Happy Labor Day (and more babies!)!

It's been a nice and relaxing Labor Day weekend so far! On Sunday, Tim woke up early for a day of fishing (and came home with some great tasting Spot) and after taking Cooper to the dog park, Erika took a walk with Meredith, Sandra, and Sara with a brunch at Whitlows afterwards. After walking a bit longer than expected (due to a few wrong turns, oops), the food couldn't have tasted better! Sara is also a mommy-to-be and expecting her baby girl on January 28th, 2007. We captured a picture of the two belly's....Sara's got some catching up to do! :)

Congratulations, Sara!

Final Countdown...

With September just around the corner, it's hard to believe that we'll soon be parents! Last week, another ultrasound of Baby C confirmed that indeed s/he is growing perfectly and should hopefully be ready to meet the world on or around October 6th, 2007. Tim and Erika have bets on the due date - going with her lucky number 8, Erika predicts Baby C will enter the world on Oct 8 while Tim's betting on October 5th. Guess we'll have to wait and see! With an estimated weight of 5 lbs 3 oz from the ultrasound, Erika is definitely hoping for an earlier date!
Life has been a bit hectic for the Carlsons, however. Erika started her fall classes this past week while continuing to work part-time and teach classes. We've also been getting a head start on the moving process - packing up the back office and guest room (certainly making room for BABY things!) in attempts to make our impending move run as smoothly as possibly (yeah right!). Although we're both saddened to be moving from Arlington, we realize that we have so many things to look forward to (hello, baby!) so we are trying to be as positive and optimistic about our move to Reston as possible. Plus, we've been busy working with a contractor who will be completely renovating our Reston kitchen (and parts of the bathroom) and painting the entire condo. So, with a brand new kitchen, it will be a nice welcome for us when we move in at the beginning of November. We just picked out the floor and backsplash tile which wraps up the many decisions involved in kitchen renovation (appliances, cabinets, granite, etc, etc).
But regardless of the move and school, we both can't stop thinking about becoming parents so soon and are most anxious to meet our little one! Here are a few picture updates of Erika's belly, at or around 34/35 weeks. Since these pictures, Tim swears the belly got bigger in a 24 hour period so we'll just have to take another set of pictures soon to see it!

Erika's Baby Shower

Erika's friends Christi and Sandra hosted a beautiful baby shower in honor of Baby Carlson. Everything was just perfect - they both did such a great job!

Click here for some pictures from Saturday, August 18th.

Update on Baby Carlson

We wanted to share some updated belly shots of Baby Carlson. S/he is getting bigger and the kicks are getting stronger and stronger. With only 2 months to go, the little one is gaining weight (as is the mom!) and growing longer. Tim and Erika are getting things ready for the little one's arrival and are anxious to meet their little baby!

Seaside - Family Vacation to Florida

Erika arrived to Florida on Wednesday to meet her family for their remaining week long trip in beautiful Seaside. Staying in an amazing beach home with just a quick walk to the beach, everyone enjoyed the clear blue water, daily bike rides, ocean swims, and spending time with family! We missed Tim though, who had to stay behind for work, but look forward to having him join the crew for the next family vacation.

Click here to view pictures from the Seaside trip.

Smith Mountain Lake with Shea and Jim

Erika and Shea...double the trouble...

The Carlson family taking a swim break on the dock.

This past weekend, we drove to Jim's parents lakehouse on Smith Mountain Lake to enjoy a relaxing weekend. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! Tim and Jim fished (and got lucky a few times!), the dogs played constantly in the water, and Shea and Erika enjoyed catching on the baby talk! Shea and Jim are also expecting their first baby, Brady, in September.


Click here for some more pictures from the weekend.

Couldn't Resist...

Is he cute, or what? Little Coopman posing for the camera...