new site

Sorry Blogger! It's time I move on. Time for a new set up. I've moved on to www.linneaingridphotography.com Please follow me there.

shoes...

brotherly love

One of my prayers for my kids is that they will have big hearts. That they will be kind, encouraging, loving people. I want my kids to befriend the new student, sit with the kid who is all alone at the lunch table, ask the homeless person what their name is. I know I have to lead by example, but I want it to come easier for them than it ever did/does for me. I see glimpses of this in Soren and I love being able to capture it with my camera.

roll over, roll over

Eva rolled over for the first time this week. I know, I know, what's the big deal, right? For me this is a big deal. I know I've written time and time again about Eva and her minor health issues. Well, these issues haven't allowed for her to have much time on the ground. Tummy time isn't a phrase that is said around here very much. I would hear of other babies younger than Eva already reaching this milestone and it made me wonder if Eva should be as well. I learned quickly when Soren was younger to not compare my children with other people's children. How can a parent not compare though? It's inevitable. I think it's what we do with that comparisons that is important. With her never being on the ground, I knew she would be a bit behind. So, when she rolled over this week I was so excited. She's not as behind as I had expected. Now the worrying sets in. She now sleeps on her stomach and every parent knows how unsettling this can be. If that's not unsettling enough when I told someone she had rolled over her response was, "She'll be a teenager before you know it!"

5 months

A little late on this post, but Eva turned 5 months in December. She took her second trip to Cincinnati for Christmas and her first trip to the mountains for New Years. She started eating solids and is so far liking everything we have given her. She was healthy for a few weeks until she caught her cousins cold and now we are trying to get her back on the Pacific Time Zone sleep schedule. We are learning she loves to be involved in everything. She gets upset if she can't see what's going on or if she is left alone. I think she'll be an extrovert like her daddy!

I heart faces: best face of 2010

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from the Bergstrom family! 2010 brought us our blessed little Evalyn and Søren started preschool and joined his first soccer "team." We are excited for what 2011 will bring for us.

If you cut out (or photocopied as we did) the Santa beard that was on our Christmas card, we would love to see it. Email us a picture here. We want to see if we can get enough pictures to put together a collage.

Christmas Program

He looks so sweet and innocent in this picture, doesn't he? Would you ever think this sweet boy would be the squirmy one in the Christmas play? Yep, that was him last week for his preschool's mini performance. A few disclaimers before you watch the video. He is the youngest in his class. I was there, his dad was playing guitar for some of the program, and his grandparents were there as well. I think he was so excited, this was the only way he knew how to show it. You can tell when you see him running towards the camera, he is running to give all 4 of us hugs. He definitely has his moments of wildness, like at Dairy Queen last week when he unexpectedly saw his best buddy there, it was past his bed time and he was hopped up on sugar. Or tonight at the family Christmas get together. There was a circle of about 30 adults sitting down and 8 of his cousins competing for competition. How else does a 2.5 year old gain attention, but to sing "Away in a Manger" at the top of your lungs and do summersaults on the floor. I'm very thankful he's not like that ALL of the time. Anyway...here is the link to the video if you want to watch. http://gallery.me.com/linn33/100034

month 4 part deux

Eva had her 4 month check up today. She was given a clean bill of health. Yay! That's the first time ever. I know her health issues are so small in comparison to what other parents face with their children. I can't imagine if my kids had cancer. A new strength would have to form in me to get through something like that.

Here are her stats:

Weight: 14lbs 7.5 oz (75th%)

Height: 25" (75th%)

Head: 43cm (75th%)

We were given the go ahead to start solid foods with her. I'm so thankful for that. Sometimes I feel like all she wants to do is eat! Don't they start sleeping better too when they start solids? That would be nice. :)

simply genius

WWW.ICANTFINDMYPHONE.COM

bob ross?

Soren likes to color. It's not his favorite activity, but occasionally he'll get out his crayons, scribble a bit and be done. Yesterday he must have been feeling the inspiration to draw. I was in the other room and he kept saying mommy I drew you a monster. I was fully expecting to see scribble. I was completely shocked when I saw this

I know it's nothing genius, but I didn't know he could draw anything more than a circle. So i sat down with him and asked him to draw another picture. This is what HE came up with all on his own.

a balloon

and my personal favorite. He drew just a line.

I asked him what it was and he said...

"a crack in a house!"

Fettuccine with Peas, Asparagus, and Pancetta

I'm back to trying new recipes once a week. I have missed it. Last week I tried beef stew for the first time. Why have I never made that before? So simple in the crock pot and a great way to use up veggies!

