take 35. . . take 48. . . take 56. . .

Okay, so I don't know exactly how many pictures we took to get a decent shot for their Halloween photo, but I am sure you can image the insane amount as we tried to get them both looking at the camera at the same time while trying to keep Annika from crying. The day we had their "photo shoot" was one of the weird 80-degree days in early October (I know, I am a few weeks behind! I am trying to catch up. . .). We tried to take the photo outside, but they were both sweating like crazy so we moved them inside where there were a lot less tears. Here are a few shots that ended up on the cutting block:

splish splash

Ahhhh. . . the photos we all hate as teenagers. Bath time. Especially bath time with siblings. But now that we have two little ones, I completely understand the need to save time and get both those kids in the bath at once. Perhaps one day Bergen's best man will include them in his toast like Mark did at Chris' wedding. . . and hopefully Annika won't be too mortified.

hi stranger

Yikes, it has been a while since my last post. I apologize. I would like to offer the excuse of having basically zero down time between the kids, housework, and sleep (. . . oh and trying to spend time with Lars somewhere in there), but even I think that is a lame excuse. So with that being said, I promise I won't let it go so long between posts again and I hope that you (at least I hope there is a 'you' somewhere out there that reads this) will stick with our blog a little longer.

So. . . since my last post, Lars has started his new job at KeyStone Search and is absolutely loving it. He has hit the ground running (as he does with everything else) and is extremely excited about the work he will be doing there. After a loooong search process of trying to figure out what his next step was going to be, he feels at peace with the end result. And you know what they say: a happy hubby makes for a happy home (well, it goes something like that)!

I continue to try to keep afloat between having an infant and a 3-yr-old who wants to do everything "by myself". It is a wonderful thing to see Bergen become more and more independent, but at the same time it can pull at every one of my last nerves as he wants to do everything on his own and won't accept the help when he so dearly needs it. I went to my first parent-teacher conference at preschool and he, not surprisingly, got a wonderful report. They said he is a very social kid that has a great sense of humor. They also said he is a "joy to have in class". . . but then again they told that to Cara (aka. Max's mom) too so perhaps at the ripe age of 3 there isn't too much to talk about at a preschool parent-teacher conference! Either way he is loving preschool and we couldn't be more thrilled. . . or proud.

Annika is growing so fast it makes my head spin. I can't believe how much faster time goes by with #2. We were getting her 3mo pictures taken the other day and there was a newborn there having her photo taken for a birth announcement. If my mother-in-law hadn't been there I probably would have started crying because I miss that newborn stage already. . . . there is nothing like it in the world and it is gone in a blink of an eye. . .

As of late I am trying to get her to actually take a couple of decent naps during the day - she seems to only take about four 30min cat naps which is pretty frustrating as I have no time to clean, no alone time with Bergen and no time to do other things like update this blog. She sleeps great at night but she is in a bassinet next to our bed. I think if I started sleeping her in her crib it would help. . . And I can hear my girlfriend Julie saying "get that girl in her own room!" So, this is the second promise that I make on this post today. I promise I will work on getting that girl in her own room. . . eventually ;)

saying goodbye to hhh

We visited Lars at HHH one last time before his final day on Friday. Bergen wanted to see where all his art projects went over the past few years and Lars wanted to introduce Annika to his colleagues. We had a great lunch of chicken fingers, grilled cheese and french fries in the cafeteria.

chicago or bust

We drove to Chicago the last weekend of September for Duke and Kristin Sutton's wedding. We left on Thursday so we could get in a long weekend but after getting a late start, stopping to feed Annika twice, and missing our exit to Grandma and Grandpa's due to horrible construction . . . we didn't get in until quite late. . .

It was a beautiful weekend and we had a blast staying with Grandma and Grandpa. Not only did Grandma cook us a very wonderful breakfast in the morning, but we went on a walk around their house, took a drive of Waukegan (saw the house where Dad Leafblad, Uncle Tim, and Aunt Deb grew up), and had a fun pizza party with the Gillaspie family.

Annika joined us for the Saturday wedding. . . but Bergen spent the day with the Great-Grandparents and Aunt Deb. I was feeling a little worried that he might not want us to go, but judging by the way he was eagerly waving goodbye to us as we drove away yelling "see ya later!" any fears I had quickly vanished!

They took him to the Jelly Belly factory where you take a train ride tour to learn how they make those oh-so-good jelly beans and if that wasn't enough excitment,they also took him to Lake Michigan where he proceeded to run around and throw rocks into the lake for hours! He had a WONDERFUL day and I felt at ease knowing he was with our loving family! The wedding was very beautiful and it was great to catch up with old friends from college - some we hadn't seen in a few years. And when you get these guys together from good old Pod 76 it is like they haven't left college - and I think if some of them had their choice they would move back in tomorrow and start up the old foosball tourneys again.

All in all - we had a GREAT weekend and we are going to prove Grandma wrong when she asked if we would be 5 years before we are back to visit!!

Here are a couple of fun videos from the weekend. . . .

Bergen playing catch with Great Grandpa:

Bergen playing with his new remote cars. . . Daisy (Megan and Ryan's dog) staying close to Bergen, isn't too sure about the car!!

war wounds

I am belated at updating this info, but we had Annika's 2-month appointment on September 21st. She weighed in at 10lb3oz and is 23 3/4"long. She did great with the shots - only cried for about 30 seconds. But seeing the look in her eyes when she got that first shot was H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E . . . I held back my tears. Here she is with her war wounds:

an apple a day

A family shot. . . anyone else think Lars looks good as a bunny?

We took a trip to the Pine Tree Apple Orchard one beautiful, hot Sunday with Grandma Barbara. We were out enjoying a beautiful fall afternoon with about a thousand other families who were doing the same thing and had a wonderful time. We sat and listened to a music duo that played all sorts of fun music for kids . . . . we walked through the orchard admiring the huge apple trees. . . we ate many wonderful apple treats. . . and most of all we felt blessed to be there with the two beautiful apples of our eyes. A picture perfect day.

this is the life

How did I get so lucky that Peg (my mother-in-law) would treat Megan (my sister-in-law) and me to a day at the spa? We had a girls afternoon out at the Juut Salon in Wayzata where Megan and I had a facial and massage. I don't get a lot of time away from the kids so it was exactly what I needed. . . it was wonderful!

Megan and me getting a foot soak while we waited in-between treatments . . .

All smiles after our wonderful afternoon. . .

it's a miracle. . . i'm cooking!!

Okay, so it isn't cooking per se, but it is a step up from my usual way of making diner which is ordering a few meals off of a take out menu. My girlfriend Cara and I went to Let's Dish to make 8 prepared meals for us to pull out of the freezer over the next month or so. Other then having to drive through a horrible storm to get there (a little thunder and lighting weren't going to stop us moms who rarely get a night out!!) we had a really fun time. And if the apron and hair-kerchief weren't enough to make us want to go back again, so far Lars and I have tried 4 of the dishes and they have been wonderful! So, as long as Cara can put up with my picture taking, I think we are heading back sometime this month. Plus this October they have Butternut Squash Ravioli on the menu. . . . NUMMY!

Here we are looking like a couple of cute cooks in the kitchen. . . and Cara loading up the cooler!