Super Hero Training

Hands down my favorite dreams are always flying dreams or snowboarding dreams, or some combination of the two. Nancee, being the greatest wife, got me some flying for my birthday. She took me to a vertical skydiving wind tunnel for some real life flying experience. There's a facility in Eloy called SkyVenture, and all I can say is that it… was… AWESOME!

Two minutes in the tunnel is roughly equivalent to a 13,000 ft freefall, and I did two sessions. Beginning skydivers have to jump tandem, but not so in the wind tunnel. I got to fly detached from the instructor, though I still thought he was a little bit too “hands on.” It really felt how I imagined flying would feel. The only problem is now I totally want to do it again, and the skydiving seed is now planted in my brain…

Erica's First Photo Shoot

Yesterday, my neighbor Kellie was so nice to do a photo shoot of Erica. There are so many great pictures and I had a really hard time narrowing it down, but here are a few of my favorites. Thank you Kellie!!!!

Troy and 29

Troy's 29th birthday was yesterday. Since we were celebrating, I never got around to posting about it. So, today I decided to write 29 reasons why I love Troy (in no particular order):


1. He's hot!!


2. He is so smart that he works as an engineer for one of the top defense contractors in the nation.


3. He is giving me a massage while I write this.


4. He is really good at drawing portraits of people.


5. He fixes our cars so we don't have to spend money on repairs/oil changes or new car payments.


6. He is good at all board sports.


7. He wakes up with Erica on the weekends so I can sleep in.


8. He kills all the bugs in our house so I don't have too.


9. He is good about making sure our family prays together.


10. He is really good at playing the guitar and violin.


11. He laughs at my jokes.


12. He works really hard to provide for our family so I don't have to.


13. He keeps our yard looking nice.


14. He fixes everything in our house.


15. He is patient with me.


16. He has a strong testimony of the gospel and dedicates time to fulfilling his calling in Young Men's.


17. He plays with Erica when he gets home from work to give me a break.


18. He watches "The Office", "24" and whatever else I want to watch with me (except American Idol).


19. He sends me text during the day to tell me he loves and misses me.


20. He likes to invent things and always has good ideas.


21. He reads scriptures in Russian and prays in Russian with me. He is patient in helping me with my Russian skills.


22. He's good at saving money.


23. He let's me practice my hair cutting skills on him.


24. He makes sure we always have fun.


25. He takes me on great trips.


26. He always compliments my cooking.


27. He tries to explain engineering concepts in terms that I can understand.


28. He taught me how to snowboard and wakeboard.


29. He is the best husband ever!!

One Year Appointment

Erica had her one year appointment today. I knew it was not going to go well when she started screaming on the scale. Who knew that checking your weight and having your head measured would be so traumatic. Hopefully, this is not an indication of future body image issues. Maybe she is just really sensitive about how big her head is.

Anyway, she also has a cold right now, so originally I wasn't planning on giving her any shots. However, the doctor convinced me that since she didn't have a fever, it would be okay to do it. I hate feeling pressured to do things by the doctor, but I plan to vaccinate her sometime. I guess she will just feel doubly miserable now with the cold and shots, rather than make her go back later for shots. Of course, she screamed and screamed.

She also has another ear ache. The third one in a month. The doctor prescribed yet another antibiotic. I hate to drug her up all the time, especially when it doesn't seem to be helping her. Any thoughts on alternatives? I don't want her ear to ache either, so what does a mother do?

To top the day all off, I forgot to cover her car seat with a white towel while we were inside (a necessity in Southern Arizona to keep it cool). I ended up burning her with the seat belt buckle. Poor girl!! She did have a nice, long nap today though.

Stats
Weight: 19 lbs 10oz (25%) - Almost time for front facing car seat. Can't wait!!
Height: 29 in (45%)
Head: 46.8 cm (90%)

Erica's First Birthday

I truly cannot believe that one year ago today I gave birth to Erica. This has been the fastest year of my life. It has also been one of the most challenging, rewarding and different than anything I've ever done. I love little (well, not so little anymore) Erica and I am so glad that she is a part of our lives. It's amazing how much she has grown in just one year. Unlike many blogs I've read, however, I'm not sad that she is getting bigger. I don't miss the newborn days at all. I'm so excited for what is ahead of her and how much fun we are going to have as she continues to learn and grow.


Newborn:



3 months:



6 months:



9 months:


One year:



"Are you serious? I only get the wheel?"



Yummy!! Erica enjoyed the cake, but she didn't love it as much as I thought she would. She was actually pretty clean about the whole affair. I was a little disappointed. I was hoping for more chocolate mess. (:


One of my favorite shots from the day.

For Ian

California Adventure

We were able to go to California for Labor Day weekend and spend some time with my parents and a couple of brothers. We had a blast and it is soooo hard to come back to real life. Has anyone figured out a way to be on vacation all the time?

Thanks to Eden's mom, we were able to get into Disneyland for free. It was Erica's first time there. She absolutely loved it. She especially loved the trains. She is pointing at the train in this picture.

I was surprised she even noticed, but she also liked the characters.

One of her favorite rides was Jungle Cruise. I think she thought all the animals were real.

Here is the family feeding ducks. It was so nice to be around family. My parents even babysat Erica one night so Troy and I could go on a date. Thank you mom and dad. We started to watch the movie, "Traitor", but I got sick from all the motion, so we returned our tickets and went mini-golfing instead. I'm trying to convince my parents to come to Tucson more often. (:

Cousins: Ashlee, Sierra, Brayden and Lincoln

Cousin Lincoln was born only 2 months after Erica. They got along great.

I also got to meet up with one of my college roommates, Moana, and her daughter, Ocean. We hadn't seen each other in over 8 years. It was so fun to see her again.

Erica loved Laguna Beach. She would charge for the water and played for hours in the sand.