boy's weekend - 3

This was the annual weekend for the gathering of The Four, Shelby and her closest friends from her days in Nashville. What that means for Riley and I is another Boy's Weekend.

I miss Shelby when she's gone, but I love having such a large amount of one on one time with my son. I find him to be great company, and we really do have a lot of fun together.

This time around it was four days. More than a weekend, Shelby left early on Thursday morning (they met in West Virginia) so Riley and I were on our own for the duration. This means that I had a helper at work for a couple of days. Always a fun time for all involved, even my patients.

The days at the office were fairly typical if you've read one of my past entries about Riley coming to work with me. One difference is that Riley is showing more of an interest in buses, especially school buses lately. Well, at 3:09 pm every day the elementary school down the street lets out and the buses come by the office. We went out to watch. Riley also had some playmates when patients brought their kids in. Some pictures and video:

Riley playing with his toy bus while waiting for the buses















Bus!

Kaz plays the recorder for a rapt audience















Riley and Henry















Having Riley in the office for so long (and the fact that he's my son) means that there are some things that he gets away with that other kids don't. He plays with my electric adjusting instrument and runs the battery out for instance. I don't even let other kids touch the thing... He also gets to climb on the furniture and amuse himself with stuff in the office:

Climbing on a traction table















Sliding anything flat he finds into the desk drawer. I don't know why either.















One thing that drives me crazy is that he always want to stand by the front door and look outside. I don't really blame him since there are trucks across the street and you can see the commuter train when it goes by, but the last thing I need is to have him bolt out the door (or worse.) He pushes the discipline envelope on this one, either ignoring me when I tell him to come back in the room or taking two steps and then stopping, looking me in the eye the whole time. This, of course, while I'm treating patients.

Drives me nuts!















Over all though I love having him there and it was a really fun two days. The days ended with a very tired boy (who can't nap at the office) falling asleep in his car seat on the way home.

Dressed for bed and ready to go home!















Next up was the weekend. We had plans to sit around in our underwear drinking beer, eating chips and watching sports on TV. But since Riley doesn't drink beer and we don't watch TV when Mama's not home we decided to do other stuff instead. Riley started the day on Saturday by doing one of his favorite puzzles (since he is the puzzle master.)

Fire Engine puzzle - It plays the siren when you finish it















After a morning hanging out and a failed nap attempt (shaking the cage) we did what we should have done in the first place, ride bikes! We took turns, Riley riding first and then Daddy pulling him around after. Some video:

Riley Rides!

Daddy's perspective

When we got home Riley took some time to practice up for the upcoming arrival of a sibling. I think he'll be ready for stroller duty:

Stroller practice















The rest of the weekend was typical with his normal bedtime and getting up and going to church on Sunday. Daddy spent his evenings getting some much needed work done on his mountain bike. Ask me about riser bars some time (if you care about mountain biking that is...) Mama was back Sunday afternoon...for 30 minutes. Riley ignored her at first and continued playing with the puzzle he had been working on. I think he was mad at her. Hmmm...our boy is showing a little more personality. 30 minutes because Mom and Dad were then off to see U2 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. But that's another story.

Another fun weekend for Dad and boy. As always I'm really happy to see Shelby when she gets back home. The concentrated time with my boy is priceless though. I love it!


Jonathan

the ollie

I learned a few tough lessons after I became pregnant with Riley in the fall of 2006. I went into my pregnancy in the best shape of my life, but the fatigue that came along with the first trimester was tough. I gave in to it and exercised less and spent a lot more time on the couch. I didn't eat as well either and it left me with a lot of work to do once the pregnancy was over -- 50 lbs to lose to be exact.

After a year of eating healthy and exercising, I was finally able to lose the pregnancy weight. I then focused on my endurance training to see if I could improve my fitness from where I was at in 2006. I was encouraged to hear the women atheletes peak in their late 30's - early 40's. It seemed to prove true when I ran my Mother's Day Marathon in May, beating my best time (set at age 28) by almost 30 min. My way of thumbing my nose at middle age...ha.

When I got pregnant in July, I decided that this time around things would be different. So, despite the nausea and fatigue, I've been watching what I eat and exercising at least three times a week. I've continued running, trying to maintain as many of my recent fitness gains as possible.

Each September, I enjoy running the Ollie 5 mile road race. This year's race was my fourth. In 2006, I had just become pregnant and although my legs felt heavy I ran a pretty good race at a 9 minute per mile (mpm) pace. The next year, I was 3 months post-partum, and I ran an 11:22 mpm pace. Last year I ran the race at a 9:27 mpm on a hot, muggy day. This year at 12 weeks pregnant, I was just hoping to run at least a 10 mpm.

I wasn't sure how fast I would run it this year. I am running noticably slower than earlier this summer, but since I run trails, I don't get a good gauge of my mpm. Since my two runs earlier in the week felt slow and labored, I figured that a 10 mpm pace would be reasonable under my "delicate" condition.

One of the things I love about running is that you never know what kind of a run you'll have until you start. I have been sleep-deprived and had a great run and I've run in ideal temps and conditions where my usual course felt really hard. It's such an intricate and complex thing, that it's just this big unknown until you get going.

