8 Years and 2 Bumpers Later....

We have made it another year together, making it a total of 8. Thanks to our wonderfully charitable parents we were able to spend a night together down town dining, shopping, movie going, and hotel staying to recharge our relationship. Thank you Mom and Dad, Pam and Gene. We love you so much.

They say that love grows. I say love grows and matures. Our relationship has proven that these last couple of weeks.

A few weeks ago I drove Bryan's car, pulled into the garage and closed it. Bryan came home a short while later and asked why the garage was open. I told him I had closed the door. That's when he walked to the back of his car.....and saw it: the two, no three, large scrapes down his bumper. Not just scuffs, but scrapes, as in it scraped the paint off.

I held my breath, waiting for the major reprimand, waiting for the anger. But it didn't come. My sweet husband took a deep breath, said my name and "hon" (a couple of times), sighed, and walked away.

At that moment I realized that his love, our love, had matured over the last 8 years. Because we all know that wouldn't have been either of our reactions a few years ago. I had to find him and tell him three things:

1. I'm sorry I scratched your bumper

2. Thank you for not getting mad at me

3. I love you.

He kindly responded to me, "You know, I have learned a few things over the years."

My love for him grew.

A week later, Bryan returned the favor. He drove my car, pulled it not far enough into the garage, and shut the door. A couple of hours later, as we were preparing to leave, Bryan walked around the back of my car and saw that he had shut the garage on my car. We both assessed the damage.... and had a good laugh.

Eight years is proving to be good to us. We've both grown and matured. We're definitely two better people now than the day we got married. Thank goodness for that.

I love you Bryan, and am so grateful for what you add to my life.

Watch What You Say

I definitely need to work on watching what I say around Jace.

Saturday night the boys were going to be sleeping over at Grandma and Grandpa Erickson's and we were then going to meet them Sunday morning for church. Bryan was helping the boys pack their bag when he asked me if I wanted to send some hair products with them so that his mom could do their hair. I assured him that there was no need since she has plenty of hair products she could use. Then I added one more thing that I shouldn't have. "Maybe I should take their hair stuff with me to church in case I have to fix it. You know, Grandmas kind of struggle with the boys' hair."

(In all reality, their grandmas do just fine. I am just very particular about some things, and the boys' hair just happens to be one of them.)

The next morning we met up with the boys and Bryan's family, and the boys looked great - I was actually pleased with their hair. No complaints here for they looked very handsome.

After church I was talking to Pam (my mother-in-law) and she told me a funny little story. She said that while she was doing Jace's hair he told her......

"You struggle with hair. My mom even said so."

Open Mouth. Insert Foot.

I was mortified! Luckily I have a very good-natured mother-in-law, who I love, that just laughed; which then allowed me to laugh too until I could recover and think of something nice to say to make up for my incredibly rude comment.

Three Words I Detest...

(especially when I'm in the shower)

"I'm all done!!"

Interpretation:

"Come wipe my bum!!"

This is not one of the more glorious jobs of a mother.

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.