Proof Lehman will be a great dad to a girl!!!

Eric and Tatum found out they are going to be parents of a baby girl, and we know for most new dads the thought of having a girl first causes a little panic (I know it did for me!). Things like boyfriends, dates, the teenage years, all become frightening in a single moment. For me, the first thought that got me excited was the thought of walking my daughter down the aisle someday. Now, I could have all girls and be totally happy.

Anyways, last weekend Eric and Tatum came over to help us pack, Eric was often given the duty of taking care of Annika so we could focus on other things. As the video shows, his daughter will be in good hands.

A final word of wisdom on having a girl first, from 6th grader Ashley Hammett: (rough paraphrase, I won't do the original justice) "It is much better to have a girl first because a girl will help you take care of the other kids and do things around the house. Boys aren't very good at those things."

Touche Ashely, touche.

lasts...

Most of you know by now that Eric, Annika and I will be moving to Northern California in a couple of weeks...A COUPLE OF WEEKS...I can't believe I'm saying that already!

Eric and I have been talking about moving since before we even got married (we are both nor cal people...its in our blood), but we have stayed down here in SD due to our amazing community of friends who have now become family to us.

I have dreaded writing this post and have put it off for some time now because it is just so sad to say goodbye to everyone here.

HOWEVER...

The lasts have started. They started a while ago, but I didn't really want to acknowledge them for fear the floodgates would open...they have. So I guess its time to talk about goodbyes.

A couple of weeks ago we sat down around our dining room table for our last dinner with the Tanks. We will so miss our family dinners with them. You two have been such a support to Eric and me and we are forever grateful for your friendship. Being that Annika is going to marry their son Luke, I know we will forever be connected.

Eric and I both had our last official growth group meetings. These groups have been a lifeline to us. You are irreplaceable...not even gonna try.

This weekend we had our last night with the Swifts. Jeremy and Audi have become such amazing friends, have stood by us through hard times and have been so generous to us and AJ (swim classes will be something we will forever hold dear).

Last night we had our last game of pinochle with the Lehmans...words cannot express how much we will miss you. You have been Annika's auntie and uncle here in San Diego and have truly become family to me and Eric. You guys are a constant for us here...seeing you every day at the gym and knowing that you are always there for us...we will miss you. (a sigh and a tear...)

We are anticipating a few more lasts in the next couple of weeks that will be very hard to swallow...

-our last church service at Flood Church. What an amazing church family you have been. We wish we could take you all up to nor cal with us.

-our last workout at Crossfit Flood. These are the people we see most in San Diego. Every day at 4 p.m. we get together for some shared suffering...its amazing how close you become to those you suffer with. Whats the word for that Matt? Luminality?

-our last playdate at the park with Audi and Harper, Aj's best little girlfriend. We are going to miss you guys so much!

Though moving is always tough it also forces you to be more intentional with relationships and Eric and I have seen our friendships here deepen over the past few months. We have shared great moments with so many of you...the wasmuths, the jacksons (x 2), angelee, the browns, rachael, jamie, mike, chelsea...the list goes on and on...Thank you for making it hard for us to leave.

Our door is always open to anyone looking to get away for a weekend. Please come visit us...Lord willing we will also be visiting you down here frequently.

We love you all!
Eric, Kara and Annika

Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks with all of you!

Best buds AJ and Harper at the zoo.

Last Growth Group night



Toronado Pub with the Lehmans

Day in Julian with the ladies. AJ and Rachael

Helping Around the House and more at the Park

So, lately Annika has taken interest in helping around the house with everything. You can't have the dishwasher open for more than 5 second without a second set of hands to help. Washing clothes really means playing in clothes piles (and we realized with this photo also moving the detergent, Baby Proofing 2.0, here we come).


A daily routine for Kara and Annika is going to the park down the street. Annika loves seeing the other kids there and is wanting to be as big as they are and climb on everything. She used to be a little timid of the swings and now loves them, we are working on the slides now.


I love this sequence as it truly illustrates our daughter's personality. "I will pose for a smile, but you better make it quick, because I don't want to sit in one place too long!" I know Kara is loving this time with her before she starts work in January, but she is also a saint for the amount of time she spends with Annika, chasing her around. I have one amazing wife!


Annika is getting much better at standing without any support. If we can distract her she can last 10-15 seconds before realizing she is standing and might need a little extra help.

Usually on the weekends the girls let me join them to the park. Annika loves playing patty cake and now anticipates tossing the cake in the oven, it always comes with a smile.





As much as we love this stage, the one downside is her hair is a perfect boy's length. Even when we dress her in pink, men still call her a boy. C'mon, really? Every once in awhile now she will give a look and it reminds me of my baby pics, but most of the time she still reminds me of her mom (thankfully)!

Happy Halloween!

"Mom, what are you doing to me?" Annika wasn't so sure of her fairy costume at first, but as soon as she saw herself in the mirror she was thrilled.

Our adorable little fairy...thanks to Katie E who let us borrow Merrideth's outfit from last year!

Here are the "triplets" at a Halloween party. Our friend Kristy threw a party and set up this adorable backdrop so that we could get some cute pictures with the little ones. I didn't get a lot of good ones, but you can check out here blog to see more. (kristyheinrichs.com) As you can see there was quite a baby boom among our friends down here....thats only half the kids that were there!

"Mama I'm done."

We spent an afternoon/evening with our friends the Eatons carving pumpkins...we used to get to see Seth and Katie and their kids a lot more, but now that we have Annika its a bit more difficult to get together. We had a blast with them and its so fun to have aj around other kids. She loves watching them and trying to chase after them.



The finished product. No we're not that artistic...we traced that from a pattern book.