Cali Kolbergs

Linnea Mae's Homebirth

2010-06-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

Linnea's birth story begins the morning of her birth day. We started the day with a walk on the beach with my Dad, Madeline, and a friend and her baby girl. It was a beautiful day and we walked and chatted and enjoyed the morning. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a day and a half by this point and I had to slow down once or twice to breathe through the contractions. I could feel that this baby would be coming soon but I had no idea how the rest of my day would play out.

After stopping at the playground for a little while, we all headed home for lunch and a nap. On the drive home I had a couple of contractions that felt a little stronger and different. They were still really mild, but noticeable and felt more like real contractions, starting low in the belly and wrapping around to my back. After I put Madeline down for her nap I gave my dad a few babysitting instructions, made myself lunch and went upstairs to take a nap. Unfortunately I had so many things running through my mind that I wasn't able to sleep. So instead I ran myself a bath and soaked in the tub. Heavenly!

At 2:30pm I was hanging out in bed, resting and watching tv when I felt a contraction that was so intense that I had to stand up to work through it. It was like flipping a switch and suddenly my labor was on. I called Erik at work and told him that I thought labor was starting and I wanted him to come home. I wasn't having consistent contractions yet but the ones I was having were very strong. I called my midwife and doula to let them know that things were starting. Erik arrived home around 3pm and found me in the bathroom vocalizing through a contraction. I was so happy to see him because in the last 15 minutes my labor went from irregular to contractions every 4-5 minutes, each one lasting over a minute and very strong. Erik freaked a little seeing how hard I was already working. He realized, though I did not at the time, that I was pretty far into labor. All I wanted at the time was some counter-pressure on my back but Erik was busy trying to get the bed ready and putting plastic and towels down on the floor.

Things moved really quickly and by 3:40pm, Erik called my midwives and doula and asked them to come over. Jamin, La Shel and Kani all arrived at one time around 4pm as I was stepping in the shower trying to get some relief from these crazy contractions. After only a few minutes in the shower I wanted to get in the bath to try and relieve some of the pressure in my back. I told my doula, Kani, that these contractions were way too intense for this early in labor. I had been a little worried about how I would handle labor this time around and I really thought I was just being a weeny about the pain. I realize now looking back that I was in transition and everyone knew it but me. I was only in the bath for a few minutes when I started feeling pushy. So I got out of the bath and made my way over to the bed. I was standing next to the bed, leaning over a big pile of pillows when my water broke. My midwife checked me at this point and I was 8cm! Thank God! I climbed on the bed and spend the next 20 minutes on my side vocalizing very loudly through my contractions while my wonderful doula put counter-pressure on my back. I absolutely loved her for that. Then my body started involuntarily pushing at the peak of each contraction. When I asked if it was okay that I was pushing, I was reassured that it was fine and just to follow what my body was telling me. After a few more contractions like this, my body was full out pushing and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I was, and still am, absolutely amazed by the power of my body and this involuntary pushing. I could feel my baby moving down with each push. 10 minutes and 3 contractions later I birthed my 8lb 3 oz baby girl into my midwife's hands. She was immediately placed on my chest and in my arms. I saw her take her first breath and make her first cry in my arms. It was love at first sight! She was so big and beautiful and had tons of vernix on her back. Linnea Mae was born after a crazy and intense 2 and 1/2 hour labor on May 26th at 5:01pm.

This is how I started May 26th

5:01pm Linnea Mae was born in our bed

Her first breastfeeding

Getting checked out

My amazing birth team

My beautiful family

Love at first sight

Proud Opa

Comparing our girls (yep, that is Madeline on the computer screen)

Sweet sleeping girl

Linnea Mae

Madeline's 19 Month Photos

2010-06-06T16:53:00.000-07:00

We had some photos taken of Madeline last month and we finally got them in. Mad was in such a grumpy mood that morning and it was a pretty gray day so I wasn't sure how they would turn out. But I am so pleased and think these photos are so cute! Here are a few...

Beautiful Madeline

If you're happy and you know it...

All smiles :)

Daddy's girl

Our family of three

Our new arrival...

2010-06-01T14:16:00.001-07:00

Linnea Mae Kolberg is here!! Linnea was born at home in our bed on May 26th at 5:01pm. She is a beautiful 8lbs 3 oz and 21 inches. I love her little chubby cheeks!! We are so blessed to have 2 gorgeous girls! More pics and birth story to come...

Chubby cheeked Linnea Mae

Mommy and Linnea - one day old

39 weeks

2010-05-21T08:45:00.001-07:00

I have now been pregnant for 39 weeks, 3 days, 13 hours, 2 minutes, and a number of seconds that are slowly ticking by. Not that I'm keeping track or anything. My iPregnancy app says that Baby Linnea is full term and that labor can begin at any time. Well hello Baby! Mommy's ready!!

My body handles pregnancy really well so I've just in the last week or so reached that very uncomfortable stage. You know, the I'm-so-big-and-gigantic-that-I-can-barely-move stage. Before last week I was thinking that this baby was smaller than Madeline but now I'm not so sure. My due date is on Friday so I'm hoping Baby Linnea decides to join our world before then. But who knows, I could be pregnant for the next two and a half weeks.

As my time with only Madeline winds down, I'm feeling a little sad. Madeline is so sweet and special to me that a part of me is mourning the loss of it just being the two of us. I won't have as much time to spend one on one with her. I won't be able to give her my undivided attention like I do now. But I am looking forward to this new baby girl that I have been carrying around for the last 9 months. I know that it might be a difficult transition, but I think Madeline will be a great big sister. And hopefully, they will be best friends.

39 weeks

38 weeks

37 weeks

Just for fun! - 33 weeks

32 weeks

27 weeks

22 weeks

Getting Ready for Baby

2010-05-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

We have been busy lately trying to get our house in order and the baby room ready. Our house is still not in order (its a work in progress) but the baby room is finally, mostly ready.

I love the green we picked for her walls. It's so pretty. The bedding I picked is so cute. It is white with green, pink, orange and brown polka dots and butterflies. Love it! The rocking chair Opa bought for Madeline goes so well with everything. We moved Madeline into a big girl bed (pics coming soon) about a month ago so we're reusing the crib and dresser for this baby.

Okay, baby. We're ready for you!

The Smartest Girl on the Block

2010-05-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

So Erik got an iPad. If you know Erik, then you are now thinking, "Well of course Erik got an iPad!" To make amends for getting the iPad, Erik has downloaded several fun toddler games that he has introduced to Madeline. And she LOVES them! She asks all day long for her "iPo". Here is a little video I took of her today playing one of her games. My Madeline is so smart!!!

Wild Animal Park

2010-05-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Madeline, Nana, and I went to the Wild Animal Park. We especially wanted to see the Butterfly Exhibit which is only open for 4 weeks a year. While we were there we found out why. The poor, beautiful butterflies only live for 4 weeks. We had a wonderful time seeing all the butterflies flying around and tried very hard not to step on them. One even landed on Nana's hand! It was such a fun day hanging out with Nana and seeing all the animals!

Beautiful butterflies!

This one landed on Nana

Like Madeline would say, "Wow, cool!"

