Rinn Reflections: August 2013

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Bergstrom Family Weekend

I am slowly working through all the pictures of the fun we've had this summer. A few days after Nana flew home to Colorado, Emily & Caleb flew down from Chicago for a hot Texas weekend! They were previously down here in May when it was still too cool to swim, but we made up for all the lost time swimming on this visit!

My mom & I picked Emily & Caleb up at the airport on Friday morning and headed straight over to North Park in Dallas. There are few things that I love more than a day of shopping at North Park!

The next morning, my sister ran from my parent's house down to our house for breakfast. :) Caleb, my parents, and my Grandma Joan also came. One of my favorite traditions from growing up was huge Swedish pancake breakfasts at my Grandma Joan & Grandpa Ken's house. My mom learned how to make Swedish pancakes, and now she carries on the tradition.

Isaac and Uncle Caleb agree that Swedish pancakes are the best!

After eating many Swedish pancakes, Isaac sat on the couch and watched a show. Grandma Joan joined Isaac, and I caught a cute picture of Isaac putting his arm around his great-grandma. :)

This aunt and uncle couldn't love Isaac (or Emma!) more. We're so thankful for a family who loves our children so, so much.

On Saturday evening, we had a family birthday party celebrating my mom's birthday! I don't have any pictures of the party, but it was a lot of fun to celebrate my mom with dinner and a cake from Nothing Bundt Cake (yum!). She is always doing for others that it's fun to make her sit (hard to do, trust me!) :) and be served at her party. :)

Isaac sat on the slide for a long time and yelled "walk, please....walk, please" over and over. He did it in the most monotone, nasally voice possible, which made it even funnier. I'm sure it's not too hard to imagine that Isaac is asked to "walk, please" over and over at the waterpark. :)

Lunch at Mac's on Sunday after church is another tradition. Do you see all the cinnamon rolls on both my dad and Isaac's plates? They are the best--and one of the main reasons we love going there. :)

We love you, Em and Caleb, and absolutely loved spending a weekend with you!

We can't wait to see you in just a few short months for Thanksgiving!

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Emma Victoria: 18 Months

18 Months!?!?! Wait, that means we are halfway to Emma's second birthday! Time just goes by so quickly. As much as I miss Emma being a tiny baby whom I wrapped and wore in my Moby wrap, it is so much fun to see Emma become a little girl. It's definitely bittersweet! I love hearing her beginning to talk. And, one of the very best things about Emma growing older is seeing she and Isaac play together. Isaac is constantly asking, "Where's Emma?"and always wants her to play with him.

At 18 months, Emma wakes up around 8:00 each morning. I dropped her morning nap this summer; though, there are a few days when I still lay her down for an hour in the morning (especially on Mondays). Emma takes 3 hour nap each afternoon, though it's not unusual for her to sleep for 4 hours. And, when she's awake, she is busy! Bedtime is between 7:45 - 8:00.

Emma is interested in anything that somebody else is doing. She will occasionally go upstairs by herself and play with the toy kitchen, but in general Emma wants to do whatever everybody else is doing. :)

For example...if I am cleaning, she wants to Swiffer...

I thought this was so funny how she tried Swiffering with her mouth!

...if Isaac has on safety goggles, Emma wants safety goggles....

...if Isaac is sitting at the picnic table, she wants to be right by him...

...if Isaac is running around with empty bags playing "grocery store," Emma wants an empty bag, too!

...sometimes, though, the roles reverse. A few nights ago after supper, Emma was playing with this loader. Isaac raced upstairs, grabbed the toy excavator, and played right next to her.

Emma and Isaac both took survival swim lessons this summer. Even after nine weeks of lessons, Emma still whimpers--and sometimes wails--through each lesson. But, she passed her swim test in street clothing! Emma can float very well and, if she is on her stomach, can flip to her back to float again.

Despite not liking swimming lessons, Emma loves swimming itself.

Emma loves jumping into the pool to Daddy--she gets this excited every single time!

She also has so much fun playing with the gushers and going down the slide at the waterpark.

At 18 months, Emma says Mama, Dada, Emma, I-aac, my (mine), dow (down), do (no), bubba (brother), whee (when swinging), uh-oh, and boo (book). We've heard her say an ooo (thank you), no, and aww own (all down) a few times. My favorite word combinations that she's said have been no I-aac and Dada my (Daddy mine--as she reached for Dave to pick her up).

A few more favorite pictures of our 18 month old girl:

Emma swinging at the park with her friend Adelyn.

These curls! I absolutely love them! The curl on top stayed exactly like that for over a day. :)

first set of pigtails!

I teared up after I put them in her hair. I don't know if it was because they made her look so much older or because I'm so thankful to have a baby girl...but I definitely had a teary moment. Nana gave Emma this set of matching pigtail bows when she visited us in Texas a few weeks ago. :)

One morning at breakfast, both Isaac and Emma were eating when Isaac gasped and said, "Mommy, she has NO BOW!" He saw one on the kitchen island and pushed it on top of her head. :)

("No bow, no go"--even my Isaac knows this!)

