Our Little Blueberry

Here is the ultrasounds pic I promised...

This was at 7 weeks (when the baby was the size of a coffee bean). It doesn't look like much, but it's little heart was beating nice and strong :)

I am almost 9 weeks now, so the baby is somewhere between the size of a blueberry and a peppermint candy.

Here are a few things about this pregnancy so far...

• I am due May 12th, which is Jon's mom's birthday. May is also a big month for birthdays in my family! My bro, Brian (May 1), My dad (May 11), My bro, Paul (May 20), my Uncle Doug (May 21), and of course....Me (May 27).

• We will find out the sex. Hopefully, right before Christmas (but maybe right after). And we will share the name.

• I have been craving lots of starchy stuff...bread, pasta (especially mac n cheese), POTATOES of any kind and also lots of fruit.

• I would rather not eat (or see, or smell) scrambled eggs, salad, and BBQ.

• I haven't felt nauseous at all. YIPEE!!! I hope I am not jinxing myself...
  

• I have a spidey sense of smell. I have to hold my breath when I open the fridge or the pantry because I can smell everything. GROSS.

• I am tired. Very, very, very tired.

I can't complain! I was really sick the first time around, so this time I am very thankful FOR SURE!

I added a poll to the blog, so start voting...Will this baby be a boy or a girl???

We're still here...and we're multiplying!

Yup, there is a little Erickson bun in the oven!

I am due in May, and have been feeling okay so far. Very, very tired (explains the lack of blogging), and while I am not yet overwhelmingly nauseous...I am just not interested in eating much of anything. Except for Mrs. Baird's large loaf white bread, of course ;) I am cautiously optimistic that I won't be as sick this time, but only time will tell...

We saw our little nugget's heartbeat this morning, so I am thrilled to know things are developing just as they should be! We have another ultrasound tomorrow morning to confirm our due date, so hopefully I will have pictures to share soon.

Our other little nugget has been a busy little bee lately! Caroline has quite a full schedule this fall...music class, MOPS, Bible Study, Stroller Strides, and of course lots of play dates with friends.

We've been to the sprinkler park (where we had a Lance Armstrong sighting...he was filming a commercial)

Went to the 1st BU home game, which will also be Caroline's last for this season...WHEW...She is NOT at a good age for stuff like this, WAY to active and wiggly!!!

and have spent lots of playing dress up at home so Mommy can "rest" :)

Caroline would love to fill you in on everything herself. She is quite chatty these days!

I love her "jibber jabber"...It's hilarious!

12 months!

Here is an update(slightly belated) on Caroline at 12 months!

*No more bottles and no more formula! She was getting 4 bottles of formula per day. First, I experimented with formula in a cup (instead of bottle) and it was ok...just ok..not great. Then, last week, I was feeling brave. I just started giving her whole milk in a cup for her 2 feedings in the middle of the day. She didn't skip a beat! Next, I gave her a cup in place of her "wake up" bottle. I saved the best (and trickiest) for last...bedtime. It was a little tougher, but by day 2 she was fine! Aaah....relief!

*She is learning more and more everyday. It amazes me how much she understands! Like a little sponge :) She loves animals, dogs and horses especially. She says either doggie (dah-ee) and horse (ho) if she sees any animal at all. I am pretty sure she says hello, as well. It sounds more like "yo" but that works for me.

*She loves to dance. Seriously loves it. Anytime there is music she starts shaking all around. I have to get some video (believe me I have tried), because it is hilarious!

*She has started shaking and nodding her head all the time. She finds this oh so amusing. I think it's so cute!

*We turned her around to face forward in her car seat. I know, I know, the AAP now recommends waiting til they are 2, BUT our pediatrician suggested turning her around now (yea!). She really likes it, but I LOVE it. I can see her now, so we can talk and sing and dance in the car...way more fun!
Here she is enjoying her very first ride facing the front. I think she was overwhelmed and excited that she could see us. She kept staring at Jon :)


*We have an epi-pen for her now. An epi-pen is a shot of epinephrine that we carry with us at all times in case of a severe anaphylactic reaction. In other words, if she were to accidentally ingest peanuts, her throat might close up. Kinda scary, BUT we don't know for sure that this would even happen. For all we know, she could eat peanuts and have no reaction at all. Of course, I won't test that theory :)

*Stats:
weight: 21 lbs. 12 ox (60th)
height: 29 1/2 in (60th)
head: greater than 97th (still huge ;))

Attacking the camera...

Festivities!

**WARNING...LOOOOOONG Post ahead!**

Caroline's Birthday weekend started off with a bang! Well, actually, it started off with a shot :( We went to the Dr. Friday morning for her check up, and she got 4 shots! More on that later...

Posing in her birthday outfit...

After the Dr. we came home and waited for Grammy, Grandpa, Aunt Diane, and our cousins to arrive!!!

Are they here yet, Mom?

We were so excited that Aunt Diane, Whitney, and Wyatt could be here all the way from Kansas City, MO. What a special treat :)
Cousin bonding in the ball pit...

Mimi, Papa Al, and Uncle Paul were all in town too, so we had a lovely dinner (pork roast) prepared by Jon...YUM!

My Mema and Papa (Caroline's GGma and GGpa) had this rocking horse made for me on my first birthday. Now Caroline got to have it on her first birthday! So special!
Giddy up!

