She met Mr. Right...

Mr. Right Foot that is...

But don't worry, Lefty's not out of the picture...

She has enough love in her heart for BOTH feet :)

(Don't you love our naked Christmas tree in the background? I'll post pictures when (if) I get it decorated ;))

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'...

Well, not exactly...But Caroline did roll over completely unassisted for the first time yesterday. However, I am fairly certain it was a fluke as we have not had a repeat performance yet. And believe me I have been trying. We've probably had more tummy time in the past 2 days than ever before!!! I'll keep you posted. Hopefully she'll get herself rolling again soon :)

In other news...my dryer is Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' again. Ahhh yes, it cost us $75 for the guy to come and flip the breaker. That's right. Just a tripped breaker!! Why didn't I think to check that myself?!?!? Oh well. At least we are back on track and the laundry is done!

Waiting for the Maytag Repairman...Literally.

What do you do when your dryer stops drying and you have 2 loads of wet laundry? Well, my friends, let me show you...

Awesome. Yesterday was laundry day at the Erickson Abode, and I successfully completed 2 loads of laundry (Yea!) with no problems at all. Then, as I go to remove load #3 from the dryer, I notice it's still wet. Silly me, I must have forgotten to turn it on! So, I start it up again. I return later to discover it's STILL wet. Uh oh...maybe there are too many pairs of jeans in this load. So, I remove about half of the clothes and try again. When I return...you guessed it...still wet. Now I know the dryer is officially not working. Load #4 is already in the washer, so I have 2 BIG loads of wet laundry and no way to dry them. In order to avoid getting icky mildewy, moldy smelling clothes, Jon and I decided to lay them all out to air dry. Practically every square inch of the room is draped in wet clothes. My personal favorite are the t-shirts hanging on the shutters. I am sure the neighbors appreciate the style statement we are making there! Thankfully, the Maytag Repairman will be here tomorrow to rescue us from this laundry nightmare!!!!

We Love the Bears :)

We cruised up to Waco for the last Baylor home game on Saturday, and had the amazing opportunity to see the Bears WHOOP the Aggies 41-21. Awesome. We had a sweet set up for our tailgate this time, too. Complete with a TV, fajitas, and lots of friends. The only problem was the weather. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but it was windy. And I mean REALLY WINDY. Which made it feel cold. Believe me, chilly windy weather and a 2 1/2 month old baby just don't mix. So, Caroline and I spent the majority of the day sitting in the truck. Kind of a bummer, but we had lots of company! Most of the other girls at the tailgate with us preferred the warmth of the truck, too. At one point we had 5 adults, plus Caroline all squeezed in Jon's truck. The best part was that my sweet hubby delivered food and drinks to us...It was so nice! We did venture into the game, but it was just too cold, so Caroline and I hung out in the Letterwinner's Lounge and watched the game on TV. All in all it was a great day, but I didn't take one single picture. I can't believe it!!!! So I'll leave you with this...

Our little pumpkin all bundled up for a walk with Daddy this morning.

I love it!

Lovin' Lefty...

Caroline has found her feet...or should I say foot. Her left one to be exact. She is completely fascinated by it. She just stares at it and moves it around; it's hilarious. Her expression is one of complete confusion. I tell her it's her foot, and I explain what we use our feet for (walking, jumping, dancing, etc, etc), but she hasn't quite figured it all out yet. I have also tried introducing her to her right foot, but she is not the least bit interested. I guess she is a one foot kind of gal, and for now she only has eyes for "Lefty."

Here she is posing at Mimi's house last week. It was hard to get a good pic since she was obsessed with staring at "Lefty" :)

In other news, we recently busted out the Bumbo for the first time. She likes being able to sit up and look around, but she can only hold herself up for so long before she slumps over. We'll keep working on it :)

Quick Trip to Big D

While Jon headed up to South Dakota for a pheasant hutning trip with his dad and brothers, Caroline and I decided to hop in the car and head to Dallas to spend some quality time with the fam. It was a quick but fun-filled trip!!! We had lunch with my mom at work, and Caroline got to meet the lovely ladies on my mom's team. We visited my dad at his bank, and had lunch with he and Sherri. Grammy baby sat while I helped Aunt Elizabeth with her baby registry, then Minnie baby sat while my dad and I went car shopping, then Papa Al baby sat while Mimi and I went to Kohl's. We hung out with Aunt Brittany, cousin Emma, Grammy, and Mimi, had lots of quality time with GGma and GGpa! Oh yes, and we got to have a yummy sushi lunch with Uncle Paul!

Here are a few pics...

Helping Papa at the bank

Posing with the pumpkins on Mimi's porch

I thought this expression was hilarious... With my Mema and Papa (Caroline's GGma and GGpa)
With Uncle Paul

Happy Election Day!

We went to vote bright and early this morning! Caroline was dressed in red, white, and blue for the occasion and she got her very own "I Voted" sticker...She promptly spit up all over her blue shirt...I guess she prefers red ;)

Happy Voting!

Halloween, Homecoming, and the Hospital...

Whew! We had a very busy weekend!

HALLOWEEN...

First, we got together with our BFF Matelyn to take some pictures in our costumes...

