Spring has sprung . . . well almost!

Monday's 80 degree temperatures were a welcome sign of spring. We went for a long walk, had the season's first BBQ with G'ma and G'pa Erickson, and even let the birds in the house (okay so that wasn't planned)! We look forward to more time spent outside with Anja this spring and summer--maybe even a camping trip or two.



Anja continues to make progress physically . . . she easily holds her head up and even scoots her way out of her Baby Bjorn sitter.

Four Months and Growing . . .

Today was Anja's four month check-up . . . 13 pounds 14 ounces and 26! inches. She was a trooper with the shots, but it seemed as though she knew what we were up to as she was a bit fussier than usual! She's teething, so that may be the case as well!

Not only is she teething, but she's learned to scream in the last couple of weeks. It's a sweet scream--loud but sweet--and her parents love it. (Neighbors, probably not so much!) She gives us a wide grin while she shrieks, so at this point we think she's having a blast. Diaper changing time has never been so entertaining!

Back in the Saddle

Hello Friends,

First a big thanks to everyone who was able to attend our little get together. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing a lot of good friends and meeting some new ones! Unfortunately we don't have any pictures from the festivities. We're already looking forward to being able to do it again. Perhaps Bocce ball in Central Park, a Spring Grill Out, or even a guys only "scotch and cigars" party. We'll see!

With the Spring weather, both Shana and I have been able to start training again. Shana realized that she has run more in the past week than she has in the last year! I've also decided to get back on the bike and I actually enjoyed a short spin on the trainer. For those of you who are not familiar with trainer riding, it's a contraption that allows you to turn your bike into a stationary bike and tends to be awfully boring. Unfortunately, it tends to be one of the best ways to get some early season miles in. Luckily, it won't be long until I can start commuting to work on my bike!

Anja continues to grow like crazy and we're currently enjoying the teething process! Stay tune for more pictures later this week.

Erik

ps. It's amazing what you can find on the net. Here's a Norwegian comedy skit about tech support in the Middle Ages. Enjoy

The Discovery of Hands . . .

The last couple of weeks have been really fun to watch Anja. She continues to do a little rolling here and there (she's now figured out how to go from her stomach to back---back to stomach was the week before), and is discovering that her hands can do some magic. She also loves to practice standing . . .

. . . but after all of that physical exertion, it's time to sleep.

Digging out

The Twin Cities got smacked with another big snowstorm (as most of you are well aware). It was fun to get a snow day and spend a long weekend at home. We ended up with around 16-18" of new snow and while we weren't able to get out and enjoy it as we should, we still had a good weekend. The photos on the right are "during" and "after" pics. The trailer provides a pretty good reference point.

Town home life deprives us of the benefits of shoveling, so we spent the weekend digging out our office area. As I was going through some grad school stuff from last semester, I came across a fact sheet produced by the Basic Educational Coalition. The data below is from 2004, but is still staggering. I'd be willing to bet most of the demographic data hasn't changed. I'd also bet that while progress was being made on infrastructure improvements, it has either been stalled or even regressed at this point.

In Iraq Today

• 40% of the country’s 24.5 million people are under the age of 14.1
• 44% of men and 75% of women are illiterate.
• 31% of girls and 17.5% of boys do not attend primary school.3 In rural regions, 50% of girls are estimated to be out of school.
• Those who do go to school leave early: 40–50% of children drop out between Grades 1 and 6, and 30–40% drop out between Grades 7 and 9.5
• 80% of the 13,000 primary and secondary schools in Iraq require significant reconstruction due to structural damage and deterioration.
• Some 3,000 schools were looted following the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
• Security concerns continue to keep children from school. Kidnappings have increased, making travel to and from school hazardous, while bombs and unexploded ordnance have killed students in school yards.
• In most primary schools, the school day has been divided into two—and sometimes three—shifts due to a lack of teachers, resources, and facilities.11 In 2000, the Iraqi Ministry of Education estimated that more than 6,000 new schools would need to be built to eliminate double shifts.
  
  http://www.basiced.org/images/iraq.pdf

Finally . . . Snow!

This past weekend's snow storm was a welcome event . . . our local totals measured anywhere from eight to 12 inches. Erik and I were so excited to get out that we dropped Anja off with Grandma Marilyn and took off for a local nature preserve. The first photo is of Erik in the middle of a small pond/lake, checking to make sure we wouldn't fall through the ice. (Too bad we forgot a ski pole or ax so that he could properly test the thickness! Oh well!) Fortunately, we both made it across without any drama. As you can see in the second photo, the snow was super deep. A good workout!

She's Rollin'!

Yesterday was an exciting day for any first time parent . . . Anja rolled onto her stomach for the first time! The first time I thought it was a hoax, but the second time (as photographed above) I knew it was for real.
Anja's shown us that she's a pretty strong little lady. Tonight she practiced holding her head up while lying on her forearms.
A bit surprised at how excited her parents are . . . what's all the fuss?!
After all that tummy time, it was time to play with Dad!

Time Flies

It's hard to believe that Anja is already three months old! She is talking (in her own way) and interacting with her environment more and more. It's amazing to watch her learn and explore her world. Just think, absolutely everything is new to her: the discoveries happen daily!

