and Austin got a special gift this year...a car! What fun it was to see him surprised with such a generous gift from Poppi and Gigimama. It was such a great time with the family and a wonderful first Christmas for Jolene.

Baby's first Christmas morning.

Puppy love from Tucker.

The dogs had their own party all weekend.

The gals.

Grandchildren.

Bella helped Joley open her gifts.

Should I eat this? She of course liked the paper more than her gifts.

Hard to believe that someday she'll be as tall as that giraffe Noni gave her for Christmas.

Ivan, Eduardo, Alex (open your eyes), and Valente hang with Joley. She loves these boys and is such a flirt!

Aunt Nae came to visit and bring Christmas presents for Joley.

Skin tight ski suit onesie...he's all mine, ladies!

Family photo by the tree that looks like the one from Charlie Brown because we forgot to water it.

Here comes Santa Claus!

Our little angel with a not so angelic gleam in her eyes.

Just memorizing some scripture before meeting Santa. They wanted to learn about when Jesus was born and took some pages out of the bible to help them remember.

What's that smell?!

2010-11-17T13:36:00.000-08:00

It's a SKUNK!!!! I've finally had time to sit down and upload the Halloween party pics (actually I pirated them from Jen Charbonneau's fb page, so thanks, Jen!). Here is my interpretation of a skunk costume that Jolene so graciously modeled during the party, even though the pants were a bit of a fiasco.

Did you know that Cleopatra had a pet skunk?

Jolene's newest trick is to point at everything. Luke likes to stick his index finger up to hers and say, "phone home." All you children of the 80's and fans of sci-fi films will totally relate.

The tail. Notice the good five inches of diaper sticking out because Jolene's mommy underestimated the size of her booty. Should've known she's her mommy's daughter!

Cleopatra and Pharoah (not historically accurate, I know, but I couldn't resist these costumes at Lucy in Disguise). We all know that Cleo was a single, FEMALE who ruled Egypt (who also happened to shack up with some notable Roman rulers).

She is a funny stinker.

We are all in character. I love Melissa's oh so surprised look and Amber's dark witch persona. Brooke G. was a squaw with a cowboy husband (who looked exactly like Ross Horton, mustache and all). Jen glammed it up as Audrey Hepburn and Julie was a great looking pregnant car accident victim. Oh how I love Halloween!

We naturally fed them in character. Jolene looked at me a little funny the whole night. We will miss sharing an ottoman with the Benders during feeding time when they move out.

Luke, Kyle W., and Doug blow out their birthday candles as their wives try and avoid getting waxed. Kyle and Blaire W. were a couple from the show Mad Men (haven't seen it, but they looked very chic). Brooke B. was Sarah Palin and Doug was Napolen Dynamite.

This is the skunk in the road they tried to avoid hitting before careening off the highway. Your sacrifice was worthy, Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Joley is loving Mrs. Amber and her amazing costume. Darn that diaper sticking out! Oh well...it was my first time to sew a costume. By the way, I will NEVER make a costume out of furry material again because fuzz was everywhere for about a week as I cut and sewed (including inside my nose and mouth, gross).

Fall?

2010-11-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

Did people in parts of the country that have beautiful leaves that fall to the ground decide to rename autumn to 'fall'? I think I like calling it 'autumn' better because the only leaves I have seen fall so far are the ones we saw in Virginia, where they have an actual 'fall'. Speaking of, we saw the most beautiful leaves on our recent trip up there to visit my parent's new cabin they built close to the Blue Ridge Parkway (google images it...gorgeous). Once again, I've been delinquent in my blogging. Since we've been back from California, it seems like the months have decided to fast-forward on me to Thanksgiving.

Does anyone else find it completely irritating that all the stores had their Christmas gear out before Halloween was even over?! Sigh. I'm reminded just how commercialized our celebration of Christmas has become and how we as Americans have given ourselves yet another excuse to be materialistic consumers of more stuff. Anyway...

I'll stop rambling and protesting long enough to post some recent pictures of the family...

Jolene and Grandma Chapman rock at the cabin in Virginia. Joley loved rocking with Grandma!

This is on the back porch of the cabin and you can see some of the beautiful leaves behind us.

Back home at the pumpkin patch practicing walking with Daddy.

