january 30th - alex burger...percussive master

Alex was rockin' out this morning during his class at the nest.  He was playing the hell out of the shakers.  Seemed a little put off by the kid next to him that doesn't know how to play the triangle properly, but he didn't let it bother him too much...since he even threw in some dance moves during the second and third verse of Old McDonald.  Bob stopped by to meet Gemma and to play with his buddy Alex.  Alex immediately made Bob sit on the floor and read a book, he was so excited to see him.  Uncle Ry, Aunt Erin and Ryleigh visited tonight to have some sushi and hang out.  Alex and Ryleigh had fun eating peas, throwing them on the floor and getting into all of Alex's toys.

january 29th - exploring femininity

With all of the estrogen going around the Burger household these days, Alex decided to get in touch with his feminine side so he can better relate to his little sister.  He enjoys the occasional dress up in Jackie's winter headband, but that is the extent of it...we will really be in trouble when all of our menstrual cycles synchronize.

He quickly regained his manly status when he slopped up his face with blueberry pancakes that he and Jackie made this morning.  Somehow magically got the pancakes in his mouth while the blueberries ended up everywhere else....weird since the blueberries were inside the pancakes...he's an innovator!

january 28th - happy birthday daddy

Daddy turned 21 today, so the whole family celebrated the occasion with a quiet day at home.  Alex and daddy made birthday smoothies in the morning and homemade gourmet pizzas in the evening.  Mommy got off the hook, yet again, of having to cook anything, although she did get some vacuuming done.  Baby placement...questionable.  She also got her birthday wish of fitting back into her favorite winter coat.  Ahhh, the joys of not having a person inside of you....




















We took our first family photo today. Alex refused to smile and Gemma slept ... but what this photo doesn't show is all the kisses Alex gave Gemma afterwards.

january 27th - a day of firsts

We had some original experiences all around in the last 24 hours.  Mommy staged Gemma's first set of baby photos since she is a good researcher and full of ideas.  Mommy was also the first casualty on the receiving end of Gemma's first projectile vomit.  Jackie helped Alex bake his first batch of carrot cupcakes with BLUE icing that he picked out for Daddy's birthday.  Then, he went on his first grocery run with Grandmom Burger who was down for a visit.

january 26th - gemma's first bath

Gemma was getting a little funky, so she got her first bath today...it was in the kitchen so it was more like her first sink.  She was a good sport for about 15 seconds and then she had enough.  Gramps and Grandmum came down to Philly for a visit and some quality time with the kiddies.

january 25th - meeting charlotte

Proc, Kristen, and Charlotte came over this afternoon to meet baby Gemma over lunch.  Alex loves Proc and immediately had to show off his tool bench.  Gemma napped and had a poop.  Charlotte is now 8 weeks old and is getting so big.  Daddy and Proc have known each other since they were 9 years old...skipping school and acting out...and now they are responsible for shaping young lives.  Frightening.

january 24th - happy birthday jackie

We celebrated Jackie's birthday today with lunch at our house and dessert.  Alex walked to Isgro bakery with daddy to pick out Jackie's favorite dessert.  He also had three cookies while he was there...little old Italian ladies love him...win, win.  Tonight, Gemma got to meet some cousins.  Uncle Ryan, Aunt Erin, Uncle Gary, Cousin Farrah, Cousin Ryeigh, and the Angelucci's came over for a meet and greet fueled by beer and pizza.  It was like romper room with all the kids running around playing and dancing.

january 23rd - we need a bigger bed

This morning was family time with cartoons in our bed...only it happened way before cartoons are on television.  Basically the only thing on television at this time are infommercials about kitchen mixers.  Alex must have had a bad dream and could not go back to sleep, so our bed got a little crowded when Gemma needed to be fed.

Gemma met Grandpa Mike today when he and Beeps brought over some dinner.  Alex was super excited to show off his little sister.  He even let her hold all of his toys...very into sharing. 

january 22nd - boys day out

Alex went out for a little post-snowstorm, city slow down, daytime drinking.  He and Daddy met up with Todd and Kyle at the Bainbridge Barrel House for some afternoon leisure activities.  The two boys were so good and had a great time together.  Mothers from 5 tables over came to ask Daddy and Todd what our secret was....the standard answer "get yourself a same sex life partner like us."  Everyone was impressed until we let the boys feed themselves a giant bowl of ice cream...one of them used a fork.

Baby Gemma spent quality time at home with mommy...not ready to brave the subzero temperatures.

january 21st - gemma brought the snow

Gemma's first full day at home was full of activity.  It began with a wake up call from Alex and then her follow up with her doctor to check her weight and make sure she was tip top.  She passed with flying colors and is, in fact, human.  We came out to a full on snow storm, which lasted for 14 hours and dumped 15 inches on Philadelphia.

january 20th - welcome home gemma

We were honorably discharged from the hospital this morning and were able to bring our little Gemma home.  Big brother was anxiously waiting at home to see her again.  Alex got to hold Gemma and gave her tons of kisses.  Apparently, we can keep her...she got Alex's stickers of approval...all of them!!

january 19th - formal introduction

Big brother Alex got to come to the hospital to meet his new little sister, Gemma, this morning.  Daddy went home to have breakfast with Alex and pick him up to bring him to the hospital.  Hilarious that he managed to dress himself in a tool belt and crocs, but no pants.  After we got him dressed appropriately, we went to see the ladies at the hospital.  Alex was immediately in love and kicked off his shoes to get up on the bed for a closer look and kisses.  He helped daddy change a diaper, rubbed Gemma's head, and gave out eskimo kisses.

