henry has a girlfriend.

remember owey's girlfriend audra? well, just so happens audra's little sister sadie mae (cutest name ever?!?) was born on saturday and doesn't know yet that she too is betrothed... henry can't wait to meet her! (us too!)
and guess who made her cute blanket? almost made me want a girl. almost. (not for a looooong time.)
here's another look:


i actually made it all out of scraps and some minky for the back.
and then i had to whip up these babies...



mary janes are to die for. just sayin'.

henry and sadie sittin' in a tree...

progress report.

food.
it's a love hate relationship.
thanks for all the advice - i thought i'd document the progress (baby steps) we've made around here.
first, i guess i should clarify. it's not that owen doesn't like to eat. in fact, he LOVES to eat. he would eat all the live long day if i would let him. the biggest problem is that he wants to eat what he wants to eat and when he wants to eat it - which presents many problems. for instance: he is totally addicted to raspberries and strawberries and would eat so many that he would get a gnarly diaper rash... now i just don't even buy them because every time i opened the fridge it would turn into a fight. he doesn't get the whole 'all things in moderation' thing and completely doesn't understand the link between the owee bummy and the berries. same thing with beans (see photographic proof above.) so, i'm just trying to figure out how we can both be happy.
i'm starting small here, so my first 4 goals that i have implemented this week are:
1) something green on his plate for lunch and dinner (even if he doesn't touch it for now... i can't force him to eat it, but i can give him the option)
2) a good healthy breakfast (this really is his biggest and best meal of the day - usually a whole banana, a few handfuls of blueberries, some mandarin oranges, and some cheerios. maybe even yogurt too if he's really hungry. seriously - there is no way this kid's stomach is the size of his fist because he can really pound it when he wants to.)
3) he eats what we eat for dinner. so far he has probably gone to bed pretty hungry because he's not really buying it, but this really helps with my sanity if i'm not trying to cook dinner for us and then figure out what in the world he might possibly eat.
4) stop stressing. after reading up online and getting all of your comments i have realized that owey is just a normal toddler. phew.

if you are having some of the same issues and want a good resource i highly recommend this website. super informative and helpful.

alright. here's hoping for more progress!

2 months

henry, henry.
2 months old? seriously? wasn't it just yesterday that i was counting down the days until you arrived?
it's funny how you fit so perfectly into our family and until you were born we had no idea what we were missing out on. you are such a beautiful, happy boy, and i just can't get enough of you.
i am so anxious to learn more about you and see what you'll become. so far you have proven to be patient and calm, and heaven knows we could use more of that around here!
i looooove listening to your little smiley coos and watching you drift off to sleep. you are already getting too long for some of your 0-3 month clothes, and that seems impossible to me! no more growing up! you love your brother as much as he adores you and nothing warms my heart more than seeing you grin that toothless grin up at him.
thanks for coming to our family - we love you sooo much!
i'm looking forward to a fun and adventurous summer with my boys!

please, please, please tell me someone has the answers....

so, as it turns out, my toddler didn't come with an instruction manual.
and i need help. for reals.
i know, you are shocked. up until now you thought owey was perfect in every way. well, he is - mostly. there's just one thing...

anyone have the magic solution to major eating problems (as in throw a tantrum about food 500 times a day - only wanting snack foods and never actually eating a real meal....)??
we are frustrated not knowing how to reason with an unreasonable little boy.
do i:
a) dejunk the whole house. no snacks. eventually he'll be hungry enough to eat something, right?
b) decide not to fight this battle - soon enough we will be able to communicate better and we can tackle it then.
c) try and reason with him and continue this tantrum cycle as is, hoping that if we are consistent enough eventually he'll get it.
d) none of the above. (please offer any alternative suggestion before i pull my hair out!)

in effort to help with the communication i have made a little picture book of all of the foods available so that he can show me what it is that he wants. works out great for communicating, however, i think yesterday he had like 6 slices of cheddar cheese and not much else.

i want to be a good mom and raise a healthy, happy child! how can i maintain my sanity without turning him into a spoiled, demanding little monster?

please tell me you have the answer...?!

still alive. barely.

i know, i know. it's been like a gajillion years since i've posted anything and you are all dying to see some new pictures of my beautiful boys and can hardly stand another day of not knowing what is going on in our fabulously exotic lives. (humor me.)
poop.
spit up.
tantrums.
you get the point.
it's a party 'round the clock in the erickson household.
in all seriousness, we have had some adventures in the past few weeks that are blogworthy, but i, unfortunately lack the steam to make them sound exciting or even to take pictures of them in the process. i know, bad blogger. bad, bad, bad blogger. (forgive me.)
so, this little rundown will have to do, and i will try and come up for air more often to keep all 5 of you readers entertained. beware- i'm feeling kind of snarky today. (don't say i didn't warn you!)

CALIFORNIA:
clint had a few days off school and we decided "let's go to california!" because- what else would you want to do with an 18 month old and a 5 week old?! doesn't an 11 hour car trip sound like the perfect thing? actually - the boys did really well all things considered. i spent most of the car ride both ways with my big post-pregnancy butt wedged between the two carseats feeding one or entertaining the other. man, i'm a nice mom. and this is where i bear my testimony about portable dvd players. serioulsy. i know they are true. amen.
we had a great weekend with family and friends (all too quick, of course) and even though it was overcast most of the weekend, we still managed to hit the beach twice and avoid the snow/hail/rain storm that pounded utah county while we were gone.
as i said, i only took a few pictures - you guessed it - owey at the beach.

BLESSING:
at the beginning of this month we blessed henry. it was awesome to have so many of our family members close enough to come and so many that went the distance to be here as well.
i spent most of the weekend with my parents and bro and sis-in-law and tried desperately to fool them into believing i had everything under control with 2 kids. pretty sure they didn't buy it.

owey had meltdown after meltdown (why did the terrible two's come 6 months early?) and i just tried to hold it all together. sunday we filled up about 5 rows at church and afterwards we had a little lunch for everyone (the heavens opened and the rain cleared up for a few hours for us to go to the park since our house is a little small for a crowd of 50+.) by sunday evening we were so exhausted and i was ready to have my house back, but as soon as everyone left i was so sad. i miss my family so much and it was awesome to have most of them there. (missed you provosts!) of course, i have no pictures - but as soon as i get them from clint's dad...
the actual blessing was beautiful. have i ever told you how grateful i am that clint is these kid's dad? i am.

OWEN:


as i alluded to, owey is in a bit of a phase (let's hope that's what this is.) some days he's an angel. some days he just loses it. i think it's a combination of a lot of things, but mostly just that he wants what he wants and can't communicate much of that. he is picking up a ton of words and i feel like he has learned sooo much even in the past 2 weeks or so, but his vocabulary has not even come close to catching up to his list of demands. his hair is out of control (gotta love the curls), he's growing like a weed (still in the 95th percentile for height) and is still obsessed with fruit (though getting him to eat much else is WWIII.) one thing i am loving is how much he loves to read, make animal noises, and match colors. he really is a smart boy. too smart for his own good sometimes, i tell ya.

HENRY:

i can't believe we are coming up on 2 months here - time has just flown by! henry continues to be a really good baby. he is generally very happy and calm. he still isn't sleeping that well at night, but i am trying to be patient about it. poor kid is learning to deal with his overly-affectionate brother trying to smother him, and his mom just trying to do the best she can. the past few weeks he has really started to show off that heart-breaker smile of his, but of course, i have no photographic evidence to prove it. i tried to catch a few grins today - but none of these pictures do it justice.


there. does that satisfy your need for all things erickson?
phew. i'm out of breath.