This one really blended in to the concrete. The outside of its wings were not very pretty but the inside were a beautiful periwinkle blue.

More butterflies

Madeline and Nana

Looking at the lions

Pigtails

2010-05-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

Silly Monkey

2010-04-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

Nana and Mugga came over on Friday and babysat Madeline while Erik and I had a night out. Madeline had so much fun with her grandma and great-grandma! Here is an adorable video that they took of Madeline that night.

2 Cute Videos

2010-04-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

The Kolberg Family has been very busy this last month and I have lots of pictures to post. But for now, here are two short videos of Madeline that I took yesterday.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

2010-03-21T20:27:00.001-07:00

Tonight we went to Buca di Beppo for dinner. Madeline loved her spaghetti and meatballs! Surprising, most of it ended up in her mouth and not on the floor :)

Happy girl!!

2 Bumps are better than one!

2010-03-02T13:29:00.000-08:00

Madeline and I went to a baby shower this weekend for my friend Corrine. She's had a rough pregnancy, being put on bed rest at 20 weeks. Now she's 37 weeks, off of bed rest and planning a home birth! I am so happy for her!!

27 weeks

2010-02-26T13:05:00.000-08:00

So here I am, 27 weeks pregnant. And getting bigger everyday! I can't believe that I only have 13 weeks left (give or take a week or two).

27 weeks

Madeline, Mommy and baby sister-to-be :)

Her Words

2010-02-16T14:20:00.001-08:00

I'm writing this post more for me than you :) I want to make a list of all of Madeline's words. The list seems to grow everyday and I want to remember how she was at 16 months.

Her first word was "cat". Her second was "up". After that, who knows what order they came in. So here are all her words...

Mama - Dada - cat - meow - dog - duck - quack - cow - horse - fish - nose - eyes - head - tree - car - truck - -book - brush - rock - stick - ball - shoe - hat - wow - pretty - cool - blueberry - hi - bye - ba ba (bath) - wa wa (water) - uh oh

I actually feel like she says more words than this and that my fuzzy pregnant brain just can't remember them right now :)

She also signs "more" - "finished" - "water" - "milk"

Opa and Madeline

Mommy and Madeline at Mommy's 30th birthday party

Madeline's 1st carousel ride

Mohawk time :)

Holiday Update

2010-01-17T14:46:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas and New Years and of course I am just now getting here to give y'all an update. We decided to stay in San Diego this year for Christmas because we wanted Madeline to have a fun and relaxing Christmas in our new house. This was actually the first year that I have spent Christmas here and I moved here almost 5 years ago. My dad and my brother, Ben, came out here to spend some time with us and we really enjoyed hanging out with the two of them.

Erik's Aunt Janie and Uncle Dave invited us over to their house for Christmas Eve and we had a great time hanging out with that side of the family. Madeline made herself right at home and had fun carrying around a Santa Claus. It was a really nice evening until we walked out to the car and I missed the step off the driveway, fell hard, luckily caught my falling daughter, and sprained my foot/ankle. Ouch! It's still bruised and tender even now, almost 4 weeks later.

Madeline and her Santa Claus

I made my first Christmas dinner all by myself (sprained ankle and all) this year. And I must say, it turned out wonderfully :) It was small gathering, just Erik, Madeline, Opa, Ben and I. And then my good friend Kate and her dad joined us for dinner. Madeline had so much fun opening up all her presents. She got pretty good at ripping that paper off! But I think her favorite present was the kid sized pink polka dotted chair that Santa brought her. She immediately knew that chair was for her and she loves reading books in it.

Mommy and Madeline

Her very own chair!

She loves reading her books in her chair!

Poor Mads is being squished in the middle

Wearing her kitty cat towel :)

Hanging out with Uncle Ben

In other Madeline news, she now 15 months and has officially left babyland far behind. She's not only walking, but running and jumping and she does this funny little dance when she gets really excited. She has lots of words now and is learning more everyday. Her understanding is getting so good and she can kinda sorta follow little directions. She has also started to use a little bit of that baby sign language that I have been trying to teach her. Madeline has been going up the stairs since she was about 9 months old but she has now learned how to go down the stairs. One of her favorite things is playing outside so I try to let her play in the backyard or take her to the park everyday. She loves playing in the dirt and the sand, digging out the sticks and rocks. She also loves climbing on the playground and sliding down the slides. She has figured out how to turn on her tummy and go down the slide by herself and she has no fear as she goes down the biggest slides at the park. She's just like her mommy and daddy!!

Walking straight out to the water with Opa

Climbing trees with Daddy

The whole family

In other Kolberg news, we had our 20 weeks ultrasound during the holidays. We're having another GIRL!!! Growing up, I always wanted to have boys so its a little ironic that I'm having 2 girls. But I love my girls and I couldn't be happier that Madeline is going to have a little sister. I am just truly thankful that Madeline is happy and healthy and that the jelly bean growing in my tummy also looks completely healthy. Yay for girls! Poor Erik is out-numbered at our house. At least Ozzy is a boy :)

It's a girl!!

My sweet jelly bean

The Many Faces of Madeline

2009-12-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

Madeline's first "ponytail". And all her silly, sweet faces...

Nana and Papa

2009-12-08T09:53:00.001-08:00

Erik's parents came over this weekend to give Madeline some Christmas gifts since they are heading to Arkansas to spend Christmas. She loved this giant centipede they brought which we have named Petey! I think she really just enjoyed spending time with her Nana and Papa!!

Madeline, Nana and Petey

Mads and Daddy

It's time to share our news...

2009-11-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

Erik and I are so happy to share that baby #2 is on the way! Little Miss Madeline is going to be a big sister. I'm almost 13 weeks and so happy to be out of the first trimester. I'm due May 26th so we'll either have a late May or an early June baby.

Here is the first picture of our Jelly Bean.

I've been a bad blogger...

2009-11-11T20:29:00.000-08:00

So here are a few pictures from the last month.

Trying on her new red jacket

Someone had raspberries for breakfast

Opa and Madeline at the Wild Animal Park

My sweet little butterfly

She finally noticed the animals :)

Mommy and Mads

Pumpkins are cool

Posing for the camera

Madeline's first pumpkin patch

This is fun!!

Playing at the park

Toss me in the air, mommy!!

Getting ready for trick or treating

The cutest bumble bee in the whole world

We have a walker!

2009-10-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today Madeline starting walking. She is a bit wobbly but she's getting around on her own two feet!!!

One Year

2009-10-05T17:44:00.000-07:00

My Madeline is one year old today! Happy Birthday baby girl! We love you so much!

10 days old

One year old

I would like to post my birth story here to celebrate this special day. Warning: There will be talk about contractions and childbirth so if you don't want to know about it, just skip it :)

Madeline’s Birth Story

My beautiful daughter, Madeline Kate Kolberg, was born at home in our living room on her due date, October 5^th, 2008. The day before that was my 40 week appointment with my midwife, La Shel. I was feeling really great physically and in good spirits emotionally. I wasn’t having any contractions but that didn’t bother me because I had been preparing myself all along for going “overdue”. I told La Shel that nothing was happening but I would see my other midwife Jamin next week or call them when something was happening.

