More looking back...

After 3 years of dating, Jon proposed on October 6, 2005.

Here's how is happened...Sorry, this is REALLY long, but I love our engagement story :)

We had planned a "Brothers Trip" to Napa Valley with Jon's brothers and their wives. Everyone kept telling me this was going to be it, he was going to propose on this trip. I truly didn't think so, but a girl can hope, right?
About a week before we left, I received a phone call from Mark the Jeweler. He said that Jon wanted me to set up an appointment to come in and look at rings! OMG! I was so excited. I told Mark that we were going to be out of town but that I would come in as SOON as we got back. I was beyond thrilled! Now the pressure was off...I wouldn't be wondering if he was about to propose at every turn while we were on our trip. (Girls, you know the feeling...every time anything even remotely romantic happens, you get excited and start wondering...IS THIS IT???)
So off we went...
We flew into San Francisco, rented 2 minivans, and drove on up to Napa.
1st stop, Golden Gate Bridge for a photo op.
Next, lunch in Napa...this is when Jon filled his brothers in on his plan, until then no one knew he was going to propose that day.
Onto the first winery...Honig, it was beautiful and delicious!
(If only I had know I was about to get engaged...I wouldn't have been wearing that ridiculous looking shirt. I hate that shirt.)

Then, we are off to find another winery. Jon and Steven had a Wall Street Journal article that listed several " must see" wineries, so we were following that. We started driving, searching for Sullivan Vineyards. We were totally lost, but the guys were dead set on getting to Sullivan...Of course, the girls kept wondering why we weren't stopping at every other vineyard we passed along the road. Jon was getting pretty stressed, so by the time we FINALLY pulled in to the parking lot at Sullivan, we were very late and he was very flustered. As we piled out of the car, everyone headed toward the tasting room, but Jon said he needed to "cool off" for a minute, because he was mad at Steven for getting us lost. We walked around the vineyard and headed over towards a pond...it was really beautiful, but I really thought Jon was being such a baby. I mean, seriously...let's go taste wine, dude. (this is when the brothers filled the girls in on what was about to happen).
As we are standing by the water, Jon kept saying things like..."Isn't it beautiful?" "This is so great." and I kept saying tings like "Can we go taste wine now?" "Are you cooled off enough yet?" The next thing I knew, a man from the vineyard was walking towards us. I immediately got embarrassed. I figured that Jon's brothers sent him out to get us....I could just hear it "Our little brother is out there pouting, let's play a joke on him..."
The man walks up to Jon and hands him a bottle of wine. OK, now I am confused...Then I saw it...a flash of recognition on Jon's face...I thought, Why isn't he as surprised as I am??? Jon handed me the bottle and I took one look at the label and knew what was happening...
The top said "Erickson Family Vineyards" and it had the date on it...October 6, 2005. There was a beautiful poem written to me, but I was freaking out and couldn't read it...I was scanning the label for the words "Will you marry me?" but it didn't say that...The last line read, "turn around and see me on one knee." When I finally read that I turned around and there he was with the ring!
(no one was with us when it actually happened, so this is us "recreating" the event right after)

There are no words for how completely and utterly shocked I was. As weird as it sounds, I honestly kept expecting him to jump up and say "just kidding." Of course, he didn't :) and I said YES :)
After I pulled myself together, we met up with the rest of the gang in the tasting room. It was so awesome to have everyone there to celebrate with!
We enjoyed the rest of our trip in Napa as an engaged couple...it was absolutely perfect in every way :)
(By the way, Jon had packed and carried on both the ring and the wine bottle in his suitcase on the plane. I had no idea...He had been walking around all day with the ring box strapped to his ankle!)

I never felt more honored or more special than I did that day. All the time Jon spent planning and preparing, all just for me. I still get all emotional just thinking about it...I am one lucky girl!

More to come tomorrow...Our anniversary!

A look back...

In honor of our anniversary week, I thought we'd take a trip down memory lane...

How we met...

Jon and I both went to Baylor, but we didn't know each other there. It's really kind of weird. We had tons of mutual friends, and went to all the same places (mostly George's and Crickets, of course). Our paths probably crossed a million times! We both graduated in May of 2002, and ultimately moved back in Dallas.