Happy 18 months, Emma Victoria! You are an absolute treasure.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

A Visit from Nana

We loved having Nana visit us from Colorado several weeks ago! She flew in on a Thursday, and we headed straight to swimming lessons. Susie loved being able to see our kids at swimming lessons! And, I'm pretty sure Isaac was so proud to show off his swimming for her. :)

During her visit, Susie spent lots of time with Isaac and Emma. In this picture, Susie was reading Isaac his bedtime Bible story. His pajamas that he's wearing are a gift from Papa and Nana that he wants to wear every single night! :) (I do try to wash them occasionally!)

We packed the days of Susie's visit very full! On Friday, David had a rain day, and he graciously watched Isaac & Emma for the day so that Susie and I could have a day out! First, we met my mom at PF Changs for a delicious lunch, and then we went shopping in Southlake. Susie also introduced me to my favorite new drink: a hot chai made with almond milk (best at Central Market's coffee bar!). :)

As always, Susie did a ton of cooking and baking at our house. Isaac always loves to help her!

Isaac and Nana making homemade almond milk.

On Saturday afternoon, Uncle Mike joined us all for a trip to the Trophy Club Splash Park. Isaac was too busy playing to get in many pictures, but Emma loves walking around holding a hand on each side like this.

We also swam in the "big pool" at the water park together. After swimming, we went to my parent's house for a delicious meal of fish tacos. It's so special to David and me that our parents are friends & enjoy being together.

Sunday morning at Keystone Church!

Emma's little denim jumper that she's wearing in this picture is a gift Susie brought for Emma from Colorado. :)

I love how Susie's smile completely captures the pride & joy she has in her family.

We love you, Nana, and can't wait to see you back in Texas next weekend already!

Monday, August 19, 2013

A Morning at the Aquarium

Last Thursday morning, the kids and I left our house right after breakfast and drove over to Dallas. Despite the fact that I got lost more than once, we made it to the Dallas Children's Aquarium at Fair Park. Isaac was a very patient rider and kept saying, "It's okay that you're lost, Mom." :)

I haven't done as many preschool activities with Isaac this summer as I usually do in the school year, but what we have done has been all about ocean animals. We went to this aquarium last summer, but it was really fun to have a "field trip" there again this summer after learning about many different ocean animals. It was a great morning!

Isaac assured me that this marlin was "just a decoration, Mom" :)

Isaac hoisted Emma up so she could see into one of the tanks and said, "Emma, this is an eel." I love how Isaac tries to involve Emma in so much of what he's doing (whether she's willing or not!). :)

Nearly every time we walked away from a tank, Isaac said, "It's really fun seeing all these animals, Mom." Isaac is at such a fun age. It's a delight to watch him get so excited about learning!

Emma checked out some pretend octopus arms.

Isaac desperately wanted Emma to touch the stingrays with him, but she just wasn't interested! Isaac spent a long time petting the stingrays. I didn't get any pictures of it, but he also touched a horseshoe crab shell & live hermit crabs.

I love going on adventures with Isaac and Emma. Mornings like this one are what I used to dream of when I was waiting for a baby.

After we left the aquarium, we walked around the grounds at Fair Park. Isaac and Emma both loved climbing around this huge sculpture of a mammoth.

Isaac finally got so tired (and that is REALLY tired) that he asked to ride in the bottom of Emma's stroller. I definitely got a workout pushing them back to our vehicle!

Oh, I love them!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Lunch at Daddy's Jobsite

We have been so blessed to have David on a jobsite close to home. A few days ago, I wondered why we haven't gone and eaten lunch with him more often since he's so close.

So, on Tuesday night, David & I told Isaac that we were going to go eat lunch at the jobsite the next day, and you would have thought we said we were going to Disney World! He jumped into Dave's arms and gave him a huge hug! Then, Isaac jumped down and started picking out his workerman outfit.

This is what Isaac chose to wear to the jobsite:

**workerman pants with holes in each knee

**his new rubber boots from Mom-o

**his Texas belt buckle "just like Daddy"

**"hot socks "just like my daddy wears" (under his boots)

**a collared shirt "just like daddy"

**of course, his "boss" hardhat (which all of the workers thought was hilarious. One employee walked over to me and said, "El nino hat es B-0-S-S," and then he laughed really hard. :)

We ate our lunch right when we arrived at the jobsite. Isaac ate two bites of his sandwich and tried to jump down from the bumper. We told him he had to finish eating, so he inhaled his sandwich and then said, "See ya! I have to go to work!" :) Of course, Isaac went straight for the mud.

While Isaac jumped around in the mud, Daddy & Emma laughed and ate lunch.

I don't think he could be happier!

I never imagined myself as a mom of a boy, but I couldn't possibly love this little boy and his love for all things boy-ish more. He is a delight!

I considered leaving Isaac at the jobsite until the end of the workday...but he was worn out and needed a nap. Maybe in a few years he'll be ready for that, though!

Pages