December 31, 2005 - Happy New Year!!!

When I was pregnant with Erin, I got involved with an online forum for women all due the same month as me. It was a great experience, and I learned a huge amount from those women. One of those them, Jennifer Galati, lived near us and became a close and dear to friend to me.  Our families became very close as well (her husband, Chris, and Jim really hit it off!). Over the years, we've been able to watch our children grow up together, and Erin considers Ariana among her closest friends. For a number of years, we all got together to ring in the new year, including in 2005, when the kids were going strong long after the adults thought it was time to call it a night.  We had the opportunity to see the Galatis this past week when we were visiting my parents, and it was great to see that even though we're now separated by 3,000 miles, our friendship remains as strong as ever. 

July 27, 2001 - Horns

When Erin was 9 months old, and just getting into crawling, she came home from daycare one day with her hair "done." One of her teachers had thought it would be cute to put it in pigtails, but as short as it was, they just stuck out from the top of her head. It looked completely adorable in a devilish sort of way. I snapped this picture and immediately sent it to my parents. My father's first comment? "Those aren't pigtails... They're HORNS!" 

April 20, 2002 - Erin & Aunt May

I started taking piano lessons from May Harrow when I was in 5th grade. She was always a magical person to me... She was a magnificent pianist with wonderful stories to tell about her incredible career. Her husband, Lenny, made our lessons extra special, always coming downstairs to tell jokes or bringing his violin to play duets with us. Sitting at May's pianos for lessons was a true treat.  I started taking lessons from her again when we moved back to New Jersey in 1998 and continued until just before Erin was born.  I took Erin for a lot of visits with our beloved Aunt May, and it was incredible to see each of them light up in each other's company. Aunt May gave Erin her first "lessons" as soon as she was old enough to sit at the keyboard, and was delighted to hear that we'd started her regular lessons. After an 80-year career as a piano teacher, voice coach, and performer, we lost our Aunt May in August 2007. Her loss still brings tears to my eyes, but the memories that she gave us all will last forever.

May 30, 2006 - Magic from Mahural

After Jim was so sick on our cruise in 2005, I was surprised that I was able to convince him to have another go at cruising, but in 2006 we once again boarded the Disney Magic, this time heading to the Western Caribbean.  This was a fantastic trip (not a toothache in sight!)! I had gotten involved with an internet group made up of other people on this particular cruise, and we spent a lot of time with one particular family who had two girls around Erin's age. On the day we went to Costa Maya, we all went to a village called Mahural where we hung out on the beach all day drinking beer, eating chips with fresh salsa and guacamole, and having a wonderful time. From the beach, we could even see the Magic in port, creating quite an interesting view.

December 23, 2009 - Mom, Erin & Puppy!

After 20+ years of having Akitas, Mom and Dad have finally decided to try a new breed: a Goldendoodle! While we were visiting them in December, we had the opportunity to go visit their new puppy (he's only 6 weeks old, and not ready to come home yet), and he made quite an impression! He completely adored Erin, and while she sat on the floor with him, he climbed all over her lap and tried to get into her coat. Each of us had a chance to hold him and get some wonderful puppy kisses, and we all left wanting to take him home NOW. But alas, he needs a few more weeks with his mother before he can move to his forever home. I'm sure he'll be a great addition to Mom and Dad's new home. And how nice that they'll finally have a dog whose main goal in life isn't to kill people!

October 8, 2006 - Molly & Lucy

In 2006, Jim's sister Ann drove up from Baltimore for Erin's birthday weekend and brought her black Lab, Lucy. Molly wasn't even 5 months old at the time, and it was their first time being together. Each day, the two dogs would go at it for what felt like hours, playing in a most rambunctious way that included baring of teeth, growling, etc. Lucy kept showing Molly who was boss, but Molly didn't let up. Eventually, the two of them calmed down, and before we knew it, they were happily snoozing next to each other. The peace didn't last long, so I was really glad I was actually able to get a picture of it!

January 21, 2001 - Erin and Uno

Uno was our only "child" for the first 9 years of his life, and when we first brought Erin home from the hospital, he seemed not to understand why we'd add this screaming, crying, non-mobile thing to our lives. He quickly became very attached to her, though, and was often the first one of us to reach her room when she cried. Right from the start, he was remarkably gentle with her, and he really liked when we would put her down on his level so he could smell and kiss her. And no matter what Erin would do to him (from pulling his ears to laying across him on the floor), he stoically sat through it, wagging his tail.  

September 19, 2009 - Fall Soccer (Week 2)

Erin's first fall soccer season in California was a great one! She played on a team that called themselves the Pink Panthers, and not only did she have a great time and make new friends, but her skills on the field improved markedly! While most players on the team rotated through many field positions, her coaches quickly realized that Erin excelled at defense, and kept her in that role for every game. She's my little Erin-the-Defender!!!

May 6, 2005 - The Magic of Cruising

In 2005, we cruised on the Disney Magic with our good friends, September and Cori, and their almost-2-year-old daughter, Bronte. While in some ways it was a trip to forget (Jim had a horrible infection in a tooth that had him in agony for most of the cruise), having our friends with us made it one that we'll always remember for the good times we had.  On this particular night, Erin took great pride in escorting her friend to the restaurant for dinner. Not doubt, the two girls will always remain the bestest of friends!

June 18, 2005 - Morris Arboretum Pump

When I was a little girl, my parents took me to the Morris Arboretum to explore the gardens, see the swans, and walk around the beautiful grounds. One of our favorite pictures of me as a child was taken by my father at the log cabin there.  As Erin has grown up, we've taken her to the Arboretum countless times, and she practically grew up in the Garden Railway Exhibit there (a truly great place to take kids!).  One on of those visits, we took Erin to the log cabin, and she found the water pump. We showed her how to pump the handle, and she was completely surprised when water actually came out! The Arboretum actually saw this picture when I posted it on Facebook a while back and asked for permission to possibly use it in their marketing materials. So you never know... Erin could show up in their brochures someday!

March 16, 2003 - Up to No Good

Otherwise known as... How to drive a grandmother crazy!

At my parents' old house (still can't get used to saying that!), Mom had a spice cabinet in which she very carefully alphabetized all of her spices. (And people think I'M organized!) One afternoon when Erin was 2 1/2, she and Eric did some exploring in that cabinet, and needless to say, things were never quite the same after that!

July 31, 2004 - Our Little Flower Girl

Erin got to be a flower girl in her cousin Sarah's wedding in the summer of 2004. She'd been very excited about the whole idea and loved how she looked in her custom-made dress, but the night before, at the rehearsal, she got cold feet and wouldn't walk down the isle! One of the bridesmaids, Julie, took it on herself to befriend Erin and on the day of the wedding never left her side. In fact, she even managed to get Erin to go down the isle with her and a groomsman. 

December 25, 2006 - Christmas Morning

Ah... The joys of a little girl on Christmas morning! This was the first year that we went to Ann and Peter's house in Baltimore for the holiday, and Erin was extremely happy to see that Santa had known where she was and delivered her gifts to her there.

October 15, 2000 - The Picture That Started It All!

This picture was taken just four days after Erin was born, and it's the one that we wound up sending out with her birth announcements. The bouncy seat was a favorite toy of hers for a long time, and went on to be used by a couple of other babies after her!