After my appointment that morning Erik and I headed out to Torrey Pines so that he could get a little flying in. It was a good flying day at Torrey and all the usual suspects were there. Everyone kept giving me shocked looks when they asked when I was due and I said tomorrow. I think some of those boys wanted to drive me to the hospital right that moment! Erik got a few short flights (little did he know it would be the last flying for awhile) and then we hiked down the cliffs and took a walk on the beach. I was hoping that the hiking and walking would help Madeline move down and get some contractions going but that didn’t happen. The beach was beautiful that day. It was warm and sunny and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I hated to leave but we had other things on our agenda to get done that day. So Erik and I hiked back up the cliff and headed our to run some other errands.

That night we went to dinner at one of our local favorites for a guaranteed good meal, Harry’s Bar. We had steaks, a little red wine and dessert. It had been a long but wonderful day and as I crawled into bed I thought how perfect my life was right at that moment. And then I felt it…. my first contraction. I knew what it was immediately. And I also knew that this wasn’t a practice, BS, braxton hicks contraction. This was the real thing. It started in my lower belly and moved like a wave all the way up to the top of my belly as a heat radiated around to my lower back. After all the wondering and imaging what labor would be like, suddenly I knew what it was going to be like. I looked at the clock and it said 11:00 pm. Eight minutes later came my second contraction. That was when I started getting excited even though I tried to stay calm and reminded myself that I should try and get some sleep.

About 2:00 am I noticed that Erik was awake so I told him that I was having contractions and we started timing them. I got out of bed and they didn’t slow down and Erik started getting a little frantic. He wanted me to call my midwife but the contractions were only lasting about 30 seconds and they weren’t painful at all, just a little annoying. But I reluctantly called Jamin and after talking to me for a few minutes she told me to go back to bed and try and get some sleep. So we did, and my contractions spaced out to 1 every 15 or 20 minutes and I slept in between them. I think my body knew that I needed a little rest before all the work that was to come.

Sunday morning I woke refreshed to continued but irregular contractions. I spoke with Jamin about 9:30 am and said, ‘Welcome to labor!” For some reason that really made me laugh J So it was official, today was going to be the day! We decided to take it easy that day since who knows how long labor is going to last and I wanted to conserve my energy. Erik wanted to watch the Charger game so I put on a movie and hung out in bed.

About noon, I noticed that my contractions were becoming a little more intense and so I decided to get up and take a walk to try to get things going. I sent Erik off to grab some lunch while I took a walk around the block. It was a gorgeous day and it was no nice to be outside. It felt so surreal and normal and special to be walking around my neighborhood while I was in labor; like I had this little secret that the rest of the world didn’t know. After I stopped to lean on a car during a contraction I decided it would probably be best to head on back home.

The walking really did the trick and by 1:00 pm I was having regular, strong contractions every 5 minutes that were lasting a minute long. Yay for active labor! I called Jamin and my doula, Kani, and let them know what was happening and that I was doing fine on my own and I would call them when I needed them. Erik was starting to get a little freaked out running around here and there getting the house in order, getting the kiddie pool, err birth tub, out and the bed made up. I was hanging around trying to stay relaxed and trying to keep Erik relaxed.

Things were really starting to pick up so I called Kani at 2:00 pm and told her that she would be needed soon. Erik called her back not 5 minutes later and said we really wanted her now. Erik had all this pent up nervousness and so I was so happy when Kani arrived. She is such a calming presence and really helped Erik relax and set the tone for the rest of my labor and birth. Having her there also meant that I no longer needed to think about anything, I could just labor.

At this point I was drifting far into labor land. As the contractions intensified I needed to concentrate and breathe through each one. I spent most of my time walking around the house and leaning over the kitchen counter or the bathroom counter or hanging onto my husband. I was feeling a lot of heat in my lower back with each contractions and Erik or Kani applied counter pressure which gave me so much relief.

My midwives, Jamin and La Shel, arrived about 5pm and began setting up as I got into the birth tub. The water felt so wonderful and really took the edge off. It did slow things down just a little but it gave me a little break before the hard work to come. After awhile I got out of the tub and back on my feet letting gravity help move the baby down. Jamin check me and I was 6 cm with a bulging bag of waters and a very stretchy cervix. Jamin continued to monitor Madeline with the Doppler and noted that her heart rate was rising with contractions as her head was pressing on the bag of water. Jamin recommended we break it to ease her stress and help her descend. So onto the bed I went. Jamin broke my water which put me at a 7.

The very next contraction I felt Madeline’s really move down. Ouch! This contraction was so powerful and so intense that I started to panic. . La Shel heard the panic in my voice and stood in front of me and looked into my eyes and told me that everything was okay, to go with it, that what I was feeling was good. That was exactly what I needed at that moment and in the haze of my labor I remember it so clearly. The next 45 minutes were the hardest part of labor for me. It was the only part of labor that I would call painful. But more than that it was powerful. Your body is taken over so completely and you feel like you are on a rollar coaster ride and all you can do it hold on and ride though it. If you fight it, if you panic or get scared, it becomes too much to handle. You had to give into it. It was during this time that I was so thankful that I had chosen a home birth. I could not imagine laboring through transition at a hospital. At home I felt comfortable in my surrounding. I felt safe and I could labor how I needed to without any intrusion.

Then all of a sudden my body started pushing. I heard two voices ask with excitement if I was pushing. I said I didn’t know. Erik and Kani helped me get to the birth pool because I wanted to deliver in the water and Jamin checked me for only the second time. I only had a small lip of my cervix left. Jamin asked me to breathe through the next couple of contractions, which was so hard! And then I got to push. Pushing is hard! The feeling of needing to push is so overwhelming that it almost catches you off guard.

I pushed for about one hour. I slowly brought her down and I reached down to feel her head as it was coming out. Her headed turtled in and out several times. At one point I actually felt her do a full body wiggle and pull herself back in. Her head finally came our and stayed out, but the rest of her did not. Her shoulders were stuck. I got out of the tub as quickly as I could. Jamin had me go into a squat while I continued pushing. I was pushing with all my might but she wouldn’t budge. I went onto my hands and knees where Jamin made the decision to reach inside me. She grabbed Madeline’s hand and pulled it up which unlocked her shoulders and she slithered out. She was perfect and crying immediately. Unfortunatly Madeline’s cord was so short that I was not able to hold her immediately. Instead, Erik held her while until her cord stopped pulsing. Then he cut her cord and held her while I was helped off the ground. As I stood up my placenta literally falls out of me so back on the floor I went. We put a mat and some pillows underneath me and then I got to hold my baby Madeline for the first time. Madeline was perfect, awake and aware and chomping on her fist. She would prove to be a good nurser J

Erik and I immediately fell in love with our perfect baby girl. After some food, visitors and her first breast feeding, Erik, Madeline, and I all went to sleep together in our own bed in our own home.

10 Month Photos

2009-08-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy the past couple of weeks moving into our new house, trying to get our condo ready to rent, and attempting to unpack. Our house is slowly coming along and one of these days (when I find the cord for my camera) I'll post some house pics. But in the mean time, here are a few photos of Madeline from a couple of weeks ago taken at Erik's parents house.