Friends in the pumpkin patch...Amelia thinks it's really funny to make that face for pictures. Her mama doesn't.

My little punkin.

I'm not sure if many of you know that my favorite holiday to decorate for is Halloween. Well, it is and this year was no exception. It is also convenient that Luke's birthday falls on Halloween Eve, and this year we had a costume party to celebrate (and give me an excuse to put up my decor...as if I need an excuse.) I'll post some pics if I can get someone to send me some (we lost our camera charger at the WORST time).

Carmel, California

2010-09-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

We've been so lucky to come back to Carmel for September like we did last year. It's such a charming little town set in the most beautiful scenery...it's hard to beat mountains combined with the ocean. We've had some friends visit us and this week is our first with just the three (ahem, four if you count Baron) of us. Micah was nice to drive out here with Luke while Amber and I flew with Harper and Jolene. We each had a whole row of three seats to ourselves on the plane ride here (it's funny how no one wanted to sit next to a couple of babies:). The next few days, our friends Molly and Jamie came from Atlanta and we spent time picnicking, golfing, and eating yummy food. Our most recent visitors, the Shepards, came from Durham, NC with their son Drew who is a few months older than Jolene. Jolene couldn't get enough of Drew and he was sweet enough to pay attention to her. This coming weekend we have the Benders and Lanie coming to visit, so I should have more good stories in the next post.

No vino left for me? She just started drinking out of her sippy cup on her own but she has a long time to wait for her first sip of wine.

Watching in awe as Micah gets in the freezing water.

Luke was going to get in but changed his mind after feeling the water...Baron doesn't mind the temperature at all (he's in the surf behind the guys).

Frisbee fun. I think Micah decided that it was a little too cold for him shortly after this picture and he donned the wetsuit.

This is Joley's preferred choice of travel around Carmel...it's a little too big for the tiny sidewalks here, so we take it on runs through the neighborhood.

Sweet Harper shows off her gums (I think I see a little tooth on bottom!). Amber was with us in Carmel (see her ear at the top of this picture?), but we were a little lazy with taking our camera places when we first got here. I'm not sure we even got a pic of all of us...darn!

Picnic on the beach with Molly and Jamie.

The Hargathers are such fun friends and I feel lucky that we've seen them so much (especially since we live in different states)!

Jolene LOVED Molly and I appreciated how she would offer to take her even when she was fussy...you can tell she has had lots of niece/nephew experience.

Daddy did a photo shoot and gave her his hat to wear.

Jolene had her first crush on Drew Shepard and thankfully he was into her too. They played and smiled at each other the whole time the Shepards were here.

They even went on a picnic date to the beach!

Jolene loved looking at all the fish on our trip to the Monterey Aquarium.

And so did Drew!

Katrina took our picture in front of this tank last year when I was pregnant. It was weird visiting again with Joley this time.

Did you know that male sea horse daddies carry the sea horse babies to term in their body? Sounds like a great plan to me and Luke gives the idea a thumbs up. One can wish...

Two Month Blogging Drought is Over

2010-08-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

Since the last post, we've been just a little all over the place...Colorado (again for July 4th), Houston, Marble Falls, Vermont. Let's not forget also that we decided in a period of about three weeks to move from our little Travis Heights home to a bigger one near Mount Bonnell. Whew! So there's my excuse for not blogging recently! Here are a few pictures from our recent adventures with Jolene to visit family, attend Cousin Michael's wedding, and visit with friends.

Baby girl couldn't keep her eyes open and missed meeting another new friend.

We went to a huge farm in Vermont and Joley met lots of animal friends.

Hanging out on the dock at the house Gigimama and Poppi rented in Vermont before Michael and Dana's wedding.

Lake Champlain sunset...Adirondack mountains (like the chairs, you know?).

We got to have a date thanks to Gigimama and Poppi.

Jolene tries to convince her Daddy as we walk around the Harvard campus to pay for her tuition, class of 2032...start saving now!

We had lunch with a dear college friend, Leslie, who lives in Boston.

Resemblance?

Visit to Houston to see Noni, Grandpa, Kyle, Ivette, and Jake.

Grandpa with Jake and Jolene.

Grandpa imitates one of Jolene's favorite new faces.

