Winter Storm

This week has been the coldest it's been in 15 years. Schools and most of the area has been pretty much closed down for 4 days. Monday I actually did some shopping in anticipation of the storm and I'm glad I did. Tuesday our garage was frozen shut and there was snow and several inches of ice covering the ground. The airport shut down and so did most of the metroplex. Wednesday wasn't much better, and Thursday we got more snow. Travis did manage to slide to the airport on Thursday so he could head to work. The 25 minute drive took him an hour and a half. It's been pretty crazy out there but I'm happy to say Bergen and I stayed nice and warm inside and have survived 5 days without leaving home.

Tuesday Bergen wasn't taking no for an answer to go outside. So finally we sent him out and he was back in about 30 seconds. Ok I know he isn't well bundled, but we didn't want to be out there so that was kind of the point.

The guilt has been eating at me long enough. Today I spend almost a half hour getting us bundled up and we went out to play in the snow. Glad I did too because it's finally above freezing temperatures and the snow is melting fast! Bergen's got 2 pairs of socks pulled up to his knees, a shirt, footie pajamas, jeans, two jackets and gloves (it was the best I could come up with).

And for footwear...to accommodate the extra layers, a pair of 3 sizes too big Sunday shoes I had packed away in the closet. And a good thing too because nothing else was working. I'm happy to report his feet stayed dry AND warm!

He's got the snowball down. See steps 1-4 below: find good snow, pick it up, bring the arm back, and launch.

Humans must be born with this intuition because I did NOT show him! He did it all on his own! I was cracking up and he thought it was really funny to feed me the snow. After this initial test Bergen would put the snow in his mouth but spit it out. Must have been too cold :)

'No-min" building...

...and "no-min" throwing.

We were out there for almost an hour before he wanted to come back in. So glad I finally got the motivation to get us out there and make another fun memory together!

Mommy sure loves her Bergen!

And just like that I've forgotten all about the food that's been purposely thrown onto the floor, the toys that have been dumped out, the fits over not getting to play with a cup and the water spout on the fridge, and the train that made solid contact with my cheek bone while saying prayer. It's nice to have moments to forget these kinds of things...for however long that moment may be :)

Story Telling

I wish oh wish I knew what this story was about! All I know is that it's pretty funny and if I had to take a guess it was something about driving and maybe an airplane. I grabbed the camera to catch his yogurt face but kept clicking as his story went on. Travis and I just stood there laughing!

January Wrap Up: Makeup - Rice - BIG Mess

This should probably be 3 separate posts, but the pics are already here so we'll just go with it.

Makeup

Sorry future Bergen, yes your mom let you put on makeup just this one time. In my defense, you did it to yourself. It's not like I sat you up and gave you a makeover :) Ok, yes Bergen has makeup on. Naturally he's very interested in my makeup bag and it's a regular occurrence to keep him out. Well this particular morning I just let it go. He sat on the counter while I was getting ready and instead of encouraging him to play with the toothbrushes and floss I let him do his thing. He followed what I was doing very well. I finished using something, dropped it in the bag, he pulled it out, and copied what I had just done. I wish I had a video of him trying to curl his eyelashes. Now that was some funny scrunched up faces :) Voila! This is his transformation. Eyeshadow, liner, and blush. Can you tell he's very right handed :)

What do you think? Considering, it could've been a lot worse!

Rice

Brilliant idea I had! Ok maybe I read it somewhere, I can't remember. It's like a mini indoor sandbox. Some rice, some utensils, a cup, and some toys to burry. It was a very entertaining 45 minutes! I was even having fun. And then he figured out throwing handfuls of rice off the table was slightly more fun. Bummer :) It was good while it lasted. After cleaning up a blanket of rice on the kitchen floor I discovered it was probably less than 1/3 of a cup that we lost...but 1/3 of a cup sure can cover a lot of area!

BIG Mess

Bergen was having a snack when I got a phone call. I was talking where I could see his head, but I never seemed to notice what his hands were doing. It must have been an intense call, except I forgot what it was all about once I saw this. All the goldfish crushed and scatted on the floor. He was trying to get them into the trash can, right? I'll go with that one :) And even though this NutraGrain bar was on the table, he managed to reach it and mush every last piece of it between his fingers. Oh Buggy! You silly boy! Of the handful of words he says, mess is one of them. I wonder why...or do I? :)

Movie Night

I wish I remembered to do this more often! I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Bergen LOVES to help in the kitchen (yes, there was sarcasm there). In fact he's even started pulling out multiple items to be used when making, or when he wants to eat something specific. And he's got all the right items for the job too! Usually I take the hint, although the morning I was getting dressed in the closet and he brought me a pot and a box of macaroni & cheese I held off until lunch to make that. So when I think about it, it works great to make popcorn and spend a few quiet moments on the couch together before getting ready for bed. Bergen sits for a few shows, but without fail he requests to watch trains! So glad I can record them so they are easily accessible for our movie nights :)

I love how he's saying "cheeeeeese", but still watching the TV.

