To Emily on your 3rd birthday!!

Dear Emily,



I can hardly believe that we just celebrated your 3rd birthday this past weekend! You are growing up so fast...it's just amazing. I'm sorry that this is the first official letter I've written to you. You will find out that Addison got one at 1 year old, but I was a little late on getting to yours the last two years! It doesn't mean that I love you ANY less!



It has been such an amazing three years with you, Emily. I have had more fun being your mommy than ANY other job or hobby I can imagine. You are such a precious blessing to us, a gift that can only come from God. You are truly an angel. It's so hard to write a letter like this because the fun things happen everyday that I want to share with you here, but my mind so quickly forgets all the little details! I'm afraid that if I try to write down all the wonderful memories with you for the last 3 years, the computer will become overloaded and will shut down all together.





Emily at 2 years old (June 2007)





When I think about you, these are the things that come to mind:





Precious little voice:

You have the MOST precious little sweet voice in the whole world. Nana Fulling says that you sound just like your daddy did when he was little. And not just when you are talking. That is adorable. But you also have an amazing ear for music. I remember at around 15-16 months old, you would play a note on your play piano, and then try to hum and mimic that same sound! You LOVE to sing, and your voice is the sweetest music to my ears. Some of your favorite songs right now are any songs from Mary Poppins or The Sound of Music, the Caterpillar song, Happy Birthday (to anyone), This Little Light of Mine, and Jesus Loves Me (sometimes you sing this at the top of your lungs when you're going to sleep).

July 2007

August 2007

Independence:

Emily, you are becoming a very independent little girl. I'm so proud of you because you, for the most part, want to try and do everything yourself. Whether it's getting dressed, going potty, riding your bicycle, or taking your plates over to the sink, you are showing your independent personality (and sometimes your stubborness, but I have NO idea where that might have come from!).

September 2007

October 2007

Thoughtfulness:

Honey, you are so thoughtful and sweet to others. Even at 3 years old, you do such a great job of sharing and caring for other people. I've seen you give flowers that you picked to little girls that you don't even know...give a small boy a hug who was crying. God has given you such a nurturing spirit, especially with your sister. It is so clear that you absolutely adore her. If she is upset and crying, you do whatever you can to try and comfort her...whether it's giving her a toy that you have been playing with, giving her hugs and kisses, or just saying a kind word to her. I love to watch the two of you together, and I hope that you will always foster this caring attitude toward her. She loves you so much.

November 2007

December 2007

Big blue eyes!:

Everyone talks about your "big blue eyes". Honey, you got those great eyes from daddy, I had NOTHING to do with it! They are amazing, such a crystal clear blue. I am constantly trying to take pictures that bring those eyes out!

January 2008

February 2008

Inquisitive:

I love this about you! You want to know "why" everything happens. It's great. It's so much fun to see you exploring the world around you and experiencing all the amazing things that God has placed before you. My prayer for you is that this part of your personality only grows stronger, and that you are NEVER afraid to ask why!

March 2008

April 2008

You and Jesus:

As a parent, this is the most important relationship that we are trying to foster in you. One of my favorite parts of the day is when we are laying down to say our prayers at night, and I ask you to tell me who you thank God for. I can't wait to hear what comes out of your mouth. Every night is something different and wonderful and sweet. Just tonight, you said, "dear Jesus, thank you for mommy, in Jesus' name, amen". Truly, there is just nothing better than that. You aren't afraid to talk to Jesus, pray to Jesus, and thank Jesus for everything. What a special girl He gave us!

May 2008

Funny:

You, my dear, keep us in stitches pretty much 24/7. The things that come out of that 3 year old mouth are hilarious! Whether it's your strange "doo doo da" that you started saying one day, or telling mommy that she is "gassy", or telling us that you need your "pivacy" on the potty, your funny phrases crack us up. And it's not just the things you say. You are SILLY, and that's so much fun! I love being silly with you. You are our Silly Hillbilly!

June 2008

Emily, thank you for being such an incredible, wonderful, amazing, sweet, sometimes dramatic little girl. I love you for always, even if you were none of those things. God has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams with you. He has placed in you a soft, nurturing spirit that I learn from everyday. I pray that this spirit grows within you, because I know that God has such special plans for you, honey. I love you so much...

Love, mommy

YOU decide!

So I've had tons of people tell me that Addison is the spitting image of Emily at this age. I have walked both sides of the line...sometimes I think she looks just like Emily when she was one, other times I think she looks completely different. So here are two pictures of the girls at one year. The top one is Addison, the bottom one is Emily. What do YOU think?

Addison's birthday

Even though Addison's birthday was Friday the 20th, we did our family "celebration" on Sunday afternoon. I had been asking Emily all week what she wanted to get Addison for her birthday, and the answer was always the same, "cupcakes". So we went to Wal-mart and Emily picked out the pink cupcake mix with pink cupcake frosting (not my personal favorite). We sang Happy Birthday to Addison in her high chair and let her go with her very own, Emily crafted, pink birthday cupcake. Here are a few highlights of the day:

Happy Birthday Addison!!!!

