Banged up boy

James is a master at banging up his face. For some reason when he falls he always hits his nose and the top left spot on his forehead. You can see from the smile, though, he doesn't let it get him down.

Gap girl

In the span of two months Anna has shed two of her baby teeth, both while eating. The first she truly lost - swallowing it before she could put it under her pillow. She was very concerned the tooth fairy would not come but we assured her that would not be the case. When she lost her second tooth she was very careful to keep track of it.

Gap # 1!

Gap # 2!

Hard to believe this crazy girl is growing up so fast!

Off to preschool

All smiles before school.

A few days after Anna's first day of "real" school, James started preschool. Leading up to the day he was not very enthusiastic. If you asked him if he was going to school you might get a dismissive shrug or a flat out "No!". I did hold out some hope that his attitude was shifting when we visited his school to meet his teachers and visit his classroom. On that day he eagerly explored the classroom and was thrilled to find trucks, puzzles, and even a sand box.

On the morning of the big day he showed no concerns. In fact, unlike his sister, we got an excellent "first day" photo, smiles and all. Anna refused to cooperate for pictures on her first day. And, when I walked him into his classroom he seemed great. Until he realized I was going to leave. Then he started to whimper and his bottom lip started shaking and he gave me what Jason and I have termed "the saddest look in the world". Then I started to whimper.

It took me completely by surprise but the waterworks kicked in and I could not hold it together. I don't know if it was because he cried or if I realized that my baby was not so little anymore. Luckily the school they are at has the best teachers and staff - I gave James one last hug and one of the teachers swooped in and diverted his attention with a game of restaurant while I slipped out the door (still crying). When I got outside, I found I wasn't the only weepy mom. Two other women were also crying and we were able to laugh with each other over the situation.

I honestly don't remember crying when taking Anna to her first day of school. Of course she didn't have a weapon like "the saddest look in the world". Of course I knew James would be fine, and even though he did cry when I picked him up after the first day, he got a great report from his teacher, and chatted with me the whole way home. Luckily I didn't cry again!

A popsicle to celebrate the first day.

Anna the Kindergartener

Excited for her first day with her Twilight Sparkle backpack.

It's official...Anna is in Kindergarten. "Big kid" school to Anna. Or, as I think of it, "real school". In my mind, the years she's spent in preschool were "fake" school. Yes, by all means she learned her numbers and letters and how to write, but it was more a time for her to make friends, have fun, and frankly, get out of the house! But now, the gig is up. Time for the show. I mean, if she doesn't do well in Kindergarten, she won't get into a good college, right? Just kidding. By no means am I putting that much weight on this year of school. But, with the uniform (a godsend by the way), a backpack, and 6.5 hours at school each day, there is definitely a different feel to the first day of school. For her part, Anna is extremely excited and eager. But I think this is due in a large part to the uniform, backpack, and getting to each lunch in a cafeteria. Hopefully the novelty doesn't wear off anytime soon!

Lucky Anna had her Grammy at the teacher meet and greet and first day of school send off.

Eager for the first day

Helping big sister get settled on the first day.

Reunited after her first day - I think they missed each other.

So cute in her uniform.

Anna Banana classroom decorations :)

Jason turns the big 4-0

Happy Birthday to Jason, who has reached the 40 year young milestone. Anyone who knows Jason knows he LOVES celebrations, especially when he's the center of attention. But, I couldn't let this birthday go by without recognition. I planned and schemed for a few months and coerced his parents and sister to come into town to celebrate with us for a weekend. And, the look on Jason's face was worth it when his parents walked in the house on a Thursday afternoon while he was innocently standing in the kitchen. We also celebrated with an awesome dinner with a small group of friends (didn't want to put him too far outside of his comfort zone!). Overall the weekend was filled with laughs, fun, and good food, and could not have gone better. Happy birthday, Jason, can't believe I met you at the baby age of 23...here's to many more wonderful years!

Anna and James were THRILLED at the surprise visit from Grammy and Fa Fa

Three generations of Bergstrom Boys

Siblings

Great gag gift for the birthday boy

Dinner with friends (bad lighting for pics)

Big boy bed

After 7 years of marriage Jason and I decided it was finally time for us to get a king sized bed - we need our space, man! That decision set into motion a plan to rotate furniture through several bedrooms in our house, including moving a twin bed into James's room. I hadn't quite planned to move James to a "big boy bed" this soon (Anna was a full year older when she made the transition) but in the interest of not having to move furniture twice we decided to jump right in. So, without ceremony, James was out of his crib and into a bed. I feared for the worst, him realizing his freedom and crawling out of bed (he can open doors, so I was sure I would wake up to his little face next to my bed). But, the fears so far have been unfounded. The boy is a sleeper, and likes his bed. He has only gotten out of bed on his own once. Even under Anna's coercion he stays put. I'm sure that will change but for now, we'll take it!

