Who Needs Toys Anyway?

Well, it has been over two weeks since Addie got her little chair and it's still her favorite "toy." That is actually a record for any of her other toys. If we are in the living room, her activities revolve around it. Someday it will be funny to tell her that her favorite thing to do when she was one was sit in a chair. She gets in, gets out, stands up, sits down, takes toys in and out...whatever. Last night her friend Grace was over and they both took turns getting in and out of the chair. It was pretty funny to watch. Who would have thought?

Grandma Sun Ae Berg

 

Anthony's mother passed away last Thursday, October 4th and we went to her funeral on Saturday in Palestine, Texas. It seems strange to blog about the exciting, silly, funny, or unimportant events in our life without mentioning this very important but sad event. She absolutely blew me away with her love for my Addie. That is something I can never forget and can't wait to tell Addie about.

Family Photo Op

 

 

 

Last month we finally got around to getting some family photos taken for the first time since Addie was born! These are the ones we purchased. Anthony scanned them in so that I could exhibit them for all of my friends and family that will not see them hanging on the wall. So, just in case you really want a picture of us...these are technically not suppose to be copied so you would be breaking the law! :) I leave it up to my lawyer friends to write the legalese.

Anyway, it was quite a deal taking Addie in for pictures where I am actually suppose to be in the pictures. I usually just stand in the background keeping her from leaving the room, repositioning her, etc. So I was still doing that while Anthony chilled in his calm position not breaking a sweat. I really wanted the sepia version of the one of all three of us because I for some reason I think it hides the fact that I was a sweaty mess. Here are my few seconds prior to this shot: grab Addie as she tries to leave the room (for the 20th time), set her on top of Anthony, fix her dress, fix my own dress, get all flyaway hairs that are sticking to my sweating face off, lean over so that I am actually in the picture, and...oh yeah, smile. :)

The picture of her kissing me was not planned. She was being such a nut while we tried to take some pictures on the ground with all three of us. Right as we gave up and Anthony stood up, Addie leaned over to give me a kiss. This girl TOTALLY knows when she is pushing it.

Walker Texas Ranger

 

 

 

 

I have to say, I never thought I would come up with a reason to use this title. It's a stretch too, but why not mention one of the cheesiest representations of Texas law enforcement in the history of television as a title?

We didn't bother buying Addie a walker because we have enough stuff in our little house and I've read that it doesn't really help kids learn how to walk anyway. Dan and Amber loaned us theirs while we were in Texas though, and since we've been home Addie had tried to transform just about anything she can into a walker. Since nothing actually has wheels, she gets pretty frustrated when thing like her Little People barn don't roll over the rug...hence the ever popular scowl.

I should list needed items more often in my blogging. Anthony is in Des Moines Monday through Friday for four weeks and this was his first week away. I guess my previous post about Addie needing a chair inspired him because he arrived home with this cute little green chair. I wish I had been at a better angle for this picture, but it's still pretty cute. She LOVES the chair. I love the fact that if we'd been looking at this in a magazine or store together he would have thought it was ridiculous to buy, but since he was missing his little girl and obviously she needed a chair to sit in he purchased it for her. On the other hand, there was no gift for me upon his return. I guess I've been demoted?

Get This Girl a Chair!

I had something cute to blog about that Addie did today, but as we were walking through the natural foods store today something else took that spot in my brain. Just so that anyone who cares knows...there are completely organic feminine products out there. One brand is even called GladRags. Wow. I mean...who was on the naming committee there? I won't elaborate further. Just an interesting tidbit from my day that made me smile/laugh. :)

Anyway, about us this week...We flew to College Station, TX last Wednesday and returned on Saturday in a suicide mission to see Emily and Luke's new baby Jane Bentley Brenner. She is a beauty and it was worth the insanity. We stayed with Lauren and Nate, which was really fun. I was hoping Ryan would inspire Addie to walk more (technically she walks...just not much.) That was a failure. She was tired and poor Ryan just wanted to hug her, which only made her mad. Maybe my lack of hugging interest is genetic? He also taught her this fabulous screeching noise that she does in protest when she is unhappy. One more day and I think we will be rid of it. Boys are nothing but trouble!

