The kitchen sink

I woke up this morning to a little girl knocking on her door saying "momma" over and over, it was 3 AM. I don't understand why she is not sleeping through the night anymore. So I did something that is very hard for me to do.... I ignored her. I just laid in bed and listened hoping she would get the hint and just go get back in bed and go to sleep. Well she did it took her 20 minutes but it would have taken 2 hours had I gone in there. Britt was not as willing to wait and I had to stop him several times. Alexis then slept until 8:30. I have to get her schedule back on track, she has been going to bed at 11:30pm and waking up at 6 then going back to sleep at 8:30 until 11. Then she is so tired she is crashing at 5pm. Very mixed up and church at 2 doesn't help! Hopefully last night will help get things regular.

If I don't get her sleeping back on the book release on Friday will be crazy. My mom is watching Alexis and I am heading down to a little book store in Sumner for a release party with Amberlynn and Brooke from my ward. It should be a lot of fun, but I want things easier on my mom since she will have Alexis until close to 1am. So excited for Twilight's last book Breaking Dawn I am almost as excited about this as a I was Harry Potter" I saw a trailer for Twilight I hope it is going to be good. I need to reread all of the books, so who knows I may just buy the whole series after all.

We watched Penelope it is so cute. Alexis even liked it or maybe she liked all the candy we let her eat during the movie. Who knows what she actually got out of it but well worth the dollar! I think Alexis is going get a bike for her birthday. It is a tricycle actually, last night at Walmart she wouldn't get off of it. We had to distract her and whisk it away quickly and that left a very distraught 23 month old. It was funny she was holding her hands out in front of her whimpering and would look at me and say "where it go." Britt would have bought it right then had we brought the money for it. Good thing we didn't because I don't want to get her used to us buying her things just because she won't let go off it in the store....that would not be pretty on our budget.

The one at Walmart is pink though! We are going to shop around but it is cute and easy for her to get on and off and push around. I like that the seat back is high so she can't fall off easy. and the little trunk is cute! Ok well I better get going we have a busy day of shopping for the hike Britt is going on this week end. He is going to be a mountain climber guy now, he wants to climb Mount Rainier next year. Some how even having life insurance doesn't make me feel comfortable anymore. I think it would rather him stay home. Oh well I love his ambition!

She did it!

She might potty train herself. Alexis loves to be naked. She will strip her clothes off the second she wets in her diaper, she hates being wet. Today she took off her clothes and I guess really thought that she was going to be grant the privilege of jumping on the couch nude. Nope I got her some panties to wear and she immediately said "Potty, potty!" So we got her potty and she sat down. Now normally if she does go it is a few drops and then she jumps up runs away and finishes the job on the floor, not today. She jumped up and declared "Potty" I looked and sure enough she had gone so I cheered and congratulated her and then she sat down again and went a whole bunch. I made sure that it was a big deal and we clapped and danced. She got to flush the toilet and everything. She is struggling a little since then with dribbles, but it was a huge thing that she went on her own! I am not pushing her I only encourage her since she is a streaker and I might as well. So who knows she might just be mostly trained by her birthday in a month. I think it is going to be harder for me because the most feared part is public restrooms I find it so scary to take a toddler in them to touch things. I may just stay home for the next year until she is older....haha I wish. I got out the new panties and she tried each one on! Britt had her turn around to model them and she turned until she got dizzy. She is so super duper smart. If you have any tips that worked with your kids let me know I might try them out.

