The Erickson Family

Growing Up

2011-06-07T10:20:00.003-06:00

This Sunday we went for a drive to Warm River and Mesa Falls. The girls loved it! They loved feeding the fish and enjoyed and warm weather. Brinley thought the bread for the fish was a great treat. Between eating the little pieces that fell on the ground and the pieces of bread floating in the river I think she enjoyed her herself. I couldn't help but take tons of pictures of the girls. Emma and Sofie are so photogenic but Brinley can't hold still long enough so its hard to get a good shot of her. They are all getting so big!

Emma just turned 6 years old. I can't believe how big she is. She is so excited that she FINALLY has a loose tooth. We are so excited for her to start 1st grade this year. Emma is such a great helper. She is so good to her sisters. Brinley sure loves Emma and copies everything she does, it's pretty cute.

Sofie is almost 3 years old. She has finally overcome the terrible two's (I hope). Sofie loves to sing and her all-time favorite movie is Tangled. Although anything Mickey Mouse takes a close second. Sofie is so thoughful and loves to give hugs and kisses. She is so cute and getting so big.

Brinley is almost 18 months (nursery time!). She is so fun and full of energy. She keeps me on my toes all the time. Brinley just figured out how to swing her leg up high enough to climb up the kitchen chairs and onto the table. She thinks she is quite smart for figuring that one out. Brinley loves to scream, happy or sad. She has discovered that if she screams enough in Relief Society that I will take her out (not let her down which makes her mad). If I get anywhere near the door to go back in she will scream (nursery time?). We constantly call her a stinker :o) She has quite the attitude for 1 1/2 but she is so stinkin cute, we sure love her. She loves her sisters and follows them around everywhere. I always hear "Memma! Memma!" (Emma) She loves to copy Emma, but Sofie and her sure butt heads. They are all so much fun :o)

Our NEW Home

2011-05-03T14:06:00.004-06:00

We have decided to build a home in Rigby and are super excited! We are hoping it is done mid-August and they are starting to dig this week. Yay! Here it is: (Click on picture to enlarge)

Upstairs

Daylight Basement

We are so lucky so be building this home. We found a great deal and are getting everything we wanted and more! It will sit on a 1.04 acre lot and will have granite countertops in the kitchen and all the bathrooms(awesome!). Plus the basement will be finished too :o) I am really excited about the mud room and the awesome laundry. Under the stairs in the basement we are putting in a little door and window in the closet so it will be a fun little play area for the kids. We will have so much room and are excited to have lots of visitors too :o) Any one want to come pick colors with me (I don't know where to start)?

Cakes

2010-09-21T10:06:00.002-06:00

Emma's 5th Birthday Cake: Princess Tiana

Wedding Cake in August, it was one of the best ones I've done! I hand made all of the flowers (except the stephanoitis and rose petals at the bottom). It turned out beautiful!

When I Grow Up.....

2010-09-10T14:29:00.003-06:00

Sofie loves her big sister. She wants to be just like her. After Emma left for school the other day Sofie put on her sweater and stood in front of the door and said, "Cheese!" She wanted me to take a picture of her like I did Emma. Funny girl! For the past week she has consistently come to me and told me she needs to go potty. She will take her diaper off (whether I tell her or not) and will sit on her little potty and pee. She is so proud of herself. I thought it was good practice but really didn't want to potty train her right now. Emma was horrible to potty train so I wanted to wait a while with Sofie. Well this morning she refused to put on a diaper and has gone potty in the toilet consistently. She has only had one accident so far and I have only had to remind her a few times to go potty. Wow. She is awesome and such a big girl. We had Pop Tarts with breakfast this morning so after everytime she went potty she would ask for a pop tart. Funny girl. We ran out of Pop Tarts so we have now moved on to Skittles. Emma cries each time Sofie gets a Skittle so maybe this will help Emma remember to go to the bathroom too!

2nd Day of Kindergarten

2010-09-10T14:21:00.003-06:00

Emma loves Kindergarten! I asked her a few questions about school:
What's your favorite part about Kindergarten?
"That we draw."

Do you like riding the bus?
"Yes, I like riding the bus because it's really fun"

What is your teacher's name and what is your most favorite thing about her?
"Mrs. Vance. I like her because she's really nice and I like that she gives us stamps on our papers when we finish them."

What have you learned in Kindergarten?
"We learned about fish and the Pledge of Allegiance and we learned the "3 Little Fishy" song."

Crawling

2010-09-10T14:09:00.005-06:00

Brinley has been crawling for a while now and she has a couple of favorite places.

#1 The magazine rack

#2 Under the table

" Look what I can do mom!"

"I think I'm stuck"

"Why are you still taking pictures of me? I can't get out!"

"You are so mean mom!"

Diaper Cream Anyone?

2010-09-10T13:59:00.002-06:00

Brinley got into the diaper cream a few weeks ago and really enjoyed herself :o) "Somehow" the top of the diaper cream tub "just came off." I don't know who opened it for her, no one has fessed up yet. Oh the joys!

{Kindergarten}

2010-08-30T13:23:00.003-06:00

Our little Emma is all grown up! Today was her first day of Kindergarten and she was sooo excited! She is in afternoon Kindergarten and her teacher is Mrs. Vance. She seems like a really great teacher so I was relieved :o) We are so blessed to have Emma as our daughter! She is such a wonderful daughter and sister. She is so smart and loves to read and write and color. Emma was so excited when we walked through the doors of the school today. She was holding my hand and then didn't want to anymore. It made me sad but she is so grown up and I hope we have prepared her enough for the crazy world out there. There are two Emma's in her class so she is now Emma E. and she thought that was pretty cool! I can't wait to pick her up and see how her very first day of Kindergarten went! We love you Emma!

Carter

2010-06-23T22:11:00.002-06:00

We had Carter come stay at our house while his mom was on bed rest to keep little baby Sam from coming out too soon. Carter is such a sweet boy. He was so nice and I never had to discipline him, my children on the other hand.....horrible. I hope we didn't send Carter home with too many naughty habits :o) We loved having Carter come stay with us, and are so excited that little Sam arrived safe and sound today! Congrats Kim and Sean!

All Grown Up....

2010-06-23T21:56:00.006-06:00

Can you believe Emma is 5 years old? She is so smart and so cute with her little sisters (when they don't take her toys away from her :o)

This is the classic Sofie face. She is so onery sometimes :o) If only she wasn't so stinkin cute.

Sweet baby Brinley

Our beautiful girls!

Brinley's blessing :o)

2010-03-03T09:54:00.002-07:00

We are blessing Brinley Paige, Sunday, March 14th at 1:30pm in mom & dad Erickson's ward. There will be yummy food afterwards. :o) Please email me if you need directions: starlaerickson@gmail.com

PS: I got my stitches out last night. It is still pretty open so now I have steri- strips for another week. Every time I get out a "sharp" knife to use, Emma comments, "Be careful mom, dad will be so mad if you cut your hand again." :o)

50th Percentile

2010-03-01T16:33:00.002-07:00

That's right folks, Brinley's weight is in the 50th percentile! She is our only child to EVER hit that magic 50. The other 2 have always been in the 25th or less (mostly less). (Sofie is at/below 10%, Emma at 15%) I've always wondered if my milk was the reason they were so little, but it's not, woohoo. Her stats:
Weight: 10 lbs 15 oz (53%)
Length: 22 inches (37%)
Head: 38cm (31%)

Brinley is so cute and is so good at smiling. I can't believe she is 2 months old!

Ouch

2010-02-22T21:53:00.002-07:00

So just when I wasn't feeling like a crazy woman anymore, this happened. Saturday night our friends/neighbors invited us over to play games. I was hurrying to get dinner done (we were running late, as usual) and I was trying to remove the pit from an avocado and the knife slipped. I sliced my hand pretty good and it hurt so bad! I kind of panicked, luckily Ryan was there to wrap my hand and then he asked me if I could drive myself to the hospital! Funny guy, he didn't want to take all 3 kiddos to the hospital, so I suggested calling our friends, the Hamblin's, and they were so wonderful and came over to our house instead to watch the girls. We went to the ER in Brigham City and I had to get 5 stitches and a tetenus shot. For some reason the anesthesia didn't work on me so I never was numbed the whole way, the stitches weren't fun. Luckily I have some painkillers leftover from Brinley so they have helped. Needless to say it has been an interesting day! Hopefully it heals fast!

8 weeks old!

2010-02-22T21:28:00.005-07:00

My sweet baby is 8 weeks old! I can't believe how fast time goes by. I am not going to lie, the last 8 weeks have been tough, really tough. At 2 1/2 weeks old Brinley started to cry and it seemed like she never stopped until a week ago. We think she had silent reflux so we were giving her Zantac which seemed to help a little. Finally last week she started spitting up and the crying stopped, woohoo! I had to let her scream for a day because she was used to being held ALL the time, but now she is awesome. Brinley is such a sweet baby and we really see her sweet little personality shining through. She is so happy and content, it is wonderful. I love her little smile, it melts my heart! Even though having three kids has been very challenging I love my girls. They are so fun. They are all growing up so fast and make us laugh, we love it! I think they are loving having mommy back :o) I don't feel like a crazy woman anymore :o)

Colic :o(

2010-01-20T10:08:00.002-07:00

Does anyone have any ideas on how to cure or help with colic? Brinley has become colicky, it seems like she cries all day. She has her good moments, like while she is eating and for about 20 minutes after, but then it is non-stop crying periods until it is time to eat again. Mylicon seems to work every once in a while, and she gets so mad at her binky now. I miss her wide-eyed expressions and sweet little smiles!

