Missed It: Happy Father's Day

Even though I failed to publicly declare it, or share it in a timely manner on this blog, my hubby and Ali's grandpas did get their Father's Day wishes from Ali on time.  This photo shoot went much like the Mother's Day photo shoot, except this time Ali's Grandma Erickson played the part of assistant instead of Doug so he could be surprised by this shot.

We used the chalkboard just like last time, but I didn't know what to draw.  I tried a goldfish, but that didn't look right, so I just wrote the message and went without a drawing, until Ali pawed at it the second I put it down, that's what lead to her little hand prints.  Then I drew the best heart of my life in the other corner.  Too bad her darling head is in the way!

There aren't as many outtakes this time.  It was the kind of annoying overcast day outside that makes it look perfect for pictures, but your still squinty, so that's why her little eyes are nearly closed.  She was also playing with an Easter egg the whole time, but she's happy.  And did you notice that she's in basically the same pose as the Mother's Day photo?  She knows what looks good!

Just like last time, we have a scheming kind of photo.  More accurately, she's watching Lucy our beagle run amok in our yard.

I love this little bonus picture.  When Ali gets really excited, this is kinda her look.  Mouth wide open and laughing.

For Daddy and Grandpa Erickson, we did a quick costume change and put her in a Cubbie Bear tee.  It's a little big, but still adorable.  She was getting a little tired of being outside, so I just went with this pic.

Happy Late Father's Day to all of the dads, grandpas, uncles, and friends out there.  I hope you had a great day and got lots of snuggles from your little ones!

Born to Read?

Ali was playing with her books a couple days ago and she actually started flipping through Guess How Much I Love You.  The book is actually the right direction, she's flipping the pages nicely, and her expression is thoughtful.  If I were a different kind of person, I would post this on Facebook bragging about how my baby can read at nine months old.  If I were a really dishonest person, I would create some type of Your Baby Can Read program, and use this picture as proof that it works.

But I'm an honest person.  Ali isn't reading at 9 months.  She won't read at 3 years, and I'll be happy if she can read simple books in kindergarten or first grade.  Babies aren't born to read, they are born to be read to.  I read to my Ali, and that's why she likes books.  She likes the bright pictures, the smooth pages, and the sound of my voice.

And books taste pretty amazing too.

Happy Reading!

The Babies: Furry and Otherwise

The relationship between Ali and her furry sister Lucy is pretty fun to watch.  Once Ali started being aware of the world around her, Lucy became a source of constant interest, and that's still very much the case.  She laughs when Lucy runs into the room, tries to get at her water dish, and wants to pet her all the time.  Now that she is mobile and a bit more coordinated, Ali loves to interact with Lucy, or at least try.  We've even let her play tug with Lucy just a little bit and it makes at least one of the babies very happy.

Lucy is a pretty well-behaved dog, but she has her flaws.  She sniffs all over everything and still gets at Ali's toys, although she has yet to ruin one.  Lucy wants attention very badly and will bark and howl when we come home, even with a sleeping baby.  And she begs and jumps up on Ali's high chair constantly.  It doesn't help that Ali finds this hilarious and intentionally feeds her.  These two are already partners in crime!  To her credit, Lucy is amazingly gentle with Ali.  She does jump around and race past her, but I have yet to see her knock her down.  Plus, Ali loves when Lucy sniffs her.  It's just a funny puppy kiss to her.

Slowly but surely Ali is gaining the coordination to be gentle with Lucy and pet, not grab, her hair.  I can imagine that once Ali starts to walk, they will really gang up on us.  I can't wait to see them chasing each other around the yard and play.

They are sisters already.  When I take the two for walks, Ali will reach her hand out of her stroller to hold on to Lucy's leash.  It's a sight that melts this mama's heart!

Confessions of a Reformed Board Book Snob

Board books abound in my home.  They are in the living room, the nursery, my bag, the diaper bag, my bedroom, the kitchen.  THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!  