REI

Yesterday our power was supposed to be out for 8 hours so we planned a full day of being away from home. Alexis and I went to the park, then we came home(power was still on) picked up Britt and met my parents for lunch at Mazatlan. They offered to watch Alexis for us while we went to the Seattle REI and so we took them up on their offer. Britt and I met the guy buying one of Britt's bikes there at 2:00 and sold him the bike! We then went in to REI. It is huge compared to Tacoma's and has a 65 foot Rock wall you can climb, we are going to go back on a Monday because it is only $15 then. Anyways we went down to the scratch and dent section and found a pair of boats and a whole bunch of stuff people have return, it would shock you what people will return. There was a shirt there that had been bleached and REI took it back, shoes that had been seriously abused and were returned, tents that people had ripped putting up and REI took them all back. OK well we went up stairs so Britt could walk around the testing area. Then for 4 hours more he tried on boots....I am not exaggerating....it was torture. I am so glad we didn't bring Alexis she would not have played on the playground for that long. Britt has blisters on his hand from tying shoes. My brain has become mush from all the shoes he tried on and complained about. Finally this guy named Pete(life-saver) asked how we where doing(probably due to coma like trans I was in) he was a backpacker to the soul and taught Britt all about hiking boots and how they should fit and the difference between Mountaineer, backpacking and hiking boots. So Britt finally picked out a boot, the first ones that we found down in the scratch and dent section. I wanted to shout for joy, he then went and looked at gators, sleeping bags and climbing axes and I was able to steer him to the check out. We got through the line and somewhere Britt had put down our basket and had to run back through the store and find it. We got the boots for $135 they were originally $280, and we got out of there with only spending $50 more then what he sold his bike for. We almost had to go back in because we couldn't find Britt's phone and just as we were turning to go back in the store the cashier came running up to us and asked if it was ours. I was happy that Britt didn't get to go back in because we had forgot our car was parked in the garage and you had to pay. I was happy when our parking only cost us $5, just a few more minutes and it would have been $12. We bought Alexis a monkey that Velcro's onto her with its feet and hands. On the way home we called my parents and Alexis said "Hi" to me I had to really think about who was talking to me because I don't hear her on the phone very often. I asked her if she was being good and she said "Yea" and then I told her we got a surprise for her and she said "yea" and then "Bye" and "Love you." When I got off the phone I got teary eyed because she is just getting so big. I Love her so much. So hopefully he won't need a new pair of boots anytime soon, and if he does I won't be going with him I will go to the spa. HAHA. After all that our power never went out.

Gettin Skinny

I know I wish that title was for me but it is not.... and it can't be for Britt since he can't get much skinnier. So it must be for Alexis. She is 26 pounds same as she has weighed for about 2 months now and 34 inches tall. She has gotten taller though since march when she was 31 inches. That puts her at the 45th percentile for weight and the 61st for height. Now if she wouldn't be such a picky eater she might gain some weight. We had sandwiches today for lunch and she only ate the cheese. Left the meat and bread sitting on the table. Oh well, she isn't starving so she must be getting enough.

All Done

The garage is cleaned out. I am so happy. It was so bad that seriously you couldn't walk into the garage at all without stepping over something and every time I ventured in I would injure myself. So I finally got Britt to help me get it under control(it was his fault it was so messy, only because his organization is patterned after a child's). So we took everything out, except the food storage. I even went through my holiday decorations. I got rid of two boxes of Christmas and one Halloween. I also got rid of all but one box of canning jars. I am not going to get around to in anytime soon so why keep them around. Ok well I haven't got rid of them yet I made an announcement in Relief Society just in case someone wants them before I donate them to the DI. Britt got rid of a bunch of stuff too and still needs to go through his tools. We got all the camping stuff back on it's shelf and the out door toys on their shelf. All the pool stuff is together and easy to access. It is great, we can walk around in there without stepping over and around stuff or getting injured! It is very strange to have empty Rubbermaid's in the garage! The crazy thing is I needed a tape measure today and I still couldn't find one on Britt's tool table....what do you do.

