Some pictures of us enjoying the new bed...and bro/sis interaction!

Zoe likes the bed.....

The one above is quite possibly my favorite picture ever taken of these two

Daniel can't believe he had to nap in his own bed when this one was around....

Kindnesses....and a fish called "Nah Nah"

I have made a friend at Nursing School. Well, I've made several, but one I feel certain will be a friend for life. She and I are a lot alike in a lot of ways, and not so alike in a lot of other ways. She's neat. She has a neat family. She gave me a practically brand new King size mattress set. I'm dumbfounded. It's soooooo comfortable. I can't wait to sleep on it. We picked it up this morning from her. Doesn't it look inviting? Wait until I get it all made up.... :)



Today we finally got the newest addition to our family....Nah Nah is our Crowntail Betta. Daniel picked him out all by himself today at Petco. Did I mention that he named the fish, as well? Well, he did. And Daniel is SO excited. Nah Nah likes his big open tank, too. Sure beats the heck out of that little petri dish he was in at the pet store! I promise a better picture of him soon....but here's a few decent, but kind of blurry ones :


He's a lot prettier than he looks here, trust me.

Low Flow Toilets

OK, fess up...whose idea were they? Because they SUCK. Or rather, they DON'T SUCK. A single square of toilet paper going down the wrong way stops them up. And then when there is a really big clog, there's really nothing you can do but plunge and pray. The toilet in our master bathroom keeps getting clogged. We don't know why. But we're both so busy we can't get a plumber out to see about it. We were told to get an auger and clean down in there....but I don't think I can stomach it. So, we sit....clear, clean water in our unusable toilet because nothing will go down.

Anyone have suggestions???? We're desperate here....

My Kids...bragging time!!

Daniel at 2:

33 lbs (90%)
38.5" tall (so far off the charts it's hilarious)

He gets more and more verbal every day! And he has a memory like an elephant....the kid doesn't forget anything. And SMART??? He recognizes his name, knows his ABCs, and can count to 5!! He is beautiful!! He is such a good big brother, he's fascinated with Zoe...he hasn't gotten to the point of wanting to carry her around yet, thank Goodness. He has a temper but can be reasoned with.

Today is the first time he's tried to climb out of his crib....we haven't moved him to his toddler bed for a couple of reasons. The biggest reason : he sleeps all over the bed! I'm so scared that he'll fall out and get hurt! But he'll be hurt worse if he crawls out of the crib & falls. I have no clue how to transition him...

Zoe at 4 months :

She flips over from back to tummy and from tummy to side. She's teeny (totally normal, but a munchkin compared to Daniel!)....just starting to wear 3-6 mos clothes, still in Carter's Newborn onesies, though. She makes the funniest noises, too. She smiles constantlym and she gets MAD if you take away her toy!!

We're going to need to get her an exersaucer soon, and I'm looking forward to that!

Dealing with the "G" Word........GUILT.........

I'm away from my kids 5 days a week. 9 hours a day. It kills me. I'm wracked with guilt. My heart is heavy & it hurts. I come home and a few things happen : Zoe smiles her widest, sweetest smile. And Daniel shouts out, "MOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!" He tells me he loves me, kisses & hugs me, and wants to help me feed "Zoe milk." Seeing the joy on their faces and knowing that I will be making a difference in our lives by finally contributing financially helps the guilt. Really, it does. But I still deal with it on an almost daily basis.

And....a year ago tomorrow :

Nursing School

Time for an update y'all.....

School is great and I'm learning so much! I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to pay for it, but I have a little more time. I need to make it to month 4 to get my CNA and Med Aide certification. Then I make it to month 12....and I'm a nurse!! :)

I'll add a picture in my scrubs later gator!!

Pitching a Tent....

I don't know if you've heard about the Youth Minister who had the Freudian slip about Lot "pitching a tent" but here is an email I found he'd written to someone, and a link to the video of his slip up. Like we haven't all made mistakes before...

