IT'S A........

GIRL!!!!

(See? There's nothing sticking up between those legs. That's a little foreign to me.)

I'm actually having a girl. It's somewhat surreal to me. I don't know what to do with a little girl, and I'm actually slightly nervous. I only know how to sword fight and wrestle; I don't quite remember how to play house and barbies.

It will be good to have a little girl around our home, though. She'll soften things up a bit. I have two very excited boys. Jace was adamant that she was going to be a girl all along. When I showed them a picture of their baby sister, Jace grinned from ear to ear, bounced up and down, and shouted "yay, yay, yay" over and over. Cole yelled, "Yay! High five!"

The ultrasound technician said she is a little one. She's about 6 inches long and 8 oz. so far. She is measuring a week later than my actual due date of Oct. 6. So she should come somewhere around Oct. 6-14. We'll see what happens.

It's going to be a little bit more expensive than if it were a boy, I'm going to have to start from scratch. But don't worry, I'll have fun shopping.

Speaking of which, my cute husband surprised me today. As we left the doctor's office and were saying goodbye, he pulled out a Visa giftcard . "Here's a giftcard for you to go out and buy your little girl an outfit," he told me. Could he get any sweeter? I love him. He's going to be a fantastic dad to a little girl.

April in Review

Ahhhhh, it feels so good to click on the "new post" button. It's been far too long. April was a very busy month with two vacations, two birthdays, and lots of spring cleaning and organizing in between...thus, no time for blogging. (And besides, I've been a little depressed about the fact that I lost all of my edited pictures from Cole and Bryan's birthdays and won't be able to post them - so you only get to see the crummy seconds.) Oh well, time to suck it up and move on.

The month started out with a 13 hour car ride to visit my dearest sister in her humble town. There are few words to describe where she lives. One word would be FLAT, and maybe another would be NOTHING. I think maybe Jace summed it up best in a phone call to Bryan, "Oh yeah, and Dad, its ugly here."

Anywho... my whole family minus Bryan went. We had a great time being confined together dying Easter eggs, having an Easter egg hunt inside the house due to poor weather, wrestling 5 kids, going to the zoo, and passing around the flu. It was good times had by all. I love my sister dearly and wish she lived a whole lot closer to us. Plus, I just don't get to see those two adorable munchkins of hers nearly enough.

A few days after we got home from Kansas we celebrated Bryan's birthday. We got to spend his birthday morning with him and then send him off to San Fran for a work convention for the week. Later that week, as part of his birthday, I flew out to meet him so we could spend a few days together - just the two of us. We had a fantastic time visiting with family and friends in sunny California. Thanks again Rob and Lindsey.

While we were gone, Jace started soccer. He absolutely loves it and LOVES the new cleats Papa Randy bought him. I love the fact that my dad taught him a life lesson and made Jace earn his cleats - he had to help Papa Randy build some shelves! With his whole outfit put together, he looks pretty darn cute.

Two days after we got home, we celebrated Cole's 2nd birthday! Time goes way too fast. I swear I was just pregnant with Cole celebrating Jace's 2nd birthday, and now I'm pregnant with the third and celebrating Cole's. Goodness.

The boys and I went to a big bounce house/slide play area where the boys ran wild and went down the BIG slide a bajillion times! Even I was able to slide with them. No wonder why they love it so much - those things are fun.

Later that night we met up with the grandparents at the pizza joint for some dinner, presents, and cake. It was so fun to see Cole get so excited to open his presents and to hear the "WOWs" and "COOLs" he uttered. He just makes me smile.

Cole is talking like crazy right now. He's really kicked it into gear this last month or so. My favorite things that he says are "Darn it!" and "Look, Tra-Vis!" He is getting so big and is 36" tall and 28 lbs. (He's actually bigger than two of Jace's 4 year old friends - it makes me laugh.) He loves trains, cars, playing basketball, digging in the dirt, and being Jace's sidekick. I love his curly hair, his mischeivous smile when he's caught picking his nose, his OCD of keeping cupboards and closets closed (yeah, he's got a little bit of me in him), his hugs and kisses for no reason, the way he gallops around the house, and his sense of humor.

I simply adore this child.

Now that April is over and we're well into May, I hope that I'll be a better blogger/journalist of our lives. And BTW, Tuesday we find out what I'm having, so check back in to see what the new little Erickson is going to be!