Colonial Williamsburg

This past weekend we drove to Colonial Williamsburg to meet Sarah, Dustin and the kids for a day of exploring some of our nation's history. It's so amazing that we live less than an hour from things like this! We bought an annual pass, knowing that we will definitely be going back many times. Williamsburg is not something you can do in 1 day (especially not with 3 little ones and 2 pregnant women!) And, of course Grandma's in town, so it was a fun time for her to spend with 3 of her grandchildren.

We got to take a guided tour of the Governor's Palace as part of our paid ticket. They have recreated many of the buildings to be exactly like they were during Revolutionary Times, including this one.

Cooper, in front of the County Courthouse, one of the many original buildings in the Revolutionary City.

The Fife and Drum parade. It was really neat to see all of the actors and workers walking around in period garb.

Grandma with 3 of the grandkids. What a happy group!!

We can't wait to go back and explore some more. We are also looking forward to taking visitors to see it, too. (Hint, hint!)

Over 100 years of flight

We have enjoyed getting to know our new home including some of the surrounding areas. A few weeks ago, we traveled to Kitty Hawk, the Birthplace of Flight, so that we could see the first place that man flew. It was really neat to see where it all began, and especially amazing to think that their first successful flights were only a little over 100 years ago. Think of all that has happened in that short amount of time!

In front of an exact replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer.

Looking out to Big Kill Devil Hill. This field of grass used to be sand and the hill used to be 450 feet closer!

The boulder marks the start of each of the first successful flights made in 1903. You can see the markers showing the distance of each of the flights.

The memorial to the Wright Brothers on top of Kill Devil Hill.

Today we went to the NAS Oceana Air Show in Virginia Beach and had a great time watching the accomplishments of modern day flight.  Again, it's amazing to think of how far we have come in 100 years! On a side note, we were extremely proud of our girl, who not only lasted for several hours, but actually enjoyed the air show. She wasn't even concerned with the loud sounds of jets going by. She was only bothered by our hands covering her ears!

Leah and Daddy checking out one of the planes on the ground. Can you see the parachute in the background?

Leah on the wing, you can kind of tell how windy it was today.

The Black Diamond Jet Team coming in over the Blue Angels. (Notice the mullet in the foreground...classy!)

The Black Diamond Jet Team is a civilian team made up of 4 L-39s and 2 Mig-17s.

The 4 L-39s doing a loop in formation.

The Air Force Heritage Flight, made up of an F-4 and an F-16. They were both very loud and very fast!

Leah's Art Project

Leah came home with an art project she made at school. See below:

In school, they are learning about the color yellow, the letter B, and singing the song, "The Wheels on the Bus". Hence the yellow school bus project. It is exactly the kind of project you would expect from the second week of preschool. So what makes this project so special that I am making a post about it? It's not the content of the project, but the materials and methods that make this one different. Leah's teacher wants to really include Leah in the classroom and has come up with unique ways to do it. While the rest of the class was ripping yellow paper to glue to the outline of a bus, Leah's teacher attached the thick dark cut out of a bus to a transparency that she put on Leah's lightbox. She also used tissue paper for her bus, so that Leah could see the final product of her art work. Finally, a piece of art work that Leah can appreciate! We hung Leah's bus in the window so that she can look at it everyday. We are so thankful that Leah is in a classroom where she is accepted, valued, and truly wanted.

24 Weeks

Well, I am officially 24 weeks along in this second pregnancy and according to babycenter.com the baby is about the length of an ear of corn and weighs about a pound. I had my first doctor's appointment with my new doctor, here in Norfolk. Stephen came to this appointment with me so that we could both meet her and we both really liked her a lot. She seemed very friendly and we heard from a friend whose son was delivered by this doctor that she was a good coach during delivery. The baby's heart beat was strong and steady, and all of my vitals were good. I have officially gained enough weight to be heavier now than I was pre-pregnant (I'm one pound heavier than before)! I am starting to feel big and a little uncomfortable and I don't remember feeling this way, at this point, with Leah. It was a few years ago, so maybe I have just forgotten... or maybe this is going to be a big baby. Leah has been the smallest of all of the Burgin grandchildren at 8 lbs 2 oz, maybe this next one wants to take the title! I hope not, though. May Anna Kate ever reign as the record holder in that area (She was over 10 lbs!)! I would be content with another petite 8 lbs baby! Only time will tell... In the meantime, here is a picture of me at 24 weeks:

This was the best picture of me, that I could find, from around 24 weeks with Leah. I look about as big, so maybe I just don't remember feeling big at this point!

First Day of School!

Today Leah started her first day of preschool here in Norfolk. Now, Leah has been in daycare/preschool since she was 4 months old, so this is technically her 3rd time starting a new school year. Every other year Stephen has taken her to school. In fact, the only times I have ever taken Leah to school has been on days when Stephen is either sick or out of town and it's never been at the beginning of the school year. So, this was just as much my first day of school as it was Leah's. Surprisingly enough, I was a little emotional. I didn't cry or anything, but it was hard for me to leave her school. I did, though, and when I got back after school, she was there, just as happy as when I dropped her off.

I'm ready for school!!

