Friday, January 30, 2009

mark your calendars...



march 18th is the big day... our lives change forever... again!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

what's new:

1) did you notice my new blog design? thanks to my seriously underpaid graphic designer (that would be clint) we have a whole new look around here. those of you who thought it was me, thanks for the compliment, but you really overestimate my talent and underestimate my laziness. i did pick the colors though! (yay me!)

2) it snowed again this weekend. not that i love the snow, but it was desperately needed after a few weeks of nothing and all the old snow was all nasty brown. it's amazing what a fresh new coat can do to an make the world beautiful again. i took this picture sunday morning because (although hard to tell from the pic) these were the biggest, wettest snowflakes i'd ever seen. it was like slurpee snow. apparently perfect for snowballs (what do i know... ?!)

3) owey finally fits into dad's belt - and we can't get enough of it. i just love that thing!! what a stylin' kid!

4) owen thinks he's big. he is now obsessed with eating like a big boy (notice the spoon in one hand and the other hand in his mouth - whatever works, kid!) and although fun to watch, it makes for quite the clean up.

i think there are pictures of me about this age with yogurt all over my face too. like mother like son i suppose.

5) an artist in the making. owey is so content drawing and is sure to be an artist like his dad. this keeps him entertained as long as we can keep the crayons out of his mouth.


6) one of my latest projects - here is the hat i just finished crocheting. carlie gave us a visor beanie that her son had outgrown and i went on a mad search to find a good pattern to copy it. i think it is to die for - now to figure out a way to make him keep it on his head. (i guess when it's cold enough out he keeps it on!)

7) this isn't anything new - i just couldn't resist snapping this picture of my cute tuckered out little boy. don't you just want to eat him?
8) i think we may actually have an official date for # 2's arrival. not exactly what i was hoping for (hard to arrange around a busy school schedule!) but what can you do? i'll keep you posted as plans are further cemented.

what's new with you?

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

faces of owen


is it just me or am i the luckiest that i get to look at this cute face all day long!?!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

the bump. well, more like the basketball...



be advised: very pregnant woman has been asked for a pregnancy update. danger!

(don't say i didn't warn ya.)
well, here we are at week 30 (and a half. let's be honest, the half weeks always count.) and i'm feelin it. it's funny the difference between this pregnancy and the first. since i was so sick with owen for almost 6 months, by the time the last trimester rolled around i was just so thankful to not be puking all the time that i didn't hardly notice the heartburn, the lack of oxygen, the crushing weight, the ridiculous bladder. well, that may not be entirely true- i noticed... it just seemed like such a relief compared to what i'd already been through.
this time around i was not nearly as sick (thank goodness!) but i must say the end of this one is much tougher. maybe it's crawling around on the ground playing cars, trying to hold a clingy toddler when he needs his mama, the already thin air, or that last time around i sat at a desk all day and then came home to lie on the couch all night. somehow i feel bigger (though i started out 20 lbs lighter than i was when i got pregnant with owen), more tired, and more dizzy pretty much all the time.
so, that's enough complaining.
i find that my emotions surrounding this pregnancy are so different. just like with owen, i am both excited and nervous, but in a totally different way. instead of the anxiety and unknowns of what it will be like to be a mom, now i just wonder how i will ever do it with two. will owen feel like he is getting the shaft? will there be enough of me to go around? will i crumble with no sleep, 2 babies, and recovery from a c-section? will clint get to spend quality time with his boys and still be able to do so well in school? i understand that i am not the only second-timer that has ever felt this way - and i know millions of moms have survived this stage. i really want to be present and somehow soak it all in instead of going into survival mode. any suggestions?
at the same time i am so excited for him to finally be here! i love the thought of our little growing family and being surrounded by my boys. we found out he was a he at a particularly poignant time for me - right around the election when i was so anxious about the future of our country and what that meant for my children. my heart was so full of worry of how they would handle the world and how i would prepare them for it. as soon as we knew it was a boy, clint reminded me that i'll now have sons to protect me and our family. my own little stripling warriors. what a comforting thought. i can't wait to see owey as a big brother and to watch these two grow up to be best buds. and to hold a teeny tiny baby again and kiss those tiny toes... oh, the thought makes me melt. i just can't wait.
as for the plan? i just found a new doctor here (thanks to aunt heidi), though unfortunately he can't see me until the end of the month. heidi recommended him since he did her c-sections, and i am just grateful to not have to pick a doctor by closing my eyes and pointing to one on the list. and yes, we are planning a c-section. i know it is possible to have a normal delivery after a c-section, but since the first one didn't quite fit, i have a sneaking suspicion this guy won't either. besides, being able to plan it all sure is convenient with a husband in school and grammy coming to help with owey and all that. my due date is march 21st, and i'm hoping i can schedule something the week before. i'll cross my fingers.
and as of now we are still undecided on names. we've gone back and forth on luke and a few others. the hardest thing for me is that there really isn't any name that i am just in love with. and honestly i'm not sure if we'll know before we see him (soooo not like me, i know!!) any names you love right now that a) go with erickson (no jacksons, hudsons, andersons, etc.) and b) are unique, but not weird (like owen)? most of the names on our list i have issues with how common they are (that's my biggest beef with luke). being a jessica, i know what that is like and want to avoid it if at all possible.
discuss.

