Holidays and more!

*All photos are clickable for larger view and saving purposes*
Halloween 2009
Derek and I took the kids to Trunk-or-treat at our church, Mission Hills this year. Madisyn had a blast helping to decorate the van's trunk and passing out candy. She was dressed as Little Bo Peep and was pulling a wagon with her two little sheep. I think the costumes were a hit because we kept getting stopped to take pictures. Maelynn had so much candy that night and was very happy to share with her baby sissy. There were a few occasions that I would catch Maelynn with Madilynn's pacifier in her mouth and Maelynn stuffing her lolly in Madilynn's mouth. It made for some adorable moments.


Thanksgiving
Our wonderful friends the Kachinskys welcomed us to spend Thanksgiving this year with their beautiful family. It was so heart-warming to feel like a part of their family. We really enjoyed ourselves and we look forward to our growing friendship with them for many many more years.


My wonderful best friend from grade school gave birth to her first baby two weeks after Madilynn joined our family. Her little bundle, Teagan is a true miracle baby as Jacque was not supposed to be able to get pregnant. I was blessed to be able to be a part of Teagan's birth and was also appointed her God-Mother soon after her amazing arrival. She is so precious and I look forward to watching my "Tiny" grow.

Madilynn and God-Daughter Teagan


"Tiny" Teagan


"Snoopy" Madilynn




Maelynn and Madilynn
Maelynn is so wonderful to her baby sissy! She is always willing to help care for her when Madilynn starts fussing. Whether it is stuffing a pacifier in her mouth or rubbing her head, back, or in this case....ear. It makes me tear up when I see them cuddling on the couch watching cartoons in the mornings. Now if only Maelynn was this sweet with her sissy Madisyn. For some reason Maelynn is constantly trying to bite her. It's a working progress.


Maelynn loves my high heels!


Madisyn is visiting her Great Opa and Beverly for a week in Onyx. She is having a great time and it was a perfect time for me to hit the stores for "Black Friday." It was insane! But my good friend Niah and I had fun navigating Kohls, Walmart, Toys R Us, Jcpenny, Sears and Children's Place. We got some amazing deals and I'm pretty much done with our holiday shopping. Derek and I put up the Christmas tree and decorations today and the house looks so warm and Christmas-y. Maelynn and Madilynn keep checking out the lights and their little eyes literally sparkle. The five of us will be getting our photos taken as a family next week sometime so stay tuned for those. We hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season.

God Bless

Clones!

Camp Cuddles

So the cold season has hit the Berg house! For the past month the family has been fighting a miserable lingering cold, and just when it seems like the snot has cleared.....it comes back with a vengeance! Yesterday was especially stressful because Maelynn is getting her 2-year molars. So on top of the snot....there is the drooling, chewing, tantrums and crying. And that's just from Derek! Just kidding. :)

It's amazing what three cranky kids (at once) can do to a marriage. It felt like our family was falling apart so I decided we were going to move our mattress out to the living room, snuggle and watch movies all night. I was praying a night full of cuddles would erase the bad day. We watched movies till 1am, ate junk food galore, tried to sleep in, and enjoyed the blessings God has given us.

Wondering if it made everything better?

You be the judge. :)

Tears

There have been a lot the past seven weeks. From tears of joy at the birth of our newest angel Madilynn, to tears of jealously from both Madisyn and Maelynn, to tears of exhaustion and frustration, baby tears and then more tears of joy. This house no doubt is full of estrogen.

The past seven weeks have been a blur of diapers, doctor appointments, play-dates, homeschool, colds, naps, breastfeeding, snacks, spit-up, late nights, early mornings and housework. Never in that particular order. THAT I have finally learned to let go of. Though I have had permission by many that it's okay to let things go and relax, I still find myself trying to get it all done and never relaxing. It's like a sick obsession that I can't break and I fear I will be thought of less if my house is not clean, laundry done, kids bathed. I'm not sure who I'm trying to impress or what I am trying to prove. I do know once everything is done I feel on top of the world. Needless to say I have been quite overwhelmed. I'm trying my best to be a Mom to three completely different little girls.

Madisyn is doing so well in school. Since I have taken on homeschooling she has a whole new respect for me. She is a lot less mouthy and extremely helpful with the babies. She is the perfect little Mommy's helper. We had our first meeting with her Education Specialist (Judy) to make sure she is on track with her schooling and that I am doing what I should be. It went very well and Judy said I was very organized and prepared. First time meetings are usually a disaster she said. That helped encourage me.

Maelynn has done a good job of making up for being the middle child by being very loud....about everything! You always know where she is. She has this high pitch squeal that could shatter glass. After reading up on her personality it has become very apparent that she is the true definition of a strong willed child. She screams to try and get her way. She climbs the furniture and today I found her on top of the table spinning in circles. She rides the cats like horses, re-organizes the pantry every chance she gets, sneaks handfuls of cat food that she somehow finds delicious, pokes the dogs eyeballs and find it hilarious, throws herself on the floor in tantrums, takes off her clothes and diaper, picks on her older sister, runs off every time it's diaper time and pulls my shirt down to poke at my breast while Madilynn in nursing. Her favorite word is "mine!" Everything is "mine." Somehow despite all of this she is so gentle to Madilynn. She loves giving her kisses and hugs. She lovingly pats her back or rubs her head. She covers her up with a blanket or tries to give her the pacifier. It is such a beautiful thing to see. She's a handful of active, wonderful, sweet personality.

Madilynn is changing everyday. She started smiling five days ago and yesterday she started cooing. I love laying next to her and talking back and forth with her. Her blue eyes just light up and she smiles so big when we talk to her. It seems like she is already getting so big and it makes me sad that they all have to grow up so fast. I'm doing my best to enjoy every milestone. She is already at least eleven pounds and a nursing champ. She is having another growth spurt because she wants to nurse every hour which has been quite hard since I have other things I need to tend to. She is a good sleeper though and already has a pattern. I'm very thankful for that.

This weekend we have decided to head to Big Bear for my ten year high school reunion. We have prepared ourselves by purchasing a portable DVD player so the kids can watch movies the entire drive. We are praying this will make the travel much easier. Feel free to send some heavy prayer our way.

Here are a few pictures we had done. Unfortunately getting these was a total disaster. Maelynn went on smile strike and would not have anything to do with sitting down or looking at the camera. The low point came when we tried to bribe her with a lolly and we realized we were defeated when even that wouldn't work. I was frustrated since I planned around nap time and everything. These were the only decent shots we could get. We hope by Christmas she is more open to having her picture taken.

We hope this finds everyone well.
God Bless

Pictures!

Chillin' with Papa


1st bath and slept through the whole thing!


A cuddle with big sissy Madisyn