Brinley Paige

2010-01-02T16:54:00.005-07:00

She's here! Brinley Paige was born Monday, Dec 28th at 8:12pm. She was 6 lbs 10 oz and 17.5 inches long. She is so beautiful! Everything went really well and she is such a doll. We are currently working on sleeping at night (she thinks it is day time still). Emma and Sofie absolutely love her. Emma is especially obsessed with her, it is really cute :o) Sofie loves to hold her but she also likes to "pat" her...on the face. She isn't the most gentle child. We sure love our girls and are very grateful Brinley is here safe and sound!

First Snowfall (at the new house :o)

2009-12-17T10:17:00.004-07:00

We had our first big snowfall a few days ago. Emma could not wait until she could go outside. Dad had to shovel 3 times that day (the joys of home ownership :o) and Emma wanted to "help." After shoveling they built a huge snowman. They had so much fun together. Dad even pulled her around the yard on the sled. What a good daddy!

Emma Dawn

2009-12-17T10:06:00.002-07:00

Emma is so much fun! She has her ups and downs like any other 4 year old girl :o) but she is growing up so fast. She is very excited to start school next year, and is always working on her letters and reading. She gets so excited when she figures out a word. I can't believe how fast time goes by. I on the other hand am terrified for her to go to school. It scares me to death, but she is so excited already. Maybe I just need more time to get excited for her to go :o)
Emma is such a good helper and is so excited for her new sister. She is always touching my belly and saying the baby kicked her (maybe it's because her other sister kicks her all the time)at least now she thinks it is cute :o) She is so smart and loves her Sunbeam class, I can't believe she is almost in CTR 5. Again, she is growing up too fast, but we love it. She loves her daddy and is so excited when he gets home (again, maybe it's because there are 2 referees home to keep Sofie away from her) Emma and dad went outside to build a snowman the other day and she had so much fun. She loves having a "new" room with a "huge closet" and is so sweet. I love being her mom! (I love being Sofie's mom too :o)

Sofie Anne

2009-12-17T09:39:00.003-07:00

Where do I begin with Sofie? She has turned into a little bully. Poor Emma gets smacked, bit, pinched, pulled to the floor by her hair, etc. by her little sister. I am not sure what to do with Sofie. She can be so sweet, and then without reason turn into a mean little thing. She is too smart for her own britches :o) I know a lot of it is her age and she is the younger sibling. Sofie is also a HUGE mommy's girl. She will climb over anything and anyone to get to me just so I will hold her. If I am not accessible she will scream (and I mean scream) until I hold her. (I am trying the, just let her scream b/c she needs to understand I can't hold her 24/7, especially when the baby comes, it's kinda working :o) She is in for a HUGE surprise when her new sister arrives, I can already hear the tantrum, awesome :o) Sofie is not a talker either. I have tried teaching her sign language for a while and she doesn't want anything to do with it. Screaming is her language :o)
Yesterday I went to check on the girls in the front room while I was cooking dinner. I walked in just as Sofie had gotten a hold of Emma's ear and her hair to yank her to the floor. Evidently Emma was "standing" in the wrong place. I quickly realeased her grip and set Sofie in "time out." Sofie screamed the entire time while I held Emma on the couch. I went back in to finish cooking and Emma followed me in and was sitting on the kitchen chair with her play broom. Sofie followed (calmed down from her earlier fit) and pulled Emma off the chair by her pants. Emma fell onto the broom and now has a pretty good sized bruise on the inside of her leg. I try telling Emma to stick up for herself, but I don't know what to say to her without telling her to fight back. I did watch Emma hit Sofie back the other day a couple of times. Sofie decided she didn't like that so she full on, both hands/arms swinging, attacked Emma. Sofie won again. Emma hasn't figured out that she is bigger than her sister. I guess I need to wait until she does, then maybe Sofie will leave her alone :o)

Countdown.... 12 days

2009-12-17T09:27:00.003-07:00

The date is set for little girl #3! I am getting induced Decemeber 28th, woohoo! My doctor is leaving out of town the next day for a week, we live an hour away from the hospital, I am strep B postive again, and my mom was coming through town the 27th, so the 28th seemed perfect. Can I just say how much I LOVE being induced? I really do love it, it is so nice to have some sort of control and I am much less stressed about who will take the girls while we are at the hospital. Our hospital doesn't allow visitors under the age of 16 AND I only get 2 visitors the entire time I am there. I am way OK with that, peace and quiet :o) I am really hoping my labor goes as smoothly as Sofie's did, I actually enjoyed labor! I am sure there will be some sort of curveball, there always is :o) Sofie had the cord around her neck twice so with every contraction her heartrate would drop, scary but she was ok. It is so exciting, the end is near! This pregnancy has been very relaxed and easy, but I am still excited to be done :o) Yay for #3!!

Moving!

2009-11-19T08:55:00.002-07:00

So Saturday is the day we get to move!! Yay! Well except we only get to move into the garage because closing is taking FOREVER. We are "supposed" to close on Friday (which could all change quickly) but then we have to wait until Monday for it to record and then the house is OURS and we can actually live there. The builder is awesome for letting us move into the garage, it will be much easier for Ryan to move us into the house. We are so excited and can't wait for this next chapter of our lives!

Primary Sacrament Program

2009-11-12T09:58:00.003-07:00

This past Sunday was our Primary's Sacrament Program. I was so excited because it was Emma's first one as a Sunbeam. We have been working on her part for a few weeks, "I lived with Heavenly Father before I came to earth." It took her about one time saying it to memorize it, so before she would say her part she had to include, "I can do it all by myself!" very proudly with a smile. Well, here comes Sunday and time for the program. The Sunbeam class sat on the front middle row during the passing of the sacrament until they could take the bishopric's place. Ryan and I sat in the row behind them, and wow was Ryan amazed at the wonderfully behaved (NOT) Sunbeam class, including his daughter, haha. There were 4 little Sunbeams and 2 teachers to contain them. It was crazy! One of the girls kept spinning in circles and putting her feet up on the bench with her dress over her head. While one teacher was "helping" her the other was "helping" the little boy who continuosly tried to run up front to the bishop, and climb the wall (later during the first song he tried to jump over the wall....he missed). So needless to say that left my sweet little Emma and her little friend to be as obnoxious as possible :o). I asked Ryan to switch me right at the beginning of Sacrament so I could help with the kids until they went up front (I've seen them in action during Primary, who knows what they would do in Sacrament), but he assured me I needed to stay where I was at because the teachers could handle it and I wasn't in Primary anymore. Well about 10 minutes into Sacrament Ryan was constantly telling Emma to turn around and be quiet, stop laughing, don't poke her, sit down, sit up, you don't need to lay on each other, quit playing with her hair, etc. While I quietly sat there laughing to myself, I noticed Sofie was gone. She had escaped from dad while he was "helping" Emma. Haha! Luckily she stopped when she got to the stairs and turned back around to sit by us. Needless to say, Ryan leaned over and stated, "Holy crap, these kids are CRAZY!" I agreed and said, "told you so :o)." Haha
Okay so fast forward to the Sunbeam parts: The first boy gets up and the teacher whispers his part into his ear, he repeats it in the microphone. Emma is next. The teacher starts to whisper her part in her ear and she turns to scowl at the teacher. Then she turns to the microphone and announces with full attitude, "I can do it myself!" pauses (she had to wait for the laughter to die down), then says her part, "I lived with Heavenly Father before I came to earth" ever so sweetly. I about died. It was sooooo funny! Of course that is Miss Independent Emma.
1 Primary Program down, 11 more to go!

More House Pics :o)

2009-10-22T15:56:00.006-06:00

Do you like the red? We were surprised but really like it.

Kitchen!!! They were in the process of putting in the kitchen counters. I love the cabinets!

Dining room (looking from kitchen)

Videos of the New House!

2009-10-19T12:15:00.002-06:00

I recorded a little video of the downstairs and upstairs of our new house. They are super cheesy (sorry :o) but I was so excited and really wanted to show our parents the layout. Enjoy!
Downstairs

Upstairs

Small Update :o) and Good News!

2009-10-18T22:40:00.008-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted in FOREVER!!! We are all doing really well. The girls are getting bigger and smarter every day. They sure keep us on our toes. In fact before church today Emma sat on a princess chair on top of our bed and then fell off strait on her head. Luckily I caught her before she hit the ground but she was pretty scared. Sofie on the other hand decided to play in Vaseline while mom was getting dressed and comforting Emma. She was so proud of herself, clapping and rubbing her hands together. She sure is a handful :o) I had two older ladies at church comment on how I have my hands full with those two girls. When I told them we were having another girl they laughed and pretty much said, "Good luck!" If they weren't so stinkin' cute they would be living with Grandma's (haha) :o)
We finally found our dream house. We are absolutely thrilled and so excited! It is amazing how smooth the process has been so far with this house compared to the last one. It is located in Tremonton and not completely finished yet. They started painting the trim last week and we are hoping to close and move in right around Thanksgiving! Yay! It is 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths with a large bonus room above the garage. We really love this house and are so glad that we were patient enough to wait for the perfect time for this house to come around.

Front View!! (We LOVE the front porch, the house faces East, so perfect for those summer evenings out on the porch :o) They started on the siding on Saturday, it is nearly completed on the back and sides.

