Thanksgiving Celebration

Today at Madden's school we had a Thanksgiving Celebration! The teachers made macaroni and cheese, green beans and cornbread for lunch and then invited all the parents to come in for a yummy pumpkin dessert to eat with our kids. The kids have been learning all about the meaning of Thanksgiving and about the Indians and Pilgrims. This was a great way to start the Thanksgiving Holiday! Erik was able to come and check out Madden's school room and meet his teachers and check out his girlfriend, Mia! I took a picture of them sitting next to each during lunch. We had such a special time and are so blessed Madden is at such a wonderful school.

Visit to Santa

We kicked off the season with our annual trip to Phipps Plaza to see Santa! I dressed the kids up in their Sunday best and we met up with some of our closest friends. Madden was so excited about seeing Santa, kept waving at Santa and was very antsy to wait in line so I had high hopes this year would have some dry eyes...wishful thinking! Both kids sat in Santa's lap...can you guess which one wasn't having much fun?? After our visit with Santa, we headed over to Johnny Rockets for lunch with our friends. We had a wonderful time and I'm pretty sure both kids will get something special from Santa this year!!

Pink Pig

There is an Atlanta tradition called the Pink Pig which started years ago at the first Rich's in downtown Atlanta. They have continued the tradition at Lenox mall. This is the first year we have ridden the Pink Pig and we had a lot of fun!!It's like a mini roller coaster that takes up the top portion of the parking deck. Madden loved the lights but thought the music was too loud. Baby Hanson enjoyed checking out all the fun sights!! We enjoyed the afternoon with Madden's best buddy Wyatt and his mommy.

Halloween Fun!!

We had a wonderful Halloween weekend with the kids. Nana P. and Grampy Al came in to enjoy the kids and festivities which was wonderful. Thursday afternoon, I got both kids dressed up in the costumes (Chief Firefighter and his sidekick Dalmatian) and we went over to Erik's work for some trick or treating. Both kids were great and Madden scored a ton of great candy (which daddy and I are enjoying :). Friday during the day we had a wonderful time hanging out with Nana P and Grampy Al. Around 5pm we headed over to the Traynor's house to hang out for a little bit and check out everyone's costumes. Nana P won hands down with her "ode to Elvira" costume!! Chief firefighter and his sidekick won for the most adorable costume (maybe I'm just biased!!). Around 6pm we headed back to our neighborhood to do some trick or treating. We started the party off at our neighbors for some much needed drinks and food then took all the kids trick or treating. Madden had so much fun...he was literally skipping from house to house, it was too cute!! His sidekick wasn't too far behind him being pushed by Elvira--what a sight!! All in all, we had a wonderful evening with family and friends! Saturday was filled with lots of football......at least we had one team pull through for a victory, Go EERS!!! Unfortunately, the dawgs and Irish weren't quite as lucky!! We're all sugared up and looking forward to many more wonderful nights of trick or treating!!

Our sick little baby on the mend...

We've had a few scary moments with our precious baby girl. We had to take her to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta on Saturday night. The whole time we were there she just did her usual...coo and smile (such an angel). She was tested positive for RSV which is a really bad respiratory infection that could potentially lead to pneumonia. Thank goodness we caught it early and have been giving her some breathing treatments four times a day as well as lots of saline nose squirts...which miss princess does not like!! Thank you for all of your prayers because she seems to be getting better!!

Picasso or Kandinsky? You decide...

So we have quite a new little artist in the family. Madden has discovered painting and it has become our new favorite thing to do...morning, noon and night!!! He has created several masterpieces which of course adorns the fridge. Check him out...hard at work!! He for sure is an expressionist but with a hint of methodical planning...I say he's a Picasso but what do you think?

October Fun

We have had a busy couple of weeks enjoying this beautiful fall weather! Last weekend I took Madden to the Happy Healthy Kids Fest at PBS broadcasting station. There were lots of different characters walking around like Super Why, Clifford and Curious George! A wonderful petting zoo and great farmers market. Madden had a blast!! Today we went to our first pumpkin patch of the season. There were lots of pumpkins to chose from, a petting zoo and different activities for the kids. I was hoping for a good photo op with both kids in the pumpkin patch but Hanson fell asleep in my arms as soon as we got there so I didn't want to wake her up!! But we did get some cute pics of Madden.
Madden is continuing to love preschool and even has a girlfriend named Mia. Every time I drop Madden off, Mia comes running over to him and hugs him...he tries to play cool by brushing it off but I know he loves it (he talks about her all the time :). Hanson is continuing to grow every day...she loves to smile!! All she does is smile and coo, smile and coo....so stinkin cute!!

Madden's 1st Day of Preschool

Today was Madden's first day of preschool. We went on Tuesday to meet his two teachers and all of his new buddies and he loved it!! The classroom is awesome...complete with a fish tank, sandbox(filled with rice), reading station, play stations and lots and lots of great toys. I was very nervous about today because he tends to have a hard time adjusting to new situations...it takes him a while to warm up to new environments and people...the Lord answered a lot of prayers because he did great. I was in charge of bringing a snack to the class today which meant that Madden got to be line leader and Ms. Paula's helper today which I'm sure he loved. He also got to bring his favorite toy to share with the class so of course we took his guitar that Papa made for him (not the "real" one but his miniature one). As soon as we got to school he ran over to his teacher to show her his guitar telling her that "papa made it"...he was so proud!! When I picked him up he was having fun playing by the fish tank and was so cute waving goodbye to everyone!! Let's just pray that Tuesday is another great day. I took some pictures of Madden's first day of school!!