And I love it!  Books should be everywhere, especially with a young child in the house.  Ali should never be far from a book.  But the kind of books that I have let her read and play with have changed.  Once I realized how destructive little uncoordinated hands can be, I came to love the idea of board books.  Tough and sturdy mini replicas of all my favorite picture books like The Napping House, Guess How Much I Love You, and The Three Snow Bears are just perfect for babies.  But I wasn't going to let lesser board books in my house.  No, nothing but the finest in board book literature for my little biscuit.

Then I realized that Ali doesn't actually read the books, she plays with them.  They are chewed and thrown and sat on.  When I try to read them, she grabs for them, not letting me finish a page.  The only time that I can get through reading an entire book to her is when she's playing with another toy, or book.  I usually give her a book to hold while I read her a book, and it's a system that has worked out just great.  

While her library collection is full the best in picture book board books, it's also full of simpler, less fancy books.  I love the books in the above picture because of the handle.  The pictures are simple, the text is pretty marginal, but they are easy for her to carry.  And she'll pick them up, and spin herself on her bottom in a clockwise circle.  Never counter-clockwise.  Only clockwise.  It's adorable.  

Having some less-than-stellar books in Ali's collection means that I'm not afraid to let her play with books.  She is learning that books are fun, and that's the most important lesson of all.

Happy Reading!

Book Jackets

While I was packing up my Children's Book Week display the other day, I noticed how many of my books had book jackets.  Just that morning, I was reading Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site to Ali (she'd pulled it off her bookshelf, then pulled about 10 others off too, but I still take it as a sign that she'll be an engineer like her daddy) when I noticed that the book jacket was super annoying.

As a librarian, I'm pretty protective of books.  It's hard to let Ali play with books like they are toys.  But everything is a toy to a baby.  Plastic cups, spoons, cell phones, bracelets, Altoids tins, those little ribbons in the hymnal for marking your place, these are all just toys to a baby, because play is real work.  Book jackets are often the first causality in baby book play, so why not remove them?

I love books like Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus with its clean, jacketless cover, and if you take the jackets off of most of your books, that's what you're left with.  So I took the plunge and scrapped all the jackets from my display book.  It wasn't easy, but it was necessary.

A couple of the books had covers that differed from the jacket, but I went for it anyway!

Forgive the glare, but you can still see that The Birthday Box cover is actually nicer without the jacket in my opinion.

Old school favorite If You Give a Mouse a Cookie has a very vintage cover, but I have two copies of this one, so one can keep the jacket, while the other goes away.

I didn't toss the jacket for First the Egg, because you'll see that when you remove it, it becomes First the Chicken.  The philosophical debate continues!

That's how I broke up with book jackets.  Now I just have to go after the books on Ali's bookshelf.  I think that I'll leave the jackets on my chapter books for now, but they might get the boot too.  After all, these are books that will be read and loved, not collected.  It's not like I'm planning on sending Ali to college with my vast collection of valuable middle grade chapter books.  No, that's what Beanie Babies are for!  (JK-Is that even a thing?)

Happy Reading!

Ali Pie: An Explanation

Like the royal baby, Ali has quite a name.  I mentioned the full story behind Alice Rose before, but this is the story of her nickname:  Ali Pie.

Let me set the scene:  It's early August.  We've been home with Ali a matter of days, so we are both slap-happy with exhaustion.  We're sitting in the cool basement on a hot summer day trying to relax and watch TV while Ali nurses and naps.  Here's the conversation:

Doug -- I'll hold Ali Pie.

Me -- (giving him a "what" look) -- You've called her that a couple of times, why do you call her Ali Pie?

Doug -- (in a "duh" kinda of tone) -- Because it rhymes.

Me -- (I wait a beat, say it in my head just to be sure that my sleep deprived brain remembers what a rhyme even is) -- No it doesn't.