Bonus Room

Kitchen

Front Room (to the right of the picture is the front door and the stairs to the bedrooms upstairs)

Here is a sample picture of what the house will kind of look like when completed :o)

No More House :o(

2009-07-29T14:20:00.004-06:00

Oh where do I begin? We decided to back out of the contract we had on the house yesterday. We are so very sad, frustrated, and disappointed. There were so many red flags that have come up since last Wednesday (after we had waited 5 months and finally gone under contract). We had an inspection done on the house and there were several things wrong that we didn't have the money to fix. Plus the sellers were refusing to cooperate after we started asking questions about the problems in the house (red flag). Then there were zoning problems with the house so we would have to bend a lot to get an FHA loan. When and if we were approved who knows if we would ever be able to sell it, so we decided to back out. Plus the appraisal came back really low, which wasn't very helpful. All in all, we know this is what we we're supposed to do but now we are stuck renting until next year, and until we can save enough money to possible try and buy a house again. I really loved that house but there was no way we would ever be able to sell it in the future and not lose a lot of money. The most frustrating parts of this whole ordeal is the money we spent on the house, not being able to get any of it back, and the time we have spent waiting for this particular house. We were able to get our earnest money back but all the money on everything else is gone. We do know that there is some reason this house didn't work out and hopefully it because there is something better out there!

What we are looking forward to: Sofie's 1st birthday this weekend!
What I am not looking forward to: Un-packing boxes in the same place :o(

It's a........

2009-07-23T13:28:00.003-06:00

We went to the doctor today and we got to see our new little GIRL! Yep, another girl. We were excited, well I guess everyone except for Emma (well and Ryan). Oh was she disappointed. She really wanted a baby brother, but she is going to have to wait until next time for that one! She cried right there in the doctor's office, "I don't want any more sisters" (is Sofie really that bad?) Funny girl. I cheered her up by telling her that she gets to help pick out a girl name, it seemed to work for now. I also told her that her cousin Jaynie has 3 little sisters and they have a lot of fun, she smiled at that :o) We are super excited to welcome the newest little GIRL around January 1st!

*We also got the house! We are working on all the paperwork and finalizing everything now. We are hoping to move around the 8th of August! Yay!

Vacation

2009-07-10T11:34:00.002-06:00

We are back from vacation! We had a very busy month and had so much fun visiting family. We first had a family reunion then we stayed in Idaho for 10 days! It is always so hard to come home. I have pictures and more of our vacation to come. Stay tuned :o)

House

2009-07-10T11:23:00.006-06:00

We are STILL waiting to hear back on the house in Brigham City that we put an offer on 3 1/2 months ago. It is taking such a long time and we are so frustrated, but it is a perfect home for us, so we are still waiting. We really hope to go under contract today or early next week, but who knows. We have been waiting for 3 weeks just for the contract paperwork from their bank. We really hope to close by the end of July, wish us luck!

The kitchen

Walk out (unfinished) basement

Large (very unfinished) yard

It's about time!

2009-05-21T11:46:00.004-06:00

I am just now posting everything that has happened the last month! Sorry it has taken me so long. Things have been crazy as usual, we still haven't heard if we got the house we put an offer on 6 weeks ago. Frustrating, but it will come sometime. It has been a rough couple of weeks......we are expecting again. Surprise! It was a big surprise for us but we are excited. We have already heard a heartbeat and everything looks good, which is very relieving. The morning sickness is also a sign that everything is great. Ryan and the girls have been very helpful around the house, since I don't do much but go from couch to bathroom. We are looking forward to the next few months of family visits and vacations (and hopefully moving). Yeah for summer!!!!

Daddy Daughter Date

2009-05-21T11:41:00.003-06:00

Ryan took Emma to see Aliens vs. Monsters on Saturday. She was so excited, and they had a great time! I can't believe she is going to be four next week. So cute!

The girls

2009-05-21T11:38:00.004-06:00

These are the outfits Ryan brought home from China for the girls. So cute!

Emma

2009-05-21T11:26:00.006-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to a freinds house to play games. While us "responsible" adults were upstairs the kids were downstairs playing. There were 6 little girls downstairs between all of us. Well after we returned home from a great game night, one of the mommies called us. While putting her 3 year old to bed she had spilled the beans. They girls had gotten a hold of scissors and had cut each others hair! Emma swore up and down that her little friend Evie had cut all of their hair, that it was all Evie's idea and Emma didn't do anything (yeah right). A couple of days later at dinner Emma blurted out that she had cut Addison's hair (which was the worst of all of them, she had to have 8 inches cut off to even it out). We figured Emma thought she was safe because she had gotten in trouble a few days ago so she was out of the clear. Well, not so fast. The damage was pretty bad between the 4 of them. They had cut braids off, bangs, you name it they cut it. then they hid all of the hair and scissors in drawers. Funny kids! Here was Emma's hair the next day. (On the first pic: If you look at the left side of her head you can see the short pieces of hair that was cut)

Total hair lost: 3 inches from the bottom, and we left the short stuff!

China

2009-05-21T11:10:00.008-06:00

Ryan returned safe and sound from China the end of April. He had a lot of fun and learned a lot of valuable things for work. They mainly went to factories and vendor shows. Any of the "tourist" pictures are from the car. I think his favorite part of China was the massages. Two hours long for $13! Ryan also brought back some great presents for us all, inclluding reall pearl necklaces, earrings, and bracelet set for $2, and some outfits for the girls. I think the hardest part of the trip was the jet lag. They are 14 hours ahead of us, so coming home was really hard. I think he has adjusted back completely just this week. He has yet to show me all of his pictures because they are on his work computer so here are just a few!

Sofie Anne

2009-05-21T10:45:00.006-06:00

My little baby is growing up so fast! Sofie is so stinkin cute and we sure do love her. She is crawling everywhere. For the first month and a half she army crawled but now she is on all fours just a cruisin'. She is pulling herself up and standing everywhere. It's crazy how big she grew overnight it seems. She is quite the mommy's girl and I love it! Sofie learned how to clap today and it is so cute. Here she is:

Love Idaho!

2009-04-20T23:46:00.002-06:00

Wow, I forget how quiet it is here in Idaho. I am so used to hearing police sirens every ten minutes. Last week it was a couple of gunshots. Awesome, so excited to move out of Ogden.

Apirl, Easter, House, and China!

2009-04-20T23:09:00.007-06:00

What a good daddy :o)

Yes, she has a little patch of hair that I put into a ponytail, too cute :o)

Wow, I can't believe how fast time flies! This has been a crazy month and it is almost over. Emma and Sofie are growing like weeds. Emma has started to come out of the dramatic 3 year old phase and is more reasonable now. She is so cute and thoughtful. She absolutely loves Primary and is getting really good at saying prayers. She thinks really long and hard about what she wants to say, too cute. Sofie is such a sweet baby! She has her two bottom teeth and is crawling everywhere. I could watch her crawl and laugh all day long. She army crawls and is getting pretty fast. She has figured out that she can make it from room to room now and as soon as her little hands touch the kitchen floor she starts laughing and slapping the floor. Too cute. She sure is a mama's girl though, I secretly LOVE it!

Easter was great. We had a really nice family day. The Easter bunny visited us and Emma was super excited. I love seeing her face light up when she gets excited about something. The day before Easter we put an offer on a house in Brigham City which is about 30 minutes north of Ogden. As Ryan says, "it's as close to Rexburg as we can get in Utah." It is a really cute little house, upstairs is finished with a full daylight basement down that is just framed. We are super excited about it. The sellers accepted our offer today but since it is in a "short-sale" situation we won't know for sure if we get it until this next week.

Ryan had the opportunity to travel to China for work for 10 days. He flew out of SLC on Sunday and will fly home next Tuesday. It is a great opportunity for him and he is having a blast. The time change is pretty crazy. They are 14 hours ahead of us! I've talked to him a couple of times since he left and he is sending me pictures when he gets back to the hotel Tuesday night which is Tuesday morning for us. We sure miss him but are excited for his adventure! The girls and I came up to Idaho to visit while Ryan is in China, we are having fun visiting and enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather!

Oh yeah, I am such a slacker on blogging that I never blogged about Ryan's birthday earlier this month. We went to Kuna for Ryan's birthday (Conference weekend) and stayed with Ryan's sister and family, Kim and Sean. It was wonderful, mom and dad Erickson and Scott and Kylie were there too. Ryan had a great birthday! (Happy birthday babe, you are the best!) It was a great weekend except we sure missed Stacie, Whitney, and the girls! We are sooooo excited to see you guys in June and are counting down the days. Almost every morning when Emma wakes up she asks what day it is, followed by, "Is today when Jaynie, Lillie, Eliza and Adeline are coming to Idaho?" Super excited!

Carter and Emma had a great time!

House :o(

2009-03-27T10:26:00.002-06:00

We heard back about the house yesterday and we didn't get it :o( I was pretty bummed about it but it's okay. I keep telling myself, there are other houses out there so we are going to look at a bunch on Saturday. I found some pretty cute ones out in Roy. We don't know the area but it seems really quiet so we will see!

Cutie Pies

2009-03-19T17:04:00.005-06:00

Hopefully......

2009-03-17T23:16:00.002-06:00

So the offer is in but we won't know until late next week if it was accepted. Cross your fingers!
So if you want a good laugh and appreciation for a patient mom, you should read my aunt and uncle's blog, Matt and Hayley. They have 3 very curious little boys and I love their funny stories! Jared, the oldest and 4 yrs, put a bag of popcorn in the microwave....for 25 minutes. And it gets even better from there! Read it, its great!

