May 6, 2008 - Caught in the Act

People who know Labs know that they're notoriously lazy, and Molly's certainly no exception to that rule. I swear, the dog spends at least 80% of her time either sleeping or at least curled up trying to sleep. She's never been restricted to only hard floors to sleep on, either (in other words, she's always had access to carpeted areas), so it's hardly a rough life. But one day in 2008, I came home to find that she'd made herself quite at home on the guest room bed. Not only was she on the bed, but because Jim's gym bag had had the gall to take up residence at the food of the bed, she figured she'd just curl right up on the pillows. Well, for heaven's sake, people do it, right?  (That was, I'm sure, her thinking at the time.) Needless to say, from that point on, we made sure to at least cover the bed with a sheet to keep the dog hair from getting in the pillows. After all, we certainly wouldn't want to not let Molly up there, right?  ;)

July 7, 2007 - Traveling in Style

In 2007, we took a cruise that left out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. When it came time to book our airfare, we were surprised to see that flying first class wasn't much more than flying coach, and decided (in a "what the heck!" kind of moment) to treat ourselves. Erin was beside herself with giddiness as we boarded the plane and took our seats right up front. To say she had room to spare would be a huge understatement - you could have fit two of her in that seat side by side! But it sure made for a comfortable and relaxing (and well-fed!) trip to San Juan, and got our trip off in style!

June 2, 2002 - Great Swamp

I got my first digital camera almost a year before Erin was born, so pretty much all of the pictures I've taken of her were digital. I can literally count on one hand the number of rolls of film I've shot of her. This day was one of them, though. We'd gone for a walk with my Mom in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge which was near our house in New Jersey, and for whatever reason, I'd decided to lug out my big SLR and load it up with film. Although the scans of the pictures are grainy, the photos themselves were wonderful - vibrant colors and great depth of field. It reminded me how much I liked using that camera. Not enough to give up my little digi-cam quite yet, though. That still took a few years (and one D-SLR later). But I do love looking at the pictures and remembering the day, with Erin looking for birds and other creatures. Fun times!

December 11, 2004 - Spinning Lies

Beware of conversations that go something like this:

Erin: Mommy, pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasePLEASE come on the Teacup ride with me and Daddy!
Me: Um, Sweetie, I really don't like rides that spin around. They make me throw up.
Erin: PLEASE! You've never been on it with us, and I PROMISE we won't spin the cup. I PROMISE! Right, Daddy?
Jim: Sure!
Me: (Reluctantly) OK.

Bad decision. As soon as the ride started, they started spinning the stupid cup around until I thought I would die. Or lose my dinner. Thankfully, I just focused on taking pictures of Erin the whole time and wound up neither dying or puking. But I will NEVER, EVER either get on a ride like that again or listen to the two of them when they promise a non-spinning adventure. NEVER.

February 28, 2009 - California Girl

Erin's always been proud to have been born and raised in New Jersey, but her conversion to a "California girl" was pretty quick once we arrived here. Her sense of style got a shot in the arm, and every weekend she'd ask to go to the beach. Honestly, in February, the water temperature here can still be fairly frigid (well, not by Jersey standards, but still), but that didn't stop her (and Jim, I might add) from braving the waves on those first few trips. By the end of the summer, Erin was boogie-boarding like a champ and was braving bigger and bigger waves each trip to the beach. The conversion was complete. A California girl she is!

December 9, 2008 - Sing Out Loud

December 2008 was a tough month for us. Jim had started his new job in California on December 1st, but Erin and I were still in New Jersey so she could finish up the semester in school and we could get everything ready for the big move. For the most part, things went fine (except for the water heater dying the day Jim left, but that's a whole other story!). But there were a few days that were harder than others. One was this day, the day of Erin's winter concert at school. She was quite upset that Jim wasn't there for it, and that morning was really sad when I dropped her off at school. I was able to go to the concert, though, and made sure that I took a lot of pictures to send to Jim so he could "see" it. Erin sang her heart out, and seemed to enjoy herself during the show. As she left the stage, she gave me a big wave, and I like to think she was waving for her Daddy.

