The BergMen

So, Per's the only son, of an only son, of an only son, of an only son. Let's hope it stays that way...

It's all relatives

The cake says it all

Cake lady: "Welcome, Per?"

Sonali: "Yes, that's right"

Cake lady: "And how do you spell Per?"

Sonali: "P-e-r"

Cake lady (as she writes in icing): "P-e-r..."

- Long pause -

Cake lady: "And then what?"

Sonali: "That's it."

Cake lady: "That's it?"

Sonali: "Yes, that's all there is."

Pronouncing his name

So, to hear how Per's name should be pronounced, click here. 

But we are going to let everyone (including us) get away with the Americanized version - pronounced basically like "pear", or better "pehr" - since mispronounced Scandinavian names are a family tradition.

Pair of Pers

Per is named after his great, great, great, great (I think that's how great he was) grandfather Per Holsten. I think it is safe to say that Per Bergman's life is a little bit easier than Per Holsten's life. With his own hands, Per H. built a stone and sod house out on the prairie in South Dakota. I don't think South Dakota is any warmer than Minnesota in the wintertime, and all they had was a small woodstove in the house to keep them warm. South Dakota is not known for its vast forests, so I can't even imagine how they collected or chopped enough wood to tide them through the long winter months. And here, his great, great, great, great grandson, more than 100 years later has never felt more than a chill in his life. I wonder how he would feel about the life his descendants are leading and whether our technical but comfy lives are better or worse than his simple yet difficult existence?

Primate origins

Per's ancestry: part Scandinavian, part Irish, part German, part Syrian, part French, and part Tarsier.

The early days

September 9, 2008

First day home

September 8, 2008

What a day. After 9 months of anticipation it finally becomes reality. You know its coming but nothing can prepare you for what it is really like. Its just one of those things you never forget. The other dads out there probably know what I am talking about... 

Season opener. Monday Night Football. Vikings-Packers. 

Of course the outcome wasn't what I had hoped. The Vikings squandered the game. And in hindsight it was fairly telling of how the season would go--some good moments but mostly the usual Viking disappointment. Oh well. Only 9 months of waiting for it to start up again.   

Despite the loss the Vikings did pick up a fan that day:

Per Yohannis Bergman was born at 2:18 AM. 7 lb. 14 oz., 20.5 inches.

Dulce de leche league

The way I figure it, probably 95% of the molecules in Per's body originated as ice cream. Not just any ice cream - but pints and pints of dulce de leche. The only craving I had during pregnancy (and movie theatre popcorn).

The Early Months

Okay, this is as far back as we'll go for Per. Here he is exactly 1 month and 4 days before he was born. Looks a bit like his pops, no? 

New Year's Resolution

We've been feeling intimidated by our nephew Jack's professional blog. But the pressure from the relatives is too great. So, as one of our new year's resolutions, we vowed to start Per's blog and keep up with it. So, here goes...We'll start at the beginning and try to catch up to the present. In the meantime, we'll give you a glimpse of the present. Here's how Per started his new year's eve. We'll hold off on publishing the photos from later in the evening. It doesn't seem fair to jeopardize his political career before it even starts. Suffice it to say that it's a good thing he won't remember much.