Wish us luck!

2009-03-17T12:13:00.008-06:00

So we are putting an offer on this today:

It seems unreal right now, it is a gorgeous foreclosed home and we are PRAYING and keeping our fingers crossed that the bank takes our offer! I am extremely nervous and hopefully we will know within the next couple of days if they will take it. Wish us luck!

If you want to see the details on the house click here

Hello again!

2009-02-25T22:46:00.004-07:00

Sorry for slacking so bad on posting. I am going to catch up I promise! I do have a tiny reason why I have been missing in action. Our computer went kaput, so we just ordered a new one but it won't be here until March 13th! Luckily Ryan brings home his work laptop at night so have some link to the outside world :o)
The girls are doing great. Emma is so fun, I can't believe she is almost 4 and a sunbeam! She got to give her first talk in Primary a few weeks ago, she did great. Mom on the other hand got the "great mom" award and totally forgot about the talk until 10 minutes before church. I am even in the Primary and was reminded about a hundred times, but yep... still forgot.
Sofie is growing up so fast. She is so much fun! I absolutely love having two kids and can't wait to add more into the mix :o) Sofie is such a happy baby, she is ALWAYS smiling, she smiles at anyone! She just figured out how to roll onto her belly tonight. She is pretty content to lay on the floor and kick her feet. In fact that is how we know she is awake because she kicks her mattress and all we hear is, "thump, thump, thump." The little stinker goes on strike from nursing about once a week though.
We are all doing well except we keep passing around the flu crud. I started it with the stomach crud, then Emma got the chest cold bad. She was having a hard time breathing, we were pretty worried for a while, but now her cough is just lingering around. Now Sofie has it but not as bad as Emma was and it seems to have made it back around to me again. No fun!
We have been pretty busy this month. My brother received his mission call the day after Christmas to Chile Antafogasta and he leaves March 11th! His farewell was Feb 15th so we went up to Idaho to visit. My sister and her little girl from Washington, my aunt and uncle and their boys from California, and my cousins from Colorado all came down for the occasion. It was wonderful to visit with everyone! I can't believe how fast time flies!
Well we hope all is well with everyone and we wish you all well! (I am hoping the new computer comes soon so I can post pictures)

Alive and well :o)

2009-02-02T12:40:00.003-07:00

We are still alive I promise! One month of a teething baby plus one attention deprived 3 1/2 year old plus a Wii (Wii fit and Wii Mariokart) makes for 2 busy parents and 2 generally cranky children. (We are slowly getting back on schedule) We are alive and well, I have just lost the desire to blog. It is slowly coming back I promise. Once I get all the pictures from the holidays onto the computer I will do some major posting, but until then......check back soon! :o)

What Color Crayon Are You....Ryan?

2008-11-20T13:05:00.001-07:00

Ryan took the Color crayon quiz, it fits him perfectly! Hilarious!

You Are a Blue Crayon

Your world is colored in calm, understated, deep colors.

You are a loyal person, and the truest friend anyone could hope to find.

On the inside, you tend to be emotional and even a bit moody.

However, you know that people depend on you. So you put on a strong front.

Your color wheel opposite is orange. Orange people may be opinionated, but you feel they lack the depth to truly understand what they're saying.

What Color Crayon Are You?

2008-11-17T11:10:00.002-07:00

My sister in law, Kim had this on her blog and I thought it was so cute! I just had to take the quiz to find out what color I was! Now I just need to get Ryan to do it......

You Are a Yellow Crayon

Your world is colored with happy, warm, fun colors.

You have a thoughtful and wise way about you. Some people might even consider you a genius.

Charming and eloquent, you are able to get people to do things your way.

While you seem spontaneous and free wheeling, you are calculating to the extreme.

Your color wheel opposite is purple. You both are charismatic leaders, but purple people act like you have no depth.

What Color Crayon Are You?

Silly Emma

2008-11-17T00:04:00.002-07:00

So I had to post a few of the funny things Emma has said lately so I don't forget. She loves her Bitty Baby American Girl doll, it is her "baby sister." She carries that doll around the house all day long. The poor thing has paint marks on her head from being whacked on the wall so many times, it just shows how much she is loved (remind me to not ever let her carry Sofie around though.) She has also discovered that she can copy what mom does with Sofie, and do it with her doll. For example, breastfeeding. She will sit down next to me on the couch while I am feeding Sofie and will "feed" her doll. A few days ago, Emma informed me that she had "chocolate milk in her boobs" because she drank chocolate milk, funny girl!
Every morning when Emma gets up she HAS to have a cup of chocolate milk, and will watch a cartoon while I get breakfast ready, then TV goes off. Well, she has figured out how to turn on the TV, so when I get in the shower, which is sometimes about 9am she turns on the TV, but not to a cartoon. Her new favorite show is The Price is Right. She runs back and forth from the front room to the bathroom (while I'm in the shower) to tell me everything that they have won. She gets sooo excited when someone wins a car! Too funny!

The Aquarium

2008-11-16T23:51:00.010-07:00

We decided to go to the Aquarium in Sandy on Saturday. It was so much fun, Emma absolutely loved it. I couldn't believe all of the different fish, corals, and undersea creatures they had. Emma's favorite parts were the jellyfish (she was very worried they were going to sting her "like they did Dory (Finding Nemo)" but after we reassured her they couldn't, she was fine), the shark tank, and the stingray touch pool. The touch pool was too deep for her to be able to touch them but mommy and daddy got to, it was pretty cool! I highly recommend it to anyone that is in the area!

I thought this was a really weird fish.

Too cute!

My little Sofie!

2008-11-16T22:03:00.012-07:00

Her favorite sleeping position.

Gotta love those chubby legs and the double chin!

This is Sofie and our friends (the Yorgasons) little boy. He is 4 weeks and Sofie is 3 months in this picture. He weighed 10 lbs 5 oz when he was born (his poor mommy), which was 2 oz heavier than Sofie was at the time. Wow!I think he might have bigger feet than Sof, what do ya think?

Our little Sofie is getting so big! Time goes by so fast. I can't believe she is almost 4 months old. At 2 months she weighed 10 lbs 0 oz (which is exactly what Emma weighed at two months!) She is over 11+ lbs now and so cute. (I think she is going to be a chubbier baby than Emma was) She has started to giggle and found her toes tonight. She can finally reach them and ends up turning herself around, so fun! My one favorite thing that I love, is to watch her in the bathtub. She absolutely loves the water (complete opposite of her sister) and I have to watch her closely so she doesn't drown herself :o). Emma sure loves her though, and gets really bent out of shape if Sofie doesn't smile at her right away. What a goof! We sure love our girls and can't wait to show them off at Thanksgiving!

Sofie in the bathtub, fun times!

Happy Halloween.....Better late than never:o)

2008-11-16T21:56:00.010-07:00

We had a great Halloween! Emma was The Little Mermaid and Sofie was our little "snack o' lantern." We had a fun time at our ward's trunk o treat (those things are great) and loaded up on candy. We also had a fun time carving pumpkins as well. Happy Halloween :o)

This is the classic Sofie pose:

Sofie wasn't too happy I was taking her picture

The final products! Mom's, Emma's, Dad's

Visit from Washington......a month ago

2008-11-16T21:32:00.008-07:00

The classic eye roll! Love it

What a cutie

I am finally getting around to posting what has happened at our house the last few months! It's about time! In October my sister and her little girl came down from Washington for a weekend. My parents came down and we had a really fun time. Shantel was able to meet Sofie for the first time and Emma and Zoey had a ball as usual. They had a ton of fun "scaring" grandpa and we were very sad to see them go, but we are excited to see them all at Christmas!

Awwww, saying goodbye!

Thank You!

2008-11-07T15:56:00.004-07:00

Sorry for not posting for so long. I promise new pictures of the girls are coming! Sofie is getting big and so much fun. She is such a smiley baby, I love it! Emma is getting smarter every day. She sure keeps us on our toes!

I have been in a reflective mood lately and couldn't let my feelings about election day go by without writing them down. I am so grateful to live in a country where we as citizens have control over what happens (to an extent) in our country. I think this past election day was an extremely important one in our history. Not only have we elected the first African American man as our President but we have taken a stand morally over several issues! As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I have been very aware of our church's stance on marriage and the family unit as a whole. I also strongly believe marriage should be between a man and a woman only. My aunt and uncle (Matt and Hayley) live in California and been physically and emotionally involved in promoting Proposition 8. I admire them for their perseverance in such a heated topic. They have posted some very moving and inspiring posts.

