Our Little Rascal

Here is Hunter enjoying the foam pit at gymnastics. He loves to go with Ella, and keep up with the big kids. This picture was taken right after Mike turned around to finish a phone call, when he turned back, he could not find Hunter. He looked in the foam pit and this is what he found. 

By the way does anyone know how to cut boys hair? 

New Friends, New Teeth, And The Croup

Okay here are just a couple of stories that are going on in our lives:

Ella has a new friend, her name is Marry, she lives in Idaho in the temple, and she talks to Ella on the phone a couple of times a day, oh and yeah she is imaginary. It is so funny to hear about this Marry who likes to go to Balls, and has white hair, and she is two years old. I don't know where she came up with Marry, but is is still fun to see.

As for new teeth... there are a lot. I peeked into Hunters mouth and I saw six new swollen buds coming in on the top, as well as two on the bottom. That means there are 8 coming in at once and boy does it look like it hurts. I now understand the pain and discomfort he must have been feeling these last few weeks. 

Also to add insult to injury, Hunter woke up on Friday with a nasty case of Croup. He could barely breath and he had a pretty high fever. We took him to the doctor and they put him on a steroid. He is already feeling so much better, but boy has it been a couple of rough days for the poor guy.

 Anyway here is to a better week!

Updates On Ella And Hunter

We just recently returned from the Pediatrician with both kids for their well-checkups. Luckily neither kid had to get shots, so it was a happy day at the doctors office. 

Here are their stats:

Hunter:

Age: 9.5 months

Weight: 18.6 pounds

Height: 29 inches

Likes: Sand, sun, food, people

Dislikes: getting his nose wiped, the word "no"

*Hunter is such a fun active baby. He loves to explore and gets bored quickly, so we are constantly trying to keep it fresh. He is also just so happy and I cannot stay mad at him for the life of me (even when he pulls down an entire jar of carrot baby food on my area rug). 

Ella:

Age: 3 years old

Weight: 30 pounds

Height: 37.5 inches

Likes: Dancing, gymnastics, princess anything

Dislikes: New situations, getting in trouble, throwing up

*Ella is the best big sister and helper. She has just been so cooperative and easy going these days and I love to just hang out with her. It is so fun to see her grow up and become a "big girl". She has a passion for life and has recently shown us her adventurous side, I love to see her confidence grow and her character develop. 

Maui Trip: Days 6,7, and 8

Days 6 and 7: These days were a little bit of a blur, but it was at the very least relaxing. We spent a lot of the time at the beach and eating at some of my favorite places. One highlight was a "girls day" that my dad planed for us. The girls got massages, pedicures, and facials, and the little girls got to get pedicures themselves. Ella chose "fuchsia", because that is Fancy Nancy's favorite color. It was really fun and a great way to start winding down our trip.

Day 8: This was by far the best day! It was sad of course because it was our last day, but it was amazing too because some of my parents friends were kind of enough to take us out on the ocean in their boat. First thing we saw about 10 minutes into our trip was a group of whales, one came so close that we could see under our boat. There are so many whales this time of year it is impossible to not see one. After the whales we went to Turtle Town, a great place to snorkel and we were lucky enough to see a turtle. After we snorkeled and had lunch on the boat we started to head back to the pier and we were able to see a pod of about 100 dolphins. This was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip, they were so cute, jumping around playing by the boat. The person who owned the boat told us we could jump in and swim with them if we wanted to... so of course I did. I had this romantic vision of me grabbing the fins and swimming along with the dolphins, but that did not happen (I don't know what I was thinking). Still it was really cool and I am so glad that we were able to have such a great day.

Here are some pictures of the rest of our trip:

Cute dolphins, I loved them!

View of the island from the boat.

A whale waving hello to us.

Yummy dinner at Kobe (kind of like Bennihanna's)

Great family time at dinner, and good conversation.

Maui Trip: Days 3,4,and 5

Day 3: We went to Turtle town to Snorkel and play at the beach. It is a great beach for little kids because there are no waves. We took turns going out and snorkeling and Mike saw two big turtles. After snorkeling we hit Flemming's, which has decent size waves that the kids could boogie board in. 