First taste of squash...she loves it despite this face.

Uncle Hal came for a visit.

She was hiding from the paparazzi.

Reverse milk mustache after being fed by Julie.

I'll post more pictures from the wedding once I find my camera cord to upload the rest...I think it's in a box somewhere.

Grandmother/Denver, and Summertime

2010-06-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend was a very memorable time for our family as we traveled from all over the U.S. to Littleton, Colorado to say good-bye to the earthly body of Mary Killgore, Luke's sweet Grandmother. She has been reunited with her husband, Luke's Goodaddy, who I unfortunately didn't have the pleasure of meeting. They are both home with Jesus and so you could say the weekend was a celebration of sorts. I know they would have thoroughly enjoyed the wild bunch who descended upon their house this weekend.

Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man!

Austin provided the music for the evening...amazing!

Jolene and her Houston cousins. She loved all the attention she got from these kids.

A little friendly family game of baseball in the backyard/fairway.

Handsome Bourlon brothers with the little Miss.

In other news...the BENDERS HAVE MOVED TO AUSTIN! We are so excited and Jolene and I have already hung out with Morgan and Amelia multiple times. Hopefully that will be a regular thing. We can't wait to see them without either one of us having to drive for two and a half hours. Another perk is that the Benders are staying with an incredible family for the summer who happen to live in a beautiful home with a pool. The boys (and I stress the term boys here) decided to play a pool game (Morgan, what was the name?) for a good hour or more where they would toss a football, set it up, and then try and hit it as they were jumping in. The four of them finally accomplished the feat and were elated (and tired).

Luke told me to post this one. He said, "We can make fun of Bender." YEEAA, Dude!

Micah, Harper, and Amber

Right before Jolene went under water and decided to call it quits for the day.

Classic. Four babies? Put all of them in one chair and see what happens.

These four girls will be in the same grade growing up and surely will question the number of couch/chair photos we took of them when they were babies.

Four Month Checkup Stats

2010-06-08T09:50:00.001-07:00

A little behind on posting with all the travels we've made recently. Here are Jolene's most recent stats:

Weight: 12 pounds, 5.6 ounces (25% percentile)

Height: 24.5 inches (51% percentile--watch out, she may be taller than Luke and me)

Head: 16.25 inches (51% percentile)

She is growing and changing every day. Here are a few photos taken recently...

Nice profile of the belly...she works hard for that waistline!

Taken at four months at Brooke and Doug's potential new home.

Daddy put together the jumperoo and despite repeated jumps, it remains intact. Nice work. Notice the blanket under her feet...she doesn't quite reach the ground yet so we help her out.

Jolene will sit and listen to her Daddy play guitar forever (or at least half an hour which is forever for a four month old).

Seriously, Daddy? I wonder how many times he'll get this look from her as she grows up.

I'll post more soon on our trip to Denver for Grandmother's funeral...too many good pictures and memories to try and add here. I hear the little one waking from her nap, so gotta go!

Burns' video of new home

2010-05-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

The wonderful Burns family is about to make the move to Austin, Texas. We are so excited that they are coming back to the States (they've been in Costa Rica) and chose to make Austin their new home base! Jolene will grow up seeing her Aunt Brooke, Uncle Doug, and cousins Mary Beth and Austin on a regular basis and I can say without a doubt her life will be better because of it. Luke, Jolene, and I went to the house they might buy (assuming the inspection goes well) and I told Doug I would post it here so that Brooke, MB, and Austin could see it.

Click below for two of the videos...I could only upload this amount today. There are two more clips and I'll see what kind of magic I can work to get them here as well. If not, I'll have to post them to facebook or send them by email to the Burns family. Here goes...

Burns video1 from Courtney Bourlon on Vimeo.

Burns video 4 from Courtney Bourlon on Vimeo.

Time for an update

2010-05-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

We took a fabulous trip to California at the end of April with Jamie and Molly Hargather, who live in Atlanta. We seem to prefer hanging out with them on the West coast since both times we've seen them in the past year have been in Cali. See her blog (http://mollyallen.blogspot.com/) for pictures...our camera battery died the day we got there and we forgot the charger. Boo. Anyway, the home where we stayed with Molly and Jamie was basically our own private Four Seasons...bocce ball, tennis court, basketball court, pool, hot tubs, workout room...this place had it all! And it is located in wine country so we went to some local wineries too. But even better was the quality time spent with the Hargathers. Hopefully they'll visit us in Carmel this September and in Austin sometime soon.

