Bertsch Family Vacation- Myrtle Beach

  For the first time in 11 years, the whole Bertsch family (with only a couple exceptions) went on a family vacation to Myrtle Beach. The gang included 20 adults and 20 kids, ages 8 months to 13 years, all under one roof! The house was gorgeous and accommodated everyone very nicely. It was right across from the beach which made it a lot of fun for all of those beach-goers. I on the other hand, was home most of the time with the triplets trying to entertain them in a house with tile floors and no carpet. At the time of the trip, they were army crawling a little but not yet sitting independently, so they spent a lot of time lying on their backs on the cold floor:(
 The crew did pretty well on the drive to and from with very few crying spells. Addy watched movies all the way down and Bella, next to Addy in the 2nd row of the minivan, kept her head turned almost the whole ride so that she too could see the television. The boys played quietly in the back oblivious of the entertainment they were missing out on. We packed our van full plus Charlie and Sharon brought some of our stuff with them in the back of their truck. Believe it or not, we managed to bring 2 swings, 1 jumperoo, several toys, 3 pool floats, 3 suitcases, a triple stroller, a pack n play, a large cooler filled with meat, a mini cooler filled with drinks, and a bag of movies and entertainment for Adalyn!
   The week turned out great. Everyone helped us so much with the kids. Adalyn was in heaven spending the week with her much loved cousins and the babies got lots of extra loving. Craig had a blast with his brothers at the beach playing volleyball and throwing corn hole in the evenings.
    Once we were back home, the babies demonstrated that they could in fact sit up independently, Mommy was just too nervous to let them on the hard floor in Myrtle Beach! They are really starting to take off. It's going to be interesting in the upcoming months as they are becoming more mobile everyday!
 

We got lots of looks on the beach with the big triple stroller and everyone was very friendly. The babies are definitely a good conversation starter.

 


       Arabella, Bronson, and Addy



    

My Little Firecrackers- Happy 4th of July

   Firecracker, Firecracker, Boom Boom Boom! I love the 4th of July and the beginning of summer. These are pictures from Craig's Grandma Rose's house for a parade.The whole family comes and eats breakfast and watches the parade. Grandma Rose is in her mid 80's and is just a firecracker  herself. Such a sweet lady. 

 The babies are 8 months old this month and doing great. Arabella's first teeth broke through early in the month and the boys finally broke through on the same day just a couple weeks later. It's so funny how Bella just breezes right through it and the boys wake up every few hours at nights with cries of pain due to their bulging gums:(

   This month the babies are sitting up with the boppies behind them. It's like it opens up a whole new world of fun when they can sit and play with toys.

  Adalyn is doing great and is excited about her birthday next month. She is a happy two year old and just loves these babies. My sister is due with her first baby in August and our family is so excited to have a newborn around. Adalyn can't wait and thinks she is going to have a little girl. Bella remains Addy's favorite, but she can get those boys laughing like nobody's business. She is such a blessing to have around. We are considering sending her to preschool this fall for a couple days a week. Addy talks about school all the time. Her daddy tells her stories about going to school with a girl named Rachel... not sure why he picked that particular name, since we don't know any Rachels, but I'm just hopeful God will miraculously put a Rachel in her class!

   Our vacation is at the end of this month, so we will have plenty more pictures and updates to come.

Summer Begins- 7 months

 As always I'm playing blog catch up. The summer has flown by. The kids are all doing great and are getting busier by the day. These pictures of June feel like they were taken a year ago. At this point they were rolling but not crawling and a lot easier to keep track of than they are these days! They tend to migrate towards each other when they are playing on the floor and LOVE for Addy to entertain them as she rolls around, runs throughout the living room and dances and sings to her favorite songs. She continues to be mommy's awesome helper and is having a great summer. Potty training started in June and carried on throughout the summer with lots of accidents and lots of pull ups. I never dreamed just how challenging it would be. Our days are full and most of the time a lot of fun! These are just random pics taken in the month of June when the babies were 7 mths old.

1/2 a Year! Where does time go...

  My sweet little peanuts are really getting big. It really hits me when I see other people holding them  just how big they really are now. They have been so healthy with only an occasional ear infection and are loving the introduction of first foods this month. Bentley is especially interested and smacks his lips as I prepare the cereal and fruit. I'm still having to pry Bell and Bronson's mouths open with the spoon, but once they get the taste for it seem to enjoy it. They are all rolling around but not so much that they aren't able to be contained in a small area. I haven't lost track of them yet let's put it that way!                   

   The boys are jabbering about "da da" all the time and occasionally Bell lets out with a "ma". They seem to be very interested in what the others are doing and getting a little jealous when Addy is talking to one of them and not the other. Adalyn is a God-send and so helpful with her brothers and sister. My goal this month is to transition the babies from taking their naps in their swings to taking them in their beds... at the same time! Needless to say, I am getting my exercise running up and down the steps comforting and putting in paci's as they try and learn to fall asleep on their own. Addy was so upset with  me the other day when Bell started crying when I laid her down for her nap. I had to drag Addy downstairs as she cried, "But mom, I love Bell Bell so much...don't let her cry, don't let her cry!
   Life is just so fun. Everyday is so full with these four gifts and I am forever grateful for each of them. It's amazing watching them grow. I do believe I have the slobberiest (sp??) kids ever. I am changing bibs almost hourly as they almost refuse to swallow and just let the drool fall out of their mouths by the spoonful. No teeth yet but looking forward to some relief for them. They are generally such sweet and happy babies who are full of smiles for everyone. They just make my day!
   I did stop breastfeeding completely with their 6 mth birthday. Bronson of coarse had gone on strike months before and Bell weaned herself over a couple weeks to just one feeding a day. My little Bentley was hanging in there but started to favor the bottle after my long days at work. It's always emotional experiencing the last of anything for me. I definitely shed some tears as I realized that nursing was coming to an end.
   Work is going really well. I am so thankful that I only have to be there 2 days a week. It seems to be very managable. I could not be more thankful for my mom and mother in law as well as friends from church, sisters, ect who continue to watch my kids while I'm gone. There hasn't been a day that I had to worry about their care while I was away.
   As we celebrate their 6 month birthday, it is my prayer that they will continue to be healthy and happy and that time would slow down a little bit. I'm already grieving them growing up on me.
   We had the kids 6 month pictures taken by my dear friend Trisha Iles with From the Heart Photography. We had a ball. The babies were a little stingy with their smiles that day, but Trisha managed to catch some really cute ones despite the challenge. You should have seen myself, Trisha, my mom, and our friend Diane Miller. We were working our butts off doing a song and dance trying to get those kids to cooperate. It was a day I'll never forget!

www.fromtheheartky.com

Trisha Iles- photographer

Arabella's 6 mth weight: 15#9 (still in the lead)

Bronson finally outweighs his brother at 14#9

Bentley is the runt again at 14#8 (only an ounce less than his brother):)