Bye Bye Crib!

We knew this day was coming. In fact, we held out longer making this transition than we had with Elliana. After all, Maya is our baby! Our last born! But, we could hold out no longer....we have a trip quickly approaching and Maya simply won't fit into a pack and play any longer. She needed to get ready for a big kid bed!!

In traditional Berndsen family tradition, we took a photo documenting Maya's last night in her crib. We had already given her room a fresh coat of paint changing it from a "nursery" to a "big kid room" with just the removal of brown and the addition of gray. Disassembling the crib and making the move to her new bed was the last step.

The next morning we began taking apart the crib that has been a part of our house the last 6 years! I was determined to not cry, as this was a good thing. But, a bitter sweet reminder of just how quickly the time goes.

Practicing in her new bed...

Comfy and Cozy with her new bedding

Currently we have her bed on the ground to make it as low to the ground as possible, and get her comfortable with her new big kid bed!

Big Kid room in the making, with a few friends to join her!

The first night...Maya went to bed like a champ! She crawled right into bed, fell right asleep! It was hard to believe it was that easy!! Well, it was until 2:00 when a bad dream awoke her and kept her awake most of the night.

Night #2, was MUCH better. Pre-bed time, Daddy removed all "scariness" that Maya was concerned about and tucked her in tight. Just look at those cuties smiling so proudly. Maya slept all night long and even slept in until 8:30 am! Whew! What a big girl!!

And tonight marks night number three. We officially have a big girl on our hands. Maya, we are so very proud of you and all that you have accomplished! 

Happy Birthday Elliana!

Oh, my goodness. Another year older. I was only half joking when I teased Elliana in the weeks leading up to her birthday that I wasn't ready for her to use two hands to show her age. I mean, seriously, two hands! A whole hand no longer was enough to show how hold she is?! Randomly, Elliana would flash up six little fingers and giggle with delight knowing how I felt about adding a hand to the mix.

I am constantly amazed at the beauty and intelligence of this little girl. In fact, here it is 2:00 am following a full day of birthday celebrations, and my mind is racing with gratitude, eager to capture it all before any details slip my mind.

We began our birthday celebrations at Busken Bakery, where they just happened to have pink iced donuts with purple sprinkles! Matching her birthday outfit! What are the chances?! :) Then off to the Disney Store to look around and the girls enjoyed coloring while watching Frozen on the big screen.

Then we ventured to an annual birthday tradition. BOWLING! Maya was into it for about 10 minutes, before she declared she was done, but I was able to snap this cute photo of sisters sharing the love after Maya bowled. This photo tugs at my heart strings, as it truly embodies their love. Elliana, has such a big heart for her little sister and I love when she naturally encourages and cheers Maya on. This photo was one of those moments...pure, unprompted, spontaneous love. Elliana, that is you! 

We took a brief nap (well, the birthday girl rocked out a great nap,  while Maya kept the rest of us awake) and then continued on with another birthday tradition. Shopping at Toys R Us with her birthday coupon. Making a selection took a bit longer than we had thought, and the more I think of it, I'm rather grateful that Elliana took so long to make a selection. She showed discipline, thoughtfulness and responsibility by comparing costs, evaluating options, etc. I'm pretty sure most new six-year olds don't think through such things. :)

 Happy Birthday sweet girl! Today and many more to come!! I am honored and blessed to be your momma!

Secret Sewing Project

Looking back, I still find it amazing we kept this a secret. We realized last winter that we needed to have at least one warm weather vacation each winter to keep our spirits lifted from the cold and dreariness of living in the mid-west.  And so, last March, we began planning for Winter 2015. Originally, we arranged and booked a Disney Cruise out of Miami for February. However, when we began looking at flights to Miami during peak travel season, we were shocked to find flights were close to $400 per person! We began looking into our options, and given we were already excited for Disney, we rearranged some things and booked a trip to Walt Disney World instead.

I am a dork, and I like our photos to be matchy-matchy and themed to our vacation...and so, I began sewing. Sewing with two small kids is a bit tricky in and of itself, but sewing secret clothes for a trip they didn't know about...well, that was even more difficult!

By Christmas morning, I had finished 2.5 outfits. Not the 7 I had planned on, but hey...a girl needs to sleep too! And so, we wrapped up the goodies below along with a few Disney goodies and put it under the tree for Christmas morning.



 And so, at last...Christmas morning came. We saved this gift for last.

And now the countdown begins until we venture down south to meet our favorite Disney friends. I'm hoping to make a few more outfits for our family before then, but if not...that's okay too ;) 

And after all of that prep work, I am 150% okay with using an advent calendar from the clearance Christmas aisle to use as our countdown. Tomorrow...only 24 days until we leave, and there just happens to be exactly 24 days in this countdown. :)

 

Maya and her bah-bahs

We typically are pretty strict about pacifier usage ("bah-bah" as it

is loving referred to), limiting it to car time, stroller time and bed

time only...until the age of three when we really start discouraging

it all together.

