More pics as promised

As I promised, here are the pics from my trip to visit Tamara in Washington. She took Cameron and I on our first ferry ride from Bremerton to Downtown Seattle which is a very cool way to commute if you have the time. It was pretty cold and very windy but beautiful nonetheless. We spent the other days walking the mall and scouring WalMart for the perfect diaper bag. We did about all we could while toting two little newborns. Never thought I would have to feed my child in a WalMart parking lot or mall lounge area. Tamara is a very cute mommy. You can tell she is a first timer because she is so very "by-the-book" still. She even had a few things to teach me. I guess my parenting skills have gotten a little rusty. Haha. Gotta love her and that little Marissa is a sweety. That hair is amazing. Tamara can barely keep it under control. Mike says she looks like Sonic Hedgehog in the morning. Wow! Her daddy better keep the baseball bat handy.

Tamara's beautiful house and the Seattle City Skyline.

Check out the link to the right for the Halloween Hangman game. I thought that was pretty cute. Be careful, its addictive.

Its beautiful here in Seattle...

I am posting this BLOG from the beautiful rural city of Gig Harbor, WA where my best friend lives just outside of Seattle. Since I am on maternity leave, Cameron and I decided to take a little jaunt up here to visit Tamara and her new baby Marissa. We have had a great time just visiting and hanging out. The weather is of course, you guessed it, very wet and very windy. I even decided to forgo my Diet Coke today because I did NOT want to get out of the car at the gas station. You know its serous when I will give up the DC. Lets just say I now know what "sheets" of rain actually look like. This is a pic of Cameron and Marissa that we had taken the other day. They are very cute. Tamara and I are determined to set them upso we can be in-laws. More pics to come later after I get home.

A day out with the kiddies...

My little sister Bonnie had her second baby, Baylee Grace, on July 28th so she and are both currently on maternity leave from our jobs so we try to get together to hang out and keep eachother sane. The other day we thought we were going to be ambiscious and take all the kids to the zoo (her 2 and my 3). Well we got as far as the Wendys down the street from my house before we decided that we must be insane. Considering that she and I are still in the sleep deprivation stage of postpartum recovery and we cant even all fit in the same car anymore, there was no need to torture ourselves by trying to drag an 8 year old, a 3 year old, a 2 year old (both napless, mind you) and 2 newborns to the stinkiest place on earth. So we decided on the park right down the street from my house as an alternative and boy was that ever a better idea. The kids had a great time and we got to rest, chat, hang out and enjoy our afternoon without losing our minds or killing our children. Also I had fun with my new camera. What cute kids we have.

A Proud Mommy Moment...

Little Paige surprised me the other day when she came to me wearing nothing but her "pull-ups" and said she needed to go peepee. This being the umpteenth time she had done this, I didnt take her all too seriously but nonetheless, I went with her to the potty and sure enough, to my utter awe and amazement, she got this look of ultimate concentration on her face and, then it came... she went peepee. I was so proud of her I literally got tears in my eyes. We went running out to where Daddy was and announced her accomplishment and guess what... Daddy got tears in his eyes too. ha! i called me mom to tell her all about it and she laughed and said she lived for the day that her daughters would get excited about peepee in the potty! What can I say? Good job Paigey!!

Super Soccer Star!!

Last year Braiden tried out for Sparta United Soccer Club. He returned this year and has been doing an awesome job in learning the game and improving his technical skills. He especially likes to play goalie and is very good. You should see him dive for that ball. There is a certain amount of pride in a mothers heart when you can hear other parents whispering about how good that goalie is. Yup...thats my kid!!

Although, he is awesome at soccer, Braiden really wants to play football next year. This of course makes me nervous but we shall see...

Super Siblings

Since Cameron has been home we have been quickly reminded what its like to have a newborn around. The lack of sleep was yet another thing that somehow I forgot about over the last 2 years. Braiden and Paige are super helpers and totally proud siblings. Braiden is the "poopchecker" as he says and will happily notify me of the need for a diaper change (for Cameron or Paige). He also is a great pair of quick feet and will run for a diaper of a burp cloth at a moments notice. Cameron has now been to a few of Braidens soccer games and getting first hand demonstrations of how the game is played.

...and baby makes...5!!! Welcome Home Cameron!

Hello all! Ok so I get a break from the once a week commitment. I am on maternity leave and so is my brain. The good news is that littel Mr. Erickson finally joined our family on September 10th @ 1:25pm. He weighed in at a whopping 8lbs. 12oz. and 20.5 inches long.

Giving birth is an AMAZING process. Thank goodness Heavenly Father helps us forget what labor is like from baby to baby otherwise this world would be full of only children. I can honestly say that this labor was the smoothest yet most painful one yet. Who needs the stinking epidural? We are women...hear us roar. Ok just kidding, I had the epidural after about 15 minutes of contractions. It provided welcomed relief and left me "comfortably numb" for a couple hours but , 4 hours later, when it was pushing time, yikes, lets just say that the phrase "burning ring of fire" has new meaning for me. 4 and half hours, start to finish, isnt too bad considering my last two where a minimum of 10 hours each.

Cameron has big blue eyes and my mouth (my kids all have that mouth). He has his daddys huge hands and fingers and his appetite. Let me tell you, the boy can eat.

So now its 4 weeks later and we are doing well and so is the little guy. Its so fun to watch how they grow so fast. Thank goodness for camera's. I went out and got myself a great camera with a warranty this time so that if my bad luck with electronics bites again, I have backup! So from here on there will be many more pics to see. Stay tuned....