A visit from friends

Good friends Jason, Julie and Lennox came to visit the Lone Star State again for TWO weekends in a row!!! I'm pretty sure they are wanting to move down here as soon as possible, as they LOVED the 100 degree plus weather we were sporting for them... they just couldn't get enough of it. :)

We had a great time, the kids loved each other to pieces, and Julie and Anne were world dominators in the game of Rook. We braved Sea World for 6 hours and were planning to shut the place down except for a freak of nature thunderstorm that blew through! Thanks for the great time!!!

The whole group together at the disastrous Berges Fest

"Em-my" and "Nox" palling about

The three kiddos

!!

To Addison, on your first birthday

Well, honey, today is your FIRST birthday, June 20th, 2008. I can hardly believe it's already been a year, the time just keeps on flying past us! I wanted to start writing you and Emily letters each year so that you would know...when you get older...what was going on, what you were doing, what you were saying, what we were doing, what you liked, didn't like, you get the picture. I'm sad to say that I had great intentions of starting this when Emily was born, but it just didn't happen! So you are the first one to get a letter at one year old, Emily will get her first one next week when she turns three.

Addison at 1 day old

Let me start out by saying that from the first moment we saw you, and I know I can speak for daddy with this one, we were 100%, totally, completely, head over heels in love! It was hard to believe that we could fall in love with someone we hardly knew so quickly. When you were handed to me in the delivery room and I got to look at you for the first time, WOW...there are just no words to describe the feeling except simply amazing.

1 month old

Emily was SO excited to become a big sister, and has been loving on you from day one. She just adores you and is always around to lend a helping hand. And it is so clear that you adore her also. If you are unhappy, screaming and crying and just generally miserable, all Emily has to do is walk into the room, and the tears stop almost immediately! You love to watch Emily's every move, and right now, one of your favorite things to do is to tackle her when she's lying on the floor. You crawl over to her, lift yourself up on your knees, raise your arms up with this cheesy grin on your face, squeal, and then throw yourself down dramatically over Emily. It's hysterical. I know it won't always be like this...I'm sure you two will have your fair share of hair pulling fights. But right now, it is so precious to see that your foundation as sisters is so special to both of you!

Addison 2 months old



Addison 3 months old

Here are some of the cute things, not so cute things, highlights (and some low lights) of your first year:

Addison 4 months old



Being able to actually LEAVE the hospital with you after you were born!

This was big for us. It was so very hard to have to leave Emily in the NICU when she was born...heartbreaking...so to be able to leave the hospital with you in our arms, and arrive home with you in our arms, was a major highlight!

Addison 5 months old

Your first hospital visit

Addison 6 months old

God has a quirky sense of humor, truly. We were so happy that we escaped you having to stay in the NICU after you were born. Well... 1o days AFTER you were born, you spiked a fever of 102...and in newborn babies, that warrants an immediate visit to the ER. Oh, yeah, AND we got to stay in the hospital with you for three days while they poked you, prodded you, gave you IV fluids, measured your wet diapers, took rectal temperatures, and pumped you full of antibiotics. It turns out you had a virus, boy was it a nasty one! And to top it off, I got it too...while we were in the ER waiting for the doctor to see you. Poor daddy had to stay with you the first night in the hospital by himself, and you had a REALLY rough night that first night. I would have to say that was probably one of the scariest times of our lives. We did a lot of crying and praying for those three days. I think we can easily call this one...a low light of the year.

Addison 7 months old

When daddy comes home

This is a highlight of my day. When daddy comes home, you get SO excited. You crawl over to him as fast as your little body will take you, making your funny squealing noises along the way, and cling to his legs until he picks you up. And then...you don't let him put you down. If that happens, look out! I'm pretty sure they can hear you all the way over in China when you start crying...it's very dramatic.

Addison 8 months old

Your fingers

My dear, you seem to have a "thing" for the 3rd and 4th fingers of your right hand. This started around 4-5 months old. It's so cute. When you're tired, cranky or hungry, or when you have a lovey in your hands (anything soft and fuzzy), these fingers go in your mouth. Your 2nd finger and pinkey finger go up on either side of your nose, making it look like the Texas Longhorn symbol. However...you have recently figured out that you can suck on those 3rd and 4th fingers, while at the same time picking your nose with the 2nd finger...this is called multitasking...you're very talented for such a young age.

Addison 9 months old

Eating habits

Daddy is convinced that you are not really his daughter (despite the fact that you're the spitting image of him). You LOVE eating vegetables. And I don't mean the standard sweet potatoes and carrots that most babies seem to tolerate. You like those...but you LOVE green beans, the mixed vegetables, and the garden vegetables (which I personally think smell like the grass in our backyard). In fact, you prefer eating vegetables over any baby food fruit flavors that I've tried. I think it's great, daddy thinks you're a little strange.

