Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Back To Work I Go

I collage I made during work of pics that Sondra 

took when Strummer was at her house for the day

Our first official playgroup!

I think Strummer was 6 weeks old.

The babies were so little!

Jace!

Snuggles w/Daddy during the Superbowl Party

Playing w/Bosco 

(who also had an adjustment when I went back!)

A nap in the wrap

Visting Mommy at work...here he is

w/Jessica while I finished up jobs

All bundled up ready to go to Mandi's 

My first day back

I have actually been back to work for 5 weeks now! It's crazy how fast it has gone! I went back Jan 5, the same day Brad went back to school from Christmas break. Boy, was it a MAJOR adjustment! Not only did I HAVE to wake up early, I had to stay awake. While I was home, if Strummer woke up early to eat, we would both fall asleep later in the day. Well, not so much anymore! It was such a shock to the system that I got sick! It didn't help my husband was also sick, and then I find out over 1/2 the people at work are sick w/the same thing (it was a cold, sore throat, cough, fun things like that). THANKFULLY Strummer did not get sick! 

Well, like I've said, it was HARD going back! I was used to hanging w/my son all day, everyday, then all of a sudden having to be away from him for roughly 10 hours! (Basically, I see him before I leave at 6:15AM then see him when I pick him up around 4pm!)

One of the good things is that Brad drops him off! Thank goodness! I think if I would have had to drop him off, I would just be a wreck! Another thing I am most thankful for is that he does not go to a daycare! Our good friends, Joel and Mandi Benbow said they would watch him during the day (well, Mandi watches him, Joel has his own roofing company, so he works all day!) So, Brad drops Strummer off at Mandi's around 6:30AM on his way to work in Dallas Center. Strummer then gets to play all day w/Mandi and her sons,  Jude (who is 2) and Jace (who is almost 5 months old!) I think my adjustment was a lot easier, knowing he was w/someone I know and trust! (Thanks Mandi!). I'm also thankful for our other friends who are willing to step in when Mandi is unable to watch him! Strummer has also had a fun time w/Jennifer and her son Issac (who is 2), Terrie, Debby, Sondra and her daughter Amelia (almost 5 months) and Karla and her daughter Ella (who is almost 6 months!). I've also had the wonderful support of Laura (along w/her daughter Leah who is a few weeks younger than Strummer) and Kelly (who's son Miles is just 2 days younger than Strummer!). The last 4 ladies that I have mentioned are in my playgroup in Ames! We all go to Cornerstone and met at the baby class! It's been awesome getting to know these wonderful girls! Kelly was also my 'going back to work' partner! I'm glad I had someone else there who was going through the same thing I was! Love You Girls! 

This has nothing to do w/work, but what's totally funny is when Brad and I met Sondra and Andrew at one of the classes, I happened to be wearing a NWMSU sweatshirt. Sondra saw it and was like, did you go there? I said, yep, did you go there? We (Andrew, Sondra and I) found out we were all there THE SAME TIME! Had some mutual friends and went the same church! How nuts is that? So Sondra and I have this 'dream' that Strummer and Amelia will grow up together then graduate and go down to Northwest Missouri State and be Bearcats together! 

I do enjoy my precious time even more w/my little man and LOVE seeing his smile when he sees me in the afternoons when I pick him up!

What else is totally cute is anytime when Brad and I are gone w/Strummer the first thing Bosco does is wait for us to put Strummer's car seat down, take off his cozy-cover and then goes and licks Strummer's face to say 'hello'! I really need to record it! 

 

So - even though working is not my ideal situation, the next best thing is knowing I have good friends to lean on and to help out when I need it!!! 

More later!! 

2 Months Old!

I think he was apprehensive knowing what was happening at his appt. 
Waiting for Dr. Parsons to come check him out
Right after his shots
My tough Rock Star
We can't believe Strummer is already 2 months old. It doesn't seem that long ago being in the hospital for 24 hours before he decided to enter this world. He was very stubborn! hee-hee-heee!
Yesterday he had his appointment and did very well! When he received his 3 shots, Strummer just became really red in the face, cried for a few minutes, then he was done. He's a tough guy! :P
According to Dr. Parsons, he is very healthy and looks good! She was even impressed w/his ability to stand on his own (well, we hold his hands, but he stands by himself). He has some major muscles!!
When he was born he weighed 8 lbs - 14 oz and was 21-1/2 inches long. 