My new teacher, Ms. Alicia

Burgin Gathering

After flying back to Atlanta from Iowa, we had to quickly make our way back to Norfolk for a Burgin family gathering. The whole family came to visit us in Norfolk, see our new house, Stephen's office, and celebrate Stephen's graduation. The first part of the family consisting of: Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Andrew, Aunt Patty, Uncle Luke, and cousins Anna Kate and Caroline, all arrived on Thursday, August 16th. Aunt Sarah, Uncle Dustin, and cousins Wesley and Cooper got here on Friday. So, our need to be quick with unpacking just the week before was because we were going to have a house full of guests (and then some) as soon as we got back from our trips to Gainesville and Iowa. I know I said it in an earlier post, but I don't know how we would have done it without the help of my mom and Andrew. We had a fun time showing them around Norfolk, including the really awesome huge 3 story mall that's downtown, Virginia Beach (we only put our toes in the water), and of course Old Dominion's campus. It really is a very pretty campus, especially right now. The campus is covered in crape myrtles that are all in bloom. It was also special to take everyone to show Stephen's office (with his name on the door!)

The main lawn of ODU looking toward the student union

Dr. Burgin, at his desk

It really is his office!

It was fun to show the family around our new town. We're excited for everyone to come back and visit again. One of the hardest things for us was saying goodbye to Andrew. Leah is especially going to miss her Uncle Andrew. They developed a special bond this year.  We have loved getting to live with him this past year. He has become so much a part of our daily lives, it's going to be hard to not have him near. We'll just have to go see him and make sure he visits us here!

So, we have had the last week with just our family, officially starting the time of adjusting to our new home. Stephen had his first week of real work: going to lots of meetings, getting his syllabus together, and spending time preparing for his first class on Tuesday. I spent my first week as a stay-at-home mom: going shopping (and feeling strange that I wasn't buying school supplies), doing laundry, and even met up with some new friends we met for a play date at the park. I also got Leah registered for school, so she is set up and ready to start on September 4th. We have meet the teacher this Friday and Stephen will be going with me. The teacher specialist who helped me with registration said it would be a good idea for us to make a "facts about Leah" sheet for her teacher to get to know her, so I am starting to work on that now. Life is starting to feel normal here in Norfolk, VA, right down to the rainy summer days.

A trip to Iowa

On Sunday after graduation, we drove to Atlanta to fly to Iowa for an appointment with a new doctor - a molecular ophthalmologist who specializes in rare genetic eye diseases, Dr. Stone. We were referred to him by Dr. Murray, Leah's ophthalmologist in Miami. When we went to the hospital (at the University of Iowa), we were surprised that we actually had appointments with 2 doctors. First, we saw Dr. Wilkinson, (who was in the exam room waiting for us!) a low vision specialist. He assessed Leah's functional vision and was able to determine that Leah has more than just light perception. She doesn't have much more, but she can see some objects if there is a high contrast. We already believed this to be true, but it was nice to have it confirmed by a doctor. He talked with us about the importance of maximizing her functional vision and told us that he works with the schools in Iowa to help students with low vision. He said that we could email him with any questions about how to best support Leah in school and that he would personally respond within 24 hours. We were so impressed with a doctor who seemed to really want to help Leah. After seeing Dr. Wilkinson, we saw Dr. Stone, who repeatedly told us that he really appreciated our coming to see him. After he and a fellow doctor both examined Leah's eyes (having already seen images sent to them from Bascom Palmer Eye Institute), he told us that he thinks Leah has a condition called Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA). This is a genetic disorder that affects the retinas and causes poor vision. People with LCA often have slow pupillary response and nystagmus (rapid unusual movements of the eyes). There are several other characteristics involved with LCA that Leah does not show, which is why she was never tested for it. There are many different genes that are known to cause LCA, which can be inherited or might be a new gene mutation. Dr. Stone's team drew blood from Leah, Stephen, and myself, to test and see if we have any of these known genetic mutations. A diagnosis of LCA would mean the possibility for treatment in the future, so we are encouraged. Right now they are doing gene therapy with some forms of LCA in animals and successfully restoring vision. They have even done some clinical trials with people in one form of it. There is no official diagnosis yet and it will take weeks to months to get the results in from the test, but it's nice to have a direction to be heading in. In the meantime, Dr. Stone's team have found us an ophthalmologist here in Norfolk are are looking for a pediatrician who specializes in genetics. He wants Leah to be seen by someone who will be looking at her in a different way and not just as a typically developing child. We go back to Iowa next summer for an annual exam and are looking forward to it. Dr. Stone and his team were so different than the other experiences we have had. Usually we go to an appointment and feel like we are just another anonymous face in the crowd. In Iowa, we felt like we were valued and that they really want to help Leah. In fact, when we left, Dr. Stone's nurse gave each one of us big hugs. It's a lot farther to travel, and not as convenient as going home to Miami, but it was definitely worth it!

As an aside, Leah did awesome traveling! She loved having her own seat, looking out the window, and feeling the engines roar. Oh, and she loved all the snacks I kept coming to keep her happy and quiet! We got several compliments from other passengers and flight attendants about how good she was. What a relief!!