Here are some videos of Erika. She now knows all her facial parts (eyes, ears, nose, teeth). She also loves to give babies, any baby, hugs. It's cute when she hugs the babies in a book, but it's a little more scary when she goes to attack a real baby, like Lily, to hug her.

ANTM

Last week, we went to our friends house for a birthday dinner. While we were playing Wii, Erika took it upon herself to do some model poses on a little trunk they had downstairs. It looks like we have America's Next Top Model in the making! Here are her best shots!

*I have to give credit of the photos and the clever "Here are her best shots" to Alyson. Thanks Alyson!

Hiawatha

This weekend, Matt and I were fortunate enough to go mountain biking and spend a night in Wallace, Idaho. We had a gift certificate to go on the Route of the Hiawatha bike trail. It was awesome! On Friday, we left Coeur d'Alene at 8am, drove to Lookout Pass where we rented our mountain bikes, then drove 5 miles to the Idaho/Montana border to start our bike trip. The trip is 15 miles one way with 10 tunnels and 7 tressels to bike through. It's an old railroad line with all the ties removed so now it's just a dirt/gravel trail. The trail starts with a 1.7 mile long tunnel. It was very cool in the tunnel and water dripped from the ceiling while riding. We started biking at 10:20 and finished the trail a little after noon. Although the temperature got up to the 90s that day, it was quite comfortable while we were riding, especially the cool tunnels. At the end of the trail, there was a shuttle bus which transported the riders and their bikes back to the top of the trail where our cars were parked. Even though there were quite a few other riders, it felt like Matt and I had the trail to ourselves because the riders were spread out pretty far. It was a really neat trip and I'm glad we got to do it...another thing to do before Matt leaves! After our bike trip, we went to nearby Wallace, Idaho and spent the night. Again, we had gift certificates for restaurants and the hotel in Wallace. I love a free vacation weekend!

A look at one of the 7 tressels we crossed. The highest tressel was 221 feet.

Another exciting aspect of our vacation is that it was baby-free! Erika stayed in CdA with Aunt Sarah for Friday night. It was the first time Matt or I have been away from her longer than about 5 hours, but it was fine! Sarah said she was great and had no problems with her. They went for a jog, went out to dinner with some friends, then went to the park down by the lake. Lucky girl with Aunt Sarah! While at the park, Erika went running toward the swings and ran right into one, causing a large bruise on her forehead. I bet it was pretty funny to watch!

Nice bruise!

The entire ride home, I was so excited to see Erika! As soon as I walked in the door, she ran right toward....the Nalgene bottles I was carrying. She could have cared less that Matt and I left or were home again. I guess she won't be missing Matt too much when he leaves!

On a totally separate note, I had to have my blood drawn for some tests they do on pregnant women (I really don't know what they do...I just do what my doctor tells me). The girl who drew my blood was new and kept poking the needle in my arm to find the vein. While she was doing that, I just knew that I would have a bruise when it was all over. Sure enough. Here's my painful looking bruise.

Dirty Jobs

It's been a difficult last couple of days...mostly for Erika, but also for me. Yesterday, she woke up dirty everywhere...all over her clothes, her bedding, her crib bumper and herself. She hasn't really stopped being dirty. And it has turned into quite the diaper rash. I feel so sorry for her! It's such an ordeal to have a diaper change, and we go through quite a few in a day. So, I've spent the last couple days doing laundry when she messes her clothes or her bedding. We also had to go grocery shopping for bland foods for her as well as lactose free milk. The nurse said to try this diet for a few days and see if it helps her stomach issues. Hopefully it clears up today because Sarah is watching her this weekend and I don't want her to have to deal with changing dirty diapers at 3am when Erika is crying...it's not fun at all!

On a cuter note, Erika now is very emphatic when she doesn't want to do things. She shakes her head appropriately when the answer to the question is "no". It's really cute, but also not much fun when we ask her to put down the pen or come sit in her chair for dinner and she says, "no". Her independence is getting more and more apparent!