Alexis is really a nice girl

Sometimes I feel really overwhelmed by Alexis and her social interactions with other children and I know that other parents call Alexis a bully and are marking her as a bad kid. I know that you do, because I would too. I just want to express that Britt and I work very hard at trying to teach her that it isn't ok to bite and push kids down. I do have comfort in that most older mom's that I talk to say their children have all done the same thing... all kids go through phases of biting, hitting, scratching, pushing and many other things that embarrass us as parents. I guess I just am upset because Alexis is an amazing girl and has the funniest personality. She captures every one's attention everywhere we go. She is always dancing and singing(even in the shower, it really is the cutest). She copies everything you do only way cuter, she runs and jumps and plays. She has the most infectious laugh especially when she is playing with daddy. Alexis is a choice daughter of Heavenly Father I can feel it every time I look at her, I know that she has a special place with him. She has a special purpose here on Earth and will be a great missionary. When people meet her even for a minute they all love her and I know that she will be a great leader one day. I feel sad that anyone would label her as a bully. Now no body has said this to me I just get that impression. I hope that everyone who has a child that Alexis has injured in someway sees that she is not even 2 yet and most experts agree that she can't be a bully yet....Even though we think she is incredibly smart. I found this article beneficial and I hope you can understand that we are trying to teach her right and that she is still a baby herself regardless of how tall or talkative she is. http://www.parents.com/toddlers/development/social/toddler-hits-bites/ . Well I guess I will go know... just wanted to help ease my mind that everyone knows that we are working with her.

No he didn't

The worst fear of learning to play the piano almost came true today. In Sharing time they wanted a song to be sung and the pianist had stepped out so they asked if anyone played the piano. My dear sweet husband volunteered me. Ok I am petrified to play in front of people and for sure would not have been able to have all the kids sing along to "I'm trying to be Like Jesus." Have you looked at that song....even the top hand takes skill to keep the tempo up for singing.

Anyways they all look at me even the kids and I say no I can't play that song.
They say we just need the top hand
Britt says what have I been paying all that money out for if you aren't going to play in church
My face is a deep red color and I say I will stop coming if you make me play
I corrected myself and said just to primary I will go to all other meetings

Why doesn't he understand that 2 years of lessons is not enough to play in front of people. I am just not ready for that. I would have play a simplified version but didn't have one...and will not ever bring it to church either. One day I will get over my fear, but just like leading the music it won't be anytime soon. So leading the music I did that once in Relief Society, it was very humbling. If you think it is natural it is not, I often thought I can do it I have seen the music lead for years and years. When I got up there I experienced the same color of red on my face and botched the whole thing, it was so awful I begged another lady to take my place for the practice hymn. I think my church service is better left for quiet behind the scenes stuff! Maybe like taking attendence for sunbeams and then letting them run wild for 45 minutes!! Ok well I don't let them run wild but we do have lots of wiggle time.

Hello...Hello....Hello

I feel so out of touch with everyone since my computer died. Well it didn't die but the laptop stopped connecting with the Internet and so it is getting new parts. This is the second time this has happened and the part they are replacing was recalled. don't ask me which one because I don't remember I just said fix it!!! We have been busy and having lots of fun. I will post when I get my laptop back because our other computer is seriously a dinosaur. It is so slow and unresponsive that I can't stand to use it! My computer will hopefully be here in a few days!

Don't put stuff down the drain

While doing my hair today Alexis put her new hair pretty down the drain. I got the sweet look of "What mommy?" when I said "No, No, No Alexis don't put stuff down the drain!" It was too late though it slide down and was gone. Britt took the curved part off when he got home, but it was all the way through. Now had I know that you don't need a tool to take that part off I would have done it myself and maybe could have got it out, but I didn't. Sad so we only have one now and it will have to be for a single ponytail(if we can ever get her hair long enough).

Erin left today to start the trip home to Kansas. We went out to Godfather's pizza lunch buffet with Kate, Chad, Mallori, Jenn, Ashlee and Erin and her kids before she left and to celebrate Alma's birthday again. We had cupcakes at Grandma's house Yesterday and had so much fun. We played in the front yard and played statues... it was great even Alexis was poising. Grandma makes the yummiest frosting, Britt had 4 cupcakes and I had 3 it was that good. Erin left with me checking the air pressure in her tires. The pressure gauge broke apart on the last tire but it went back together easily; said a last goodbye to the kiddos and Alexis blow kisses and said "bye An Ern" and away they went. Good luck on your drive home and hopefully the next time we see you Alexis won't call all 3 boys Alma! Haha!