I must say that on the way back I had some of the kindest people help me out with Addie. The American Airlines people were super helpful (which is very out of character for them) and a lot of people on the plane were really helpful. One lady even walked up and down the aisle with Addie to entertain her. Right as we landed in Iowa (seriously) Addie's eyelids got the best of her and she fell asleep! A few things that proved useful on my trip this time around were stickers and bubble gum. We stuck the stickers on paper, then on Addie's legs, my face, her face, the airplane...you name it. So, if anyone is flying AA anytime soon keep your eyes peeled for "My Little Pony" and "Hello Kitty" cause you know they don't actually clean the planes. With the gum, I just blow bubbles and she tries to pop them. Of course she misses, which for some reason is really fun when you are 13 months old.

I took this picture last week and didn't have time to post it before we left. Addie loves it when I raise the blinds in the front window so that she can look out, but lately she's also enjoyed using the window sill as a chair. She sits down on it, and it works for a while until her round diaper bum gets the best of her and she slips off. Then she just sits there slumped over for a while. Silly girl.

Apple Orchard

It was really pretty today so we headed out to the apple orchard for lunch. I guess there was a late freeze last spring, so there were really no apples. It was still very pretty and Addie enjoyed walking around in the grass. This morning Addie wouldn't stop whining, so instead of leaving her with Anthony while I ran I took her with me. Since my sister Emily gave birth to a 9 lb 2 oz baby girl yesterday, I thought I should push (no pun intended!) myself a little. I made it to 3 miles with the heavy stroller...what a feeling. Then I went to the orchard and had a great time eating an apple turnover. :)

One of These Days

 
 
 
 
One of these days this girl is going to WALK! She's trying so hard! I had to post the first picture because it's one of the few pictures Anthony ever catches of me where I'm not making a strange face or showing off three chins. I'm thinking maybe I should just do nothing but stare blankly ahead for the rest of my life if that is what looks best.

Addie is trying her best to walk, and she loves it. She makes the funniest faces when she's standing on her own, or walking. On Sunday she took almost 10 steps, very slowly of course. Steps with the left foot were bigger than steps with the right, so she walked in a circle. Our first reaction was to laugh, but then we started thinking about how sad it would be if she always turned right.

"The Look"

 
 
 
"The Look" has appeared and doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Maybe this is just a sample of the teenage years? She hands this beauty out to pretty much everyone these days for unknown reasons. I wonder if she is actually trying to convey an emotion or if it just feels funny to furrow her brow? She sure does it at odd times.

Take a Seat

 

Addie quickly lost interest in her Bumbo when she needed it to sit up, but as soon as we got back from Texas last week she started finding new uses for it. She gets in, gets stuck, gets out, falls out, puts toys in, takes them out...you name it. Why is this fun??

Ode to Our Friends

 
Tonight is the first night since Brent and Holly moved that the lameness of our life without them is setting in. I'm realizing that this last 13 months with Addie we have enjoyed the ease of a social life that was very accommodating to her because the Gardners came here so much. It was great...only now here we are, all alone! This is the last picture I have of them. Brent and I were having a speed Scrabble throw down. I won. :)

Here are just a few things MISSING from life now:

1) Anthony's golfing buddy
2) Julie's shopping buddy
3) Julie's desire to cook at ALL (what can I say...I need compliments people!!)
4) Addie misses Holly's strange animal noises
5) Addie also misses Brent's strange unknown noises
6) Anthony misses mass quantities of meat
7) Scrabble...what's the use anymore?
8) Random Google arguments (for those of you who don't know what that is, as soon as any discrepancy arises about a topic you go directly to google and do a search to clear it up!)

Happy News!

