Sunday, November 29, 2009

Happy 8 Months, Little Pumpkin!!

Happy 8 Months, Little Pumpkin!!
You are getting so big so fast. I am loving every step that you are taking towards making your own place in this world, your own nitch, exploring every part of it. I am right there with you as you experience each new aspect of this world...I love that you love every part, every piece, every bit of knowledge and exploration. Each step, each object, an adventure to explore, a challenge to overcome, a piece to absorb and take in. It is going by so fast, in the blink of an eye, and I can't help but want to slow the hands of time. Stalling these moments, holding them idle, absent from time.
I am torn between wanting to show you everything and holding it all still, so that I might not look back moments later, and they are gone, forever, now just a memory. I never knew that my heart was capable of so much love, of a love so worldly, surpassing all limits and boundries. I never knew that my heart could hold so much love, so deep a love...till you. I love you. Each day I spend in your absence, my heart breaks a little more. Each moment that I miss, I die a little inside. Aching to consume every moment possible. Forgive me for missing these precious moments that I will never, ever hold in my hands again, but will forever wonder about, and regret, in my heart. I love you. Happy 8th-Mommy XOXO

Thanks, Rach, for freezing these moments for me to treasure for the years to come...

Thursday, November 26, 2009

giving.thanks.















"The Pilgrim Hats Go Marching One by One...Hurrah......Hurrah!"Peanut Butter Balls. Mmm...
Yummy!
Happy Thanksgiving!



























Happy Turkey Day!!

Gobble, Gobble........BAWK!!
Mmmm....

Disclaimer: The bird pictured above was not harmed for the sake of the Garrett Thanksgiving Holiday Dinner. The bird pictured above is alive and well on the Ropp Farm (we think...). Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!





Monday, November 23, 2009

"Soon the Bells Will Start...."

Welcome to my Home!!! Ha, Ha. Just Kidding. WOW, I can't believe it has been a WHOLE WEEK since I posted last. I must be in a Funk or something. I just have not felt very Bloggy lately. I think I am just frustrated with work, our dog, the floppy baby tummy:) that is still adorning my once tiny frame, my photography that has just been soo blah! lately-fuzzy pictures, and trying to catch up on everything. My house was despicable early last week. I managed to make some headway and now, it is less atrocious. I hate to let things get that way because I am such a anal neat freak. It just makes me feel like a bad wife and mother, and woman and then I just start self-deprecating. But, I just haven't had the energy or the time. Our dog is very, very slowly healing from his ordeal and the slowness at which this is happening is really wearing on me, and he is completely my responsibility, as I am, also the prime care giver of Nikolia. I just can't believe that is going to take a year of his life, stationary, for our black lab to heal from this thing.

But, pity party, other news. Nik is very close to crawling, and I cannot wait for this step for her. She is getting up on her knees and rocking back and forth. And, I finally caved and put up some Christmas decs last night (I will post some pics later this week). I feel like I cheated Thanksgiving a little, but I couldn't stop myself, and I am not hosting Thanksgiving, so I am justifying it. I wanted to hang the lights outside this weekend, but we didn't get around to it. I volunteered to work for a colleague Saturday, in exchange for Wednesday off. So, I have a FIVE DAY WEEK OFF OF WORK starting Wednesday. Nik and I are going to make Peanut Butter Balls, and have loads of fun loving and hugging on each other. I would like to think that I will catch up on some sleep, but I know I won't. It's that time of year again, Christmas, and I have that itch, that butterflies, tingling, giddy itch, and I am finding it difficult to close my eyes.

I am Very, Very excited that Christmas is right around the corner!!


Monday, November 16, 2009

"It's beginning to look a lot like..."

