Merry Christmas!

Instead of bringing me flowers to the hospital after giving birth to our 4th child, Adam brought me the flu. I think I would have preferred flowers. Anyway, I've been meaning to blog all week, but have not felt like doing much of anything, so here is a belated Merry Christmas to all!

First of all, here is THOMAS GARRAN BERGESON! we were excited to come home from the hospital with a name for our little guy.

Needless to say, Clate is quite the proud big brother. And the girls love him too.We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas day, especially having our new guy around. The kids woke up Christmas morning to find that Santa had brought them all the 2 things they had asked (begged) for. Clate received more Legos and Pillow Pet; Halle received a Jessie doll (from Toy Story 3) and a Pillow Pet; and Chloe received Bullseye (from Toy Story 3) AND a Pillow Pet. They couldn't have been happier! All I have heard about for the past 6 months are these darn Pillow Pets. Clate had memorized the phone number and web address; Halle could tell you how they are pets with a purpose and machine washable (though she has no idea what that means), and they could all sing the song! So I was just as happy as they were that Santa brought them each one...maybe I won't have to hear about them all the time anymore!

And finally, our little (now not so little) family! MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!

The best Christmas gift EVER!

The kids just could not get enough of looking at and touching their new little brother! It was so sweet to see. And they were so soft with him.

Little brother arrived yesterday, December 22, 2010 at 1:39 p.m., weighing in at 7 lbs 6.5 ounces and 20 inches long...just as planned! All went well and mom and baby are doing great!

My sweet "Mary"

My neighbor always celebrates Las Posadas, which is a reenactment of Mary and Joseph's journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of shelter. We end up at their house, where we are welcomed in, not only for the story as told in the Bible, but also for a yummy dinner. This year Halle was asked to be Mary. I think she made quite the cute Mary. We put a stuffed animal in her shirt to give her the pregnant belly. She thought it was funny to look like mom, with a baby in her belly. But when asked by our neighbor if there was a baby in her belly, she responded, "No, it's a purple hippo." The kids always have fun with this activity, and hopefully they are taking away some of the real meaning of Christmas along with it.

Clate, by the way, was a shepherd, and Chloe was asked to be an angel but refused.

Since we last posted...

I can't believe it has been almost 2 months since my last post. I thought these two months were going to take forever to pass, but instead they are speeding right by me. Since we last posted, we have enjoyed some nice fall weather and a big winter snow storm...and now back to nice, but colder fall/winter weather.

We've started our countdowns....all of them. The kids are counting down the days till Christmas (of course), and I am counting down the days until this baby gets here. 10 more to go, in case anyone was wondering. Still taking name ideas!

Happy Fall!

September 21

On September 21, Chloe turned 3! After Clate's 2 cake birthday cake, I wasn't really in the mood to have more cake, so I had to get a little creative for Chloe's bday. I decided to do a rice crispy bday cake. It was a great idea in that it was super easy to make and a little unique, but it was difficult to eat with the frosting on it...frosting got everywhere. Chloe was excited for her Hello Kitty cake though, and that's all that really matters.

We got Chloe a balance bike for her bday, which was something that she had been excited about. But about a week before her birthday, I asked her what she wanted for her birthday. All she would say was a Hello Kitty umbrella, something I had not bought for her. I asked her a few times during the week to see if she would say anything else (like a bike), but she was consistent...all she wanted was the umbrella. So, the night before her birthday, I had to find a Hello Kitty umbrella, which luckily, was not too difficult to find. As excited she was about the few other things that she received, she was definitely most excited about that little umbrella. I just love this girl.

We ended her bday celebration with "The Chicken Dance" and a little 'I Like To Move It, Move It" dance party; her two favorite songs to dance to.

At 3:

• Sings ALL day long. Some of her most sung songs are "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus," "I Love To See The Temple," any other primary song, and any of the Silly Songs they listen to in the car.
• Tells me, "I love you so much, so much, so much, so much, so much, so much...."
• Still can't blow her nose, only sniffs.
• Loves to color and cut paper into really small pieces.
• Favorite cereal: Cinnamon Toast Crunch
• Rides a scooter like a pro.
• Calls the baby in my belly Jacer Racer, even though we're not sure what his name will be.
• Is potty trained!
• She is one smart little cookie and so funny to be around.
• Overall, she is one happy girl.

September 16

My little cowboy! Even on a 90 degree day, you'll find him wearing the whole outfit!

The coolest soccer ball cake EVER!

