What Recession?

Lily in her Bumbo...

My two little bugs...

Lily-bug and Grandad...

She LOVES to grab her feet...


We all know that you can't turn on the TV or read a newspaper these days without hearing about the terrible economic state we are in.  Kids are such a gift from God and a simple reminder that everything will be okay and is in HIS hands.  Children know that no matter what, we will provide for them and we all need to know that the same is true for us.  God will take care of us no matter what happens in this crazy economy.  My mind is taken off all that is going on each day when I hear Collin say something so sweet and innocent.  Just the other day I was taking him and Lily for a walk and I was strapping him in the stroller.  I said, "Are you comfy?"  His response was, "No mommy, I'm Collin."  I just love it.  Like I said, what recession?

Collin's Big Boy Bed...

Collin's new tennis racket...
Thinking hard...
Collin's new "big boy" bed...

Collin has officially graduated from the crib to a big boy bed.  We decided we were going to keep him n his crib until he learned how to get out.  Well, the day has come.  I was downstairs feeding Lily a bottle about a week ago and Collin was SUPPOSE to be napping.  I heard little hands turning his door knob and he came running out with a grin from ear to ear saying, "Mommy, I got out of my bed."  He was SO proud of what he had accomplished!  

We got him a twin-size red race car bed.  He LOVES it!!  He has done such a great job staying in his bed.  We are so proud of him!  

Never a dull moment...

Tada! I'm 5 months old now!

I'm getting a little plump these days...

This is the hat Nana got Lily. It's too cute!

Lily's first time to eat cereal.

Collin and Marbella making Valentine's Day cards.

Here are the girls! Presley, Sophie, Finley and Lily. Eat your hearts out boys!

Here I am with my two little ones the day we got back from Cancun. You can tell we are all tired.

Jenny and Charlie getting married.

This is where Jenny and Charlie got married. It was breathtaking!
Well, there's never a dull moment in the Berger household. Todd was out of town a few weeks ago and the smoke detector decided to "malfunction" at 2:30 in the morning. It scared me to death because we have only been in our house since April and I had no idea if it was the smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detector. I ran upstairs as fast as I could and grabbed both kids out of their beds like supermom. I threw them in the car and called 911. They were both crying and scared because they were tired and had no idea what was happening. Collin got so excited when he saw the firetruck pull up. He kept yelling "firetruck, firetruck!" He thinks firemen are way cooler than Santa. Long story short, the fire chief told me that the smoke detector's batteries were good, but that it just malfunctioned for whatever reason. I was like, "Are you serious? I just yanked my sleeping kids out of bed for this?" I do have to say that being in that situation and not knowing what was happening, I was so thankful that I had my two babies in the car with me. I could have cared less about any material thing left in that house.

Collin has been busy role playing these days. He loves to pretend that he is"going to work," or "going to the store." He is so darn cute too! The other day is was playing and told me he was going to the store. I said, "Ok, call me later." His response was, "No, I call you mommy." I just love it! They say the cutest things! His vocabulary is so great! He surprises me everyday with all of the things that he says.


Lily is five months old now. Her little personality is so sweet and passive. She just loves to eat, but is that any surprise when she has Collin as a brother? We started her on rice cereal this month. She does pretty well with it. We will probably start her on baby food next month. She has started letting more people hold her now. She was going through a "mommy only stage" for a while.


Todd and I just got back from Cancun on Sunday for Jenny (Todd's sister) and Charlie's wedding. We left the little munchkins with my parents and are so appreciative that they were able to come and help out. The kids really enjoyed it. I think Lily has Nana wrapped around her finger because Nana said she did not like to be put down at all. I think Lily knows how to get what she wants already! Collin was good for the most part. Nana and Papa did get to witness some of the temper tantrums that Collin has been throwing lately. I think Collin should win an Academy Award for some of his acting abilities.

Lily is 4 months old:

Collin loves his baby sis...

Caught off guard....

How sweet....
Say cheese...


Daddy's big blue eyes...