November 24, 2005 - Ringing the Bell

In my parents old house (still sounds strange to say that!), they had a brass bell on the wall near the stairs. It was solely for decoration, but like most children, Erin just loved ringing it. When she was a baby, we'd hold her and let her swing the chain back and forth, marveling in the sound it made. As she got older, she was able to reach it herself, and would ring in Thanksgiving dinners or any other occasion that she felt warranted it. I have quite a few pictures of her ringing this bell. The first few have her standing on her very tip-toes to reach it. And in this one, she barely has to reach up to ring it. It's just another measuring tape we have to see how big Erin's gotten!

July 10, 2001 - Oops!

What do you get when you are in the middle of feeding a 9-month jarred apricots and she sneezes explosively? (Which, by the way, is a trait that she obviously learned from her maternal grandmother.) The answer is a real, if cute, mess! But one that, at 9 months, isn't anything to worry about.

February 3, 2007 - I was a *BAD* Girl

Molly has always been a remarkably good dog, especially for a Lab. Labs are notorious for chewing and eating things they shouldn't. (Our last Lab, Uno, actually devoured a cordless phone handset in about 15 minutes once when we made the costly mistake of not crating him while we ran out). So we were surprised when Molly proved to be so trustworthy that she could be left with run of the house at just 6 months old. The only thing she ever destroyed that she shouldn't have was a carpet tread on a basement step. Our guess was that there was a thread hanging from it and she pulled on it, effectively unraveling it. Regardless, it was pretty much destroyed. She knew she'd done a bad thing, though, and the look on her face as she peeked into the kitchen from the staircase pretty much said it all. "Yeah, I did a bad thing. I'm sorry..." It's OK, Sweetie. We forgave you. 

March 31, 2006 - Playtime

One of Erin's favorite features when we moved into our "new" house in New Jersey was the swing set in the back yard. Although it was kind of creaky (not creepy, mind you!), she just loved to go outside and play on it. She'd climb the ladders, swing on the swing (often to my nervous-Nelly warnings of, "Not too high!"), and slide down the slide for hours. After a few years, though, we had to take it down. Erin was getting too big for us to be comfortable with it being able to support her, and we worried that it would fall down or someone would get hurt on it. Erin was very upset at the news that it would be removed, but surprisingly, once it was down, she didn't ask us to replace it. I guess it was another sign that our little girl was growing up.

November 28, 2002 - In Pop-Pop's Arms

Erin and my Dad had a little bit of a rough spell when she was around a year and a half old. They were playing hide-and-seek in my parents' house, and Dad had hidden behind his bed. When Erin walked into the room, he jumped out to surprise her, and scared the daylights out of her. As a result, she wouldn't go near him for a while. I didn't know who to feel worse for! He felt terrible for having scared her like that, and she just kept giving him sideways glances and refused to let him hold her. After a few weeks, thankfully, Erin seemed to either forgive or completely forget, and by that Thanksgiving, things were back to normal. For her part, Erin has no recollection of the whole event (whew!). For me, I just look at this picture and smile, knowing that all was right with the world again.

December 16, 2000 - Mommy and Me

I have always been the one taking the pictures, and as a result, I'm in very few of them. That's fine with me for the most part, although I do wish I had more pictures of myself with Erin when she was a baby. This is one of the few from her first few months, taken when she was just two months old. It's still so hard to imagine that she was ever this small! Erin still asks me to pick her up regularly just to make sure I still can. At 70+ pounds, she's a far cry from this little bundle of joy. But she's still my baby!

January 2, 2009 - Flat Texas

Driving across the country last year was a real adventure for the Tracey family. It was six days in the car, listening to Harry Potter novels on CD, and watching the country sail by outside the car windows. For Jim and me, this was our second time doing this drive, and we had a lot of memories from the first time, back in 1995. One of the things we remembered the most was how flat and dull our two days in Texas were. (No offense to anyone who lives there, but I'm sure you know what I mean.) In fact, in the video we shot of that first trip, we titled that part "Suck Footage." We were happy (?) to find in 2009 that Texas hadn't changed much, and the flat parts were still incredibly flat, with nothing to be seen from one horizon to the other. It wasn't the most exciting part of the trip visually, but our gas mileage was GREAT!