Maya, at just over 2.5 years knows her time with her favorite

"bah-bahs" is quickly dwindling, and she intends to take full

advantage of usage whenever permitted. So, imagine my shock when last

night, Maya requested to go to sleep with NO bah-bahs! Before I

thought about it too much, I quickly ran walked to her crib to remove

the bah-bahs before she changed her mind. I removed 7 from her bed!

Maya politely asked for lipstick (princess chapstick- a treat only for

non-pacifier users).

She puckered her lips, put her hand on her hips, and then twirled to

show off her floor length nightgown and immediately I saw images of my

baby girl preparing for Prom Night. She insisted on going to bed with

no pacifiers and slept 11 straight hours without her most favorite

item for sleep. When she awoke at 6:30 this morning asking for

bah-bah, I happily obliged. Afterall, I'm not THAT eager for my baby

to grow up!! Maya went back to sleep until 7:45, what a pleasant way

to start the day!!

Throughout the day, Maya asked for bah-bah more often than usual. So,

again I was surprised when she went to bed AGAIN tonight with NO

pacifiers and just a beautiful shiny coat of princess chap stick.

We are officially out of diapers, almost done with pacifiers, requests

for a big kid bed have been made. My baby is growing up, and what a

marvelous little girl she is becoming.

Raising Little Ladies

Our family is growing up. Our baby days are long gone. Our youngest is officially out of diapers, even during the night. It hardly seems possible that my baby is wearing the clothes big sister wore when our baby came home from the hospital. Seriously, how is time going so fast?

As a stay at home mom, there are days when the hours drag on!  Up before sunrise, filling the days with activities and learning, exploring and disciplining. Some days we play, dance and truly get silly and the house fills with deep belly laughs, the kind you can still feel in the air hours after the girls have gone to sleep for the night. Other days I feel like I merely clean up messes, repeat requests and separate the girls from one another. But the fact of the matter remains, the days are going by fast and these sweet little girls are growing up.

I blinked and these beautiful little girls are walking, talking and independent. They ask questions that actually make me think, rather than repeating the same basic answers over and over. This morning, Elliana (5.5 years old) was asking questions about the directional rotation of the sun and Earth and how it related to the sun in other parts of the country. Then hand gestures started as she was trying to explain the slight angle of the Earth and how the sun shines on just a part of it at a time. I hated to stop her, but I was driving on the highway and continually turning around to see her presentation didn't seem wise.

We are two months into our first glimpse of public school, which has been a big change for all of us. The freedom of Mommy picking activities is no longer shortened by returning home for nap-time, but instead we are rushing home for afternoon Kindergarten. Elliana recently took a test at school depicting she has a 2.4 grade equivalent (equal to a child in second grade, four months in). We always knew she was smart but wasn't really ready for that news. She truly has a love for learning and I've been supplementing additional homework from what is assigned. I genuinely pray for this excitement and passion for learning all the days of her life. What a gift from God to be so eager to know more!

Maya has a passion for playing and moving. Even our traditional pizza movie night is typically interrupted by cartwheels or somersaults. She is fearless and confident. This past weekend, it was time for the annual flu vaccination. Maya marched right into the office, rolled up her sleeve and said, "Me ready. I so brave." The nurse looked at us, questioning if this little two year old was really ready for this....we nodded our head in agreement. The needle went in, and Maya said, "your turn, Elli. It no hurt." Not a tear was shed, no ounce of fear. The rest of the day, Maya walked around confidently saying, "me so brave. I not even cry!" Just a small glimpse of this confident, amazing little girl!

Sometimes I sit back and just stare at these precious little faces. There is such beauty. Hope. Laughter. Love. I am honored to be a Mom, but beyond blessed to have these two little girls to call my daughters.

End of Summer

Again, summer has come and gone. The second half of summer flew by even faster than the first. And so, as promised, here are a few photo highlights.

Sparkler fun on Fourth of July

Monsters, Inc. artwork fun

Family Movie Night - Frozen under the Stars

Community Outreach - packing meals for South Africa

A little sewing project for a friend

Zoo Day with friends

gymnastics fun!

Coney Island

lunch date with cousins

Swimming fun 

Family hiking at Clifty Falls State Park

Potty Training Reward - Build a Bear! 

Back to School?!

It hardly seems possible, but the time had come for my baby girl to enter Kindergarten. Wait, what?! Kindergarten?! Several hours a day, every week day, all year long?! Surrounded by bigger kids, and officially in grade school. Wow, how on earth has time gone so fast?