I just want to personally say thank you to Matt and Hayley for supporting Proposition 8 and the time you spent fighting for it. I can't even imagine the hardship and injustice you and your family and friends have been faced with in California for supporting this very important time in history. I am so grateful that you guys have stayed faithful in the church and supported our prophet and leaders in their (our) fight against same-sex marriage. I hope that in time this will all settle down but I am sure this is not the last time we will be faced with this kind of harassment and hardship. It is amazing how hard Satan is working to try and ruin one of the most sacred things we believe in. Sadly, I was amazed that Proposition 8 actually passed, but it renewed my faith greatly when I heard it did pass! I knew Satan was working just as hard or even harder for people to believe that same-sex marriage was/is okay. My testimony has been strengthened immensely in this church and in the gospel. I know that if I lived in California I would have been right by your side fighting for the sacred union between a man and a woman. I was also shocked to hear of the protest outside of the LA temple. There is also a protest expected to be just as large outside the SLC temple tonight. It saddens me that members of our church are being persecuted to this extent. If anything I see it strengthening our testimonies and furthering ourselves from Satan.Everyday I try to teach Emma right from wrong and I hope that she can become stronger than ever as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She, and all of us are going to need a very powerful testimony to be able to withstand Satan's powers in these last days. I also realize that this is probably only the beginning. Although it is saddening to witness the side of Satan getting stronger, it excites me because I know that the time when Christ will come again to this earth is getting closer. I believe so strongly in this gospel, I believe in Christ and in His church. I know that our prophet and leaders are called of God. I am so grateful for a church full of strong members fighting for our church and the things that we believe to be true. This all reminds me of the early years of our church and the persecution the members went through to build The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I used to think I could never go through the things they went through, but I know now that I would do anything for this church and this gospel. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I am so grateful to be a member of His church. Thank you again Matt and Hayley and to everyone that fought for Proposition 8. We love you!

2008-10-24T17:10:00.001-06:00

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

4 Things Tag

2008-10-02T13:40:00.002-06:00

4 Things I love about my husband: His smile, his sense of humor, the way he "pretend" plays with Emma, his willingness to work hard for our family so I can be a stay-at-home mom

4 movies that I would watch more than once: Pride and Prejudice (one with Kiera Knightly), P.S. I love You, Robin Hood (with Kevin Costner), Enchanted

4 TV shows that I watch: The Office, Chuck, Heroes, The Mentalist

4 Places I have been: Cabo San Lucas (honeymoon), Cancun, Alaska, North Carolina (visiting the Giffords:o)

4 Places I would like to go: Hawaii, Venezuela (back to Ryan's mission), Paris, Grand Canyon

4 People who email me regularly: My mom, Jessi, Shantel, Katie Hall

4 things I would like to eat: Anything chocolate, Strawberries, Cheesecake, Twice baked potatoes (with lots of cheese)

4 things I look forward to in the next year: Emma and Sofie growing up and learning new things, getting back in shape, Emma going to Sunbeams, Christmas!, Ryan and I's 5 year anniversary and hopefully an overnighter somewhere just the two of us! (I know that is 5 things but oh well!)

4 people I tag: anyone who wants to!

7 weeks old!

2008-09-25T15:35:00.002-06:00

Sofie's 6 weeks stats were: 8 lbs 12oz (Pretty good considering she came home from the hospital at 5 lbs 7oz) It is so fun to have another little one in the house again. She is always smiling and is starting to make sounds back when you talk to her. She is too cute!

Blessing Day

2008-09-25T15:05:00.004-06:00

Ryan blessed Sofie Anne September 7th and he did such a wonderful job! We had many family members join us and it was so good to visit with them all. Thank you everyone for coming! Here are some pictures!
I took these pictures a few days before her blessing. (I am not the best photographer but they turned out cute)

These are pictures from her blessing day.

Silly Emma

2008-09-23T21:48:00.007-06:00

While in Idaho for Labor Day weekend, it poured! Luke and Emma had a fun time playing in the rain!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!

2008-09-23T20:10:00.010-06:00

Coming home from the hospital!
Emma and Sofie meet!
Mommy and Sofie
First bath
Our good friends Tom and Julie Cutts and their little girl Eden ( I love that name) came to visit us when Sofie was 2 weeks old. They live in Minnesota and we don't get to see them that often so it was fun to reminisce and visit.
Our beautiful girls- 3 weeks old

What a cutie!

I'm Back!

2008-09-23T19:16:00.006-06:00

Whew! It has been a crazy few weeks but things are finally starting to slow down. Let me start by saying we are so grateful to have Sofie. She is such a good baby and so cute! We all love her so much and it is so fun having two kids. My labor with her was so much different than with Emma. I actually enjoyed labor! I was super nervous going in to be induced but after all was said and done, I would do it again in a heartbeat. They started me on pitocin around 4pm and contractions were regular around 4:45pm so I decided to get the epidural before the nurses shift change at 5pm. I was extremely nervous for the epidural after the one during Emma's labor (the tubes came unhooked and all the medicine went into the bed, them 2 seperate machines broke, leaving me with very painful labor) I had a little bit of a panic attack during the epidural but got over it quick when Sofie's heart rate started to drop during the contractions. I became very nauseated so they checked me and I was dilated to a 5. I switched to laying on my left side and then her heart rate picked up. After about 45 minutes I became nauseated again so the nurse checked me and I was at a 10 and Sofie's head was halfway down the birth canal. My doctor came and 2 pushes later she was born at 9:51 pm! The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck which is why her heart rate would drop during the contractions (that was very scary). I instantly felt tons better than I did after Emma and have felt really good ever since! She is such a sweet baby and my most favorite thing about her is the little patch of brown curly hair on top of her head! Okay enough writing, here are some pictures!

Emma gets a little bored because mommy spends a lot of time feeding Sofie. She decided to stack all of the yogurts in the fridge. Funny girl!

Sofie

2008-08-07T19:22:00.008-06:00

It's a GIRL!

2008-08-05T21:04:00.002-06:00

Sofie Anne Erickson was born at 9:51 pm Sunday night. She weighed 5 lbs 12 oz (she gets that from her mom) and was only 18 1/2 inches long. She is a really good baby and the labor went really well. Both the baby and mom are healthy and doing great. Starla will post pictures in the next few days.

Sunday is now the day!

2008-07-31T11:43:00.002-06:00

My induction date has now moved to Sunday instead of Friday. It is only a two day difference so not too bad! Wish us luck!

Baby Update!

2008-07-27T15:53:00.003-06:00

Everything went great at my doctor appointment last week and I am scheduled to be induced this Friday (8/1)! Aaahhh! I really hope everything goes okay with the induction, my doctor thinks that I will go really fast, so we will see. He also didn't think I would make it this far :o) I see him Thursday to make sure everything is still good to go on Friday so wish us luck!

Bye-Bye Jax

2008-07-27T15:49:00.004-06:00

So we found a new home for our kitty Jax. I have debated with myself over and over and finally went through with it. He was such a sweet kitty but had too much of a mean streak in him. He would bite Emma and I and left me with many bruises. Needless to say, it made me very nervous for the new baby! Jax wasn't very happy to be leaving but I hope he adjusts okay to his new home! We will miss him!

Pictures!

2008-07-17T21:29:00.011-06:00

I finally uploaded all of the pictures from our camera! This pictures is one of my favorites. I laid Emma down for a nap a few weeks ago and thought she was sleeping (hah!). When I went to wake her up because I had to go visiting teaching this was how she was dressed. When she went down for her nap she WAS in normal clothes but had dressed herself into this get-up. She was so proud of herself I couldn't bear telling her to dress back into her regular clothes. So, she came visiting teaching with me dressed like this! It was too cute so of course I had to take pictures.

I was so very grateful that Grandma Erickson came to the Emergency Room with Em and I when she broke her collar bone. Emma was such a big girl the whole time. She was really scared at first but calmed down quickly and the good ER doctor talked to her about Cinderella which made her feel much better! It has been a tough few weeks keeping that sling on her, but she has been such a good girl. In fact while she was playing with her (imaginary) "friend" Mermaid yesterday, she become very upset with her because "Mermaid" asked her to help her find some treasure, but Emma promptly told her, "I can't because I hurt my collar bone so I have to be careful." What a cutie, and what an imagination!

Ryan has been running very diligently the past few months training for the 5k race in Rexburg. All of the Erickson's ran the race and did awesome! I was very impressed with all of them and very proud of Ryan! He didn't do as well as he had hoped due to "too much fishing fun in Alaska" the week before, but I still thought he did great!

This was the only good picture I got of Emma on the 4th of July! Aunt Stacie made all of the girls matching skirts and they also had matching shirts as well. They were so cute! Emma had so much fun with her cousins, and I wish she would have had more time without a paranoid mommy :o) She broke her collar bone the 2nd day we were there so I was super protective and didn't let her have near as much fun as she could or should have! I hope next time we see them I won't have to be as paranoid of a broken bone so she can run and jump all she wants!

I love this picture of baby Adeline! Us "kids" went boating one day while Grandma & Grandpa Erickson took the grandkids to the zoo. It was tons of fun!

Aunt Kylie is the best! She laid down with Emma to get her to take a nap and they both zonked out. What a good aunt!

Idaho Trip and Baby Update

2008-07-10T14:58:00.003-06:00

We are back from our trip to Idaho! It was so much fun and as usual we hate leaving. Although our trip was so much fun it was also filled with much mayhem. For example, Emma broke her collar bone the night Ryan left for Alaska. (And yes they had tons of fun and success, but I will let him post on that :o) It was so wonderful to see the Giffords and we sure do miss them. We really wish they lived closer, (like we wish we lived closer) but in our own due time :o) The girls had a getaway trip that I was excited to attend but felt that I should bring Emma home, broken bone and all. It sounded like they had a ton of fun and I really wished I could have been there! We came home Sunday and Tuesday was filled with contractions 5-6 min apart. Yippee (no not really) I REALLY don't want to have the baby yet! Luckily the contractions have subsided to only 10-15 minutes apart since Wednesday morning, (still no fun). As for my 36 week doctor appointment today this is his assessment: I am "hmm" 2 cm dilated already, 75%+ effaced, and the baby's head is "wow, right there." Not sure how I feel about all of that but according to the ultrasound she is barely a 5 lb-ish baby, too tiny for me! Everything looks very healthy, lungs are good, she just seems to want to make an early entrance and I am okay with that I just wish she was bigger! My doctor doesn't seem to think I will make it past the 21st without a baby, so we will see. As for me, I am trying to come to terms with having a baby that soon, resting, and praying for a healthy baby! We are very okay with keeping her in there until the end of July first part of August. Wish us luck!