Luke is reading a book called the Engine 2 diet and it's all about the health benefits of eating lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains and NO dairy or meat. Vegan. We've sampled several of the recipes in the book and they've turned out pretty well considering there is no butter, oil, or animal products of any kind in them. Unfortunately, Luke bought a 'vegan' pizza the other night from Whole Foods and it did NOT pass any kind of taste test. Glue is the closest thing I can think of to describe it. We threw it away and got Chick fil A instead...animal products, YES please!

Here is a rundown of what's been going on with the almost four month old little miss these days.

-still sleeping like a champ at night and during naps (she is truly my daughter)

-has started grabbing things and putting them in her mouth

-loves to suck on her hands

-squeals and jabbers all day

-takes two walks a day in the baby bjorn (it's gotten WAY too hot for her stroller)

-rode on her first airplane to California (did amazingly well and slept most of both flights)...we have a rule in the family of only going places where we can take direct flights, especially with a kid

-she is drooling a lot more and unless she has a bib on, the entire front of her shirt gets soaked

-still hates tummy time, but we do it every day because it's just one of those things you have to do even though you don't want to. there are a lot of those in life. at the top of my list is laundry.

She can only take so much time in the bumbo thing...her face is saying, "Really, Mom? How much longer do I have to sit in this contraption?"

Luke's face (which is similar to his daughter's in the above picture) is saying, "Really, Court? You're taking a picture of me because you think my trying a vegan pizza is newsworthy?" Absolutely.

Jolene is quite liberal with her smiles these days.

This is Jolene's transportation of choice lately.

Cheering on the golfers during the Masters.

Here is a (long) sample of our daily conversations with Jolene. She jibber jabbers all day and started chuckling lately (mostly at Daddy and Baron).

Jolene's Little Friends

2010-04-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

We are so fortunate to have great friends who have had kids within months of Jolene's birth. We pray that our children will grow up to be life-long buddies with one another and share fun and meaningful memories of growing up together in Austin. Here are just a few of Jolene's friends (we can't wait for babies Dunn and Smith to enter the scene)!

We had a stroller gang out on Town Lake with some of our friends and their kids.

(Left to right) John and Julie Manning with Hunter and Noah; Luke and I with Jolene; Robbie and Kara Hardy with Maylee and Caleb; Melissa and Billy Suess with Piper; and Morgan and Kyle with Amelia. Such a fun group!

Miss Amelia and Jolene had the same due date but Amelia broke free a week earlier than Jolene...it's hard to believe they're the same age considering how much bigger Amelia is than Joley. They like to hold hands.

I stole this picture from Brooke Galbreath's facebook page. Her and Jim's son, Gain is in the middle and was kind enough to share his queso with Harper (Micah and Amber's daughter). Gain is the most precious, big eyed little boy.

Here are the four little girls who will all one day be in the same grade at school. I look forward to lots of fun girl time with these ladies.

They like to snuggle with each other...at least Amelia and Joley are into it. I think Harper and Maylee have had enough of the younger two laying on them.

A Texas Rite of Passage...

2010-04-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

Why is it that Texans all feel the need to stick their children in a patch of bluebonnets each Spring and take picture after picture? Well, we joined the club and put poor Jolene through this ordeal while out at the ranch in La Grange several weekends ago. Thank you to both Gigimama and Poppi for taking care of Jolene one night while Luke and I stayed at the Hyatt Lost Pines for my birthday. It was sad for me to see her drive away with her grandparents because I'd never spent a night away from her, but I knew what capable hands she was in which was why I didn't even worry for a minute about her...although I did worry about Gigimama not getting to sleep as much if Jolene decided to have an off night. She slept well and I'm sure had a great time with her grandparents.

She's not too sure what all the hype is about.

Gigimama, Daddy, and Jolene

Our little family (minus Baron of course)

Mommy and Jolene

And that's all she wrote.

Happy Easter...He is risen!

