Low Key * Church * Smart Girl

It's been pretty low key around here since I was sick with a cold most of the week. But I'm 99% better and looking forward to this week and spending lot of time with our families (we'll be getting together both sides of parents - and Brian and Nicole - for Thanksgiving).

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We took Erin with us to church this morning, something we haven't done in months. She normally either stays home and we go separately or we've taken her to the nursery. But we just don't feel right about either one of those. We should be going together as a family. The problem is a colony of ants lives in our daughter's pants.

But today she did alright. We went to the 7:30am so that it wouldn't be crowded. She was fidgety and talkative, but she could have been a lot worse. We did take her in the back a couple times and she was also calling all the old people around us "papa." Other than that, we all survived.

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Erin is just beginning to recognize some letters. We practice with her alphabet blocks and she has a magna-doodle thing that we write them on. So far she can pretty consistently recognize A, B, M and the number 2. Sometimes she can get E, but often calls it a B.

She's also starting to learn some colors. She knows purple, green, yellow, pink, and blue. Although, if you ask her what anything is, most likely she'll say purple first (just like "how many" of anything is "two"). But her second answer will likely be right, and a lot of times she'll tell you what color it is without you asking (and she'll be right). And according to what kids are supposed to be able to do, she's way too young to name colors. So....you go girl.

Sniffle, Sniffle, Sneeze

Tuesday night I felt a cold coming on, and then yesterday it just hit full force. It came on quick and is pretty strong. The Tylenol cold doesn't even seem to do much good. But hopefully soon it'll start to turn around.

Poor Erin is stuck in the house with me all day long. I think yesterday she got pretty board because the house was more of a disaster than normal by the end of the day. Maybe I just didn't have the energy to keep her out of stuff.

Oh well, better this week than next.

The Cove

What a beautiful day to play outside! We drove across town to a big park right off of the TN river. We didn't spend too much time on the playground because it was crowded with big kids, so instead we walked the short paved trail and let Erin run around in the grass by the water. On our walk, we even saw some lions (well, two collies, but Erin thought they were lions).

Along with having a lot of fun, we also got some really great pictures of Erin.

Which is Worse Two Weeks Before Thanksgiving?

For us to still have a moldy pumpkin on our porch?















Or for the neighbors to have out their Christmas yard decorations (put out on a day that is near 70 degrees)?

Off to the Dance

A friend of ours in the playgroup won four tickets to Boogie Down Baby, which is an annual family dance party. Thinking it might be fun, the two of us went today.

We ended up having a great time, I think Erin really liked it. It was for children newborn to 8, and most were either toddlers or maybe 4 or 5. The dj played 70's, 80's and some hip hop, they had lots of toys and some finger foods.

Erin mostly played, but occasionally bounced to the music. She also enjoyed climbing on the chairs around the table and seeing what she could grab.

Those three hours wore her out, but somehow she stayed awake all the way home. After a small snack and some crying in the crib, she slept for a little over an hour.

Not too bad for her first dance.

Nice Day to be Outside

It's nice to have Fall days in the low 70's. Erin was sure taking advantage of it. Check out her adventures in the backyard.

Small Surprise

For a long time, Erin has been stuck on the number two. If you ask her "how many" of anything, the answer is two. I think she can also say three, five, eight and ten.

Of course we count things with her all the time so that she can eventually learn one to ten.

Well this morning as I was buttoning up her pj's after a diaper change, I was counting the snaps....one...two...three...four...five...six...seven....

Erin says "eight."

I guess she is paying attention.

In Her Own Words

For a while my favorite word of Erin's has been "mush" for mouse. I think that just got beat out by "toaf" for toast.

I Guess it's True About Kids and Leaves

They really do like to jump and play in the piles. I don't remember doing that as a kid. I guess I missed out.

Check out the other photos.

Mission Terminated

Our plan for last night was to take Erin to Halloween in the City. It's an indoor event put on by the police department at their Safety City building. I thought it would be a fun thing to do and I was hoping it wouldn't be too crowded.

Once we were a couple streets away, the traffic picked up like crazy. It was rush hour and near downtown, so we were hoping it was just because of that. No, it was all for this event. So we kept on driving.

We were planning on eating dinner at the Halloween thing (they were providing "food and beverages" whatever that means), so we stopped off and got some burritos. At that point we were near the mall, so we went in to let Erin play in the play area. She had a lot more fun there than she would have at the other thing.

And now it's 10am on Saturday morning. We've all been up since 7:30 and haven't done a thing. It's yucky and rainy outside and we're cooped up for a while. I guess it might be a good cleaning day.

Erin B(ee)

The Healthy Families Halloween party was this evening. Not much to report, it was alright. Erin enjoyed the little jumpy inflatable thing. She got in the one for the little kids. Other than that we did a few crafts (well, I did) and we had some food.

The coolest thing about it is comparing her photo from a year ago. I guess she's changed a bit...

Very Easily Amused

Sigh

Had Erin's 18 month check up today. It was at 11:15 - bad timing for lunch and nap - which is the first clue that things could end badly.

She was fine and happy for most of it while the nurse did her thing and then we briefly saw the doctor. The problem came when we had to wait another 10 or so minutes for the nurse to come back in to give her the shots. I got her dressed, so naturally she thought it was time to go. When I told her it wasn't, she started screaming and yelling inconsolably for what seemed like a LONG time.

Got the shots - she didn't like that - and I put on her favorite music for the car ride home. She cried off and on. Got home, threw her lunch together real quick, and sat her down in the chair. Still screaming. Only a cracker could calm her down enough to eat lunch.

Got her up, changed her diaper and put her down for a nap. And to my relief, she went straight to sleep without a peep.

I have just finished lunch and now I get some quiet time to myself. What a morning....

A Year and a Half Already?

Erin quickly got over her cold, and it appears that she didn't spread it to either one of us. So yay for that. It still amuses her to say "a-choo" after anyone sneezes. And for some reason, she's been saying "I study" a lot the past few days. I'm not sure where that came from, but it's darn cute.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned how Erin was giving away kisses all the time. Well now she's changed over to hugs. She hugs us and her stuffed animals quite often. And it has even expanded to include her cup of milk with dinner last night. I guess it's good to have affection for milk...

I took Erin out to the park this afternoon. I think it got up around 70. At one point, we were the only ones on the playground equipment, and there was a small group of teenagers hanging out in the parking lot. It just got me thinking about the fact that someday Erin will be 16 and hanging out with her friends. She won't be at home wanting me to read her books, or needing a boost to climb on the back of the couch (I hope not). She'll be all grown up and we will have to trust that we did a good job raising her. It's a scary thought.

But for now, she's turning a year and a half tomorrow. If you ask her, she already thinks she's a big girl. Actually, if you ask her anything, you'll probably just get a "no."

A-Chooo

It's been a slow week. Erin and I have had our usual morning adventures out, and quiet afternoons at home. Today she started a runny nose and sneezing (sneezes followed by her saying "a-choooooo"), and I hope to be able to avoid catching it this time. We always seem to share our colds, hmm, wonder why. My morning started with a sneeze in my face.

She's been a little cranky the past couple days. From the cold (the illness, not the weather) and getting those molars in. It helps to know the cause of her whining, otherwise it's harder to stay patient.

We have been enjoying the warmer weather this week. We will be attempting Boo at the Zoo again on Saturday (too cold last week). It should be fun if it's a nice night to be outside.

Can't believe Halloween is next Saturday.