Madeline kept trying to walk into the pool. This girl loves the water!

This is her favorite mode of transportation these days. Walking on her own two feet, hanging onto Mom's fingers.

Look at her go!

Always the center of attention :)

The camera loves Madeline!

Happy girl

We miss you!

2009-08-13T11:12:00.001-07:00

This is the first week that Madeline and I have been completely on our own. Our wonderful babysitter Shanna is going back to teaching. Yay for her!! But we are so sad. We miss you, Shanna! You'll have to come and visit us in our new house!

Shanna and Madeline

The Newest Pilot on the Block

2009-07-25T09:12:00.001-07:00

Madeline LOVES her paragliding swing!!! This was a present given to her from my dear Aunt Patti. I *think* she bought this for us before I was even pregnant with Madeline :) Thank you so much Patti! We love you!

The Rat Race 2009

2009-07-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

Erik and I love to fly. Before Madeline, we took several paragliding vacations and spent the week flying in a cool destination. This year we decided to go to a week long paragliding competition in Oregon called The Rat Race. In a paragliding competition, a task committee sets a task (or course) that all the pilots will fly based on the weather conditions of the day. There are several waypoints along the course that each pilot must cross and if you make it all the way around the course, its said you made goal. The person who makes it to goal with the fastest time wins the day. The person with the highest score at the end of the week wins the competition.

So we made our plans to go to Oregon with a very nervous Mommy. I hired a nanny to watch Madeline ALL DAY LONG for 8 days. Kaia was wonderful with Madeline and I'm so happy we found her. She made it so much easier for me to leave Madeline and concentrate on flying.

We had an amazing week!! The weather was great for flying! The area was beautiful! Erik made goal on 3 days and I made goal twice. All the pilots got a kick out of saying that we were the first married couple to make goal together :) Erik won 2nd place in the Sport Class and I won 2nd place in the Women's Class!! All in all, it was a fantastic week and we hope to make it a yearly tradition from now on!!!!

Getting set up on launch

Erik and I all geared up and ready to launch

My boys trying to stay out of the sun

Looking at launch from a few thousand feet up

Look at this gorgeous spot we were flying in... Lucky us!

A gaggle of paragliders all flying in the same thermal

Everyone on glide to the next waypoint

Hanging out with the SoCal crew at a winery after a long day of flying

Me and my wonderful Hubby

Oh crap, she's standing!!!!!

2009-07-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

It's so hard to believe that Madeline has now been with us as long as she was in my tummy! Where has the time gone?!? Madeline is so sweet and special, she laughs and smiles all day long. She has brought so much joy and into our home and we love her dearly.

Madeline has learned so much in the last month and is starting to make the change from baby to toddler. About a month ago she started crawling! Not exactly a hands and knees crawling, more like a hands and one foot and one knee crawl. But she gets around fast nevertheless. Madeline can also clap her hands, wave bye bye, and click her tongue. Weird, I know. She can click her tongue but she can't say mama. Madeline loves to be around people, especially other kids, and we are enjoying our gymboree classes and our "My Mommy Rocks" playgroup.

And this week, Madeline is pulling up. When I saw her pull up the first time, my first thought was "Yay! Madeline did it!! My little girl is growing up!" And my second thought was "Oh, crap!" For those of you who have a toddler, you know exactly what I mean. She is pulling up on EVERYTHING she can reach. And every day she gets better and steadier as she figures out how to cruise around the coffee table, couch, treadmill, suitcase or tv stand. We've already had a couple of wipe outs but no real harm done.

Madeline's 9 month stats:
Height - 28.5 inches 90%
Weight - 20.1 lbs 80%
Head - 17.25 inches 50%
We might end up having a tall, skinny girl. After she looses that baby chub that is :) I seriously love all her rolls!!

Bath time

Father's Day!!

Mads loves her food!

This is her crawling position :)

Standing

Standing in the crib in her new thing

This is Madeline's favorite place to cruise

9 month pic

Who is that girl in the mirror?

2009-06-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

I just thought this was too cute! Make note of Madeline's cloth diaper :)

Big D

2009-06-13T19:47:00.001-07:00

Madeline and I spend the week in Dallas last week visiting family. We had so much fun and Madeline was so happy to spend time with the Trawnik/Walker/Barton/Garten family. I love living in San Diego but I truly miss my family and I wish that Madeline had more family close by.

We got to spend a whole day with my cousin Carrie and her new baby Zoe. Zoe is so sweet and beautiful. There is nothing better in the world than having a little baby sleeping on your chest. I'm not sure Madeline liked my holding little Zoe though; she stared at me very intently when I was holding Zoe. Don't worry Madeline, Mommy is not bringing another baby home yet :)

Madeline and I also spend a lot of time hanging out in my dad's back yard where he has built this incredible waterfall and koi pond. She really got a kick out of watching the fish swim by. We also started naming all the fish; so far there is Goliath, Bandit, Zorro, Lola (my favorite), Lucky, Gabriel, Lucy, and Obama. There are several other fish to name and lots of other baby fish that will need names in the future. Madeline is going to love hanging out Opa's house!

Thanks so much to Opa, Mama, Mama Billie, Gram, Blake, Carrie, Dan, Taylor, Zoe, and Lulu for having us! We love you!!!

Madeline, Mommy and baby Zoe - How sweet are my babies!

Gabby and Mads

Gram, Mads, and Carrie

Opa and Madeline

8 Months

2009-06-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

My big girl

Hanging out with Papa

Madsie and Mommy

Fishy!

2009-05-31T15:12:00.000-07:00

It was a dreary day here in SoCal (there is a first time for everything!) so the Kolbery family headed to Scripps Aquarium in La Jolla. I think Madeline really enjoyed looking at all the sea life! But you only say, "Do you see the fishy?" so many times before you start to sounds like a broken record player, even to your daughter :)

Madeline, do you see the fishy? :)

It's May gray

Pointing out the fishy

This is so cool! It's a leafy sea dragon.

Arizona is Hot!!

2009-05-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

Erik, Madeline and I just got back from a business meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. While Erik attended classes, Madeline and I relaxed and hung out by the pool. Here are a few pictures...

I'm ready for the pool, Mom.

Madeline's first time swimming.

I think I like the pool.

Woohoo! This is fun!

Hanging out with Daddy.

Happy girl :)

Having fun on a segway

7 Month Update

2009-05-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

My little Madeline is 7 months old! Can you believe it? I can't. Seriously, it was just yesterday that she was my tiny little newborn and today she my big 7 month old girl. Madeline's personality has really come alive; she's a super happy and sweet girl. She's always smiling and laughing and loves singing songs, getting kisses from Mommy, and dancing with Daddy. Lately she has really enjoyed being around other babies and kids. Today at my mommy's group Madeline reached out and grabbed Wyatt's (5 month old little boy) hand. It was soo cute!

Madeline has really grown up in the last couple of months. She is sitting up on her own. She reaches and stretches as far as she can to grab something that catches her interest. We have to be very careful with what we leave in her reach because she will grab and knock over everything. Things like cell phones and remote controls are especially coveted. She's not crawling yet it and might still be awhile because she despises being on her tummy. But she's definitely starting to want to move so now she just needs to figure out how.