Christmas has been on my mind lately (you know how I LOVE holidays, esp. Christmas!!) When I saw this, I just had to share with you my wish list and my own MEME. I want to hear your wishlists too!! So, if you want to copy this MEME and do the same, please, please, do so, and let me know in a comment!
Ironically, and not surprising to me at all, I share some of the same wishes and memes as my sister-in-law!!:) You'll also see my husband and I's photo (that my sis-in-law took) along with this same post!!:)

I went to my sister-in-law's blog today: http://schiranotriplets.blogspot.com/ and saw this:

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme todaysmama and Provo Craft http://www.cricut.com/holidaywishlist/?utm_source=todaysmama&utm_medium=meme&utm_campaign=HolidayWishList_Today%27sMama

are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.


1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?

1. The most obvious is the health and happiness of my family and friends, the safe arrival of my baby niece and for our Black Lab, Diez, to get better:)
2. Second obvious, Moola!! (we need to pay off our kitchen re-model before the interest accumulates)!!
3. This wish is kind of Moot(but because of it's significance, I have to place it in a category) after the Moola wish bc enough Moola and I wouldn't need to wish for this: To Stay Home with our daughter and extend our family
4. All things Photography: Classes, Books, Lenses: a wide angle lens and a prime lens (I am currently borrowing my sister-in-laws).
5. A Make-over (This includes a really good hair color, cut, eyebrow wax, make-up, new outfit, shoes, jewelry, handbag, if it could also include a few pounds lost, that would be stellar!).


2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?

A "welcome" sign that my 5 yr old niece gave me when my daughter (now 7 months) was first born.

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?

I have always wanted to get into scrap booking but there are so many choices, and it's such a committed, involved process, I'd have to buy EVERYTHING!! and would probably never stop and end up Bankrupt!! Ha!! I even bought a scrapbook and some supplies when I was pregnant to make a scrapbook of our pregnancy for our daughter, and it is all still packaged in the basement, untouched.:)

I have also always wanted to learn how to sew and knit too!

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?

A copy of Roald Dahl's book, "James and the Giant Peach." I still remember how utterly excited and surprised I was when I unwrapped that gift. I was 7 and I remember it as if it just happened. I remember every detail of that moment. **My 2nd Grade teacher, Mrs. Lamers had read the book to our class in snippets over the course of the school year, and I was enthralled with the story. She was also my all time favorite teacher, who left after 2nd Grade, and I was heartbroken and cried. I wrote letters to her for years afterwards. I still remember looking to my mom and asking her how she's managed to a get a copy of the book like it was some ancient scroll masterpiece lost to the world for ages (or maybe it was because I asked Santa Claus for it:)

5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?

Nik is only 7 months old, but I sat down and spoke with her regrading this matter, and she stated that she would be happy with anything Minuit and unnoticeable to the untrained human eye such as; little pieces of fuzz, dirt, crumbs, little pieces of plastic, coins, pieces of string, tiny pieces of paper, straw, particles of feathers, and tiny tiny sticks. These items are of huge interest her. She would also be happy with anything that she could put in her mouth; TV remotes, cell phones, coins, said items above, hair, body parts, articles of clothing, sweat shirt pant strings, broaches, earrings, bracelet's, watches, rings, receipts, plastic bags, beer bottles, glasses of water, packages, wrappers, flatware, china, pens, pencils, golf tees, golf markers, hot rollers, purses, hats, keyboards, laptops, cameras, lens caps, books, notepads, X-Box Controllers. She also is happy with anything that someone else currently happens to be holding or eating, this includes said items above, remotes, cell phones, X-Box Controllers, glasses of water, beer bottles, cans of soda, any kind of food, etc.

6. What is your favorite holiday food?

Umm...? Do you have to ask that. Christmas Cookies of course.

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?

I would like to say scrapbook. Not sure if Photos Christmas Cards, and Printing pictures and Framing for family members counts? I do that every year. I love to give framed pictures as presents. It's a gift that I think you enjoy every day for years to come, and I love photography.

