Cute Outfit du Jour

I don't have anything exciting to say, just some pictures to post. Sarah and I love this outfit that she wore today so we took advantage of taking many pictures of her in it!

On a different note, some people may forget that there is another baby coming, since I only really talk about Erika. Baby #2 is a mover just like its sister was! It is really starting to kick...a lot. I like this part of being pregnant because it actual feels like something is going on inside me!

Erika is studying Harry Potter. We're expecting her Hogwarts letter in 10 years!

Favorite toy...a balloon.

Two of Erika's favorite things...Aunt Sarah and a balloon.

Since the dogs always get ice cubes (see background), Erika also enjoys this cold treat.

Erika sitting calmly on Wyatt. Both seem to be enjoying themselves.

Erika is getting a little too excited about sitting on Wyatt.

Here comes the ear pulling.

Wyatt had enough.

Moving Day

Erika and I are moving to Oregon to reunite with Matt. It has been five long weeks of living in separate states. Erika is very excited to see her daddy again. Lately, she walks around the house holding a picture of Matt and I and saying, "Daddy, daddy" over and over again. I think she misses him!The movers are coming on Tuesday, September 2 and our stuff will arrive in Oregon on Friday, September 5. We are excited for our new adventure! Please continue to pray that our house sells quickly, as well as a safe move.

Here are some random pictures of Erika.

Erika and Wyatt...she is laying on or near him more often. And he's okay with that!

Picking out her Christmas wish list from REI.

Looking at the college catalog from NIC.

North Idaho Fair

Sarah and I took Erika to the North Idaho Fair this afternoon. She had a blast! We started the day with a trip to the safety village where Erika got to pet a K-9 rescue dog named Dax and get her first fireman's hat. Then, we took her to the Kids Fun Zone...an area where they had bubbles, sandboxes, balls, and other things for the kids to run around and play with. After that, things went a little south. Erika doesn't like animals. She doesn't mind seeing them in a picture book and likes to make their sounds, but getting close to them was a different story. Especially the enormous cows and pigs, they totally freaked her out. She did not want to get near them. We thought she'd like the smaller animals so we went to see rabbits, chickens and goats. She liked the goat, I think it reminded her of Wyatt, but in the chicken house, a rooster crowed right as she walked by and that did her in. She started crying and we had to leave the animal house. So, I guess we won't be living on a farm anytime soon like Matt would like us to do! Once we saw all the animals, we ate, walked through the 4-H buildings and played in the Kids Zone again. Erika did really well at the fair! It was a ton of fun and I'm excited to take her to more fairs and zoos in Oregon!

At the safety village getting a fireman's hat.

Firewoman Erika!

This is the only thing she wanted at the fair...a balloon.

Another balloon...a happy girl!

Erika the cow at the fair.

She loved the sandbox in the Kids Zone.

Right as this picture was being taken, the little kid in the orange shirt let go of the hanging funnel that he's holding and it hit Erika right in the head.

This is the first animal she's get close to.

Terrified of the pigs.

Terrified of the cows...although she did tell me they say, "Moo!"

She liked this pony that was walking in the ring.

She tried to poke at the pony's eyes.

Water Lovers

It was hot here this weekend. Really hot. The kind of hot that doesn't cool down at night so you just sweat and stink all day and night long. Heat doesn't really seem to bother Erika much, but I feel bad for her so I try to cool her down the way I would like to be cool. We played in the hose outside, she ate ice cubes with the dogs...sometimes literally. She and Wyatt like to share ice cubes with each other. I filled the bathtub with cold water and let her splash around in it multiple times during the day. I think she really liked it! Her favorite part was drinking out of the hose like Wyatt and Maggie. Later that night, when I put her in the tub, she even put her tongue under the faucet when the water was coming out.


Has there ever been anyone cuter?



Here's Wyatt...he doesn't like to be hot.

Two seconds before getting in trouble for standing on her chair. She's quite proud of herself!

Developing

Every day, Erika does something that makes her seem like a much older little girl! She's really fun to talk to, now, because she actually understands what I'm saying and tries with her limited vocabulary to answer me back. She likes to eat her cereal in the morning by herself, now, instead of being fed. Here's the proof.