This year's race took place in conditions that are well suited for running. The temp was about 60 degrees and there was light rain for most of the race to keep us cool. I felt great throughout the race and ran at a faster pace than expected. I ran the race in 45:31 which is a 9:17 mpm pace, only seconds per mile slower than my best time on the course.

I was so encouraged by this -- it shows me how much the training and eating well have done for me. Hopefully it will also mean an easier pregnancy for me this time around and a faster recovery once the baby is born.

Jonathan had some problems with the button on the camera so I don't have any video of me crossing the finish line, but here's a video with some pictures of me before and after the race and pics and video of how the boys kept themselves occupied while Mama was off running:





Shelby

labor day weekend

Labor Day weekend is normally a time for us to travel a bit. This year was no different. Several times before we've taken a trip that began in CT visiting my family and ended in the Big Apple giving Shelby a fix for her New York City addiction. This year was the first time we did the trip with a toddler...Riley would get his first taste of New York.

We started by spending a couple of low key and fairly restful days visiting my Mom in Old Saybrook. Here are a couple of pictures:

Grandma reading Riley's new "Cars" book















Riley helped Grandma collect acorns from the yard















On Saturday afternoon we headed off to Stamford, CT where we'd be staying the nights. We met up with our friends the Zivans who were coming along for a taste of NYC with toddlers...they have two.

We made a trip to the Stamford Mall for a quick dinner and some playtime for the kids. Stamford has the coolest mall playground we've seen yet:

The boys and Taz















Our precious flowers















Then it was back to the hotel. No late nights out with the kids...although the playground was still filling up at 8:30 pm as we were leaving. Who can figure. Our kids got ready for bed and then Shelby read them a bedtime story.

Nice to see the kids riveted to the Rhyme Bible Storybook















The next morning it was off to the big city. The kids enjoyed the trip in on the train. The conductor was really cool. He came back and asked if the kids would like a chance to blow the train's horn. Riley did, but seemed a bit freaked out and was done after one quick blow. Funny, since he loves to press buttons so much.

We got to Grand Central Station and had a quick look around. It's a big place and a very impressive structure. Riley was fascinated:

Checking out the architecture















He particularly liked the big American Flag















Next it was a quick trip on the subway and off to church. Shelby and I have always tried to visit Redeemer Presbyterian Church when we're in New York. We love Tim Keller's preaching (although one of the assistant pastors was preaching this time...still good) and it's nice to be able to travel somewhere and still attend a church we love. It was A LOT more work though. Everything is different when you've got three kids along. And the nursery was in a building across the street from the auditorium where the church meets. Things sure are different in the Big City.

After church it was off to Central Park. Our priorities for this trip were very different. We wanted to do fun things with the kids this time around, so we hit the Central Park Carousel and a toddlers playground.

It was love at first sight for the kids at the carousel















Riley even loved the little horses on the fence















Riley and Mama take a ride















Riley goes solo (think he was having fun?)















Some video

The kids spent most of their playground time at the sprinklers. Riley wasn't all that excited about letting the water hit him. He's actually not a big fan of water being sprayed at him. The other two had a ball running around while Riley was immobile exactly where I placed him.

All three kids















The boys. Notice Riley has not moved...















Next it was off to one of our favorite places: Alice's Tea Cup. Alice's is a tea house with an Alice In Wonderland motif. They serve excellent food (like the British, it's more than just tea you're having) and of course...tea. Lots of different types of tea. It's fun, and a major feast. Some pictures:

Oil, Jon and a whole lot of food















A little girl's dream, Fairy dust and wings




















Riley making funny faces















Our last place to visit was Times Square. I've done a lot of crazy things in my life, and bringing three toddlers to this place ranks right up there with the best of them. Of course, crazy things are usually fun too...

On the subway to Times Square















Whoa, New York, just like I always pictured it...















Daddy and Riley




















Mama and Riley















Family Times Square shot















Riley was wired, but not everyone else lasted















Do kids have fun visiting New York City?

The next day was mostly a travel day, but there was a cool playground down the street from the hotel. So we HAD to make a stop...

Making music with the pipe chimes















Riley demonstrates his balance















He STILL didn't want to have anything to do with the water















Tandem sliding

Then we were on the road home. A quick stop for lunch at Cracker Barrel where Riley showed us how to put together the puzzle that was on the table:

Our boy loves a puzzle















It was a great weekend. Relaxing and energizing both. And it was so much more fun to be able to share the New York experience with friends. I think we've got some more New York lovers on our hands. And some of them are only two.


Jonathan

we have a heartbeat...

Yesterday was a big day for the Berg household. Shelby had her second appointment with the midwife at the the birthing center and this time if all went well we would hear our new child's heartbeat.

There has been some nervousness on our parts with this pregnancy. Neither of us are 'spring chickens' and Shelby in particular knows a number of women who have miscarried on their second pregnancies. So this was a big day. That being said, here's some video:

Mama celebrated with some post check-up sushi.















It's about seven weeks to an ultrasound. Yes, we do want to know if it's a boy or a girl. In the mean time Shelby has given our child the nickname, "Frankie Fetus".

It seems so much more real and so very much more exciting now.

Riley has been getting some practice at being a big brother. Here he is with his pal Dominick at daycare. These two really enjoy each other:















I think he's going to be great at it.


Jonathan