To kick start the school year right, I decided to take our big grade schooler out for a pre-school date night! First stop, Elliana's first manicure! She was so excited, she practically was dancing in the aisles of the salon. Of course, she chose hot pink with silver sparkles. Love my girlie girl!

Elliana's first manicure! 

Next stop, shopping! We hit the mall for new school approved shoes (guess I wasn't ready for dress codes yet!), and a pair of owl pajamas, as this girl is obsessed with owls. We browsed the mall, enjoyed the mommy-daughter time and even were silly as we jumped over colored tiles on the ground, pretending there were alligators on certain colors. It amazed me how much more grown up my little girl was already, just being able to spend quality time with her, to witness her confidence and have time to explain her detailed questions.

Girl time = shopping!

After shopping, we loaded up on sugar and calories at Orange Leaf where Elliana had more toppings in her bowl than ice cream. We giggled. We danced. We savored the moment. And, finally at 9:00 (1.5 hours PAST bedtime) we began to venture toward home. As I drove home and listened to Elliana explain the solar system (complete with hand movements and circular gestures), I began to pray. Prayers of gratitude, thankful for this sweet girl that God has blessed us with. Prayers for protection as she goes into the world without the shelter of our wings. Prayers for friendship, strong, healthy friendships, where Elliana can be herself, yet learn positively from her friends as well.

We snuggled and prayed before bedtime. We read "the Night Before Kindergarten" and talked about her hopes and fears for the next day. She had a lot more excitement than she did fear, and that alone was an answered prayer. For I, myself, had some unspoken fears.

At 7:11 am, I was woken by a beautifully dressed and groomed little girl, who had already made her bed, cleaned her room and was ready to go to school. Unfortunately, school didn't start for another 5 hours, so we decided to have breakfast first!

We had picked out her favorite breakfast treat the day before and we arranged donuts (glazed and chocolate) in the shape of  a K for her first day of Kindergarten. Every other bite, "Mommy is it time to go to school?" The concept of AFTERNOON kindergarten was clearly one I hadn't prepared for.

By 8:00 we had finished breakfast, curled her hair, oh and played two games of Bingo already. I knew it was going to be a long morning with such an excited little one.

Thankfully our awesome friends and neighbors came over to play, and eat lunch and before we knew it, it was time to go. We took the traditional first day of school picture and off we went!

Waiting for the doors to unlock and the school day to begin! 

First in line, eager to wave goodbye and head into her new world! 

At the classroom, Elliana looked like a natural. She quickly found a seat, started coloring and flashed me a truly genuine smile. I knew she was going to be okay, even though I was not yet sure about myself.

Ready to start her school day! 

Although Kindergarten hours are shorter than her days at preschool, I found myself checking the clock abundantly and excessively! I prayed for her constantly. And, a few hours later, she came out smiling.

I will continue to pray for this sweet girl and give thanks. I ask for direction and guidance with her future schooling. I ask for wisdom for her and discernment with the choices in front of her. Jesus, may you preserve her sensitivity, yet help her guard her heart from hurt. Lord, give Elliana the confidence to let her light shine brightly, and I praise you for allowing us to experience the light you've given her.

Day #2! Already more grown up! 

Bye Bye Diapers!

The day I had been dreading was finally here. The day I had postponed and built up in my head over and over again. The day of POTTY TRAINING!

Maya had been expressing interest off and on for a few months now, but we I never took her too seriously. We would occasionally put on her the potty and praise her efforts, never really knowing when to make it a full-time commitment. Well, I did know that it shouldn't be BEFORE the 9+ hour car ride we had scheduled for late June. So, I committed to myself that I would start the process immediately following that car ride. That meant Thursday. Like 5 days ago Thursday.

By noon on Day 1, after cleaning up three accidents and spending most of the day on the floor of the bathroom (coaxing, helping, wiping, cleaning up, reading and encouraging) I was seriously wondering why on Earth I felt the need to start this process now.

The day ended with three accidents and 7 successes. I was amazed at her determination and bladder control. Day 2- 2 accidents, 8 successes. Wow...were we really about to say goodbye to diapers?!

Day 3. 1 accident.

Day 4 - 0 accidents and dry overnight and nap diaper!

Day 5 - 0 accidents and a jam packed day at the museum and library!

It's bittersweet to no longer have to change diapers. More sweet than it is bitter. Bitter as I officially no longer have a baby in my family. We have this thriving, determined toddler who won't let size or age stop her from anything she has her heart set on.

I cherish the "potty dance" she does when she celebrates her achievements. The giddy yet humble smile she has when we make a big fuss over all that she has done. The incessant yet determined way she asks for her potty reward every single day. 

I love you sweet girl. We are so very proud of you and your latest milestone!