Let the games begin...

Miles was scheduled for his first check up with Dr. G on Monday. Well, not to be outdone by her little bro, Caroline came down with a fever and a cough on Sunday. I called the doc, and we decided to make our first family outing to the pediatrician's office.

Luckily, Dr. G didn't feel like we needed to worry about C being contagious...whew! She still seems to be feeling a bit under the weather, but hopefully she will feel better soon.

Mr. Miles had a fabulous check up! He was 7 lbs. 9 oz. at birth, and dropped to 7 lbs. 2 oz. by the time we left the hospital. The goal would be to make it back to his birth weight by his 2 week appt. BUT, Miles has already surpassed it in just 5 days!! What a super-eating stud :) He weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz., and Dr. G was quite impressed. He also noted that Miles is already really strong and has good head control for such a little guy.

Rocking some killer socks for his first outing to the doctor
Another pic, just because he's so cute ;)

All in all, it was a great appt. We are thankful that Caroline isn't REALLY sick, and thankful that Miles is growing strong!

Happy Mommy!

Of course, I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year because I had BOTH my babies to celebrate with.

Daddy and Caroline made me strawberry pancakes for breakfast, which were delicious. Caroline helped Daddy bring them to me, and proclaimed "Happy Mommy!" So Funny. Jon said he practiced with her, but she just couldn't quite get all the words together in one sentence. I'll take her sweet little voice saying "Happy Mommy" any day!

Daddy took Caroline to church, leaving me and my little baby for some quality snuggle time together. I just can't get enough of him :)


Caroline brought home a flower from church, but it didn't quite make it one piece. It's the thought that counts ;)


After naps, I got to have some special time with my big baby. We wanted to go to the park, but it was sprinkling, so we opted for ICE CREAM!!

I have no idea what is going on here, she looks like she is going to attack the ice cream...must be an Erickson thing ;)
So happy
and so messy!

A special thanks to my biggest baby (ha!) for making this day special. I am so lucky to have him as my partner in parenting and in life!

Coming Home

Call me crazy, but I actually loved being in the hospital. So, while I was happy to be coming home, I was also kind of sad to be leaving! They bring you food, water, medicine, and take care of anything and everything for you. Jon and I just got to relax and cuddle with Miles, and there was no laundry to fold, no dishes to wash. Seriously! What's not to love??? :)

Anyway, We definitely were looking forward to getting home to see Caroline and to have us all together again!

Mommy getting Miles all dressed up for his debut into the outside world

Ready and waiting for the go ahead!

He looks so tiny in the car seat!

Snuggled in and ready to go

Oh Daddy...

Home sweet home with Mommy :)

Caroline is excited that Miles is home, too! At least for now... ;)

The First Meeting

Our moms brought Caroline up to the hospital to meet Miles for the very first time.

She brought him a bear and a balloon, but promptly decided she'd rather keep them for herself...notice the death grip she has on the balloon...ha!

She was SO excited to hop up on the bed and check him out up close. She kept saying "Hi, Baby Miles!"

The first shot of our family of 4!
Caroline got to hold him with a little help from Daddy
She wanted to test out Baby Miles's bed...just to be sure it was plenty comfy for him.
Baby Miles even got Caroline a present. Her very own baby and car seat carrier, so she got to bring home her baby from the hospital, too :)

Cinco de Miles!

Happy Cinco de Mayo and Happy Birthday, Miles!

(Here is a quick overview of the day...promise to post more details later :))

EARLY this morning before we headed to the hospital

Posing in Miles's room on his birthday :)

All hooked up and laboring away...Bless the man who invented epidurals ;)

He's here! First photo op with Mommy.

Proud, proud Papa!

We love him so much already! Miles Jon Erickson

May 5, 2010

2:28 pm

7 lbs., 9 oz.

21 inches

Happy Cinco de Miles!!!

The Last Days

I have been feeling SUPER emotional the past couple of days (or weeks or months...but whatever ;)). I am excited/anxious/nostalgic/overwhelmed/you name it and I probably feel it. I can't believe we are going to be a family of FOUR! I wanted to do some "extra fun" things with Caroline these last couple of days before all the craziness begins. I am anticipating that this is going to be a challenging transition for all of us, but especially for Caroline. She is definitely NOT used to sharing her Mommy and Daddy!

So, We went to Zilker Park to ride the train.
Caroline enjoyed a snack while we waited to go. She kept saying "I ready! Ready, set go!"

She was excited to give the conductor our tickets
After our train ride, we played at the park

We met Daddy for lunch and had a picnic!
There was lots of exploring.
and some hiking
she loved the "pond pool"
Always Daddy's girl :)

We also went to the grocery store, where we got to ride in a "car cart", got a sticker, AND a Dora balloon. This may not SEEM like fun, but in Caroline's world, this was huge :)

Today, we even treated ourselves to slushies at Sonic, while we got the car washed.

And of course we have read lots of books, sang lots of songs, and played with all of our toys...I keep squeezing in as many hugs and kisses as I can along the way. I know she isn't going anywhere, but I also know that I won't be able to give her 100% of my attention like I usually do.

Now the grandparents have begun to arrive, so Caroline is getting even more attention than ever!

She is going to be SUCH a great big sister, and we are soooooo excited to meet our little guy!

We will keep you posted on tomorrow's events!!!

20 months and 38 weeks

Here are the latest and greatest updates for our little ones...


Caroline is 20 months old. She continues to amaze me with the things she says! Everyday is something new.


Her newest thing is asking questions. "What Daddy doing?" "Where baby go?"