2010-04-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

Today was a full day at the Bourlon home. Joley wore her

first Easter dress to church (thank you Aunt Mary Ellen for such a lovely outfit!). We were reminded today at church about what Jesus' resurrection truly means for us. I think this quote sums it up better than I could ever try and articulate:

"The goodness in redemption extends itself to the lower creation. It takes in not only man, but the whole of creation, except the fallen angels…The fall of man brought misery not only upon himself, but a vanity upon the creature; the earth groaned under a curse for his sake…debased to serve the lusts of a traitor; his enmity, luxury, sensuality.

But when all the fruits of redemption shall be completed, the goodness of God shall pour itself upon the creatures, “deliver them from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the goodness of God”…freed from the vanity under which they are enslaved (Rom 8:21)… Nature shall put on triumphant vestments… Thus does the divine goodness spread its arms over the whole creation."

–Stephen Charnock, “Existence and Attributes of God.”

Amen.

After church, Uncle Hal, Aunt Patty, Beau, Reed, and Bella came to Austin to meet Jolene and brought lots of kisses and laughter for her.

Pretty little smocked dress from Great Aunt Mary Ellen.

Group shot...I think we took this same picture over Christmas when Jolene was still growing inside of Mommy.

Reed did such a good job of holding his cousin.

Bella and Aunt Patty spend some girl time with Joley who is filling them in on the how much she hates to be naked.

Sweet cousins Reed and Beau give Jolene kisses.

She has really started to notice Baron lately. He has been kind enough to shower her with kisses and his hot, stinky breath. They're going to be the best of friends. Right now, they have a whole lot in common. They spend their days eating, sleeping, and pooping.

Joley waves to the paparazzi in true beauty queen fashion.

"Happy Easter" says Jolene as she waves again like a beauty queen (where does she get that?).

Mommy's turn to pose with the little monkey before leaving for church.

Aunt Patty and Cousins Bella, Reed, and Beau (those are his hands holding her left hand) get to know their newest cousin.

Thank you guys for coming to visit us. Little Jolene is sure to have a great time in the future with her Houston cousins...hopefully we'll see you all again soon.

Jolene's Travels

2010-03-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

Jolene's first overnight trip was out to the ranch where she slept beautifully in her pack and play that her Gigimama and Poppi lovingly bought and set up for her. Her second overnight trip was to Houston to meet her future bestie, Amelia Bender. We hung out with the Benders at Herman Memorial while Morgan's poor body tried to fight a staph infection...which Kyle's poor body is now fighting. We had the best time, despite being in the hospital...good times can be had, no matter where you are. Luke and Kyle even managed to sneak in a six pack of beer with pizza we had delivered.

Side note, the medical center in Houston is RIDICULOUS! That place needs it own zip code...which it probably has, now that I think about it. Luke and I were amazed at how crowded the parking lot was and then we remembered that Houston is one of the most unhealthy cities in America and we were right next to the cardiac hospital. Go figure.

The boys hold each other's girls. There simply are no words to compare the difference in size of these two beauties.

Morgan is as pretty as a picture despite the arduous hospital stay. Holding Amelia threw me for a loop because I wanted to plop her on my hip with on arm because she feels like a 6-9 month old...however, she didn't appreciate that tendency of mine because her little neck isn't quite there yet and her poor head would flop around. No wonder she is upset with me in this picture.

The guys watching March Madness with their sleeping beauties.

Amelia is not amused at Jolene trying to take over her cozy sleeping place. Jolene didn't even wake up to hear what Amelia had to say. Or maybe Amelia is hinting that Jolene has stinky armpits. Joley does have some stinky neck cheese going on. Even right after we bathe her, I still smell some stinkiness around her neck. Milk runs right down her face into the abyss of her neck and no matter how hard I try to keep it clean, the cheese factory won't shut down. I am a little saddened by the fact that our daughter doesn't have the nice new baby smell. She doesn't seem to mind her own smell, much like her stinky dad.

Notice how far Amelia's legs hang off the seat...I love it!

Noni with grandbabies Jake and Jolene.

Jake loves playing with Grandpa.

Grandpa and Uncle Kyle hold the youngest members of the Chapman family.

Jolene smiles and dances for Poppi on our trip to the ranch.

