Big day for the Erickson's

So today turned out to be a big day in the Erickson household. We had Hadley's two month appointment, she tipped the scales at 10 lbs 2 oz and was 23 inches long. The put her in the 45% for weight and 75% for height. She also got three shots, which she was not a fan of at all. Everything checked out fine and she got a clean bill of health. Of course her Nana had to take her around and show her off to everyone in the office and naturally she was dressed for the occasion. After that Hadley and Steph went over to Steph's work so that she could put her two weeks notice in as she has taken a new position with Wesley Life in Johnston. She will be the health services director and oversee 8 marketing departments, needless to say she is excited for the new challenge. If all of that was not enough for a day, Carter came home from school with the announcement that he had lost his first tooth that had been loose for several weeks now. He was super excited as he gets to put his name on the poster at school for lost teeth and his teacher gave him a treasure chest to put his tooth in. On the way home from school I asked him how much money he thought the tooth fairy brought. He thought about it for a minute and said that he thought she brought $100! He is his mother's child. I remember the days when I was excited to get a quarter from the tooth fairy.

Renovation update: We have about 60% of the drywall hung and everything that is hung has been spackled and taped. We are hoping to have all the drywall hung by the end of the weekend and my goal is still to have a Christmas tree down there, even it happens on December 24th!

October Events

October had several significant events for the Erickson household. Carter spent a night in the hospital for dehydration. He came home from school on a Tuesday complaining that he didn't feel well and stayed home from school on Wednesday. He acted fine, but wasn't eating very much and wasn't going to the bathroom. Wednesday afternoon Steph took him to the doctor and I began to mentally prepare for him being admitted to the hospital. He was admitted, but only on an observatory 24 hour period. Thankfully he was discharged after his 24 hours of being in their. Of course by the weekend he was fine and attended the Iowa Hawkeye game with Todd and I. It was kind of a different game as instead of going early and tailgating, we left later and parked and took the Hawkeye Express to Kinnick Stadium. It was kind of fun, not something that I would want to do every weekend, but I know that Carter enjoyed it, so it was well worth it. Carter has started basketball, something that he has been talking about non-stop. His games are on Saturday's and he has practices on Sunday and Friday nights. He enjoys it so far, so hopefully he sticks with it and has fun. This month has seen Hadley grow like a weed. She is really starting to smile now and is staying awake more than she had been in the previous weeks. Carter is still a great big brother, he even has a big brother voice. He still helps out as much as possible, aside from changing diapers. Steph is still on maternity leave, and we are still married with her being home with me all day every day. Tomorrow is Hadley's 2 month appointment, so I will update again after that.

Family Pictures

Last Sunday we had our family pictures taken. You can go to the below link to view them.

To access your photos online, go to www.jillbrownphotography.com and click on “Client Login”

Find your event.

Your password: treeclimb

20 Days

Hadley is now 20 days old. So far she hasn't lost any of her hair, that was one of Steph's biggest fears. She is still breast feeding and staying on a schedule for the most part. Last Friday, she slept for five straight hours for daddy! Last week was her two week appointment and she weighed in at 7 lbs 14 oz, 2 oz heavier than when she was born. Her neck is getting a lot stronger as she is trying to hold her head up when she is getting burped. She went on her first salon visit today with Mommy and did great, like usual. Steph had her first alone day with the kids last Saturday as I went over to Iowa City for the football game. Not only did she survive the day, but cleaned the house top to bottom and gave both kids baths. Carter has continued to be a great big brother, he loves to hold his sister and always has to have her in the room when it is reading time. He loves school so far, of course he has made several new friends. His favorite school day is Friday, because it is show and tell day. Steph is doing great, but she is not looking forward to 9 weeks from now when she has to go back to work.

1 Week

So Hadley is now one week and somehow we lucked out again. She has been a great baby so far, eating every three hours or so and not being fussy hardly at all in between. She sleeps really well and has gotten back up to 7 lbs. 5oz. Steph is doing awesome and is really taking to the whole breast feeding thing, the accountant in me is happy about not buying formula. Overall the first week couldn't have gone any better than it has.

Hadley Vivienne Erickson

We would like to introduce Hadley Vivienne Erickson. She was born on September 3rd at 7:43 AM. She tipped the scales at 7 lbs 12 oz and was 20 inches long. She had a full head of hair, chich was surprising, since Carter had no hair until he was almost 1! Both Hadley and Steph are doing great. Hadley took to breastfeeding like she was a pro and mom isn't too shabby either. We came home on Sunday and other than Jax being a little weirded out by her crying, it has been a seamless transition. If you want to view her pictures from the hospital there are here: http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=ae437bec-06db-40c5-ada8-33ae2cbb54c5

8 Days

So we are now down to 8 days until the C-section date, which is September 3. We go in early on the 3rd and will probably have a new daughter by 8 AM. Last Sunday Steph had contractions for about 7 hours straight, but as soon as we went to the hospital, they stopped.
We had Carter's 6th birthday party early this year as it would have been right after the new one's arrival and he didn't want to wait. This is the first year that we didn't do a big event for it, we just had ice cream cake and presents, which are the only things Carter really cares about anyways. Of course he got more presents than he needed and the gift cards that he got were burning holes in his pockets, so we had to go spend them that night.
Carter's first day of school was today, he started kindergarden and is very excited about it. Most of the neighbor kids go to the same school, so he will have lots of kids that he already knows. He doesn't know any of the kids in his class, so he will have to make new friends.