December of 2002, we finally met at a Baylor Young Alumni Happy Hour. We didn't actually talk to each other at the Happy Hour itself, but afterward our groups ended up at the same bar. Jon loves to boast that we technically met at a bar. He also claims that his tractor beam sucked me right in...Ha! When the rest of our friends left, he and I stayed and talked. I remember thinking he was so nice and VERY funny. Of course...such a charmer! We both lived at home with our parents at the time (I was in grad school, and he had just come back from his stint with the Cardinals and gotten his first REAL job ;) Such dorks!

The First Date...
Our first official date was a Wednesday night (about a week after we met)...dinner at Firehouse (on lower Greenville) and drinks after. His credit card got declined at dinner, which was hysterical. He was sooo embarrassed, but it was no big deal. I tried to comfort him by telling him it happens to me all the time, but that probably just scared him more than anything ;) We had a great time, as you can imagine, there is never a shortage of conversation or laughs with Jon :)

So let's recap, within the first week of knowing each other, we'd established that we hang out in bars, both live with our parents, and have a history of insufficient funds in our bank accounts...amazing!**

**Disclaimer...In Jon's defense, his credit card mishap was actually a fluke. He is incredibly responsible with his finances. I, on the other hand, have no excuse...

Stayed tuned for tomorrow's installment...The proposal!

7 months!

Caroline is 7 months old today! Here are a few recent pics and an update...

-She has 2 teeth, the bottom front ones. And maybe a 3rd? Actually, with one of her teeth, we can't quite tell if it's 2 separate teeth or just one jagged tooth. Sooooo, she either has 2 or 3 in the middle on the bottom. I"ll keep you posted...

-She's quite the Chatty Kathy. Of course, her favorite "word" is da-da. We also get quite a few ba-ba-ba's and I am working feverishly on the ma-ma's, don't worry ;)

-She has tried all her veggies (carrots, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash) and we are working our way through fruits. So far, she's had pears, bananas, and applesauce...next up are peaches and prunes! She likes pretty much everything so far. Her least favorite to date would probably be bananas, and I don't blame her. Baby food bananas smell pretty gross, and the consistency is weird...yuck.

Where's the grub?!?!?!

-Her schedule has changed quite a bit over the past couple of months. It was a gradual change, and it was a bit a struggle for me. I like to have a schedule and a plan :) and there have a been a few weeks recently, when I was a little stressed about our days being so unpredictable! But it all just worked itself out and we have fallen into a great new routine. I am sure you all could care less, but I want to have it written out so I remember this stage, so here it is:

• 7:00 am-wake up and nurse
• 8:30 am-eat breakfast (fruit and cereal)
• 8:45-9:00ish am-nap
• 10:30-11:00ish am-wake up and nurse
• 12:15ish-eat lunch (veggie and fruit)
• 1:00 pm-nurse
• 2:00-2:30ish pm-nap
• 3:30-4:00ish pm-wake up and nurse
• (optional nap if needed)
• 6:00 pm-eat dinner (veggie and cereal)
• 6:30 pm-bath time with Daddy
  
• 7:00-7:30ish pm-bottle (formula)
• 8:00 pm- story and bed time

Bath time with Daddy = Crazy hairdos!
(kinda hard to see, but there is a unicorn looking spike in the front...stlyin!)

-She is not crawling, but getting very close. She can take about 1-2 "steps" forward and then flops to her tummy.

-She prefers to be standing at all times. Usually, when she's on the floor playing, she will try to crawl in my lap and pull herself up to stand.

-She has really started to enjoy the jumpster. She has always liked sitting in it, but she seems to have finally gotten the concept of actually jumping. She definitely prefers that we watch her jump in it. I guess she likes to be the center of attention...wonder where she gets that???

It was hard to get a picture of her, because she wouldn't stop long enough for me to snap it...


-She grabs at faces, especially glasses and hair, so watch out!

-She has a new nickname...Bitty or Bitty Girl (as in Itty Bitty). I have no idea where it came from, but I just randomly started calling her that.

-She has learned to give kisses (sort of). I would classify this skill is emerging, but not yet mastered ;) When I say "Give me Kisses," and point my cheek towards her, She lunges forward with her mouth open. It's hilarious. It's more like she is trying to eat my face rather than give me a kiss, but I love it all the same :)

-She LOVES Luci. She watches her everywhere she goes, and really loves it when Luci licks her. It's so cute! Luci is happy to have so much attention :)

The best buds snuggling...