—–Original Message—–
From: Blake Bergstrom
Sent: Wed 9/14/2005 9:31 AM
Subject: if you thought the audio was funny..wait till you see my face on the video!!

Hi there,

Wow…I never knew that I’d be famous for my theology on“TENTS and how to PITCH them”!! If you ever need a speaker for yourcamps or retreats, my specialties are subjects that most people “feel uncomfortable with”…I’m the kind of guy that just speaks what really “needs to be heard”…I really get to the “heart of the matter”…” whateverybody’s thinkin’ but nobody will say”!! HEHEHE

My name is Blake and I am a High School Pastor at an awesome church inParker, Colorado, even though they don’t claim me anymore. I recently sent out an email about a sermon I was preaching and I explained that I was going through a series called, “Ignite”, which was a series fromFellowship Church in Grapevine, TX. However, the way that I tackled the account of Lot was probably a little different slant than the way that Ed Young preached it!!!! In fact, he didn’t hold a candle to the waythat I “undressed that passage”…I threw him under the table!! (I’msure he’ll read this, so let me say this publicly…” I did a much betterjob of preaching your sermon than you could ever dream!!!)

So, in case you didn’t get the first audio clip that circled the globe over night, then you’ll need a little explaining. I was doing a quickrecap of the series and I was explaining to my students that bad companycorrupts good character and that we shouldn’t “pitch our tents” to closeto evil. Let me warn you though, that my version of the Bible might notread quite like yours. Dude, you try and say it out loud…it’s hard tosay, alright…so get off me!!! It’s amazing how switching around oneletter like an “N” can change the entire phrase!!! The look on my face after I said it is absolutely priceless. Push pause after I “let it fly” and look at the horror in my eyes…my left eye actually crosses…funny stuff!!!!!!!

So, since there have been hundreds of requests for the video, here itis!!! Now, while I’ve got you here, I just want to thank you for allyour emails confirming the fact that I’m an idiot!! I’m going down in ablaze of glory on this one…I’ll forever be known as the pinching ____guy!! I’m trying to embrace this new identity, but to be honest I’m notreal sure I’m diggin’ it! What’s become of me…my parents,grandparents, my children, and my poor wife will have to carry thislegacy for years to come. They had such incredible dreams for mylife…they wanted me to be a well-polished and dignified–”Prince ofall Preachers”…well, maybe I did become that in my own way…I don’tknow!! All I know to say is…”Thank God for His GRACE!!!” Aftertalking with God about this whole thing, He let me know that when ithappened… all of heaven fell to their side, they started beating theground, with tears streaming down their face, and Lot was running aroundpinching himself, and all the heavenly hosts roared with laughter…justlike you did!!!!
God’s favorite character,

Blake Bergstrom
High School Pastor
Southeast Christian Church

And the video

I must say, I agree with the comment that says Pastor Bergstrom handled himself very well in the email response. The video is funny, but I really hope that the Church did not actually fire him. I'm in the process if trying to find out. Although I must admit, studying is my top priority right now ;)

What do you think?

Noises

Zoe has begun making all kinds of noises....last night while she was in bed beside me she woke me up going "puh puh puh puh." And she woke up another time singing in that cute baby tongue that we all adore. She likes to grab Spot -- her little dalmatian puppy she got from Memaw and hang onto his ears. She'll twist him around and around and just stare at him and talk to him!

Right now she's in her bouncer going "waa baa oooaaa" it's so cute.

I will be posting on stopped up toilets in a little while. But I will tease you with this : I HATE LOW FLOW TOILETS

They melt my heart.....

I love my children so very much...enjoy their photos :


This is truly what it is all about....

I am training him well...

Our Angel girl :

I don't think there has been a cuter little girl

Happy Valentines Day

Today is Valentines Day......what's the point? ;)

One Year Later...