January 18, 2004 - Puppy Love

Erin has had dogs in her life since she was born, and the ones that she's spent a lot of time with have all been BIG dogs (we're talking Labs and Akitas here, folks). In January, 2004, we drove down to Maryland to visit with Ann and Peter in the house they were renting near Annapolis. It was the first time that Erin had been with Ann's dogs, Lucy (a black Lab) and Harry (an English Bull Terrier), and it was somewhat overwhelming for her. They were both very young and very energetic, and quite interested in the pint-sized human that had come to stay with them. We kept them somewhat separated at first, letting the dogs get used to Erin and vice versa, but it didn't take long for the lovin' to start. In the following years, Erin had lots of fun with Lucy and Harry, but it's fun to look back on how it all began!

January 1, 2010 - California Sunset

Living where we do, we're treated to lots of beautiful examples of how glorious the sun's daily beginnings and endings can be. Once in a while, I'm able to capture it in all its glory! Such was the case on New Year's Day this year, when we were coming home from a wonderful day at the zoo. We had just come over the crest of a big hill hear our house, and were met with this incredible view of the sunset over the mountains in the distance. Although it was shot through the windshield of the car (which, thankfully, was not covered with bugs or other assorted highway-mess), the colors came out beautifully. It was a real WOW! moment!

March 18, 2005 - Mommy's Office

It's a wonderful thing to have an office environment that welcomes children. I was very fortunate to work in just such a place for a year when Erin was 4. She was able to come to my office whenever either of us wanted, and she'd come complete with toys and movies to keep herself occupied for the whole day. Our CEO had a daughter Erin's age, and we'd frequently coordinate when we'd bring them in so they could spend the day together. It was fantastic! Erin loved it (and was so well behaved!), and it was such fun to have her there with me. I only wish it could have lasted longer, but unfortunately, my stint there was much shorter than we'd all hoped. Oh well... It was nice while it lasted!

October 11, 2003 - Two Little Princesses

When Erin turned three, she was in the height of her Princess obsession phase. Everything was princess, from the toys she played with to the plastic plates she liked to eat from. I've never seen so much pink in my life! Naturally, when it came time to plan her birthday party, she wanted an all-out Princess theme. After the party (complete with Princess cups, plates, napkins, and cake), Erin and Carly dressed up in Carly's Princess costumes and put on a show for us. Hard to believe, looking at this picture, that these two girls are now 9 and 11 years old! Where has the time gone?

June 2, 2006 - Sleeping Beauty

When we go on cruise vacations, we are so busy that sometimes waking up in the mornings can be challenging, especially for Erin. On our Disney Magic cruise in 2006, we had a couple of mornings that Jim and I would get up, shower, and be ready to attack the day and Erin would still be happily dozing in dreamland. On this morning, we even opened up the curtains, letting the Caribbean sun stream right onto her, and still, she didn't budge. Oh, to be young and to sleep like the dead!

July 11, 2007 - Kleine Knip Beach

 

On our Caribbean cruise in 2007, one of our stops was Curacao. Never having been there before, we decided to rent a car on our own and explore the island, with the hopes of finding a beach that wouldn't be stuffed full of tourists. Boy, did we ever succeed! This is a picture of Kleine Knip Beach, which was completely secluded when we were there. It was a jewel of a beach, with crystal clear water, white powdery sand, and soft Caribbean breezes. Definitely a little slice of heaven! We stayed for a little while and then continued driving around the island. We found some more lovely beaches (none as empty as this one, though), and saw much of the island, including areas that we're pretty sure tourists don't usually explore much. It was a wonderfully memorable day!

October 18, 2008 - Shayna Punim

Shayna punim (SHAY-nuh puh-NIM) is a Yiddish phrase that means "pretty face." It's frequently squealed by bubbe-like Jewish ladies as they painfully pinch the cheeks of young children. (Thankfully, my own mother has yet to do that to ANYONE - at least as far as I know, but then again, my mother can hardly be described as bubbe-like!) But when I look at this face, I can hear the phrase spoken with nothing but adoration and love. It's a picture that I took at one of Erin's soccer games, and when I first saw it, I knew it was a keeper. The picture, the face, and the girl. All keepers.