Sarah and I were playing with her earlier today and couldn't resist the opportunity to demonstrate another aspect of Erika's "developing". Please note, they are not real. (Ala, Laura Ingalls with the apples).

15 Months

Erika had her 15-month check up today and is very healthy and developing well! I love going to the doctor with her because she's always healthy and when the doctor reads off the list of where she should be developmentally, I secretly think that Erika is above and beyond where she should be. I'm sure every mother thinks their babies are the smartest, but I really think Erika has a lot going on upstairs!
Anyway, Erika's statistics are: Height, 32 1/4 inches, the 93rd percentile. Weight, 23 pounds 1 ounce, the 50th percentile. Head circumference, 70th percentile.
The doctor did say to try and get her to eat a variety of foods. She eats any fruit, most vegetables, any kind of cracker or cookie, but will only eat chicken nuggets in the meat department. I guess that's sustained her so far, but she should be more willing to try other kinds of things. We'll see how that goes, but I have a feeling we'll still be eating a lot of chicken nuggets!
Also at the doctor, Erika got her MMR vaccine, which she did not like at all! But, the nurse gave her a sucker, which she thoroughly enjoyed and seemed to take some of the pain out of the shot. She did really well with her first sucker. At first, she held onto the sucker and was sucking on the stick, but once she figured out the sucker was sweeter, she quickly switched ends! She did not put the sucker in her hair, like I thought for sure she would, and only got sticky on her hands and around her mouth. Well done, Erika!

Best Friend

When we brought Erika home, I was really hoping that she and Wyatt would get along and one day become good friends. I think the day has come! Well, Erika wants to be Wyatt's friend...I'm not sure how exactly he feels about it. She loves giving Wyatt hugs and "petting" him. So far, her petting is more along the lines of hitting, but we're working on being gentle. She goes around the house following Wyatt saying, "Puppy! puppy!" It's really cute! Here are a few pictures of the two of them playing together and Erika petting Wyatt.

Does Wyatt look sad that Erika is near him?

Finally, he just gives up and allows her to touch him.

Teeny Tiny TV

As I was making Erika's toast this morning (a fantastic chef, I know!), the television kept shutting itself off. Then, it started making a funny noise, similar to a cricket and became quite snowy. I went to investigate and smelled burning plastic. Afraid the television was going to explode at any minute, I quickly unplugged the power strip, and yelled for Sarah. I'm not sure why I involved Sarah, but it made me feel more secure having another adult there in case the tv actually did spontaneously explode. We decided to leave the tv off for a while and then see if it would stink still after resting for a while. After 3 hours of no television, we attempted to plug it back in, but sparks greeted us as we plugged the tv into the wall. We then made the decision to call it quits with the tv.

Fortunately, Sarah has a small television in her bedroom so we transferred the big, broken tv into her room and the small tv into the living room for our viewing pleasure. Moving the giant tv was a story in and off itself. I'll just let you know that there was a lot of laughing, a few close calls with dropping the heavy item, and a change of underwear when we were done. Now, we can watch tv, but it's tiny! It looks kind of sad after having such a big television before this. Here are some pictures!

Bum

Before Erika's nap this afternoon, she spilled a bunch of water on herself. Instead of letting her sleep in a wet skirt, I took it off her and let her sleep in a diaper and t-shirt. It was warm today so I also turned on the fan. After a 3 hour nap, I went in her room to check on her and found this.

She had taken her diaper off, a favorite past time of hers, and was sleeping with the fan blowing over her bum. It was hilarious! I had to take a picture, if only for teasing purposes later in her life. The poor thing had a freezing cold tushy when she woke up because of the fan. And once more we had to launder the sheets. It was worth it for this photo though!

Matching Outfit

Ever since Erika was two weeks old and had her baby shower, I have been waiting to put her in this adorable outfit! A very kind woman from church, Ruby, bought Erika this outfit and a matching doll to go with it. I loved it when I opened it! It was a size 18 months, so I have had to wait 15 months before I put her in the cute little farmer girl look.

She's acting more and more "girly" every day and less "baby". She loves her purses, her clothes, and her dolls.

So cute!

Absolutely terrified of the doll. I don't know what her problem was, but she wouldn't hold it. So Mommy chased her around the house with it trying to get a picture of the two of them together.

Finally, a little apple slice and she could tolerate the doll in her lap.