Erika is one!

Well we did not do a whole lot of Erika's birthday, but we had some fun none-the-less. I still cannot believe she is one. Time flies.

She is now walking a few steps at a time. The main reason for this is she tries to run so her body gets ahead of her feet and she tumbles forward. I am not looking forward to her walking, as she is a speedster at crawling, and I am afraid she is just going to take off at a run once she realizes she can.
She is also becoming quite picky about food. Most of it seems to end up on the floor, but she does seem to have a sweet tooth. (As evidenced by the birthday cake all over her.)

She is talking some. She loves our guinea pig and can be seen quite a bit "chatting" with him. She will then look at you and yell "Lenny!" It is really cute. Most everything is "dada". Although we have discovered variations to that, in that there are different tones for different things... she goes high pitched at the end of the word when "talking" to or about Alexa. Doggie and duckie are higher pitched in the middle and daddy is the excited "dadadadadada!" At least that is what it seems like so far... LOL. (Wow, you know I must be a mom of three, not to many others would be able to understand baby talk so well. LOL Maybe I should write a book.)
Anyway, we are getting ready for fall here. The weather has finally decided to cooperate and cool off... We are decorating pumpkins on Friday with our home-school group, and the kids will also be dressing up for Halloween. So I am sure there will be plenty of pics to follow. November is shaping up to be another busy month, with doctor appointments. play dates and Thanksgiving activities, and I would like to squeeze in a trip to the zoo sometime.
Thanks to everyone for the Birthday wishes for Erika...

Hope everyone has a blessed upcoming Reformation day, and is taking time to enjoy a wonderful fall so far.

6 months

No I did not forget... Erika was officially 6 months on Saturday. Here are the pics and update:

~She is growing like weed. She is in the 90 percentile height wise and only in the 10 percentile weight wise. Oh well long and skinny... when she is a teenager she will long for those days.

~Still no teeth and lots of drool. But they are close... I hope.

~She is now on baby food. So far she seems to like veggies... but talk to me in about a year and we'll see how well that holds up. LOL

~She is also sitting up on her own, even if it is only for a few seconds at time.

~She is also rolling all over, and now that she is somewhat mobile she does not like to be in the bouncer to much... I am in trouble... I already have two that go separate directions every chance they get, what will I do with a 3rd. UGH!

Anyway... that's all for now... check back soon for new updates!
Thanks!

The clothes make the person

The shirt says it all:

Growing up

Well Erika is now officially 4 months old. I cannot believe it has only been 4 months. Erika is growing like a weed... or rather a flower that is beginning to unfurl it's petals.
Her list of new things this month:
✿She can now hold her bottle all by herself for extended periods.
✿She is very vocal and will let you know when she likes something by smiling and giggling.
✿She will let you know when she does not like something by looking at you like you are crazy and then crying.
✿She likes tummy time and is already tying to get her knees up underneath her so she can try and crawl.
✿She has now turned into "Ms. GrabbyHands" and grabs everything in site, which then is promptly put in her mouth.

So, just when we thought it was safe to let Tim and Lex have little toys, they are now banned from the living room, and we are trying to figure out what to do about the girls room. Lex is at the stage where she like Barbie and princess... and ALL the little pieces that come with those.

I wanted to post her monthly teddy pics:

Enjoy!
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Growing up

Well not only is my son growing up... my youngest daughter seems to be in warp speed to catch up with her brother and sister. We discovered this past weekend that she likes to stand in the exersaucer at our church. At three months you think she would sit there and just chew on things... not this girl. She fully figured out how to spin herself around. I have a feeling Lex is going to have some competition in the daredevil category.

Whew!