Daniel on his 1st Birthday:


And Daniel today, on his 2nd Birthday :

Sometimes I Thank God....

For tiny answered prayers. For some, praying that your child is over a stomach bug in time for their birthday may seem insignificant. Not to us. And God rewarded us! Even though we did not deserve it, Daniel did! He woke up today babbling, squealing, and happy. No diarrhea. No nausea, and no icky stuff. He's even eating! I know he's lost weight with all of this, because he had not eaten in several days. I guess we will find out just how much weight he lost tomorrow morning at his check up!

He had his Birthday party today....I'll post about that in a bit and put up some pictures.

You can check out his pictures here.

Not how I wanted to spend today....

I had today (my day off) all planned out....

1. Take both kiddos to the DR for well baby check ups
2. Take Daniel to get his Birthday Picture made at the Picture People (we get a free sitting and a free 10x13, which I had planned to display at his party on Sunday)
3. Take the kids either :
to the zoo, or
to see Curious George

Instead, what AM I doing today?

1. Waiting for the other shoe to drop w/Daniel
2. Not getting anything done because I'm exhausted
3. Being sad b/c Daniel might be sick on his Birthday AND he's turning two....

I will post a picture in a bit of him in his nest. He has to be the sweetest thing ever.

One of those parenting "firsts" nobody talks about....

Ok, so plenty of people talk about it....but we had ours :

Wednesday night was the first night Daniel has woken up sick in the middle of the night. He was covered (at 10:45 pm, after being asleep since 8) from head to toe in vomit. We changed his sheets, bathed him, cuddled him. His temp was 96.7! That's low. So I wrapped him in double blankets, and he wanted in his bed. So I put him in his bed. Not 10 minutes later we were back in there to do the same thing.

He ended up vomiting 3 times, and couldn't keep water down. Finally he fell deeply asleep and slept until 8:30 Thursday morning. All day yesterday he ran a fever, which never went above 102 and never went below 99. Took him to the Urgent Care Hours at our Dr's office last night. He has Gastroenteritis. And today, still running a fever and he has added diarrhea to the mix.

Poor baby. I think Michael and I handled Wednesday night very well. Now if we can just get him well before Sunday! That's his birthday, and NOBODY should be sick on Christmas AND their Birthday!

On a better note, Zoe had her 4 month well baby today....she's perfect!

2

One week from today my little boy turns two. I can't believe it. We gave him the choice : Nemo, Elmo, or Sponge Bob for his Birthday party. He chose Sponge Bob (or, "Bob-Bob" as he calls him). So, Sponge Bob it is. Mimi bought him a Bob-Bob shirt today, and some Bob-Bob boxer shorts that he can wear over his diaper on his birthday. He should be sufficiently adorable. I can't believe he'll be two....

And, of course the day before he turns two....


....Zoe turns FOUR MONTHS....can't believe that, either.

My babies are growing up, and my feelings about that are mixed. Of course, I'm thrilled that they're learning and growing and getting big. But I'm sad because every day they are less and less my "babies" and more and more children. Soon, they'll be pre-adolescents, then adolescents, then young adults, then full blown adults. I guess it is completely normal to be sorta sad about that.

Oh Tannenbaum....

Well, Christmas is long past, here it is the 1st day of February. Daniel turns two in 11 days....and he won't let me take the Christmas Tree down. I finally was able to take all the ornaments off, but when I start to dismantle the tree, he gets upset. Well, I haven't actually tried to dismantle the tree yet, but when I was taking the ornaments off he kept screaming "NO! Christmas tree!!!" And I thought I had a hard time letting go of Christmas....

It is definitely going to come down this weekend. We've left the lights off, the decorations are off (finally) and hopefully, he has forgotten it's there. I told him while ago that when the tree is gone he'll be able to play and see out the window again. He said "Ok." But did he really understand? Uh, no. So once he goes to bed on Friday, whoosh the tree is coming down!!

I gave birth to a child who is officially weirder than me.