September 6, 2007 - Ellis Island

The week before Erin started 2nd grade, I took off from work so the two of us could have some adventures before she started school. On one of those days, we took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I had been to Ellis Island years before with my mom right after it had re-opened as a museum, but Erin had never been to either park. We were both impressed by Lady Liberty, but Ellis Island was a much more emotional journey for us. We have family that came through the island on their way to America, and just knowing that we were walking where they were was an incredible feeling. Erin loved seeing the different exhibits and listening to the recordings of passengers that had lived through that experience. We also saw a picture of people from my Grandmother Ethel's village in Ukraine, Proskurov, after a pogrom that she had survived.  Even though she wasn't quite 7, Erin was able to understand how important Ellis Island was and came away from the visit with a good feeling for what it was like to go through that experience.

July 7, 2002 - Grandmom = Fun

When I was growing up, I had an incredible relationship with my mother's mother, Ethel. I loved spending time with her, spent countless weekends sleeping over at her apartment, and as I grew older, would listen to her when everyone else's words fell on deaf ears. I always hoped that Erin would have the same kind of relationship with my mother, and right from the start, it was obvious that they would. Erin adores my mom (and I am pretty sure the feeling is mutual). From the time Erin could smile and laugh, she saved the best ones for Grandmom. My mom can bring out the best in Erin, and always makes sure that no matter what they're doing together, they have a great time doing it. (I mean, can you see the smile on their faces in this picture???) My own relationship with my mom is one of the most incredible things in my life, and I'm glad to know that they have one that is just as special.

April 24, 2008 - It's All Clear Now

Being as nearsighted as I am, and having worn glasses since I was 9 years old, I had a feeling it was just a matter of time until Erin would need them as well. I was surprised, though, when a note came home from school in the spring of 2nd grade saying that Erin had failed her eye exam at school. She'd been talking about how a few of her friends had gotten glasses, and I remembered how cool I thought other kids' specs were when I was her age, so I was convinced that she'd faked the test so she could get them too. One of my worst mommy moments ever was when I expressed that concern to the ophthalmologist when we took Erin for her exam. I flatly said to the doctor that I thought she was faking. He looked right at me and said, "Well, she's definitely nearsighted."  Eeks. Oh, well. That afternoon we took Erin to pick out her first frames. Thankfully, children's frames have definitely improved over the years, and she got some really cool ones (Ray Bans, no less!). On our way home after picking them up, she gazed around as if seeing the world for the first time, with everything finally clear.

May 19, 2003 - Beach Babe

In the Spring of 2003, we took our first "real" vacation with Erin and went down to Folly Beach, SC, for a week. We rented a wonderful house right on the beach, just a few minutes from Ann and Peter's house. My mom came down for the whole week with us, and my dad and Eric stayed for a few days as well. It was Erin's first time on the beach, and while at first she didn't know if she liked it or not, but the end of the week, she was enjoying playing on the sand, going for walks with my mom, and playing in the surf with Jim. Regardless of how she felt about getting sand between her toes, she certainly LOOKED good! 

April 6, 2009 - Friends are Forever

One of the hardest things for Erin about our move was leaving her friends in New Jersey. In fact, I think it may have been the hardest thing. In April 2009, during Erin's Spring Break, we flew back to Pennsylvania to visit my parents, and spent one day of the trip up in New Jersey seeing both my friends and hers. We made plans to meet some of her best buddies at the local Friendly's restaurant for ice cream, and as an added surprise, I even arranged for Erin's second grade teacher, Miss Sheppard (who Erin ADORED!), to make an unexpected appearance. For the girls, it was just like old times. They loved hearing Erin's stories about California, but for the most part, it was just like we'd never left. I was so happy for Erin, who enjoyed the afternoon immensely. It proved to her that no matter how much time or distance separated them, they'd always still be friends. 

January 23, 2005 - Baby, It's COLD Outside!

In January 2005, the East Coast got slammed with a really BIG snowstorm. We had almost two feet of snow, along with gusting winds, freezing temperatures, and overall misery. Once the snow finally stopped and we got dug out (we had a really long driveway at that time), we decided to go for a walk and take in the scenery. Erin was bundled to within an inch of her life, but at least she was warm. She did, however, have trouble walking in the snow as it was so deep. But along the way, I snapped a series of pictures of her which were just so cute. They showed her with her cheeks all rosy, and they almost make you cold just looking at them! Now that we live in warmer climes, I can't say that I really miss that weather, but I sure do smile when I look back at these snapshots.