Anja's namesake, Anja Pärson, has been in the news lately. Actually, it's not 100% accurate to consider the Swedish skier Anja's namesake. Perhaps this is just the Norwegian in us not wanting to admit naming our daughter after a Swede (can you believe it!). In any case, it was our first exposure to the name. We were watching Pärson compete in the Winter Olympics where she won gold in the Slalom and bronze in the Combined and Downhill. Pärson did this after recovering from what would have been a career ending knee injury for many. This was around the time we found out Shana was pregnant and the name started to fit on many levels. Anja is a beautiful name, it's unique/uncommon, it's Scandinavian, a champion athlete bears the name, etc.

After having a rough ski season to this point, Pärson won 3 gold medals in Are, Sweden. With these victories, the 25 year old is now Sweden’s greatest Alpine skier. I’ve included a couple links below.

Check out this video of Anja Pärson in the downhill from Eurosport.com

Stenmark: Anja’s our best ever.
http://www.eurosport.com/alpineskiing/are/2006-2007/sport_sto1084989.shtml

Paerson plays down hopes for five
http://www.eurosport.com/alpineskiing/are/2006-2007/sport_sto1085116.shtml

http://www.anjapaerson.com/

Family

We had a wonderful time at Ron and Kay's wedding this weekend. It was great to catch up with family and see the new addition, baby Emery! Congrats Ryan and Jesi! It was also Anja's first wedding. She seemed to enjoy herself and had plenty of people willing to hold her. The photos below were taken right before we left for the wedding.

In other news, we're happy that Mark will be back from the Dominican Republic on the 13th of April! We're counting the days and are getting very excited to see him. In one of his last e-mails he pointed out some Kyrgyz videos on YouTube. They certainly took us back and made us laugh.

The Besh Barmak clip is a very typical local music video. Besh Barmak Clip. The Kyzyl Gul clip shows some very traditional cultural events. I feel bad that I can't remember the names, but the horseback games go back a long way. One of the games they are playing involves a goat carcass and the aim is to wrestle the carcass away from the others, all while on horseback, and throw it into the goal or ring of stones. Kyzyl Gul. If anyone can remember the names or add some details, please do so.

11 Weeks . . .

Here are two photos of Anja taken within the last week. The one of her standing is from today - she is supporting herself but she's a bit wobbly. :-) She's beginning to mimic sounds now too and it's fun to "coo" and "kkkkaaaa" back and forth! She gives a big smile when we respond. (We'll do anything for a smile!)

As for the two of us, Erik had a great trip to the Boundary Waters. His students did very well, although were a bit shocked by the first night. I suppose sleeping outside when it's -30 degrees Fahrenheit will do that, especially if it's your first camping experience! :-) Shana got back in the pool for the first time this week and while it was good to get back in, she knows she's got a lot of work to do before triathlon season!

Anyone running Grandma's Marathon this summer? Shana's signed up and Erik and Anja will be her support crew this year.

Thanks for your comments!

We hope all is well,
Erik, Shana & Anja

Two Months!

Anja has hit two months and is so fun to watch grow and start to explore (mainly with curious eyes)! She is now 10 pounds 9 ounces and measures 23 inches. Long like her mom and dad!

Anja's Baptism

Above are some photos from Anja's baptism. It was a wonderful day and we are truly thankful that Grandpa Ron was able to baptize Anja. Enjoy the photos!

Happy Holidays

Hello all,

I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season!

Our first Christmas with Anja brought some revelations that I'm sure all parents have experienced. While many of you know that having children will change everything, I think it takes awhile for the reality of that idea to really set in. Christmas Eve has always been our family night as we like to make a nice dinner and open our gifts afterwards. This year, I spent a bit of time preparing a nice fancy meal and just as we sat down to dinner, Anja decided she needed us. We thus spent the rest of dinner trading off rocking her so our food wouldn't be get too cold. Christmas dinner will never be the same!

At the same time, Anja has been sleeping longer and becoming more and more expressive. She seems to be more smiley every day! More importantly, she actually slept for 7 hours straight last night!! Shana and I both woke up amazed and grateful.

While it has also been a busy holiday, it has been great to see family. Shana's parents are in town along with our nephew Memmo. Memmo, short for Guillermo, is seven years old. We've spent a lot of time watching movies and playing with Legos. It has also been a bit of an educational experience for Memmo. He finally asked Shana what she was doing when she would take Anja in a separate room to nurse. I helped explain what breastfeeding was and how it was like "custom made" food for Anja. Memmo replied, "But my Mom fed me formula--why doesn't Anja get that?" I told him that while formula was good, it wasn't quite as good was breast milk. He then replied, "I think I would've preferred it that way." (It was at this point Shana and I decided we had to start writing down all these statements as he's got some great one-liners!) Kids are so innocent!

We're looking forward to Anja's baptism tomorrow and we'll post some pictures. If anyone is in town, you are welcome to attend. It will be at University Lutheran Church of Hope. http://www.ulch.org

-Erik

5 Weeks!

Anja is 5 weeks old today and continues to grow like crazy! According to our scale, she's about 9.5 pounds. She's becoming more animated and smiles often. These photos were all taken within the past week except the last one (which is one of her dad's favorites).

