Christmas Fun

Well, we made it through several gift openings, lots of travels in the car, and our house is a bit smaller with the addition of Elsie's HUGE new toys. It seems relatives love to buy toddlers big toys. This year's haul includes oversized stuffed animals, a Dora couch and an indoor/outdoor slide. I'm not complaining about the fact that Elsie is spoiled just making a new a new parent observation and wondering if our cute/cozy (MN nice word for small) house can keep up with Elsie! Of course her favorite thing to play with was dad's Gatorade mix stocking stuffer, see picture below.

In this next picture I like to think Elsie is looking excitedley at all her gifts waiting to be opened. In reality she is looking happliy at the fireplace saying "hot hot!"

We were lucky to get a visit from Santa, a.k.a Uncle Matt. As it turns out, all Santas are kind of scary, even those of the "uncle" variety.

Snow is fun, right?

Well, trying to be good Minnesota parents, we bundled Elsie up and went out to have some fun in the snow! Not sure if we got to the fun part, but we did get outside. We quickly learned that 5 minutes outside takes at least 20 minutes: at least 5 minutes getting all our gear on, 5 minutes picking Elsie up each time she fell down, 3 minutes trying to take a picture, and of course lots of time to bring in a crying baby who lost her gloves but does NOT want to come back inside. Oh, how I envy those moms in warm-weather states right now.

Father Daughter Bonding

Here's how Soren and Elsie spend some quality time on Sunday afternoons. Elsie in a basket and they are both looking very interested in something. I bet they are listening to their wondeful mom/wife...

Nope, it's the game.

Trick or Treat...a little late

I'm sure it's been a suspenseful week for our peeps out there...sitting around wondering "What was Elsie for Halloween and when are those lazy Ericksons going to make a post?" Well, here it is people. Our little lady was a bat this year. The costume was picked for two reasons: 1. We had a few bats in our house this summer, which is a whole different post and a story I (Anne) still cringe about when telling; and 2. I (again, Anne) have been borderline obsessed with a series of books revolving around vampires, so it seemed a bat costume was appropriate.

Pumpkin Time

Now that we have a year with Elsie under our belt, it's fun to start Erickson traditions, like going to the pumpkin patch and forcing Elsie to pose for pictures with pumpkins she's not interested in. You dedicated Erickson fans may remember last year's pumpkin patch visit when our little lady tried to nurse from a pumpkin. An odd moment but great picture. Well, no pumpkin suckling this year, just running around and away from the pumpkins in her sassy suburban cowgirl attire.

Uh-Oh My A**

One of Else's favorite dinner activities is throwing her cup, food, spoon, bib (you get the picture) on the floor and say in her sweet little voice "uh-oh!" It was funny the first time, but I must admit that it now drives me a little mad. One evening as I was cleaning up and heard the thump on the floor followed by an "uh-oh" I lost my motherly cool and said under my breath "uh-oh my a**." It's been a running joke for Sören and I ever since.

Here's a picture of the cup that drives me crazy and our "uh-oh" girl.

Making up for it ... big time

Dear Friends of the Interwebs:

We apologize. It's been too long since our last post. It would be one thing if we didn't have anything to share, but it's quite the contrary. Elsie is doing all sorts of new things (in addition to teaching us how to give her crackers whenever she wants one, which is ... well, pretty much all the time). She's been walking since Aug. 23 and spends a lot of time running around the house with her toys, books or sippy cups. She rarely stays in one spot for long. She also dances, says "Mama," "Dada," "Uh-oh," "Gahg" (aka "dog"), and "Cah-Kurr" (cracker) ... of course :-).

For quite a while, she's been able to crawl up stairs, and recently she figured out how to go down (backward on her tummy). She loves go to the park to run around, get a push on the swingset and even go down the slide. She is also becoming more and more ticklish.

I'm sure there's much, much more I'm missing, but here's a short video that should give you a nice snapshot of playtime with Elsie. Note that two of her new "tricks" are included: she lays on her stomach and scoots backward (aka "baby moonwalk") and also turns in a circle. Sometimes she'll spin in circles five or more times, try to walk, fall over and laugh. Good times!


We also had some professional 1-year-old photos taken recently, which you can see here.

That's all for now ... Team Erickson OUT!

Elsie's favorite thing to eat? Food.

Lately, Elsie has had a one-track mind. The only thing she seems to be concerned with is food. She eats nearly non-stop.

This morning, she ate more breakfast than me or Anne. In total, she ate an entire banana, a toaster waffle coated in butter, a half container of yogurt and about a half-cup of Cheerios. She also drank about 2 oz of whole milk.

That's a lot of calories for a 21-pound baby. On a usual day she has three square meals, two sit-down snacks and another two or three informal snacks (usually a few Ritz crackers or a handful of cereal). And when you don't have her food ready in time ... or if she spots a box of cookies on the kitchen counter? Well let's just say she is quick to clue you in to her objective.

Girl is a monster!

