One Year

Thank Goodness for the onesie stickers--they motivated me to take monthly pics of Miss Erin (except for at 10mos, when I forgot--luckily that fell around Mother's Day!)

 I have been a failure of a blogger since April.  I have no good excuse: I barely got my pics posted to FB, let alone taking the time to post them here and come up with clever commentary!  But here I am, marking a milestone.  My baby is now ONE.

She got shy when everyone sang happy birthday!

 In the interest of keeping things "fair" we did a huge 1st birthday party for Erin just like we did for Elise.  It was mostly family, but we've got big families, so that should tell you how big of a party it was!

She got into opening presents at the very end.

 We were so thankful to everyone for taking the time to come out and celebrate with us, and we're definitely thankful for our feisty little girl!

She likes cake!

Say a prayer: she drives like her mother.

Best buddies

One year stats: 

Height: 30.5 in (90-95th percentile)

Weight: 20lbs, 4 oz (50-75th percentile)

Head Circumference: 18in (50-75th percentile)

2 teeth--the front two on bottom

Straight blonde hair and blue eyes

 Favorite thing: Pacifiers--the girl loves them.

Erin has such a silly personality.  She loves to make people laugh, and she's very personable.  She is rarely shy, and loves to be cuddled by pretty much anyone.  Recently, we sadly had to attend the funeral of a relative in Nebraska.  She had never met 95% of the people there, but she let anyone who wanted to hold her.  She's not walking yet--she thinks it's faster to crawl so she only practices for a few minutes before she drops down and crawls off.  I suspect it will be a few more weeks before she's walking for this reason.

Our Hiking Adventure

The Group before heading out.

April 12th, I did something that I wasn't sure I'd ever be willing to do: I went backpacking with my husband.  Backpacking is one of his passions, one that I kindly listened to him talk about, one that I bought him items for, but not one that I planned on participating in (and had been successful in avoiding for the last 11 years.)  My degree of "outdoorsy" can be summed up in a quote I found on pinterest: "I am outdoorsy in that I like drinking on patios".  But as part of his Christmas in 2012, I gave him 6 prepaid dates for 2013, and I decided I'd take the plunge and go with him.  It was our March/April date, and the ONLY weekend that worked for our schedules was a weekend he had already planned for hiking with his dad and Will.  Luckily, they were game to bring their wives too, and make it a group outing. 

 The thing is, I actually really liked it!  It was definitely hard work, and no doubt there were parts of it I didn't enjoy (the hike out was BRUTAL, and this girl doesn't like to go 3 days without a shower), but I got to see some really great things.  For one, I got to check out the tallest waterfall between the Appalachians and the Rockies.

 For two, I got to see this really other neat places like the foundation of an old schoolhouse and this old cabin.

 For three, I got to hang out with some really fun people, all of whom were super accommodating and patient with their self-professed diva.

 Oh yeah, and there was also the VIEWS. 

 The area was just amazing.  Pictures don't come close to doing it justice.

 Also, quite amazingly, Sean and I got along great throughout the entire trip.  We have a tendency to bicker when I whine or when he loses his patience when trying to teach me something new.  We were both able to keep our individual irritations in check and had a wonderful time together.  Sleeping zipped up in a sleeping bag together and cuddling by the fire definitely helped the moods!

 All in all, it was a great trip and I'd love to go back again.  I am still a "diva" when it comes to the outdoors, there is no doubt about that, but I think I can handle roughing it once or twice a year to spend some time with my husband doing something he loves--and something I ended up loving, too.

April Musings

 Look at that cute little duckie!  Poor Erin had been using a hooded towel since birth that said "Elise" on it.  Luckily, the Easter bunny FINALLY found a cute hooded towel that was both big and thick enough to suit Mommy's tastes, and Erin thinks it is hilarious.

 Meet Ariel.  Ariel is proof that Mommy should never underestimate Elise's ability to do ANYTHING.  After watching several other kids miss the bowl while tossing the ping pong ball, and after thinking of all the wild throws Elise has made throughout her 4 years, I decided that I would let Elise try her hand at hitting the bowl and winning a fish (certain that I wouldn't have to do anything but console my little 'loser').  In the end, I had to buy $16 worth of goldfish supplies, and reluctantly make a home for Ariel.  Elise is so clever that she names her fish after a mermaid.  And I have definitely learned a lesson: no more carnival games in which Elise could win a live animal.

 Elise has been getting steadily better with her art.  I think she is going to have her Daddy's talent.  Though I am a little bummed at the bellies she added to her Daddy and me when she drew this family portrait.

