Party Time!

I planned a little "play date with cupcakes" for Bergen's birthday this year. Since we don't go to play group like we did when Logan was her age, she only sees a few kids on a regular basis. And since Logan had a party when he turned two, I couldn't not do something for her.

 

The afternoon couldn't come soon enough for Logan. Bergen may just have wanted the cupcakes. She kept climbing up onto the counter and sticking her fingers in the bowl while I was frosting them. In fact, she put the sprinkles on them!

When the magic hour for the party arrived, Logan and Bergen were both ready for it! Her ball popper and new tricycle were the toys of choice, but the boys had fun with Logan's hot wheel track too.

 

Bergen's friends were nice enough to bring her gifts -- which she loved! She didn't take her necklace off until she had to and we read a new book before going to bed. The puzzle and coloring book will be fun to play with when Logan is at school... I know Bergen will enjoy having them all to herself!

 

The cupcakes were gone pretty quickly since there was more playing to be done. It's fun to watch kids go from one thing to another and back again.

 

 

Thanks Lukey, Bella, Cambria, Caida, Ben (and Logan), for making Bergen's day! We look forward to seeing you all again.

 

More Gifts

Gifts keep trickling in through the mail. Needless to say Bergen is still enjoying her birthday.

Thanks Uncle Eric, Aunt Jolinn and boys, for the very cool McDonald's gift card. Bergen will definitely enjoy putting that to good use! And thank you Uncle Brian and Aunt Audrey for the awesome (made by Audrey) scripture tote. Even though I requested it, Bergen likes it too.

 

I know there are a few more things on their way, so thanks to those of you who thought so kindly of our girlie. We appreciate you all! Bergen says a big THANKS too!

 

Happy Birthday Bergen!

Our daughter is two today! Wow! It certainly doesn't seem like it's been two years since she so grandly entered our world.

For those of you who may not know, Bergen was anxious to join our family and arrived at home...

 

Hooray for Craig -- the delivery man and my hero!


We celebrated with family today and had a wonderful time. Bergen liked her cake and opening her presents, but I think the thing that made her the most happy was having her cousins over to play. Of course Grandma and Grandpa are always a hit!

 

We went with a Hello Kitty theme this year since Bergen isn't really into anything specific yet, and I can still choose for her. Besides, in my mind I saw a cake that had to be made!

 

 

Bergen knew today was her day. She received a ribbon at church and there was a little sign with her name on it outside the nursery door. It was fun to see people wish her a happy birthday and watch her react.

Thanks everyone, for celebrating with us and for making it such a great day!

 

Freezing Fun

It's not always easy for me to let the kids go outside to play when its so cold out there, and we don't have a fenced backyard. They couldn't be corralled in the house any longer today though. Yay for Craig who braved the elements with them so I could let them go!

 

 

 

A Perfect Saturday

Craig has been wanting to take the kids sledding all winter. Finally, last Saturday was the day! I was going to run some errands and later we were going to go out for dinner. However, Bergen didn't seem too sure about spending the afternoon in the cold outdoors. So we all went to the sledding hill and after Bergen had had her fun, she and I left Logan and Craig to it. (I would have taken a few runs myself, but didn't want to risk hurting my knee again.)

 

They must have had a great time because the boys were tired out when they got home. We girls could have continued shopping, but since they were also hungry we headed home to get them.

After a quick change out of their snow gear we were off to Logan's Roadhouse. A family favorite! Dinner was delicious and when finished we headed home again. It really was a perfect Saturday.

Sunday Slumber

I have no idea who took this picture, but it wasn't me! (That's me Bergen is snuggling up to. See my hair on the left?) I happened upon this photo while uploading a bunch from my camera a few days ago, and thought it couldn't be sweeter.

 

I'm guessing it was taken a couple of Sundays ago because Berg is wearing a dress and she doesn't wear them during the week. Not that we're opposed to dresses, we just wear clothes that are a little more casual on week days. And, because since I'm obviously napping here it's probably from a recent weekend when I wasn't feeling well.

I may have to do some snooping around to find out who the secret photographer is in my family. I would totally have taken this picture of my precious sleeping baby if I hadn't been right next to her! Then I would have done what she does when anyone else is sleeping, and yelled in her ear, "WAKE UP!"

Just kidding! I would have let her continue sleeping so that I could enjoy a few moments of peace and quiet on a Sunday afternoon.

What I really want to know is if she climbed up next to me on her own, or if that same someone who took the picture helped her get there.

Snuggin' with Daddy

I think I've mentioned before that we are a snuggling kind of family. I have friends whose kids want nothing to do with being close. I can't imagine that. We "snug" ALL. THE. TIME.

The kids are always snuggling with Craig while he's home during the day. Whenever he's been out and comes back in (and it doesn't matter how long he's been out), they immediately jump on him. It's like they've missed him or something!

One day last week he hadn't been gone, but had been trying to get a little rest before going to work. Well to the kids that was pretty much like being gone since he wasn't paying attention to them... And everyone knows that a dad in a prone position with his eyes closed is even better to snuggle with than a dad who is merely sitting down! So obviously the snuggin' began.

 

 

 

I get my snuggles in the evening. Logan will sidle up to me without hesitation anytime, anywhere. Bergen on the other hand will come to me and say "I nuggle you mama", then reach up and wait for me to pick her up and hold her close.

It's Heaven, I tell you. Heaven.

A Proposal

We got to watch Logan and Bergen's friend Caida today while her mom and dad did some things they needed to do.

We've known Caida for quite a while now and Logan speaks of her often. He also tells me he's going to marry her. Often. So I guess I really shouldn't have been surprised by the exchange I heard today...

