A Big Weekend for All of Us

Both kids had a big weekend in their own way. Erin made her tiny stage debut in Wizard of Oz and Jeffrey spent the weekend with his Nana and Grandpa.

This spring's show was Wizard of Oz. Tom was Uncle Henry and Oz Man 1 while I had a small role as Oz Woman 2. We all decided Erin was a little to young to be a munchkin, but might be cute as an Oz girl. So we dressed her up in a cute green dress, put her hair in pigtails with bright green ribbons and even put some green eye shadow and blush on her. While waiting back stage for her part in the show she'd play with the other kids in the show. It was great to see her interacting so comfortably with the older kids (even when we went out to dinner Friday night, she sat with the kids rather than Tom and I). She had a tiny part in the final scene of the show where she ran down the aisle with me to announce that the "great and powerful" Oz was taking Dorothy back to Kansas. She was completely adorable. She clapped and applauded when everyone else on stage did the same thing and waved goodbye to the Wizard when he flew away in his balloon. She waited each night for her part and would get so excited asking if it was "Erin's turn" yet. She even learned part of one of the songs we sing.

Jeffrey, on the other hand, was not quite so excited about the shows. After several evening of being confined and controlled during dress rehearsals I realized that the best thing for all of us was to see if Nana and Grandpa wanted to play with Jeffrey for the weekend. They were more than happy. So Friday AM I took met Dad and Jonathan half-way to DC and we traded vehicles and they took Jeffrey with them. I was terrified he'd spend the weekend just getting into everything and as miserable as he had been at home. Boy was I wrong. He spent the weekend chasing the puppy, organizing seashells and magazines in the living room, putting slinkies on his head with Uncle Jonathan, taking long naps with grandpa and even shopping with Nana and Great-Oma. So apparently his crankiness was directly related to being in town with us.

Either way it was nice to have a weekend to focus on Erin and spend some special time with her while Jeffrey got his own experience.

My Little Gymnast

We had out last session of gymnastics this morning for another month or so. There is a class over the summer that I think we might sign her up for because she just absolutely loves gymnastics. This class would be a little more structured and with a different coach, but it's worth a try. If she doesn't like it we'll wait until the fall and start back with the same coach again. She adores the coach and loves to try all the things that Coach Kay is working on.


Pull Ups


Toe Touches

Her favorite part of class is swinging on the bar. She uses it to swing, do pull ups and even toe touches. Generally the coach is there with her, but it's more to keep Erin's form. Erin does most all of the strength work all on her own.


Log Rolls

They also have several climbing zones set up across the room and Erin loves to climb around and jump down. Today they also worked on log rolls down a wedge-shaped mat. She giggled and giggled and kept getting in line to do it over and over again.


Climbing Zone

Erin's also grown to LOVE the parachute. The first session of class we attended Erin tried it out and freaked. So for the rest of that session of classes she stayed on the outside of the parachute. Now Erin will run to sit in the middle of it and even gets under it when we poof it above her head. She squeals and laughs so hard when the puff of air gets her face. It's adorable.

So I'm loving the fact that this is something that Erin really seems to enjoy. It's the one thing that gets her up in the morning and to go to bed the night before. I'm sure we're going to find a way to keep with this as long as Erin keeps loving it.

Erin's Little Birthday Party

It's official, Erin is 3 whole years old. She is really getting so big and grown up. She's not my little baby anymore, even though I'll always treat her like she is.

Since Tom had to be on travel for her birthday we decided to go along with him. Luckily he was only an hour or so away so we were able to drive up Wednesday afternoon - after gymnastics and Dr.'s visits.

Thursday morning while Tom was working, Erin, Jeffrey and I headed into the historic part of town where we were staying. We decided it would be fun to take a trolley ride -- although if you ask Erin she'll tell you we rode a rollercoaster. It was a little long for the kids but Erin liked seeing the river and water. Mommy liked the old homes and plantations we drove by. Jeffrey liked - well Jeffrey liked fussing as he had gotten shots the day before and was a little grumpy. Anyway, we all survived the ride and Erin used her little camera to "take a camera" of the trolley after the tour.

After that we found a McD's with a Playplace for lunch. One wouldn't think so, but Erin eats better at the ones with a Playplace because after each trip down the slide I make her stop and eat a chicken McNugget before climbing back up again. By the end of lunch she was stopping at the table for her chicken of her own accord. Jeffrey just liked sitting in the high chair watching al the action.

