The Big 3!

Our sweet little gal is 3 today - a fact that blows my mind!  People always said that time literally flies when you are a parent and wow, is that ever true.  I can't believe three years ago today we were welcoming Anna into the world.  It seems like she has been in our lives forever yet at the same time I feel like it was yesterday that she was the tiny infant in the picture below.

We celebrated her birthday last Saturday with friends at one of her favorite places, Kangazoom.  The kids jumped and slid and ran around like crazy and we capped off the celebration with Toy Story cupcakes, stickers and coloring.

When we got home Anna could barely contain her excitement at opening her gifts, which makes me really look forward to Christmas morning and her visit from Santa.  Some of her reactions were priceless and I so wish I had caught them on video.  Among the biggest hits was a Jessie the Cowgirl Toy Story talking doll (of course) from Gramma and Papa Odie.  When she opened the package she exclaimed, "Oh no no no.  Oh my goodness.  My own Jessie doll?!?"  Jessie was proudly taken to school for show and tell this week.  Grammy and Fa Fa gave her Toy Story 3, which she has already watched three times.  We gave her a scooter (yay for toys that can be stored outside!), which upon seeing it she asked, "Why's there a scooter here?  That's just the orange scooter I wanted!  Is this for me?  Can I touch it?"  And then she zoomed off...

With all the hoopla of the birthday party, she was a little confused this morning when I came in her room singing Happy Birthday with a cupcake and candles.  She asked, "It's my birthday again?"  I can see where the confusion comes from.

So, Happy Birthday Miss Anna.  I can't wait to see how you blossom over the next year...I know it will happen in the blink of an eye.

Texas Turkey

This Thanksgiving we traveled to Texas to spend time with my side of the family. Trips like this are always so packed with hugs and cheerful greetings that it makes me really wish we lived closer to all of our family.

First stop — Grandma Dodie’s house in Cisco, Texas, a small town about two hours west of Dallas. We spent long hours playing games, catching up with cousins, cooking, and of course, watching football. Anna, the youngest by far, made herself right at home with the aunts, uncles and cousins she had never met at all or last saw when she was about three months old.

The Turner Grandkids with Grandma Dodie: Liz, Christine, Madison,
David, Amy, Jason, Anna, Ted, Jamie

Lucky for her, this crowd enjoys playing games, and so were more than willing to play Memory, build puzzles, and have tea parties. She quickly attached herself to Ted, the youngest of the cousins (he’s a Junior in high school) – she thought him a kindred spirit because his pillow was covered with a Toy Story pillow case. If he was out of her sight, she would refer to him, never by name, but instead by the endearment, “The little boy who is big.”

Playing games at Grandma Dodie's

I had promised Anna we would go see “Tangled” while we were staying at Grandma Dodie’s so one day we packed up the troops and headed to the closest theater in Abilene, about 45 minutes away. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the movie time we were shooting for was sold out so we decided to buy tickets for the next show. When we turned to leave, Anna did not understand we would be seeing the movie in a mere two hours, and proceeded to have the biggest melt down of her two-year-old life. We’re talking a 15-minute-screaming-arms-flailing-red-faced-stiff-body-unwilling-to-get-in-the-car-seat-tantrum. It took two of us to get her buckled so we could go eat lunch before the movie. All was well once Anna realized we really were going to see the movie, but woah, the fireworks. The movie was great, by the way, and worth the wait.

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we started what will be referred to as the “driving portion” of the trip. We headed down to San Antonio for a mini reunion with my mom’s side of the family – with chili and tamales (yay TexMex!!). Upon arriving, Anna was thrilled to see two little gals much closer to her age, her second cousins, 1 year old twins Zeneia and Zaria. She proudly showed them all of the important toys she was toting in her backpack. Her excitement was raised even more when Callan arrived – a “big” girl who quickly took Anna under her wing and played with her outside (I was very excited, too).


The Sramek clan: Tara, Cindy, Ralph, Callan, Dave, Austin, Grandma Sramek,
Dee Ann, Matt, David, Madison, Clay, Beverly, Charley, Amy, Anna, Jason, Andy & Nikki


That evening we headed down to the Riverwalk for more TexMex and enjoyed the cool light decorations adorning the river. Anna really, really wanted to go on one of the boats, but the lines were too crazy, being the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

On Sunday it was off to Fredricksburg, to see Uncle Jim and Aunt Linda’s new house (so nice!). The boys hung out watching football while the ladies headed into the town for some shopping in a very quaint town square.



Goofing around in the shops in Fredricksburg

Sunday evening it was back in the car and back to the Riverwalk for a boat ride – the crowds were much more reasonable…in fact they were non-existent. The boat capped off our trip and it was back to the ATL on Monday morning. At the end of the trip, we had logged nearly 1,000 miles gallivanting across Texas, but it was definitely worth it to be able to reconnect with the family members we don’t get to see too often. But, I can’t wait until teleporting is perfected – sign me up!