Turning One

OK, I’m a week late in getting the “I’m an official 1 year old!” post done. Let’s chalk it up to the fact I can’t believe Elsie is ONE and my teacher hat is back on which means I can’t spend my whole day blogging about how great Elsie is. Life is tough!

Elsie’s first birthday was August 21. Below are a few pictures of her on the day of her arrival and one year later. Yikes! So much has changed in one year! Elsie eats real food, sleeps through the night, has a sassy hair-do, shows us when she’s happy and mad and as of last weekend is walking!!! (video of walking to come later – remember I’m back to work so don’t get on my case!) Elsie’s amazing…we love her silly attitude, chubby legs, cute teeth – you get the idea, we really like her. Sören and I still peek in at her while she’s sleeping and say to each other “Seriously, did we make this beautiful girl?” For those of you wanting clarification…yes, we did.

More Cowbell, Less Cake

We had a big celebration to ring in Elsie's first birthday. Who knew she would be so disgusted by cake? After getting a handful of frosting she cried, screamed, and made a big unhappy scene! Other than the cake situation we had a great party. Lots of family and friends came to wish Elsie a happy birthday.

Maybe you would like to eat cake while sitting on Dad's lap? Um, no thanks...still hate it.
Here's Elsie during her topless gift opening. I like to call this portion of the party "Girls Gone Wild"

Soren Plays With Elsie's Toys

This is a re-enactment of a tragic lawn mowing accident that happened two summers ago. Unfortunately, the rabbit did not survive.

First "Official" Haircut

After butchering Elsie’s bangs two times, I decided it was time for the little lady to have her first professional haircut. Now she is birthday party ready. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but Elsie now has a very stylish wedge and the back of her hair is “stacked.” If your thinking “Wow, Anne that sounds a lot like your hair style,” you are on the right track. I’m turning her into my little mini-me. My best buds from high school will appreciate all the hoods on Elsie fall clothing! One day soon she will be telling me exactly what she likes and does not like, but until then she’ll be sporting my MN style.

Here’s a picture of Elsie before her haircut.


And drum roll please...

Family Fun

Even after almost a year with Elsie, there are times I still have a hard time believing this is my family! I continue to feel so fortunate to have this healthy, funny, adorable little girl in my life. We were at my parents on this beautiful summer day, enjoying family, playing cards, and soaking up the sun. What a lucky lady I am!

Sweet Tooth

Elsie was quick to take a taste of my licorice! We were able to have a “Lady and the Tramp” moment with our treat.

A Trip to the BIG City

Sorry Elsie, no traveling for you this time.

We left Elsie with her grandma and grandpa and took off for New York City to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. We were so busy we almost didn't have time to miss our little lady. Some highlights from our trip: watched the MN Twins play New York Yankees and bought tickets from scary scalpers, lots of delicious dinners and drinks, went to a Broadway show, lots of sightseeing...Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Grand Central Station, Central Park, Chinatown, and I'm sure I'm missing something. We loved our trip but are happy to be back enjoying the quiet and fresh air of Farmington and being entertained by Elsie.


Cheering on the Twins.


Can you see me in Times Square?!


On top of Empire State Building

Big Sloppy Kisses

Elsie’s new trick this week is leaning into your face and giving you a big, wet, mouth wide-open kiss. Sometimes the kiss is on your cheek, forehead, nose, or if your really lucky on your mouth! I remember brining Elsie home and thinking how I couldn’t wait until she could show us she loved us (or even just liked us!) The first few months, her not crying was our signal she was happy with mom and dad. Her kisses were worth the 11-month wait!

Big hugs

Elsie is a pretty rambunctious little girl. She spends most of the day crawling between the living room, where she empties her toybox onto the floor, and her bedroom, where she scatters her books and pages through them. She pulls herself up on anything in arm's reach and has even learned how to climb steps.

She's kind of shy around most of our friends and family, but trust me: She is a wild child!

Here's a video we shot of Elsie playing with her favorite stuffed animals (Horton the elephant and Mr. Bear). She likes to hug them and rub their soft fur on her cheeks. Check it out:

Giggles and Walking

Here's some footage of Anne making Elsie laugh:

And here's Elsie cruising around w/ her push toy:

10 Months Old!

Lots of changes came during Elsie’s march to being 10 months old! In one week she figured out how to sit-up when laying on her belly, pulling herself up to stand and cruise on furniture, crawling on all fours, which she is a master at now, and even took her first two steps yesterday! The steps were taken by accident and surprised all of us! Elsie is beginning to show us more of her personality too. She is very observant and maybe a little shy when in new situations, but once she has warmed up to the new people she is back to her silly self. We think she takes after her mom and is a bit of a “nervous nelly” when in new places! She loves looking at and chatting to her books and going swimming with mom. We continue to enjoy all the time we spend with our little stinker and can’t believe her one-year birthday is quickly approaching!

Happy Father's Day

We had a great da-da day (as Elsie would say). We went to the MN Zoo and had thai take-out for lunch, Soren's new fav food.