Aunt Brooke came to meet Joley! She and Joley conspired about future adventures they will have together once the Burns move to Austin. We can't wait for them to be here and get to see little Jolene grow up. She is such a lucky girl!

Aunt Brooke and Gigimama were here for the last feeding of the day and to watch Luke's amazing swaddling job. Jolene is absolutely content and milk drunk.

Jolene's One Month Photos

2010-03-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

We had a photographer, Amber Snow, come to our house last Friday and do a little photo shoot of Jolene. It took a lot of patience, skill, and direction from Amber to get these. We're so happy with them! One day we'll look back and hardly believe she was so little.

Amber managed to unswaddle Joley without waking her...quite a feat! Joley repaid the kindness by pooping on the nice white blanket Amber had her on.

She is wrapped up in the Alpaca wool blanket my mom crocheted for her...so soft and warm!

Little pea pod in her swaddle.

Daddy/Daughter pic...she's got him right where she wants him.

Happy to sleep anywhere as long as she's swaddled up tightly.

Family photo...the most important one had to be in the foreground.

Little toes!

Pretty little face.

I love this one even though it doesn't show much of her face.

All images are courtesy of Amber Snow Photography...

One month old!

2010-02-25T11:05:00.001-08:00

We just got home from Joley's one month doctor appointment, and she is packing on the pounds! She now weighs 7 pounds, 11 ounces, is 20.5 inches tall, and her head is now 14.75 inches. She continues to eat, sleep, and create messy diapers. She has started taking two bottles a day (given by Luke) and has slept around 5-7 consecutive hours at night. Now of course, as soon as I publish this, she will start to wake up every hour. Fingers are still crossed as sleep is essential for the mommy.

Joley pauses mid-dance move for Mommy to take a picture.

She hangs out a lot in this bouncy seat during the day. She loves the vibration it makes and will wake up if it goes off...uh oh.

Family walk with Joley in the sling.

Happy to be wrapped up in a dry towel after a warm bath.

I didn't know Luke took this picture...sleep when the baby sleeps is great advice!

Joley met her Great-Grandma Chapman last weekend and got to visit with my parents too!

Four generations of Chapman/Richarz family.

Going to Grandma's house is always a treat!

Gigimama came to baby-sit so that Luke and I could have a date night out. It was glorious! We ate yummy sushi at Uchi and I had my first glass of wine in almost a year. Normally the wait at Uchi is around 2 hours, but we got seated in under an hour and were home by 9. Thank you so much Carole/Gigimama for coming to visit and giving us a night out!

The life and times of Jolene continued...

2010-02-18T09:59:00.000-08:00

"Little Jo," as her Poppi nick-named her, is starting to enjoy bath time more now that we can put her fully in the warm water. She almost seems surprised at how good it feels. The first picture was taken just after she decided to pee through the first towel and just before she decided to poop on this one. Our water bill is going to be enormous with all the laundry we do now. It's hard to believe she's been with us now for almost a month! She is beginning to make longer eye contact with us when we talk to her and we were so lucky to get a full 4 and a half hours of sleep last night. I feel almost refreshed!

She spit up on herself in her sleep last night and earned herself a morning bath to get the sticky gunk out of her hair. Luke stayed home this morning and helped.

This picture shows her balding head nicely...her hair on top is coming off quickly. Her hairdo looks a lot like her Grandpa Chapman's before he shaved it all off. We couldn't stop laughing at her because she looks just like a little old man.

Joley likes the sling Morgan gave us so far. Luke put her in it a couple days ago after she was swaddled and asleep and we took a family walk to Joe's (with Baron of course) and got coffee and hung out. We were gone almost an hour and she never woke up.

Joley gazes into her goofy Daddy's eyes.

GRRRRR! Her first real bath was okay but getting out in the cold air was NOT fun! That orange cone on her head is a rooster beak.

Joley's first bottle! She drank it up and actually has been taking a couple bottles from Daddy every day now to give Mommy a break. It takes her almost an hour to nurse and less than 20 to take the bottle...it really frees up a good chunk of time.

Joley has a little blister on her upper lip from nursing for so long and from this angle it looks like she has one tooth coming in. Little 'Deliverance' looking child of mine.

Luke is good about getting the burps out of the little missy.

