Birthdays!

Between all our BU Basketball watching this weekend, we squeezed in a few birthday celebrations.

Caroline celebrated her good buddy, Jack's, 2nd B-Day at a nearby gym. WOW. That's all I have to say about that. Unfortunately I have no pics, but Caroline absolutely LOVED it. She ran and jumped and bounced and slid. Nonstop. Talking, cheering, and clapping the entire time.

Everyone always comments that she is "full of personality" and "so much fun" and "a bundle of energy" I am realizing that what they mean to say is..."Have you heard of Ritalin?" :) Just kidding of course. We loved how active and social she is...it is exhausting, but fun!

Later that evening, Jon and I had a night out to celebrate our dear friends Peter and Philip both turning 30. We saw Jerry Jeff Walker play at the historic Paramount Theater downtown. It was SO cool! The theater itself is amazing, and the Jerry Jeff put on a great show!
Heading into the concert
(Mel, Does this count as a belly pic?? ;) Sorta kinda?)
Jerry Jeff performing with his son, Django Walker. SO awesome.
At the Driskell after the show (where we ran into and chatted it up with Django)
Peter, Jon, Philip, Me, Sarah, and Meghan

Happy 30th Birthday, Boys!!! Thanks for including us in the celebration!!!!

***Keep scrolling for more new posts***

Sic 'Em Bears!

As you may have heard, Baylor basketball is AWESOME!

The regionals for the NCAA tournament were in Houston this weekend so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see them!

Jon went solo (with his buddies) on Friday night to see them take on St. Mary's in the Sweet 16. He had a wonderful time, and of course...THEY WON!

So, Sunday, We decided to make it a family affair. All 3 (and a half ;)) of us loaded up and drove to Houston to see Baylor take on Duke in the Elite 8. I must admit I was very nervous about such a big adventure with Miss Caroline. But thanks to the amazing power of Dora and Fruit Snacks...Caroline did great. The 3 hour drive there and back went better than expected. She ate, slept and watched a few episodes of Dora. During the game, she was endlessly entertained by all of the action!

She clapped and cheered when everyone else did, danced to the music, and kept saying "Sic 'Em! Sic 'Em!" She especially loved the mascot. She would wave and say "Hi Bear!" when he was out on the court, and then look for him whenever he was on the sideline..."Bear? Are you?" I was actually shocked at how well she did! As long as she had plenty of snacks, she was happy.

Checking out the scenery with Daddy. LOTS of Baylor fans in the crowd :)

Snacking with Mommy.

Daddy and his crazy friends.
(Ryan, Craig, Danny, Jon, Tim, Joe, Luke, and Don)

More snacking while watching some of the game.

Hanging out with Mommy's friends...Jamie (expecting Baby Vince in July :)) and Marla!

Of course, it would have been an even MORE awesome day if we'd won, but the Bears played a fantastic game and can hold their heads high for an amazing season!!!

***Keep scrolling for more new posts!***

19 months

Caroline continues to be quite a chatterbox! I am truly amazed at how much she just picks up, and how quickly she learns new words. She repeats EVERYTHING we say. And I mean everything. I am really trying to watch what I say...yikes.

I am pretty sure she is the messiest eater ever. She refused to keep a bib on, so we just gave up. Until, I found this bib with sleeves. Not only does it keep her more covered, but she can't get out of it as easily. Kind of like a straight-jacket ;)

Sometimes when she burps, she'll say "Excuse me, I burp." and put her hand over her mouth.

When we read books, I always say "The End" as I close the book. Caroline has decided she prefers to say "Amen" at the end of the book instead.

She likes sitting at our dining room table. "Nowine's chair" is what she kept telling me.

The other day, we met Daddy for lunch at Chick Fil A. When she was done eating, she put her hands up, looked at Jon, and said "Daddy, hold you?" I just about melted. So sweet.

She is getting better and better at counting. We will catch her counting on her own every once in a while. The highest she has ever gotten is 8. But, she doesn't do it consistently.

She definitely knows shapes now, and we are still working on colors. With the exception of orange, I would say she is still pretty inconsistent.

She loves to take her purse with her everywhere. She is always sure to pack her phone and her keys. Sometimes she wants to bring her Bible, too :) When we are playing at home, she will pack up her purse, hop on her Dora car, and tell me Bye Bye. If I ask her where she is going, it's usually to "work" or to "church."

When we pulled into her school this week, she started naming off all the kids in her class. It was so cute! I can't believe she knows them all.