Elsie helped with this post and shared some of the favorite things about her dad:
1. He makes funny faces and noises, especially the GRRRR face.
2. He reads books to me to help me fall asleep.
3. He flips me around (something my mom is way too afraid to do)
4. When he comes home from work he yells "Hey Ladies" and that always makes me smile.

Elsie also mentioned something about how she loves how great her dad is to her mom, examples: mom got to take a nap on father's day, he has no problem with mom having a girls night with her crazy friends, and says nothing when mom watches some mindless reality tv on BRAVO! Mr. E - you are the best!

School's Out for Summer!

This week marks my first official week of summer vacation. It was a CRAZY last week in kindergarten! My teacher gear is packed away and I'm ready to enjoy being with Stinker (a.k.a. Elsie) all summer! On Tuesday we spent the day at my parent's house where Elsie had lots of fun on the swings grandpa put up in their backyard. My sister and I enjoyed manicures and pedicures, mother's day gifts from our husbands, while grandma and grandpa enjoyed Elsie and Gabe.




Elsie's and her favorite playmate cousin Gabe!

Good Morning!

This is how Elsie greeted us yesterday morning! Sitting up with a big smile on her face. Going from belly to sitting up is one of Elsie's many new tricks. She is so proud of this accomplishment (as are her adoring parents)!

Learning to crawl!

Elsie turned 9 months this week and is growing into quite the little Wild Thing. She's 19 lbs, 12 oz, 28.5 inches tall and lots of fun to play with. Here's a video of her during one of her many "training sessions" ...

You see the size of that chicken?

Like Mother Like Daughter

Happy Mother's Day! I wonder where Elsie gets her hairstyle inspiration from? As you can see from this photo, I think being a mom is the most fun thing I have ever done! Elsie continues to make me laugh, smile, and sometimes happy cry. I am thrilled to join in on the Mother's Day celebration. After laboring (for way too long) and delivering Elsie I have a whole new respect for my mom and all my girlfriend moms who bring these specials babes into the world. It's tough work, but so worth it! I will spend the day celebrating with two of my favorite mothers: my mom and my sister.

Erickson girls out.

We Came, We Saw, We Walked

Elsie's first MS walk was a success! The weather was great and they gave us Papa John's pizza for lunch, which Elsie enjoyed watching us eat. Elsie asked we give a BIG thanks to her donors:

Grandpa and Grandma G, Grandpa and Grandma E, Uncle Matt, Uncle Cliff, Auntie Stacey, Uncle Nathan, Cuz Gabe and Great Auntie Carole.

Team Erickson

My future's so bright...

Elsie hams it up w/ Kathy, our team captain.

Elsie's World

This week Elsie joined the 8-month old group. Here are some of the things we love about Elsie this month:

* is sleeping through the night (most of the time)

* smiles more than ever before

* laughing on her own. We often wonder what's so funny!
* tumbles, rolls, and stretches, no crawling yet - Sören predicts it will happen sometime this week.
* plays a mean game of peek-a-boo

Friday night date night at El Tequila, our favorite Mexican restaurant! The food is surprisingly good for a restaurant that is attached to a gas station:


Elsie is showing off her do to her cousin Gabe who likes to sport a Mohawk:



Elsie enjoying a good read:

Every (little) person makes a difference

This afternoon, Elsie said this: "Rwalad. Rah-lah. Bah-bah-bah-bah! Gru-lunmph."

After much discussion, debate and careful decoding, Anne and I believe this is an approximate translation of her statement: "I want to do the MS Walk on May 4. You can push me in my stroller since I don't know how to walk yet. What's more, I think you should use my blog to ask people to donate money to sponsor us. Make it happen."

Well, who are we to say no to such an adorable, selfless and intelligent young woman? So we bundled Elsie up in some warm clothes, pulled one of Anne's MS Walk T-shirts over the top, and went for a "training walk" to our local park.

You can make a donation — large or small — by making a Paypal payment to soren24 at charter.net, or mailing a check to us (payable to National MS Society) at 17224 Finch Path, Farmington, MN 55024. Whatever you can give will help. Elsie (and Anne and Sören) appreciate your support and promise to post photos of the big walk. Thanks!

The Best Medicine

I'm making my Elsie blog debut to share this video of Elsie's first swimming pool experience during our trip to St. Louis. I don't know if she's enjoying the water or the faces Anne was making at her, or both ... but this is priceless. Watch and enjoy:

Road Trip!

We (Sören ) packed up the car and headed to St. Louis for Spring Break.

I have to admit that a nine-hour drive with a 7-month-old did not sound like much fun, but turns out Elsie and Sören are great road trip companions.

I had no idea my husband was such an expert road tripper ... Did you know the passenger should be able to reach the cooler, garbage, and food box while keeping his/her seatbelt buckled?



Elsie enjoyed a Budweiser tour, going to a museum, and checking out the Gateway Arch. We also had a fun dip in the pool.