Cruising the riverwalk in San Antonio

Shady Ladies

Making green bean casserole on Thanksgiving morning

Playing with Grandma

Walking the wall with the twins

Jumping with Callan

Stopping for ice cream and a pony ride in Fredricksburg (good thing she had her cowgirl boots!)

Sock puppet entertainment during a leg of the trip

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

Ho ho ho!  Just a little pic to give you a chuckle and get you in the holiday mood.  Although she looks like she is cooperating, Tope was not very merry taking while donning this awesome Santa hat and beard.  This shot came after about five minutes of her pawing the cap off and me putting it back on.  The last time I saw the resignation in her eyes and knew she was thinking, "If I let the crazy lady take my picture, I'm sure she'll release me from this prison."  And I did.  Let the Christmas season begin...

Sweet Thanks

I got a sweet surprise in Anna's school folder last week.  While making handprint turkeys, the teachers in her class had asked all of the students what they were thankful for in their life and Anna answered, "My mommy."  That little statement melted my heart and reminded me that it's the little things that make life great.  And for that, I am thankful.

Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!

While we've shared our exciting news with most readers of The Babble, this news will come as a surprise to some - we are happy to announce our family will grow in March with the addition of a little boy!

This big announcement has been quite delayed on the blog - for purely technology-related issues.  Namely, we don't have a scanner (?!?) and I really wanted to include a picture from a recent ultrasound.

I finally gave up trying to remember to take the pictures to the office and snapped a quick photo of the photo of the little guy's feet...making an already grainy pic even worse.  I was going to put up the picture that proves we are definitely expecting a boy, but thought I'd spare the little guy his dignity (for now).

Needless to say we are eagerly awaiting his arrival and look forward to adjusting to a "party of four".  We've started tossing names around (not sure if we'll share, yet), and I am finding it much harder to pick a name for Baby B2 than it was with Anna.  Speaking of Anna, she's thrown her name contender into the ring - Buzz Lightyear - she is quite adamant about it being the final choice for her baby brother.  Disney marketing really knows no boundaries...

So, as we enter into this season of Thanksgiving, we  in the Bergstrom household have a lot to be thankful for.  Especially Baby Buzz.

Haircut!

Anna passed a major milestone in the life of any lady - her first haircut!  Yes, it's hard to believe but it took almost three years to mark this event.  For a few reasons: 1. The child barely had hair a year ago!  2. I was so afraid that her cute curls would be lost for good with a cut. 

However, during the last few weeks the baby fuzz at the ends of her hair was getting out of control and I found a split end...so, I knew the time had come.

Anna was a little nervous when we arrived at the salon, but warmed up once she knew a treat and prize awaited her after the cut.  And, there were toys at the waiting area (who could ask for more?!).

The haircut lasted all of about 5 minutes and my concern over the curls turned out to be unfounded.  In fact, I think her hair seems curlier now with some of the weight gone.

Cowgirl Halloween

Halloween weekend was a big hit.  In keeping with her Toy Story obsession of the year, Anna went as Jessie (but with a nod to Woody by donning a sherrif star and spurs).   Kudos to Gramma Turner for once again creating a fabulous costume.  And thanks to Crystal for the great picture!

We kicked off the weekend by carving our pumpkin.  After much deliberation, Anna opted for a "goofy" face.  She was not interested in helping clean the pumpkin's innards, proclaiming the seeds and strings "disgusting".  She did enjoy helping to poke the template into the pumpkin and was very happy with the grinning end product.

We are lucky to live in a neighborhood with tons of kids and Halloween is one of the best gatherings.  The kids are always so cute in their costumes and they help you remember the magic of simple things - like the promise of candy! 

Don't look for Anna in the above picture - she was too scared of a guy dressed in a King Kong costume to get anywhere close to the action. Turns out Anna wasn't the only Toy Story fan - Buzz's, Woody's, and aliens turned out in abundance. And, there was another Jessie, which resulted in a stand off (good thing this wasn't prom with them showing up in the same dress!) ;).  Thanks for that picture, Susana!

More than one kid pulled the ring on the back of Anna's costume - always eliciting a crabby response from Anna (vs. Woody's friendlier "There's a snake in my boot!" saying).

Trick-or-treating also was a hoot. Anna was in disbelief that people would give her candy just for ringing their doorbell. At the first two houses she was hesitant and insisted I accompany her to the door. By the third house, however, I was instructed to, "Stay on the sidewalk, Mama!"

As always, the night ended with a survey of the goods, which she overall was pleased with. Jason was happy with the abundance of peanut butter cups but I was a bit dismayed by there only being two mini boxes of milk duds. I'll have to put a bug in her ear next year, I guess.

Anna made a candy buffet with the candy we allotted...by this picture, the sugar had kicked in. I think this pretty much sums up the day for her (and us, too).