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!

North Carolina Zoo

We had a good time this morning at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. The zoo is HUGE so we only saw one part of it, but it is really cool. All of the animals looked like they were really in their own habitat (as much as I can say without having been to Africa!) I don't really consider myself an avid zoo goer, but this one is cool and I'm glad we bought a family pass for the year.



Addie "wuvs" Jack. She has actually started calling him Jackie. We've NEVER called him that and I don't really want him nicknamed that. Hopefully it won't stick?



Addie enjoying her lemon Italian ice.





As I'm posting these pictures, the thought just occurred to me that only one of them has an animal in it. Actually, the one with the zebra only has like 95% of the zebra in it. I'll pawn the blame off on Anthony for this. After I took the bad picture of them with the zebra, I set off trying to find a place to feed Jack. I got lost in the process and although I saw lots of cool stuff I had left the camera with Anthony with instructions to take pictures. Oh well! We'll be back and I'll be sure to post some fabulous photos of the Rhinos.



I'm so lucky to get to hang out with such good looking people. :)

Chubby Babies

This is Addie playing with our neighbor's one year old, Izzy. She is so chubby...almost like Addie was a year ago. I love it!

Preschool!

Addie had her first day of preschool today and I think it was a success. She is in a class of kids 2 - 2 1/2 years old and it's mostly little girls, so I think she's going to like it. She got a little bit wimpy when I dropped her at the door, but the teacher said that once she got over that she was talking the entire three hours. Sounded like she was the class know-it-all. I wonder where that comes from?

Anyway, I'm excited that she has somewhere to go play with other children while we're waiting for Mr. Jack to grow. She and another little girl were hugging when I got there. Here is a before shot and an after shot with her admiring her door prize.

Lucky Girl

All bad hair days aside, this is how I'm feeling about life these days! :)


Lucky from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

Motherhood Isn't Always Pretty

So, when I first saw the "Motherhood" ads by Suave I thought it was funny and partially true. I mean, being a mother definitely makes it more difficult for me to have the TIME to do fabulous works with my hair. This week there was a new development.

This:




The pictures don't really do justice. It's as if every strand got it's own bad crimp job. Every single hair was this wirey crazy thing going all over the place. Even putting it in a ponytail didn't sufficiently correct things. I just stared in the mirror horrified at the mess that resulted from my same every day routine.

Same amount of time as always, same products as always. Yet, somehow it looks like I just chemically fried my hair on the same day as sticking my finger in an electrical outlet. I have nothing to blame but random changes in my hormones for this lovely occurrence. I am now the proud owner of nasty doll hair I guess. I promptly called the hairdresser my friend Tiffany referred me to 6 WEEKS ago and set up an appointment that I will hopefully be able to keep in 2 weeks. If Anthony ends up working, I'll have to go even longer in my hideously offensive hair state and maybe Serena can help me with my kiddos while I get some hairapy. Stay tuned...if things don't improve I may be sporting the Katie Holmes bob.

P.S. Please don't judge my vanity...my hair is all I've got. People don't exactly stop me on the street to compliment my long legs, gorgeous eyes, or fabulous teeth. :)

Two Months Old

Certainly there is a part of me that can't believe two months have already passed since Jack was born, but there is another part of me that can't believe it's only been two months! Partly, because so much has happened since he was born but also because I can't imagine our family without him.

For the most part, Jack is a super easy baby. He does have a strange need to wake up in the middle of his naps and cry for about 10 minutes before returning to sleep, which kinda makes me crazy especially when his 2nd nap of the day overlaps with Addie's! But, after much trial and error with trying to sooth him, burp him, etc. it seems that the crying (or screaming) is just what he wants to do. ??? Strange. He's also a bit of a broken record at night. He's been eating at 10 p.m., 3 a.m., and 7 a.m. since his first week and doesn't seem to have any desire to change this. I'm a wimp for nighttime crying, so even when I say I'm going to let him cry for a while it doesn't last long. He's just so tired at that time of day, that he doesn't eat well and then I spend forever burping him. Stubborn boy I guess? Addie just gradually slept longer at night and she never really bothered to cry in the middle of a nap. At the very least, she never did it twice in a row! I know he is big enough to sleep all night - check out the chunk:



Makes his mommy proud with that round belly. :)

He makes up for the broken record nights by giving me smiles now, so just when I'm getting a little weary his sweet smile gives me a boost. It's been a great two months and while I'm trying to enjoy him as a baby I am really excited to get to know him as he grows!

