Days of Our Lives

I think I'm starting to see a pattern in my blogging. One video a week to sum it up! Even at that, it's just clips of us around the house. I guess that's just all that's happening here. Every day lately seems about the same. Feed baby, Addie wakes, make waffles, baby sleeps, take a shower, feed baby, baby sleeps, lunchtime, feed baby, Addie sleeps, baby sleeps, Addie wakes, feed baby, snack time for Addie, baby sleeps, make dinner, feed baby, eat dinner, bathe baby, baby sleeps, bathe Addie, Addie sleeps, feed baby, baby sleeps, GO TO BED! Oh, and how could I forget...diapers diapers diapers!

Wake up in the middle of the night, of course, to feed baby. Hit repeat for next day. We change up the sequence in various exciting ways like going to the mall, Target, Walmart, walking, laundry, dishes or other cleaning. I guess that explains my lack of interesting blogging. :)

Yesterday we changed it up by breaking out an early birthday present (the Colorwonder markers and Tigger & Pooh book) from Grandpa Berg. New toys have become something I think I enjoy more than Addie does.


"Normal" Life from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

Oh, The Insanity

I started to type out the long version, but it was too long. Short version: House got real hot, AC got REAL loud, new AC ordered, man came to install it, major storm hit at the same time, power went out, stayed out, cell phone was out of charge, loaded hot babies (pulled out of their beds) into the car and drove circles trying to figure out what to do, hotels were all full, eventually Anthony got a friend to drive over, we followed her back to her house, got to bed around midnight, spent 2 days mooching off of friends, 3 of us living in one room for 2 days, late night feedings and diaper changes in the dark with a 2 yr old, AC got fixed, house cooled down, YEAH!!!

Anthony comes home to join in the fun tomorrow.

Today Addie was cradling her baby doll in her arms, walking, and swaying from side to side while trying to put Jack's pacifier in the baby's mouth and saying "Try it, you'll like it." Unfortunately, Jack is not as in love with his paci as I might like so I may have said this statement a few times. :)

Other new "statements" include "Stop it", "Don't do that", and "I don't want to."

Some random/recent pictures of my cuties who have endured the insanity so much better than I ever could have imagined:

Wish You Were Here

Sorry if we're boring everyone with the family videos! I've been making these videos for Anthony anyway, so I might as well post them here for everyone to see. :)


We Miss Daddy from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

Southern Hospitality

We've had a nice dose of Southern Hospitality since moving here and it's been GREAT!

The gal across the street brought over a peaches and cream pie the other day...oh wow.

T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

It was so stinking good. Yes, I said "was." Why bother to make breakfast when there is such a great option. Bread, dairy, and fruit all in one...the perfect breakfast or dessert, whatever you're looking for. She and her husband are both fellows here so I was also impressed that she found the time to do it. They have 2 little girls that I know Addie will enjoy playing with.

Then...my next door neighbor washed my car for me. He was just out washing his and he thought he'd wash mine too. So nice! Sadly I had not left the house the day he did it, so he could have driven off with the car and I wouldn't have had a clue. Either way, it was so great. He has a granddaughter the same age as Addie so he seems to enjoy visiting with her.

And yesterday the State Farm lady, Dot, called needing my signature to set up automatic payments on our insurance. She had already talked to Anthony and told him he was insane for moving me to North Carolina with a new baby and a 2 year old and then leaving for three weeks. She insisted on coming by the house with the document so that I wouldn't have to go to the trouble. So refreshing, especially since I have had the office in Iowa City hound me last minute that if I didn't drop everything and get into the office by 5 p.m. on any given day our insurance would be dropped.

As I was giving her directions to our home, I told her to turn onto Ebert. She repeated me saying, "Okay, turn on Ahhbert." Without even thinking I said, "No, EEEbert. E.B.E.R.T."

She laughed and said, "I know, but it's called Ahhbert down here hon." Okay, how dumb did I sound correcting her??

I went at Addie's hair with the scissors again yesterday too. Here's the end result. If I keep it short like this, all I have to do is slip a clip in it every morning. Very nice. This is probably the equivalent of the "Orphan Annie" curly do my mom had on me until I was like 10 while I longed to have long luxurious locks of hair flowing in the breeze like the other girls. I don't think it did any permanent damage to me to have to beg my mom to please stop cutting my hair, so I'm sure Addie will be fine. And don't you love the off the shoulder look with her shirt?