8. What is your favorite holiday movie?

I LOVE Christmas Movies. I watch the same ones every year, over and over all Season long:)
Favorite Classic: It's a Wonderful Life (of course). Without fail, I get goosebumps and cry every year.
(Runner Up:The Bishop's Wife with Cary Grant and Loretta Young)
Favorite Fun Movie: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ( Elf: Runner Up)

9. Favorite holiday song?

I LOVE Christmas Music, I listen to it all Season long, in the car, in the house, while decorating and wrapping Christmas presents:)

Favorite Classic: The Christmas Song ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire...")
Favorite Fun Song: I also like "Baby It's Cold Outside" (Runner Up: Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby")

10. Favorite holiday pastime?

Mine is also, Baking dozens and dozens of cookies (for hours and hours) with my mother. She has the BEST recipe for Iced Sugar Cookies (from scratch) and Peanut Butter Balls. I remember every detail: the powder, the baking cloth, the wooden roller, the metal cookie cutters, the wax paper, cookie sheets. I remember the smell, picking each desired cookie shape, tasting the icing, putting colored sprinkles specifically for "tree ornaments," "Rudolph's nose," etc, the sound of the Christmas cookie tins, drizzling the chocolate, licking the chocolate off fingers, the chill of the peanut butter balls fresh from the fridge.
I can't wait to continue this tradition with my own children!

Runner Up: Every Christmas my mom would take us up to Chicago on the train to look at the Christmas Windows at Marshall Fields, then we would eat lunch around the Huge tree at Marshall Fields, and Christmas Shop. I remember the sounds of the train station and train car, the blistering chill in the air, the bustle of the streets, the lights everywhere, the intricate window designs, the sheer awe of the large tree at Marshall Fields(waiting in line to eat around the tree at Marshall Fields-even with a reservation!), and the talking tree at FAO Swartz.
Although Marshall Fields is no longer in Chicago, I still hope to continue a similar tradition with my own children.

Prayers.

Please pray for my sister-in-law, my brother, and niece. My sister-in-law, is in the hospital currently. She started bleeding pretty badly this morning. She has had a delicate pregnancy (they have Placenta Previa: https://health.google.com/health/ref/Placenta+previa), and they have had some difficulty conceiving (they lost a set of boy+girl twins at 16 weeks). We are keeping positive, if she and the baby remain stable, she will be put on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. She is 19 weeks. If you know of any prayer chains, if you pray, if you just send out good thoughts, please, please do so fo them. They need your thoughts and prayers now more than ever. I have been praying, saying Hail Mary's, Our Fathers, and sending out good thoughts all morning. I am adding them to a prayer chain http://www.prayergates.com/prayercircles/baby_berner/default.aspx. You can add a prayer, here, if you wish:) It's just a short decription, my orig prayer timed out, and I updated a shorter version. I also added them to a Prayer Wall. My mother talked to my brother this morning, an she stated that he "sounded heartbroken." They will just be devastated if anything happens, my niece has been on Cloud 9 since she found out she was having a little sister; taking care of my sister-in-law and directing my brother to do everything for Tammie. I know that she asked about the baby in mommy's tummy and her sister 100 times a minute, and she has been waiting and wanting this for a long time, as have my brother and sis. We'd appreciate any love you could send our way.
Love, the Berners, Garretts, Rizzo's and Moehle's.

Update: My sister-in-law was released from the Hospital this afternoon. She and the baby are doing well.
She is on bedrest (home) until their 26th week. Please continue to pray for them if you can, as her condition is still ongoing, and puts her and the baby at risk for further complication. They still has some time to go to meet the 26th week, as they are on 19. God bless all!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Overdue.

Josh, I and Nik made a quick day trip to Chicago to see my expecting sister-in-law and niece (my brother was in Michigan for the weekend). It was long overdue, and I wish we could've stayed longer. Really, I just wish we didn't live nearly 2 hours apart. My heart aches to leave them, it really does. I may not see them till Christmas, and it's really hard for me, but, I am just glad we were able to get up there today, even for a short visit, and I can't wait to see them again!
Nik just adored my niece Savannah (as she does her other cousins). How much fun all these girls will have when they all get together down the road...