Look at me . . .

It's hard to believe that Anja is already growing. She's already over 8 lbs. and has certainly grown at least an inch and a half. Things are going well and Anja has been great. Despite a few sleepless nights, she traveled to Winona with us for a swim meet, has been on numerous errands and even came with us to get our Christmas tree, although she did stay inside with Grandma Erickson. She'll be on skis before we know it!

The next few weeks will be a bit crazy. Erik is back to work and has finals coming up for his Master's program while Shana will continue coaching. We're definitely looking forward to Christmas break when we'll have some time to relax - notice how we didn't necessarily say sleep :-)


Here she is checking things out. Her eyes are really starting to turn blue (even though they still look pretty dark in the pictures).

Our first stroll . . .

On Friday, Minnesota's warm weather offered us the opportunity to take Anja on her first stroll to the post office. As you can see, she was all smiles to get out of the house. She managed to conk out as we stepped out the door, but we're sure she probably enjoyed it as much as her parents did.

We are thankful for . . .

Anja! On her way to Grandma and Grandpa Erickson's house for Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Letnes and Uncle Steve. Much to her Grandpa Letnes' delight, she's our newest little Minnesota Viking.

Homecoming

Yesterday, we took our little Anja home. Surreal is a good word to describe the entire experience. Time basically stopped while we were in the hospital and to find ourselves walking into our home with Anja felt like we were stepping into a new world. Nothing will ever be the same!

Despite the last two sleepless nights, we both feel like we're hanging in there. Grandma Erickson was especially kind to watch Anja for a couple hours last night while Shana and I slept. It's amazing what just an hour of sleep can do.

Thanks to everyone for all your wonderful comments and well wishes, they are greatly appreciated!

We'll keep the photos coming and we hope you enjoy these new additions. We're quickly learning that digitial photography and proud parents can be a dangerous combination (how many photos of a sleeping baby do you need? :-).

Vi håper at det bli ikke for langt før vi kan reise til Norge med Anja. Hun må treffer Norske bestemor og bestefar og alle andre familie og venner. Vi håper alt går bra med Mariann og Terje også - sende oss en e-post når dere fikk tid til det. Kanjske en dag Anja og Elise (og andre?) kunne gå på folkehøyskole sammen! Jeg håper alle fra Hedmarktoppen har det bra og har lyst å høre om hva dere drive med nå. Takk for alle beskjed!

Erik and Shana

Say hello to Anja

On Wednesday, November 15th at 05:56 am, Shana gave birth to a beautiful little girl. We named her Anja Letnes Erickson (Anja is pronounced ahn-ya). She was 6 pounds 14 ounces and 19 inches long. Both mom and baby are healthy are doing very well! Shana did an amazing job, delivering naturally with amazing strength and serenity. She is already well on her way to recovery.

Anja has since spent most of the time sleeping and through just about anything. We’ve been trying to do the same, but with all the check ups and excitement, it hasn’t worked as well for us. As can be imagined, the grandparents are especially excited. We’ve also received many congratulatory phone calls from friends and family. Thank you.

We’re gong to try and post fairly regularly over the next couple months with plenty of pictures of Anja and her milestones. Thanks to digital photography, Anja is already well documented. Anja is not even a day old in all of these photos.

The Waiting Game

No baby yet! We've gone from expecting our little girl to be early to wondering if she might be late. We'll keep the updates coming as it could be any day (or any week). We feel as ready as we can be, now it's just keeping our nerves from becoming totally fried.

Winter is starting to make it's way into daily life as the days become shorter and we've even had some flurries. It won't be long now until we can do a little skiing! Although I doubt we'll be putting into too many KMs this year.

Oh, we should mention that we revamped how you can post comments. You no longer need to be a member in order to post comments. Just click the circle next to other or anonymous. Notice how even in 'other' the name and web page field are both optional. Then just fill in the word verification and hit publish your comment, after you have finished typing your comment of course. Hope to hear from all of you.

Still Waiting

No baby yet . . . but we're as ready as we'll ever be. Shana and I have been doing our best to enjoy our last few days of just the two of us. This past weekend we went and saw the movie, "Borat!: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." This movie is not for those easily offended. I think the New York Times review did a nice job summing it up. You can check that our here. I would say it's Monty Python meets Jackass, although not quite as witty as Monty Python. I enjoy satire and dark humor, but I could see how it could be harmful, especially for those who don't realize that the biggest joke is on the racist and misogynistic ideas and people themselves. This is especially poignant when Borat meets Americans who basically are the same or worse than he is.

We should also mention that Borat doesn't even come close to resemble someone from Kazakhstan. No wonder the Kazakh president has been angry about Sacha Baron Cohen's (the actor who plays Borat) movie and skits.

We also wanted to pass along a great article on the history of Circle Pines. Stephen Lee wrote an exhaustive history on our unique little hometown, but for those of us who haven't been able to read his book (ourselves included), the aricle by Christy DeSmith gives a nice little snapshot. I've linked the article here. The title, "A People's History of Circle Pines" is apt.