Family Portraits

About two weeks ago, I twisted Matt's arm into joining me and Erika in some family pictures. We haven't taken Erika's one-year pictures, so I thought I would combine that with some pictures of our family of three before it becomes a family of four. And, I wanted the pictures done before my belly got too much bigger! Fortunately, we now have the perfect photographer quite close to us. It's none other than Sarah Parnell! Matt and I think that since we have a digital camera, and know how to operate it, it's a waste of money to hire a professional photographer or go to a studio when Walmart will make any size of prints you want! For much cheaper. And, Sarah did a great job of taking the pictures! So, we got all dressed up and went to a nearby park for some outdoor shots. The weather was perfect! Erika, however, was not. Here is the first shot we took.

To my credit, I chose a park that did not have a playground structure in it because I know all Erika would want to do was play. But, even though there were no toys, she had no interest in sitting still on our laps, but wanted to be walking around instead. We were there for probably close to an hour and did manage some good shots. Here are a few samples. Don't worry, grandparents, your copies are made and ready for delivery!

Here is a better family picture! It took about 0.3 seconds for Erika to be off our laps and up again after this picture was taken.

Most of our time was spent waiting for Erika to get done looking at leaves or grass or bugs and want to sit with us. Here, she's showing Matt her treasure she found.

Waiting for Erika to get interested in the camera.

Please note Sarah's shadow in the background.

More treasure...giving the bark to Aunt Sarah behind the camera.

This is my favorite shot! We blew this one to an 8x10 for her one-year picture.

The slightest hint of a belly on Mommy. I guess the other baby didn't want to be left out of the family portraits! Erika is trying to imitate Mommy's belly.

Nearing the end, I think Erika is ready to be done (so is Matt)!

Fun at the Lake

Today, we went to our friends' house on the lake. It was beautiful! The water was freezing, according to a report from Matt. I did not go in because it was a little windy and I thought I would be way too cold. But, it was a fun day spent with people from church. Erika loved the water! We put some water in a tube with a bottom so she had a little swimming pool just for her. Then, Matt took her on the lake in another tube that had a bottom. She really liked that part! The only part she didn't like was leaving the water.

Erika and Mommy...bathing beauties.

Her "swimming pool" tube

She had just enough water to splash her feet

She looks like a giant next to almost-4-month-old Lily.

In the lake!

She thought this was the best ride in the world!

"Cold!"

Splashing in her pool.

Sarah in the boat.

Daddy took her further out into the lake.

Mommy got scared and made her come back in.

New Toys for Erika

Our friends, Jim and Alyson, are moving to their new house in Hayden today. They have two small dogs and they didn't want the dogs to get trampled while the movers unpacked their stuff so Peanut (gray and white) and Hazel (white) stayed with us this morning. Erika was over the moon! She thought for sure we got her some new toys. She loved that the dogs were more her size than Wyatt is. Wyatt also enjoyed our visitors.

Cruising

Last night, Matt and I spent an awesome evening on a Lake Coeur d'Alene dinner cruise. We received a gift certificate for the cruise so decided to take advantage of it before Matt leaves. Plus, we now have a built in babysitter living with us! Yeah Sarah! We boarded the boat at 7:30 with about 50 other people. It was a beautiful evening, perfect weather, a little breezy on the water, but not too cool. The dinner buffet included salmon, some kind of beef, pasta salads, potato salad, green beans, potatoes, and rolls. It was so good! It was possibly the best dinner I've ever had. And, for dessert, they had the best cheesecake ever made. While we were eating, they had a two person guitar band playing. We sailed around Lake Coeur d'Alene for two hours. Although it was a little cloudy when we boarded, the sunset was beautiful and the clouds went away in time for us to get some good pictures. It was a perfect evening! If you ever get the chance to do the dinner cruise, I highly recommend it!

Random Erika Stories and Updates

Erika is still so happy to have her Aunt Sarah living with her! Her favorite time is when Aunt Sarah bought a laundry basket, which was obviously meant to give her rides instead of holding laundry.