Vacation Bible School

So while we were at Summerfest last weekend, one of the brochures we got was to send Carter to VBS. He was reluctant at first, stating that if he didn't like it when we walked in, he could just go home. We told him that was fine and signed him up. Well after two days he loves it, except for the fact that they only get one snack during the three hours and they don't feed him lunch, according to him "my stomach gets crabby." Here is a picture of him there.

Fishing

So after a year and a half of having a fishing pole new and in the packaging, I finally unwrapped it and took Carter fishing. Of course I was a little leery as his attention span is about that of a 5 year old, go figure, but he wanted to go so I agreed. After learning that taking Carter to a sporting goods store is like taking him to a toy store, he had to play with everything he saw and especially liked the fish finders. We made it to the pond, which is located right next to the DMACC campus here in Ankeny. Of course, he carries nothing, while I am forced to lug folding chairs, poles, tackle box, and our lunch to the dock. I was pleasantly surprised when Carter didn't complain about being bored or anything for the entire two hours we were there, especially since we didn't get a single bite. Of course when we were packing up, the people next to us caught a fish on their first cast, and Carter made sure to let me know that they caught something on their first cast. All in all it was a nice little afternoon out with Carter, I am sure we will be going back.

Baby's Room

I know that it doesn't have the furniture yet, but I did paint the baby's room. I had to go back and channel my former professions to get it done, but I think it turned out pretty good. If this baby turns out to be a boy, I am going to be so pissed! Everything is going along fine right now, Steph is still really tired, but not getting the morning sickness as much. Carter has gone through big brother class and is ready for his baby sister to get here.

Back in the metro

Hello from Ankeny, we are officially back in the Des Moines metro. After a whirlwind year, we have moved three, yes three times. We are settled in for the most part, but a year from now we will be moving back to Altoona when our house is done being rented. The good news is, I have become very good at packing a U-Haul truck, so if anyone needs help, I would almost go as far as to say I am an expert. We had a scare this last week, Jax our grey cat, was missing for five days, but Monday night came back after we had become resigned to the fact that he was gone for good. Carter was very excited to have his cat back, and George was super excited to have his friend back. Carter is adjusting better than the rest of us, he loves being close to his cousins and wants to see them almost every single day. Steph started back up last Thursday at work and already is accustomed to the drive and the new building. She loves having an employee right underneath her, pretty sure that she likes to be called boss! I have been staying busy with work and watching my neice and nephew a couple of times a week. It is good practice for when our little girl arrives and I am still not sure if I will be able to handle another Haas girl. Pregnancy wise everything is going fine, Steph is very tired most of the time, especially after a day of work. We haven't had any more Dr. appointments, but have another ultrasound in a couple weeks. Well that is all I have for now. If anyone wants to send me a gift of any sort :-), our new address is 5105 NE Ledgestone Court, Ankeny, IA 50021

It's a girl!

So surprise surprise, Stephanie couldn't wait the four weeks for our doctor's ultrasound and she had to go to a different one. I figured that it was probably the first time she has ever not used her birthday present on herself. The lady that we went to will only tell you what you are having if she is 100% sure and she said that she is 110% sure that it is a girl. Girls are not something that come easy on the Ehlers side, the last one that was on that side was my mom, and we won't flat out say her age, but it has been four grandsons and three great-grandson's since a girl. The only thing that I wish is the my Grandma was still around as I am sure she always wanted to hold a baby girl, but I am sure that she had a part in making sure we are having this one.

D Day

So over the last year we have become very good at moving, and as of the 28th we will be back in the Des Moines metro area. We found a house in Ankeny to rent until our rentor's move out of our house in Altoona.

Ultrasound #2

We had our second ultrasound today and everything is going great. Heard a heartbeat, 127 beats per minute, so good and healthy. Steph continues to be sick, but Carter and I are healthy. The embryo measured at 6 weeks 4 days and that translates into a September 12th due date. More updates as they become available.

Big News

So we had lots of good news in January so far. First of all we are moving back to Des Moines on March 1. Steph took a job at the West Des Moines Manor Care facility as the admissions director. I am going to keep my same job and work from home. Unfortunately we won't be able to move into our house in Altoona until November 1, as it is rented right now. We are very excited to get back to the Des Moines area to be close to friends and family. Carter is super excited to be close to his good friend Zane. Our other big news is the we are expecting #2! We aren't very far along, but are super excited to add to our family. The initial due date is September 9th, which is also Carter's birthday, so September will be a busy month for us. So far Steph has been a lot sicker with this one than she was with Carter, but other than that is doing just fine. She is anticipating five weeks from now when the first trimester will be over and hopefully the sickness will be gone. Needless to say the next 8 months are going to be very busy for us.

Christmas

So Christmas has come and gone and of course we spent most of our break traveling. Carter woke up Christmas morning and was very surprised by all the gifts that Santa Claus had brought him. Needless to say there were plenty. After we cleaned up the mess that was Christmas morning we packed up and started the trek for Ankeny to Nana and Papa's. When we got there is was chaotic, like usual, but what can you expect with 10 adults and 7 kids, 6 of who are under the age of 5! Carter had a great time playing with all of his cousins and openening even more gifts from Nana and Papa. Sissy got him new shoes, Hawkeye black and gold Nike's! On Friday morning we got up and Steph went to look at the West Des Moines Manor Care facility, more on that later, and then we started our trip to western Iowa. The weather was surprisingly good and we made it to Grandpa and Grandma's in plenty of time to see that there were even more gifts for Carter. On Saturday we went to Storm Lake to have a family picture taken with the whole Kuhl family, and let me tell you the photogropher must have had a wide angle lens as it was a huge group. After that we went to the Demers' family house for supper and then started our path back to Des Moines as the weather was supposedly bad.