beach day

A morning at the beach with daddy AND grandma... Could life get any better for my 2 little beach bums or what?! Paul took the morning off to play with us, but still couldn't get in the water because of his ear.

Hawken's new favorite thing? long walks on the beach with grandma. :)

Lullaby even got to come. It was her first time at the beach. She wasn't too sure about the humidity/heat, but I think once she can move around more, and I can remember to dress her appropriately, she will love it!

Sadly, this particular day, there were jellyfish on our favorite beach. Both Matix and Hawken were stung. They got tangled up in their trunks. :( The stings were pretty minor and were gone by the next day, but we spent the rest of the afternoon hunting jellyfish and trying to keep a little spot of water clear for the boys to play in. You can see one on the sand in front of Hawken with a stick in it.

After a second round of stings for Hawken, we stripped the boys down (which they loved) so they could continue playing in peace and it ended up being a great day. Another fun adventure

spoiled

The boys weren't the only ones spoiled while my mom was here... Here I am lounging in my bed with an ice cream cone.

And this is the cake she had a dream about making, so she made it. :) I miss you mom and all your wonderful spontaneous delicious treats! (She didn't want me to take a picture of this, but I am glad I did :)

we love our ward

In our church, after someone has a baby, the families can sign up to bring meals to the new mommy and her family for the first week (or longer). Our particular ward has gone above and beyond though. Our Relief Society (the women's group) president got people signed up for well over the first week, and not just for dinner. Some people brought breakfast, lunch, and even cleaned our house for us. The boys were so excited to see some of their friends those first few days. It was SUCH a wonderful gesture of friendship. We love our ward here, and will really miss it when we leave. Sadly, I didn't get pictures of most of the people who came, but here are some. Can you tell they love babies?! :)

bath time

This is what bath time in the Berg home looks like lately. :) Grandma with the boys (do you think they are having fun?), and daddy with his girl.

My mom has since left, but grandma Stacy is on her way and will be here on Sunday, hooray! Lullaby, by the way, HATES her sponge bath when I give it(she still has a bit of her cord, so no real bath for her just yet), but LOVES her bath when Paul does it... Hmmm... a daddy's girl already? Is that possible?

last belly pic - 40 weeks!

We took this "belly" picture on my due date (the 22nd), the baby was 12 days old...

Thank heavens Lullaby decided to come early! How would I have fit her in there?! At her few days old check-up she was already 9 pounds 2 ounces... Yikes! This little girl means business! :)

rotation #1 DONE!!

Paul just finished his first ever clinical rotation!!

He did a family medicine rotation following 3 different doctors (2 weeks each) at various locations. I really liked his relaxed schedule. He was able to come home every day around 5 or 6, and he didn't have any overnights or weekends. It was perfect. This is what Paul has to say about it:

It was an epic experience, I got to see the whole spread of ages and ethnicities. They gave us a lot of freedom, so I was able to do tons of stuff on my own. One time I got to see a patient all by myself. I did the entire physical examination, I wrote all the notes, and made my recommendation, and the doctor just came in and signed it and said it was exactly what she would have done, and walked out. All the tuition money I have paid is finally validated in 7 minutes of patient interaction. :) And I am now trying to pack a more kosher lunch after working here... :)

Next on the table is a 12 week rotation in internal medicine. It is similar to family medicine in that Paul will see a variety of patients and follow a number of different doctors at different locations. This rotation started yesterday and will continue on until the middle of December (when we move to Georgia!). He met his doctor today and LOVES him. The doctor seems to have a personality similar to Paul's and Paul couldn't be more excited. :) This rotation, however, has a few late nights each week (which the kids and I are not looking forward to), and some weekends. Hmmm... At least the baby is already here, so I don't have to worry about that. :) Cheers to 1 down, and 5 more core rotations to go!!

boy time

Paul took the boys to the park one afternoon, to spend quality BOY time. :) What a good daddy, right? They all came back sweaty and covered in dirt. They had such a great time. Meanwhile, Lullaby and I spent some quality nap time together. Hooray!

day at the pool

An afternoon in the pool with grandma Kim is just what these boys wanted. They jumped in to her, and showed her all their new swimming skills. Hawken told grandma all about the sharks in the pool, and Matix would race with grandma after his pool toy. It was a fun day.

