Call Me Crazy

I know. I haven't been the best at blogging these days. There's just a lot going on and to be honest there's other things that occupy my time over updating my blog. I know it's important for the "posterity of my children."

But now I have something to say. And maybe one day, they and I, will look back at this post and realize that I was just a crazy, overprotective mother in their early years.

I know I live in a safe neighborhood. It's very quite here, there's not a lot of hooligans running about, and there's not a lot of traffic. I feel safe here, things are good. However, whenever I am outside working in the yard or just out there with the boys, my maternal instinct kicks in and I can't help but wonder, "What if.....?"

Our yard is not fenced and so the boys wander about the yard while I'm working, and every so often I lose sight or sound of them. And I holler for them. I have to know where they are and what they're up to. One reason is for their safety, one for my sanity of knowing, and another because Cole can be way too mischievous (and naughty) for his own good. But to me it's always important to know where they are - you never know if they've wandered into the street and a car won't see them or some nasty stranger saunters by. You just never know.

So as I was outside with my boys - plus three other little ones I was in charge of at the time - it baffled my mind to see a one year old walking up and down, in and out of the street with no parents in sight and not even caring. Or to see a two year old riding his small little tricycle in the middle of the road (where the road curves) and no older siblings or parents in sight. I mean, really?

Maybe I'm just paranoid and overly sensitive. Maybe my maternal instincts are on overkill. I don't know, but I'm not even comfortable yet to allow my 4 year old play outside by himself in an un-gated yard. Maybe after a few more years and maybe a couple of more children my paranoia will ease up a bit and I'll learn to relax. It seems that that happens over time.

But until then, maybe I'm just a crazy, paranoid mother.

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!

You've Got a Friend in Me

The other day as the boys were watching Toy Story 2, I realized that I have my own Buzz and Woody.

These two boys are the best of friends and adore one another, and it's been that way since the moment they met. When Jace first met Cole after he was born, a nurse came in to take Cole back to the nursery for some tests, and Jace chased her down the hall screaming and crying, "That's my brother!! Give me back my brother!!"

Jace sincerely loves his little brother and always tells Cole, "You're the bestest pal." Cole idolizes Jace and mimics him in everything.

They are always together laughing, chasing, make believing and playing.

I realized how truly blessed I am to have two boys right together that love each other so much and get along so well. I know that always isn't the case for everyone. I hope and pray that they will continue to grow closer and always be the best of friends.

Wall, what wall??

I picked Jace up from his Primary class yesterday, and as we were walking down the hall Jace said, "Mom, are you wondering why my nose is all red?" To be honest I didn't notice it before, but when I looked, I saw that the tip of his nose was red and all scratched up. I asked him what happened and he told me, "I walked into a wall."

That's my boy.

As we reached Bryan and showed him, we had stopped walking and we really got to looking at his nose, and it was worse than I thought. The tip of it was all swollen, scratched, and bruised, and the bridge of his nose was starting to swell and was red too.

I kept asking him how it happened and he kept telling me that he just walked into a wall when he wasn't looking. Then later, his story changed. He came running out of the bathroom yelling, "Oh, oh, oh. Brinley and I crashed into each other! She crashed into me and then I crashed into her!"

Yeah, who wouldn't want to change their story and put the blame on someone else when you first claimed that you walked into a wall?

Lackadaisical

LACKADAISICAL: without spirit or drive

A good word to describe this blog and the way I've felt lately. It's been 3 weeks since I've wrote about anything new, and I just haven't cared enough to do much about it. Obviously.

I didn't post about the fun time Jace and I had at Disney on Ice and the awesome $15.00 sword that he just had to have. Because you know, I received the sweetest birthday present from the Jace and Cole a couple of weeks ago. I opened a box and found a piece of paper with two tickets that read: "Mom, we're so excited for you to take us to see Disney on Ice!!!"

I didn't post about my interesting Saratoga Springs court appearance. (Bet you didn't know I'm a criminal.)

I didn't post about the fun birthday lunches with me and my mom.

I didn't post about my sweet husband and all that he did to make my birthday special.

I haven't even posted any new Jace comments. That's just sad

I just haven't had the drive to do it. In the past I've done the majority of my blogging and blog surfing while the boys have been down for their naps. But as of late, I'm usually napping with them.

Without spirit or drive. That's me. But I bet if you were to ask any woman, they would tell you that it's pretty normal to feel this way within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Yep, 12 weeks down and I'm finally startin' to feel a little bit of a spring in my step. There actually is some desire and drive left in this body of mine.

I Can't Get Enough of This Guy....

I know I don't talk about and show off my husband enough on our blog.

So as I sit here tonight while Bryan is away at scout camp, I ran across some pictures of him that made me smile, chuckle even.

And I thought I would share them.

Enjoy Bryan at our WARD 80's party a couple of weeks ago.

Bry, you're one sexy man...

and I love you!