Nine months!  WHAT?!  That seems like such a big number on the "months" scale.  She is rolling everywhere, and gets up on all fours, but still no crawling.  She claps, she waves bye-bye, and she squeals constantly, but she doesn't say anything other than Dada. 

 I thought to myself the other day how funny it was that the pediatrician had me so concerned about the fact that she was slow to start giggling.  It's amusing, because Erin is one happy kid.  She laughs at everything.  Elise is very good at entertaining her, and even something as silly as something falling off the table can tickle her.

She is FINALLY getting a little tooth on bottom.  Her top gums are swollen, too, so she just might end up with multiple teeth all at once.  It's about time!

Erin at 8mos and Easter

 Erin was 8 mos old on 3/12/13.  Her loves at 8mos are squealing, club crackers, and rolling.  Everywhere.  She gets up on all fours, but quickly determines that it isn't worth the effort of crawling, and then rolls where she needs to go. 

 She is an incredibly pleasant little gal.  She giggles and smiles all the time, and she is constantly checking out her surroundings.

 We celebrated Easter on March 31st this year.  I was so excited to find the girls the cutest matching dresses.  I will probably try to coordinate them for as long as they'll allow it :)

 My dress even went pretty nicely with their outfits--though that was an accident.  I didn't even notice it until someone pointed it out to me at church!

 We got a pretty good family picture together for Easter.  I can't believe how big my girls are getting!

 Erin isn't big into candy, so the Easter bunny brought her a hooded towel, washcloths, bath toys, and new jammies.

 Elise got a new plate, lots of candy and eggs, and a new basket for her bike.

This was really the only pic I got of the girls together in their dresses.  Erin was napping when Elise went to Sunday school, church was chaos, and I sort of forgot by the time we got to Mammy's.  But as you can see, they are cuties!

I forgot to charge my camera, and it died at Mammy and Popa's, but we also got to enjoy festivities at MawMaw and PawPaw's.  Elise definitely got a haul of eggs between the two houses!

 All in all, it was a beautiful day with wonderful family and most importantly: an awesome opportunity to praise our RISEN Lord! 

New Job Update

 By popular request (okay, just Natalie asked for it, but maybe the rest of my small blog-following is interested as well??) here is an update on my new job!

I started January 21st.  It's been a whirlwind of fun and excitement since then!  My new job is for a company called Environmental Works.  Check out their website at www.environmentalworks.com.  They do a wide variety of things, well beyond the scope of what the website details.  It's amazing.  The people have been phenomenal so far--everyone was very welcoming and the technical staff is very patient with their HR Manager who has absolutely no idea what the acronyms they pepper into conversation mean!  I've been learning so many interesting things, and I've really enjoyed it.  It's always thrilling for me to dive into a new industry, while keeping up with HR implications in that industry.  And with that comment, I've put a few of you to sleep, I know!

 My ID Photo

EWI has an office in Kansas City in the River Market district as well, so I've already logged some miles between here and there.  I've enjoyed every trip up there so far.  I've stayed overnight once--the other trips have just been day trips (though I am scheduled for another overnight on Thursday).  I love KC, and have many friends that I love whom I've been able to visit when I go to KC for work, so that's been nice.  They're also working on getting a STL office up and running, though that is likely a year or more out from actually getting off the ground, and I don't anticipate any trips up that direction any time soon.

All in all, I think I made the right move coming to EWI, and I am excited to see what the future holds for me in this fast-growing company!

Beach Countdown

February was a MONTH

 What a busy month!  February was crazy!  First, Miss Erin turned 7 mos old.  She is getting more mobile--rolling wherever she wants to go.  She is FAST.  She is also starting to get up on all fours and scoot backwards.  She says "Dada" non-stop, and also, I believe, in order to get a rise out of her mother. 

 Next, I turned the dreaded 30.  I honestly didn't dread it all--I am very proud of my life at this point, and hopefully age has taught me a little more patience, helped me possess a little more grace, and showed me that I have been so blessed.

 These sweet ladies (plus Hannah, who came later) helped Sean throw me the birthday party I asked for: a big party with all my friends and family that could make it, but that I didn't have to plan.  I do love to host, but it was definitely nice not to be in charge this time, too.  They did some fantastic things and I was so thankful for everyone who made it out. 

 

 

Just a few days before the party, these crazy cats got ENGAGED!  So excited to celebrate their wedding with them in a week!  Yeah, they're fast movers.  Why wait??

Finally, February brought some winter weather.  Elise got this snowman kit TWO YEARS AGO at Christmas, and there was finally enough good snow for her to build it.  She and her Daddy went all out!