We started her on solids a couple of weeks ago and she didn't seem to like it very much the first week. I was trying to trick her into opening her mouth so I could shove some food in there. But then something switched and she has taken to solids with gusto. Madeline's favorites are oatmeal, pears, butternut squash and carrots. I've been experimenting with making her purees and its been going pretty well so far. But she's still Mommy's booby girl and she's got the thighs to prove it! I love her big fat baby legs!

Madeline also sprouted a tooth last week! I really thought she was teething and I finally felt that bottom tooth poking through her gums. I think she's working on another one too because she's been pretty cranky the last couple of days.

Madeline has really found her voice. She is ha da da ba ba da ga-ing all the time. She only makes the ma ma sounds when she gets upset even though I'm trying my darndest to get her to say ma ma. And she is getting into the screaming/squealing phase. She can be so loud with her squeals but its really so cute that you can't get too mad.

Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Playing on the floor

Reaching for those toys

Madeline loves to swing

Too cool for school!

Mads and Dad

Madeline loves Mommy's pears.

That's good stuff

7 month picture

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T18:57:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of those Mommies out there! Being a mom is the most wonderful and the hardest job in the world. I cannot imagine my life without my Madeline in it. Thank you baby girl for making me a mommy!

Opa comes to town

2009-05-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my dad come in town to visit his granddaughter. Yep, his visit had nothing to do with me at all. I've come to realize that I am no longer the apple of my daddy's eye; I am the mother of the new apple :) But that's okay with me. We had a wonderful weekend playing with Madeline. We also had a nice baby-free dinner and we went paragliding! The weekend was too short but at least Opa got some good quality time with Madeline. We miss you already Dad. Come and see us again soon!

Hanging out in our pj's on Saturday morning.

Pretty Miss Madeline

Opa loves his Madeline

By the beach in La Jolla

Getting geared up for our flight

Here we go...

That's us!!!

Can you believe my dad trusted me to take him paragliding?

Six down and Two to go

2009-04-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

This has been baby season! I know so many lovely women who are currently pregnant or have had babies in the last year. I am so happy to introduce the lastest baby on the block. Kylie Cate was born on April 14th at 6 lbs and 13 oz and 19 and 1/2 inches long. Congratulations Patrick and Kirsten on your beautiful baby girl. We can't wait to meet her!

Beautiful baby Kylie

Next up is my friend Robyn and my cousin Carrie. They are both due in May and I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of baby Caden and baby Zoe. Don't I have beautiful pregnant friends! So, anyone else want to get in line? Babies are wonderful!!

Robyn

Carrie

A Wedding

2009-04-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

On Saturday evening, we attended a wedding for Erik's cousin Jimmy and his now wife Sarah. The wedding was at Sarah's parents gorgeous house in Blossom Valley. It was a beautiful wedding and the bride and groom both looked so happy they were glowing! This was Miss Madeline's first wedding and we were pleasantly surprised that she behaved so well. And of course she looked so adorable in her little pink dress. Congratulations Jimmy and Sarah! We hope you have a wonderful honeymoon! Be sure to give us a call when you get back from Maui!

The Kolberg Family

Jimmy walking his mom, Janie, down the aisle.

Sarah being escorted by her dad down the aisle.

Jimmy and Sarah

Happy Madeline

Mommy and Madeline

Daddy and Madeline

Random Madeline Pics

2009-04-18T22:25:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures to show you how much Madeline is changing...

Hiding behind my bear

What are you looking at?

spit up + pacifer = yucky mess

Playing with my buckets

Not the cheeks, Dad!!

Happy happy Madeline

Madeline Smiles

2009-04-12T11:07:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!

Love to all of you,
Maegen, Erik and Madeline

6 Months Old

2009-04-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

My baby girl is 6 months old today! She is the sweetest girl and I love her more everyday even though it seems impossible to love her more than I do already. Happy 6 months Madeline!!

Mommy and Maddie hanging out in our pj's.

Madeline Sits

2009-03-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

Sitting on the couch with Daddy

Sitting on her potty

Sitting on the floor ALL BY HERSELF

Family Fun

2009-03-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

The Kolberg family had a very fun weekend this weekend. On Saturday the SDHGPA (San Diego Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association) had a fly-in at a local mountain flying site that we frequent called Blossom. Erik and Madeline and I joined the 20 or so other pilots for a great day of flying and socializing. Mom and Dad both had great flights, taking turns of course, and I think Madeline won the hearts of a few pilots. Everyone kept asking when she get to fly. Don't worry, we have no intention of taking her flying anytime soon.

Hanging out with Dad on launch. Don't you love the sunglasses!

Our friend Josh testing the air at Blossom.

On Sunday, the three of us attended a baby shower for our friends Patrick and Kirsten who are expecting their own little girl in about a month. They have chosen to name her Kylie. How sweet is that! We are so happy for them and excited that Madeline is going to have a playmate very soon!!

All dressed up for the party.

Patrick and Kirsten

Hanging out at South Coast

2009-03-16T18:19:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Madeline and I met Cori and Brady at South Coast Mall. I am pretty lucky that one of my best friends ended up living only 2 hours away from me. So we try to get together as often as Cori's schedule allows. Brady is almost 3 months now and getting so big! He's such a cutie!! It was so much fun seeing them and getting the babies together :)

Brady, Cori and Madeline

Brady and Cori

5 Months Old

2009-03-06T17:07:00.000-08:00

I am utterly amazed by my little Madeline every day. I feel so lucky that I get to be her mom. As a SAHM I am Madeline's whole world and she is mine. I get to see her first thing in the morning when she is happy and cooing. I get to nurse her and provide her comfort and nourishment. I get to teach her and encourage her every accomplishment from rolling over to sitting up to standing and walking and everything else that will come in the future. And I get to put her to bed every night. What an important job it is to be a mom.

Our little Madsie Mads is now 5 months old. I know I say it every month but she is growing and changing so much! Our little chunky monkey is now 17 lbs and wearing 9-12 month sized clothing. She is developing a very sweet personality; she loves to smile and laugh at her silly Mommy and Daddy. Madeline can roll from her back to her tummy and she's getting really good at pushing up on her hands. She seems to be trying to move around, her arms and legs waving about, but she hasn't quite figured it out yet. Pretty soon though I know she'll be scooting around and we'll have to get to baby proofing. Yikes!

I've also been working on getting her to use the potty. What's that you say? The potty? Yep, the potty. I noticed over the last month that every time I went to change her diaper, she would pee the second I took it off. I had heard of elimination communication (a technique of learning your baby's elimination cues and even going diaper free) but I never thought that it was something I would want to try. Well I decided to try it. I'm not going to do it full time or even stress about it but I'll use it along with our cloth diapers to hopefully help her be aware of her eliminations and potty train earlier. We've been doing it for 4 days now and Mads has peed on the potty multiple times every day. Go Mads!