Kara, Robbie, Caleb, and Maylee came to meet Jolene!

Maylee is such a happy baby.

Sweet friend Kara snuggles with Jolene.

Our featherweight is now entering the lightweight division!

2010-02-09T10:21:00.000-08:00

We went for Joley's two week check up yesterday and were shocked to see that she now weighs a whopping 6 pounds, 10 ounces, which means she has gained a pound and a half in the last two weeks! This breast feeding business is actually working! She also grew half an inch in length and her little head grew an inch and a half. The doctor told us we could let her sleep at night as long as she wanted...which means that last night, I got a whole 5 consecutive hours. It was truly glorious. The doctor had to cauterize her belly button and we're still waiting for that last part to fall off so we can give her the first official bath. Yesterday was also the first day Luke went back to work for the whole day, and despite being a little nervous and sad as he left, the day went well. Here are a couple of pictures from Aunt Mary Ellen's visit and our first outing to the Charbonneau's super bowl party.

Joley and Marcus...he was very concerned any time Joley or Harper cried and would come see if he could help out.

Her little kimono outfit almost fits her now.

Baron and Tuffy stand guard but know not to break the threshold of the nursery room door.

Look at how alert I am for Aunt Mary Ellen's visit.

Sweet Aunt Mary Ellen visits her grand-niece for the first time.

Weeks One and Two

2010-02-07T09:56:00.000-08:00

I put my favorite picture first...Baron loves his new little sister.

He especially loves her poopy diapers. Last week, I was nursing Jolene when I felt something warm trickle down my arm. Lo and behold, she had exploded through her diaper. I'm sure our inexperience at putting diapers on contributed to the blow out, but just as soon as Luke put a clean diaper on her and gave her back to me, she did it again! Lots of dirty laundry had to be washed and Baron was a little too excited as he watched from his perch just outside the nursery door. Fun times.

Luke has mastered the swaddle (he's way better at it than me) and the side soothing technique from the Happiest Baby on the Block (thanks, Benders for sending it!).

Daddy's girl.

Auntie Nichole came to visit.

Baron wants to help Gigimama fix Jolene's shirt.

Now the Bourlon grandparents have an even number of girl grandchildren as boys.

Susann came to visit.

Auntie Lanie held me for a long, long time.

Comfy, cozy on Daddy's chest.

Auntie Nae comes bearing lots of PINK. Sigh.

Teaching Jolene how to trade.

Amber, Micah, and Harper came and visited in the hospital.

The Bender family of three on our first conference call.

Jolene and the girls, Jen, Julie, and Katrina.

Jolene with Daddy, Brad, and Mark.

These have been two of the longest, most exhausting weeks of our life and yet, looking back now as we're almost at the two week mark, all of that pales in comparison to the great joy Jolene has brought us. So far, she has been a pretty quiet baby...eating, sleeping, pooping. She really only cries when she is naked, getting a diaper changed, or wants a little snuggling. We have our fingers crossed that she stays this way, but I've heard that things can drastically change after the two week mark. Here's to hoping for the best but planning for the worst!

Welcome home, Brooke Jolene!

2010-01-31T11:14:00.000-08:00

Here a few pics of the newest family member. I've

just felt up to messing with technology, so these are from the hospital to now.

This is the first meeting between Amelia and Jolene via Skype...it's a video of Morgan's of the conversation.

Since I have so much time on my hands...

2010-01-23T14:11:00.000-08:00

I've finally decided to get this up and running. Well, today is our "official" due date and so far there are no signs of Baby B's arrival. We went to the doctor on Thursday and although I'm progressing a little bit, we talked about scheduling an induction for next Thursday, should nothing happen between now and then. I would have to go into the hospital Wednesday night to have a hormone administered that is supposed to ripen my cervix enough for an induction or natural labor to occur.

Luke had pity on me today and gave into my pleadings for him to take me to get cinnamon rolls from Upper Crust Bakery...I've got to milk this pregnancy thing for all it's worth while it lasts! They were so yummy and hit the spot. We walked around Central Market for awhile and I'm planning to continue the walking/spicy food regimen until this baby gets here.

How distinguished are these guys?

Baron decided he wanted to feel the baby move the baby the other night...