Doug -- (he waits a beat, I'm assuming he is also trying to remember what a rhyme is) -- Oh, it doesn't.  Well, okay, Ali Pie is a higher order of Cutie Pie.

Me -- Okay, so it's like all Ali Pies are Cutie Pies, but not all Cuties Pies rise to the level of an Ali Pie.

Doug -- That's right

Me -- Nice save

Doug -- Thank you

And that little mistake in rhyming lead to our daughter's nickname.  Now she is most frequently called Ali Pie around our house and sometimes I lengthen it to Ali Pie born in July.  Some how it just fits.  She's a little Ali Pie and I wouldn't have it any other way.  

What's your name story?  I'm sure there is a story behind your given name, but often the nickname stories are much more fun.  For instance, my childhood nickname was Loulabelle.  My sister called me Lou all though college and now I'm Aunt Lou to her son.  However, my aunt never could get a handle on Loulabelle and instead called me Little Lil.  I'm not sure where that came from, but it worked.

I've love to hear your name story, just share it in the comments.

Happy Reading!

Mother's Day: Getting the Picture

Yesterday, I shared this little gem of my Ali Pie wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day.  I actually made this into a nice little card from Mpix to send to everyone in place of proper Mother's Day cards.  

I normally go big on Mother's Day cards.  They go to everyone-moms, grandmas, great-grandmas, aunts, etc. etc.  But since this year was my first year without my mom, I couldn't face the card aisle.  So, our homemade chalk board and camera became our way to say Happy Mother's Day.  And given how darling this turned out, I think we'll do it every year.  That way all the women in our families will see Ali grow over the years.  Pretty neat!

This photo shoot took all of 10 minutes, but it was a very fun 10 minutes.  The family had just taken a walk on a positively glorious day and it was getting late.  Ali really should have been settling down for bed, Lucy was amped from the walk, but this was the time.  Lucy was all over the yard and Doug was simultaneously trying to keep Lucy away from Ali and make Ali smile, while I was trying to keep Ali on the blanket and snap the picture.  Wouldn't you know that the last picture was perfect, but how about some of the others?  Enjoy some of my other shots, complete with captions.

Hey, what's this?  

What is that dog doing?

What's this crawly thing?  Can I eat it?

Mom, I think this picture would be better if it were a movie!  Watch me go!

Yes, most of Ali's waking hours are consumed with moving and putting things in her mouth.  I wonder how her Father's Day photo shoot will go!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mother's Day from the Ericksons!

We wish all mothers, grandmothers, daughters, aunts, godmothers, and friends a beautiful and happy day.  Take time to hug the women in your life.  

Baby Bookshelf

This is the bookshelf in Ali Pie's room.  You would probably guess that as a librarian's daughter, she'd have quite a few books.  And you would be right.  I've been hoarding review books, sale books, and other randomness for years for just such an occasion.  

Well, actually I've been buying books for myself, but it's nicer to say that I've been planning my baby's library instead.

This is a bookshelf that my dad made for me in college.  It suits the purpose of baby bookshelf pretty nicely since that top shelf is short-perfect for board books. 

The second shelf is taller, just right for those picture books.  I have some odd ones in here left over from reviewing.  If you look really, really closely, you'll see a children biography on Derek Rose of the Chicago Bulls.  I noticed it a couple of months ago while pulling a book to read to Ali, but I left it, because, why not?  She might love sports as much as her daddy.

So far, her bookshelf is not dominated by any one thing.  There are picture books and board books.  Books on animals and people and construction and pigeons and cupcakes.  It's not too girly or too masculine.  It's such a great balance.  

And these aren't all of her books.  There's a bin of board books in the living room, and I guess if I'm sharing, there are shelves of Mo Willems and Dr. Seuss books in the basement.  Do I have to share those?  I guess, but I'm not quite ready.  Then if you take into account all the chapter books lying about, and the adult novels and non-fiction, she's going to be really well read.  And very into environmentally sustainable construction techniques.  Thanks for busting the curve, daddy!