We've been really busy the last couple of months. January just flew by and then in February Erik went to Norway for his biannual work trip and I went back to Dallas for a couple of weeks. Madeline and I stayed with my dad at his new house in Kessler Park and we had a wonderful couple of weeks spending time with my family and friends. One of the hardest things about living out here in California is being away from my family. When I was growing up, I was so close with my grandma and my uncles and aunts and cousins. They were part of my every day life. I worry that being so far away, Madeline won't have that connection with my family and so it was really important for me to have her spend time with our family. Hopefully we will continue to go back to Dallas every 6 months when Erik takes his Norway trip and Madeline will have a chance to get to know her Mama, her Opa, her Gram, her aunts and uncles and her cousins (present and future). It'll get easier as she gets older and she can remember and look forward to seeing her Texas and her Arkansas family.

Madeline in my ring sling taking her very first pacifer :)

Playing with her feet

Having lunch with Melody and Jonah

Just grinning

Getting ready to go out on the town

Having fun in the exersaucer

Madeline and I having lunch at Neimans. Her first Neimans experience!

Hanging out with Gram

Hmmm...

"What do I do now, Mom"?

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

2009-03-06T16:58:00.000-08:00

This is me at around 6 months

And here's Madeline at almost 5 months

Can you see the family resemblance?

Going Home

2009-02-08T19:40:00.000-08:00

Hey Y'all! I'm coming to Dallas on the 10th and Madeline and I will be around until the 26th. I'd love to see you all so give me a call and hopefully we'll get together :)

Rolling Over

2009-02-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

OMG! She just rolled over... and I missed it! I put Madeline down to go change my shirt and when I came back she was on her tummy!! She had the cutest puzzled expression on her face like she didn't know how she got that way. Silly girl. I can't believe I missed it :(

4 Months

2009-02-06T08:45:00.000-08:00

Madeline is 4 months old! I can't believe it! Where has the time gone? She now weighs 15 lbs 9 oz and is 25 1/2 inches long. My big girl is still in the 90% for height and weight :)

Madeline likes to talk; she makes the cutest noises. And she smiles and laughs and giggles, especially when you kiss her tummy or her neck. I love her laughs! Her best laughs she gives to Daddy when he plays silly games with her. Earthquake and Hover girl (yes we make up names for our games) are her favorites! She is trying so hard to roll over and she's soooo close. I have never silently cheered on someone so much and I hold my breath every time she tries. Madeline is now sleeping about 11 hours a night!! Mommy and Daddy love this! She occasionally wakes around 3am, nurses and then is back asleep again in 10 minutes. Gotta love it! She's reaching for and grabbing her toys. It's so cute to see her figure out how to grab a new toy. Coldplay, the Rock-a-Bye Baby version, is her favorite CD. It immediately calms her and we put it on at bedtime and sometimes for naps. Madeline also really likes leg massages. Mommy rubs her chubby little legs and feet before we put on her pajamas.

Here are some of my favorite photos of the last month...

Madeline's 4 month photo

Tummy time

Naked Madeline

Cutie Patootie in her cloth diaper

Present and future Apple customer

I'm about to be really mad...

Silly Daddy gave me a mohawk

Madeline loves bath time

I love my Opa too!

Go Chargers!

Mommy loves Texas! Can you tell?

A Weekend with Opa

2009-01-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

My dad came in town this weekend to spend some time with Erik and Madeline and I. Okay, he was really there to see Madeline, not us. I'm no longer his favorite baby girl :) We had a great time hanging out, and Erik and I even got a night out while Opa babysat Madeline.

Thanks so much Dad for coming to see us!!!

Opa and Madeline

Playing with finger puppets

My L.A. Trip

2009-01-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

I love that Cori ended up in L.A. It makes it so much easier for us to get together! Last week Madeline and I went to hang out with Cori and her new little one, Brady. I was at Brady's birth but I wasn't able to hold him then so I was really looking forward to seeing little Brady.

Brady is so adorable! He has the coolest rock star hair that sticks straight out and he doesn't so much cry, he squaks. He's a big guy, weighing in at 10 lbs at his 2 weeks appointment but compared to Madeline he seems so small. I know it hasn't been that long but its already hard to believe that Mads was that tiny. I got to hold him and rock him while he slept on my chest. That is truly the best feeling in the world! I think Madeline might have a crush because she kept looking over at Brady :)

Cori and I didn't do much those days but look at our babies, feed our babies, and attempt to put them to sleep. And we had to dress them up in their Longhorn onesies and take pictures. I took them both on a walk one day while Cori ran a few errands. I was wearing Madeline in her Butterfly Beco carrier and had Brady in his stroller. We must have been a sight because I got quite a few comments from passers by. All in all, it was a fun time! I can't wait to see Cori and Brady again!!!

Brady doing his gangsta signs

Go Longhorns!

Do you think we like Texas?

Cori and Brady

Me with Brady and Madeline

It's a New Year!!

2009-01-02T11:49:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! I know I know, we've already passed Christmas and the New Year but I'm a little late. Erik and Madeline and I were so excited that we were able to spend some time with my family in Dallas and Erik's family in Arkansas and that everyone was finally able to meet Madeline.

In Dallas, we stayed in my Dad's new house in Kessler. We had a great time hanging out with family and friends and showing off our little one. Several people tried to steal Madeline away (you know who you are) but we weren't having any of it. It was fun having a little one at Christmas even though she is totally unaware of the festivities. The next couple of years will bring lots of smiles, laughter, and presents for our little Madeline. Our trip was much too short but I'll be back in February for a long visit!

We stayed with at Erik's parents new house in Arkansas. How come everyone has a new house except us? Oh well. We had a great time with Erik's family. Kirstin and Brant were so good with Madeline and cousin Kiera is now 3 and so darling. Madeline is going to love following her around in the future years.

Madeline and Kiera

Our family

Opa haning out with Madeline

4 generations of women

Christmas 2009

Welcome to the World

2008-12-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Cori welcomed a precious baby boy, Brady Matthew, to the world yesterday. He is a big boy weighing 8 lbs 14 oz and 21 inches long. We can already tell that he has Cori's nose :) I feel so lucky to have been a part of his birth. Congratulations Cori and Happy Birthday Brady!!

Love at first sight

Baby Brady

Madeline and I with Cori and Brady

Elf Yourself

2008-12-17T11:21:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Newest Pilot on the Block

2008-12-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

I think Madeline should be the San Diego Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association's official mascot. What do you guys think?

Look HERE.

Santa Claus

2008-12-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share Madeline's first picture with Santa Claus...

2 Months

2008-12-05T14:38:00.000-08:00

Today Madeline is 2 months old!! Time flies when you're having fun!

Mads is getting so big!

Aren't I cute!

Madeline was tagged...

2008-12-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

8 of My Favorite Things:
1. Nursing
2. Daddy's silly faces and noises
3. Stroller rides
4. Walking with mom in the sling/wrap
5. Looking in the mirror
6. Sleeping on Mommy
7. My cloth diapers
8. My Rock a Bye Baby Coldplay CD

8 Things that Happened Today:
1. Nursing, sleeping, pooping, repeat...
2. Had lunch at Islands with Kate
3. Went to Target
4. Gave Mommy a hard time
5. Fell asleep in my Moby wrap
6. Had tummy time (I hate tummy time)
7. Tried on my first disposable diaper
8. Played with Daddy

8 Things I am Looking Forward to:
1. Having my picture taken with Santa
2. My first plane ride to Dallas for Christmas
3. Watching my Daddy fly in a paragliding competition this weekend
4. Story time
5. Meeting all my Texas and Arkansas family
6. Running with Mommy in my jogging stroller
7. Nap time
8. And of course, nursing

Now we tag everyone!!!