How We Pass the Time

Just a few clips I compiled from the past week or so. Our days are pretty much the same everyday, but we're still having fun. Only 13 days until Anthony joins us from Iowa!

Happy Days from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

By The Way

Oh, by the way...on June 22nd Anthony graduated from residency. I was in the hospital so he went all by himself - we had just a little bit of stuff happening all at once! You won't find me complaining of being bored any time in the near future. 

Despite the fact that the graduation when rather unnoticed with all of the other events going on, it is such an accomplishment and I am so proud of Anthony for what he has done. I know he's been happy with the training he received at the University of Iowa and it has been four well spent, but challenging, years. We are both happy it's over and ready to settle down!

Head Above Water

We're still alive, as far as I can tell! I think the last time I posted I was still in the hospital. After we left the hospital, we stayed at a VERY generous friend's house for 5 days so that I could recover on a real bed while our home was packed and shipped away. Then Addie, Jack and I loaded up with Pops and Nana (my parents) in their RV and made the trip east to Winston Salem, NC. About 30 bumpy hours later we arrived at our new home.

Some things I remember from the trip:

We drove through Peoria (where the Shroeders just moved.) I thought it was very pretty from the road. :) I was actually very jealous of the boaters on the river who were NOT recovering from surgery in an RV as they moved their family across the country. I recall really wanting to be them. Random, I know.

We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for dinner & I had no idea where we were. (Let me preface that we stopped here solely because I said Addie would eat well there, which she totally did not. I on the other hand felt very sick after the meal!) All of the rocking chairs in front of the restaurant were full of people who were just hanging out and these were very STRANGE looking people. I turned to my dad and asked where we were...his reply, "Kentucky." It all made sense then.

We slept somewhere in West Virginia and the drive was really pretty that next morning. It was even bumpier because of the windy roads and mountains...but very pretty. Unfortunately, I did not get to witness any West Virginians in person. Too bad, I was curious.

That's mostly what I recall...I was sleeping or feeding the baby for the rest of the time. My meds tend to scramble my brain a bit too, so I'm sure I saw more than this and just can't remember! Here's what Nana captured of the trip with her iPhone.


Addie rode in front with Pops and LOVED it! Here she is with her cool shades. 
This is what Jack thought of the trip. 
Addie was a champ about settling down for a nap in her carseat. The poor girl spent SO much time in that seat!
Pops now has all three of our "Little Einsteins" episodes memorized because even though I tried to change out the DVDs, Addie begged and pleaded to watch the same one over and over. Nana even reclined her chair back for her. It was a pretty cozy deal I must say. 
Jack just chilling amidst the commotion. 
Gotta love those cheeks! 
Did I mention Addie thinks Pops is the COOLEST? Sometimes he gets called "Popsie." Somehow this version of his nickname got scrambled with Addie into "Toppy." Either way, she thinks Toppy is the man. 

So, there is a little update on our little adventure. Things are quieting down some here. I'm slowly whittling through the last of the boxes (the ones we've decided to actually open.) We definitely miss our friends in Iowa City. It would be so nice for miss Addie to have some friends to play with...so I'm working on finding some playgroups for her. She's been a champ about all of the changes though and she is CRAZY about "Baby Gack!" More photos of that to come! 

Makin' Memories

Cheese!! Well, I now have three favorite people on the planet and here they are. :) 

Addie came up to meet Jack both yesterday and today. It actually went really well, which surprised me. Not because I think she won't love the baby, but she generally does terrible in hospital settings. We had snacks ready for both visits and she seemed distracted enough by the room to keep fear away. She did cry when I held the baby, but oh well. It's a starting point, right?

So here's one of many funny labor and delivery stories from the week. On Friday night, after failing to progress through labor for almost 48 hours, I was in this weird position called the "Texas Roll" in an effort to get Jack out of my pelvis and turned around properly. I was twisted around, arms in odd places, face planted into the pillow, and the bed was tilted head down. Keep in mind, I'd also had a epidural/spinal combination back when they thought labor would move forward so my legs were completely gone. 

