It's Been Awhile...

It's been awhile since I've blogged.  Almost three years apparently... oh well, I've never been consistent with blogging, and I don't think anybody cares too much, so I'll just take a few minutes to share some of what's been going on in the Berndt household lately!

Over the last three years, well, a lot has obviously happened.  Mya will be turning 6 next month and starting 1st grade in August.  Max will be turning 3 next month and starting preschool in August.  And Zane--well, he's been part of our family for over a year now!  He was our blessed little surprise.  The pregnancy was rough (especially being coupled with Alex being unemployed for 9 months), but things have all turned out well, and we're so thankful to have our little guy with us!

After Alex being out of work for those 9 months, he landed a wonderful job with Mrs. Field's Cookies. For the past year, he has been their Training Coordinator and has loved it!  Near the end of last year, he and I decided that it was time for him to pursue an MBA.  After months of studying for the entrance exam, I'm super excited to say that he's been accepted to ASU starting this fall!  Not only is ASU's MBA program one of the best in the western US, but it is also in Arizona.  We've lived in Utah for 9 out of our 10 years of marriage, and yet somehow, Arizona still feels like home.  We're sad about many aspects of leaving Utah (okay, not many, but a few really big ones--like living with Grandma Nola, and all of our family that is nearby).  But we are very excited for this upcoming adventure!!  We're planning to move down to the valley sometime in July.  As of right now, we have no job and no home.  But I know that things will work out somehow!

Right before our big move, Alex and I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary by going on a CRUISE to Alaska!!  Obviously, we're way excited about that too!!  I've never been on a cruise, and neither of us have been to Alaska.  It will be an incredible trip!

We have so much to be grateful for, and so much to look forward to.  I'm losing a lot of sleep these days, as I anxiously look at houses for rent, try to pack everything we're not using, and get ready for our cruise :).  Life is good!

Preschool, Already???

I once heard a quote about motherhood that said something about how, as a mother, the days drag on forever, but the years fly by so quickly. Since Mya was born, I've believed this--but today it hit me like a ton of bricks. Today was Mya's first day of preschool!

We were lucky to get her a spot at a nearby preschool, Children's Discovery. We know many people who have absolutely loved the school, and we couldn't be more excited about it. I didn't expect to be terribly emotional about today. I did alright as she got out of the car, and only choked up a little as she walked away. But when I got home and looked at Max, I lost it... For a moment, I didn't see Max, I saw this...

My sweet little angel--the time really has flown by. As exciting as today's milestone was, it was definitely bittersweet. I love seeing Mya grow and learn and develop. And I love how independent she is... But a part of my heart aches to think about how she (along with all of my children) are going to grown up. And all too quickly!

And here's my little angel this morning, bursting with excitement to go to her new school!

And here's Mya with Miss Dee, the owner and director of Children's Discovery. The teachers at the school load and unload the children each morning--VERY nice!

And here she is... walking away.

When I picked her up, she was just buzzed with the excitement from her first day! She absolutely loved it. She told me all about playing on the playground, singing songs about ducks, and making a jack in the box toy. She said that all of her new friends are really nice, and so are her teachers. I know Mya will love it, and I'm so excited for her and for this new adventure!

Great Day

Let me just say, I think my kiddos are pretty cool. Especially when we have a fun day like today! Alex was working, and it was a beautiful sunny day, so I took Mya and Max (and enough stuff for a week long trip...), and we went to Sugarhouse Park. Mya LOVED running around the playground, making friends with whoever would talk to her, and going down the slides. I loved relaxing in the shade with Max, and we all enjoyed our picnic lunch!

Mya wanted me to take a "sad face picture"

For the first time in my life, I saw two LARPers (Live Action Role Players)!!! Granted, they weren't actually LARPing, but it was obvious that they were practicing. It was awesome, and I hope to see some again someday.

I think Max likes his big sis (and he likes his mommy too)!

At one point, I saw Mya at the top of the slide making a face that I haven't seen her make outside of the bathroom for awhile--uh oh. Then came the yell from Mya at the top of her lungs: "Mommy! I HAVE TO GO POOP IN THE POTTY!!!" Unfortunately, the 'face' she made was the face I was afraid of, and she didn't make it all the way... So it was a bit of a mess, but on the bright side, I had an extra pair of panties in my giant bag, and she actually was able to hold most of it for the toilet too. That was actually her first real accident since she completed potty-training, so I really can't complain!

The drive home was a little rough, with a super tired 3 year old, and a hungry baby. BUT, we all survived! What a great day!!!

A Name & A Blessing

Today we had Max's baby blessing. We held it in our home, which was really nice! All of our family in the area came, and we're so grateful for their support!!!

And we are especially grateful for this little guy! He's 7 weeks old today, and growing so fast. The outfit that he was blessed in was the same one his daddy was blessed in 30 years ago.

"Leave me alone crazy lady! Quit taking pictures and let me go back to sleep!!!" Poor kid.

Max did sleep most of the evening (when I wasn't tormenting him), which was great! Getting a picture with him was a piece of cake...

Getting a picture with a cranky 3 year old on the other hand... not so easy : )! This was the best family picture that we got, and we were just focused on trying to get Mya to quit crying. Good times!

Alex did a beautiful job of conducting the evening, as well as giving the blessing. I'm so proud of my sweet family. I'm so thankful for each of them. I'm especially thankful for the Gospel. It is true, and I know that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and love us beyond what we can comprehend. What incredible blessings I have in my life because of this powerful truth.