His new golf bag; one that can be carried on his back AND has a stand, two things he really wanted in a golf bag.

I'm such a bad blogger...I just can't keep up with the things going on in my life. Anyway...

Back on September 16, Clate turned 6! Whoa! I can't believe I have a 6-year-old. It was an exciting day for him; he was VERY excited to 6, not 5 anymore. I took treats to his classroom for his birthday. He wanted me to make chocolate mint chip cookies and serve them with ice cream, so that's what we did. It seemed to be a big hit with his classmates. It was fun to be there because before anyone could have the birthday treat, they each got to say something nice about Clate. After only a little more than a week in his class, almost everyone had something nice to say about him, and some had a lot to say. I think it made him feel special!

Grandma and grandpa Cowdell AND Grammie and Pa were in town for his birthday; that was treat! So we had dinner with cake and ice cream for everyone. Jack was also in town (headed home to PA) and Mike and Andrea were able to come. Clate scored BIG with presents this year; new Legos from grandma and grandpa Cowdell, cowboy gear (boots, vest and hat) from Grammie and Pa, and a new golf bag and putter from mom and dad (mostly dad). I made him a soccer ball cake, which he was also surprised by.

At six:

• He is starting to read.
• Loves playing soccer and has scored all but 1 of the goals scored by his team this year.
• Loves to draw and/or color.
• Wears his cowboy gear almost every day.
• Blows me kisses every night; one for me to use immediately, and at least 2 handfuls for me to use when I go to bed.
• Always says, "Good night, I love you." when I put him to bed.
• Is really good at putting Legos together, even some of the more difficult sets that he has.
• Loves to make his sisters squeal.
• Always asks for chores to do around the house to earn money.
• Will do almost anything for money.

I'm still in love with this kid and wouldn't change a thing about him!

Preschool, not kindergarten...

After all my talk of our plans to hold Halle back in school a year so that she will be the oldest in her class, and then I write as though we put her in a year ahead of schedule...It must have been a late night! Halle's first day was to preschool, not kindergarten. I've edited my posted, so it reads correctly now! Thanks for reading my blog though. I often question whether or not anyone even checks my blog.

Clate's first day...

September 1 was Clate's first day of kindergarten. He, too, was excited and has loved every day of it. He has already made some good little friends, some of whom are on his soccer team as well. He is very proud that he has kept his name in the "green" every day (no bad behavior), and he has a goal to keep it there the whole year! I'll be proud if he does that too!

halle's first day...

August 30 was Halle's first day of preschool. She was so excited and she has loved every day. In fact, she doesn't like that I have to drop Clate off first for school; she always asks for me to take her first, but I can't as Clate's school starts at 8:30, her's at 9:00. She also gets mad on Tuesday mornings when Clate gets to go to school and she doesn't; she'd go every day if she could.

warm river my booty

Halle dressed and ready to go. I love her sense of style.


Clate helping Pa pack the trailer.

Clate and Pa floating down the river.

The girls playing in the ice water.

Enjoying the s'mores.

The week before school started, grammie and pa treated us to one last summer vacation, one we had been wanting to do all summer long but hadn't...a campout. They took us to Warm River, somewhere near Ashton, Idaho. It was a fun little campground with the Warm River running through it--funny name for a river that felt like ice water; there was nothing warm about it. But the kids enjoyed it anyway, floating down the river with Pa and playing in a little shallow area. My favorite part of camping...the campfire and roasting marshmallows, after a tasty tinfoil dinner and hot dogs, of course. We ended the night with a flashlight-lit walk up the river where Pa told some stories to the kids, making them laugh and wanting more the whole way back. And believe it or not, the kids all fell asleep quickly and slept peacefully all night long. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for myself. There really is no comfortable position on a hard ground for a pregnant belly. Fun, nevertheless. It was a quick trip, but definitely worth it!

adam is NOT absent

Sometimes Adam worries that our history, as recorded on this blog, would lead someone (his posterity or others) to believe that he was/is an absent dad because very few of the posts include him. When in reality, he is NOT an absent dad...he just happens to work alot. But when he is home, he always makes an effort to do fun things with the kids and make the most of his time with them. He is quite an excellent dad if you ask me. So, I will try from now on to record more of the things that he does with the kids, because they are not few.