Despite my best efforts to engage Anthony in the process, he was on the couch with his iPod on sleeping. This is funny on a number of levels, but seeing as I don't actually LIKE to be touched much and I had practically begged him to just hold hands with me it was comical. When my position got to be more than I could stand and I thought I would either lose the arm that had no circulation or throw up, I started calling for him. No matter how loud I got, he didn't move. I finally resorted to stretching as far as I could manage for some Oreos he'd been enjoying in front of my nose. It only took throwing one Oreo at him to get his attention, so I guess he gets points for that. :) 

Last night before bed I said something sarcastic about the fact that he'd slept 9 long hours on the "uncomfortable" couch in my hospital room. His reply was that he ALWAYS woke up when I called him. Hmmm...short short memory. 

Jack Wilson Berg

We are so happy to announce that our son has joined us! Jack Wilson Berg is his name. He was born at 11:56 p.m. on Friday, June 20th. His weight was 8 pounds 7 ounces. He is so sweet and right now we think he looks mostly like his sister! We've decided we only produce one flavor of baby here.

Contractions started overnight on Tuesday and picked up to every five minutes by Wednesday night. Unfortunately though, they didn't do anything but get stronger over the next 24 hours without progressing labor. Late last night after all kinds of failed attempts to get things moving along, we gave up and went to cesarean section.

So Addie was born c-section because she was breach, and this sweet boy followed suit because he was transverse (sideways.) Either way, we are thrilled to have a second healthy child and today has been so fun just hanging out with baby Jack. And, should we have a third child there will be no question about scheduling a c-section right from the beginning.

Escape the Flood

Well, we've enjoyed record snowfall as well as record cold temperatures here in Iowa this year and then just two weeks ago there was a record tornado that completely wiped out a town with its 100 mph winds. That wasn't enough though, now we're privileged enough to experience the worst flooding recorded in modern history. We seriously can't get out of here fast enough! 

Above is a photo of the south side of Iowa City. 
This lovely picture is the sewer treatment plant that Anthony helped to sandbag. He's become quite the sandbagging expert during all of this. I'm thinking maybe I should have joined in...the baby might be here by now if I had! :)

Yesterday morning there was still a chance that the remaining route to my hospital was going to flood. Anthony read on the hospital website that anyone needing to get across the river from our side of town to the hospital would need to be transported via a Black Hawk helicopter. He was like a child at Christmas just dreaming that all of this would fall into place and he could accompany his laboring wife to the hospital in a helicopter. I'm just sad baby didn't come, but I can't say I'm disappointed to have missed the helicopter ride during labor. 

Favorites

Here are just a few of my favorite conversations/moments during this pregnancy. Hopefully we'll be having a grand finale sometime between now and Monday? Hopefully...

Conversation with Addie (39 weeks)

Addie: (Pointing to my stomach) Mommy's Jack!

Me: Yes! That's right...You are so smart...

Addie: (Pointing to her stomach) Addie's Jack!

Me: Hmmm

Conversation with My Doctor (28-29 weeks)

Me: I didn't know that could happen when you were pregnant!

Dr: Yeah, it happens to a lot of women.

Me: When will it go away?

Dr: I'm not sure really.

Me: How do I keep it from getting worse?

Dr: There's really nothing you can do.

Me: GREAT!!!

Conversation with Anthony (33-34 weeks)

Anthony: You look GREAT!

Me: Huh?

Before I can produce a dignified, gracious thank you...

Anthony: I mean, considering...

Me: That's what I thought. :)

Conversation with Large Black Man Working at Jimmy Johns (39 weeks)

Me: Hi, can I get a #1 easy on the mayo?

JJ Man: Girl, you better get that baby outta you!

Me: Thanks, I'm working on it. :)

Conversation(s) I wished I'd done differently (30 PLUS weeks)

Someone I hardly know that I've been talking to for at least 15 minutes...usually at a park or play area: So, are you expecting?

Me: No, I'm just pear shaped.

People Aside from Anthony, Addie, and My Doctor To Pat My Tummy:

ZERO

What can I say, it pays to be unapproachable!

Success!! Well...almost.

Addie finally got a pair of shoes on her feet all by herself - well, at least a pair of her OWN shoes. You can see that the toes are pointing outward, hinting that they are on the wrong feet, but she was still able to run pretty well in them. :) Side note, in the 30 seconds it took me to get the camera out and take this picture she said "cheese" at least 10 times.

Summer is Here!

I don't know what was up today, but EVERYONE had a party or event! Everything was also outside today, so I opted out of everything but one birthday party and dinner with friends while Anthony and Addie did the rest. They started their morning at the farmer's market with some live music. There is a little bit of dancing in my compilation and that is from the farmer's market. Then they went over to the church for the Handcart Festival.

