MERRY CHRISTMAS

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas! We had a fun Christmas!! It started out at 2:00 a.m. when Ellie woke up and wanted to open presents. We told her to go back to bed and then at 7:00 a.m. we got a phone call that woke us up to tell us to come over to my mom's house so I could talk to Jake.  The kids were all still asleep, so I went over and got to talk to him. It was so fun to hear his voice and hear him try to talk and think of words as he spoke. I guess the Spanish has really taken off!  Then, at about 7:45 a.m. Alan called my cell phone and said he couldn't hold the kids back any longer and that they were ready to see if Santa had brought anything fun!  I think our kids got too spoiled.  All Ethan wanted for Christmas was a Wii, but Alan and I didn't want him to have one in fear that he would become a Nintendo FREAK!! We let Santa know and on Christmas Eve we had a family party that Santa made an appearance to. He broke the news to Ethan that he couldn't have  a Wii, but that he had another fun present in mind for him.  He woke up Christmas morning just waiting to see what exciting surprise Santa had for him.  Santa pulled through once again and made 4 kids very happy!  We had a great morning, and then we traveled to Evanston to be with the Erickson family.  We had a wonderful time there too!! 

India Update

Well, today Alan is in Texas for a training. While he is there he had a meeting with the people over India. He called me at about 6:00 tonight and told me we ARE GOING! We'll be leaving mid-June. I guess we can have a couple of early birthday parties??? because both my girls started to worry about that. I'm a little nervous, but I guess all I really need is my family together. It will be interesting, and needless to say exciting. If anyone knows anything about Bangalore, I'd love to hear. (Except if you have to tell me about terrorist, then I don't really want to hear) :)

Facebook

So, some of my friends told me about facebook so curiousity got the best of me. I now am a member of facebook, and waste all my time searching it for people I know. I'm pretty lame I guess. I should be spending my time cleaning my house. (Sorry Alan) I can't believe how many people are on there.

Blog on the News

So...they had a big thing on the news about blogs. They were saying how people can target your children by the pictures you put on the web and in info that people put on their blogs. So...I have decided that I would try blocking mine from people I don't know. I'm going to block it in a week, so if you check my blog and want to be put on my list of people who can access it, leave me a comment and I will put you on my list.

Baby Pics

OK so that poor 4th child never gets her picture taken. I have many, many, many pictures of Ellie...many, many pictures of Maddie...many pictures of Ethan and we took a few of Annie at the hospital. She in now 4 weeks old so I decided I better pull out the camera or else when she gets older I'll have to tell her we had a house fire and lost her pictures in it or something.

She is such a GREAT baby!! I almost hate to say how great for fear that I might jinx myself. The only thing I can complain about (which isn't really a complaint) is that she is constantly messing her diaper. Everytime I change her we use about 3 diapers because the minute I put the clean one on, she poops.

Lagoon

While I've been home with the baby, Alan has taken advantage of our Season passes to Lagoon. He has taken the kids 2 times since the baby has been born. They love it, and they love the ROLLER COASTERS!! If you were to ask them what there favorite rides are, Ellie would tell you "The Spider", Maddie would tell you "The White Roller Coaster, or The Jet Star", and Ethan who hasn't been able to ride any of the roller coasters this summer because he is 1 inch too short, (until we figure out to let him wear Ellie's Healy shoes, and put a rice krispie treat inside them) would tell you "Wicked". What a bunch of Party Animals!!

Savannah Erickson

Wow! I can't believe she's already 3 weeks old. These past 3 weeks have gone by faster than the last week of my pregnancy! Savannah was born on Sept 29th at 2:30 p.m. weighing in at 7 lb 4 oz and 20.5 inches long. She is such a great baby. I think they come to earth knowing what number order they are in, and she knows she's #4. She is so patient with me as I try to help the other 3, and she doesn't scream too hard while she's being mauled by the others. I think Ethan is the most in love of all of them. He goes to preschool 4 days a week and when he comes home he doesn't leave her side. He always asks "Mom, do you think she needs another kiss?" and when I tell him I think she'd love another kiss, he bends over and smothers her with kisses. Then in his high pitched baby voice he asks her, "How many kisses does one girl need?" I've had to enforce the timer, letting each kid hold her for 5 minutes and then we have to lay her in her crib for at least 1/2 hour, or until she cries whichever comes first.