While grocery shopping, Sarah and I have made a wonderful discovery...bakeries will give your kids free cookies! I remember many a times going to Albertsons by my grandparents house as a kid and they would have a platter of cookies on the counter just waiting for me to take them. However, I haven't seen those cookie platters much lately. Now, you have to ask the bakery people for a cookie. It's great for Erika because it keeps her busy for most of the shopping trip (she's not a quick eater) and Sarah and I can usually sneak in some taste tests of her cookies. Hey, we have to make sure she's eating something that tastes good don't we? So far, Fred Meyer gives out the best cookies. Today, she got one that was a leftover 4th of July themed cookie; a blue star. She got blue all over her face and hands. I tried taking some pictures, you can't quite tell that it's blue, but you get the general idea!

For a while now, whenever Erika would pick up something questionable from the floor, I would immediately take it from her before she could put it in her mouth. Now, she doesn't really try to put everything in her mouth, but I think I have her trained to give me absolutely everything she picks up. Anything that's not one of her toys comes to me. Today, I received a half-chewed piece of toast off the ground, a Target receipt, a piece of Wyatt hair, a twig from the park, and a wet wipe. It's very sweet whenever she gives me something...she acts like it's the best present I've ever received. She's not old enough to remember what she gave me 3 seconds ago, so all her "treasures" go in the trash. One day I'll probably have to hold on to them!

Today, while at the park, Erika spent a lot of time in the sandbox. She was really cute just digging little holes everywhere. I could see from her puzzled expression that she was wondering if sand was edible. As soon as, "Don't eat that," came out of my mouth, she had shoved an entire handful of sand in her mouth. She had a bunch of wet sand still on her hands so she came over to Aunt Sarah and offered her some sand. It was so cute! I think she thought, "Why shouldn't everyone enjoy this delicacy!" I have a feeling we are in for some interesting diapers in the next few days.

Coffee Deal

Sarah always finds the best deals ever! Today, she informed me of a great deal for all you Starbucks lovers. If you buy and register your Starbucks card before July 14, they will send you a coupon for a free beverage. Plus, whenever you use your Starbucks card, any flavoring, heavy cream, soy milk, etc. are free! More details can be found at the Starbucks website.

Boy or Girl?

For those who are anxiously waiting to hear if the second Baby Hammar is a boy or girl...you'll have to wait until January! We have decided to go ala Erika and not find out the sex. Since I got to choose whether to find out the sex with Erika, it was only fair that Matt got to make the decision this time and he says it's more fun to wait and be surprised at the birth. To me, it is more fun to make phone calls saying, "It's a boy/girl!", rather than just "The baby's here." So, baby #2 will be a mystery until the birthday!

Here is a cute video of Erika.

New Member of the Household

We had a great 4th of July! We went to Seattle on Wednesday night and stayed through Sunday. Erika loved Grandma's house...especially the stairs! In fact, she loved them so much she decided she would throw herself down them. She got away from me and ran toward the stairs. Before I could catch her, she went running off the first step, hit the fourth one halfway down, then hit the bottom, eight steps later. I screamed the entire time she was flailing down the stairs. When I picked her up from the floor, she also was screaming, but no blood and no bones were protruding from her body. She calmed down about 5 minutes after it happened...with the help of some Teddy Grahms. I calmed down about 30 minutes later. After her tumble, she was scared of the stairs so we had no more incidents.
Matt, Sarah, and I also went to a Mariners game while we were in Seattle. It was a perfect evening for a baseball game!
We brought back a new member of the household with us on Sunday. My sister Sarah! She moved in with us while she is looking for a new job. She has her application in for 4 different districts so hopefully she'll hear some good news soon! Erika loves having Aunt Sarah here...so does Wyatt! Erika is enthralled with everything Sarah does...it's really cute! At Costco today, she carried Sarah's purse for her the entire shopping trip. I think they are going to be good friends!