Somewhere in there they went to a few homes in the Parade of Homes. Anthony said that Addie frequently walked into the homes calling them "Nana's house." She also went up to one of the sales people and said "cute house!" I guess it was a hit cause the lady went to find the builder so Addie could repeat it and she put on quite a show for them. After that Anthony went to an Anesthesia department barbecue and ate his weight in meat.


Summertime from Julie Berg on Vimeo.

I dressed Addie in her new "Aloha" shirt because the birthday party we went to was at a friend's house who is from Hawaii. It's a little big, hence the off the shoulder look, but I'm sure she'll grow into it...she's been growing like a weed lately! The headband was cuter in the store than on her too. I had to at least try it and see if I could stand it! I think I'll put it away for a while until she has more hair and just stick to pigtails and bows for now.

Shoes and Smiles

Addie is OBSESSED with Anthony's shoes this week! It's seriously provided hours of entertainment & I'm certainly not about to complain. I actually have to promise her that we'll come back and play with the shoes just to get her into the car.

This picture also demonstrates her new found ability to pose for the camera. She's learned to say "cheese" for pictures, so maybe our days of scowling for the camera are over? I can only hope! :)

**I come to my blog page to navigate to other friends blogs, so as I did that tonight I had to laugh at this picture. While other people take the time to edit their photos, create a nice setting for the picture, etc... I have a lovely bag of trash sitting in the background. How classy are we?

Little Jack's Corner

Poor little baby boy! His little corner of space, including one of my drawers isn't much compared to the fun we had getting Addie's room (below) ready for her. Hopefully, he won't need counseling over the discrepancy. Anthony keeps reminding me that he slept in a dresser drawer when he was a newborn. Somehow that doesn't really make me feel much better. The cute blue train on the dresser is compliments of talented Aunt Serena!



Really, I'm not stressed that this baby will feel any less loved. I just think the stark difference in our preparation is funny.

Father-Toddler Camp Out

Anthony and Addie went to our church's annual Father-Toddler camp out last night. He opted to bring her home when she was tired instead of trying the pack 'n play in a tent route, but they had a good time either way. Anthony came home inspired to turn us into campers and spent most of the evening shopping for tents with multiple "rooms" and air conditioners in an effort to lure me.

I enjoyed a fun dinner out with other wives whose hubbies were camping. So nice! :)

Love My Girl

No interesting events going on this week...we're just plugging along through Anthony's LAST SICU rotation EVER. :) We won't be shedding tears over this one. I thought Addie was pretty cute in her little play dress on Saturday, so I took some pictures. She tolerated it fairly well. The HVAC vents on our main level are in the floor, so she loves to stand over them in this dress. The cold air fills up her dress and she shivers saying "cold!" She entertained herself getting on and off of the vent for quite a while the other day.

Other things Addie is up to: She loves to "help." Anytime I'm folding laundry or unloading the dishwasher she joins me to help. She just removes everything from the laundry basket as fast as she can, or the bottom rack of the dishwasher and hands it to me saying "I'm helping!" over and over again. It's a real trick to get things put away as fast as she hands them to me. The upside is that it all gets done very quickly so I guess in a way she really is helping. :)

In preparation for the new baby, she is also climbing into the SUV and up to her carseat all by herself and walking down the stairs holding on to the rail. We still have to work on not getting distracted at both tasks, but it's progress for now. She generally likes to take her time on each step and talk about where daddy is (daddy sleeping? daddy working?), whether she can play with her stroller, or where her hat like Julia's (her friend) is. It's a real problem when I have my hands full of grocery bags and I've had too much water to drink! Oh well. Good thing she's so stinking cute.

Old Chicago Pizza

We had playgroup at Old Chicago Pizza today. It was pretty fun even though Miss Addie had the wiggles pretty bad. I think there were at least 15 to 18 toddlers in our group (under 3 years old!) They had it all set up for us. Each child made their own personal sized pizza, then we got to go back into the kitchen to watch them put them in the oven and demonstrate how they make a large pizza.



Addie enjoyed the pizza (as did I!) She wouldn't smile for the camera, but Emily Bylund managed to get this funny shot of me trying to make her smile. Right after Emily snapped the camera Addie smiled. Silly girl. I think she was just in a bad mood cause she was the only kid who's mother forced her to wear a full coverage bib. I'll loosen up...someday! I have let her dig in dirt a few times this spring. It's progress. :)

I'm IT!