August 11, 2008 - My Idea of Heaven

I know, I know. You're completely shocked to see a picture of me, right? I admit, we don't have a lot of them as I'm typically behind the camera. But I thought I'd include one of me today for a few reasons. For one thing, to prove that I actually exist and do go on all these excursions and adventures that I write about here. But also because this picture always makes me smile when I look at it. It was taken on our last Royal Caribbean cruise, when we were on the Liberty of the Seas (a great ship and vacation!) when we'd tendered at RCI's private beach in Labadee, Haiti. While the day wasn't our favorite of the cruise, Erin and I had a marvelous time floating in the clear water on our raft, laughing, splashing, and enjoying being together. I'm really glad that we got this picture of the two of us for all the memories it brings back.

October 24, 2000 - Stick 'em Up!

When Erin was first born, she tended to sleep in this odd position, which came to be known as the "stick 'em up" pose. No matter how she started out, after a while we'd find her with her little balled fists up around her head. It happened no matter if she was on her back or on her stomach. (Yes, we were those parents who let our child sleep on her stomach. It was the only way she'd sleep longer than a few minutes at a time!) After a while, the pose disappeared from Erin's bag of tricks, but the pictures always make us smile. Strangely enough, though, a few weeks ago I went into Erin's room for one last good-night kiss and found her in this exact position. I almost ran downstairs to get my camera, but figured she'd really hate me for taking a picture of her like that now that she's 9.

September 1, 2007 - Ride 'em Cowboy (and girls!)

Over Labor Day weekend in 2007, we drove to Baltimore to visit Ann and Peter. One of our excursions while we were there was to the Maryland Zoo, which we'd never visited before.  We saw all kinds of animals, from exotic birds to rhinos and giraffes. At one point, Erin saw that they offered camel rides, and she decided to give it a try with Jim and Ann. It wasn't a long ride, but it proved to be quite memorable, as each time Erin sees this picture she talks about how much fun it was. Then again, our visits with Ann and Peter are always lots of fun!

April 14, 2001 - A New View

Erin learned to sit right on schedule, and by the time she turned 6 months old, she was a champ! It was just in time for spring, and on one lovely afternoon we went out into our back yard to enjoy the warm weather. Erin loved sitting in the grass and watching Uno graze in the yard (oh, how he loved to eat grass!). We even took some bubbles outside and blew them for her, watching as she tried to catch them. When I snapped this picture, I loved how it captured her profile, especially her cute little nose. It was just about the only time she would keep a hat on her head. That's my kid, alright! 

August 13, 2005 - Big Sister Erin

Erin is happily aware that she is and always will be an only child, and she's the first to tell anyone who asks about it that it's fine with her. However, ever since our good friends September and Cori had their daughter, Bronte, Erin has considered herself to be Bronte's big sister as well as her friend. As part of this self-created role, Erin has "taken care of" Bronte at every opportunity. In August 2005, we had Bronte stay overnight with us for one night. Bronte didn't seem to enjoy it much and pined for her parents (not too many kids that age would enjoy a sleepover), but Erin fell into her role of big sister and did everything possible to help Bronte have a good time. In the morning, Erin took it on herself to help Bronte with her breakfast, including feeding her yogurt. As you can see from the big smiles in the picture, it was something that both girls really enjoyed.

March 14, 2004 - Here Comes the Bride

What little girl doesn't like to play dress-up? As 2004 progressed, Erin knew she was going to be a flower girl in her cousin Sarah's wedding that summer, and had been getting more and more interested in anything to do with weddings.  One day when we were at my parents' house, we dug out my mom's wedding gown for Erin to see. She was fascinated by it, especially the veil. My mom let her try it on, and Erin proudly paraded around the house, just proud as anything.  She loved what she looked like, but Jim and I joked that we weren't quite ready for that just yet. 

August 3, 2006 - Puppies and Shoes

Yesterday, my mom shared with me a picture of their adorable new puppy, Sunny, who had fallen asleep with his face wedged into one of her shoes. It reminded me of when Molly was little (and I do mean little!), and did exactly the same thing! There was something about our shoes that she just really liked. Not in a "I think I'm going to eat this" sort of way, but just as a comfort to her, I guess. She'd regularly fall asleep laying on our shoes, and whenever possible would shove her little nose as far into one as she could. (If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you'll just how far in there she is!) As Molly has gotten older, she's found new positions to curl up in for her naps, but looking at that picture of Sunny reminded me just how precious those puppy days are!