*I will post pictures later of our Idaho trip!

Idaho Here We Come!

2008-06-25T15:39:00.005-06:00

Whew! Vacation is finally here! We are so excited and have been sooooo busy the last few days. We have been looking forward to this upcoming vacation for a long time and now it is finally here! Ryan gets to go to Alaska with his dad for a fishing trip for a whole week. He is so excited and desprately needs a vacation. Ryan's sister Stacie and her girls flew in from North Carolina yesterday and have been staying with us until we leave for Idaho tonight. It has been so much fun seeing them, Emma sure loves her cousins. They are all so cute together, we sure have missed them!
One quick story of our last few busy days. So yesterday I was able to go with my Activity Day girls to an all day camp. It was so very hot but the girls really had a lot of fun. I was not excited to go being so pregnant and in the heat all day but it turned out really great. One of the activities they do is learning how to row a boat. Well, I figured this year I could convince one of the staff members there to get on the boat in my place. WRONG. The 16 year old girl flat out refused to get on the boat because she, "didn't want to." I clearly pointed out my lovely belly and asked her to go in my place, but she wouldn't. Okay I thought, I can make this work without being too embarrased right? Let me just tell you, the nice teenage boys there told me they didn't know if they could find a life jacket that would fit me. Hah, if that didn't make me feel better they finally found one and then had to lift me in and out of the boat. I really didn't feel that huge before but after the ordeal I felt VERY large! The other leader there took some pictures of me and let me tell you how absolutely embarrasing it was! Even after I got off the boat I had to have my activiy day girls put my shoes on and tie them for me because I couldn't bend over to do it myself. Awesome! Everyone there commented that they could pass that off as a service projest :o) Ryan thought I was a little pathetic not wanting to get on the boat when I told him the story, but when I showed him the pictures all he could do was laugh! Stinker! The best part of the whole thing was even with me in the boat our boat picked up the most balls in the water!

Potty Wars

2008-06-13T12:21:00.005-06:00

So I love my little Emma but somedays I go crazy. She has been potty trained for a while now but every once in a while it seems like she decides she doesn't want to use the bathroom, like today. We have seriously gone through EVERY pair of underwear she owns because she "forgot" to go to the bathroom. We now have no more clean underwear so she is now in a pull up, which is usually a fight to get her to wear, but she gladly put one on today. Aargg! What is the deal?

I forgot to post the following story a while ago but in light of today I will share with you a day in the life of Emma.

As I was cleaning out the "catch-all" room to prepare for the baby, I was DI-ing several old stuffed animals. They were in a plastic bin in the corner of the room. As I preceeded to pull the stuffed animals out I noticed that they were all wet, not stinky, just wet. Hmmm I thought, Emma must have spilled a sippy cup of water into the bin, oh well :o) they'll wash. As I took the bin into the bathroom to clean out, my darling little Emma came in and announced, "Who peed in there mom?" Choke, cough, gag..."What!?!" I exclaimed. NEVER did it cross my mind that she would have peed in the bin, but why would she ask if she had..... so I asked, "Did you pee in there?" Emma replied, "Yeah" and then shrugged her shoulders like, no big deal mom. Me: "Why..WHEN did you pee in there!?" Emma: "When friend Elise came over and we played." As I thought of the last time her friend had come over I realized that this was over 3 weeks ago! I had checked on them and they were playing nicely but Emma had wet pants, but there was no wet spot on the floor, so I assumed that I had caught her before she emptied her whole bladder on the floor. WRONG, she just sat on the stuffed animals in the bin, did her business then continued playing. So needless to say, the stuffed animals didn't go to the DI, they went in the garbage and we had a LONG talk about peeing in the toilet NOT other places. My favorite part of the whole thing was Emma's reply when I asked her again why she peed in the bin, "Cuz I was just playin'." Such a three year old answer, gotta love it :o)

A Whole New World!

2008-06-02T15:19:00.005-06:00

Emma LOVES to sing! Here is a video of her singing "A Whole New World." She was a little distracted by her wand so I will have to get a better one. This one is pretty cute though!

9 weeks to go!

2008-06-02T15:04:00.004-06:00

I love being down to the single digit countdown! My last doctor's appointment was last Thursday and everything looks great. She is measuring at 2 lbs 11 oz and is very healthy, which is great. Trying to get a decent 3-D picture of this one is a joke. Her hand is always in her mouth, arms crossed in front of her face, along with her legs crossed in front of her face as well. Maybe next time! I am very grateful she has settled head down finally though, I was a little worried. Between the very painful Braxton Hicks, a yucky cold Emma and I have, and swelled feet, I am doing great! No, I really am doing great, just some days I enjoy being pregnant more than others. Emma has been very helpful getting the babies room ready. I love how excited she is to have a little sister and always wants to help. She really is going to be such a big help and I am so excited for when they get to meet for the first time! Next appointment is in 2 weeks, yeah!

Ryan

2008-06-02T14:57:00.004-06:00

Ryan started training to run the 5k in Rexburg for the 4th of July a few weeks ago. He also started an Herbalife program and has lost around 15 lbs and several inches in 3 weeks! I am so proud of him! He has done so well and is very dedicated to his routine which is great. I am so grateful for such an amazing husband who works so hard to provide for our family. He is such a great example to me in his church calling and is always willing to help anyone in need. Way to go babe!

Happy Birthday Emma!

2008-06-02T14:14:00.009-06:00

Emma turned 3 years old May 27th and is such a big girl! Where did the time go? She is such a sweetheart and we sure do love her. She was so lucky to have 2 birthday parties: one with her friends and one with her family! And boy was she spoiled! We had a wonderful Memorial Weekend up in Idaho. We were able to see Prince Caspian and Emma loved it. Almost every Sunday afternoon, Emma and daddy watch Narnia 1 (as Emma calls it) and it has become one of her favorite shows. She was so excited to see "Narnia 2" and it was a great movie! We had so much fun in Idaho and as always, hate to come home. We sure do love our families and have so much fun with them. Our next visit will be the end of June/first of July to spend time with the Giffords. Yeah! I will be 35-36 weeks pregnant so that will be our last visit to Idaho until after the baby is born, wow! Emma and her friend Elise's princess cakes Emma and her friends! Her new fishing vest (one of many presents!) Thank you everyone!

Emma testing the water hose at G & G Erickson's house.

Princess Birthday Party

2008-05-22T14:29:00.002-06:00

Emma and her very best friend Elise have birthdays only a few days apart and have been secretly planning their party for months! Elise's mom and I decided to combine forces and have a little party for the both of them together. The girls were so excited! I was in charge of the cake and a little Bingo game. The cakes/cupcakes turned out really cute and they were so excited. I was worried about the Bingo game but it turned out really cute as well. I can't believe Emma is going to be three! She has grown up so fast and is such a sweetheart. At least once a day I randomly get a hug followed by, "I love you the mostest mom." She is one amazing little girl and is so excited to be a big sister. I have started to hide some of the baby clothes because Emma thinks her "baby sister (doll)" needs her bum changed and a new outfit all the time! What a good little mommy. She is going to be such a big helper when the baby comes and I am so excited to see her with her new sister! We love you Emma! We are headed to Idaho this weekend for Memorial Day and Emma's birthday so I will post pictures when we are back!

Vacation

2008-05-20T14:17:00.005-06:00

Wow, where do I start? The last few weeks have been CRAZY and so much fun! We have been so busy which indicates SUMMER is here! Ryan is keeping really busy with his calling, he is always out cleaning yards or visiting families, he really goes the extra mile. The Saturday before Mother's Day I had a Strawberry Freezer Jam making fest. I made 14 lbs of Strawberries into Freezer Jam, and it is sooooo yummy. There is hardly any room left in my freezer but it is already going fast! Mother's Day was wonderful, as usual :o). I bought myself some much needed maternity shirts and LOVE them! (Downeast Outfitters is great!) Last Monday night we met my mom in McCammon so that Emma and I could ride with them to Vancouver, Washington to visit my sister and her family! Let me just say riding in a car being 7 months pregnant entertaining a 3 year old for 12 hours is not my idea of fun! It is beautiful in Vancouver and we had so much fun. We played at the park, went swimming, played at Chucky Cheese, and visited the Oregon Coast, all in 3 days! We visited Cannon Beach and got to see the Haystack rocks. Ryan was super jealous because this is where the movie "Goonies" was filmed. Ryan is a die hard Goonies fan! It was a quick trip but it was wonderful to see Shantel, Bryce, and Zoey! Emma loved playing with her cousin, and was sad to leave. Hopefully we will get to see them in August so Zoey can meet her new cousin! I have many pictures that I am still trying to go through so I will post them later.

Baby Update

2008-05-05T13:30:00.002-06:00

Last Thursday was my 26 week checkup and everything looks great! The little one measures right where she should be and is a whopping 1 lb 15oz. I think we'll let her stay in there a little longer. My doctor excitedly reminded me that I have one more 4 week apt. and then I am back to every other week. It must have been the fact that I was tired and hungry, (oh and pregnant) but I did not receive the news so warmly. I burst into tears and mumbled that I wasn't ready or something, and he kindly reminded me that I still have SEVERAL weeks to go and that he can wait until 33 weeks to start 2 week apts. I gathered myself (embarrassed) and shamefully replied, "no that's okay, I'll see you in 4 weeks." It seems like I just "graduated" to 4 week apts and now I am already back to 2 week appointments. You would think I would be jumping for joy, and I am now:o)! I am just going to chalk that one up to wonderful pregnancy hormones!

