Food and Conversation

The new bed is a hit so far, although there has only been one late nap where Addie was so tired she would have slept anywhere. She did fall out the first night. Around 5 a.m I heard a thud in the next room and went in to find her in a ball on the floor. She didn't seem to mind much and picking her up to put her back in bed didn't even phase her. She's so excited to get up in the morning though! Both days I've been in the kitchen feeding Jack when I'll hear her door open. She walks around the corner, with super tall posture, hand raised in a perfect beauty queen wave, and says "hi!" It's only topped off by this fabulous bed head do:



Here are a few video clips we took yesterday. In the first one, during breakfast Addie was explaining that she wanted to go to Texas to see Maggie and Serena. Of course Anthony immediately found the camera and prodded a repeat. Second is Jack getting excited about some really runny rice cereal we've been playing with. I chose to omit the last clip of me being a pushover and letting Addie give Jack a bite of cereal. I don't need video proof of my parental negligence floating around the web. :)


Eating & Conversation from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

Oh, and in case you were not aware. It's Hispanic Heritage Month. There are not words to describe the expression on Addie's face this morning when she started to sing along with the "Little Einsteins" theme song on Playhouse Disney, only to find it was in another language. She knows all the words in English and was so perplexed by the change. It was pretty funny.

Saturday

Today was just a good lazy Saturday at our house. It was cool and rainy all day, which only added to the mood. I love days like this! Anthony and Addie went out to breakfast at the Waffle House (gag) and LOVED it (double gag) while I worked out and Jack took a nap this morning. Then Anthony played kept the kiddos while I had a much needed (and oddly, much blogged about) trip to the hairdresser.

Daddy daycare turned out to be a success, coloring and all. I came home to two sleeping children. WOW.



The "new" do. It's pretty much the same as always, but it's definitely NOT what I left the house with this morning. Let's just say, this is what my hair usually looks like when it is getting any kind of attention.



Jack tested out his baseball cap and the Bumbo. He's not quite big enough for either one, but still pretty cute. I can't figure out on the cap...ears in our out? They kinda stick out funny when I leave them out so I tucked them in. I guess they've gotta come out sometime...poor boy has his momma's ears and no long locks to cover them.



We set up Addie's new bed too. After squishing her into a pack n' play for our last trip to Blowing Rock we decided it was time she got use to something other than the crib. Her room isn't really big enough for a twin, so we got a little toddler bed for her. She'll sleep there for the first time tonight. Hopefully that won't be an exciting enough change for me to bother blogging about tomorrow! :)



Addie got really excited when we put Jack in the bed with her. She loves this baby. If only it could always be that way...

Blowing Rock

We went to Blowing Rock, NC this weekend for some relaxation and cool weather. It was GREAT. Serena came into town last Wednesday so she and Maggie were hanging with us too. Addie is obsessed with Maggie and Serena has been super patient in letting my 2 year old smother her baby.

Here we are sitting on top of the actual blowing rock. There is a story. It's long and American Indian and you can find it online if you are reeeeeeally interested.

Good thing big hair is always cool in the south. :) Going to the hairdresser SATURDAY and after six months of not loosing a single strand I have finally started losing a few here and there so maybe my fro will chill in a few months.


Anthony, Addie and Serena went on a hike to some waterfalls. The hike got a lot longer than anticipated and Addie ended up getting a nice long ride on Anthony's shoulders. Needless to say, Anthony got his workout in for the year.


Jack was just about this cute all weekend. :)


Serena, Maggie and Addie with one of the waterfalls. Apparently every time they reached a hill or some kind of milestone, Addie would throw her arms up and shout "We did it!!" If only I could have her cheer for me like that when she's in the jogging stroller. Instead all I hear is "out?", "Addie walk?", and "go home??"

Addie chilling on the fall display in downtown Blowing Rock. Downtown Blowing Rock was really cute. We enjoyed the shops and their great park tremendously! We had Jack and Maggie in the double stroller and Addie on her stylish teddy bear leash. People were constantly stopping to see the children and more than one acknowledged that she thought all three were mine. Yikes, a 3 month old, and 8 month old, and a 2 year old. Yikes.


If we'd thought to have Addie turn for the picture, this would have been really cute.
Serena, Maggie and Addie sitting on the blowing rock.

Addie and Anthony had a good time making pizza for dinner on Saturday night. Did I mention we had a good time? It was really fun. I need to get a picture of all three cousins on the couch tomorrow...hopefully I won't forget in the madness, and boy do we have some now and then. Dinner time with these three is very noisy!

Eat it All!

As I was enjoying my turkey sandwich at lunch today, Addie looked up from her food and said, "eat it all!" in her most authoritative voice (mimicking her dad of course.) When I finished it she politely thanked me. Something funny every single day lately!

Extra! Extra!