Things That Make Me Happy

Addie found a piece of paper in one of her drawers with a list on it and brought it over to me pointing to the text saying, "Hey - H, I, J, K, na, na, na, na, P in there!"

She's been singing a church song, "A Happy Family" this week, only instead of saying "I love Mommy, she loves me. We love Daddy, yes sir-ree" she sings, "I love Addie, she loves me. We love Addie, yes sir-ree!" I think it's cute, but yesterday on the way home Anthony asked if I'd please teach her a new song this week so I guess everybody's not on board.

The babysitter on one of Addie's favorite shows is named Julie. She was talking about Julie the other day and I thought I'd explain that my name was also Julie. Now and then today she starts calling me Julie to see if I'll answer. She just stands there with this funny look on her face saying, "Julie?" She also talks to Julie on the phone. Silly girl.

Last thing of the moment - counting. Addie counting: two, four, fie, sick, seden, eight, nine, ten, leven, twelf. She has been skipping 1 and 3 for months now, not sure what they've done to offend. She alternates counting to herself and saying her H,I,J,K's to herself while she plays.

Blue Ridge Mountains

We had a great time this weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We left on Friday night and got back this afternoon. We mostly relaxed, but we did venture out to good ole' Boone, NC so that we could catch a glimpse of the famous (or infamous) Appalachian State University. (If you are curious, check out the cool video below.)



The weather was great. We slept with the windows open and in the morning on Saturday it was chilly enough in the cabin for a fire.



My cute boys.



Addie and Bear with the Baby Bjorn.



I thought we wouldn't get this look during family vacations until she was at least 12.



In Iowa, we passed fields of corn everywhere we went. Here we passed mountainsides lined with Christmas trees.



Addie loved hiking.



Nothing significant really about this picture relating to our trip. I just think it's stinking cute. :)



One more of Jack - just to prove he was there! He's such a cool little guy. So chill, he just hangs out being happy.

Happy Birthday Berg!

Anthony turned 32 today so we had a little dinner celebration for him. Going out was not going to happen, especially after I spent the day going to and from Charlotte with the kiddos, so we had a good dinner at home and some fabulous chocolate cake (thanks to Whole Foods Bakery!)

Here's my skinny meat lover with his new steak knives. :)



And since Addie wouldn't wear the cute "2" birthday hat our friend Tiffany Newton bought her for her birthday, it seemed fitting for Anthony to wear it while he blew out his candles...since there's a 2 on it. Only 30 years difference. I think it looks good on him.



Sadly, Toppy left today to go back to Texas. We had so much fun with him and Addie just thinks he hung the moon. Maybe Anthony's 33rd birthday will be with family in Texas...hmmmmm.

Blessed Baby

Today we blessed Jack at church. He did great...no crying at all. The only thing he did wrong was grow out of the cheesy white outfit I had for him. It had a really cute cross-stitched blue sailboat on it. I guess he was just putting his foot down on having his mother dress him. Instead he looked like a cute little golfer with alligators all over his polo shirt. Luckily, I didn't remove the tags to the expensive cheesy outfit before trying it on him this morning so I'll be returning it this week! His 2 month appointment is coming up & I can't wait to see how much this boy weighs!

Pops, A.K.A. "Toppy", was here for the blessing and Addie is on cloud nine. She snuggled him all through church. It kind of amazed me how still sat with him during the meeting. She cried in nursery again and told Anthony she wanted to see Toppy. So sad.

Oh Yes I Did

Didn't you hear? With the price of gas going sky high these days, it is now legal in several states to hitch a Burley trailer to your car for the kiddos! I joke. This is our super cool Nana sporting the birthday present she got this weekend.

