Hi Folks

Well eventually I will get a new post up here. But there are many things going on right now that require more time than I have to spend on the computer. Many of you know what I am talking about, and we are grateful for all of your thoughts and prayers in our behalf. The unknown is a little scary for me, but we feel very loved and looked after. We know everything will work out in time. We're just hoping that it is a short amount of time. ;D

Let's see here...

I love starting out a blog with such a fantastic smile. Chelsea likes to say "Cheese!" for the camera regularly, but my friend Jess took her picture and confused poor Chelsea. She asked her to say "Pickles!" instead of "Cheese!" Chels didn't say anything. Now, however, she says "Cheese! Pickles!" or else just plain "Pickles!" when I try to take her pictures. Funny funny girl.

I wasn't actually looking at the camera when I took this, hence the off-centeredness of it.

Chelsea likes to watch mommy put on her makeup, and one day decided that she would put on her makeup too. This is her technique. :) She also pretends to put in her contenz (contacts.) She used to not get what the contact case was used for and pretended to clean the counter with it, or rub her cheek with it, but it finally clicked one day what it is used for. So now she scratches at the cover and then looks in the mirror and pokes herself in the eye. "Contenz, first. Then makeup." she says.

What the heck is this all about? How'd this get here?

This is her wrinkle nose look. No, I have not yet cut her hair. It needs it desperately, but in the meantime we have rediscovered piggies and ponies.

Chelsea is rocking her bears to sleep. She still has to have piles of blankets, even for the bears. These bears with the hats on have a specific month on them. They correspond with our family member's birth months. At least some of the family. We only have five bears. So Chelsea has designated a favorite bear to each of us. Some of the favorites correspond with the person's birth month, and others do not. For example, the green bear in the front is October, but Chelsea insists it is Greg's favorite bear. His birth month is not October, but she doesn't care. *shrug*

I took a picture of this year's Easter Bunny picture, which is why it is kinda weird looking. Oh well. She wasn't scared at all, but once she was sitting in his lap, she didn't know what to do. Until he held 0ut a basket of candy. She gladly selected a package of sweet tarts and enjoyed them for most of the rest of our Walmart time.


So that's our post for this time. Good bye. See you later.
























Just kidding!

For those of you who missed my "hint" earlier in the post....

I AM PREGNANT!!!

Here is our first baby picture of Chelsea's little brother or sister. We don't know which yet, it's too soon. In a week I will have just six months to go. My due date is October 20th for those who don't do math well. We are very excited and happy to finally share our news! It seems a little hard to believe, even now. We've been trying for awhile now, so to finally have a baby on the way is kind of surreal, like it was the first time around! Yes, I've been sick, and no, I haven't been able to complain about it because we wanted to keep it a secret for awhile. Well I'm tired of keeping it a secret! But I think I'm getting out of the sicky stage now, so I won't complain too much to you. :)

Bathroom times

Cheese! I took a break from drying my hair to take this. So worth it.

Some days Chelsea will hang out with Mommy no matter what room she is in. Just bring the toys in and we're good to go! She's also discovered her potty chair's double role as a step stool. The potty chair is often in the kitchen or by some light switch instead of the bathroom.0

These little dolls were a great investment. Thanks Grandma!

I realize this is backlit and you can't see it very well, but it's still pretty cute. Chelsea used the potty and was able to wear her panties for awhile. Doesn't she just look cute in panties? She likes to look out the front window and has discovered climbing up the back of the loveseat to see better.

Books and Food

Getting situated in her bristle block box. I remember liking to sit in boxes and things as a kid. Chels is no different.

This is the famous book, "The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR." It is her all time favorite book right now. It must be read about three times before moving on to another book. Then it must be read again a few more times after each other book that we read. Luckily it is a very cute book and I haven't gotten sick of it yet. Memorized, yes. Sick of, no.

Those dimples are still there! She also really likes the elephant on these pajamas. It's "pretty."

Mmmmm...Corn on the cob! Chelsea didn't want to each much else for dinner except her corn! I can't blame her. It was really good.

Additional Randomness

She looks like a Teletubby in this getup. But they are lame. So I will call this one Telecutie instead.

She wanted my shirt on for whatever reason. So I helped her into it. Future Walmart employee? You never know.

Another cute sleeping pose. She loves having a pillow, normally. She sleeps much better nowadays with a pillow than she does without one. Though you wouldn't believe it from this photo.

Peek-a-boo! I see you! She was also waving her little fingers at me.

She's at the stage where she wants to do everything herself, including pouring water over her head to rinse her hair. Her methods leave a little to be desired, since her face gets more water than her hair. She doesn't seem to mind TOO much when she does it to herself.

I was trying to get a picture of her long hair floating around her head before I cut it off. Eventually I'll get around to cutting it. I just can't bring myself to do it! Her hair is so soft. Shaggy, but soft. Anyway, this is the face she made when I asked her to smile. Goofy girl.

I was trying to get her to smile, so I puffed up my cheeks and then let the air escape from my lips. So, of course, instead of smiling or laughing, she does it right back at me.

Randomness

How I found her one morning. Cute.

Fresh out of bed on a different day, she spots this jacket that a friend of mine couldn't resist buying for her. Of course she wanted it on immediately, and she wore it all morning.

She climbed through the top part of the table there, and got hung up for awhile. It was pretty funny.

Taking a snooze break with Auntie Elizabeth.

Darn toenail!

Gotta get a better look/grip on that toenail.

So tall!

Stopping mid-climb to smile at Mommy.

This one is All-gone!

This one is Peek-a-boo!

This is Rick's first ever post on this bloggenoggen.
Erin has been doing such a good job that I didn't want to soil it with my own mundane and trivial
comments.

Well purchasing your dream car that you actually have any hope of realistically purchasing is a pretty significant event.

A few months ago we put $1000 into my old car (which was purchased for $4000) trying to keep it going to avoid having to purchase another vehicle until after Erin's car was paid off.

A few days ago, my car didn't feel right so I took it in for a check up and come to find out that in the near future we may have to replace the clutch. Rather than funnel money into a slowly deteriorating car, we decided that I should update our vehicle stable.

I still wasn't that sure about it until I found a really good deal on my favorite type of car that I've been eyeing maybe purchasing in 5 years. It proved too good to pass up and now I'm living the dream for only $85 a month for 3 years after our trade in + saved money + tax return+ down economy = sweet deal. That's less than we're paying for Erin's car.

The only part that Erin doesn't like is that it's a two door. But until we have 3 kids, that's not too big of a deal for me. In fact it's kind of a benefit. Rather than strap Chelsea into her car seat in the arctic winds, I have to physically climb into the car to strap her in. Thus I am protected from standing out in the wind.