January 18, 2003 - Remembering Jeanne

In 2003, we threw a birthday bash for Jim's mother's 80th birthday.  It was a truly wonderful party, with family and friends all coming together to make the day extra special for Jeanne.  Among the guests were not only all of her children, grandchildren and nieces with their families, but also friends going back to when she was in grade school (our beloved Aunt Peg!). It was day full of good food and lots of laughter, just the kind of celebration Jeanne both enjoyed and deserved. Unfortunately, it was the last birthday we shared with her, as she passed away that summer. But today, on what would have been her 87th birthday, I thought appropriate to remember that wonderful day and all of the happy memories we have of her. We still miss her every day, and will love her forever.

January 15, 2010 - Miss Blue Eyes

Our little puss, Mia, is half tabby and half Siamese, and definitely shows some interesting and wonderful traits and features from both breeds. One of her most incredible features is her eyes, which are an amazing shade of aquamarine blue. The problem is, though, that getting a picture of them is really REALLY hard because as soon as I use a flash, I get a reflection that turns them a freaky shade of orange. Fixing that in Photoshop leaves them looking gray.  This week, for the first time, I actually captured a picture of Mia in natural light with no flash and her eyes looked simply beautiful! What a sweet little puss! 

April 23, 2002 - Waiting for Daddy

I've taken a LOT of pictures of Erin, but I have to admit, this is one of my all-time favorites. It was taken late one afternoon when Erin was around a year and a half old. We had come home after our day at work and daycare and were waiting for Jim to get home from work.  Erin was very excited about seeing her Daddy, and sat by the door, with Uno by her side) looking out for his car. She sat there for a long time (especially considering the attention span of toddlers!) and when his car finally pulled into the driveway, she could barely contain her excitement.  What's so cute is that she still gets very excited when Jim gets home, frequently running into his arms when he walks through the door at night.

April 19, 2008 - Rescuing the Newspaper

Prior to moving into their current house, my parents lived in a wonderful old house in Wyncote, PA, for over 30 years. As great as the house was, though, it certainly had its challenges. Among them were the driveway and the location. It was situated on a hill and had a driveway that made learning to drive a stick shift quite challenging. Next to the house was another street's bridge, which created lots of noise and interesting traffic accidents. Their newspaper delivery person would drive on that bridge every morning and chuck the day's news out the window towards the house. Sometimes it would actually land in the driveway. Other times, though, it would get lost, and there'd be a morning game of Find the Paper. Occasionally, we'd have to look UP to find it, as it would get stuck in the tree that overhung the driveway. Leave it to my father, though, to come up with a great tool to get the paper down!

January 19, 2009 - Sunrise

Imagine waking up to this view in the morning! That's exactly what happened to me one morning not long after we moved to California. When I woke up, our room had the most amazing glow to it, and when I looked outside, this is what I saw. It was too good not to try to capture. Jim was kind enough to take the screen off our bedroom window and I literally hung out of it (barely clad, but who was looking that early in the morning?) and got the shot. The picture even comes close to the actually colors we saw that morning. We've seen a lot of amazing sunrises since we've lived here, and they all remind me of this one, our first incredible one.

March 5, 2005 - If You can Dream

Like a lot of little girls, Erin went through a phase where she was into all things Disney Princess.  She had costumes, figurines, dolls, games, snow globes... If it had a Princess in or on it, she loved it. One of her favorite items was a CD with songs from the Princess movies. She would put it on and sing and dance to it for what felt like hours. She even insisted on having it play at a very low volume while she was sleeping. One night before bed, Erin asked if she could put on a concert for us. She put her CD in the player in the living room, grabbed her toy microphone, and started belting out the song "If You can Dream." It was quite a performance, and wasn't the first time I realized how much like me she would be.