 

Marie Grace Bergstrom

Last Christmas Santa Claus brought Anna an American Girl doll, Marie Grace. While she's a spunky girl from New Orleans, to Anna she is a cherished friend who goes almost everywhere with her. When Anna picked her from the catalog I didn't know how much she would play with her, but to my great pleasure, she plays with her quite a lot. This is due in a large part to her grandmothers, both of whom have outfitted Marie Grace and Anna with complete wardrobes. She has no shortage of outfits to dress Marie Grace in and a few matching pieces for herself. I do think the books that accompany the American Girl dolls definitely help cement the bond. In fact, because of the books, Anna already is planning to ask Santa for Cecile Ray...Marie Grace's best friends in New Orleans. We're going to need bigger tables at restaurants...

Marie Grace & Anna (dress by gramma)

Sunbathing friends

Bathing suit by Grammy, towel by mommy

A visit to the aquarium

Celebrating James' 2nd birthday

Ready for bed

Goofing with James

In her fancy ballet outfit by Grammy

Matching sweaters

Last day of Pre-K

And there goes another school year. Cliche - it feels like the first day of school was just yesterday. Anna's class marked the end of their preschool careers with a "moving up" ceremony during which they perfomed several songs. The teachers then presented each student with a certificate that assigned each of them a trait the teacher's felt best described the student. Anna's trait was Gentleness - "A deep love for god and is without any stain of bitterness, resentment, or hostility." Always wonderful to hear people speak of your child in such terms (even though Anna often demonstrates resentment at having to clean up her room...).  Next stop, Kindergarten!
 

Receiving her certificate

With her awesome teachers Ms. Marycarol and Ms. Sharon

And Ms. Marta - love her!

Pledge of allegiance

Sheens!

James is obsessed with "sheens" - (or machines, to the lay person).  He particularly likes trains ("woo woos") and construction vehicles. I never thought I would know so much about various types of construction equipment and trucks, but James keeps me on my toes.  When in the car, James has an eagle eye and shouts out every type of vehicle he sees.  A 10 minute ride is filled with shouts of "Mama, school bus!", "Mama, look, dump truck!", "Wow, big rig!", and his favorite, "EXCAVATOR!"  It really is quite endearing.

We even discovered Mighty Machines, a TV show that fuels his passion.  Each 20-minute episode focuses on a different type of "sheen" and the boy watches with rapt attention.  Thank goodness for Netflix!

A funny, cute side effect of the truck obsession is that James says he is "beeping" anytime he walks backwards or sees a car, animal, truck, etc., in reverse.  It's very cute.

What's better than playing trains?  Seeing them in person!

James gets his hick on when describing what a dump truck does.

He even wears them on his arm!

Hey, Tope, want to play?  Trucks are fun!

TRASH TRUCK!  A rapt audience watching the disposal activities.

Excavator scoops dirt into the dump truck.

Don't touch my construction vehicles...

Fantasy Island

One night in January Jason and I were talking and realized we had not been on a vacation alone for more than two nights in five years (hmm, what could have caused that, I wonder?).  Between work and kids and a cat and responsibilities and blah blah blah, we decided it was high time to treat ourselves to a "grown up" vacation.  Almost on a whim (we did make sure Gramma could watch the kids), we booked a trip, just the two of us, for a full week.  Fantasy!

Fast forward to April and in a bit of disbelief we actually found ourselves headed to the airport, boarding a plane and arriving in Grand Cayman.  The week was reminiscent of a verse out from Kokomo...tropical drinks melting in our hand, sun, sand, delicious food, sleeping in - the place to go to get away from it all.

We can't wait for the next trip - hopefully it won't take another five years!

Parenting in 2013

Don't really need a post for this pic.  Needless to say, my kids can work a phone.  But they insist on being within touching distance (or sitting on top of me) even while absorbed in a game or video.  As long as they don't spill my wine! :)

Rainbow cake

For a few weeks Anna was on a mission to bake a cake.  Every few days she would ask if we could make one.  I finally acquiesced and decided that if we were to make a cake, we would go big.  Enter the rainbow cake.  I had seen a picture online of a multi-layer cake with colors swirled throughout and decided that we would tackle it.  Anna settled on five different batter colors and we swirled them together.  I think the end result was pretty neat, a tad more "tie dye" than "rainbow", but everyone who saw the cake was amazed nonetheless.  James, especially was a big fan, as the video below shows.  He sings a bar of Happy Birthday to You that will make you chuckle.

Serious about decorating.

Proud baker.

Groovy.