Girl's Day out

A few weekends ago Aliya and I traveled up north to a friend of mine to attend her son's first birthday party. Aliya stole a lot of the attention...she didn't mean to, but being so cute has it's perks! We stopped by grandma and grandpa B.'s for lunch and visited my Grant and Gruncle. (Great Aunt and Uncle) They adopted my cousin Kim from Korea years ago and it was neat to hear their story of her homecoming. I teared up as they talked about their experience. Aliya got her fair share of attention before we headed out. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me during our visit, but the below pictures were emailed to me from Stacy, as soon as I get pictures from grandma and grandpa I will post them!


Mommy and Aliya



Showing off her walking skills


Where's my plate? (she LOVED the food!)


Just a cute one!

New tricks

It's official, our little one can pull herself up to stand! The other day I put her down for a nap and she got really quiet really fast, I waited a few minutes and then decided to peek in. There she was, standing up with a HUGE grin on her face! Of course I couldn't find the camera. So last night I decided it was time to drop her mattress down a few levels and turn her crib against the wall (the side that drops down doesn't stay up, it was a free crib!). Not two minutes after I put her in it last night I hear this grunting sound, my first thought "she's filling her diaper" WRONG I turn around that she was trying with all her might to pull herself up. I found the camera and began to record it and the second before she stands my memory card was full and stopped recording! I can't believe it, she looks so little in her crib standing there!

Look what I can do mommy!



Last night while Joel and I were folding laundry Scrappy came down and rolled around on the carpet to scratch his back. He rolled into my dirty whites pile on the floor and this is what he looked like when he was finished.

"Maybe...I don't remember"

Ever have one of those movies you know all the words to? I have several movies I can quote the entire script...it really is sad, I can't remember how to multiply or someone's phone number, but I can quote almost this entire movie. I am missing my Martha tonight... This one's for you girl!




As I sit here at look over our landing at my messy house, I wish I could clone myself. There are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. And I'm sure once school starts next week it's going to be even worse. So I guess there's just one thing to do, ignore it tonight and deal with it tomorrow!!!

What do you think?

Last week at church someone told me that Aliya looks like Brad and Angelina's daughter. I don't even know her name (that shows you how much I pay attention to celebrity life)... So, what do you think? Do we have a look-a-like?

Pretty Girl

A while back this box arrived in the mail and in it was this beautiful pink dress. This dress is all the way from an Indian reservation in Arizona. Grandma Norma (Martha's grandma) sent Joel a "I'm the BIG brother" tee shirt and bracelet (that he is using as a bookmark) and this dress. I have to admit, the dress stayed in the box until this morning. Holding it up to Aliya I was afraid I had waiting too long and it was too small, but it fit perfectly! Thank you so much Grandma Norma! Aliya got several compliments on it at church this morning. (please don't mind the baby fro in the below pics, she had piggies for church, she pulled those out. Then she had a pony tail in to take Joel back to him mom's, she pulled that out...so this is what we were left with!)



I can do it myself mommy!


This is one happy baby!




After lunch we changed into our relaxing clothes and Aliya was playing with Joel's Tampa Bay bandanna, I thought I'd try it on her. She actually kept it on for about an hour. (It helped tame her hair a bit too!)

Thank you!

Yesterday while at work I got an email from a very special person telling me that Children's Services contacted her family regarding a newborn they would like to place with them.Why is this person so important to me? Let me tell you!

When Jon and I decided that adoption would be they way we would grow our family we had no idea where to start. We had no clue who to talk to or where to go. I called a county board worker that I had only met a few times before but knew she had adopted and thought she might be a good place to start. I went out on a limb and left her this very far fetched message hoping she wouldn't think I'm crazy and would call me back. She called me back within 30 minutes and we talked for almost an hour! She gave me a brief overview of the process (time line, cost, expectations...). She gave me information about different agencies. I never would have guessed there would be such a connection with a woman I knew so little about, just that she was an adoptive mommy and I wanted to be one!

Over the months of our homestudy and waiting she would email me just to check in. She would comfort me and reassure me my time would come. When we finally got Aliya she was one of the first to congratulate us and she filled a HUGE bag full of baby goodies for Aliya and sent it to us. I am so thankful for her, she was our first stepping stone to our little girl. And now as she and her family prepare to bring home their little girl my heart leaps for joy for them! The road through adoption is not an easy one to travel, but with support and this unspoken understanding the journey is a bit more exciting!

KK thank you for being there for me over this past year! Your friendship has meant the world! Congratulations on your new daughter, she is BEAUTIFUL!

Please pray

I just want to ask for continued prayer for my sister, Sarah and her daughter Rachel. We just found out a few minutes ago that Dave just went to be with the Lord. Dave is no longer in pain and has met his best friend. I can only imagine how well he feels right now, he is now whole again. Please also pray for his parents and sister. Dave has been a walking testimony and now God has called him home! What an honor to have known this amazing man! We love you Dave!

Getting comfortable

I gave Aliya her early evening bottle while I fixed dinner. The first picture is me asking her if she wants her bottle. The second is how I found her a few minutes later.

Yes, I want my bottle!


This is much more comfortable


Sitting still is no longer an option!

And then there were two!

Just ordered!

I just ordered Aliya's new birth certificate! We should get it in a few weeks, then we can get her a social security card and get her name changed on all our insurance and medical records! It is such a relief that she is ours forever!

Since my last post, Aliya now has two bottom teeth! Her second bottom one came through just yesterday morning! She now says "dad" clear as day. Not just "dadda", but "dad". Jon is eating it up!! It's a great feeling, the first day Aliya said, "mom" I almost cried, I am so glad Aliya is now saying "dad", now he can feel the pride too!