At his appointment he now weighs 12 lbs - 5 oz, 24-1/2 inches and his head is 15-3/4 big! Which puts him at 50% for weight, 75-90% for length and 25-50% for his head circumference.

We feel so blessed and lucky to have out little guy here! God has truly given us a little miracle. He is a joy every day (yes, even when he cries or has really stinky diapers!)

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Today's The Day!

As I'm sitting at work writing this...I am 40 weeks, 3 days pregnant. I have my last doc appointment this morning and will be going in this evening to start the inducement!! It's crazy and how fast and yet how slow these last 9 months have been. So tomorrow Brad and I will be parents! With what we have been through in the last 2 years w/2 miscarriages, this pregnancy is extra-special knowing we have this special gift coming to us from God! We're excited to meet Strummer, learn how to become parents and bring him up in God's Glory.

This pass weekend was my 'last weekend' w/out responsibility, so I spent it w/my sisters and family! Erika came to DSM so Sara, Era and I were able to all hang out together and have sister time! Of course, we also spent some sister time w/Scott and that was fun! :D Friday eve we met my parents at Sara's apartment then headed to the Waukee HS and watch Hannah do her Jr. Color Gaurd. Totally adorable!!
Sat morning Sara and Era and I went on this long walk, 'cause it's good to walk and we were hoping it would help start labor...not so much. Even though I felt awful by the end of the walk, I was totally fine in a hour! So after that we went over to my brother's house to baby-sit Hannah and Ian. Mike & Crystal spend the afternoon going to lunch and movie so the 3 aunts came over to look after the little ones! Well - they really aren't so little anymore. Hannah just turned 6 and Ian will be 4 in a few months! It was a good time hanging out w/them! We even showed Hannah how to curl her lashes 'cause she was interested in what the eyelash curler was. She thought it was for cutting your lashes, so we showed her it is to curl the lashes! How adorable is that??
Later in the afternoon Scott came over to help us out (and to see Sare-Bear). He also has a niece and nephew the same ages as Hannah and Ian so he fits in quite well! During that afternoon I went onto Mike's computer to watch part of the football game. I'm so happy they are able to show home games online now!! It was Northwest Missouri State's homecoming weekend and I've gone down every year since I left...and obviously wasn't able to go down this year! However, was super excited to watch part of the game and then see they won 56-7!! Go Bearcats! They are currently the only team in their division conference undefeated! Woo-Hoos!!!

Then later that day we met my parents and my brother and his family at the hotel where they were staying so Hannah and Ian could go swimming! (they LOVE to swim). It was nice being w/my whole family for a little while before Strummer arrirves (well, except my own hubby, he was at home).

On Sunday, Sara ran the half-marathon in Des Moines and made it in a little under 2 hrs!! Congrats Sare-Bear!!

Here are a few pics for you to enjoy. I'm also posting links for a few photos albums on facebook. One is of my 2 baby showers the other is a link of pregnancy pics that a few of my friends took for me!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2011485&l=47925&id=146101151

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2011309&l=94d04&id=146101151

Also - set up a website just for Strummer through shutterfly. You'll be able to see pics of him and read about things going on.
http://strummerwilliam.shutterfly.com/
password: Strummer1008

Lots of things going on!

As usual, I meant to post something A LONG time ago, but I keep on forgetting or just totally run out of time in the day! Well, currently we have less than 2 months to go! According to my pregnancy widget I have 57 days to go. It seems I have been busy every weekend for the last couple months...and it's going to continue for another month! On June 27th, Brad and I celebrated our 5-year dating anniversary! We were in Omaha for the weekend visiting my sisters and it was a lot of fun! We did a sister photo shoot w/my brother-in-law. He did an super-fab job...as usual. If you would like to take a look go to www.bradleyjensen.com. Then head to the gallery, click on the 'berg sisters' and the password is "algona". It was a lot of fun to do!!