When she is ready to go, she will run to the back door and stand there. Luckily, she has not figured out how to actually open doors yet. I soooooo dread the day she discovers that one...

Whenever she hears something, she will stop what she's doing, put her hand to her ear, and say "I hear it" or "hear it"

I keep catching her singing to herself. It's hilarious! The other day she was giving her best rendition of "The Wheels on the Bus" which goes something like this...
"Mommy Shh, Shh, Shh. Around, Around."
(aka, The mommies on the bus say "shh, shh, shh" all through the town.)

She loves to swing on her her swing set out back. She literally cries, until we get swinging high enough. "Higher! Higher!" It's soooo dramatic.

The Energizer Bunny

I have mentioned before that Caroline is very active. She loves to run, climb, dance, you name it, this girl is always on the move. We really enjoy the "ready, set, go" game. It's pretty simple...I say "ready, set, go" and she runs up and down the entry hall. That's all there is to it, and yet, it provides endless amounts of entertainment. Sometimes, she wants me to chase her and tickle her, other times, she is content to just run back and forth.

This clip is kind of lengthy, but it gives you an idea of her activity level :)

She just keeps going and going and going and going...

By the way...I promise I am not ignoring the requests for belly pics (Mel!). I just don't have any to post! I tried to take some by myself, with the timer on the camera, but that didn't work very well. I keep forgetting to have Jon take some for me, but I will do it soon!!!

And by the way again...SIC 'EM BEARS!!! Woohoo!!!!

Nowine

The phrase "No Wine" has many meanings around our house these days...

I can have "no wine" since I am pregnant.

I seem to constantly be telling Caroline "no whining"

"Nowine" is what Caroline now calls herself.

She just recently started referring to herself by name, and I think it's so funny! Caroline sounds more like "No-wine" or "No-uh-wine" when she says it. It's so cute! "Nowine do it." "Nowine shoes on." "Nowine's chair." We'll be driving down the road and I will hear her in the back seat saying, "Nowine? Nowine?" When I look back, she has covered her face with her hands, waiting for me to say "Caroline, where are you?" She loves it when I finally "see" her.

Here we are playing a version of the game with a blanket...good times.

(I hope you can hear her saying "Nowine")

The Rooms

With my mom's help, I was able to get the kids' rooms (pretty much) finished!

Caroline's old room, became Miles's room. Caroline moved into the room next door. I was worried she might be confused by this, but she didn't miss a beat!

Caroline would love to give you the tour of her new room :)

She graciously gave her old crib to her baby brother, and she is sleeping in the new one.

This bed was mine when I was a little girl! It has a canopy, too, but we are waiting until she is a little bit older before we put that on. Since she hasn't graduated to the big bed yet, I am using it as our changing area (as you can see in the pic)

Rather than buy her a dresser, I got this little cube thing from Target. We have one in our playroom, too. Love it!

Here is Baby Miles's room (so far).

It still feels a little bare, so I hope to add a few more little decor items here and there.

I decided to fore go the cute puffy bumpers and quilt altogether this time. We ended up taking Caroline's bumpers off after only a couple of months, and exchanging them for the breathable mesh ones. Although they are not as cute, I have decided that practicality wins with baby #2 :)
The letters spelling out his name are a whole story of their own. I decided I would buy the unfinished letter from Michael's and paint them myself. I chose red (which in hind sight was random, and a big mistake) I was also determined to hang them with ribbon, since that's what I did for Caroline's. I wanted them to look cute! Anyway, in the end, they looked ridiculous. The red was too bright, and didn't match anything, and the ribbon looked girly. So, my mom was generous enough to spring for the prefinished letters from Pottery Barn :) Thanks Mimi!

These prints are vintage Baylor Football Program covers from the 40's, 50's, and 60's. I found them in a calendar at Whole Foods (of all places?). They were the inspiration for our football themed room.
Found this lamp 50% off at Hobby Lobby, and thought it was perfect!
I sure hope Miles likes football... ;)

Spring Break 2010

I can't help but laugh at how the meaning of Spring Break has changed over the years...This year, we really whooped it up and partied with Mimi (my mom). She was kind enough to spend her week off from work here in Austin with us. She babysat, ran errands with me, helped me move, organize, and decorate the kids' rooms, and more. All the while, battling a cold that she most likely caught from us...We are really generous like that ;) Not exactly much of a vacation for her!!! But, I couldn't have made it through the week without her...THANK YOU Mimi!!!