Monday, January 12, 2009

side note...

so glad you all enjoyed the tour, and that you can laugh "with" us, not at us (right?)
just a few side notes- clint has always been and will always be the one with decorating sense in our family. so, i let him have at it and have yet to be disappointed. i will pass the compliments along.
the bathroom - i realize now that i didn't even comment on how freaky the shower surround is. unique is one way to put it. crazy weird is another. i think the walls are made of redwood or something? kind of like a sauna?!? i don't know who's idea that was! and remember how i posted not to long ago asking for your best shower cleaning advice? yeah- we're back to square one. i don't even know where to start. deck cleaner?
i laughed so hard when kim (one of my mission comps) compared it all to argentina... honestly, i hadn't even thought about it, but yes- the heater is pretty much the same, the toilet - just as frigid, but thank goodness we got a washer and dryer, so we don't have to wash our underwear in a bucket with a broomstick. (though we do wash our son in a bucket - sans broomstick. hmmm... which is worse?)
speaking of - taking a shower with owey might be a viable option if a) owey wasn't deathly afraid of the shower (i have no idea...) b) i didn't have a gigantic belly and could actually hold him without killing the both of us, or c) owey was awake by the time clint got in the shower (i'm not even going to complain about this one. sleep in child!) so, for now - plastic storage bin it is. that's all.
more updates to come!

"home is home, be it ever so humble." -proverb

welcome to our home!

we love to have visitors, so make yourself at home! mi casa es su casa...
as you can see, it's nothing fancy, but it feels just right for our little family and we feel blessed to have found something that fits our needs so perfectly.

this is where we spend most of our time... the family room. i just love the picture wall (clint's idea, of course). it took some convincing for me to love the old wood built-ins, but somehow it just fits now. the fireplace doesn't work, so we have to come up with something cute to keep it safe and covered up. any ideas?


standing in the family room this is what you see... looks kinda dark, but these are the entry ways.

i'm dying to get my hands on this baby, but it's hard to put money into something that's not even ours!

ah, the retro kitchen. the floors are new (hallelujah! no vinyl!) but everything else is seriously from the 50's. take a good look at those solid metal cabinets. i've never seen anything like them. the good news? owey doesn't even TRY to open them. who needs child locks when you have these suckers? and if you know anyone getting rid of a portable dishwasher in the area, let me know! these dish hands are killing me!


the source of our warmth and sanity. we were nervous about this - no central heat, how well could a radiator possibly heat a whole house? and would owey burn his little fingers everyday? so far so good - works like a charm, and owey knows not to touch it and says "hot" when he gets close.

by far - the biggest compromise when deciding whether or not we should take this place:



the bathroom. the one and only. if it looks tiny, it feels tinier. it is for sure the coldest room in the house. and no tub. hence...


that would be a plastic storage bin we are using for a bath. hey - whatever works, right? o doesn't even notice the difference. i know someday i will look back on this picture and laugh. heck, who am i kidding. i laugh when i look at it now! sometimes, you just have to make do with what you have, ya know?

sorry, no pictures of our room or owey's room (they're still a mess), but you get the idea.

really, all things considered - we couldn't pass this place up. a real house (no shared walls!), a big yard (complete with apple tree!), and best of all - right across the street from a great park that i am sure we will be at EVERY day in the summer. now hopefully we don't outgrow it too fast! i'd love to not have to move for a few years...

hope you enjoyed the tour! if you'd like to see it in the flesh (or wood or brick or whatever) we'd love to have you!

Friday, January 09, 2009

where to begin?

last night (after a week of disconnect from the entire world, i.e. no internet) i finally got a chance to catch up on emails, blog-reading, etc. and that's when i got totally overwhelmed by how much i have to blog about and how i have no idea where to start.
i could start with grueling details of our move, about how awesome clint did for yet another semester at byu-i, about our dreamy trip to san diego for 2 weeks - the food, the fam, the friends, and christmas! i could write about how big my boy is, how much he loves having his puppy back at our house, about our little house, about the 2 feet of snow we got this week, about clint's first week at (the true) BYU (so, i'm a little biased), about the 3 books i read this week (no internet and no cable - what else is a girl to do?), new years resolutions, how i'll be a mom of 2 in just over 2 months (yikes!) .... you get the point. this could go on forever.
yet, i feel like i have nothing to write about at the same time. a little "writer's block" if you will. still, since i feel i've totally neglected you, my faithful blog buddies, for weeks now, i must post something. forgive me if all i have the energy for is a few pictures:
unfortunately, i haven't taken many pictures lately (so even this is a total cop-out), and hardly got any from christmas (i know, shame, shame!) but here are a few of my favorites. next on my to-do's (besides showering for the day) is to take some pictures of our new place. (maybe i should clean first?)