December 4, 2001 - Lucky

One day when Erin was just over a year old, we were wandering around the Disney Store in the local mall, and her eye fell upon a cute stuffed dog. She immediately grabbed a hold of it, and wouldn't let go. What could we do but adopt the stuffed pup? Upon getting him home, we noticed that he had the name Lucky embroidered on his collar - he was one of the dogs from 101 Dalmatians. Little did we know at the time that Lucky would become a long-term fixture in our lives! Lucky has spent every night with Erin since that first night. He's traveled far and wide with us, from trips to Grandmom and Pop-Pop's house, to vacations and cruises, to overnights at friends' houses. He even got lost once, when he was accidentally caught in the sheets when a hotel maid came in to clean and wound up in the hotel's laundry room. Erin was devastated at the thought that she may have lost him. Thankfully, a call to housekeeping solved the mystery of the missing pup, and he was returned to us (along with a note saying how much he enjoyed his tour of the hotel - very cute!). Erin's now had Lucky for over nine years, and still loves him as much today as she did the day she brought him home. And we're continuing the Lucky tradition, having bought one for Erin's cousin Emeline last year for Christmas. Lucky will certainly be with us for a long, long time!

August 6, 2006 - Molly's Cheeseburger

When she was little, Molly was the quintessential puppy, especially for a Lab. She was what you see in ads (have you seen a Cottonelle ad in the last few years?), and what every little kid dreams of getting one day. (Sans the parasite she came home with that caused some nasty problems that our area rug never recovered from.) As a welcome home gift, my friend Carolyn brought Molly a squeaky cheeseburger toy. When she first had it, it was really too big for Molly to play with, and she couldn't even lift it off the ground. But it was clearly one of her favorite toys, and she had it for years. Molly's a power-chewer and can destroy even chew-proof toys rather quickly, but the burger remained relatively unscathed for a long time. It finally met its demise just this past year, when Erin accidentally stepped on it, and its side seam opened. It was quite a sad day when the burger bit the dust, and we made sure that when we put it in the trash, Molly wasn't around to see it.

October 13, 2000 - Bringing Home Baby

Two days after Erin was born, we got to bring her home from the hospital. It was Friday the 13th (we wondered at the time what kind of an omen THAT would be!), and while we were completely excited, we were, like all first-time parents, feeling completely unprepared for what lay ahead of us. We had this tiny, helpless bundle who barely made a peep (boy, did that ever change quickly!), and had no real idea what to do with her. All that we knew was that she was ours, and it was impossible to now imagine life without her. Over nine years later, I look at the beautiful girl that Erin's become and can't believe she started out this small. But once in a while, when she's sleeping, I can see that little baby in her face, along with all the possibilities that life has in store for her. It's been an incredible journey so far with her... I can't wait to see all the things that come next!

July 13, 2003 - The Ice Cream Cone

Everyone who knows my family knows that we really dig desserts. As Erin's grown up, she's proved that she is definitely part Forman, because she has a sweet tooth that would rival Willy Wonka's. By the time she was 3, she'd tried all kinds of goodies, from cakes to candies to puddings. But it was on this visit to Central Park in 2003 that she tried her very first ice cream cone. Sure, she'd had ice cream before. But this was the first time she'd tried the concoction in a sweet, crunchy cone, topped with a hard chocolate shell and nuts. Obviously, she did it right, as it wound up all over her face, and she seemed to love it. Oddly enough, though, she no longer likes the cones. Oh, she still loves ice cream (in fact, she made herself quite the sundae last night after dinner!), but she'll pass on the cone and just have it in a cup.  It's OK... She can still be part Forman.

April 1, 2007 - (Poor) Molly in the Car

Most dogs love going for rides in the car. Just mention going for a ride, and the tail starts wagging and the dog will hop around in circles eager to get going. Not Molly. From the day we brought her home at a tender age of 8 weeks, Molly has hated riding in the car. She refuses to jump in by herself (and it's quite pathetic to see her 70-pound self lifted in by Jim), and once in the car, she shakes and whines like we're leading her to slaughter. It's especially bad if we make her ride in the back of station wagon/SUV, but even if she's in the back seat with Erin, she's still miserable. The only time she's semi-relaxed is if she's turned around, like in this picture, so she can lean against Erin in some way. Ah, the power of sisterly love.

May 4, 2008 - The Five-Borough Bike Tour

In 2008, Jim decided to participate in the TD Bank Five Borough Bike Tour in New York City with a team from Sirius.  The Tour is the country's largest recreational cycling event, and the 42-mile route takes its 30,000 riders through all five boroughs of the city, across five major bridges, and finally across New York Harbor on the Staten Island Ferry. We went into the city the day before, and stayed in lower Manhattan at a hotel directly across from Ground Zero (which none of us had ever seen before... quite an emotional experience). On the morning of the race (which started out unfortunately gloomy), Erin and I kissed Jim for good luck and watched as he rode off to join the throngs of people that were lining up for the race.  We then had breakfast in the hotel and watched the group of riders grow from the windows, which you can see behind Erin in this picture. (You can click the picture to enlarge it.)  The entire ride took Jim around 3 1/2 hours, and he came back tired but feeling like he'd really accomplished something incredible!

