My First Mother's Day

My mom

Beautiful roses from Helaman who made me french toast for breakfast (my favorite)

My little bug who honored her mom by staying up through church and taking a nap afterward as is the Erickson custom

More smiles!

There she is grinning for the camera this morning, probably due to the fact that she slept for a 5 hour stretch last night! Which, by some accounts, is "sleeping through the night". Debatable in my opinion, but it definitely works for now.

Out and About

On the go with Dad. Charlotte falls instantly asleep at the prospect of going to church after spitting up on Helaman's tie. Good for a peaceful meeting block, but not so good for Mom and Dad's nap afterwards...



She's working up the courage to get out there and make some new friends at the park. Maybe next time.

After a long day.

Just the Three of Us

Our first family picture! Would have been nice if she were awake...
This picture was actually taken a couple weeks ago, which is why she is a bit smaller than in the last post. She's not shrinking!

One Month Old

Yesterday Charlotte was one month old. We hiked out to the doctor's office during a downpour (though previous and subsequent days have been beautiful, go figure). She has gained two pounds since her last visit for a total of 8 pounds and 9 ounces, and stretched out another inch in length.

She's been smiling a lot lately - I'm glad I was able to catch one sort of! We've been having all kinds of fun staying up at night together (her idea, not mine), taking walks to parks and watching The Price is Right (why is that the highlight of daytime TV??!) Speaking of that show, I think that people in NY have a distinct advantage playing the pricing games, because in NY you actually pay the MSRP!

Out on the Town

Before the rains started, there was one nice day in there so Charlotte and I ventured out on her first stroller ride. She was nice and toasty in her new mittens, and fell promptly asleep when she heard the sounds of the street.

Another shot of Charlotte pursing her lips as she sleeps, no doubt indignant due to her dad making fun of how high her pants are pulled up.

Charlotte's first dress

Though we had nowhere to go, I dressed up Charlotte in her only newborn-sized dress, since she doesn't fit into the 0-3 month clothes yet. Not sure how long she'll be able to wear it, so may as well get some use! Unfortunately it has been cold and rainy lately so we have not ventured outside with her.

Trying to wake up Dad to play with her.

Charlotte has some funny sleep positions. We love when she purses her lips like this, it is so cute.

Easter

My thoughts exactly...!

Helaman enjoyed Charlotte's first Easter basket a bit more than she did... but she does love her bunny.

My mom came into town to see her first granddaughter and was a lifesaver, making our meals and cleaning our apartment from top to bottom while I rested.

Sleepy Girl

Who can resist taking pictures of a sleeping baby? She looks so content amidst all of her blankets. Charlotte also had her first bath last night and afterward was telling her dad all about it.

One Week Old

Charlotte is one week old today! She has been enjoying being wrapped up like a burrito and hanging out with her friends in the crib. I didn't put many details in the last post about her arrival. Last Monday, I thought my water had broken, so I stopped by the hospital on the way to work. It turns out the water had not broken, and I got ready to go to work, but they checked the fluids, and they were low enough that the doctor wanted to go ahead and induce labor. Wasn't quite ready for that! But ready or not, I was put on the drugs at 10 a.m., and labor started about 3 p.m. It was a really long night with not much progress and despite being able to watch "24" in the delivery room, I was pretty impatient. The next morning still no progress had been made! Thankfully, within an hour I was ready to go and 30 minutes of pushing later, Charlotte came out at 10:14 a.m. She didn't cry, she just looked around with her big blue eyes at what was going on. In her first week, she has already become a New Yorker, braving a taxi ride like a champ and busy noisy streets without being fazed. I guess she is used to those sounds though! She loves her Grandma, who is visiting and loves to hold her, her vibrating chair and her pacifier.

Welcome home Charlotte!

Charlotte Annabelle Erickson was born on March 27, 2007! She came a week and a half early and weighed 6 pounds and 12 ounces and is 19.5 inches long. She loves looking around at everything with those beautiful blue eyes. We are so glad to have her home.

Surprise!

My firm surprised me with a baby shower on Thursday afternoon! The only things that kind of tipped me off to it was a fake-sounding meeting scheduled at 4:30pm (when everyone knows I'm outa there at 5 sharp) and the fact that everyone virtually disappeared around that time. It was very fun though with an abundance of delicious cupcakes, treats and well wishers.
Everyone was so generous and kind, it is really nice to feel special especially when you feel like a whale waltzing around the office most days!

I started hanging up Charlotte's cute new dresses and outfits in the spare half of Helaman's closet. Don't her tiny little things look so cute next to her daddy's huge shirts?