 

After lunch the kids were sitting on the couch watching cartoons when Logan turned to Caida and said, "Caida, when you grow up do you want to marry me?" To which Caida replied "Uh Huh."



What's a mom to do? I'm glad Logan's thinking ahead. I'm glad he has plans for his future. I'm glad he is willing to go for what he wants. But I thought a few other things would come into play before he thought about marriage!

Perhaps we should start talking about college and a mission a little more often. We must discuss work and money and responsibility more. If he has plans like this at 4 1/2, I can't imagine what else is in store.

Or maybe I should just say "Here's to the happy couple?" What do you think Carri?

Busy Busy Busy

I haven't taken time to blog lately because I've been busy with other things. I realized today though that things aren't going to be slowing down any time soon, so I'd better get back to it!

Here's a little of what's been going on...

Being sick and taking care of sick family
Organizing sewing/craft room
Being frustrated because cell phone is not working properly
Prepping for Bergen's birthday and Super Bowl shindigs
Being overwhelmed by toys

and also my partial "TO DO" list!

Get some sleep!
Go through entire house and purge
Laundry
Prep for Primary teacher in-service
Committed quilting projects (some to start and) finish - 14
Prep stuff for OUAC, MGR, and Craigslist
Quilts for business
Come up with a name for business
Scrap book and put photos in albums
Menu Planning (not something I've done before, but have wanted to do for sometime)
Organize spices
Thank you notes
Read any of the many books I have on my nightstand
Christmas gifts to make
Exercise?

And seriously, that's not everything! I've got to go!

Little Moments

 

I have Bergen on the brain. She turns two in just over two weeks and I can't believe my baby is growing up! She's my last one so I may be feeling a bit tenderhearted about it, but she is really changing. I can almost see it! And I love capturing the little moments.

Like...
Bergen lined some dolls and stuffed animals up on the couch recently and after covering them with a blanket, kissed them and wished them "sweet dreams" one after the other, until she'd kissed them all.

I was holding her in the kitchen after having taken down the Christmas cards when she saw a picture of our family and said, "Mommy. Family." in the sweetest voice I've ever heard.

While talking with them before bed this week, I told the kids they would be good mommies and daddies. Bergen replied, "Mommy - Bergen. Logan - Daddy." Logan looked at me confused (So Mommy, you're Bergen?) and we laughed and laughed.

I spied her looking in a mirror the other day saying "Hi Boogie" over and over and smiling like she couldn't have been more pleased with herself.

After eating or taking care of another item of business she'll say "I Mommy's sticky baby" or "I Daddy's stinky baby" although sometimes we get a little confused trying to figure out which is which.

We call her Boogie, and she usually agrees that she is Boogie, but lately has been saying "I Beggin!"

She reaches for me whenever I turn away from her and says "Mommy, I come with you."

Bergen is a snuggler. When she wants to snuggle she comes up and says "I nuggle you" then reaches up or climbs into my lap, or Craig's, and puts her head down. She also likes to be near Logan and gets a little too close for comfort once in a while.


I know there are many years ahead for me to enjoy my sweet girl. I just don't want to miss any of the little moments. I love you Berg.

A Toddler Tantrum

I had my first horrific experience with a toddler tantrum today.

I was on the phone, using my business voice, when Bergen started screaming at the top of her lungs because I wouldn't let her type on the computer. So I picked her up, took her to her room and put her in her crib. (Not something I've done before, but she's never acted like that before.) Then I closed the door and resumed my conversation as I walked to the kitchen. I wasn't out there more than one minute when I heard a thud and the door knob to the bedroom jiggling!

Bergen had tried, and somewhat succeeded, to get out of her crib by herself for the first time! I know she's pretty old for not having tried it before (she'll be 2 in a few weeks), and I should have known it was coming. But I didn't. All I can say is it's a good thing my phone call ended quickly and she was unharmed.


So there goes my plan to keep her in her crib as long as possible. I spent a good part of the afternoon looking for bunk beds online. Any guesses as to what our little sweetie will be getting for her birthday?!

And A Happy New Year It Was!

I've been waiting to post about New Year's Day because I wanted to include a video. I can't get it to work though so I'm just going to have to post pictures instead.


New Year's Day was H-E-A-V-E-N. We spent the morning having a yummy breakfast of caramel rolls (or monkey bread as its called in Indiana) and orange juice, and took our time getting ready for the day. Then Craig and Logan left around 10:00am to head to Perfect North Slopes to go skiing.

After the guys had been gone a while Bergen and I cozied up to watch a movie. I found "Fiddler on the Roof" in the $5.00 bin at Walmart and couldn't pass it up. I love that movie! We actually played with the new Potato Heads and watched the movie (with me singing along). It was fun. I thought I'd feel bad about missing out on seeing Logan ski for the first time, but I quite enjoyed spending the day with Bergen. I can see this happening quite a bit when the kids are older -- the girls doing their thing and the boys doing theirs.

Craig said Logan did really well on the slopes. He took right to it and kept asking for his own ski poles. He liked riding the "magic carpet" and making "fries" (skis parallel), but didn't care for making a "pizza" (snow plow). Yikes! He must be my boy! I was a 'reckless, go all out, tuck and fly down the hill as fast as I could' kind of skier when I was young. I was really hoping Logan would be more controlled like Craig.

Anyway, they had a great day and on the way home Logan asked if they could go again tomorrow.

 

After a long day for all of us it was nice to be together again by nighttime. I certainly hope the day set a precedent for what the new year has in store for us.
Like I said, Heaven.

The New Year is Here

I often make New Year's resolutions, but don't always write them down or follow through... I'm hoping this year will be different. That being said, it's past time for bed. Goodnight.