Meet the Family

It's hard to believe we're a family of four (+ Tope!), but, here we are!

Anna's expression is so cute to me - to me it looks like she's thinking hard about how to feel about the little guy in her arms.  More to come on that...

For most of the first hospital visit (dressed in her ballet shoes, tights and leotard, of course!), she was more interested in the medical apparatuses around the room.  And, the Buzz Lightyear action figure her brother so thoughtfully gave her.  I dare say her Toy Story collection is complete.  Anna also brought James a set of baby toys she had lovingly (and painstakingly) picked out a few weeks earlier.  She did not understand why he would not play with them in the hospital, but she loaded up his bassinette anyways, much to the nurses' amusement.

Here are some more shots from the time in the hospital.

And James Makes Four

We are very happy to announce the birth of our son
James Owen Bergstrom.

James made his debut a week earlier than his due date, and we are very happy he decided to do so.  Not only because that means we get to meet him a whole seven days sooner than expected, but also because this boy tipped the scales at 9 lbs 5 oz!!

It still boggles my mind that he is such a big baby, considering Anna was 7 lbs 7 oz. Because of his size his birth was not uneventful, but we won't dwell on that because everyone is happy, healthy, and doing well.

As one nurse said - and I'm clinging to this with hope - big babies eat well and are great sleepers...fingers crossed.

His name has special meaning on both sides of the family - my paternal grandfather was James, my maternal great grandfather was James, and several family members on the Bergstrom side also are named James. And Owen, well, we just like that name :).

Welcome to the world, James. We love you so much already.

James Owen Bergstrom

March 7, 2011

2:32 p.m.

9 lbs 5 oz, 20.25 inches

Waiting for Change

The final countdown has commenced for the arrival of the as-of-yet-unamed baby boy.  I am very excited for us to transition to a party of 4, but I also want to embrace these last few days as a party of 3.

On a recent beautiful weekend morning we headed to breakfast and then to the park.  A park outing for us is usually about 45 minutes long but on this day we ended up staying for 2+ hours because the weather was so nice, Anna was having a blast, and we had hot coffee to keep us going.

After swinging, sliding, running and scootering to her heart's content, Anna took a little rest on "the belly". 

She then asked if we could bring her baby brother to the park one day.  So, I'm not the only one with the upcoming expansion on my mind - and I'm glad she thought this outing would be worthy of sharing in the future.

Tea Party for a Baby Boy

I consider myself lucky and blessed to have found a good circle of friends since moving to Atlanta.  And, I felt the love at a recent baby shower for little boy Bergstrom.  The theme was a tea party and the spread - from the scones and sandwiches to the clotted cream and yummy petit fours - made the day very special to me.

So, thank you, thank you, thank you, to Susana and Liz for hosting and to all who attended.  I know when the little man arrives (he will have a name one day!!), that he will be welcomed into a loving, supportive group of friends, the same way they've welcomed his mom.

Now, I just have to get those thank you notes done!

Anna's True Loves

Anna continues to have a love, love, love relationship with her "guys".  Although the members of the group have changed since she was two (except for Bug!), one thing remains constant - Anna has developed special relationships with several of her toys and always wants them with her.  We hope to not see her on the show Hoarders in the future...

Most notable of the guys are bunny and bear, whom she could not sleep without (I dread the day we lose one of them).  This love has led to certain rules, like, bunny is rarely allowed to leave the house and if he does go on a journey, he is FORBIDDEN to leave the car.

On Valentine's Day Anna was feeling particularly lovey towards her pals and when she woke up from her nap asked if I would take a picture of her playing with them.  Of course I obliged (but wasn't allowed to enter the room until she had everyone set up and posed).

I love these pictures because they capture her personality and "best friends" at this point in her life.  I hope she remembers the joy they bring her forever!

Sleep trials

The first few weeks of the big girl bed were completely smooth sailing.  But, apparently, novelty wears off and we have had some late night differences of opinion (disagreements, battles, wars?!?) with Anna related to her staying in her room and her bed.

On "good" nights she wakes up once around 1 a.m. and is easily coaxed back to her bed and to sleep.  A "bad" night involves multiple wake ups and her valiant attempts at negotiating to sleep in our bed, or read another story, or have a glass of milk, or put all of her animals to bed, or, or, or...

And, a "horrible" night, well, let's just say we've had to resort to locking our bedroom door and enduring hours (yes, hours!) of top of the lung screaming and begging to let her come in and sleep with us.  Thank goodness this has only happened twice.

I know in my mind this is a passing phase, but when you're in the thick of it, all you can imagine in your mind is, "wow, I'm never going to sleep through the night again."  I guess I should get used to that for awhile - maybe Anna is just helping to prep us and refresh our memories for when the baby arrives.

Anyways, on one particular "bad" night, I heard Anna wake up at about 11 p.m. (third time of the night) and knew she was moving around in her room.  I debated going in and telling her to get back in bed but decided against it - she was being quiet and I knew (hoped!) she would poop out soon.  And honestly, the night was precariously balanced on the threshold of becoming a horrible night, so I felt ignoring was the best course of action.  I did keep hearing a clicking sound and vaguely wondered what it was, but again, I was looking to avoid a horrible night.

At about 11:30 Anna was at my bedside with a huge grin, a head full of bows/clips (clicking sound solved!), asking, "Don't I look pretty, mama?!?"  Now, I know I shouldn't have grabbed the camera because it lends undue attention and recognition to the fact that she is out of bed, but I had to capture the look.

And, after I took her picture, it actually was quite easy to get her back to her bed and back to sleep for the rest of the night.  I guess late night grooming is pretty tiring... 

Dance Obsession

Anna loves to dance and twirl, much to my delight.  Recently she has become obsessed with the Taylor Swift song, Back to December, and begs for me to play, "my favorite song, mommy, about December", in the car, on the computer, on my phone, over and over and over again.  In addition to singing the words, she also lets loose on the dance floor.  Here is tonight's performance (sorry for the grainy video...iPhones can't do everything, I guess...):