Little of This and That

I thought we looked cute all dressed up for church (and I was having a good hair day) I just couldn't pass up the chance to snap a family photo.Bergen CAM...taking pictures of us working on our entryway project.

Travis was standing on the ladder putting nails in the wall. All of a sudden I hear Travis yell, "Holy Cow!" Oh no! What's wrong? He said, "I turned my head and Bergen was eye level with me. It surprised me!" So apparently Bergen knows how to climb a ladder. GREAT! Well at least he also knows how to climb down on his own :)
This is the forte daddy and Bergen built. Bergen has fun playing in these kind of fortes!
Bergen likes to help me vacuum in the house, and this is how he wants to help daddy outside.

After a morning of shopping at Ikea with friends, we got an ice cream cone on our way out to the car. For his first time eating an ice cream cone, he sure picked up on the idea quickly! Bergen decided he was plenty happy to plop down next to the car and finish his half. It's a good thing it wasn't a busy day in the parking lot.

Play Hard Sleep Hard

After a big day of playing at the park and grocery shopping, he just couldn't stay awake any longer. Bergen fell asleep in the car on the way home but we only had about a half hour before we needed to leave again to get daddy at the airport. Instead of putting him in bed I laid him on the couch while I unloaded the groceries. All I could think was he's getting so big!

It was a little surprising to think he was asleep and then see a little figure come walking around the corner. I loved how when he woke up he just climbed down off the couch, without making any noise, to come find me. (End of September)

Bergen in Tiny Town, TX

While Travis and I got to ride the dirt bikes, Bergen took turns riding on the dune buggy with us. He also was in heaven just being outside with yards and yards to run, play, and explore!

He could've stayed there all day long. And if it hadn't started raining as we were packing up I don't know how we ever would've gotten him into the car.

The property we were on had lots of old farm items tossed to the side, getting nice and rustic. Being there could be like a treasure hunt in that who knows what you could find. Pieces of equipment, parts of buildings, rusty bikes, tubs, all kinds of fun stuff. Some of it reminded me of the things I saw all the time as a kid...maybe that's why Bergen liked it there so much. He was feeling my roots :)

Tiny Town, TX

All year Travis has been buying and selling motorcycles and making a little money off each one. He came across this dune buggy and decided to do the same. In the meantime, our neighbors invited us to take it an hour away to their property to spend the morning playing.

And playing we did!

Our neighbors have dirt bikes and let Travis enjoy them a bit. They suggested I try. I've never ridden a bike before and was trying to get out of it but finally caved. I started with Travis sitting on the bike behind me until I got the feel of it. It turned out to be much easier than I had been imagining all these years. And guess what? It's REALLY fun! :)

Murder Mystery

Travis and I got to go to a Murder Mystery dinner at the Brownings. It was set in the 50's and I had a lot of fun getting dressed up for my part of Penny. Curled hair and pin curled bangs, pearl necklace and bracelet, sweater, and pumps. Course I've always been into clothes so it's no wonder I had fun doing that :)

Travis also did a pretty good job playing the kid who never grew up (hmmm, was that intentional?). He sprayed his hair black and slicked it to go with his leather jacket.

It was a lot of fun spending the evening with the Brownings, Lillywhites, and Dinkels!

A Halloween Sneak Peak

Pumpkin Patch

Last week we went to the pumpkin patch (ok, it's really just a bunch of pumpkins placed in a field, but you get the idea). I had a hayday taking pictures...as you will see. It is finally starting to cool off and we can really enjoy being outside and seeing all the fall colors.

Timers are great...except when they take longer than Bergen is willing to sit for it :)

This time Bergen decided to do some jumping :) I love how this captures what he really likes to do...jump! He practices it quite frequently. The other day I think he actually got both feet off the ground, because on his way down his balance was pretty off and he ended up on his back. He seemed quite surprised by it, but got right back up and continued to "jump".

Don't know why but I just LOVE this one.

This excited face is an expression that is SO Bergen! Even though it's blurry how could I not share :)

This one looks like a pretty good one!

There was a big haystack for climbing, and perfect for jumping off!

A pumpkin house.

And the jail. Bergen could've played in here all day! Maybe daddy should build him one...but maybe we will call it something other than the jail :)

Hmmm, I wonder what's over here?

There's that expression again. It sure is a contagious one!

Jail #2. Not quite as fun, but a happy picture with mom.

A few animals to see. Bergen wasn't at all afraid of this BIG horse (well, big compared to little Bergen).

And a hayride. I think Bergen had fun, but he probably would rather have driven the tractor himself.

We caught a quite moment at the blow up pumpkin. Once he was in there I was wondering how we were ever going to get him out. Much to my surprise after playing for a while he decided that was enough and came out willingly. Phew!

Well, I guess that's it. Time to go home.

It was a super fun outing to do all together, and a good reminder to us to get out and make some memories!

A Summer Full of Swimming

We spent a lot of time at the pool this summer. It's amazing how big of a difference 4 months can make!

At the beginning of the summer (last week in May) Bergen wasn't even walking as him main mode of transportation yet. He mostly stood next to things and splashed a little, or clung to us as we hung out in the deep end. We could dunk him under the water while he held his breath, and he didn't mind it too much but only wanted to do it 3 or 4 times in a row before he was done with that swimming activity.

Lots of time in the water together, lots of snacks on the pool deck, and 4 months later (last week of September) we get this...

A little boy that is running around the pool, in and out for hours at a time, filling up buckets and dumping them, throwing water bomb balls, and climbing the crab that squirts water out him mouth. How fun! Oh yes, and the holding his breath to go under the water activity...well now he's good after 1 or 2 dunks :) It will be very fun to see how he likes swimming in another 7 months from now.