Abby tagged me a week or MORE ago... here goes!

* I am - a work in progress!

* I want - to do my best.

* I have - everything I could ask for plus SO much more!

* I wish - I could ALWAYS remember that I have everything I could ask for!

* I hate - feeling like I'm forgetting something.

* I miss - having family and good friends near by...or being able to travel to go see them.

* I fear - anything bad happening to Anthony or Addie.

* I feel - Swollen.

* I hear - Anthony emptying a Pringles can downstairs and Addie's fan blowing in her room upstairs while she snoozes.

* I smell - clean house. It's so good.

* I crave - nothing at the moment. It's a MIRACLE!

* I search - for meaningful ways to spend my time.

* I wonder - how I'm doing.

* I regret - not "getting it" yet.

* I love - sneaking into Addie's room at night to check on her. If she's cold she's on her tummy with her legs and arms curled under her. If she's warm, she's on her back with her hands behind her head and her legs spread out. So cute either way.

* I ache - in my back and feet tonight.

* I care - deeply about the people in my life.

* I always - check the front door to make sure it's locked. Or I bug Anthony until he does! :)

* I believe - I'm not in charge, and that's a good thing.

* I dance - in the car with Addie to just about any kind of music.

* I sing - to my ipod playlist while I clean. It makes it so much more enjoyable - for me - maybe not for anyone who can hear me.

* I cry - easily at the same movies all the time, but struggle often with real life. My waterworks don't have good timing.

* I don't always - throw the Crystal Light package away. It drives Anthony crazy. :)

* I fight - never! Discuss, deliberate, debate...

* I write - a list of "to do" items when I'm feeling overwhelmed. Did it yesterday & it was great crossing things off today!

* I never - lose the remote control. It's all Anthony. (He's looking for it right now - oh, he just found it right where I said he would find it almost a WEEK ago! Seriously, just a few minutes ago I said, "You'd rather watch TV on your little iphone screen than get up and find your remote?")

* I listen - to Addie on the monitor while I shower every morning. I love listening to her play!

* I need - to go to bed.

* I am happy - when I watch Anthony and Addie play together.

Mother's Day

In the words of Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary:

ap·pre·ci·ate

a: to grasp the nature, worth, quality, or significance of
b: to value or admire highly
c: to judge with heightened perception or understanding : be fully aware of
d: to recognize with gratitude

synonyms: value, prize, treasure, cherish mean to hold in high estimation. appreciate often connotes sufficient understanding to enjoy or admire a thing's excellence. value implies rating a thing highly for its intrinsic worth. prize implies taking a deep pride in something one possesses. treasure emphasizes jealously safeguarding something considered precious. cherish implies a special love and care for something.

See in addition: understand



I've often heard people comment on how becoming a parent made them appreciate the things their own parents did for them as children. For me, I feel like I've really honestly always been grateful for my mother. I've struggled to find the words I feel towards her since becoming a mom, but this week a thought came to me: Appreciating my mother means more than just being thankful.

Anthony was on call Monday night and I had a doctor's appointment run late, so Addie and I were at Panera having dinner. She was just happily eating her grilled cheese and saying "hi" to everyone that passed while stealing bits of my salad and jabbering about random things. Despite the simplicity of the occasion, we were really having a great time together. Right then it struck me. Having become a mother has helped me appreciate my own mother the way that people appreciate culinary creations, rare automobiles, or fine art only after having experienced them.

I appreciate her life as a mother so differently now that I have had a taste of it and it feels good to know a little of the kind of joy she has experienced because of it - and to know that there is more to come! Sometimes when Addie is sick and just needing to be rocked in the middle of the night, I remember times when my own mother was rocking me in the middle of the night. I remember the comfort that it brought to me and it is so exciting to know that I can give that to Addie. When I think about things like that, I just don't care about being tired!

Every Mother's Day my thoughts have always turned to my mother and our relationship. Now there is this strange new dimension of wondering how I'm reflecting her in my own relationship with my children. The happiness I experience when I comfort, love, play with, or teach Addie only adds to the great appreciation I have for my mother. It's amazing how much can change in such a short amount of time. I hope all my friends and family who read this blog have a wonderful Mother's Day!