I love this bookshelf.  It sits right across the room from the chair I feed Ali in every day (and night).  It's a nice colorful thing to look at while I'm singing to her or just rocking her.  Now most mornings after I get her dressed, we grab a book and read before going on with our day.  It's just me, Ali and our dog Lucy hanging out with a book.  It's the perfect way to start the day.

Anyone else wanna share their baby bookshelf.  Check out my Instagram for some other bookshelf pics, because, like I said, this isn't the only place Ali has books!

Happy Reading!

Itty Bitty Cubbie Bear

I've told the story before about my conversion to the Cubs.  Love will make you do crazy things!  Even crazier, we are going to raise our little Alice Rose a Cubs fan.  There are many good reasons for this.

1.  It's family tradition.  Doug's 100 year old grandmother (yep, Wrigley and Grandma Erickson hit the century mark in the same year) is a big Cubs fan, so you have to uphold the tradition.  In fact, his whole family are such big Cubs fans that they nearly hit the roof to see me in my Cubs maternity tee this summer.  It's very easy to fit in with the Ericksons-just be a Cubs fan.

2.  Being a Cubs fan is the ultimate show of humility.  Rarely is the team in the off-season, and even when they are, it's short-lived.  There's nothing wrong with being the underdog, but when you're the constant underdog, you have to be humble.

3.  Cubs fans are in it for the experience.  There's really something to be said for being a Wrigley fan.  Going to a Cubs game is not all about winning or losing, it's about going to the ballpark, having a good time, watching some baseball.  It's about more than the game.

The little bear above is modeling the Cubs apparel that we have so far-just a sun hat and bib.  I didn't want to spend a ton of money of Cubbie bear clothes since Ali will be a late-July baby, and likely won't get in on much of the season.  My hubby can't wait to take her to her first game though-likely next year already if he gets his way.

While I'm trying to reign myself in and not buy too many clothes and toys for Ali, it's a little difficult when you start seeing all of the darling stuff out there!  Here's my round-up of too cute baby stuff from Fanatics, a great website for all things sport.

I love this Cubs dress!  It's very team oriented without being too much.  The same can be said for the Cubs creeper featuring the little necklaces--it's girly without being pink!  And speaking of necklaces, they make Cubs chew beads!  Perfect for this little mama who plans to wear her baby.  (Wonder if they make Cubs sling wraps?  That may just be an untapped market!).  Finally, who doesn't love a Cubs lovie?  I am in favor of lovies in all varieties, but this one is extra special.

Who knows what type of Cubbie Bear Ali will be?  Maybe a little girl that only has a passing interest, or maybe baseball won't be her thing at all.  Although, I bet she comes to love watching the games with her daddy.  Let's just hope my hubby can tone down the commentary when she's around.

How do you pass the fandom along?  Let me know!

Here's What I Haven't Been Telling You

For the past nine weeks, my life has been in turmoil and I haven't known how to verbalize it to anyone. When I wrote my Recalculating post, I alluded to some detours ahead, but that's all I've been able to say on the subject.  I feel like now is the time to come out and inadequately say what has been happening in the past weeks.

On April 11, my mom was diagnosed with recurrent uterine cancer that was inoperable and incurable.  At the time, I was 6 months pregnant and faced with losing my mom before my baby was born.  Nothing is more heartbreaking or unfair or terrifying than that type of news.  I've thought over dozens of different ways to tell this story, but I can finally tell it now because I have a silver lining.

Mom's abdomen was a mass of cancerous tumors.  I can't get into the medical-ness of it all right now because I don't totally understand it, but what she has is very rare.  It's a type of cancer that is more commonly found in the ovaries, not the uterus.  That she had it at all was rare, that is came back is even more so.