Oh the Joy!

2008-04-30T14:02:00.003-06:00

Part 1: Last night our YW had a spaghetti fundraising dinner for girl's camp. It started at 6pm and poor Ryan received a phone call from the missionaries at 4 pm insisting that he needed to meet them at 6pm at a new member's apartment to clean. The lady was just recently baptized (like 3 weeks ago), her husband isn't a member (yet), they just moved into this apartment, she just had a baby and was coming home from the hospital and wanted her apartment cleaned (fair enough, I thought. I would rather have the Relief Society clean, but.......). The good man that Ryan is, said okay. He and his 1st counselor met them there and washed down their walls. Why the walls you ask? Oh, well because the landlord just informed them that the previous tenants were kicked out because they were making and selling meth from the apt. (Mind you this is 3 houses down from us, yippy!) Don't you just love Ogden! The new member and her husband are trying to find a new place to live, thank goodness, but in the meantime they wanted to try and clean a little, so this brand new baby didn't get sick, ahhh! So my wonderful husband and his counselor cleaned the walls of an old meth lab, then came to the YW dinner! Thank you missionaries!

Part 2: While at the YW dinner waiting for Ryan to come, Emma was running around the gym with her little friends. The YW were selling cupcakes and cookies to aid in their fundraiser. My sweet and innocent little Emma decided she wanted a cupcake so she went to the table and grabbed a cupcake. The YW told her she needed to go get her mommy to pay for the cupcake and then she could have it. Emma didn't like that so she licked the cupcake, yelled no, and then quietly came back to sit by me with her prized cupcake! (Stinker) I asked her where she got the cupcake and if someone bought it for her, knowing she probably took it. She innocently replied, "No, it's mine!" Okay, time for a lesson on stealing! Luckily mommy had 50 cents in her bag. We walked back to the cupcake table and paid for her stolen cupcake. The YW informed me of her wonderful behavior when they told her to put it back, (stinker) so we had our first lesson on stealing at a Church function! Wonderful.....

What a Cutie!

2008-04-30T13:29:00.008-06:00

Last week my cousin got married and we went to their reception in Alpine. I decided to wavy crimp Emma's hair and it turned out pretty cute. These are pictures from our photo session, but she had a REALLY hard time being still. She is growing up so fast! Every day she says is her birthday and she is going to be three, silly girl. Boy do we have a long month in front of us! Also, she is dead set on naming her new baby sister Sofie, so we will see what happens when she gets here!

I Would Die For That

2008-04-29T09:47:00.002-06:00

This is an amazing song, thanks Annalee (I stole it from her blog)! I don't know who sings it but it hits right at home. I have had several people ask me about our struggles getting pregnant with this one, and it is still really hard to talk about it. We are so so so grateful for the gospel, because without it, I don't know what we would have done. After I stopped nursing Emma when she was 7 months old (Dec 05') we started trying for another baby. It took 9 months to become pregnant (it only took 3 with Emma, no complications), and I miscarried at 6 weeks, that baby would have turned 1 on Ryan's birthday this year. After another 6 months, I miscarried again after 3 rounds of Clomid, last April at 10 weeks After 3 more rounds of Clomid, progesterone therapy, and baby aspirin therapy I miscarried again last October. We were pretty distraught and didn't know what to do so we decided to start the adoption process with LDS Family Services. I went to the temple and felt very strongly to try, "just one more time." So we did, no medications and sure enough we were able to become pregnant only one month after. So $10,000+ later, and it seems like a million dr. apts, we have a healthy baby so far! I am grateful for our trials because I have learned so much and made so many great friends because of this struggle. Ironically enough, this baby is due almost 2 years to the day after my first miscarriage and I know someday we will be able to raise those baby(s) whether here on earth or after. Our struggles though, seemed large to us, but are very minor compared to many others who struggle with becoming parents. I am very grateful for the gospel because if we had adopted this time around I know that, that child would have been "ours" the same as Emma is "ours" through the gospel!

Ryan's new calling!

2008-04-21T09:57:00.004-06:00

We had a wonderful weekend! Kim, Sean & Carter came to visit along with mom & dad Erickson, and Scott! We had a full house and it was great! On Saturday we went to eat at Tepanyaki's and mmmmmmm it was delicious. Sunday on the other hand was very eventful. Ryan was called to be our ward's new Elder's Quorum President, that's right President! The Stake called to set up an appointment with him a week and a half ago and he recieved the news. He was so overwhelmed but he is doing better now :o)! He is excited to learn and I know he will be a great leader. He hasn't been released from his previous callings yet of Scoutmaster and 2nd counselor in the YM, so this week will be fun! I am so greatful for such a wonderful husband!

Emma's funny quotes

2008-04-15T15:16:00.004-06:00

Mom: Look Emma it is snowing outside.
Emma: No it's not!
Mom: Yep it is snowing, look at the white flakes.
Emma: It's raining mom
Mom: No that is snow
Emma: It IS rain mom, cuz it is springtime. It's not snow.

Oh how I wish that were true, as soon as it was officially spring, no more snow!

(During bathtime)
Emma: (Looking at her stomach) My belly is all crunchy mom (breathing in and out)
Mom: All crunchy?
Emma: Yeah, look (pointing at her belly)
Mom: Why is it crunchy? (very confused)
Emma: Cuz look (pointing at all of the little blue veins in her stomach)
Mom: Ohhh (hmmm) those are called veins
Emma: Oh, they are crunchy
Mom: Okay? (Not sure how to clarify that conversation)

Hogle Zoo

2008-04-15T15:06:00.003-06:00

We made a trip to the Hogle Zoo last Saturday to enjoy the awesome weather. Emma had so much fun! We also had some friends join us which made the trip all the merrier! Emma's little friend Elise came and they were so funny together. They were very interested in all of the cat exhibits and continued to ask where Jax was (our cat). There was an exhibit with a little wild cat that happened to look exactly like Jax and Emma was confused as to why Jax was at the zoo? (Funny girl) There were several baby animals that had been born recently which made for fun pictures! I did forget our camera though but luckily both friends remembered theirs so we will have pictures soon. The weather was perfect and we had so much fun, although I am still recovering from all of the walking (I should really exercise more):o)! Emma is getting really good at riding her bike so we don't have to constantly push her anymore! We can't wait for more warm weather!

Mmmmmm

2008-04-15T15:01:00.003-06:00

I LOVE my new craving, it is soooo yummy! I am sure Ryan doesn't mind my cravings either :o). Nutella is the best with graham crackers. I had to make a rule for myself already, I have to spread the Nutella on the cracker, no dip and bite because the Nutella goes way too fast if I don't spread it!

Baby Update- Still a Girl!

2008-04-07T12:31:00.003-06:00

Last Thursday was my Target Ultrasound and everything was great. In fact it was the coolest ultrasound I have EVER had! I couldn't believe how detailed this ultrasound tech was, it was amazing. Our little girl is perfect, and progressing right where she should be, except for the fact that she is breech right now. There is still plenty of time for her to turn so I am not worried, just having a hard time breathing with her little head wedged up in between my lungs! (Not to mention plenty of trips to the bathroom due to her feet comfortably resting on my bladder) During the ultrasound we couldn't get a very clear shot of her face because she had her thumb in her mouth the whole time, and when it would suddenly move out of her mouth she was frantically trying to suck on her arm until she could find her thumb again, so cute! I don't think I am going to have a problem with nursing, or bottles, or pacifiers, yay (I hope)! Emma was such a stubborn little baby and only liked mom, which was fine except mom was still in college full time which made for many dashes to grandma's house to feed her! During all of Emma's ultrasounds her tongue was always sticking out, and that was how she came out, tongue constantly out and moving a mile a minute! It has never stopped. Trying to nurse her was a trick, I would have to push and hold her tongue in her mouth and then take my finger out while trying to get her to latch on before her tongue was out again. So much fun. We are hoping this one will take a binkie to at least give mom a little break sometimes! We are sooo grateful everything is going well with this pregnancy and hope all continues to go well!

Here is a 3-D picture of her sucking her thumb.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

2008-04-07T12:06:00.003-06:00

Saturday was Ryan's 26th birthday! We celebrated his birthday last Thursday night with some friends and my mom. My parents and I went in on a softball bat for his birthday present and he also got a really nice dutch oven and carry bag from his parents. All in all he got everything that he asked for and more! He was soooo excited about the softball bat and is very anxious for softball season to start! He is such a great husband and dad and we couldn't ask for anyone better, we love you Ryan! You are the best!

Oh and yes that is Christmas wrapping paper on his present, for some reason my roll of birthday wrapping paper is missing :o)

Yesterday's News

2008-04-02T08:05:00.005-06:00

There was a little 7 year old girl that went missing in Salt Lake on Monday. I watched the news the whole day and cried, it was so sad. The family recently moved from a refugee camp they have lived in for 20+ years to Utah and speak very little English. Last night they found the little girl's body in a neighbors apartment. It makes me so sad. While watching the news conferences, the poor family was so sad, the mom of the girl couldn't be there because she has been in and out of the hospital from having a baby 3 weeks ago. I hate hearing aboout these types of things but this one really affected me. I am so grateful to be a mom and I don't know what I would do if anything like that happened to Emma, it makes me sick to even think about it. I hope that we can keep this family in our prayers. Through the tragedy it reminds me how grateful I am for the gospel and my forever family! I hope that this family will be comforted in is time of need, keep them in your prayers!