Baby gifts!

Thanks to Ellen, Andrea, Julia and Kristy for hosting a baby shower! We were all in dark colors for some reason... makes me not look so big though!

Opening gifts that get the thumbs up from Ellen!








Sister-in-law Jen made a baby quilt! It is super soft which will be great in our drafty room.

49 Things About Me (Helaman)

Since Christina put 51 things about herself I will put 49 things about myself since I am supposed to be the "other half."
1. I have never had a full time job.
2. I auditioned for a commercial.
3. At the aforementioned commercial I met Mario Lopez aka AC Slater. I was not cast, but neither was he.
4. I was the Arizona mountain bike state champion in the 14-16 year old category 2 years in a row.
5. I placed 4th in the National mountain bike championship.
6. I graduated college in 3 years, a B.I.S. in Chemistry and Religion.
7. I attended Arizona State University.
8. I have never had braces. This said, my teeth are straight.
9. The sports I enjoy are basketball, cycling, golf, and dirt biking in no particular order.
10. My favorite drama on television is House.
11. My favorite comedy on television is Scrubs with the Office coming in close second.
12. I was the Paradise Valley Unified School District ping pong champion.
13. My favorite cartoon is The Simpsons. I own 9 seasons on DVD.
14. My favorite book is The Catcher In the Rye.
15. The above being said, my favorite author is Kurt Vonnegut.
16. My favorite Vonnegut book is Cat's Cradle.
17. One of my dreams is to live in Kauai and be a beach bum.
18. I currently attend Columbia College of Dental Medicine, class of 2008.
19. My favorite movies by category: Drama-Forrest Gump or Garden State, Comedy-The Big Lebowski or Bottle Rocket, Action-Apocalypse Now.
20. My favorite director is Wes Anderson.
21. I served a mission in the Charlotte NC Mission, 2000-2002.
22. My favorite band is Sparta.
23. The only bone I have broken is my left hand ring finger.
24. My favorite food is spicy Asian food. I have not had a spicy Asian dish from any of the Asian countries that I have not thoroughly enjoyed.
25. My dog's name was She-ra.
26. My favorite camping spot is Wet Beaver Creek next to Sedona, AZ. I have camped there 8 times.
27. I went skydiving my senior year of high school while on vacation in CA. It was fun and I would do it again.
28. I hit the game winning hit in the Little League Championship game.
29. My favorite stand up comedian is Jim Gaffigan. Hot Pocket anyone?
30. My favorite Simpsons character is Homer.
31. My favorite hamburger is a Double-Double Animal Style from In-N-Out with the Island Burger coming in a close second.
32. I would like to go on vacation to the Virgin Islands.
33. My favorite board game is Settlers of Cataan.
34. My career goal is to become an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon.
35. I have a group of friends that I have known since Kindergarten. We are all still in touch.
36. I am a germ-a-phobe. Not a crazy one though. Or am I?
37. I owned a dirt bike in college, a Suzuki RM-125. My bike in the future will be a little "beefier."
38. I have had multiple part time jobs in my life including dental assistant, credit card salesman, math tutor, research assistant, junior basketball coach, umpire, floppy disk duplicator salesman, and teaching assistant for college algebra and materials engineering.
39. I rented a houseboat with some friends on Lake Roosevelt in AZ.
40. My favorite Seinfeld episode is the one where Dr. Watley converts to Judaism for the jokes. I love all of the dentist humor in that episode. "I'm just a sadist with newer magazines."
41. I have always wanted to live back east and dental school has provided me with that opportunity, and now I want to go back west (or south).
42. I am currently working in a lab on campus that is involved in tissue engineering. My project is the production of vascularized bone grafts from bone marrow.
43. I still enjoy playing original Nintendo occasionally. Check out consoleclassix.com
44. I still love watching Saved By the Bell.
45. My favorite game show is Jeopardy followed by The Price is Right.
46. I enjoy just wandering around NYC looking at "stuff" and eating at random restaurants.
47. I abhor doing the dishes but still occasionally buckle down and do them. Sorry Christina:(
48. I enjoy technology and electronic gadgets.
49. Conan O Brien is my favorite late night talk show. I have been to the show twice, once in the front row.

51 Things About Me

First of all - how in the world do people come up with 100 things?? That is a full time job! As it is, this post has been sitting in draft form for weeks waiting to be finished. So in the spirit of "good enough!" (same attitude as my apt cleaning lately) I present 51 things about me. Maybe someday I'll have the time to do 49 more things, but for now, I opt to use my free time to sleep instead.

