Little Sister Duties

The Pie says she can't wait any longer for a playmate, but V-Pie isn't due for another 16 weeks. Luckily, Bella has agreed to "chip in" and take on some of the little sister duties until then.
As you can see, The Pie has gladly accepted her offer.
Because sometimes dolls just aren't enough.

{Yes, that is Bella and she is neither a rat nor a Chihuahua,
she is a purebred Italian Greyhound, fyi.}

{Notes on The Violet}

When I found out I was pregnant I already knew what my child's name would be. It just so happened that I'm having a little girl {yay!} and so she will be named Violet.

Violet Brown was my great-grandmother, my mother's father's mother. I have no picture of her unfortunately, but I so like the idea of using family names. {Eisley shares her great-grandmother's middle name, and if I had a boy, he would be named after a family surname - Paxton.}
As it turns out, and I didn't know this when I picked the name - I swear, Violet is due in February which just so happens to have the violet as a birth flower! What's more - the birth stone for February is the amethyst - a violet colored gem. I had no idea, but I'm so glad it suits. Now she just better not be born early in January because that will ruin everything... ;-)
And when you see antique postcards with Valentine's Day themes - a February holiday, no less - they quite often feature violets on them. Which is perfect. I'm happy to call my little V-Pie "A Token of Love"... hehe...
Just as Violet is an old fashioned name, they were very popular on postcards back in the day, and I might just have to figure out a way to incorporate one of these in her birth announcement. Again, it suits, because everyone knows how much I love old things.
But right now Violet is still a squirmy thing in my stomach, I only have seen fuzzy black & white images of her. She has kicked me a few times, Eisley has kicked her a few times...

She is as long as an ear of corn, and I just hit 24 weeks, which means if she was born now she'd have a 50% chance of surviving. It's neat to hit that "point of viability" but, still, February baby! February!

The Creative & Amazing Photographer

On Tuesday we went with Great Grandma Sander & the three cousins from Justin's side of the family to get portraits for GG Sander's Christmas cards.

We were fortunate to have that sort of creative, artistic photographer for our session. He directed the kids so wonderfully, and as you can see {below} we got some really amazing photographs. I want to give you a recap of how professional and creative he was in directing his subjects - I only hope I can recreate the magic of the session just a little bit. Here are some of the brilliant directions he gave as he was working his magic:

"Okay, Eisley, give me your best vampire look for this shot -
YES! Show me those fangs! Work the fangs!"

"Noah, you're drunk at the bar and a beautiful woman just sat down next to you, show me drunk lust - YES! Perfect!"
"Eisley, I just informed you your puppy is dead - you're shocked and in disbelief, give me shocked!"
"Okay for this group shot, I want to capture the essence of family. Eisley, you just passed gas and you think it's funny. Grandma and Moriah, act repulsed, but Noah, I want to see you pointing the finger at the offender. YES! GOOD!"
"Turn around, Eisley, and scowl at Noah for pointing you out.... Noah you're uncomfortable now, show me uncomfortable! Moriah, you're worried!"
"Eisley, give me disgusted! You're grossed out, you're gagging! Work it! YES! BEAUTIFUL!"
"Noah and Moriah, give me sleepy... but, Eisley, show me delighted - what's over there? - show me how great it is, yes! Make us wonder, intrigue us! What's over there and why do your cousins not care? YES! WONDERFUL!"
"Moriah, I want to see sophisticated, thoughtful, good! But Noah and Eisley - you're unsure about what's going on to your left. Yes! Amused yet awkward! That's great! BRILLIANT!"

"Eisley look poignantly upwards, yes, you're thinking about God and life and deep thoughts. More deep thoughts, show me more! You're pondering the meaning of life! Moriah! Box your little brother's ears - YES! WORK IT!"
"Eisley, you're sucking on a lemon! Show me how sour it is! More sour! More sour, it's unbearable."
"Let's get Grandma back in here, Grandma, I want you to watch adoringly as your grandson picks his nose... Eisley, I want to see the 'my puppy just died' face again! PERFECT! Moriah, you're in control of the situation, you're calm amid the chaos - YES! BRILLIANT!"
As you can see, it was intense, artistic and insightful! We just went in for a Christmas card shot, but what we got was just pure art!

Okay I've had my fun... but really, we did get some good ones...

Family Outing No. 1 1/2: Black Hawk

Dear Papa Erickson,

A couple weeks ago you recommended going to see Central City & Black Hawk. You told me about how the old mountain mining town had turned into a mini-Vegas with mega hotels and that it was really a sight to see.

In fact, you said, "Go up there some afternoon just to look around and get an ice cream." Those were your exact words.