On the other hand, here is what I got while my mom is hot-rodding it around Houston. (Sorry about the bad photography...As you can see, the house next door is white.)



It was a long, quiet, and difficult discussion that I've had with myself over the past few years about having to eat everything I've ever said about minivans. I think I crossed over mentally and emotionally three years ago when I was taking enough fertility drugs to get a set of triplets, which of course would necessitate a leap like this.

Conversely, I only had to mention a slight interest in a minivan to Anthony and all of the sudden he was researching them. Every other time I've mentioned an interest in any other kind of new vehicle he has insisted that what I was driving was perfectly fine. But here, I only mentioned that I had seen the light of practicality where minivans were concerned less than 60 days ago and now there is one in the drive way. There must be some male ego thing tied to putting the wife and kids into a large family friendly vehicle? Maybe an effort to make sure no other guy is checking me out? :)

Jokes aside...I love it and know we will really enjoy it. It's really amazing how much thought about a family has been put into this car & how many cool gadgets you can get on it! I'll just have to endure the ridicule from my family (even my grandmother refuses to drive a minivan!) while I enjoy my sweet new van.

Here is the resulting video from three days of trying to celebrate Addie's birthday. Her actual birthday was the first, we planned to have friends over for burgers and cupcakes on the 2nd but there was ANOTHER crazy storm and lost power so she just opened presents with us that night, then yesterday we had dinner & cupcakes. All three days we practiced singing "Happy Birthday" and talked about blowing out candles, but it didn't do any good. :)

I included some swimming pictures too. Yes, I realize Addie's swimsuit is just a teeny weeny bit on the small side. What can I say...we haven't been swimming since we went to Wisconsin Dells in February! It wasn't warm enough to swim until about a week before Jack was born and I was not going to risk splashing all the water at the pool out when I entered just so that Addie could get a swim in. I'll see what I can find on the sale rack. I must say, we were definitely the most WHITE people out there...looked like Iowans or something.


Happy Birthday Addie! from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

In Case I Forgot To Mention...

We've Moved...

To North Carolina.

The funniest thing about this photo is that I've actually seen worse since living here, but this one was sitting still so that I could get a picture!

Some rebel flag stickers on the tires would really make this truck authentic. :)

Happy Birthday Addie!

Today was Addie's second birthday. In a way, I can't believe she is two years old. It's hard to be with her all day though and not realize how fast she is growing.


All signs point towards the fact that this sweet little baby is definitely two, however, even with the flare ups of unruliness and defiance now and then I am truly excited to see what this next year brings.

Addie is constantly making me smile. Even lately, when she says "No, I don't want to" quite often. It is so hard to not just squeeze her and tell her how cute I think she is with her little independent attitude. She's terrible at being sneaky too and she often calls my attention to her when she's doing something she shouldn't. Like yesterday, I was just picking up from room to room in the house. I walked into the living room, not even looking at her, and immediately I hear, "Oh, Hiiii" in a very matter-of-fact voice. There she was with her legs crossed, sitting in her little green chair, sipping on a Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. It was all down her front but it was so funny.

Another of my favorite things she is doing right now is singing. Nana got her singing while she was with us last month, and it has been fun ever since. She will try to sing to almost any TV theme song and I can almost always cheer her up with a song of some kind. In turn, I'm the one who gets a boost because her little voice is just so sweet when she sings. Next month I'm sure there will be something new I'm enjoying about her.

When Jack was born, a good friend asked me if I felt as strongly for him as I did for Addie when she was born. I responded that I thought I felt stronger but only because I've had the opportunity to see, even for just two years, what's to come. She's given me a great parenting experience so far and I am truly grateful!

Pictures or video of the birthday celebration will come...but this momma might be tired after throwing the celebration so it could be Sunday before they are posted. I was thinking as I uploaded this picture, about how I will probably always want to use this picture for post on Addie's birthday. Then, I wondered if I'd still be blogging in 15 years. Will we have moved on to some fancier format? Should be interesting.