May 27, 2007 - Water Play

One of our favorite things to do when we visited Ann and Peter in Baltimore was to take all of the dogs to the dog beach at Quiet Waters Park near Annapolis.  Once there, Molly and Lucy could be let off the leash and could frolic and swim in the water, play with other dogs, and have a wet, doggy time. For being a full-bred Lab, Molly is remarkably un-fond of swimming, and tended to stay in the areas where her feet could touch the bottom.  But she still had a great time splashing around, "retrieving" toys (which to her means getting it and then letting you chase her around to get it from her), and getting doggy-love from strangers. At the end of each visit to the park, we were left with three wet, tired dogs, that's for sure!

October 6, 2002 - Lil' Pipsqueak

Once in a while, you take a picture of a child that perfectly sums up their personality. I think this is one of those pictures of Erin. It was a week before her 2nd birthday, and my mom and I had taken Erin down to Spring Lake, NJ, for the day, and took a walk on the boardwalk. Erin just wanted to go and go and go, and strolled around for a long time with a huge smile on her face. She was just so happy to be walking on the boards with the wind blowing in her hair. What a cute kid!

May 5, 2004 - Taking it All In

When we went to Disney World in May, 2004, it was a big trip. We had planned it for a long time, and were going to be enjoying both the parks and going on a short Disney cruise. We also made reservations for many specialty meals for our time in the parks, including having breakfast with the Princesses in Epcot. When the morning of the breakfast finally arrived, Erin was beside herself with excitement. She picked out a pretty sundress and sandals, and put her best smiles forward as her favorite Princesses came by to say hello. After the meal, we wandered around the park, taking in the sites of the World Showcase, which we'd never seen before. It was quite overwhelming, but I think Erin's mind was still on her breakfast adventure. When I captured this picture of her staring out over the lake, I thought it would be cute. But it is actually one of my favorite Disney pictures that I took of her.

October 20, 2000 - Uncle Eric

Almost two weeks after Erin was born, my brother Eric drove up from Virginia to meet her. It was a very special day for all of us! Like Jim and I, Eric was immediately smitten by our little bundle of joy, and she seemed just as happy to be settled in his arms. It was the start of a beautiful relationship! Eric remains a very special person to Erin, and when she finds out that she's going to be seeing him she always gets excited. Now he has two daughters of his own, but I love knowing that this picture was the first of him holding an infant. The first time of many!

October 13, 2001 - Look Who's One!

Erin's first birthday party was such fun! We had of our family and close friends there to help her celebrate. To help everyone know each other, we even made up name tags with each person's name and who they were to Erin (along the lines of, "September - My mommy's friend"). It was really cute. Erin had a blast opening up all of her presents and we sang her Happy Birthday before distributing the cake. Erin, of course, got her own piece, and proceeded to make short order of it. It was really the first time she'd eaten something sweet, and needless to say, it was a hit.(Duh...) Hard to believe looking at Erin now that she was ever this small!

May 5, 2005 - Sweet Stuff

Erin has always been a pretty picky eater except for when it comes to one thing: ice cream. If it's chocolate, she'll eat it. On our first cruises, she was thrilled to find that there was soft ice cream available 24/7, and once she was in possession of that fact, having a small cup of the tasty treat became part of her afternoon routine. In fact, it was just about the only thing that could get her out of the pool! Since then, on each cruise, one of her first stops is to check out where the ice cream machine is, and she still likes to have a cool cup during the hot afternoon hours. I guess it's become a tradition!

April 29, 2006 - Love My Daddy

Happiness is coming upon a scene that you weren't intended to see, and feeling your heart melt. It's even better when you're able to capture it in a photograph and keep it forever. That's what happened with this picture. We were getting ready to have dinner outside, and Erin was helping Jim get set up while I was doing other prep work inside. At one point, they took a break, and this is the result. It was such a tender, sweet moment, finding Erin with her head resting on Jim's shoulder, her eyes closed. Even now, when I look at it, I feel my heart melt. So sweet...