I have not quit blogging, we've just been busy with some difficult things and I couldn't think straight enough to blog. Good news is on the horizon though! Anthony got an offer today for a Pain Management fellowship in Winston-Salem, NC. We really wanted to go there and have been waiting for the offer while we were in the middle of a family crisis so it was a much needed good day. We have friends there, which makes the deal even sweeter. I've heard it is beautiful there. I also hear that I may want to stock up on furniture while I'm there which I really have no problem with! :)

I was teasing Anthony tonight that he was moving me further away from my parents so we looked it up on Google maps. I was actually wrong. Winston-Salem is actually 1 mile closer to Pearland than Iowa City is. Progress!

I'll break out the camera and post some more this week sometime.

Straw Poll Road Trip!

Today we drove to Ames, IA for the Iowa GOP Straw Poll. It was so much fun and so exciting to be a part of something so politically important. We went with the Romney campaign, but I learned something new about several of the other candidates and really feel like there are some strong options for a V.P. out there! :)


Seriously though, the Romney campaign really went all out. They handed out yellow Mitt Romney t-shirts on the buses so when we got there it looked like a big yellow Romney party. They had three different bands lined up, a tent for BBQ, a tent for eating the BBQ, a rock wall for people to climb, and those blow up bouncy things for kids. Party! Brownback was the only person who even came close to being that cool with BBQ and a snow cone machine. The snow cone machine was very tempting, but it just felt wrong to go take stuff from them when we weren't voting for him. Then again...I guess if he did become the Republican nominee I would probably vote for him (unless the dems came up with a surprise jewel of a candidate unknown right now), so then that would make it okay to have snagged a snow cone. Too bad my brain wasn't working earlier. It was crazy hot out there.


There were Ron Paul groupies everywhere marching around and trying to hand out Ron Paul literature. They were almost as aggressive as the guy at our mall who tries to tackle me with a flat iron for a demonstration every time I walk by. About every two minutes Brownback or Romney or Ron Paul people (usually college students) would parade through the event doing a chant of some sort and waving their signs. This alone was one of the best truly "Iowan" things we have done here. Here is a video of some dancing from earlier in the week and our trip today. Enjoy!



Oh, and the NRA pictures are for Brent! :)

I'm Published!

With the Iowa GOP Straw Poll tomorrow, this week has been full of politics. This is a family blog, however, our family has been quite overrun with my Romney volunteer efforts lately so it is only fitting that I post my little opinion blurp that made the paper today. Living in the small liberal town of Iowa City, IA has definitely brought out the activist in me. This is the second or third time I've written in to the paper in an effort to make sure they print something sane every now and then. It is a little concise because I had to whittle it down to 250 words. From the Iowa City Press-Citizen:

"Romney will restore respect" (I did not come up with this title!)

In 1984 I re-elected Ronald Reagan. I was 6 years old, but I felt good about my decision to vote for him. He was already the U.S. president so I figured that was worth my vote. That title stooped to a level I never thought possible while I was in college, and the president was on my television describing the level of sexual relations he had with a White House intern.

Saturday, at the Ames straw poll, I will be casting my vote for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for president. I truly believe that if it is possible to restore respect, admiration, and loyalty to this once highly esteemed office he is the one who can do it. I'm looking for leadership, honesty, integrity and someone who believes in the kind of America I believe in.

As a taxpayer, I am weary of politicians in Washington getting nothing done because of differing views. It's time to start solving problems. Romney believes legislation should happen at the state level particularly on matters such as abortion. If anyone can balance our budget without raising taxes, he can. He recognizes that the war in Iraq is only a small part of a global war on Islamic extremism that must be taken seriously. He believes a strong American military and economy will secure peace for our children and us. He understands that socialized health care is not the way to promote quality health care.

For these reasons and many, many others he has my vote.

It was only fitting that a Hillary supporter was right next to me as well. I don't believe that any of my readers are Hillary supporters because I truly would not be friends with one. I seriously question the sanity of anyone who really thinks this woman will bring anything but demise to our country as president. I was going to include the Hillary write-in here, but it was really too annoying to be put on my blog. Sometimes I think the American public is more savvy about picking diet pills than they are leaders. It's like people believe that the President of the United States will make them wealthy, healthy, smarter, better looking, and completely at peace with themselves and the world around them.