And the thunder rolls out of control

We have been having some seriously huge thunder and lightening storms this week. Sunday we sat out in the back yard and watched the lightening strike wildly over the roof of our house. Britt had one get so close to him that his hair stood up, well if he hadn't been sitting on the roof of the play set it wouldn't have gotten so close to him. We also were misinformed about how to tell how close it is. Once you see the flash and count to 5 that means it is one mile away, we thought it was a mile for every second we counted, so counting to 10 means it is only 2 miles away not the ten we thought. That storm lasted until late in the night and then last nights was something else. I went to the movies and saw Emma Smith, My story and when we came out we could see the humidity in the air, it was really thick and I had a feeling lightening was on it's way and sure enough as we stood outside the theatre the sky started lighting up and did so all the way home and until about 10 this morning. All night long and it was right over us, it poured and flashed and shook our house. None of us slept very well at all, Alexis is very scared and wraps her arms around us and holds on for dear life. Finally this morning I told her the clouds were growling and that seemed to calm her a little bit. If you think I am exaggerating how bad the storm was last night think again, it seriously lasted all night and every flash and boom kept us from a deep sleep. The rain also kept us from going to the tall ships festival, it last all weekend but I wanted to see them coming in. Ohwell I guess life goes on! Alexis did just take a 3 hour nap though thanks to last nights storm!

Chenuis Falls hike

What a fun day! We got to sleep in to start with, Alexis did wake up 6 but she fell back asleep in between us on top of the covers and so we slept until 9, nice. We then got ready to go on a hike with Chad, Kate and Mallori up to the Carbon River Glacier area. It was a great day for hiking only 75 up there and not as muggy as yesterday, the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife and we had an awesome lightening storm. Anyways I get so sidetracked sometimes, the girls were great in the backpacks, the boys didn't complain as much as I thought they could have. Alexis did fuss at us for a minute or so each time we put her back in the pack, but that was it. They both snoozed for a while and played; they would reach out and touch hands when Chad and Britt walked side by side it was adorable. They would laugh and laugh as they tried! We didn't get to go right up to the falls because the bridge was down, would you believe that it came down during the night the ranger said it was up yesterday! But it probably wouldn't have been safe anyways they river was so full that it was almost touching the first bridge and pouring down the falls so fast that with the girls it would have been unwise. It was a great day!

http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall.php?num=129&p=0
this is what is was supposed to look like(we have been there before and it was beautiful) This time it was amplified 100%! Maybe we will try it again later when the melt off is chilled out! If you want a hike with a good wide smooth road for most of the hike then choose this one, beware the road has been really damaged at one part and so you have to hike in the full 3.7 miles and then back out so not a quick one and as we found out the log bridges across the river can wash out anytime! I will post pictures tomorrow!

What a week!

Thursday while we where at Bob and Shannon's wedding dinner my mom called us to tell us that Alexis was having a very hard time swallowing anything and would just scream when she did. We thought that it might be strep throat and came home thinking that we where going to have to take her to an Urgent Care, but guess what they all close by 10pm, which left the ER. Now I know that some people would have taken their kids in right away, but we looked at it objectively and this is what we thought about
1. ER is where sick people go: chance of getting something else
2. long hours of waiting: if we get there by 11pm we may not even get seen until 2am and who knows how long until we get home
3. complete sleep loss and a baby running around a germ filled hospital
4. same day clinic opens at 8 and is only 5 minutes from home; hospital is 30 minutes
5. While looking for Urgent care places Alexis fell asleep