january 18th - welcome to earth gemma elizabeth

This afternoon, we welcomed the latest addition to the Burger family, Gemma Elizabeth.  She was born in Pennsylvania Hospital at 3:51pm, weighing in at a whopping 7lbs 15oz, and laying 19 1/8 inches flat.  Mommy was a champ!

january 17th - i thought ben franklin was a bridge

There are tons of events going on in Philadelphia this week in honor of Benjamin Franklin's 308th birthday.  Jackie took Alex on his first visit to the Franklin Institute with his friends, Arlo and Grant, this afternoon.  They had such a great time walking through with the boys, who were mesmerized as they entered every room.  Alex was so proud of his bracelet that he got just to get into the museum.  They walked through the giant heart, played in the race cars, and got a crash course in science.

january 16th - practicing sharing

Big brother has always been good at sharing, but his Tostito's are typically off limits to most people.  Trying to get a hold of his Tostito's will get the average person a karate chop.  He is very generous with his little sibling..maybe because he knows he still gets to eat them.  Will be interesting when the baby is on the outside.

january 15th - happy birthday grandmom...from mr. cheezIT

Alex is now helping himself to the snack cabinet whenever he has a hankering for something to eat.  It is actually quite humorous to see him stop what he is doing, walk into the kitchen, and come sit down in his chair with his snack.  CheezIts seem to be his new favorite.  He sent grandmom burger a card today for her birthday that he was really proud of....

january 14th - big brother in training

Alex was practicing today.  He didn't feel it was necessary to set down his piece of cheese while holding the fake baby, but he did the kid a solid by reading a Sesame Street bedtime story.

january 13th - twenty one months and fabulous

Alex loves wearing jackie's glasses.  They went well with his "adult"-looking, collared sweater.  He looked like such a boy today.  Pretty soon he will have pit hair.

january 12th - flapjacks and jungle gyms

Alex treated himself to a nice meal of pancakes this morning at Hawthorne's with Mommy and Daddy. We made a stop at Seger so he could burn off a little bit of his sugar intake.  He REFUSED to play on the little kid side and HAD to climb on the big kid jungle gym.  He even made daddy participate in rope climbing.

january 11th - puzzles with beeps

Alex got a visit from Grandma today and they did puzzles all afternoon.  He was very excited to have a guest to show off his toys and how good he is at putting his puzzles back together.

january 10th - evolving

Alex had a nice day of meals provided by Daddy.  For breakfast, he had a smoothie in his own glass (custom straw), followed by some light reading and catalog shopping.  The big milestone today was him drinking out of his own glass...unbelievable how old he looks when he takes a sip.  Then for dinner, he got to lick the mashed potato beaters...not quite whipped cream but close enough.

january 9th - like mother like son?

Everyone seems to be lounging comfortably in our household (except daddy) while on watch for baby burger #2.  Alex has his new "old man" throne and also finds it comfortable to sit on top of daddy.  Mommy is a stationary incubator right now.

january 8th - bubbo's

Alex's favorite time of day is his routine soak in the tub.  Around 7pm every night he starts saying "bubbo's" over and over until Daddy finally gives in and takes him upstairs for bath time.  He also has a routine of motioning every activity he plans to engage in while in the bath tub.

january 7th - big brother of the year

Alex was sharing his animal crackers with the baby.  We didn't have the heart to tell him the baby can't eat animal crackers through mommy's stomach, so he decided he was going to share anyway.

january 6th - being a goof

Alex has reached the phase of non-stop random chatter...trying to find the words in there to express what he is wanting to communicate.  In the meantime, he just acts like a goofball to get a smile out of us.  Today, he was hiding under his blanket when Daddy went to get him from his nap.  The funny thing was he did it on purpose when he heard footsteps coming up the steps.  Then the door opens and muffled giggles come from under the blanket.  Dork.

january 5th - watching tv in my box

He can't keep his toys in his bins for more than five minutes, so he may as well find an alternative use...

january 4th - happy 2nd birthday reese

Alex's friend Reese turned two today, so we went out to Plymouth Meeting to attend the Minnie Mouse Bowtique-themed birthday party.  Alex loved playing with all of the kids...and especially Grant and Reese's toys.  It was funny how he gravitated toward the toys that he has at home.  He also loved the car in the playroom, which he sat in for a half hour beeping the horn.  His buddy Drew was also there and he wouldn't stop jumping on the trampoline.

january 3rd - winter wonderland

The snow lasted through the night and we woke up to 8 inches on the ground.  Alex demanded the blinds in his room be open as soon as he woke up to see if it was still snowing outside.  Mommy could hardly contain herself waiting for him to get out of bed to take him out to play.

january 2nd - snowy burrito run

Cousin Farrah came down for a visit so she and Alex braved it out into the snow for dinner at Tres Jalapenos.  Uncle Gary loves Mexican, so we had to trek down to the market to grab dinner.  The kids really loved the snow, but it was so cold and snowing sideways...freezing!

january 1st - 2014 is here

After a late night of partying, Alex slept like a log through the morning.  Not that it mattered much since the whole family never changed out of our pajamas today.  We lounged around and watched Alex play with all of his new toys that Santa brought.