I promise I will refrain from turning my blog into yet another political blog...there are plenty of those to go around.

Snuggles, Jogging, and Politics

Tonight was a good night. After an afternoon at the pool, Addie wanted me to snuggle her a while before bed. Then I unwound by running three miles (my best since Addie was born) while enjoying the Garden State soundtrack. Now I have finally stopped sweating and I can go enjoy a shower!

Addie got to meet Mitt Romney yesterday. I thought she would behave since it was lunchtime and she'd be eating but she was the annoying baby the whole time. I practically had to chase the governor down for this picture. I finally told one of his guys that if he'd help me get a picture I'd take my noisy baby home. That worked! :)

24 Hours On The Trail

24 Hours On The Trail: "One family, 99 counties … and a Winnebago.  As the Ames Straw Poll rapidly approaches, join the Romneys as they trek across Iowa in the famous Mitt Mobile. Click ACT NOW! to help build the buzz for the full video's premier later this week on Mitt TV. "

Happy Birthday Addie

 

We have now had the official "First Birthday" event. Brent and Holly joined us for the festivities. We enjoyed Addie's favorite meal: spaghetti, peas, and bread. We also had cake, but of course Addie turned it down on account of watching her figure. She mostly had a good time and of course all of us enjoyed a reason to eat cake and ice cream. She got a little overwhelmed unwrapping the presents. It didn't help that it was right before bedtime, but it was still funny. In honor of Addie's birthday, here are a few facts about her little self:

Favorite Food: Cheese (she knows the sign for "more" and pretty much only uses it when she wants cheese)
Favorite Veggie: Peas
Favorite Fruit: Blueberries
Most Repeated Action: Pointing
Favorite Words: Momma, Dadda, & Yeah
Favorite Song: Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani
Clothing Size: 24 month
Favorite Toy: Cups...any kind and Animals

I don't know what I like most about Addie. There are just so many things! Like the fact that sometimes when I come in her room she gets excited and dives face first into her bed. Other times she just points at the bears on the shelf across the room and says "bea" over and over again. Or maybe it's listening to her hum while she plays. She constantly hums while she plays by herself and it's really the sweetest thing. Since turning her around in the car, sometimes she just waves and says "hi" over and over while you are driving to your destination. She also makes the strangest noise with her tongue. It's like she's rolling an "r" only at a really high pitch. Kinda sounds like a cricket. She didn't get that from me! I also love the way she dives head first into her bumper when it's time for bed. Addie had a babysitter a few weeks ago and I completely forgot to tell the sitter about the "dive" so I think it really blew her away when she set Addie in her bed and she faceplanted it into the corner. Funny girl. This year has been so fun just getting to know her. What a lucky mom!

One Year Old

This is a pretty uneventful video, however, since most of my family has not seen Addie in a while I thought I might post it anyway so you can see what she's up to. We turned her car seat around this week so she's having fun getting to see where we are going. Very exciting. :)

In the video she looks kinda funny when she eats a Cheerio. That is because for the past two days she has been really enjoying chewing with her front teeth. So everything she eats she bites with her front teeth. I picked this David Gray song because Anthony "borrowed" it from someone else that was in the hospital while we were when Addie was born. So it brought back memories of her first week with us and the music we listened to as we got to know our little girl.

Good Party, Bad Pictures

 

We hosted a "Going Away" party for Brent and Holly Gardner this past Saturday. They are moving to New York City this month & we are very sad to see them go. Every year at least one couple we are really good friends with moves so I guess I'm just going to stop making friends! Or, maybe I should get to be good friends with someone new and I'll be the person leaving this year...naaahhh.