An Update

2008-11-30T13:40:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast the last 8 weeks have flown by. Things here have been going really well as Erik and I are settling into our new role as parents and we are starting to get into a routine. I am getting used to being a SAHM, which I can now officially say is the hardest and most rewaring job in the world. I have a new respect for my parents, for all parents really. Being at home with Madeline is wonderful and I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to be able to be home with her. And it sure has made life more interesting. Just going to the grocery store is an adventure with a little one.

Madeline is now 8 weeks and has grown and changed so much. She is becoming so alert and loves to give her mom and dad these funny gummy smiles. It's amazing to watch her becoming so aware of the world around her. Even after the hardest day, when she gives me one of her smiles it just melts my heart. At her one month check-up she weighed 10lbs 3oz and was 22 inches long. At 6 weeks she was 11lbs 8oz! She is already fitting into 3-6 month clothes. I have a big healthy girl with the chunkiest thighs in the world :)

We have been working for 4 weeks now to get Madeline to consistently take a bottle. She is a finicky little girl and has wanted her meals straight from the tap. Smarty pants! Well thanks to my wonderful, persistent, patient husband Madeline is now taking a bottle every time without fussing. I see a glimmer of freedom, or at least a night off, right around the corner. Yay!

Maeline has also amazingly enough been sleeping 7-8 hours every night for the last two weeks. Can you even imagine how excited Erik and I are!?! She goes to sleep around 10pm and wakes around 6am. She does really great at night although she doesn't really like to be put down for naps during the day. But we're working on it.

In other news, I starting running again last week. Man, has that been hard! I'm not used to being so out of shape. Seriously, my first run was the second hardest run of my life. The first hardest was the marathon I ran. It's a bit depressing but I'll get back to where I was. I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight but it'll take awhile to back to where I was physically.

Erik has been competing in a paragliding competition called the So-Cal XC league. There is one more week of the competition this year and so far Erik is in 2nd place overall, and 1st place in his division! Way to go Erik!!! We are going to drive up to Santa Barbara next week for the last weekend of the comp and Madeline and I are going to cheer for Dad. Hopefully next year Erik and I will both be competing.

Madeline at 7 weeks

Daddy and daughter

Mommy and Madeline

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!. Many thanks to Gordon and Nancy for a great Thanksgiving meal yesterday.

The Kolberg Family

A Week with Mama

2008-11-24T10:53:00.000-08:00

My grandma, Mama, came to visit Madeline and I last week. It was so wonderful to have her here, even if we just hung out around the house most of the time. And it was very special for Madeline to meet her great-grandmother. Thanks Mama for coming to visit! You are welcome anytime!

Madeline and Mama

At the beach in Cornado

Mama and sleeping Madeline

3 Years and 1 Month

2008-11-06T21:06:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was mine and Erik's 3 year wedding anniversary. It has been a wonderful 3 years and I feel so lucky that I am married to the love of my life. You are my best friend, a wonderful partner and husband, and a great daddy.

Our wedding day

And yesterday was also Madeline's 1 month birthday. I can't believe that she is already a month old! It seems like just yesterday she was born. She is already growing up so fast!

Madeline at 1 month

Mommy Cried

2008-10-31T08:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Madeline got her first bottle of breast milk. We had been advised and had decided to start giving her a couple of bottles a week so that she would take both the bottle and the breast. After I finally figured out how to work that darn breast pump we were ready to try the bottle. Erik tried to give it to her first. But I think she was a bit confused that Daddy was holding her when she was obviously hungry and so she didn't really understand the bottle. So then I tried and after a little fumbling she took right to that bottle. I handed Madeline back to Erik and again she took right to the bottle. Yay! Success!

And then I started crying. Seriously, just bawling. I couldn't help it. I was watching Erik and Madeline and it jut hurt that I wasn't the one feeding her. I know that its great that she will be able to take both. I do know that in my head. I will be able to leave her with Erik or a babysitter, I can get a night out, etc. But it still hurt. She's growing up so fast already...

Madeline's first bottle

Happy Daddy!

Green Poop

2008-10-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

I have always heard from new parents that you become so fascinated with your new baby's bodily functions, particularly with their poop. I am here to say that it is so true! Erik and I have gotten so many laughs out of our little Madeline's gassy smiles, loud burps, and powerful poops. I think the triumph (yes triumph) we feel in all these things stems from the fact that all these little things let us know that our baby is functioning the way she should.

So imagine my surprise when I go to change Madeline's diaper and find green poop. Yep, green. Very dark and very green. Of course I freak out a little, call our pediatrician for the second time in two weeks, look all through my new bible (The Baby Book by Dr. Sears), and do a google search for "newborns and green poop". While I worried about allergies, food sensitivities, and a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance Madeline went on a breastfeeding marathon and 48 hours later the green poop problem seems to have corrected itself. I suppose that babies sometimes have green poop :) And yes, I am the proud parent of a baby girl who now has regular yellow mustard seedy poops!

On a different note, when Madeline was 10 days old we had some professional photos of her taken. Here are a few that I just love. Isn't she beautiful!!

Two Weeks

2008-10-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

Madeline is two weeks old today! And we've survived! Madeline and I have spent the last two weeks getting to know one another and Erik and I have been learning our new parenting roles. We are learning all her little cries and noises, how she doesn't like diaper changes but she does like baths, she doesn't like her arms to be swaddled, and sometimes she just wants her mommy :) Madeline has changed so much in these two weeks and I can't help but take pictures of her everyday to capture all these changes. It amazes me that she already has a little personality. Erik keeps asking when she will start interacting and smiling, but I am enjoying the newborn stage and I'm happy to have her stay here for now.

On Thursday Madeline had her first photo shoot. You can see a sneak peak on my fabulous photographer's blog.

Mommy's Girl

My Sweet Angel

2008-10-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

So we're almost through our first week with Madeline. She is more precious every day and we are so in love with her. Madeline has such a sweet disposition (so far anyway) and she rarely cries. The only exception is diaper changes and when she's hungry. She makes the cutest faces and funny squeaky noises when she's sleeping.

My new family

Sweet in Pink

Already Posing

Sweet Baby

Sleeping on Mom

Welcome to the World

2008-10-08T10:16:00.000-07:00

Erik and I are so happy to announce that our little girl has finally arrived. Madeline Kate was born at home on October 5th, 2008 at 8:09pm. She weighs 8 pounds and is 21 inches long. She is absolutely gorgeous with blue eyes, quite a bit of brown hair, beautiful little lips, and the cutest chubby cheeks. Mom and Dad are totally in love with her. There is much more to come but for now, here are a couple of pics...