Labor Day

We had a wonderful labor day this year. Nana P came in to town along with Uncle LA and Aunt Corky (as Madden lovingly calls them). Madden absolutely adores his uncle and aunt and kept calling him his buddies all weekend!! He was absolutely spoiled rotten with lots of love. Hanson was an angel as always.......loved all the attention as well. We feel so blessed to have such amazing families!!!

Sip and See

Several of my girlfriends threw a baby shower for me and little Hanson.We had a great time and Hanson was so good. She wore a precious little dress that her Nana P got for her in Greece......so of course she was the best dressed person at the party!! Ms. Christy was gracious enough to host the party at her house where we drank mimosa's,ate amazing food and laughed a lot!! I feel so blessed to have such amazing friends in my life!!

all the latest news...

Okay, so sorry its been a couple of week since I've sent out any news.....so here goes!! Madden went to the eye doctor this past week and we got some excellent news..his eye is all healed from the surgery and the surgery seems to have worked. We are so excited we do not have to have another surgery, at least now anytime soon!!
Hanson continues to get more and more adorable. She is still such a great baby, hardly a cry out of her. Madden still adores her except when mommy needs to feed her...but a few hits will only make her stronger (I hope...poor baby girl!!). We just had our first photo session with Hanson and her big brother. And of course as soon as we go outside in our pretty outfits to get a family photo........Hanson poops out of her brand new dress and all over herself and her mommy!! So typical...thank goodness I had a back up dress just in case!!! Madden loved the camera and was such a great model.........Hanson was amazing!! She pretty much stayed awake for the entire two hours and we got some amazing pictures of her in a pink little tutu (compliments of Nana P.). I can't wait to see the photos and they should be ready for viewing by Saturday so I'll be sure to send everyone the slide show. That is all the news for now...stay tuned!!

My little sister makes me laugh!

It's a GIRL!!

We are so excited we have a precious baby girl!! She was born Friday, July 11th at 3:15pm. Her name is Hanson Nash and she weighs 7pds 4oz and is 20" long.We named her Hanson after her daddy's middle name (of course she'll forever be a daddy's girl) and Nash was in memory of my precious friend, Jayne, who died of breast cancer this past year. Our precious baby girl has such a sweet disposition. She has been a great eater and great sleeper which we are very grateful for especially at night!! Her big brother absolutely adores her and says her name first thing in the morning and right after his nap. He loves to hold her and if it were up to him, she'd go everywhere he went!!! We feel truly blessed and as everyone has said....we hit the gender lotto!!
Thank you for all your prayers during this time!!

Baby's Room

We finally finished the babies nursery. Now, it finally seems real........yikes!! I went to the doctor on Tuesday and I am 1cm dilated. There is a chance I have to go in to the hospital Thursday night and get some medicine to thin my cervix. But hopefully nature will run its course and we will not have to go that route. But whatever the case.......we are having this baby next Friday. We are very excited and we'll continue to keep you posted.

Today was Madden's second surgery on his left eye and all went well. We were very blessed to have be given an earlier surgery time of 9am which was perfect. We woke Madden up, put him in the car, and drove 5 minutes to the surgical center (very lucky it is right down the street)! Madden was so cute with the nurses and keep calling the blood pressure monitor a cookoo clock which they thought was hilarious (hey, it's a circle and has numbers, could easily be one, right?)Erik went back to anesthesia with Madden and he said he did good. The wait was a long one or at least it felt like it but the doctor came in and assured us all went well. Madden had a great nap, we went for ice cream this afternoon and he seems back to his normal self---praise the Lord!!! Hopefully, tomorrow he will continue on the same rode of recovery and we can have a wonderful final weekend before baby "B" arrives next Friday!!

I have some exciting news!! I went to the doctor for my 37 week check up and we came up with an official due date for baby "B"!! Friday, July 11th I will be induced first thing in the morning and hopefully by that afternoon we will be holding our latest arrival. With that being said panic mode has officially set in...........2 1/2 weeks and counting with lots of things to do...we will continue to keep you updated!

Latest Berg News

A lot has happened over the past couple of months that has created lots of excitement! Madden turned two years old on May 21st and we threw a huge celebration in his honor. We invited all of our closest family and friends to help us celebrate. The front yard was filled with lots of balloons, pinwheels, a huge bouncy slide (which was a big hit among Madden's friends), a sandbox, lots of riding toys and plenty of bubbles!! We all had a wonderful time and we are so blessed to have such wonderful friends to share in this special time.



Madden is such a joy to be around and is discovering new things everyday. Since turning two he is talking up a storm, it is amazing all the new words he is saying!! He is slowly starting to put words together which is so neat to hear. He absolutely loves the outside and is such a happy toddler when he is running around kicking a soccer ball (much to his father's delight).



We are also thrilled about our newest arrival coming soon....four weeks and counting! We have finally somewhat finished the nursery which is a huge hit with Madden. He absolutely loves throwing all his toys into the crib which will pose a problem when there is actually a baby sleeping in there!! Much to my husbands dismay we have painted birds perched on trees in the room which will work for a girl but he's a bit worried if this baby pops out a boy!!haha!! We are still figuring out names especially if this baby is a boy so any suggestions you can throw out there we'll take!!



In two weeks, July 2nd, Madden will have his second eye surgery to open the left lateral tear duct once again. The procedure is simple according to the eye doctor and will last about 15 minutes. We are just praying this procedure will work and will happen before this baby comes!! At least we know what to expect this time around and will be better prepared.



I am so excited about this blog and I hope you will all visit it often to see what all is going on in the Berg house. I will try to update it weekly with journal entries and pictures.