So we took her home and had 2 to 3 hour stretches of sleep and then she would wake up for a few minutes and cry; Britt totally was my hero. My superman took charge of her last night and let me get sleep. Alexis at one point was in our bed and side ways on Britt's pillow so he came out on the couch, Alexis woke up and came out here to find him it was funny. OK so she woke up at 6:30 I think and she was happy and smiling; but I was not deceived she still didn't want to eat much. I got us both ready to go and was at the clinic right at 8 and was the 3rd person there(A guy from our ward was there so I even had someone to talk to)! Alexis was sound asleep and I had to wake her to weigh her, after that she let the doctor check her breathing, heart, tummy ears and mouth. She was really concerned about her tonsils she said they were huge and ordered a strep test. She also said that she had an ear infection(first time for the left ear). The doctor looked at the rash behind her knees and said it was eczema and asked me if she had any breathing problems. So I explained the coughing after running around and how she wheezes, but the last doctor we saw wouldn't diagnose her with asthma until she was 2. This doctor said that with her sensitive skin and the breathing problems I described that I already had my diagnoses....ASTHMA, she gave us a referral to a pediatric pulmonary specialist. I am relieved because I knew she had a problem and was frustrated that he gave me a wimpy albuteral inhaler and that it isn't strong enough to stop an attack it just helps lesson it by a little. So after playing ring-a-round-the-rosies, making all the animals sounds she knows, singing songs, looking for birds out the window and playing hide and go seek, by the way Alexis thinks that facing the wall is a great hiding spot, she doesn't have strep throat just tonsillitis and the doctor said that it was probably due to the ear infections and she is not contagious. We where there for 1 hour and 15 minutes and Alexis was marvelously well behaved. We got her prescription filled and she was really good in Walmart for the 20 minutes that it took. The only fight we had from her all day was giving her the antibiotic; it took both of us and it was a nightmare. She fought us with every single drop of that darn stuff. 9 more days and then we will be a much happier family! Alexis is asleep in her own bed so hopefully she stays there too.

Bob and Shannon got sealed today and it was a great ceremony, the reception was nice and we got to catch up with friends we have seen in awhile. We also got to meet Bryce, Jonathon and Melanie's son, he is super cute and lots of fun. It has been a full week and tomorrow we all get to bake away while the mercury is climbing into the 90's, our pool isn't set up yet so yes if you talked to me you would hear whining. Going to go to bed and cross my fingers she sleeps!

So tired

What a exhausting night here at the Bergman's house. Alexis started running a fever yesterday morning of 100.1, low but she was clingy. She took three naps which if you know Alexis is not normal and the girl wouldn't let me get more then three feet away from her with out bursting into tears. When I put her to bed she was warm still but I had already given her Ibuprofen about 2 hours prior and she just crashed. Anyways she had been asleep about 30 minutes when she started moaning and crying, when I went in she was shaking and burning up at 102.9. So I woke her up and gave her Tylenol and Britt called my dad to come help give her a blessing. We gave her a Popsicle and some water, she must have thought she scored big getting a Popsicle at 10:00 at night, and then I rocked her and she went back to sleep. Well at 12 she tried to get up and come find me but was to shaky or something and so she just sat on the floor. I figured it was going to be a long night of getting up so I tried to sleep on the couch with her. She had such a hard to getting to sleep and it took me 4 tries to sit down after getting to sleep, finally I just put a movie on and let her watch a few minutes to relax her. She then fell asleep with me until just after 5. She threw a huge fit for me about taking more medicine and I took her temperature it was 97.9. She was a little stinker about going back to sleep for Britt and finally they both ended up in our bed with me and we didn't wake up until 8:40. She is still a bit crabby but isn't as hot and she hasn't had medicine since 5 this morning. I don't know why she got such a high fever but I think the blessing really helped. It is so sad when they get sick and Alexis has never shook like that with a fever so it was really scary http://children.webmd.com/tc/fever-seizures-topic-overview . It may not have been a fully febrile seizure but it sure seemed like it to me. It was very scary. Hopefully she is feeling better today since we have a wedding dinner tonight and the wedding tomorrow of some very good friends. Well of to bath her since she wants her shoes on to go outside and play.

Crazy

Oh my goodness what a yuck day. Britt went to work at 10 and got of at 3; in that time some low life cut the Catalytic Converter off our Tacoma. So when Britt started his truck up to come home it was very loud, he then got out to see what was going on and discovered the theft. Called the police and they said this is the first time they have had a report off this happening recently. Any who so he had to stop on the way home at Midas and get a new one put on. $228.00 later his truck is much quieter. It is really silly because his truck is 9 years old and the converter was probably going to go out soon, I really want to sell the truck. Hopefully it will be gone by the end of summer.

