My Present Came A Day Late

All I wanted for Christmas was for Erin to take her first steps. I was a little disappointed that she wouldn't give it a try yesterday choosing instead to drop down and crawl to me each and every time we attempted to induce her to walk. Well fast forward a few hours to this morning and Erin took two steps to me. Then she did it again and again, it was awesome. She was so excited by my excitement and was so happy to walk to me! Of course I rushed her downstairs to show Mindy and she did it again before becoming too distracted by the piles of toys at my Mom's house. Nevertheless it was extremely exciting.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Sign of the Times

I always wonder what should count as baby's first word. Is it when the say "mama" or "dada", when they parrot something you say or is it when they say a word and obviously understand its meaning?

Erin has been saying mama, dada, and all the usual baby words for quite some time and recently she began parroting our speech. The funniest example has to be when I use my "authority voice" to get her attention, usually when she is climbing the stairs, to which now she responds with a "no". It is hard not to laugh and often I do.

This is the usual exchange now:

Me - "ERIN!"

Erin - "No"

Me - laughter

I really wish it wasn't so funny because I am trying to establish boundaries, such as don't climb the steps or put small objects in her mouth. Oh well, so much for being an authority figure in her life...

The Dreaded Christmas Letter Online Edition

In even more glory than the Santa photo, here it is...

Front Page (click to read)



Back Page



Unfortunately the original images are not working correctly because of an issue with Blogger so they are now linked through Picasa. You may need to click on the zoom (magnifying glass icon in the upper right) to read the letters. If and when this is fixed I will get things setup properly again.

Giving it a try

Erin, despite cruising the furniture for months now, has yet to take her first step. It is a bit of a puzzler as she practically runs when she cruises and has fantastic balance. So in keeping with the tradition of this blog I am going to complain that she hasn't begun walking yet to spur her on. If you look through past posts you will see that every time I mention that "Erin hasn't done x" she immediately does x to prove her old man wrong. I'll report back in a few days.

A Little Early But...

Here is the official Santa photo in all its glory!



Erin, if you couldn't tell, was completely terrified of Santa. Rachel was a little shy at first but the big guy did a great job of listening to our attempts to pump her up and picked up a lot of details that really got Rachel's attention and made her warm right up to him.

Oh well, the girls were cute in their matching Santa dresses!

Happy Halloween

I realize this is a few days after the fact, but here are a few pics from Halloween. We went trick or treating in Old Town Alexandria which was a good time. The stores were giving out treats from 4-6 then one of the neighborhoods just south of King Street blocked off its streets and the whole neighborhood was out and about. Rachel received so much candy that we had to get a second bag to fill. We had a great evening.

OK, now for some pics.

Rachel went as Alice, as in Alice in Wonderland and was adorable. She entered a costume contest and was quite unhappy when she didn't win. Her first words after she came off stage were "Dad aren't you mad that I didn't win?"





Erin slept through much of the evening...



but then she woke up later and had a good time trick or treating. And yes that is Rachel's old pumpkin costume.

Updated Career Plans

Rachel informed me yesterday that not only does she want to be a "premie baby doctor nurse" she also wants to be a bike racer and a swimmer. It was also important to note that she wants to be all three "in the same day" as well.

The premie nurse and the bike racer come from Mommy (for those who didn't know Mindy was a big time bmx racer when she was young) and the swimmer comes from Rachel's sometimes baby sitter Meredith (she is a competitive swimmer). It is sweet to see who she looks up to and admires, even if Dad isn't one of those people...

The Girls Being Goofy

A quick video of Rachel being a goofy big-sister shot in a Starbucks in New Hope PA during Columbus Day weekend while we were visiting my family.

Rachel is a great big sister to Erin. There have never been any jealousy issues and she genuinely appears to enjoy her little sis. I find it impressive that when you tell her that she is beautiful without complimenting Erin as well Rachel will reply "I think Erin is prettier than me". I find that touching.

Erin Claps

Here is a quick vid of Erin clapping. It usually doesn't last long but it is cute nonetheless.

Erin is a little overconfident...

Erin has decided that holding on to things when she is standing up in completely unnecessary. If she didn't come crashing down every time she lets go that would be a good plan, but of course she isn't able to stand without holding on to something. I am sure she will figure it out soon enough.

The other sad news is that her bottom teeth are showing now. My favorite thing about a baby is that toothless smile they have before they get teeth. It broke my heart when this happened with Rachel too, but I guess I just have to get over it...

Erin Update

Don't know how I managed not to post this, but in a time period of about 2 weeks starting at the end of August Erin began crawling, eating solids, pulling herself up to a standing position, cruising the furniture, and her first two teeth broke through.