She's obsessed with Ice Cream. She calls in "Nummy, Nummy ice cream," and she wants it all the time. Ha! She totally gets this from me :)


The other day, she wanted to watch Dora (shocker) and I told her we could watch it later. She started pleading.."Mommy, Please later! Please later!"

Intently watching Dora with her buddies



She says "right back" as in I'll be right back. Anytime Jon walks out of the room, she turns to me and says "right back" just to confirm that Daddy will be back soon :)


When she hands us something she will say "Here you go Mommy" or "Thank you Daddy" in the sweetest little voice.

Yesterday, we were talking about Daddy while we were in the car and she looked out the window and said, "I miss you, Daddy." So precious!

Here she is ready for swim class with Daddy :)

She says " 'Mon" for "Come on" So I often hear her trying to get Luci to follow her saying, " Mon Luci, Mon"

When we ask her a question she pauses and says "Ummm" before she answers. She sound like a teenager ;)

She has been practicing her big sister skills. The bear and the baby doll have been trying out all of Baby Miles's gear.

As for Baby Miles, I am 38 weeks!

At my check up this week, I was 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Thankfully, he is still head down!

We are all set for our induction one week form today. I seriously cannot believe it!

37 Weeks...Success!

He flipped! We had our version today, and we are officially 2 for 2. It was SOOO much easier, faster, and less painful this time. The doctor got him started, and Miles did the rest himself. He just turned right around :) The only bad news is that the easier he is to flip, the easier it will be for him to flip back :( Fingers crossed he stays head down!

I am 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced...yippee for progress since last week :) I had no idea my doctor would even offer us the option of an induction at 39 weeks, but she did! And we gladly accepted. The planner in me is absolutely thrilled about this, of course!

That means that if Miles doesn't come earlier on his own, 5.5.10 will be the big day! Cinco de Mayo...Ole! We will definitely be ready to have a fiesta for our baby boy ;)

A special THANKS to my step mom, Sherri, for coming down to keep Miss C for us. I know Caroline had a fantastic time hanging with her Minnie! And it was comforting for us to have C in such good hands while we were at the hospital :)

A few funnies...

Of course, we think Caroline is really funny, but I know we are ever so slightly biased ;) I want to be sure I remember some of the things she says that make us laugh...

She has started saying "I Love You" This just absolutely turns me to mush, and I LOVE the way she says it. "I Luh Loo" and she really emphasizes the "L" sound, it is so adorable. She usually just says it in response to us saying "I Love you" to her, but every once in a while she comes up and says it all on her own. I'm such a sucker ;)

While playing, she bumped her foot on the wall, then came over to me and said "Mommy, miss it." (kiss it) After I kissed her foot, she said "More misses?", then ran over to wall, kicked it with her other foot, and ran back over for me to kiss that foot. Ha! Guess she thinks self-injury is the only way to get affection around here ;) kidding of course...

Caroline gets a big kick out of all the lakes, ponds, and rivers around here. When we go over a bridge, I always tell Caroline we are going over the lake. (For those of you unfamiliar with Austin, Lake Austin is actually the Colorado River, and it looks much more river-like than lake-like.) One day as we were driving over the bridge, she started pointing out the window and screaming "Reeber! Reeber! Dora!" I guess she decided Lake Austin looked more like the "River" she had seen on Dora :) And who says TV isn't educational!?!?

watching some Dora( aka learning new vocabulary) with Daddy

She was sitting in my lap, and she started rubbing my leg. Then she stopped and said "Eww, Mommy! Wash it!" She was referring to the hair on my legs. Guess she didn't like the way it looked or felt, and thought I should just wash it away ;) Girl, if it only it were that easy...

She loves to wash anything and everything. Here she is "vacuuming" with her ball popper. Notice the baby wipe in the background. She loves to carry wipes and paper towels around everywhere.

36 weeks...Deja Vu

We had our check up today, starting with an ultrasound. As you know, Caroline was breech, and it was at 36 weeks that we found out. SO, I have been nervously anticipating this appt with this pregnancy. Especially the ultrasound!

The verdict? Miles is breech, too. Just like Caroline was...Frank Breech (which is basically like a pike position, butt down with his feet in front of his face.) I just can't believe it!?!?!

Just like with Caroline, we were given the option of scheduling a c-section or attempting to flip him manually. Just like with Caroline, we chose to try the flip. Caroline was flipped successfully, so I am hopeful that Miles will cooperate, too :)

The official name of the procedure if an "External Cephalic Version" (ECV or Version for short). The doctor basically pushes on my tummy (from the outside) until the baby turns all the way around. It HURTS like nothing I have ever felt, but it all happens pretty fast, and if it works I get to avoid the pain and recovery of a c-section. They do the procedure in the hospital so they are ready in case of an emergency or in case I go into labor. We are scheduled to have it done next Wednesday, 4/21.

(You can click here and here to read about my version experience with Caroline.)

Other than being an upside down stinker, Miles is great! He is measuring about a week ahead of schedule. They estimated he was about 6 lbs. 8 oz. already, so they figure he is going to be quite a bit bigger than his sister was! (She was 6 lbs. 14 oz. at birth)
Of course, he has a huge head, too ;)

Because of his position it was hard to get any good pics. In an attempt to capture his sweet face, we got a foot instead :)


He is pretty squished in there, so it's pretty hard to see, but this is his face (on the left side) and the umbilical cord (on the right). You can see his nose and sort of see his eyes.

I am dilated to 1 cm and 40% effaced, so things are progressing!

I feel pretty good. Our bags are (pretty much) packed, and his room is (pretty much) ready for him. We need to get his car seat down from the attic, and then we'll really be set!