It wasn't all work and no play...We did manage to squeeze in lots of fun stuff too! Unfortunately I didn't do a very good job of taking pics :(

We took Caroline to the Austin Children's Museum, which she absolutely loved.

Hard at work on the giant lite brite thing.

She got to eat ice cream and hold the cone all by herself.
Seriously...this is good stuff.
Brrrr! It's cold!
Me and my Mimi :)
I got to have a girls night out...Celebrating St. Patty's Day with Sarah and Meghan. Ahhh, how I craved a green beer...

Mimi had fun little treats and activities each day for Caroline...An Easter egg book with corresponding eggs filled with snacks, a color matching game of mini eggs and baskets, a pink cowgirl hat, a little toy bus that sings, some new blocks, Elmo books, and more! Caroline was so excited to wake up from her nap every afternoon to see what Mimi had in store for her. I am sure this week has been quite a disappointment for her ;) She wakes up asking for Mimi, and sadly...she is stuck with just me.

Mimi also had Easter egg hunting boot camp for Caroline. She practiced hiding and hunting eggs with her. I think Caroline gets the whole idea of finding the eggs and filling her basket, so she can dominate the neighborhood hunt. Let's just hope all this intense training pays off when the big day comes next week...ha ha :)

While it wasn't quite the same as my Spring Breaks spent in South Padre...It was still a great week and I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!!

Surprise!

Last weekend, Minnie and Papa (Sherri and my dad) came to visit! Caroline was quite smitten with both of them of course. She LOVED all the attention, and was especially intrigued by my dad and his hat. It was all she could talk about! So funny.

Fun at the park with Papa!

Saturday, we ate lunch downtown...it was a beautiful day!

After that, Minnie and Papa babysat while Jon and I headed to Waco to celebrate Kristin's 30th for real. Her sweet hubby planned a surprise party for her!!! It was so much fun :)

Ginny, Kristin, and myself

Jon and I boogied on the dance floor.
It was a great party and a great weekend!!!

Happy Birthday, Kristin!!!

And a BIG thank you to Minnie and Papa for taking such good care of Caroline (and us ;))!! When we got home, not only had they chased C all afternoon and evening, but they did dishes, folded laundry, and picked up the house!!!! We felt so spoiled :)

Drumroll...

Our sweet baby boy officially has a name!

Miles Jon Erickson

We picked Miles just because we like it, and Jon is obviously a family name...Jon was very appropriately named after his Uncle Jon, and there is a long line of Jon's and even Johann's preceding them :)

We are so excited and can't wait to meet little Miles in May!

I am 30 weeks along now and still feeling great. Hard to believe this is the 3rd trimester already! I had another appointment today, since I am going every 2 weeks now. All is well with Baby Miles. I measured right on track for 30 weeks, his heartbeat was 145ish, and he continues to kick and move like crazy :)

I framed the vintage Baylor football posters, and bought a couple of other things for his room. I ordered crib #2 today as well (Caroline is NOT graduating to a big bed yet...hence the 2nd crib:)). My mom is coming to visit over spring break (in 2 weeks) to help me get organized and get both Caroline's new big girl room and Miles's nursery all set up. Whew! I will post pics when once there is picture-worthy progress...

18 months

A year and a half old. That seems so grown up!

Caroline is so much fun and has been keeping us on our toes as usual. She is bossy, independent, and always seems to be learning something new.

Double fisting at such an early age

Some of her favorite things right now include...singing, dancing, anything and everything outside, balls, trucks, cooking, Dora, fruit snacks, books, playdough

Hard at work with her "Maymo" aka Playdough.

We learned this trick at music class. Sitting on the ball and bouncing is such a thrill.

Some favorite words/phrases are..."I get it", "Mine", "I do it", "I ready"...I did mention she is bossy and independent, right? The other day, she pointed at Jon and said "That MY Daddy." I guess she is a little possessive ;)

Such a serious face.

She is just beginning to get interested in shapes (star and circle are her faves) and colors (especially orange), and is very into counting (instead of 1, 2, 3...She points and says 2, 2, 2...)


Converstation we have daily (often more than once)
C: Daddy work
Me: Yes, Daddy is at work.
C: Car?
Me: Yes, he drove his car to work.
C: Keys?
Me: Yes, Daddy used his keys to drive his car to work.
C: Purse?
Me: Well, not exactly. Daddy carried his bag to work. Daddy's don't carry purses.

Ha! I love that she thinks his laptop bag is a purse.

18 month stats:

Weight: 25 lb. 10 oz. (70%)

Height: 33 in. (55%)

Head: off the charts, of course ;)