Madeline Kate

Just born

Mom and Madeline

Proud (and tired) Papa

Hanging out on the couch

A Name for Baby K

2008-09-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

We have chosen a name for our little one...

Maybe now she'll decide to join us!

39 weeks

2008-09-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm 39 weeks pregnant. Only one more week to my due date but of course baby will come when she comes so it could still be 3 weeks. Here's the thing... I'm starting to realize that I have a whole other human being living inside body. Yeah I know, but its just now starting to be real. But here's the real kicker... she's going to come out! Soon!! OMG!

39 weeks

My little basketball

I'm seriously still getting bigger

Expecting Photos

2008-09-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

I had some photos taken last week with a fantastic photographer here in SoCal. They turned out beautifully and it's been hard trying to pick the ones we want. When I showed them to my grandma, she said it must be a California thing :) I don't know, maybe it is.

Here are a couple of examples that the photographer put on her blog. I hope you enjoy them.

Hint: Click on examples above.

36 weeks!

2008-09-07T22:21:00.001-07:00

Today I am 36 weeks which means that Baby is full term! So only 4(ish) weeks to go! Over the last week I've been washing all my baby clothes, sheets, blankets, burp cloths, changing pad covers, etc. Babies sure do need a lot of stuff. Even now it's hard to believe that a new little person is going to be wearing all those cute little girl clothes I have been collecting. Wow! I'm having a baby!

36 weeks

Big ole belly

Sweet Little Baby Kicks

2008-09-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

Baby kicks are so sweet! Well, most of the time :) I don't like those kicks to the ribs that she is making more and more often. But I love feeling her little hands and feet moving around, kicking and punching me. It's so reassuring because it means that she is still doing okay in that crowded home of hers. This is my attempt at making a little movie of those crazy baby movements.

It looks pretty cool on the big screen but I don't know how well it will transfer to the blog video. I hope you enjoy!

My Favorite Things

2008-08-30T20:38:00.001-07:00

We having amazing friends and family and we were given so many great gifts for our baby girl. But I have to say that I have a couple of favorites. The first gift is a onesie with a purple and pink paraglider embroidered on it. My friend Brett drew it out and embroidered it himself. And look how cute it is! Baby K has her first paragliding outfit :)

The second gift is quilt that is handmade for Baby K by Erik's Grandma. This is just the sweetest quilt I have ever seen and I and Baby will cherish it. What a wonderful one of a kind gift! And I love that it has butterflies on it since we seem to have a little butterfly theme going in her room.

Ozzy's Room

2008-08-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

My sweet Ozzy thinks that we have made him his own room. He hasn't tried to jump in the crib yet but he does like to hide under it. Hopefully he'll stay off of my beautiful glider. He has yet to discover the changing pad but I think he'll like that too. He absolutely loves this rug and spends lots of time curled up on it. How cute is that! I just had to share...

Testing the water.

Flop.

King of the Castle

A Baby Weekend

2008-08-13T18:25:00.001-07:00

It has been a really busy past couple of weeks! We are turning what was the office into our baby room... finally! Two weekends ago Erik and I bought about 8 different paint samples and tried to pick a color. Do you know how hard it is to pick a color from a small patch on the wall?!? Ater lots of back and forth we finally chose this lovely green and Erik got down to work. My sweet hubby painted the whole thing all by himself! I only helped with the taping :)

During the week, our crib and dresser were delivered and then Erik and I put together a giant store cube thing that we bought at Ikea.

My parents came in town last weekend to help with baby room stuff and to come to the Baby BBQ that my in-laws threw for us. I dragged my parents around to just about every baby store in the city! We bought a rug, curtains, canvas storage boxes for our storage cube, and all kinds of other random baby stuff that we apparently need. Geez, babies need lots of stuff! But I finally feel like we are making some progress towards getting ready for baby. Only 8 weeks to go!

Dad and Erik smiling after successfully putting up the curtains!

We still need stuff for the walls but its coming along.

The giant storage cube! It still needs a bit of organizing!

On Saturday night, we had a Baby BBQ at Erik's parents house. Nancy did a fantastic job putting it all together. The carne asada was fantastic, excellently bbq'ed by Gordon. There were lots of family and friends there and I think everyone had a great time. Thanks to everyone who was able to be there and a BIG thanks to Nancy and Gordon for the party!

Sunday morning Erik and my parents and I had breakfast in PB at World Famous and then spend a little time walking on the beach. I still sometimes find it hard to believe that I live in such a gorgeous place. Anybody want to go to the beach?

Hanging out with my parents at the beach.

32 weeks!

30 weeks

2008-07-29T15:08:00.001-07:00

30 weeks! Wow! I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. The first trimester seemed to go by so slowly and now we're on a 10 week countdown. It doesn't help that I have a list a mile long of things I need to get done in the next two months. Baby Kolberg is getting big and strong (as you can see from my ever growing tummy) and moving around all the time. Yesterday she literally didn't stop moving all day and all night. She must be tired in there. I'm still feeling really great. I finally gave up running 2 weeks ago because I could feel the ligaments in my pelvis loosening and that just didn't feel right. But I am walking a lot, loving my prenatal yoga, and doing some prenatal exercise videos.

Just a few things from my to do list...
1. Shop for and pick new health insurance for our office.
2. Pick a name for Baby K. (I have a name that I love and so I am in the process of convincing Erik that he loves it too. If you really want to know, shoot me an email.)
3. Interview pediatricians.
4. Paint the Baby room.
5. Have furniture delivered.
6. Finish or really start buying the rest of the baby things we need.
And on and on and on...

Front view

Belly view

The Rat Race

2008-07-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

While I was hanging out in Dallas, Erik was in Southern Oregon competing in a paragliding competition called The Rat Race. Erik and I are both paragliding pilots and have been wanting to get into competing to have fun, to meet other pilots and to learn from the big boys. Needless to say, I'm not flying right now. So sad. But at least Erik was able to have an amazing week flying.

The Rat Race is a 6 day cross country paragliding competition. The officials set a course each day that the pilots have to follow. Everyone flies with a GPS which marks their course as they fly. At the end of the day, the pilot that crosses each waypoint along the course and reaches goal (the finish) first wins the day. You accumulate points every day and the pilot with the most points at the end of the week wins the competition.

There were around 90 pilots competing this year, 6 pilots from San Diego. Our friend Phil finished in 1st place in the serial class, Gary finished 4th, and Erik finished 10th! Erik was especially honored because this was his first competition. Congratulations Erik!!! San Diego was well represented with 3 pilots in the top ten!

This is the course for the day.

The view from the air of launch.

Look at all those pilots!

Circling in a thermal with other pilots.

Erik flying over the valley.

At the end of the day, you pack up and head to the nearest winery!

Baby Shower

2008-07-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

I went home to Dallas last week to hang out with my family and to get a taste of a real summer. While I was in town my Aunt Patti, Carrie, Mama, and Melody threw me a baby shower. It was so beautiful! These ladies definitely outdid themselves! It was so nice to see all my friends and family and of course its always fun to come away with great baby gear and beautiful baby girl clothes. I can't wait to see our baby girl all dressed up in all those cute little dresses! Only 12 weeks to go!