One of Adam's favorite things to do with the kids is hiking. We've tried some long hikes with them, as well as a lot of little hikes. I think we've all leared to enjoy the shorter easier hikes a little more, then the kids can walk themselves (mostly) and we don't have to carry them. Here we are a few weeks ago hiking up to Lake Mary. It was a short, but kind of steep hike. Clate did it all by himself. Halle only needed a lift towards the top. And Chloe...well, we're still working on her. Dad got to carry her quite a bit. The more hiking we do, the more the kids enjoy it, especially when they can do it by themselves. And dad never passes up the opportunity to teach the kids the important skill of rock skipping. It was such a beautiful day and a really fun hike.

8 years on 08/08

Adam and I celebrated our 8th anniversary last week. We scored with free babysitting from the young women in our ward and a good friend who put the kids to bed, and we enjoyed an evening of Randy Travis with the Utah Symphony Orchestra at the Deer Valley Resort. It was a little chilly, but a beautiful night, so peaceful, and the music couldn't have been better! It made me miss all of the concerts I used to go to back in the day. And this was definitely the way to see a concert! It was a really great evening. And it has been an even better 8 years. Wouldn't change a thing.

Chugga chugga poooo pooooo!

Chloe is on the potty train! And it's about time! I am determined to have a few months without diapers...so about a week and a half ago I decided we were going to get this girl trained. And she's doing awesome! Between the Starbursts, the suckers, the popsicles and a sticker chart...this girl has stayed motivated and finally prefers big girl panties to diapers! YEA, we're almost there!

what will HIS name be???

Yes, that's right...we're having a BOY! and we couldn't be happier, especially the kids. For weeks the kids have been talking about baby names, only BOY baby names. I kept warning them that it could be a girl; we don't really get to choose. Then Halle asked me who chooses. I told her that Heavenly Father chooses. Her response, very matter-of-factly, "Well, Heavenly Father spoke to my heart and said that it was a boy." OK then...and I guess she was right after all. Even Chloe was sure she would be having another brother. And Clate, well, it just had to be a boy.

So, what will HIS name be? This has been the topic of conversation for weeks, and options are all over the board. Some of my "favorites" that have come up: Clate came up with Bull Grunter Bergeson. (We recently went to a rodeo and he loved the bull riding.) This morning Halle suggested Marvin the Tap-dancing Horse (yes, you read that right) or Marvin the Baby Brother. (Is she suggesting we skip a middle name and give a title instead?) As much as I enjoy their input, it's a good thing that they won't have the final say in what HIS name will be!

halle is 4!

Celebration for Halle's birthday started early in the week with a party with friends. I wasn't planning on doing big parties this year, but since we won't be here next year (so sad to think of), I wanted them to have parties this year with all of their friends...so that's what we are doing. And of course, Halle's friend list is not short. I think we ended up with 10 friends and a few siblings at the party and I think we all had fun. They made tambourines, danced the hokey pokey, played musical chairs, popped balloons, had a bday parade with their tambourines, opened gifts, and ate cupcakes. What more could a 4-year-old ask for!?!

The party ended today with a little party at home with family on her special day! And it was her birthday ALL day long...mind you, not just part of the day. She made sure to let everyone at church know that. Mike and Andrea came over and we opened gifts and ate cake and ice cream. Speaking of the cake...I have seen these princess doll cakes around and thought it would be fun to do. And it was fun, but cutting into the cake only an hour or so after finishing the decorating wasn't so much fun. Oh well...I guess that's why I made the cake, right??? to eat it! The Belle cake was a surprise for Halle, and I think it took her a minute to realize it was her cake too. I was happy with how it turned out.

I will be back with more of Halle at 4, but in short...she is one happy, fun 4-year-old!

Happy Birthday love bug!

dinner at mike and andrea's

uncle mike watching Signing Time with the girls...they LOVED it.

by the lake at Memory Grove. the water was ice cold.

chloe so excited about the leaf she picked.

LOVE this picture!

the girls each had a turn sitting in the "basket".

tuckered out at the end of the day.

mike and andrea invited us over to see their new place and then they fed us dinner. so nice. unfortunately, clate was with grammie and pa, and adam was on-call and didn't get to their house until 8:30ish, so it was mostly just the girls and I, but we were happy to be there. after dinner we walked over to Memory Grove. i think the girls were hoping for a playground at the park, but then realized they had uncle Mike with them and that was just as fun, if not more fun. luckily he was a good sport and entertained them quite well. it had been a few days since the girls had seen their dad, so having a male figure around was extra exciting for them...and he even looks like dad, kindof. the girls were good sports too and stayed up extra late so mom and dad could visit for awhile. they curled up on the couch and watched Bolt and were as happy as could be...though very tired. it was a fun afternoon.