Jack had his 2 month appointment yesterday, even though he is 3 months old next week. At 12 weeks he's measuring 24.5 inches long, 13 lbs 7.8 ounces, and his head is 16 inches. He's in the 75-80 percentile range for weight and height so we may have another big baby on our hands. I don't think I'll mind it as much with Jack because he holds on to me when I carry him. Addie was always leaning back, arms flailing like she was going to fall any minute. That was a real pain when she weighed 22 pounds by 4 months!

Aside from physically doing great, he's also getting to be fun. He has the biggest smile that hopefully I'll get Anthony to help me capture on camera one of these days. When I try to do it myself, he just stares at the camera. He also loves to "oooh" and "aaah" which of course I soak up. He's also a snuggler...we sneak a nap in together every now and then while Addie is snoozing. :)

And Addie is 2. Definitely.



We made chocolate chip cookies together yesterday afternoon while Jack napped and she had so much fun. I did all the measuring for the dry ingredients and let her put it in the bowl. She loved it. It was definitely an activity full of "my turn, my turn!" and "Addie do it?"

On Monday she was playing in her room when I walked by to check on her. She had one of her white dress shoes on the wrong foot and was standing next to the closet. I keep all of her shoes up on a mid-level shelf in the closet in an attempt to keep her out of them. I asked her what she was doing and she very excitedly told me, "I climbed up really high to get my shoe!!" It was hard not to go get the camera right then.

In other news, it's 1 p.m. and I've exercised, showered, been to the mall, had 100% of my daily value of fiber and both kids are sleeping. Jack is getting pretty good at sleeping from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. 7 to 7 is only around the corner, whoo hoo! The only thing wrong with the day is that Anthony is working and Addie's had 3 dirty diapers already (%#&#!!!) She may loose her eating privileges if this keeps up. :) I think I may join in on the naptime myself. Have a great day!

June!

This morning I had just finished putting a t-shirt and a little flippy play skirt on Addie when she spun around, raised her arms, and said, "I'm June!" She was so excited.

She's only 2!! Wow.

Little Wonders

Today could have been a really bad day. But it wasn't. I had a bad feeling as I went to bed too late last night (and feeling way too tired) that the morning would not be good. I was awakened by Addie crying at 3 a.m. I can't even remember what she needed. At 3:45 Jack was crying. By 4:30 I realized it was due to a dirty diaper, so I changed it and went back to bed. At 5:30 he was crying again, probably because he never really fell back asleep from the diaper change. I gave him a pacifier and he slept until 7. At 7 a.m., my world was ready to roll but I was far from it.

Determined to get a little sleep before our afternoon church, starting at 1 p.m. which we all dislike, I had Anthony watch the kiddos while I went to the shower so that when Jack slept I could take my own snooze. The result was a quick shower, baby screaming loud enough I could hear him while I showered, and legs shaved just enough for the dress I was wearing to church. I went straight to helping out with Jack instead of fixing my hair, which then translated into nasty air-dry-semi-curly-frizzy-rat's-nest hair which I would then have to take the time to iron out with a straightener before leaving the house. I squeezed in a little snooze while Anthony showered. Sweet flexible Addie was content playing in her bed with some books and actually even took a little snooze herself while there, which made her much sweeter at church. When Jack did his mid-nap scream, I finished my nap with him on my chest in recline mode in the rocker only to regret it due to the time it took away from all that I needed to do. Unlike most Sundays, I didn't have snacks and "entertainment" packed for Addie ahead of time. At 12:30, mid hair straightening and makeup applying, I had to "nicely" chastise Anthony for the fact that he was not dressed for church and sitting down to a pile of taco salad (who has time to eat???)

Long boring story short, today was one of those Sundays that would have been easy to just throw in the towel and go to the park (reflecting on God's creations or something semi-spiritual) or anything else instead of trying to get to church with your 2 year old who is still flipping over going to nursery. But we went. We were even on time. Jack ate, played, and slept great while there. Addie went to nursery with manageable crying. And I was uplifted in all the ways I needed to be. The rest of the day flowed seamlessly and I spent my evening reading the Ensign, sleeping (which is why I'm awake at 2 a.m.), and catching up on blogs. I expected nothing from today, but it surprised me.

To top off all the learning I enjoyed today, I finished up my blog reading reminded of a tragic story of a couple who are fighting for their lives (and will be for months to come) while their children have been relocated to live with family. It made me reflect on my day today and how even with the craziness I wouldn't trade it for anything. I got to snuggle with and hold both of my children as well as my good husband. I got to repent for my bad attitude this morning and learn about ways to improve. This was a day I would be sad to lose as well as one that makes me thankful: Thankful for the opportunity to try again tomorrow!

Sooner or later, something will happen to make you regret not being grateful and nothing stings quite like regret. I really try to enjoy the wonder of my life and make it as beautiful as possible, yet I still fail sometimes in being grateful for it all. Crazier times will come. When they do, hope I can be ready to take it with a smile! Instead of taking my little lesson to bed with me to keep all to myself, I thought I would share my thoughts. Just in case someone else could use them!