Last nights new recipe was Fettuccine with Peas, Asparagus and Pancetta from Bon Appetit. I first had this recipe when Sam's mom made it a few months ago. We both agreed it needed to be a staple in our home. Well, it didn't turn out as good as Judy's. She is an amazing cook, so I don't think anything I copy will ever be as good as hers. I need to ask her if she did something different than the recipe called for. I used spaghetti instead of fettuccine (needed to use stuff from our pantry) and used bacon instead of pancetta. I've never been a pancetta fan. It was delicious nonetheless and Sam took the leftovers to work for lunch (that's gotta say something, right?).

i heart faces: scenic black and white

4 months

Here's what's gone on in Eva's little life the last month.

*She will always greet you with a smile

*Eva belly laughed for the first time. Which we got on video! We thought she was laughing at Soren and our neighbors dog running around. But we think she is just laughing at Sara. :)

*Her cold got much worse, kept her up at night and was put on anti-biotics. That took care of it for a few days and now she's right back where she was. (minus the not sleeping part)

*Can sit in her Bumbo seat without completely falling over

*Loves to watch what is going on and we think she will always need to be the center of attention

*Drools A LOT!

*Is probably about 14lbs

*Started sleeping in her room

project 365

Even though I have a passion for photography, I don't use my camera every single day. I came across project365 a while ago and attempted it, but found it more difficult than I expected to take just one picture a day. So, I gave up. Then I came across the iPhone ap for project365. I always have my phone with me and it's not so much work to take it out and take a photo. And there is no pressure to get the picture perfect, no manual mode on an iPhone, you get what you get. I have done a great job of taking a photo everyday since October 9th. It's a snap shot of the little things in each day that I want to remember. You can view my project if you are interested

http://www.crimsonstripe.com/photos/linn33

I need to do a better job of putting captions with each picture. I can't wait until a year from now to look back on all of the photos.

Fa La La La La La La La La

The holidays are here! We had our first Thanksgiving dinner Friday night. A friend wanted to practice all of the cooking and timing of everything, but needed someone to eat all the food. We of course were willing volunteers. It was SO good. The stuffing was my favorite part. Each year I get more and more excited about the holidays. This is what I love...

*I love and am thankful for my families and there never seems to be any of the infamous drama that so many talk about.

*The red cups at Starbucks with either a pumpkin Spice Latte or Peppermint White mocha inside.

*Amy Grant's 1983 and Michael W. Smith's 1989 Christmas albums will be playing loudly throughout our house this year. He and a 60 piece orchestra are coming to WA this Christmas. I would LOVE to go, I know Sam won't go. So, who wants to come with me? (I actually can't go, but it would be great!)

*Going up in the snow covered mountains, hiking around to look for a Christmas tree (we won't get a 15 ft tree this year), sitting around the fire (I won't melt my boots this year), while eating Hockey Pucks.

*Kids singing Christmas songs (can't wait for Soren's Christmas play this year)

*Driving up to a house and seeing smoke billowing out of their chimney knowing there is a warm fire inside.

*The snow and the quiet that seems to fall with it.

*Experiencing it all through the eyes of a child.

forts

With the rainy weather and it getting darker earlier, we've been making a lot of forts.

"that's silly"

I just love this boy.

He says the funniest things for a 2 and a half year old.

*referring to Yankee Doodle "macaroni in his hat, that's silly"

*he told me i needed a "time out"

*referring to his nipples "when I touch these it makes me tickle"

*while pretend talking on the phone "..what's your stinkin' problem"

*sitting between his grandmas he realized "I have two ga-ga's!"

*when explaining something to him "ok, that makes sense"

*asking him to tell me the story of creation, his response, "God bless America and the whole world."

looking at a snail

love the hipstomatic ap for iPhone

a bug and a super hero

No tricks and not many treats this year, but it was a good Halloween nonetheless.

3 months

Not much to report on for Eva's monthly update. She's a little heavier and is awake more often for longer periods of time. She was sleeping through the night for a few weeks and is now up again for a 4am feeding. She is getting better about laying down by herself when she is awake and doesn't mind as much being held while the person holding her is sitting down. Basically for the last 3 months she wants you to stand and hold her, facing out, or else she isn't happy. I bought her a play gym Monday and she loves it! Sam asked why we didn't get her one earlier. I am wondering the same thing. She's been to San Diego and last weekend took her first, of many I'm sure, trips to Cincinnati.