So today we did just that, promising ourselves & Eisley an ice cream. We got to see the aspen starting to turn on our way...
Central City was still quaint and had that Old West feel that so many Colorado mountain towns do, Black Hawk {literally down the street} was another story. Mostly thanks to the new & huge Ameristar hotel. It is a Goliath of a hotel/casino, springing up unnaturally from the Rocky Mountains. 33 stories.
We parked in the 10 story parking garage {upon exiting the car, I could smell the $5.99 prime rib every hotel advertises on billboards for miles before town} and wandered the hotel, Eisley was not allowed on the gaming floor. It was a grand hotel. We went to the 32nd floor to look out a window.
It is like Vegas, only a lot classier with less smut {does that make it better or not as good as Vegas? Honestly, I'm not sure... the vulgarity being part of Vegas's charm, you know. If you don't understand that, you haven't been there.}

Having seen that, and not willing to lose any money on gambling, we headed back up the street to Central City, here is the courtyard at the Central City Opera House. There were definitely some pretty sites worth seeing here.
But two things bothered us about our day trip.
1. There was no ice cream to be found. This town is 100% casinos & saloon style restaurants. Even the clerk at the grand Ameristar hotel didn't know where to direct us when we asked her to recommend a place. She asked 5 co-workers and finally told us to go to Cook's Palace - a saloon style bar. For ice cream. We were told there would be ice cream. Papa, you owe us an ice cream.

2. This town is devoid of children. It actually gave us a weird feeling. We were freaks that stood out toting our two year-old along. We saw three teenagers walking home from school - does that count? You don't realize how strange it feels to be in a place with zero children until you find yourself there and realize how unearthly it is. I kid you not, it made us a little depressed, and we came to the conclusion that a world without goofy, silly, whiny, excitable, stinky, smiley children is no place we could ever call home.

What's usually the demographic that fawns over Eisley the most - the retirees & elderly, who were all out gambling on a Tuesday afternoon - passed her by as if she was a common houseplant. At Great-Grandma Sander's retirement community we practically have to pry them off of her - they act as if they haven't seen a child in 1,000 years and she is the Chosen One, surrounding her like vultures and making all three of our heads swell. It was probably good for us to be humbled this way, actually. We're sort of jaded by how much attention she gets in public sometimes... What do you mean she's not the center of your universe? Go figure.

But seriously, Black Hawk made Vegas look like Kiddie Land.
Here is the only sign of any family friendliness we saw in the entire town. Yes, Dostal Alley actually went so far as to post it on their window - they have pizza, beer, and also allow children! Wow. In spite of the warm welcome, there were still no children in there. {I imagined walking in with Eisley and the bartender eyeing her and saying in a gruff voice, "We don't take kindly to your types 'round here."}
In fact, it was so eerie, so strange to us - the way people looked at us & Eisley and the way we stood out in her presence - that I seriously would not have been at all surprised to see this guy come around the corner. I was pretty much expecting to see him at any moment:




Creepiest. Guy. Ever.

And I'm fairly certain Black Hawk hires him to keep the kids out of their casino town.

Anyway, it was still a good time, just to finally see Central City where - despite being a 4th generation Colorado native {or is it 3rd? I always forget about great-grandpa Erickson...} - I have never been before. We left hungry and feeling guilty that Eisley hadn't been at all entertained. So we sought solace in Idaho Springs at a little place dear to my heart: Beau Jo's. There they had a kiddie menu, a booster seat & crayons waiting for us. Along with other children also dining nearby, we breathed a sigh of relief.

Thanks for the tip, Papa Erickson! We did enjoy. But don't think we're letting you out of an ice cream date...

Love,
Heather

Family Outing No. 1: The Aquarium

I have 3 family outings to share with you -
all of which took place in the last couple weeks.
We've been busy, trying to get the most out of
summer and our time together.
So a couple weeks ago, on a cool Tuesday night, we wanted to take Eisley somewhere fun. Our little threesome hit up the Downtown Aquarium in Denver. It was the perfect time to go, not busy at all - I think we passed maybe two other groups while there. Although I do hope that was an anomaly because I would hate for Denver to lose this attraction.
It's a fantastic place to take a toddler.
Eisley was in heaven.
We couldn't get her to look away from the fish
long enough to get a picture of her smiling.
The exhibits they have are very cool,
if you haven't been lately you really should go soon.
Some of the fish were HUGE.
Like this guy, sitting next to the shark...
I adored the seahorses.
I could have stood and watched
these graceful little creatures all day.
But this black & white fish was my favorite. I had to take a picture & share. When I see marvels like this in nature I can't help but roll my eyes at evolution theories & the whole "big bang" idea. This momma believes in creationism, all done at the hands of a magnificent God. Big bang? How can anyone believe that? Look at this fish! This guy was designed, just like you & me...
Eisley was just as mesmerized by
the aquatic creations that God gave us.
Like these guys:
And here I am about to throw Eisley to the stingrays...
This was our favorite part, at the end of our tour we walked into a room with a shallow pool swarming with stingrays! They let you pet them as they swim by. They are just too cool.
One of the greatest joys I take in being a mother is seeing my daughter discover & explore some of the delights of this world.
We had a grand old time.

Next up... Family Outing No. 2: The Brewery