Time flies when you’re having fun…

Erica is 10 months old today.  Hard to believe how fast the time has gone!

Here is a recent picture of our goofy girl enjoying a bath.  The picture was captured at the most perfect time – her face is priceless!

She is growing so quickly. At her 9 month check up she weighed 19 lbs. 6 oz and was 28.5 in. long! Our big girl!

She is standing on her own now – still not walking but I have a feeling it won’t be long before she’s walking all over.

One day I will tell Erica that her first obsession in life was Elmo. She loves him. I mean Loves him – with a capital L. She would watch Elmo on TV all day long if we let her. Don’t worry – her TV allowance is limited!

Erica continues to be a curious and happy and fun baby. We are so blessed to have her.

We’re looking forward to carving our pumpkin one night this week and I will post pictures of that…

Dr. Visit

Erica had her four month Well-Baby Check yesterday morning. It was exciting for us to find out how much she weighs and her length. Turns out she’s a hefty 16 lbs. 4 oz. and 25.25 inches long!

This past month has been full of fun new things! Erica has accomplished all the “normal” tricks for a baby her age. She’s holding her head up, sitting up (with some assistance, of course), playing with her toys and babbling all the time. She hasn’t rolled yet but I can feel that happening sometime soon. It’s been about a week since her first real laugh – she hasn’t laughed since. I keep thinking that maybe we’re just not that funny – she sure is smiley but won’t let out another giggle! She especially loves bath time (most likely her favorite activity) so we do that a few times a week. Derek can’t get over how “smart” she is – everything she does completely impresses him. We’re looking forward to our first spring as a family. It’s almost warm enough to bust out the stroller and head out for some fresh air!!

We’re also getting excited for Easter Sunday!

Erica and her Daddy on April 5, 2009 – just before bath time

Las Vegas

It’s amazing how fast time flies between blog entries.

The baby and I recently returned home from being away on our first mini-vacation – we went to sunny Las Vegas for five whole days! I have a long-time friend that moved to Vegas shortly after we graduated from high school. She was getting married on Friday the 13th to her high school sweetheart and I couldn’t miss it! Mom agreed to join Erica and myself – Grandma turned out to the be the best free Nanny I ever had!

I think Erica mostly enjoyed her first rides on an airplane – she slept the whole way to and from. We had a great time at the wedding and also enjoyed a little of the touristy side of Vegas. We walked up and down the strip and saw Myster one evening at Treasure Island. My favorite part was all the sunshine! It’s the best time of year to leave Fairbanks for a little while and soak up some much needed Vitamin D! We arrived just in time for the pools to open and the weather to be nearly 80 degrees!!

Erica in the BIG Hotel Bed

Erica and The Bride

Catching a nap by the hotel pool…

Looking cute in Las Vegas!!

Our last day in the sun…

Birthday Month

February is a busy month in our family. Jamie, Sharon and I all celebrated getting another year older on the 5th, 10th and 16th – respectively. In addition, Derek’s mother Judy celebrated her birthday on the 4th and Jamie’s boyfriend Kane has his birthday on the 27th. Also, Derek’s sister Anitra was remembered on her birthday – the 22nd.

Erica and I went to visit Aunt Jamie at her work on her 22nd birthday. We brought chocolate chip mini-muffins and a balloon. Jamie loves all the ladies she works with and was thrilled to finally get a chance to show Erica off. As usual, Erica was a hit and made her Aunt Jamie very proud! I can’t wait until next year – Erica will be able to WALK in to see her Aunt Jamie!

Five days later it was Auntie Sharon’s birthday…

Erica and I went to visit Auntie Sharon at school during the lunch period on her birthday. We went with Grandma and brought Subway for lunch. A few of Sharon’s good friends had decorated the lunch table and made cupcakes in honor of her 18th birthday. Auntie Sharon had such a good time hanging out with Erica during lunch – it was hard for her to want to go back to class after holding Hers! By the way – West Valley smells the same as it did when I went to school there. I don’t know if that’s good or bad…

Six days later it was Mommy’s birthday…

Erica and I hung out with Daddy at home for my 25th birthday. My birthday happened to fall on a Monday which is Derek’s regular day off from work (he works Tues. through Sat.). We enjoyed not having to leave the house and getting to spend the day together – and then we met with the rest of my family for dinner. We went to Turtle Club and chowed down! YUM! It was a birthday dinner for all of us but happened to fall on my actual day. We might have done dinner sooner but we wanted Kane to be there. Kane was racing in the Iron Dog during the first part of the month – it was the fourth time he participated and the first time he finished the nearly 2,000 mile snowmachine race!

We have had a great month – it really did fly by. Erica is sleeping a lot better during the nights – usually sleeps about 5 hours before waking up to eat and then she goes back to sleep for a few hours. She’s surprised us a couple of times and slept for about 7 hours which was really nice – most likely because she caught a cold and spent a lot of time trying to sleep it off. She is very alert when she’s awake and is usually very smiley. Derek and I will do just about anything for a smile! Daddy enjoys making up all sorts of goofy songs and singing them to Erica. He plays his guitar for her and she seems to like that as well. He has also given her a nickname – Hers – which seems to have stuck. Erica started chattering this month and seems to like the sound of her own voice a little more each day. The little jabber jaws talks a lot during the evenings which is nice because Daddy is home to hear the majority of it. However, the past couple of days she seems to talk a lot more throughout all parts of the day – she’s going to be just like her Mommy! I can’t believe Erica is a week away from being three months old! She weighed 13 lbs 3 oz at her two month Dr. visit – little porker. I’m certain she’s on her way to being 15 lbs by now. I love being able to stay at home with her and watch her grow and learn new things everyday. I’d like to think Hers and Mommy are BFF’s

Sleeping beauty…

I wanted to post at least one picture of Erica. She is just so precious when she sleeps

There’s a first time for everything…

I’ve decided to start a blog. I’m a bit hesitant to do so because I’m concerned that it too will become one of the many projects that I start and never finish (or in this case, update on a regular basis). At the same time, however, I’m anxious to do so because I would love to share various parts of our everyday lives with family and friends. I’ve also been somewhat inspired by the blogs of friends and (I think) I’m finally ready to take one on for myself.