Right after her diagnosis, she starting taking a treatment that was meant to slow the progression of the tumors.  We weren't given a lot of information at the time because this was a new drug and the doctor did not know if it would be effective.  We just found out that it has been effective.  Incredibly so.  Mom's tumors have shrunk 80-85%.  This drug only has a 30% success rate.  If it hadn't worked, mom would likely not be here today.  But since it has worked, she'll likely meet my daughter, see her baptism and sneak in thousands of kisses.

This is still not a cure.  The end result of this disease will still be the same.  Mom will never be cured.  But, we've been given so much more time.  Time that we can use to be together, have more laughs, make more memories, share more stories.  It's still hard, but when she told me yesterday that she likely has six months or more, I cried knowing what that will mean for my family.

I still feel like a tangled mass of emotions, pregnancy plus family hardships will do that to you.  It's difficult working through this type of anticipatory grief, but I'm not grieving today.  I'm rejoicing!  This news is so incredible that I can't believe how we've been blessed.  I still need to focus on everyday and be happy for every opportunity, but it's great to know that I'll have more opportunities with my mom than I first thought.  It's so wonderful to have her with us.

Deep breath.  Today is a beautiful day, today we are thankful.  Today I know that my mom is doing well, that my daughter is kicking, and that near future is bright.  That's good enough for me.

My First Baby Shower

More baby stuff.  Sorry for those of you that are still somehow under the impression that this is a book blog.  It will be again someday, but first, let's talk baby shower!

It's fitting that I spent my first unofficial Mother's Day weekend at a baby shower.  It was held at my parent's church, my home church, where I was baptized, confirmed, and married, and we had quite the turn out as you can tell from the table full of gifts in the above picture.  The women in attendance were mostly women that I've know all my life.  This is small country church where I'm related to practically everyone by blood if not by bond.  And they've been my parents lifelong friends and support, so it was very special.

It was a celebration of all things pink!  Little Ali Rose never had a chance at being a tomboy (although if my dad has anything to say about it, she will be!), and we received several darling outfits that will make her a very well-dressed baby.  Thankfully there was nothing too over the top, like some crazy ruffly dress or giant, flowery headband.  Mostly it was very practical and adorable stuff I can't wait to use.  

Here's a basic run down of what we received:  lots of diapers of varying sizes, safety equipment like latches and such, health products like wipes, lotions, detergent etc., several nice baby blankets, a Noah's Ark quilt, handmade afghan, play swing, two bathtubs (apparently she's going to be a dirty baby), changing pad, a manageable amount of toys, likely over 20 outfits (I'm going from memory here), diaper bag, and lots of love!

And this is what our car looked like for the drive home.  There's no doubt that we are having a girl!

I'd like to point out a couple of things here.  First, we didn't bring our Lucy beagle on this trip because we thought we might need the cargo space--we were right!  Second, I don't look pregnant in this picture at all!  And third, in the back of the shot, you'll see a pink bucket sticking out.  That was likely my husband's favorite gift.  It's actually from my dad.  There's a store called Rural King down home and the week before, you got 10% off everything you could put in that pink bucket.  Doug is already looking forward to a photo shoot with Ali Rose in the bucket.  And that's going to be her bucket, because apparently every baby needs a bucket.  

Now for a before and after of the nursery:

Before the shower:  Simple gray and purple walls, curtains that really need to be switched out, handmade rocking horse.

After the shower:  Holy Pinkness Batman!

By now I've cleared out the bags and boxes, washed and put away all the clothes, and made up the bed.  I still need curtains, art, and a chair, but it's getting there.  I'll likely put up a picture when it's all finished.  

Here's a picture of the growing, multi-generational family:  Doug and I, my parents Keith and Diane, and my mom's parent's Ray and Janet.  This will be my parent's second grandchild and first granddaughter, and my grandparents sixth great-grandchild and girl number 4.  We like the ladies over here!

Thank you to all of the loving families at Augsburg Lutheran Church!  Thank you for being so supportive of my family through the years, and thank you for always welcoming us back.  A church is more than a building, it's a community and family that you are always a part of, and I'm so blessed to have been raised at Augsburg.