A couple weeks ago, Brad, Sara, Scott and I all went to the IA State Fair. It was a pretty fun experience. I haven't been there since I was in 5th or 6th grade! Also being 30 weeks pregnant...that was also an experience! We walked around, saw all the different things. I even had a corn dog on a stick! (which I have never had before) and it was really good. I also had the new fried pineapple on a stick! it was a big pineapple spear, dipped in funnel cake batter and fried. it also had a powdered sugar icing on it. it totally rocked!! by the time we got back to Sara's apartment...i was pretty much wiped out. who knew that my legs and feet could be in so much pain :P

Last weekend Sara and I went to Omaha (PS - it's SO nice having my sister live in DSM, since I can see her more often..AND we can go to omaha together!) Anyhoos...Friday was Lizzie's graduation (congrats Lizzie!), then later that night we met at Ted & Wally's (a totally awesome ice cream shop in Omaha) to see each other b/f she moved down to FL. It as GREAT seeing her! And it will nice if we ever head down to Orlando and we can get together. I told her we need to get Strummer accustomed to Disney things early on! hee-hee-hee!
It was nice hanging out w/Era and Brad too! I haven't hung out w/my sister and her hubby for awhile! Era was finishing up a cake for a one-year old's birthday! it was SUPER adorable!! she also created new ganaches...which I got to taste-test! (Thanks Air!) My favorite was her cranberry one. If you want to see what else she makes, go to her website (www.thechocolateseason.com)

On Thursday I have another ultrasound. My doctor just wants to double-check and see how Strummer is doing...mainly, because I have been measuring at least 2 CM larger the last 3 appointments (well, actually I have every appointment!). So - Strummer may be coming sooner than we think! It'll be fun just to see how much he has developed since week 21. I'll be sure to update after we have the US!

Well, here's a few pics for you to view! Have a fabulous day!!

It's a BOY :o)

We found out we are having a boy! His name is going to be Strummer. At 21 weeks he weighed in at 1 lb 3oz (which makes me have even more inclination that he going to take after his father and being a BIG baby when he's born!) He is healthy and moving around a lot. He also kicks quite a bit (and at odd times...for instance at 3 'o clock this morning!) I'm starting to do some registering so that is fun (I started one at Babies 'R Us online at work during a slow day). We are now slowy getting Strummer's room together and I'm looking forward to having everything together! Brad said he wants to come along for registering at Target, so that should be an interesting time! He certainly 'had fun' when we registered for our wedding things! hee-hee-hee
Have a fabulous day!

May was REALLY-REALLY busy!

So once again, I have taken forever to post something on the blog. Sorry for my tardiness! hee-hee-hee. In my defense I was SO busy last month! I was busy every single weekend and frankly gone every weekend except the last weekend of the month. That weekend I played for the worship team at church! The first week of May started off w/a trip to Omaha to see my younger sister, Sara graduate from the Nebraska School Of Medicine! VERY exciting! She is now a full-fledged Doctor of Physical Therapy. She is working at ChildServe in Johnston...which makes me extra excited, because now she lives just 40 min away opposed to 2+ hrs away!! It's nice being able to see her every weekend! HURRAY!!
The following week my first stop was in Algona on Wednesday. I went up there to listen to Becca's solo at the All-School concert. I gave her bassoon lessons when I lived in Algona and wanted to be there to support her. I also went up to finalize Kim's gift certificates for her salon, Allure and meeting w/Nancy for a new logo for her and her husband's paint store, Colors. That was a lot of fun and she took me out to Premier for pizza! SO YUMMY! I'm excited to be obtaining new clients for my design business!
On that Friday, Brad and I made a trip to St. Paul. My wonderful husband graduated w/his Masters Degree in Differentiated Learning. Not exactly sure what it all means, but it's really important in the education world! It was awesome seeing all his co-horts and meeting his professors that he has 'gotten to know' the last 2 years. Everything was all online, so the last time he had actually been face-to-face was 2 years ago when we were up there for his orientation! CRAZY! I"m so proud of him for getting his masters degree and nearly getting a 4.0! I have a smart-smart hubby! It's also super nice having him 'back'. He's been SO busy and really didn't have to much of a life. On top of most of our house projects on hold for 2 years!
The weekend after that I headed up to Algona for Aaron and Becca's graduation parties.

This month should be a little less busy. Other than we're heading to Omaha at the end of the month. PLUS we are having a ultra-sound on Thursday! Hopefully the baby cooperates and we are able to see if we are having a boy or girl!
More to come later! Have an awesome week!

Here are links to my photos albums for Sara and Brad's Graduation

Sara: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009987&l=da6c2&id=146101151

Brad: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010079&l=bb436&id=146101151

Big News!

This will be short and sweet. We have BIG news!!! Brad and I are expecting our first child in October. He or she is due October 19th. I will do my best in keeping the blog updated on all the changes that are going on w/adding a new addition! We are very excited and feel very blessed that God has given us this little miracle, after going through the painful experiences of 2 miscarriages in the last 2 years. We thank God everyday for what He has done for us! More later!