Bunk Beds!

BIG changes in the sleeping arrangements at Casa Erickson. Margot is out of her crib and living the dream on the bottom bunk. Big sister Elsie is thrilled to have her sweet dreams on the top bunk and be "upstairs with the rest of the family" to hear her talk about it, you'd think her old bedroom was down in the dungeon when in reality she had a nice room to herself in the lower level of our cozy split level home.

The girls are both really enjoying sharing a room, which is a SHOCKER to me!  I anticipated lots of problems at bed time, but other than a few sister whisper before falling asleep, they are doing great.   

Happy camper #1. (yes, elsie is wearing a winter had to bed.  an odd "stage" she went through for a few weeks)

                                                                   Happy camper #2.

                                                                         Sleeping beauties

Hello, we are still here...

Oh, how frustrating technology can be.  This is Anne, signed in as SAE aka Soren.  I've been having mucho problems logging into the blog, and the format is all wonky when I do.  So while I try to get my act togher I wanted to send a quick mesage out to any Erickson fans still out there checking our blog.

Yes, Elsie and Margot are still being cute as ever (proof pictured above).   

Yes, I've had a few minor distractions like getting an ipad, dancing with the stars season 14, and Margot never wanting to take a nap. These factors may have played a part in my attempt to figure out this blog situation.  But folks, once my IT guy is back in town we are going to get to the bottom of this and show you more pics of Elsie and Margot then you will care to see. 

 

Fun in the Sun

We spent a week in Playa del Carmen, Mexico with the Erickson side of the family (the girls' grandparents, uncle, aunt, and cousin). We had a fantastic time! Here's what a typical day for us looked like:

1. Wake up. 2. Watch about an hour of cartoons in Spanish (the language barrier did not bother the girls, which we are thankful for because finding a quiet activity for them to do before sunrise was a challenge...our children do not sleep in) 3. Have breakfast at a delicious bakery or restaurant. 4. Spend a few hours playing in the ocean. 5. Back to condo for lunch and naps. 6. Spend some time playing in the pool. 7. Go out to eat for dinner and ice cream. 8. Go to bed, wake up, and repeat these steps. (For the adults, add "and drink beer(s) and/or cocktail(s)" to numbers 4-7).

We really took advantage of the warm weather, having each day wide open for playing in the sun, and enjoying being together as a family. I know that sounds corny, but it was so nice to have time together and not having a list of chores/errands/things to get done.

And now some pics of the Erickson family getting loco in Mexico...

Anne and Margot enjoying beverages while watching the Super Bowl. We watched the game at an outdoor restaurant. Side note - people (notably the Mexicans and European tourists) were way more into the halftime show than the game. As I had my eyes glued on the show, Soren went for a walk and noted that the streets were lined with people peering into bars to see Madge strut her (old) stuff. Nothing better than eating outdoors.

Surprise! A wave is going to get ya! The girls LOVED playing in the ocean. They floated around for hours in their life jackets.

Cute sister pose while waiting for a souvenir. The hot item this year was to get your name written on a bracelet. In my day it was to get your name on a piece of rice, which was so weird.

Beach bum #1

Beach Bum #2

We had lots of delicious meals. The oddest might have been an out-of-the-way Italian restaurant we went to. The food was soooo good. We found it hilarious that Garfield seems to be the international sign for Italian food. In case you are not familiar with Garfield, he is the orange cat pictured on the menu. The man in the background is Soren

The one family picture we took while on vacation to prove we were all there together.

Lots of fun on the plane ride. A DVD player, stickers, treats, coloring books, more treats, play-do and books kept the Erickson ladies entertained on the plane. On the flight home Margot was randomly picked to have "extra" screening done before she got on the plane. A sassy 2-year-old getting some extra security attention makes for a funny way to end the trip.

Here's what we are not doing this week...

Playing in the snow:

I'm writing this blog on day 5 of our sunny Playa del Carmen vacation. (this winter picture was taken a few weeks ago) Yes, I repeat, sunny Mexico is where the Erickson family is playing this week. We have become total beach bums. The girls have had more sprite in the past 5 days than in their entire life and the same could be said for the amount of Corona the adults are consuming. We are having a blast and I'll be sure to post some sunny pics soon.

p.s. Uncle Matt was giving me a hard time about my infrequent blogging so I thought I'd take some time out of my nap to give him a post. your welcome!

Happy New Year

Here's our annual New Year's photo. 2011 was a good year in our neck of the woods....Anne experimented with bangs, Soren closed out the year losing 15 pounds (surgery recovery)he still can't fit into skinny jeans..we assume. Elsie found a way to make stripes and polka dots look good, and Margot has perfected her grumpy voice and it is hilarious.

Christmas, In Photos

This year the Erickson's had to overcome some obstacles during the Christmas season. These obstacles included Soren having tonsil and deviated septum surgery, which lead to a wicked recovery and a trip to the ER. 18 days post-surgery and he is feeling much better. While Mr. E was suffering in bed both the girls came down with a nasty cold/cough and to top it off Margot spent one night getting sick several times in her crib. However, no adult (Anne) cried or had a major breakdown and we still had several wonderful Christmas celebrations.

There is nothing better than sharing this holiday with a 2 and 4-year-old!

Here's Elsie and Margot getting a big kick out of the crazy Santa at the Mall of America.
The cousins going CRAZY while waiting for Uncle Matt to arrive so they could open presents.

Our first no-tears visit with Santa.

Could Elsie's grin get any bigger?

Margot modeling her new dress-up clothes.

Merry Christmas from the Erickson family!

Christmas Baking

Lame excuse #1 for why the blog has been lacking: We've been doing so much holiday baking (and eating) around the Erickson house.

Margot enjoys some home made whipped cream Soren whipped up.

My merry Christmas elf carefully puts a chocolate in each pretzel.

Gingerbread house time. As you can see Elsie had a great time. No-smile Margot had fun too, but decided to pull her grouchy face for the picture.

We might just have a professional baker on our hands.

Margot spent most of her baking time using the dough like play-do. Yes, she was in a headband stage during December.

Cookie decorating with Grandma and Grandpa G., Gabe and Stella. I'm not kidding when these cookies looked too good to eat (aka cookies stuffed with frosting and sprinkles)