Bluebonnets

Spring time in Texas = Bluebonnets in bloom!
Our friend, Carly, is an amazing photographer and she took beautiful pictures for us this past weekend....here are a few favorites! (there are so many I love, it was hard to choose!!!)

Sweet girl!

Happy in the bluebonnets :)

Love that profile

Kisses from Daddy

Playing with MommyAnd last, but not least...

Personally, I love this one ;) We were pushing nap time here, and Caroline was obviously DONE!

Check out Carly's blog to see more of her fabulous work...Cherry Blossom Photography!

On the verge...

We are on the verge of a big change around here...Caroline in motion. She has been rolling and scooting around for a little while now, but her scooting has taken on a whole new meaning the past few days. She is REALLY trying to get herself going. I am just not sure I am ready for that!

She gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. She tries to move but falls. Then, she does a move we call "the head plow." This involves her feet and bottom up in the air (a little bit like a bear crawl) but her arms and head on the floor. It looks pretty hilarious, but it seems to be a very effective mode of transportation for her :)

She's up and ready! (mid spit-up...sorry, that's kind of gross...)

So proud of herself!

Here is some video...It's kind of long, but you get to see a little bit of the rocking, falling, and head plowing :) And you get to hear my mom and I cheering her along...

When you're feeling kinda crummy...

You need lots of quality time with Daddy!

Relaxing in the hammock,

reading the Sunday paper,

and napping in his arms...

The perfect remedy for a runny nose and a yucky cough :(
Hopefully she feels much better soon!!!

SXSW

This is a big weekend in A-town. The South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival. We didn't attend last year...maybe because I was preggo, or maybe we were in Italy...can't remember for sure. Anyway, IT'S AWESOME!!! There are people and music everywhere. Friday night, we met up with my brother, Paul, and his girlfriend, Kathryn. (They came down from Dallas) We wandered up and down 6th Street for awhile, eating giant slices of pizza, and then settled in at the Habana Bar Backyard. We heard some great bands! Then we met up with Peter and Sarah, before heading home to relieve the babysitter :)

Paul, Kathryn, me, and Jon on 6th

The guys...rocking out.
Jon and I at Habana
Saturday, they had a kids music program at Auditorium Shores, which is basically a big park right on Town Lake/Lady Bird Lake downtown. It was a beautiful day and sooooo much fun to sit outside listening to music and enjoying family time! Caroline LOVED watching all the other kids and jammin' the kiddie music. My personal favorite was the Biscuit Brothers...Apparently they have a show on PBS, and are pretty well known. You would have thought they were the Jonas Brothers or something...the kids went nuts for them!

Relaxing with Mommy

Fun in the sun!
Dancing with Daddy
I love SXSW!!!!

Outside Adventures

With all this beautiful weather we've been having, Caroline has been enjoying lots more outside time. Hopefully we can make the most of it before the sweltering heat sets in!!!

Hanging in the front yard after church a couple of weeks ago...Caroline firmly believes that shoes are meant to be played with, rather than worn.

C and Mommy

It's a bird...It's a plane...It's DADDY!

Now that flip-flop weather is here to stay, my toes needed some serious attention, so Jon offered to babysit while I got a pedicure....

Quality time doing yard work with Daddy

She seemed to love being her Daddy's little helper :)

Hoppity Hop!

Here are the pictures from the photo shoot at North Park. Caroline loved her little bunny friend:) Grammy, Mimi, and Minnie (aka Team Grandma) were all on hand to participate in our little photo session. It was so much fun...Caroline is so lucky to have 3 wonderful grandmas to love on her!

Apparently, this photographer does this several times a year, with a variety of live animals (Dalmatian puppies, lambs, bunnies, etc.) CUTE! I think we'll have to do it again!!!

Spring Break '09

My my, how times have changed...There was a time when I spent my Spring Breaks on the beach with friends, but alas...those days are gone.

Instead, Caroline spent her first Spring Break in Dallas. I fully realize that we are not actually on break from school or work, but my mom is so we are helping her celebrate :)

We enjoyed a girls only lunch with our BFF, Matelyn...

"Oh Mattie, I LOVE your high chair cover!"

"Thanks Caroline, I really like yours, too!"

Of course we shopped...A LOT! She is just too cool for school in these shades.

We also had C's picture taken with the real bunnies (at North Park, for all you Dallas mommies). SO CUTE! I'll scan the pictures in and post them tomorrow!

We have had so much fun spending time with everyone here, but we can't wait to get back to Austin :)