Day:4 This day was a little cloudy so we decided to take the kids horseback riding at the stables near my parents house. This was so much fun because I was pleasantly surprised by Ella's excitement. I thought there would be no way that she would even consider getting on a horse, but she was totally into it and she had a great time. I am now seriously considering getting her into riding lessons .

Day 5: Wednesday was a little rainy so we just took it easy and hung out by the house and the pool. The kids did not seem to care, and spent many hours swimming. At one point Ella came in to get a towel and her lips were blue! Of course we hit the beach again later that day as it warmed up and it was just so nice to have the kids out all day playing in the water and the sun. 

Here are some pictures of the kids horseback riding:

Ella getting used to her riding helmet.

My cousins came with us on this trip and they have 3 kids, this is their daughter Leah, who Ella just loves to play with.

Ella loved brushing the horse.

This girl was fearless and enjoyed every minute at the stables.

I took way too many pictures!

Ella got to learn how to hold the reigns the right way...

...and she learned how to turn the horse too.

It was so great to see Ella excited and having fun. This was one of my favorite days and I am so glad we took her to do this.

Day 1 & 2: Ella's Birthday And The Super Bowl

On our first day in Maui my parents were kind enough to throw a birthday party for Ella. We had a barbecue on the beach with our family and friends, and there was also a big air jumper for the kids. It was so much fun, and it was the perfect day for a party. 

kids on air jumper having a great time.

Ella loved the jumper and I have never seen her having so much fun.

Hunter loved being outside...

...and playing with all of the new toys.

This is a little baby lagoon, perfect for the kids to play in.

Hunter in Ella's hand-me-down pink suite (I'll explain below)

The guys enjoying the fruit of their labor.

Tatu teaching Ella how to boogie board (so cute)

Ella loved playing in the ocean.

The next day was Super bowl Sunday, so after we went to church, we came home and caught a little bit of the game, and then headed to the beach. Hunter loved playing in the sand and the next day we actually found a lot in his diaper(oops). Just a side note on Hunter's suite: (because I know he will kill me when he grows up and sees this) Anyway I was going to find another suite like this for Hunter in blue, but I could not find one. I really wanted him to wear it because it has a high SPF so I wouldn't worry about him burning, so I am not just a cruel mother, I did have a reason. Needless to say we got a lot of "what a cute little girl"! (I'm sorry Hunter)

I wish I had a sand box in my back yard, my kids were worn out!

Michael taking Ella to the water.

Aloha and Mahalo

For the last 9 days we were lucky enough to be in Maui soaking up some much needed sun! It was a great trip and if it were not for my parent's generosity we would not have been able to make this trip, so we are very grateful to them for having us out and making it such a fun time. Although we were lovingly informed that had Ella been old enough to travel on her own, Mike and I would not have been invited! Anyway many more pictures and stories to come, but for now I just wanted to give a big Mahalo to my parents and let them know what a great time we had! Love you guys!

It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To!

This year for Ella's third birthday we were staying in Utah with family, so we started the day with taking Ella to pick out one dress-up outfit from the Disney store, then we got birthday pictures taken, and had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. Later that night we had a family dinner and party with some of Ella's cousins. There were games, cake, gifts, and tears! While it was fun for all of us, I think it was a little overwhelming for Ella and of course she cried a few times that night.

The kids enjoying their dinner.

Cute Valentines theme (She will be so sick of this when she gets older)

Ella's birthday cake

This is the dress Ella picked out from the Disney store.

This is when things became overwhelming for Ella, as you may see from this picture

Priceless! 

Hunter enjoying the festivities.

This is a tradition in the Erickson family, where you have to eat the doughnut off the string without using your hands. Very fun, we may have to make this our own tradition! 

Kids having birthday fun.

Ella opening gifts.

This part she enjoyed more, and I learned from Christmas, we only did a few gifts.

Aunt Mckinley made Ella the cutest little tutu.

Here are the kids going for the doughnuts, so fun!

Ella wanted to use her hands, but I guess since she is the birthday girl...