We are stilling loving our van and Joel says, "this is awesome". He still loves football and is now practicing in pads and full contact. He has his first scrimmage next weekend on Saturday and his first game on Sunday (I think that's the schedule). Hopefully I'll watch the right team this time!

Friday nigh Jon and I went to his company's 30th anniversary dinner. It was our fist night out alone since Aliya came home! He put together a 30 year tribute video with pictures and music. It was AMAZING! Everyone loved it and you could see the pride in his eye as people complimented him and thanked him! Way to go baby! My dad watched Aliya that night and they got some special time together! (Thanks again daddy!) Saturday afternoon Exhibit Concepts held a family day at the park to continue their celebration. So we packed up the new van full of stuff and headed out. It was so much fun! Aliya played with a little girl named Ava, she's 4 days older than Aliya. They interacted more than I thought they would, mainly it was taking toys from each other or pulling hair. They had blow up slides and rock climbing walls, food and electric bull, train rides for the kids and lots of ice cream!

Aliya and Ava playing

Our new wheels

Last night we traded in my car for a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan!! I've been wanting a bigger vehicle since Aliya came home. I never realized how much stuff two kids require when leaving the house! We started looking on line last week and Monday found our van at Miracle Motor Mart in Columbus. The online sale price was amazing.(too good to be true) We went up last night after work and test drove it. It was so nice and roomy and ran well too! Come time find out it was a lease trade in at a Dodge Dealership and they bought it from them. Right before we signed the papers on it we found out that the dealership made a mistake on the online price, it was advertised $4,000 less than it was supposed to be. But because it was their error they granted the online price they had quoted me! So, we really got a deal! After the money they gave me for my Alero we drove off the lot $1,100 less than our pre-agreed budget!!!! I LOVE IT! It has automatic windows, locks, sliding doors and trunk, stow and go seating and only 25,200 miles!





Here's a shot from the back with part of the back seat down, so you can see it all




Aliya also test drove her new set of wheels (a free bee from a friend)

We have a tooth!

...and another one on the way!

Here are a few updates on our little one:
* Weighs 18# and is 26" long (she hit a growth spurt)
* Moved up to size 3 diapers last week
* Wearing 6-9 month clothes (but the 6's are getting small)
* Has one tooth on the bottom and the one next to it is on it's way
* Can hold her own bottle (one handed or two)
* Goes from sitting to her belly with ease
* Gets up on her knees but then falls flat (like Bambi on the ice)
* Spins on her belly to get where she wants to go
* Scoots sometimes at the sitters (I think it's because they have carpet)
* Can feed herself her puffs
* LOVES food on my plate way more than her jar food. (We have a grinder and she won't eat my food ground, she wants it whole)
* Transfers toys from one hand to the other (I think she's a lefty!)
* Has developed an attitude! She arches her back and screams!!!
* Can say "mamma, dadda, babba, nanana, gagaga"
* LOVES to look at herself in the mirror, in pictures, reflections in windows...
* Still studies your mouth while you talk to her
* When you ask for a kiss, she'll lean in and lick your face
* Doesn't care for her sippy cup, she just looks at it like, "What the heck is that?"
* Puts everything in her mouth, esp her feet!
* Still a mommy's girl. Will let others hold her for about 5 mins, then it's back to mommy
* Laughs and laughs and laughs!
* Loves to stand and jump and dance
* Is 100% a Bergstrom

Hutt Hutt Hike!

Joel has started football practices now. He LOVES it and comes home every night completely whipped! They practice Mon-Fri 6p-8p. That's a lot of practice to be out in this heat. They practice tonight for the first time with pads and believe full contact practice tomorrow.

Funny Story. Jon usually takes Joel to practice, but last Friday it worked out better that I take him. So we packed up the car with sandwiches, water, helmet, blanket, toys, diaper bags, books, little sister and about 10 other things. We loaded into the car and headed for practice. I knew where I was going, but never being to a football practice before I wasn't sure what to expect. We got there with about 5 mins to spare so I told Joel to grab his helmet and water bottle, meet up with his team and I'd grab everything else and I'd be there in a minute. You would have thought we were moving in...I was weighed down with so much stuff. Once Aliya and I finally made it from the car I look up and there at least 200 kids in white helmets and white T-shirts. And of course I had no idea which one was Joel. I walked around for a few minutes noticing that the kids were broken up by grade, still not knowing which group was which, I picked a nice spot next to some other moms near a team that looked like it could be Joel's, the kids looked about his size. I spread our blanket out and got Aliya situated with toys and I settled down to read a book. A few of the moms said hi and commented on how cute Aliya was. About 10 minutes into practice I was approached by one of the team moms asking if my son was on the blue or the white team????? I must have had a look of confusion on my face because she quickly asked what my son's name is. After searching her list, she didn't find Joel's name on it and confirmed he was on the blue team because she was the white team's mom and he wasn't on her list. A few of the moms behind me chuckled (I'm sure they thought I was an idiot for not knowing what team my kid was on), to play it off I turned around and asked, "oh, am I in White Territory?"... I still had not found Joel yet in the group of kids in front of me. About 10 mins later I over heard the moms talking about the 3rd grade class supply list (here's where they think I'm an idiot again). I turn around and ask if the group of kids in front of us are 3rd graders, YEP! They looked at me like,"Duh who did you think you were watching?" I laughed it off and said, "that explains why I can't find my son, he's a 4th grader". They then pointed to a group of boys WAY on the other side of the field, there Joel was. I found him right away! So I was faced with a decision, pack everything back up and weave my way though 2 other grades of teams OR stay right where I was. I chose to stay right where we were. Hopefully I will never see any of those mom's again. They seriously must think I'm stupid. Oh well, Joel and I had a good laugh about it on the way home.