It's been a while since I have updated the blog...sorry to the three people following it : )  It has been a busy past month for us.  Collin has had ear infection after ear infection over the past several months, so we made the decision to go ahead and put tubes in his ears last Friday.  We hope this will give our little man a break from those nasty infections for a while.  It was a pretty simple surgery, although they did have to put him under.  That made me really nervous, but the doctor assured us that this was a very routine surgery and all would be fine.  They were very professional and did a wonderful job.  The most difficult part of the entire thing was watching him wake up from the surgery.  He was very delirious and confused.  He was crying irrationally and continued to cry all the way home.  He went down for his nap and woke up good as new later that afternoon.  I have to say it was a success! 

I think the jealousy thing is just now starting to set in for Collin.  He is so sweet to Lily and loves to bring her toys and help out, but he is realizing that she is here to stay.  He has started saying that he is a "baby" too and to put "baby sister" down and carry him.  It's so hard to divide the attention between the two, especially since Lily requires a lot more of it at her age.  Hopefully this will pass soon.

Lily's little personality shows through more and more each day.  She has such a sweetness about her, but we have also witnessed a little bit of a temper when she gets upset or is hungry and we can't get her bottle to her fast enough.  She is such a good little baby and is generally pretty happy wherever you put her.  She is starting to get spoiled though.  She loves to be carried around.  She is very fidgety and is needing to be engaged more and more these days.  I think the easy days are long gone now.  She is still sleeping in her bassinet in our room.  Can you believe that?  Ridiculous, I know.  I am SERIOUSLY going to move her to her room this week.  We just need to get a screw for her crib.  We would have moved her a while back, but her room is on the complete opposite end of the house as well as upstairs. 

Todd has still been very busy with work and is still traveling to Houston each week.  He really enjoys what he does and is very happy.  I joined a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group and have really enjoyed getting to know such wonderful women.  The group meets every other week and has been very enlightening on several topics from cooking to how to manage your children and household as well as what activities are good for your children and at what age.  They provide childcare for the moms so you can have adult conversation and actually relax for a minute. 

Some recent exciting news is that the Pokludas welcomed their new baby girl, Finley Noel, on January 2, 2008.  She is a beautiful and healthy baby and we are very excited for them!

Merry Christmas!

Lily and Papa...
Checking out Collin's stocking...
Collin on his new train...
Our Christmas Angel...
Me and my little guy...
Lily with Aunt Stacie and Aunt Jenny...
Collin's Christmas program...

This Christmas season has been a busy one!  One of the things we enjoyed most was going to Collin's Christmas program at his school.  All of the two year olds sang three songs at the start of the program.  The parents had the freedom to go up front and take pictures of their little ones during the program.  I got caught by Collin while he was on stage so he started to reach for me and cry.  Needless to say, I ended up in the program too.  I sat at the bottom of the stage and held Collin until the two year olds were dismissed.  It was quite a sight!

This was Lily's first Christmas, so it was an extra special one!  The poor baby came down with RSV on Christmas Eve.  She has been under the weather for the past several days.  We are praying for a speedy recovery for her.

Collin had a blast on Christmas morning.  His favorite thing was an automatic train that rides around on a train track.  He spent the entire day on that thing!  It was so much fun to watch him and experience Christmas through a childs eyes.  I tried to explain that it was Jesus's birthday, but I don't think he quite understood that.  He associates all birthdays with birthday cake.  I really wanted to bake a birthday cake for Jesus, but it was a little hectic with Lily not feeling well.  

My parents, sister and brother-in-law and niece and nephew came in for Christmas.  It was so much fun to spend time with them.  I just wish it didn't go by so fast!!  We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  Happy New Year!!

Thanksgiving:

Mimi, Grandad, Lauren, Aunt Stacie, Uncle Craig, Aunt Jenny and Future Uncle Charlie, Me, Lily, Todd and Collin

Collin and Todd playing football...
Our little football player...

I know it's been a while since I last posted anything.  We have been a little busy this holiday season.  Thanksgiving was over at the Kricken's house this year.  They are good friends of Todd's parents.  It's always so much fun.  It's so amazing to see the family grow each year!  We are so thankful for God, good friends and family!

Lily is 3 months old:

I can't say it enough!  The time has flown by!  Here I am posting Lily's 3 month picture already.  She is a bundle of joy and is full of so much personality.  She likes to coo a lot and gives us plenty of toothless grins.  My heart melts with every one she gives!  She has her daddy wrapped around her little tiny fingers.  She is 13 pounds now and has started filling out her clothes a little better these days : )