The party was a hit. Holly was not surprised because I ended up having to confess my plans to her earlier in the week, but Brent was. He even believed Holly when she told him the 20 lb bag of ice they were bringing to our house was for making ice cream. What a good little liar. I tried some new burger toppings, which were quite a hit. I mixed creamy swiss cheese with blue cheese, which people could spread onto their bun. Then you add bacon, red onion, avocado, lettuce and tomato. I saw it on TV and seriously thought nobody would try it but Brent, Holly, and Anthony. Much to my surprise everyone tried it and loved it.

The Berg family (many of whom read my blog) prides itself in being experienced in the photography world. Thus, I thought I could give Anthony the task of taking pictures of the party. One good thing came out of this - now I know that I'm not the only person he takes horrible, unflattering photos of! Seriously, I think I could be shot for posting half of these because people either have food in their mouth, are talking and hovering over food, or there is a nice shot of their backside and let's face it - none of us are models. I'm pretty sure none of us have ever even been models so there should be no confusion. I guess in the future I will fulfill my hostess duty by saying hi to everyone as I get their attention for a photo, let them suck their guts in, clean out their teeth, and smile! :)

Just Can't Reach!

 
 
My days of putting flowers in this window are limited, which is a bummer because I love the way it looks. Such is life though! This girl seems like she changes every day that we get closer to that 1 year birthday, which is in ONE WEEK. I am pretty sure I've done everything possible to keep her from getting older but she continues growing and learning so I guess I'll have to deal with it!
I've been teaching her signs and up until this week all she could sign was "more" but on Monday she finally started signing "milk." Anthony was so proud when he saw her do it. I hope he's that proud when she makes good grades someday (which, of she WILL do right?)

Brooke Elizabeth Wilson

I have a new niece and Addie has a new cousin! Brooke was born last night and she's so PRETTY! I'm so sad that I won't get to see her until she's more than 2 months old!! Now Emily is next...Whoop!

Brown Girls

 
 

Addie and I were matchy matchy today for church. Cheesy...yes, but I give myself some credit for doing it in brown and not pink. I have my limits. I saw this dress last week and just couldn't resist, but of course then I had to go find matching brown shoes for it. This morning when I got Addie ready for church Anthony was teasing me that Addie is my dress up doll. I didn't deny it, but of course she's much more than that! The dress up part is just a perk.

She's finally figured out how to "play" her toy piano, which makes Anthony so proud so I had to post a picture. Instead of just banging on the keys with her palms, she has now advanced to banging on the keys with her pointer fingers. There is a "card" that slides into the piano to tell it which songs to play. She use to just remove the card as fast as she could. Now she bangs on it for a while and then removes it. Progress!

We're on our own for most of this week. Anthony will be in L.A. and Lubbock. It seems so strange to me that those two towns are our big choices at the moment. To add to the mix, Lubbock is the higher "ranked" program...whatever that means. I don't think anyone outside of the world of Anesthesia would ever understand why he would choose to go to Texas Tech over UCLA and I know that nobody would understand why we would go to Lubbock over Santa Monica but we'll just have to see how the cards play out! Addie and I will be fine whether we're hanging out with Joe, Melissa, and Emma in Lubbock or shopping at Posh Baby on Rodeo Drive. I'm all about turning lemons into lemonade.

Photo Shoot

Anthony and Addie did a brief photo shoot this morning before her nap. We've had such a mild summer that our garden is really looking pretty. It was so nice for the 4th. We won't miss the winters here when we leave, but we will really miss the summers.

I didn't blog last week, but I had a funny little story from church to share. Addie was sitting in Holly's lap during Sacrament Meeting looking at a book. It was one of those books that has little flaps to open and close with animals behind the flap. Addie got a hold of one of the flaps and tore it. When she did that, Holly gasped loudly and we all looked at her. Then Addie took her pacifier from my hand and offered it to Holly. It was pretty funny, especially since Holly had already gotten plenty of people's attention.

Addie's been quite the whiner this week. She has 6 teeth that have broken through and boy have we been feeling it this week! Even at her worst she sleeps through the night so I shouldn't complain about the whiny days.