Mommy, Caroline, Matelyn, and Ginny

Mommy and Caroline
Caroline in the pumpkin hat that Mimi gave her...It was VERY tight on her big ol' head...Trying to squeeze it on gave me flashbacks to my own childhood. She is also wearing the pumpkin bib that Jon's friend, Greg, sent us...cute!

Then, it was off to Waco for Baylor Homecoming Weekend. We stayed with Kristin and Jared, and helped them hand out candy on Friday night.

Our little strawberry!

Caroline "trick-or-treating" at Kristin's house...Thanks for the yummy candy!

HOMECOMING...

Saturday was the game against Mizzou. Jon organized a tailgate for a bunch of his friends...it was so much fun! We'll be tailgating again for the BU/A&M game in 2 weeks :)

The guys with 2 of their former coaches...Don, Greg, Luke, Jon, Coach Firch (their former O-Line coach), Derek, Joe, Coach Meyer (their former Offensive Coordinator), and Andrew.

Caroline and Matelyn getting a quick diaper change on the tailgate before heading into the game...Of course, the girls were wearing matching BU outfits and yes, Ginny and I also have the same diaper bag :) (well, almost the same...I mean, hers is pink, brown, and green, and mine is just pink and brown ;))

Since Jon played at Baylor and his brother, Steven, played at Mizzou, the BU/MU game is big excitement for the Erickson clan. They all came down from Dallas for the game (with the exception of Steve and family, because they live in Kansas City)

Bryce and Elizabeth (also BU alum, expecting Baby BOY Erickson in March...YEA!), Nina, Jon, Me, Caroline, Don, Brittany, Clark, and Emma. It was so much fun to see them...thanks for coming to cheer on the Bears!!! (and the Tigers, too, I guess) It was a GREAT game, hopefully next time the Bears can pull out the win :)

Last, but not least....

THE HOSPITAL...

After the game, we stuck around to clean up the tailgate. We finally left the stadium at about 6:30, as we were cruising down Valley Mills Rd. towards Kristin's house, we were rear-ended by another car! The people in front of us had stopped to turn into Popparollo's Pizza (for those of you who are familiar with Waco), we were able to stop, but the woman behind us wasn't paying attention. We were in Jon's truck (luckily) and she was in a small Honda, so her car sort of went up underneath Jon's bumper. The police, fire dept, and ambulance all came. The woman who hit us broke her hand and banged up her legs, but Jon, Caroline, and I were fine, just very upset, but not hurt. However, the firemen and paramedics recommended we take Caroline to the ER to have her checked out by the doctors, just in case. :( Of course, this is all happening at Caroline's usual dinner time (7:00 pm) so she was even more upset because she was hungry! But off we went...She checked out just fine and seems to be acting like her regular sweet self, but it sure was scary for both Jon and I. Certainly not the way we would have liked to end our weekend, but we are so thankful that everyone was ok.

The damage...not too bad. (The other lady's car was totaled)


It really was a great weekend with great friends (despite the ER visit, of course). Looking forward to the BU/A&M game!

2 Months!!!

Caroline is 2 months old today which absolutely amazes me. It's going by so fast! We started out the day with our check up at the pediatrician's office, complete with her first set of shots :( She did pretty well, lots of screaming, but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. She is healthy and doing well! She weighs 11 lbs. 12 oz. (75th %tile) and is 22 1/2 in. long (50th %tile). Apparently she takes after me, because her head circumference places her in the 97th %tile :). We spent most of the day napping after our traumatizing morning, but all in all it was a great day!

Here are few things about Caroline at 2 months...

-She still doesn't love tummy time, but we continue to push through. Her dr. says her head shape is still nice and round, so we must be doing ok :)

-She loves her mobile and her rain forest play mat. She also loves her swing and bouncy seat. She really just loves to sit and look at everything around her.

-Still loving the paci for sure...Don't know what we'd do without it!

-She is still getting up once at night to eat, but she has slept through the night a couple of times. We are hoping it begins to happen more frequently very soon!!!

-She smiles and coos and goos all the time, and I LOVE it!!! So sweet :)

-She has already been on several road trips...to the lake house in Corsicana, Dallas, Waco, Fredericksburg...She is a great little traveller.

-Nicknames-Punky, Chunky Punky (she is almost 12 pounds!;)), Punkadoo, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Bean, and Daddy's favorite...Pumpkin Butt

Here are some pics of Miss C... Playing with Daddy...he blows in her face and she thinks this is pretty hilarious.

Sweet sleeping angel. I love it when she is swaddled with just her little head poking out. So cute! She is quite the Houdini, though as she manages to wriggle our of her swaddle blanket (aka baby straight jacket).

The dr. also said he thinks her eyes will stay blue and that her hair will probably continue to get lighter. She is growing and changing everyday...we just love her so much!!!!!!

Fun in Fredericksburg!

Over the weekend we headed to Fredericksburg to visit our friends, Kyle and Megan. We made sure to attend the Wine and Food Festival while we were there :)

Having fun with the girls...Megan (who is expecting Baby Staudt due in May!) took such good care of Caroline :)

The boys sporting their wine glass necklaces...really cool, right?



The whole gang. (Kyle is pointing at the wine stain on Jon's shirt...apparently the wine glass necklace isn't spill-proof;))

Thank you to the Staudt's for a great weekend!!!