My Dad

I decided that my Dad and Britt deserved their own posts on Father's Day. My dad has always been there for me. I could always count on my dad to help me even when I cut class he backed me up so I didn't get in trouble at school. Since he has retired he comes over all the time and visits with me and plays with Alexis. He goes garage sale looking with me and goes to the store. I know that if I call him needing something he will do his best to help me. Last week he watched Mallori and Alexis so that us girls could go to something fun for a little while. He loves his grand children and loves being with them. I love him because he is a great dad and grandpa!

Daddy

Father's day is a wonderful day here at our house. Britt is a great dad and we love him to pieces. He woke up to breakfast in bed and his favorite treat, chocolate covered fruit! We then got ready for church and made it on time(big surprise!), taught our little sunbeams who were amazingly full of energy, and came home and started dinner. My family all came over and we barbecued ribs and corn(we had a bit of a flame issue and so everything was covered with black) baked potatoes and jello. It was really yummy even with all of our mouths turning black. Alexis and Ben played in the sprinkler and the rest of us relaxed. Then we played the Wii and had strawberry shortcake and key lime pie.

Britt has so much love for us and would do anything in his power to keep us safe. I love how gently he is with Alexis and even that he isn't afraid to wrestle her. Alexis always loves it when daddy comes home because he lets her jump on the bed, scream in the house and eat whatever she wants. He always has her laughing and they play hide and go seek, and is just silly with her. He is a great husband too. I am so grateful for the father that he is and will become as the years go by. Happy Father's day Britt, you are the best. We LOVE you so much.

We took the animals to the Zoo

We went to the Pt. Defiance Zoo on Thursday and had a lot of fun with the kiddos!

A car

After weeks of searching garage sale after yard sale, I finally found a car for her. She came in the back yard and got right in. I got this car for $1, yes that is right one buck! I am so excited and glad to be done with the hunt especially after last weekend. My dad and I headed out to find a car and went to the Tapps Island annual sale($5 admission) We went through that whole place and turned on the last road and spotted one, my dad jumps out of the car and heads for it and about 3 feet from victory a lady picked it up. It was very frustrating. I am happy to say that car was selling for $10, so if you take include the price of the admission to the sale last week the car still only cost $6! I am done with garage sales now and will begin to enjoy my Saturdays!

First Week of June

Last week Alexis and I walked down to get the mail. When we started out it hadn't rained for about 2 hours so I thought we would be fine. By the time we got to the mailboxes I started to feel drops, and about 1 minute later it started pouring. I told Alexis to run and she did, but her running is not so fast so I put her on my back. Her first rain boot fell off and so I knelt down to pick it up and then the second one came off so had to get that one too. I start running as fast as I could with rain boots and the mail in one hand and holding her on with the other hand and we got drenched. We were so wet that We required a full change of clothes. I took a picture of her to show how wet we got in such a short amount of time.
Where's the baby?
I found this tunnel with 4 play huts for $10 and a garage sale. Good find.
This is how we found her one morning after she slept in until 10AM.

Sunscreen or Snow suit

She is back!!!! Erin and her boys decided to leave the crazy tornado weather in Kansas and head for more mild weather....well surprise our weather is yucky too. What is with the wind today. A little bit of weather facts for you from Komo 4 news. The average temp so far this month has been 57 degrees and that is 12 degrees colder then our normal. This has been the coldest first 8 days in June ever and then record of 12 days in June with the temp staying under 60 is in jeopardy of being broken this year. The good news is they say we will get a summer this year and starting Wednesday we should climb to nearly 70 and stay there for 5 days(that is as far as the forecast goes). So while our Mountains get snow dumped(a foot tonight) on them in June and we are freezing our bums off we also have to worry about global warming....Please can we get some of that warming to blow in with these 40 MPH winds we have been having all day. Trees are falling on houses and all really makes it feel like winter, by the way the news is calling this month June-ary.