October 16, 2004 - Birthday Cake

What child (or adult, for that matter) doesn't like birthday cake? For Erin, cakes have always been best when she's helped decorate them herself.  Just after her 4th birthday, we went down to my parents' house to celebrate, and they bought her a birthday cake (chocolate, of course - after all, she is MY kid!). It already said the typical "Happy Birthday Erin!" on it, but my father bought some additional icing at the supermarket.  He and Erin then set out to make the cake just perfect for her.  Together they drew a dog on it (long story there, for another time), and in the pictures you can see them both concentrating to get it just right. I think that cake might just be one of the yummiest we've ever had!

October 2, 2003 - Meeting Belle

Just before Erin turned 3, we took her to Disney World for the first time.   (The timing was excellent... Erin was old enough to be totally into it, but as she wasn't yet 3, she was FREE!)  It was her first plane ride, her first trip to the parks, and her first chance to see the characters she was so enamored of in her favorite Princess movies which she was watching ad nauseam at the time.  On our first day at the Magic Kingdom, we happened upon Belle's (as in Beauty and the Beast Belle) Story Time. Erin was enraptured seeing her favorite Princess on stage telling the story. Afterward, she had the chance to meet and get her picture taken with Belle, and I thought Erin would melt on the spot. She was completely in awe and didn't know what to say or do. For her, nothing else we did that day compared to when this picture was taken.

April 26, 2007 - Meeting Uno

Molly, obviously, never met Uno, as we got her just a few days after he died. But one spring day in 2007, we found our movies from when we lived in Ft. Lauderdale, including the ones we took of Uno swimming with the other Labs in our apartment complex. (Well, he was never much of a swimmer, but he had a good time nonetheless.) We'd seen Molly "watch" TV before, but nothing could have prepared us for her reaction to these videos! She got incredibly excited, and was determined to find the dogs on the screen, even looking behind the TV to see if they were back there. She barked, whined, and (much to Jim's horror) jumped up to try to smell them on the screen. She really wanted to be playing with the other dogs! It was was sweet to see our two fur-babies together (well, kind of), and we wondered how they would have gotten along if they'd ever had the chance to play...

February 8, 2003 - Shoveling

Jim is very fond of saying that as long as he lived on the East Coast, he was almost certain to get snow on his birthday. One of the big ones happened when he turned 16 (who remembers the huge blizzard in 1978? It kept him from getting his driver's license that day), and another big one was in 2003. For this one, we were staying at my parents' house, and when it came time to shovel the driveway, we made sure to get even the youngest involved in the task. Actually, the youngest was the one that enjoyed herself the most that day! Erin had her own little shovel, and acted as if she thought it was the most fun thing she'd ever done.  Can't say the adults felt the same way, but watching Erin enjoy herself sure made the time go faster.

October 29, 2000 - Erin's First Bath

When it was time for Erin to have her first "real" bath, we knew just the woman for the job - my grandmother, Yetta. Not only was she very experienced with this sort of thing (having performed the same ritual for my father, me, and countless others as well), but we felt it was somewhat symbolic, as Erin was her first great-grandchild. It was very touching seeing her handle our tiny little baby (who, not surprisingly, hated the entire experience), and I know she enjoyed it as well. It was the first time we had four generations of our family together, but certainly not the last!

May 12, 2003 - Shortalls

It's amazing, the things you can remember by looking at a picture.  I specifically remember on this day, I got home from work and called my mom (as I do many days - well, not the work part these days, but you know what I mean).  She told me she'd had a really rough day at work and was feeling really down. We talked for a while, and I hung up feeling that I wished there was something I could do to make her feel better. Then I glanced down and saw Erin, who looked completely adorable in a pink shortall outfit, complete with matching socks. I thought if anything could make Mom smile, it would be seeing Erin in this get-up. So we went up to Erin's room, I snapped a few pictures, and emailed them to my Mom. It worked like a charm! Later, I even created a scrapbook of these pictures with the story that went with them. Just goes to prove that the power of pictures can be an incredible thing!