She loves eating food, here is a little video evidence.



Some more video of Erin showing her love for food.

Soccer Rachel Style

Only Rachel would play soccer dressed like this...

New Photos Added

I finally uploaded some recent pics of the family. Take a look in the Summer 07 file to the left...

Vacation is over

We arrived back in VA on Sunday and we had a great time with my family. It was especially nice to spend time at my Mom's house and see the girls spend time with their grammy. Unfortunately I was bad with the camera so no photos...

Vacation Time!

We are in scenic New Jersey for a few days. It is nice to get away and visit with my family. Rachel particularly enjoys being with her Grammy and swimming over at Aunt Lu's pool. I don't know if we have any plans for our time here, but if we do anything interesting I will take pics and post them here.

How Quickly I Have Been Replaced

I think every Dad secretly enjoys it when his little girl says that she wants to marry him. It is one of those things that I always thought was strange before having children but when Rachel first said it to me I nearly cried. It was just that sweet.

Well fast forward a year or so. Mindy decided to show Rachel pictures of Princess Diana and her wedding (princess research?) which naturally led to Mindy showing Rachel pictures of Prince William and Prince Harry. Apparently Dad can't compete with Prince William, which is ok, and now I have been replaced.

I am just happy to be the Captain

Rachel assigned our family members our "pirate ranks" and there was at least one that made me laugh out loud...

They are as follows:

Lance: Pirate Captain (yes!)
Rachel: Princess Pirate (obvious)
Erin: Baby Pirate (another obvious one)
Same: Puppy Pirate (again)
Mindy: Witch Pirate (due to her love of the wicked witch)

So given Mindy's station in life (or at least on the ship) I am happy to be the captain!

Erin Sits Up

Title says it all, Erin had been doing the "tripod" thing where she half sits up and supports herself but last night while hanging out on the floor (without us paying close attention) the little chica just sat up... She still isn't really crawling, she tends to take a couple of "crawl steps" then sit up or flop on her tummy.

An Overdose of Cute

Rachel always loved lemons, but she used to make "the face" with every bite. She still eats them, with salt, today.

I Spoke Too Soon

So ever since I wrote that Erin doesn't laugh all that much she has decided to begin laughing at all sorts of things. Maybe I should post that we are frustrated that she doesn't do calculus or paint masterpieces yet...

4th of July

We had quite the 4th here. My Mom, my sisters Sarah and Lauren, and Aunt Lu came down to spend the holiday with us. The day began with a lot of BBQing and eating. Later we pulled it together to watch the fireworks on the National Mall. The crowd was large, but generally everyone was pleasant and we had a great time.



When we first arrived it was pouring and apparently there was a tornado warning in effect. We sat near the Capitol with the hope that we would hear the National Symphony Orchestra. Unfortunately we were unable to hear a sound. Regardless the fireworks were amazing as they exploded behind the Washington Monument.

As you can see, Erin had her usual good time. And yes those are earplugs in her little ears...



Leaving the District was insane as hundreds of thousands of people pushed their way on to the Metro. It took nearly 2 hours to get home because of the number of people travelling. I think next year we will watch from the Virginia side of the river and just avoid the insanity. That being said, I am happy we went this year.

Catching Up Part 1

It has been way too long since I last updated this, so here it goes. I should have a little time to myself today and tomorrow so I hope to catch up on the blog.

Erin is nearly crawling, now she is doing the whole "rocking" thing. It is all downhill from here as she will begin to get into everything and won't want to be held as much. She still doesn't laugh all that much, it takes quite an effort to get her going enough to laugh out loud. I think she is just much more reserved than Rachel ever was at this age and it takes a lot more work to get her going.

Rachel spent her 1st night away from home last night. She is in New Jersey with my family and is having a blast. Somehow I knew she wouldn't miss us one bit! I guess if I was getting spoiled like she is right now I wouldn't miss us either!

Also, Rachel has begun swim lessons and I hope that she can swim on her own by the end of summer. I think that would be great.

We Hired a Nanny

We finally broke down and have someone watching our children on a part-time basis. She is nice, a college student and a swim teacher. She was Rachel's favorite out of all the candidates interviewed and since Rachel has to spend time with her we figured she could make the final decision.

I have a tons of photos to upload and someday soon I will get around to it.

Nanny Wanted

We are interviewing for a part-time nanny for the mornings after Mindy gets home from work. Interviews begin tomorrow!