We stopped on the way back to the hotel to pick up a cake (chocolate with balloons), some lemonade and a balloon at the store. Erin picked the cake and candle - Dora the explorer, out all by herself. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the hotel until Tom got back to the room.

Then we had our little party - with Dora the Explorer hats and all. Erin made sure everyone got a hat. Although we didn't have matches for the candle we sung her happy birthday and had her "blow" them out anyway. After that came the presents which didn't take too long to open. 2 games, 2 outfits, 3 books, 1 swimsuit and a Little People Minivan later we headed out to dinner at . . . Friendly's.

Erin was allowed to order whatever she wanted (a hamburger for the first time ever). Then the crew came with a sundae and balloons (Yay more balloons) and sang her Happyn Birthday. She LOVED all the attention. It was great to see her being so grown up choosing what she wated for dinner and sitting in the booth next to Tom while Jeffrey had the high chair.

Back at the hotel I got Jeffrey to sleep and laid him in the Pack & Play (hooray for Pack & Plays). Erin snuggled next to me in the bed and fell fast asleep. I looked over and her and thought about how we were doing the exact same thing - snuggling in bed - 3 years ago. But now she was independent enough that she didn't want my arms around her and certainly couldn't sleep on my chest anymore. A few tears came to my eyes as ai realized how amazingly far we all have come in the last 3 years.

Erin Wynne

E -- Enthusiastic when it comes to gymnastics, Dora the Explorer or going outside.
R -- Rapidly getting too big for mommy to sunggle :(
I -- Itsy Bitsy Spider is her favorite song -- for today.
N -- Needs no more help when going potty.

W -- Wonder and exploration fill her days as she tries to do more and more things on her own.
Y -- Yells loudly when singing her favorite songs, or when baby brother is in her toys.
N -- Numbers - can count to 20, well alsmot.
N -- Never says no to sitting on daddy's lap.
E -- Excited about being 3 years old

Pictures from Jeffrey's First Birthday in New Jersey

Warning Picture Overload

We spent the weekend in New Jersey with Tom's family celebrating both Jeffrey's First birthday and his cousin's wedding. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful weekend. We got to take the kids to a park on Friday and have a little party for Jeff there and then on Saturday everyone went to the beach where both kids got their first real look at the ocean. (Actually Erin's seen the ocean twice before, but once she was only 3 months old and the second time it was night). Anyway I wanted to put up some pictures from the weekend so you could see all the fun we were having. It was great to get together with everyone. I'll put up some pictures of Erin's birthday later this week.

Climbing at the Park


Enjoying Cupcake


Opening Presents


At The Beach


Testing The Waters


This is Cool


Family Time

Jeffrey Anderson

J -- Joyous Love
E -- Energetic Beyond Belief
F -- Full of Life
F -- Funny Little Ham
R -- Running All Over The Place
E -- Eyes a Little Green, A Little Brown That Can Pierce The Toughest Heart
Y -- Year, Has It Really Been A Year?

A -- Absolutely Into Everything
N -- Never Gives Mommy A Dull Moment
D -- Daring and Adventurous
E -- Enjoys All Kinds Of Foods
R -- Ready To Take On His Big Sister Next Time She Knocks Him Down
S -- Smiles That Light Up His Entire Face
O -- Ornery When He Wants To Be
N -- Now Is One Year Old

Happy May Everyone

Can you believe that birthday season is here already? I can't believe that Jeffrey is going to be 1 by the end of the week. It seems like just yesterday he was spitting up on me as we rolled out of the hospital together. He's gotten so big and developed into such an active litte boy, you really won't believe it when you see him. Although he's always been active I guess.

We went into Sears today to get some pictures taken. The poor woman trying desperately to get a good picture of the 2 of them, but Mr. Active couldn't sit still for 3 seconds. We couldn't even get good shots of him alone. We did get a couple of pictures worth sharing though. And certainly some beautiful ones of Erin.

Erin is blossoming more and more every day. She is such a beautiful little girl, and although she still has the occasional temper tantrum and eating is a continuous battle, I'm amazed at how calm and thoughtfull she can be too.

I will certainly be posting more about birthdays as the days grow nearer, but thought I'd take a moment now to share our pictures from today. Thanks for looking.