Your mouth

You CANNOT keep anything out of your mouth. Daddy seems to think that Emily was the same way, but I do not have that same memory...or else I've chosen to block it out! I have never seen a baby down carpet fibers the way that you do. But your palette is not just limited to carpet fibers. Oh, no. You are willing to try just about anything. From dog food, dog hair, dog water, bits of food from the kitchen floor, leaves, grass, rocks, dust bunnies, other people's hair...you name it, you've probably tried it! I could vaccuum the floors of our house 3 times a day, and you would still find things on the floor to put in your mouth! It's amazing, really.

Addison 10 months old



Your sweet and contagious smile

Oh, honey, you have the sweetest little smile in all of Texas. One can't help but to get caught up in your happiness and smile right along with you. Of course, I'm never able to catch these grins on camera, you clam up immediately when I pull it out. But I can't tell you how many people comment on your adorable little smile and they say to me, "what a happy baby!". Right now, one of the cute things your doing is smiling so big that your eyes are all squinched up (is that a word?), and breathing rapidly in and out of your nose. Priceless.

Addison 11 months old

Your fussy time

Let's just say that for about a month or so, when you were just 2-3 months old, you were in a really foul mood from about 4pm to 10pm. And "fussy" really doesn't describe the array of sounds that came out of your mouth. I would characterize it more like...high pitched shrieking and screaming that the best earplugs in the world wouldn't help. NOTHING made you happy except someone holding you, facing you outward, and either walking around or bouncing on my exercise ball. We couldn't sit down, we couldn't put you down. Was it colic? Who knows. But just about the time that we were ready to trade you in (by the way, I'm kidding, we would never do that :), you stopped! I must say, though, mommy and daddy's nerves were fringed right to the nub! I guess we should be thankful that you didn't do this in the middle of the night instead!

Happy Birthday!!!

So there it is, a snapshot of your first year! We love you so much, Addison, and thank God for the blessing that you are every day. Love, mommy and daddy

Happy Father's Day!!

Well, this may be the day AFTER Father's Day that I'm actually posting this, but what can you do? Just want to give a shout out to all the daddies out there who do so much for us! I can't really leave it at that, though, without telling you a little bit about the reasons why I think my husband is really the BEST daddy of them all.

I know this may sound a little crazy to some of you, but when I first met Brian and got to know him a little bit, I just felt in my heart that whenever he finally had children, he was going to be one of those absolutely AMAZING fathers (of course, I was hoping that I would be the one having kids with him :) Well, I was right...he is an amazing father, AND I got to be the one to have his kids!

I have several reasons why I think he is such an awesome daddy.

He is the most patient person I've EVER met...

Truly, you have never encountered patience until you have met Brian. And for those of you who know him, you know that it takes alot to really get to him. Even when he's rattled by something, he still appears calm and collected. That is going to be so KEY when our girls are teenagers! I LOVE this about him and often pray for the ability to be as patient as he is.

He loves God...

I love that he loves God. To know that he and I are on the same page when it comes to teaching our children about the Lord is something that I cherish so much.

He loves us so much...

I'm pretty sure I can bet my life of the fact that when Brian wakes up in the morning, WE...the girls and I...are the first and foremost thing on his mind...I'm not sure Allie is included in this. And when he goes to bed at night, WE are the last thing he thinks about before he drifts off to sleep (the only exception may be when he's watching "The Deadliest Catch" or "Cash and Treasures" :) . He is always putting our concerns first with every decision he makes...sometimes to a fault. He rarely finds time for himself because he wants to spend it with the girls, or with me, or helping me with the girls when he gets home. AMAZING, I'm telling you.

I can't think of a more devoted, loving, fun, thoughtful and hilarious person that I would want to spend my days with, or have my children with. I love you so much, hon, thanks for all you do!!!

Love, A

Here are the pics the girls and I gave him for Father's Day

Any takers??

As many of you probably are aware, we recently decided to put our house up on the market. It is a bittersweet decision for us...this is the first house Brian and I bought after we got married almost 8 years ago! It is such a wonderful house, very cozy, warm, and it feels like "home" to me. Our neighbors are UNBELIEVABLE and if our house sells, we will miss them so very much. We keep joking around that we just simply need to transplant the neighborhood with us wherever we go.

Why moving, you ask? Well, there are a few reasons, one of them being that we are starting to feel like sardines packed into a tiny can. It's not that our house is super tiny, we could live here for a long time...but if we are going to be adding any more kiddos to the compound (ha ha), we will really start to feel the crunch of tiny spaces. So we thought we would put the house up and see what happens. To provide incentive for prospective buyers, we added this to our MLS listing:

Do you think it will work?