He does excellent with a cup now. Unless he's confined to his seat I still prefer water in it though...just in case. He looks so grown up!

Dance for the Camera

New Year's Eve was quite the night for us...well not really. In fact it was no different from any other ordinary night. Travis was at work and Bergen and I went to bed as regularly scheduled. Lame I know!

But Bergen was in the dancing mood that day. He must have known others were out partying it up and some were probably even dancing :) He was being so cute I wanted to record him, but wondered if getting up to get the camera was even worth it...since I rarely get what I want because he just wants the camera! For whatever reason I asked him if mommy could take his picture. He stops dancing, learns forward, and says, "Chit-chur?" And runs to the drawer with the camera. After getting the camera I was shocked when he ran back to position and resumed dancing. AND then he even performed for me! What a cutie :)

After his performance he wanted to see it. I think he watched 4 or 5 times on the camera screen pointing and laughing. I think he thinks he's cute too.

Christmas 2010

Once again Christmas came to our house a few days early this year since Travis was working. And then the craziest thing ever happened to us. Travis was in Chicago ready to go and got dumped off his trip Christmas Eve! So he miraculously made it home in time for dinner and we got to spend all of Christmas day together as a family...just too bad we had already opened all our presents a few days before :)

Here's our little 3 tree Christmas tree. I always worry that there won't be enough, but by the time I'm done shopping (and pretty much anything Travis and I buy for ourselves in the couple of months leading up to Christmas we just save and say, "here, you can give this to me for Christmas."), and presents have trickled in by mail, I'm always surprised at the big pile of presents. Note to self: don't forget this next year! Course I always say that :)

Us on our early Christmas morning.

Bergen likes to help daddy around the house with the "man" stuff.

And let's face it, I'm doing my best to raise a neat and tiddy child, on some days that goes well and Bergen helps mommy with the "keeping our home nice" stuff :) I love this and so does he. So much so when I can't stand the sound of the running vacuum any longer I actually have to hid it in the pantry.

A fun tent to play in....

...or hide...

...and the tunnel that connects to it for a side door escape route. I was climbing thru when Bergen chased after me and went up and over me on his own. It was pretty funny! This tunnel has already gotten lots of use. Bergen loves to be chased and using the tunnel to chase after him or surprise him on the other end has brought LOTS of giggles and happy screams.

Can a boy ever have too many planes, trains, and automobiles? I was really excited to get him these Chuggington trains! So far it's the only show he really watches more than a few seconds of and in the last couple of weeks he actually asks to watch it. That is he points to the TV or holds the remote, pumps his arm up and down, and says "choo choo."

If a boy can't have too many planes, trains, or automobiles, then he definitely can't have too many dump trucks and lion cars.

So this is a clip of Bergen's style of unwrapping: Get every little piece of paper off before worrying about what the present actually is.

Here it is again. Seriously, why do we wrap their presents still packaged up? We never look cool as we fumble and stumble to get it out! I'm just wondering? :)

I must say I was very impressed with my hubby this year! He did a fantastic job thinking of Bergen and I and actually getting a surprise for each of us on his own. I know he was very excited to give Bergen something that he would like playing with, and it was even more fun because I had no clue what it was. I just meant a lot to me to have him think of us and do something for us all on his own. Thanks hun! (But now you've sent a standard for yourself...hope you're up to again next year! *wink wink*)

What a fun Christmas! Mostly because of Bergen and the excitement I felt as I got things for him, and a secondly mostly because Travis got to be home, and a third mostly because we have awesome friends that brought us goodies and shared time and meals with us that even though we didn't get to be with any of our family this year we were not alone. We miss our family though and wish it were easier to spend time together more often!

Trampoline Time

Lately Bergen has taken extra interest in the trampoline. He loves "jumping" on it! I love that it's been nice enough weather that the boys can go out there and Bergen is plenty occupied during that getting hungry and tired time of the day, and I can make dinner quickly and peacefully. When they play outside I like to leave the door cracked open so I can hear them. I love it when Bergen comes to the door, leans in, and blurts out a paragraph of something, as if to check in with me and tell me what he's doing. Then he runs off to keep playing. It's so cute!

At the beginning of the winter he was not happy to be wearing long sleeves. He would pull at them and fuss, and footed jammies were also a no go! After Aunt Helen figured out he should see how cute he looked in the jammies and showed him in a mirror, he decided they were in fact pretty cool. Now he's fine with the long sleeves and has even taken a liking to hoodies. He frequently brings me one to put on and it HAS to be zipped up! And sometimes the hood has to be on his head too.

"Hey dad, look!"

"You have a zipper too!"

"Hi mom. I'm just having fun with dad."

Love my boys!

2010's Christmas Card & Letter

Just for fun, here is one of many pictures that didn't make the card this year :)

And when we finally had a good one, Bergen was MORE than happy to be done and get to play.

Doesn't he look so big?!