erica danielle

Here we are at month 20. Every month seems like a blink of an eye, this one in particular feels like it flew by... I'm absolutely loving everything about 20 months. Her personality shines and she makes us laugh all day long. When I get her in the morning she's started giving big tight hugs around my neck and playing with my hair and it makes me melt. Here are a couple other things she's doing: - talks, repeats EVERYTHING I say. And remembers the funniest things. We were getting her out of the car the other day and there was a wasp on the inside of her window. I freaked out, and then when we got home she said- "A BEE!" trying to get a rise out of me again. Now it's a fun game that we play, that she thinks is hilarious, bc I don't actually think she is scared of bees at all... - Is starting to ask for things. After her nap the other day she said "Applesauce?" I was like- sure! - Is getting good with her glasses, still not great, but better and ...

I try so hard to eat healthy while pregnant, but my downfall is most definitely my sweet tooth. When Ashley introduced me to these cookies, I knew I was in trouble. I have always only made my mom's recipe of CCC's, but there is something about the crunchy-ness of this recipe, that I cannot get over. SO, Ashley, thanks for introducing me to these cookies, and for being overwhelmingly awesome :) YUMMMM! Recipe: 1/2 C + 2 Tbls sugar 1/2 C + 2 Tbls brown sugar, packed 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/2 egg or 2 Tbls 1 C Flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 C chocolate chips (milk chocolate is best for this recipe) bake at 375 for 10-12 mins. In other news, here is the baker herself at her most recent Orchestra concert in which she rocked it:  LATELY:  We've been running around outside, going for walks, doing chalk, playing with her pink ball. Went to Bay Lake to put in the dock! And got to spend time with Joanie, Dave and Great Grandma. It was a ...

We LOVE this stage! Sten said just today while we were all sitting on the couch- please Lucy, don't grow up! and it's just the truth. She was sitting in between us alternating giving us hugs/ snuggles and grinning with her big tooth-y smile. I wish I could bottle up her little voice and listen to it forever. Things she's been doing/saying: - counting. when we are outside she loves to count the steps, I realized one day she can count all the way to 10. Things get a little fuzzy around the 7-8 mark, but it's truly amazing! - colors. I also thinks she knows her colors... today I asked her what color her spoon was and she said "BLUUU", and when you ask her to point to colors she can. - singing. she has a little DVD called "praise baby" and the last song on it is "holy, holy, holy". The other day she brought me the DVD and said holy, holy, holy. Sten got it on video, we were both in AWE! - No. She has extreme opinions on things such as boo...

We've been having SO much fun outside now that the weather's warmer and days are longer. Last weekend we took Lucy to Govin's Farm where there were hundreds of baby lambs, goats, chicks, piglets, horses, ponies, dogs... it was just the best morning and I think Sten and I had the most fun watching her experience these animals! We ended the morning with donuts, of course, before heading home with a VERY warn out/ cranky toddler.  CHEESE  These lambs are big compared to the ones you could hold and pet, Lucy didn't really want to touch them, but she liked to look  PIGLETS!  She loved the chicks most of all   "coo, coo" (cool, cool)  Sten's Grandma gave us this little stool for Lucy when we visited over Easter. It is perfect for a little art station/table for her. I am obsessed! She still eats crayons, but I am determined for her to like art so we can color together. LUCY GOT GLASSES!  So far, not so good. But we ar...

We had a wonderful Easter celebrating in CG with my family and then spending Easter Monday with cousins, and a visit to Great Grandma Carlson. I felt sick after eating too many jelly beans and treats including the MOST delicious Almond White Cake in the world. I am serious. It will be a forever recipe in our house. It was just the right combo of light and dense with a strong almond flavor. The cake itself isn't too sweet, but I made an almond butter cream frosting and I felt like it complimented it perfectly. I was so bummed that I forgot to take a picture, and left the leftovers at my parents. Here is a link to the recipe from allrecipes . We spent a lot of time at Church over Easter week, and Lucy got to go on 2 Easter Egg Hunts back in the children's wing. She was all warmed up for a hunt at Gma and Gpa's. It was so great to watch her find those eggs and be excited.  A pre-Easter activity was getting these kids together and painting eggs. It was messy and awesom...

The last 10 weeks Lucy and I have been spending our Thursday mornings at church. She plays with new friends, and I have been involved in a truly awesome Bible Study with some of the best women in the world. Lucy and I love Thursdays. I can say for certain they are one of my favorite days of the week. Our first study was on the book Restless, by Jennie Allen . It was challenging and amazing all in one, and I really feel like I grew so much in my faith being around these women and hearing their stories. If you are feeling Restless in your own life and want to find purpose, this is a great place to start! At the end of the study Jennie challenged us to GO DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING. and so, we took a Thursday and made 20 bags of soups to be frozen and handed out to people in need in our community who come to church asking for money or food. Everyone brought items and we had the best morning filling those bags and serving our community. It was so humbling to know that buying 5 cans of black b...