1. I’ve had 5 full time jobs since graduating from college and have liked two of them including current.
2. I’ve lived in 6 states so far (CA, FL, NC, UT, AZ, NY).
3. Helaman and I were immortalized in a permanent camera shot Conan O’Brian uses in his “flying desk” bit.
4. I’ve had braces and invisalign.
5. I finished college in 3 ½ years, majored in Public Relations and didn’t like doing that after all.
6. While in New York I’ve seen Don Cheadle, Matthew Fox, Tom Brokaw, Katie Couric (saw her in SLC too) and Beyonce in person.
7. I met my husband at the drive-in movies in Scottsdale AZ. I noticed he was wearing interesting shoes. That is most people’s first impression of him.
8. Rudy Guliani and I worked for the same law firm. At different times.
9. I was a cheerleader in high school.
10. We went on a cruise on our honeymoon to Mexico but Catalina Island was our favorite stop.
11. I’ve started wearing contact lenses recently since I noticed I couldn’t see street signs in order to figure out where to walk.
12. I adopted a kitten I found in the parking garage in college and named her Caroline. That was also one of our baby name choices.
13. I’ve waited outside Serendipity for ice cream in 20 degree weather for 2 hours.
14. I love elephants.
15. My favorite (on the air) shows are ER, 24, House, The Office and Scrubs.
16. My favorite off the air show is Felicity.
17. I organize the shirts in my closet by color.
18. I drove a completely embarrassing astro van to high school my junior year. It turns out my husband drove a full size one!
19. I love autumn/pumpkin/spice and pine scented candles.
20. I always seemed to have two best friends to form a trio, wherever I was.
21. I love roller coasters.
22. I always return milkshakes if they don’t have the right consistency.
23. I dated a bunch of pre-dental guys at BYU.
24. I was a reporter for The Daily Universe for a semester and had four stories make the front page. I can't believe it - they are all still online. http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/11162
    
25. Mint chip ice cream is my favorite ice cream overall.
26. Godiva White Chocolate Raspberry is a specific favorite.
27. German Chocolate Cake is my favorite Coldstone Creation.
28. Helaman and I are majorly competitive at mini-golf against other couples.
29. We have played Jeopardy against each other every weekday for the past three years. He usually wins. He’s faster, not smarter.
30. My part time job at BYU’s Evening Classes dept paid $6.15 an hour.
31. I love buying scrapbooking supplies. Now I’m just waiting for a room to do it in.
32. I also worked at The Gap in college for an average of two hours a week.
33. I love big breakfasts like waffles or French toast.
34. I like to bake more than cook.
35. When I started BYU, everyone said I had a southern accent. It’s gone away.
36. My brother broke my right arm, a horse broke my left (18 years later).
37. I love Asian food – Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese especially.
38. I’ve sold thousands of dollars worth of Helaman’s and my old stuff on ebay. Most lucrative: his old Lego sets.
39. My first time sledding in Utah I scraped up my whole face.
40. I love carving pumpkins - always have!
41. All of my grandparents are living.
42. I love reading good books. When I had a slacker job I reviewed them on amazon.
43. We went to Hawaii and took a cruise around the islands. Kauai was our favorite.
44. I’ve never had a passport.
45. We drove from Tempe AZ to Houston TX in 22 hours straight through in a moving truck.
46. Historical fiction books are my favorite kind.
47. My first live concert was Dave Matthews in North Carolina.
48. I don’t like soda.
49. I’ve never had a cavity (hmm are those two related?).
50. I HATE being late. As a result more than a few times I’ve been unfashionably early.
51. I can’t pay full price for anything.

A few of my favorite things...

One of my favorite things I discovered when moving to New York is online grocery shopping. It only took one round trip down to an actual market to convince me that hauling groceries was NOT what my life was going to consist of on Saturdays. I saw some ads on the subway for the delivery service and it has been a wonderful relationship ever since. I have heard that grocery delivery is catching on in other parts of the country as well which makes me very happy to know that I won't have to give up my habits when we move away from the city.

Some things that our grocery service doesn't provide (at least in bulk or in reasonable prices) are toilet paper and diapers. I've luckily found a solution for the diapers issue at 1800diapers.com which has great prices and free delivery if you spend $50. If anyone is interested in saving $2 off their first order, enter code CHER1804. Once you order, you'll get your own code.

Anyway, so I am glad about that website and the new elevator at our subway stop (seems like that was timed perfectly for me!) but haven't found any good solution for the toilet paper problem. Any ideas? Currently we buy huge packs of it at Target and haul it home on the train but there has to be a better way!!