Our Erika Grace has been a part of our family for one year. And yes, I am going to say it…it has gone by so fast! I can’t deny it! I can’t say that it’s been the easiest year, but it has been pretty fun and exciting. We love having this little girl in our lives, even though she hasn’t yet brought any particular girliness to our family dynamic. 

Erika is an easy-going girl (because she is the child of Tim and Larissa, as one person put it). She stops what she’s doing any time she hears her dad’s voice, has the cutest little scoot that gets her from point A to point B, plays with her tongue on her few little teeth, and has developed a habit of making a regularly-occurring shocked sound when she’s happy, which is still new enough to be adorable and not annoying. I have a feeling she may be a little trouble-maker one day. I occasionally catch that particular little glint in her eye, the one that matches her big brother Victor, the family goof. I never thought I would be a person who is sad to leave the baby stage behind, but I have to admit that I have gotten emotional about the thought that one day I will never nurse again. Or sad that I won’t have to use that little stack of burp cloths. I think it’s mainly the first few weeks of having a newborn that I miss. The first moment of holding your child. Those days where you get to snuggle so often. Those weeks of having a new person to love. 

But boy am I ever glad to have the knowledge that my days in these trenches are over. I said that to somebody once, because these years of having young children are so often referred to the trenches, and he said “what then? You go out into the line of fire?” Yeah, probably. But that fire doesn’t include diapers. 

We are so excited to learn more about who Erika is and what our family is to become in this next year and beyond! 

We love you, Erika!