How Is Your Food Storage?

2008-03-31T14:48:00.004-06:00

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

I saw this on someone else's blog and was curious how long our little famly would survive. I have been trying hard to work on our food storage and have been doing okay. For the last year I have had this very strong feeling of urgency to obtain our 2 year supply of food storage. Last summer I bought a year supply of flour (I am very grateful now because of the flour shortage panic). Little by little I have stocked up and after I counted all of the pounds of food we have, I felt a little better about our food storage. By all means we still need more! The one thing that I am very paranoid about is having enough drinking water, so slowly but surely I have been rinsing out any plastic containers we have and filling them up with water, and we have accumulated quite a bit but not enough for 262 days. How long could you and your family survive?

Beautiful

2008-03-31T13:54:00.002-06:00

Last week Ryan brought home some daffodills from work. They are soooo pretty! I loved them and love having a bit of spring amidst the snow (again)! I have such a good husband!

Baby Name Poll

2008-03-31T13:53:00.001-06:00

I changed my template and it deleted the baby name poll! We like having your inpute so please vote again! Sorry!

21 weeks

2008-03-31T10:32:00.003-06:00

I had Ryan take a picture of me last week and am just now getting around to posting it, sorry! This is my 21 week belly! The little one is growing stronger and stronger with the kicks and punches but I love it. Besides the yucky cold that we keep passing around I feel great and finally look a little pregnant! This Thursday we have our target ultrasound and will find out how big she is!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-25T12:05:00.007-06:00

For Easter Weekend we traveled up to Rexburg to spend the weekend with the Erickson clan! It was a blast! Scotty danced in Extravadance on the BYU-I campus and we were able to watch him. He did so good and it was fun to watch him dance again. Kim and Sean came up for the weekend too and Emma had so much fun with Carter. Saturday we had a Easter Egg hunt for the kids and then we went bowling. Mike and Shay were able to come as well and it was so much fun to see them. We haven't seen them for a while and it made us really miss living around family! Saturday night we went to Extravadance to watch Scott and then Sunday the Easter Bunny came. I didn't get any pictures of Emma searching through her basket because I was in bed sick with a nasty cold.. no fun! The Easter Bunny brought Emma a jump rope, fingernail polish, sunglasses, and new Mermaid underwear! Everyone went to church while I rested. Emma's Easter dress is so cute, but I didn't get a picture of her so I need to dress her up again so I can get a picture. Sunday afternoon we were able to go to Grandma and grandpa Erickson's for dinner with the Parkinson's and it was so much fun seeing everyone! All in all we had a great weekend!
It was realy hard to get a picture of the kids because they were moving so fast collecting eggs. Emma was especially fast, stealing eggs from Carter! Sorry Carter!

Grandma reading Carter and Emma a book. Playing with Grandpa! Emma crashed on the couch from a fun filled weekend!

Warm Weather... Finally!

2008-03-25T11:59:00.003-06:00

I love the warm(er) weather! It has been in the fifties the last few days and it is wonderful! We can finally leave the house without freezing. Emma has been practicing riding her bike and is getting much better! It was sunny outside so she requested some sunglasses. What a cutie, I can't believe how big she is getting!

Easter Eggs!

2008-03-25T11:40:00.006-06:00

While Grandma and Grandpa Skene were visiting for the weekend we dyed Easter eggs! (Even though it was the week before Easter!) Emma was so excited and as was Julie! I was very nervous that Emma would stain her clothes so I made her take her shirt off. It was so much fun! I bought a glitter dying egg kit, so we got to glitter the eggs after they were dyed. What a fun weekend we had!

Our finished product!

Disney Princess' on Ice!

2008-03-25T11:21:00.007-06:00

As an early birthday present, we bought tickets to Disney Princess' on Ice! Emma was SOOOOOO excited! She dressed up in her cute little Cinderella outfit and was ready to go! She was so excited and had the hardest time staying still for just one picture. Grandma and Grandpa Skene joined us on this wonderful adventure! When we walked into the Energy Solutions Arena it took everything I had to not bawl, it was so amazing (I am pregnant so I cry at everything)! I couldn't believe all of the little girls all dressed up and the feeling in that arena, it was pure happiness! Emma was so occupied trying to say hi to all of her "friends" and pointing out every princess and their dress! We had such good seats and even Ryan was all smiles! The show started and it was amazing. Emma knew every princess before they even came out. The ice skaters were wonderful even if there were a few crashes! Lumiere (the candlestick) from Beauty and the Beast tipped over and couldn't get back up because of his costume! I tried so hard to get some good pictures but it was really hard so these are the best I have.

The dragon from Sleeping Beauty blew fire from his mouth and it scared Emma so bad! If you were to ask her what her favorite part from the show was now she would say, "the dragon blew fire from his mouth!"

If you ever have the chance to attend any Disney show on Ice you should go! It was so much fun and I loved watching the stars and amazement in Emma's eyes. We had so much fun!

My Little Cake Decorator

2008-03-25T11:13:00.005-06:00

I have enrolled in some cake decorating classes so I can start to advertise and Emma has taken quite the interest! While making icing for my class Emma wanted on the counter to help. Well after a little powdered sugar mishap she ended up like this! It was so funny and she didn't seem to mind too much.

I gave Emma a bag of frosting with a star tip so she could practice like Mommy and she did really well! Of course the best part was tasting!

Jax

2008-03-25T11:05:00.005-06:00

Jax is our little kitten, or should I say devil kitten. He is lucky to be alive most days! The little stinker loves to try and eat Bruce (our pet fish),chase Emma around the house until she is in tears, and he will bite anything the moves. If you could remove his teeth I am sure he would be a pleaseant little thing but until then, I can't stand him! We still squirt him with a water bottle but he LOVES water. I have to lock him out of the bathroom while showering because he jumps right in. Now that Emma is potty trained I have to remind her to close the lid for the very reason that the cat will jump in the toilet bowl, flushed or not! Jax does have his sweet moments otherwise I would have thrown him out the door!

Twister!

2008-03-25T10:57:00.004-06:00

While at my parents house for my Grandpa's funeral, Emma found her new favorite game, Twister! She spins the board and then puts either her hands or feet on the coordinated color. She usually ended up looking like this until she tipped over. It was pretty fun to watch her.

Emma's quote of the day

2008-03-07T14:58:00.003-07:00

While on the phone with Grandma Skene this morning, Emma had a change of thought pertaining to another sibling.

G. Skene: Emma, are you excited to be a big sister?

Emma: No.

G. Skene: It will be fun to have a little sister though.

Emma: No, I want to be a little sister, not a big sister.

G. Skene: You don't want to be a big sister?

Emma: No just a little sister!

Our little artist

2008-03-07T14:51:00.003-07:00

Emma's new favorite thing to draw is faces. Her many "faces" are complete with eyes, noses, mouths full of teeth, hair, and sometimes ears. Here is her showing off her beautiful work! (Ignore the fact that she is still in her pajamas and the messy house behind her :)

Here is a close up of her beautiful artwork. She is getting pretty good!

It's a .......!

2008-03-06T13:53:00.003-07:00

We had a doctor's appointment today and the official ultrasound said that we are having a GIRL! Yep that is right, another girl and we are so excited! The last few ultrasounds have speculated pretty close to the boy direction but it was obvious in this ultrasound, 100% all pink. I have felt like we were having a boy all along until last week when I completely switched to knowing that it was a girl. Ryan was a little disappointed , but not as much as Emma. She started to cry on our way to the car when we informed her it was really a little sister. She was also set on a baby brother, but we are most and importantly thankful that the little one is very much healthy and thriving well!

My Pregnancy Cravings

2008-02-25T12:34:00.006-07:00

So far I haven't had any major cravings yet....well except for these two things. I decided that drinking that much caffeine is not a very good idea so I switched to this (just added my own vanilla flavoring)

I devoured a whole can of the cheese dip (and a half a bag of chips) in one sitting. Never has anything tasted so good! Poor Ryan I didn't leave any of it for him. Sorry babe!

Emma's new bed, Strep Throat, and visitors!

2008-02-25T11:48:00.005-07:00

Last Monday we bought Emma a new bed! She was so excited, in fact, Emma informed all of the salesmen that her new baby was getting her old bed so she needed a new bed. They were kind of ignoring her so she continued to tell them over and over until they acknowledged her information. Pretty funny. She seems so tiny in her new bed, but it is perfect for her to grow in!
That same day Emma came down with a fever which continued to the next day. I decided to take her into the doctor's after she told me her ear had an owie in it. I figured it was another ear infection but we were wrong, ears looked fine but her throat was pretty red. The doctor did a strep test and it came back positive, she has strep throat! Poor girl, she was pretty miserable that night but has been fine ever since. She was happy with her special Dora popsicles to help her throat feel better. Ryan and I were sure we would come down with it, but so far so good! This was our first sickness this year, so hopefully it is a while before we have to visit the doctor again! We were also excited last Wednesday to have mom and dad Erickson come visit us for the day! Ryan gave them the VIP tour of Flying J which he was pretty excited about. It was so fun to visit with them, we sure miss them and can't wait to see them again!