Lullaby came with me to take a few pictures of the boys. We tried to stay out, but she is an A/C girl, and didn't like the heat or humidity very much at all. So we took a quick pic of her first day lounging at the pool, and then headed back inside. :)

happy

Matix and Hawken are such WONDERFUL big brothers. They love helping their little sister... whether it's putting her pacifier back in her mouth if she cries, or taking turns brushing what little hair she has after her bath. I love to watch the 3 of them together. Life is SO good.

baby shower #3

Exactly 1 week before delivering this baby, the wonderful ladies in my ward decided to throw us a baby shower. They asked if I had a shower already, when I said "Yes", they replied with, "Well, we like to throw parties, so we're having one for you anyway." :) It was so nice and completely unexpected. Here are most of the people who were there, although later a few more ladies joined us.

There were a few games that kept all of us laughing. I especially loved the guess how big my belly is game. Some people were WAY off. :) It was so fun.

I wish I had taken a picture of all the delicious food. Our ward is very multicultural, and we had the best mix of food ever. There were at least 10 different countries represented in food, and I tried it ALL. Yum! :) Here is one of the cakes though. It had edible glitter on it. Fun!

These are the 2 main people responsible for all the fun, Mara and Valeria. It was SO sweet of them. We left with tons of things we needed for Lullaby, and a few things just for fun! :) Thanks to all of you. It was a wonderful night.

grandma is here!

My mom is here visiting, and as usual, she missed the birth. :) It worked out really well though because she came when I really DO appreciate the help. Paul had his surgery the day before she got here and he was down for the count, I had been up all night with a newborn and 2 cranky boys, so by the time she walked into the house, the trash hadn't been taken out, the boys had been inside all day, the dishes were piling up, and all the delicious dinners brought over by our church ward family had stopped coming... Hooray! Perfect timing!

She jumped right in and cleaned our house, and did our laundry (a few times now), and made us dinner each night, and did the dishes, and played with the boys and even got in a few snuggles with her newest grand baby. :) She leaves tomorrow and we are all sad to see her go. Thanks mom for coming down here and taking care of all of us. :)

Paul Update

Paul and Lullaby needed some rest after a busy day.

Why is Paul still bandaged up AND wearing scrubs?! Because his work ethic is ridiculous and even the day after his surgery he went to his rotation... Wow. He puts most people to shame. :) Since this picture was taken, he was able to remove the bandage, and although he still bleeds from his ear a few times a day (which is normal, and to be expected), he has continued to go to rotations and study like normal. Good for him. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and prayers, he is healing quite nicely. On Monday he has his appointment to get the cement off of his ear drum. More updates then.

Matix is 3!!!!! - gifts

Well, finally, I am getting to Matix's birthday post. :) On the 14th, Matix turned 3 years old!! We had already celebrated with his friends, but on his actual day we had more birthday fun. He got to open all his packages and cards from his friends and family that don't live here. It was a great morning. Grandma Kim sent a new train track bridge and train, grandpa Chuck sent 2 water guns (1 for each boy), Hawken and Lullaby got Matix a few dinosaurs, and Paul and I got him a wooden fruit cutting set. He got cards from great grandma Evie, his friend Tanner, and a few friends from church too. Then every few days after his birthday, another card would come, or another package, he thinks his birthday lasts all month... :) In the days following, great grandpa George and great grandpa Pauline sent him a new outfit and a lego "Cars" toy, and auntie Jolie and cousin Liesl sent stickers, auntie Robin said her gift is on it's way, and grandma Stacy and grandpa Lee got him a gift too that will come with Stacy when she comes out in a few weeks. Wow, Matix is SO thankful. Thank you to everyone who sent him a gift, card, birthday message, etc. It was so wonderful. Oh, and his girlfriend (and future wife) Emmy called and sang him the happy birthday song, which he just ate up! :)

This amazing 3 year old can do so much too. Physically, he can do it all. Although he is more cautious than his brother, he is quite the daredevil. He can run, jump, tip toe, and is learning to hop on one foot, although he doesn't really get it yet. :)

Matix is still our sensitive little guy though and when he is tired or hungry, the smallest things make him sad or emotional. He is so smart and and it's getting much easier to calm him with reason and logic. He still sleeps with his blue star blankie which he loves, and no other blanket will do. I just asked him, and his favorite foods are "oranges, fruit, nanas, peas (which was a surprise to me), candy, mac and cheese, and bread"... He is potty trained and loves being a big boy. He will tell us multiple times a day about all the things he can do by himself. He does not like time outs and will do almost anything to keep from going there. Matix has such a BIG personality, we are so proud of him and love him SO much. Happy 3rd birthday big boy!