We have been on the go for the last week. Whew.
Last week we had a visit from the kids Grandma and pa Eastham. The kids had a great time hanging out and getting to know them. Tim cracks me up. The first thing he said (while looking Grandpa Eastham up and down)"Wow, your a giant!" I was practically rolling on the floor laughing. We all had a good time, and are glad they made the trek out here to see us.
Then just in the last two days we have had many appointments.
Yesterday started with the two older kids in the dentist office. Technology is truly amazing. The dentist informed us that both kids will be loosing their front teeth in the next 6 to 8 months... if not before then. For Christmas next year we may very well have both kids asking for their two front teeth. LOL They did good, and no cavities! Yea!
Right after that Erika had her monthly appointment. She is now up to 9 pounds 4 ounces, and 22 inches long. She is getting so big. I do hate it when they get shots though. I don't do needles... heh. Here are some photos of her all dressed up for church: It is amazing how quickly they grow. She smiles at everyone now, and I discovered at the doctor's office she will laugh when you play the "get your nose game". It was really cute. She looks for familiar faces and voices now. Namely mom, dad and her bother and sister.
Then today the kids and I attended the monthly class at the Space center. As usual we ALL learned some new cool stuff about the planets. It was fun. Lex loves the puzzles and Tim had fun pretending to be a comet.
We have one more appointment tomorrow, and then I think we will take Thurs. off and just hang out at the house. LOL
I was looking at my calendar for 2009 and it is shaping up to be an incredibly busy year. With lots of various appointments, sports, church activities and homeschooling we will be VERY busy. I guess it's a good thing, but I am tired just looking at my calendar already.
Anyway, for those waiting for me to get some photos printed off and in the mail... they will be coming soon. I am just trying to get some of the better ones to get printed off. :)
I will leave you with a photo of all three kids... Enjoy!

Fashionista

I know one day my kids are not gonna like the fact that I have so many incriminating and crazy pics. But these were too cute not to post.

She will one day rule the cat walk with her new Mohawk hair... ROFL!

One month and counting...

One month. One month today our newest blessing came into this world. It's so hard to believe that in just a month so much has changed. We are tremendously blessed (and tired).
Erika's personality is now starting to come out. I told Mike just tonight that we are in trouble. I tried to give her a pacifier, she pursed her lips and would not take it. Then she looked right at me and smiled. We are in deep trouble.
Well here are some one month photos of her and her new friend, Mr. Bear. I am telling you she is growing like a weed. Seems to me like she is already out growing some of her clothes.


Hard to believe a month has passed... it seems like she has been a part of us all along. I have to wonder if that comes with being a parent. I seem to recall I had similar feelings after my other two were born too. Anyway, we are all well, and looking forward to a nice Thanksgiving. We obviously have much to be thankful for this year.
Happy Thanksgiving and may you cherish all the blessings God has granted you this last year. Oh and make sure not to eat to much turkey, you have to leave some room for pumpkin pie.

New Friends

One of Mike's co-workers was so thoughtful and got Erika a new bear. At first she was not sure what to think, but then she quickly began to share some secrets with her new friend. (for more photos like this click here!)
I also will be using the bear as a gauge over the next year. I will try and get a picture every month with her and the bear. That way everyone can see how much she has grown during that month. Here she is at 3 weeks old with her new bear:
Anyway just thought these photos were too cute to not share. Take care and thanks for stopping by!

Amazing

It truly amazes me how something you have spent 9 months prepping for can still manage to throw you for a loop. In just over two weeks our whole lives have changed.
Don't get me wrong change can be a great thing... I like to change things up actually... but shesh.
Maybe it's because after 4 ultra sounds we still had no idea if she was a girl or boy, or the fact that I had gotten used to my older two; who are now somewhat independent, or just the fact that we now have another person (along with all the "stuff" that you need to take care of said person)living in an already full house, but our lives have changed a lot in just over two weeks.
Erika really is a good baby... she rarely cries unless she is hungry or needs to be changed, and she seems to take most things in a stride... including being passed around, and poked and prodded by her curious brother and sister. It's also strange at how I cannot now imagine my life with out her. Two weeks and she is already such a part of our lives... Amazing how that happens. But how could you possibly resist that beautiful face.
It still amazes me (I am still in that post hormonal stage, where everything either amazes me or makes me crazy... ask me about our new president-elect to really get an idea of what makes me crazy... heh) that she has ONLY been out of the womb for for 18 days.
We are actually adjusting nicely. The kids just love to dote on Erika. They want her to grow up fast though, so she can talk and play with them. It really is cute when they get so excited about helping. Lex loves to help me pick out Erika's clothes, and Tim is just a good helper all the way around. So things are going good (so far... talk to me once she starts walking and getting into the older ones stuff... lol).
Anyway I just wanted to post some new pics. I have been having problems with a finicky camera, but managed to get it working this morning, so I snapped a bunch of pics of Erika, Tim and Lex at the park. Here are a few, but there are more of Erika at my "other" web site, so make sure to check there too!