Saturday was party day! Everyone helped us get ready, and it was a big success!
There was a slight cake debacle...I had to order the cakes from the Whole Foods downtown, because they were able to make her smash cake egg, wheat, and peanut-free. So, my mom and Alan volunteered to go pick it up, only, when they brought them out, they were mauve, navy blue, and forest green!?!?! Not exactly what I had in mind. Luckily, they were able to fix them and they gave us both cakes for free :)

Caroline LOVED it when everyone sang to her...Not surprising ;)
She wasn't so sure about the cake. She was very curious, but she didn't dig in like I thought she would...After I tasted the "special" cake, I understood why! GROSS! I do not recommend eating cake made without eggs or wheat....it's just not right.
the fam...
The BFF's were shockingly not interested in sitting still.
Time for fun in the sun!
Caroline loved the slip n slide! But I am pretty sure Jon loved it even more :)
Whoa! This is AWESOME!
Some of our friends relaxing in one of the pools. Jon, Uncle Paul, and Grandpa did an awesome job of setting up all of the splash pools, the slip n slide, and the chairs :)
Brooke, Ginny, Kristin, and I taking a break while the Daddy's played with the girls

After a fun-filled day of cake and splashing, it's nice to rest and read a book with Uncle Paul :)

After a nice long nap, we helped C open her gifts. We seriously have the sweetest and most generous friends. Caroline got some really adorable stuff!

But, sorry folks, Caroline's absolute favorite gift of all was her very first PURSE!
Umm, is Jon is trouble or what?!?!

Look at the expression on her face...sheer delight!


Let's go shopping!

YEAAAA for shopping!!!!


She now carries it everywhere ;) A special Thanks to MawMaw (Sherri's mom)!!!!
Whew! After a fun-filled day of play....a much needed bath with the cousins. Can't wait to torture them with this pic when they are older ;) but for now, it's just adorable :)
Thanks to all our friends and family for making Caroline's 1st birthday so extra special!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Caroline!!!!!

Caroline is exactly ONE, as of right NOW....11:33 pm on August 28th...WOW!!!

From this little punkin...


and this sweet family of three...
to this little punkin...
and this sweet family of three...
What a difference a year makes!!!
More to come on her birthday and festivities :)

Dora and Doggies

So, Caroline got another early birthday gift...This time from her Aunt Brittany, Uncle Clark, and sweet Cousin Emma!
She was very interested in the package. So I ripped the corner and let her have at it!


DORA!!!! This is Cousin Emma's FAVORITE, so it's just perfect coming from her. Caroline totally thinks of Emma every time she rides it :)


She loves this thing...scratch that...she is OBSESSED! She loves to get off and on and off and on...


She reads books while sitting on it, plays with other toys while sitting on it, and basically drags it around with her every where she goes.




Thank You, Aunt Brit, Uncle Clark, and Emma!!!!

As you know, Caroline loves our dog, Luci. C "woofs" at Luci constantly, but just recently she has starting saying "Doggie". Poor, poor sweet Luci. Not only does Caroline follow her everywhere, grab her constantly, "pet" her, and try to pull her tail. Now she does this...

I am not even sure what to call it. Dog diving maybe? Of course, Luci takes it like a champ. She just lays there until Caroline makes it safely to the other side. Then she jumps up and goes to the other room...Can you blame her???

Allergies and Artwork

First things first, The Allergy Update.

We went to the allergist on Thursday, and the news was good (ish). The plan is to eliminate wheat, egg, and peanuts for 3 weeks, and we'll see what happens. He said not to worry about milk/dairy (yea!) for now. I am thankful, because while eliminating wheat and egg is difficult, it's only for 3 weeks, and at least I feel like we are making progress by having a plan. BUT, despite our eliminations...she broke out on Saturday after eating watermelon. Hmmmm...strange. She broke out today after eating banana yogurt. Hmmmmm...yesterday's vanilla yogurt didn't seem to bother her. Anyway, I have a call in to the allergist's office, so we shall see....

On to more exciting things...

We had our first arts and crafts adventure yesterday! I decided we (Caroline) should make some art to hang in the playroom. I got some Crayola "Color Wonder" finger paints, and off we went!



First, she checked it out, and made a few marks on the paper.

Then she threw her paper on the floor. The orange hand was much more interesting.

Her first masterpiece. It's a keeper ;)
I got the "color wonder" stuff, because I figured there would be less mess. The paint itself is clear gel. The color doesn't show up until it touches the special "color wonder" paper, which is cool, but I have 2 "color wonder" complaints....
1) the colors aren't very bright, and 2) Caroline didn't quite grasp that she was making marks on the paper. This could be because she is too little, but I think it had more to do with the fact that she couldn't see the paint on her fingers and then on the paper. While an older kiddo might like the way it magically appears, we don't really have the attention span for such magic :)

BUT, I was very glad there was no mess, so there you go. I think we may venture out to get some REAL finger paints today...yikes!

Caroline's B-Day Photo Shoot

Last week we had C's 1st birthday photo shoot with Carly (Cherry Blossom Photography). It was so much fun, and we got the proofs last night! Thank you to Carly for taking such amazing photos of Caroline, and for getting them to us so quickly. You ROCK!!!!

They turned out beautifully!!!!

I will post them here when I get them, but for now you can check out the proofs on Carly's website:

www.cherrybphotography.com

click on 'clients'
password: erickson82009

Par-tay!

Caroline had so much fun at her BFF's birthday party! Ginny went all out and threw quite a soiree :)

Ginny and her mom made the banner...so awesome!!!

Close up of the cakes...super cute.

Favors for the kiddos

Mattie's baby book

The girls had so much fun together!

Waiting for more guests to arrive...

Catching up over lunch at Mattie's new picnic table...

Mattie even shared her new toys with Caroline...such a good BFF.

And of course, I couldn't leave out the birthday girl with her cake!
Thanks for including us in your birthday celebration!

Coming soon...allergy update, birthday photo shoot, and more!