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...