Erik's First Birthday Party - before

Although Erik's birthday won't be for a couple more weeks, we decided to take advatage of the family gathering together and celebrate Erik, too. In the last couple of weeks Erik has really started walking. He holds his hands up by his ears to keep his balance. Now that he has the confidence to walk several feet, he thinks he is Mister Independent. He is exploring things we don't even think he's noticed before. It is pretty hard to convince him that there are things he is not big enough to deal with, like outlets, or that don't benefit from being chewed on, like remote controls and cell phones.

The pictures show Lexi, Linn's granddaughter, showing Erik how to use his sleeping bag and rocking horse.