My Happy Boy

We've been busy having fun adjusting to life as a family of four! Mya LOVES her new baby brother Max. We all love the little guy dearly!! He is almost 7 weeks old, and is quite the funny baby. Here are a couple of pictures and a video of Max and Mya!

Notice Max's crossed eyes... Newborns are hilarious

Yes, question?

Happy America Party!

On this beautiful 4th of July, I'm thrilled to say that my family and I have more to be grateful for than ever. We've had our little boy home from the hospital for a week now, and he's doing great. We've had some of the usual ups and downs of bringing home a new baby, but as of today, everyone is healthy and doing really well! The day he came home, I came down with some bad breast infections; that was surprisingly rough, and I was pretty sick for about 3 days because of them. The antibiotics have kicked in now, and thankfully I'm feeling much better!

Mya and Max have been so cute together. Mya absolutely adores her baby brother, and so far, has been so loving and sweet with him!

On Saturday, July 3rd, we had some family over for a 4th of July party. As we explained to Mya what the 4th of July means, her cute interpretation was that we were having an America Party--and she had a GREAT time with family, food, and her very own sparklers!

Max was clearly wiped out from all of the excitement, and having to entertain all of our family! He was a champ though. Our 4th of July turned out to be one of the best ever--Happy America Party!!!

Our New Little Man

After a couple of months of stress, unknowns, and almost constant contractions... THE TIME HAS COME!! At my 38 week doctor's appointment, I was 5cm dilated, 80% effaced. My OB-GYN went ahead and scheduled me to be induced the following week, on 6/22. Alex and I were getting all set to have this kid!

The night after that appointment, I started having contractions... nothing real consistent or strong... nothing different from the previous two months. The next morning, Saturday 6/19, I was still having contractions. I took a shower, and they got stronger--was I actually in labor??? Shortly after that, things got really intense, really fast. Of course, it would make sense that my little boy would come on the ONE day that my doctor was out of town : )! We started getting things ready around 9:45am, and got to the hospital around 10:45. That hour SUCKED. BAD. What didn't help was that while I was crawling on all four during my 20-30 second breaks between contractions, trying to get things together, Mya thought that Mommy looked like a horse... and of course, who could resist a horsey ride? Ouch!

When we got to the hospital, the nursing staff got me into a room and checked me really quickly. In that hour before getting to the hospital, I had gone from 5cm to 8cm! Thankfully the nurses moved REALLY quickly after that, and within about 20 minutes, I had my beloved epidural. (Irrelevant side-note, our anesthesiologist was in our stake presidency : )! ) They checked me a few minutes later, and I was at 9cm. After one more contraction, I was at 10cm and ready to go!! My doctor's partner was there and ready for the show to begin! The labor continued to go really fast. After 6 sets of pushes, and about 12 minutes (and a short break for me to vomit a bit), Max was in our arms!

Max Alexander Berndt. Born on Saturday, 6/19/2010 at 12:42pm, weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz., and was 18 inches in length. He cried a little after his arrival, but not much--not as much as we'd have liked. Some NICU nurses came up to check on him and get him to cry a bit more. His APGAR score was 8.9, and they decided they'd take him to the nursery to do his bath and initial testing. Alex went with him while I recouped a bit, and got moved to my postpartum room. We were thrilled to have him here!!!

After Max was in the nursery for a couple of hours, the nurse came and talked to us about some concerns they were having. His breathing was still quite irregular. This of course is normal for most infants, but the problem was that he wasn't pulling himself out of it. He'd fall asleep and stop breathing, turning blue a couple of times. They sent him to the NICU for some closer care. This was a concern to hear, but we felt good that he'd be in good care, and felt like things were going to be okay... maybe it would just take a little longer to get him there than we had thought.

As it turns out, part of why Max was having breathing problems was because he was fighting some sort of infection. He also had some fluid in his lungs, which may have been what showed up as an infection in his blood work (we'll never know for sure what was wrong specifically). They started him on a full round of antibiotics to clear up whatever may have been wrong with him. Having a quick delivery was nice for me, but it was probably to quick for our little Max, because that was likely the cause of the fluid in his lungs and the infection--it was too shocky and he didn't experience much of the stress that is needed in the birth canal. It's interesting, and a little ironic if you ask me!

It's been nearly a week, and Max is ready to come home tomorrow! We are so proud of him, and the progress he has made. His breathing is perfectly 'normal' (I hate that word--normal--but I'm not sure how else to put it) now, and his blood work is all clear. They would have actually released him a couple days ago, except that they needed to finish up the antibiotics. Mya has loved seeing him through the window, but I think we're all ready to start our lives together as a family of four! I will admit that getting more rest at night this past week has been kind of nice, but I'm ready to not be going back and forth between the hospital, pumping almost constantly when I'm at home (and not fully being able to get the hang of nursing Max at the hospital, especially since they need to bottle feed him for most of his meals), and being able to truly feel like his mommy.

I can't even express how grateful I am that Max is here, and that he is well. Being in the NICU, we've had the chance to see a lot of newborns at different stages of life, and talk to their parents about their experiences. There have been a couple of babies that were born at 28 or 29 weeks. I was at 29 weeks when I first went into labor with Max... After seeing what these babies and parents have gone through, I am more thankful now than ever that Heavenly Father blessed Max to stay inside me for an additional 9 weeks. We've been really impressed with the NICU too, and we've been really thankful for all of the caring nurses who have taken such good care of our little angel! We're so excited to bring him home tomorrow, and I will try to post updates as I can!