sweatshirts, socks, and sleep

Well, we are now wearing sweatshirts and socks. . . a tale-tell sign that fall is upon us. But the changing colors of the trees would have also given us a pretty strong hint that summer is officially over. The past few days have been the kind of days that we Minnesotans live for - cool and sunny. There is nothing better. . .

We went to a Twins game on Saturday night with Grandpa Dan while Annika stayed home with Grandma Barbara. It was the longest I had been away from her since she was born and I have to say it was a very good thing for me to do. I was getting to the point where I was anxious to leave her in fear she wouldn't take a bottle, but just like my thousands of other anxious worries, everything worked out great. She had a fun time with Grandma (and even sucked down 3oz of a bottle!) while Bergen was able to have some alone time with Mom, Dad, and Grandpa. Even though the Twins lost, we had a really fun time at the game. Bergen enjoyed a Dome Dog (quite arguably the best hot dog around), devoured a Twins malt cup and even got to experience the wave. . . a 3-year-olds dream of a night out on the town.

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For the past two nights Annika has gone 8.5 hours between feedings - from around 9pm to 5:30am. I am afraid to even talk about it in fear that I might jinx it but let me tell you what an amazing thing it is for us to have a child sleep so well at only 2-months old. Bergen didn't sleep for an 8 hour stretch until he was almost a year old - and I am not exaggerating. He was a horrible sleeper and we had mentally prepared ourselves for another year of no sleep, but so far we have been pleasantly surprised at how well she is sleeping. I know I won't be able to count on that much sleep every night, but I will take what I can get!

jamie, this one is for you

We had two very wonderful friends, Jamie and Brent, over for some French Silk pie at the beginning of the month and upon taking a picture of Jamie with Annika (us, take a picture?!) she asked, "is this going to make the bladpad?" To which I said, "absolutely". . .

Jamie, these are for you. . .

Bergen the preschooler

Bergen started preschool this week, yeah! How is he already a pre-schooler?!? We were told that full potty-training was a pre-requisite to starting, so I was a little worried Bergen wasn't going to be able to start as he's still working on "potty-power"! However, we were relieved to learn the pre-school was okay with us sending him in a pull up. We'll get there eventually! He has quite a few friends in his class (see pic with Max below) and it so fun to see these kids all head off to school together. We know we'll blink and he'll be getting ready for Kindergarten and beyond....

some video

Thought I would post a little video of our growing girl . . . 8 weeks today!!

Here she is having a chat with Auntie Megan:

This one I am trying to get her to smile. . . and Bergen joins in at the end!

and so it begins

Last weekend was Bergen's first morning at a 7-week long Saturday soccer camp for 3-year-olds. It was a gorgeous fall morning and as we stood on the sidelines watching our little guy out on the field, I couldn't help but feel like this was only the beginning of what is to be our Saturday morning ritual for the next decade or so. . . watching our kids at some sort of sporting event. It is interesting to think that before we had kids the idea of going to a sporting event every weekend seemed daunting, but now I know how awesome it is to watch a child learn and grow and I find myself excited about this next chapter in our journey of parenthood.

There were about 12 kids there - split half and half girls/boys. Some kids weren't too sure about heading out onto the field without the hand of their parent to help them. . . but Bergen ran right out and was always the first at following directions. They started with stretching, a little running and then began the dribbling exercises. To finish off the morning they played a mini scrimmage. The passed out green shirts that were waaaay too big for these little kids and Bergen was on the green team. Playing against the green team was a little guy that was dominating the field. While the other kids were laughing and playing, he was stealing the ball and scoring over and over. I swear that kid is the next David Beckham (he is the kid below wearing the white shirt stealing the ball from the green team. . . again)!

I also learned it is never too early to be fully prepared with all the gear (note to parents with younger children). How little did I know that some of the parents would be so with it to actually have their 3-year-old come in soccer socks and shin guards. Silly of me to think that at this age all they needed was some shoes and a ball to kick around. . . so needless to say after his first lesson we went to our favorite store TARGET and got him his very own pair of soccer socks and soccer ball. Watch out little David Beckham. . . here comes The Bergenator!!

a fair to remember

It's hard to believe it is already "that time of year". . . the Great Minnesota Get Together. Around May we start talking about the fair (well, cheese curds and Sweet Martha's cookies to be exact) and it always seems so far away. . . but before we know it, we are sitting at the fair enjoying the foods we were only dreaming about a few months earlier!

We went to the fair twice this year which was a first for us (yes, we have officially become one of those Minnesotans) and I think we successfully got our fill of the food, farm animals, and fun! Bergen had a BLAST between getting a close look at the animals, eating loads of junk food (any 3-yr-old's dream), learning how to be a farmer (note tractor pic below) and riding the giant slide. Annika slept through most of the fair and when people would get a glimpse of our little peanut they would ask if we had just come from the Miracle of Birth Barn (ha, ha. . . note sarcasm). We ate all of our usuals: Pronto Pup, corn on the cob (thought of you Beret!), Sweet Martha's Cookies, and cheese curds (I can still feel my arteries clogging). And we tried a few new ones: Fried Veggies on a stick, Corn Fritters, Dippin' Dots and Spam Curds (okay, truth be told only Lars ate that one!)

And while it is hard to believe the fair has come and gone, it is harder to believe that the summer has come and gone as well. Every year we look forward to the fair with slight hesitation because we know it marks the end of summer. We are looking forward to what fall has in store for us. Hopefully cooler days filled with sunny skies and nothing but wonderful new memories with our two beautiful children.

Here is a little video of Bergen and Lars on their 4th (yes, 4th!!) trip down the Giant Slide.