"Do you mind if I suck on your face??? No, of course you don't. I didn't think so. How can you resist me, I'm your cousin, and I'm only 7 months old?" "No, really, let me just get a bite of your your face again. I promise I'll be gentle this time."
"No. Absolutley not. I will not be seen at Hooters. I have a reputation to protect."
"This is just horrible. I'm so nervous, give me something to eat...I hope nobody sees me here...How's my bow look. Is it straight, too much? Do I have to be able to look that good in those orange underwears when I get older?! Am I ruining my chances of ever fitting into those little shorts by eating this Gerber Wafer now??!! I really should start doing baby Pilates now to get a head start on my glutes.


Gotta love this face!!

Dessert, anyone?
Yea, I pretty much took care of that...Not feeling guilty about it either...Maybe just a little bit at the piggish way I finished it off.











Friday, November 13, 2009

It's a GIRL!!!

My Sister-in-law and Brother are having another Girl!! I am so happy for them!! I can't wait! My niece is beside herself with happiness at this news, coming off a recent trip to Disneyland high as well. I just know they will be great friends (just like my sis-in-law and her sister). I am happy that Nik will have another cousin close in age, and a girl! I'm sure they'll be great friends! She is having a very delicate pregnancy, though, her placenta is in front of the baby, and she has been experiencing some bleeding. Her doctors say that she might come early, or she could get hospitalized down the road, women in this state can loose a lot of blood at birth, so it is dangerous, they have to keep a supply of her blood type in case transfusions are needed. And depending on where the baby is laying they may have to giver her a hysterectomy. This is their last child, so that is not so much a concern for them, as is the well being of the baby. I will be praying, as my niece would be beside herself if anything happened. If you find yourself praying for anyone in particular, please throw a prayer in for my baby niece that is comfy and cozy in her mommy's belly.In other news, not sure if I already updated this, but last weekend, Josh said that Nik said, "NANA." And, she indeed did start saying, "Nana." The children at her daycare call Nikolina's daycare provider, "Nana," so she hears it quite a lot, and I know my mother-in-law was practicing with her last weekend as well. I also heard her say "Mom," three different times starting last Sunday, but only once each time, and very casually. But, she has been saying it more frequently, but still not in succession, and very non-chalantly. She is also saying, "ba, ba, ba," for bottle maybe? She is well on her way...I can't wait for her to pick up more words, and increase her vocabulary. I can't wait for her to really, though, understand the meaning of the words, and be able to communicate them with me. I have been trying to inforce the sign-language, just a few signs on a regular basis, like "eat, milk, more, full, sleep, etc." Hopefully, she will start picking a few of them up. She started waving I want to say two weeks ago, which I think I posted on, and she is really into that right now, of course she does it kind of randomly, and I don't know that she quite knows the meaning of it. I am looking forward to when we can help her associate all these new words and actions with meaning!


Navigating.

"Crawling. Ah yes, crawling. I am finding the crawling a bit difficult. But, I found this other way to get around. You see, you simply scoot backwards. That's it, essentially, in a nutshell. It's quite simple to master. The only problem is, you do tend to get stuck places since you can't see where you're navigating. See you start out like this...and just scoot backwards, like this
remember to stop and take a breath; heeh, heeh, heeh...
Oh, what is this little string, that's quite nice, see how I can pull that, yes, I like this very much. Huh? What? Oh, yeah, and you just keep moving...
Well, now just wait a minute, I think I'm getting this string here, it's a tricky one...Gotcha! Thought you were clever, huh? Ok, the important thing as I was saying, is not to get distracted in your course of action...
and moving back...use things along the way if you need to help propel you back...
and keep on...
and back...
and further back...
Oh, wait, I think we've struck something. That's funny I don't remember that being there. Well this is quite a conundrum. But, I won't let it deter me."

"I'll give it another go here, as you can see.
Going...
Going...
"Wait, what is that, a piece of fuzz??!! Oh, that is so awesome! Wait, wasn't I doing something? Oh Yeah,
Going...
Going...
Going...
Still going...
And ...
And...
Gone!!!
"Oh, this is a nice spot! I think I'll just hang it here for a while. They have dust bunnies."
I think, I've struck something again. What a pickle I've gotten myself into!"