We are in VA

We arrived in Alexandria on Sunday and are beginning to settle in at our new residence. We immediately took the opportunity to visit Old Town and loved it. A number of friends familiar with the area had said that was the place to go and that we would love it. It is nothing more than a waterfront with many beautiful row-houses and many shops and restaurants. Overall we have a good first impression of the city, it is pretty clean and the district around the PTO and Old Town is simply amazing. Definitely a livable city.

This weekend is Rachel's birthday and hopefully we will have our first opportunity to venture into DC proper and visit the National Zoo. It looks as though we will be getting a lot of rain on Saturday but Sunday, her birthday, should be pleasant. Who knows, maybe we will get the camera out and take a few photos.

Moving Tomorrow

We are packing up today and tomorrow and will hopefully arrive in Alexandria on Sunday. We plan to stop at my family's home in NJ on Saturday, have dinner, and then lead the brave souls who volunteered to help us move in on Sunday morning.

We are all very excited about this move and can't wait to see the sights!

Girls Go Away, Come Back

The girls, all 3, spent a week in Omaha visiting Mindy's mother. It was nice for me as I needed to get a lot of work done in preparation for finals, but did make things a little lonely around here. Everyone had a good time but were happy to come back home.

A Nice Afternoon

On Sunday we drove to Newburyport, Massachusetts and nearby Plum Island for the day. The weather was great and we had a relaxing day together. Newburyport is a cute seaside town in northern Massachusetts. A former co-worker in Arizona had once recommend that I take some time to visit Newburyport. The town reminds me of Portsmouth, New Hampshire but definitely has a more "Boston" feel to it.

Plum Island had all the charm of a New England beach town and had one feature that is rare up here - a nice sandy beach. Unfortunately the island still had quite a bit of debris from the nor'easter we had last week. That didn't prevent us from walking the beach and collecting shells though. All in all we had a great time.

I Wonder Where She Heard That?

While driving home from New Jersey today, a woman veered into our lane almost causing an accident. Rachel reacted by saying "what is that damn fool doing?" followed by a very resigned "I know, I know - I shouldn't say damn."

Funny Stuff

On the Road Again

We are heading to Alexandria, Virginia for the next 7 months due to my internship & externship. Both Mindy and I are very excited to see the town and neighboring Washington DC. Neither of us have ever been to the area and can't wait to see the sights!

Everyone I've talked to about Alexandria says we will love it there, particularly "old town" Alexandria. Personally I can't wait to tour DC and view the exhibits at the Smithsonian. Hopefully we'll still get a little family time now and then while I am working there to do so.

Quick Travel Post

While Cher and Mark were visiting we had the chance to sneak out for a daytrip to Vermont. We did the usual, the Ben & Jerry's factory and a day in Burlington. As always we had a great time - we always enjoy our trips there.

The photo is of Rachel while at the Ben & Jerry's factory in the "tasting" room. It is a magical place for our family ;)

It is funny because it is true

How Do They Do That?

I've always wondered how a screaming baby knows the difference between when you stand or sit, but Erin sure can tell the difference.

Erin is Growing (And How!)

Erin has doubled her weight during her first two months! Normally newborns are expected to double their weight by six months and triple it by the one year mark. Erin has decided to buck the trend and be a trailblazer on this one ;)

It is particularly funny when you consider that Rachel barely doubled her weight at one year.

Friends Visiting

Cher and Mark from Arizona are currently visiting us. My time is pretty tight this week with a midterm on Thursday, but we have already made a trip to Maine. We visited Freeport, Portland, and Cape Elizabeth yesterday which was quite fun. We spent a long time in the LL Bean mother store in Freeport shopping and then drove south to see the sights on Cape Elizabeth. To end the day we cruised Portland and went to the Sebago Brewing Company's brewpub where both the beer and the food were excellent. Last year we did a number of these brewery/brewpub stops and for some unknown reason the breweries in Maine are the most impressive. Must be the clean and cold water they use!

I think we may sneak out one more time this week and will likely go to Vermont to visit Ben and Jerry's and Burlington.

Candlepin Bowling

We decided to take Rachel candlepin bowling. This is a peculiar style of bowling that is popular here in New England and virtually nowhere else. For a good explanation of the game go to wikipedia. As you can see, Rachel took the early lead - let's call it beginners luck. Her technique was amazing. It literally took 20 or more seconds for her ball to reach the pins and reminded me of the bowling scene in the movie "Uncle Buck." Erin managed to sleep throughout the hour or so we spent at the bowling alley.

I became a little worried when, toward the end of the set (or round or whatever they call it) Rachel continued to lead Mindy and I. In fact she beat us fair and square! And yes, she rubbed it in.

First Post

Hopefully we will turn this into an actual website for our family. For now there are a few web albums for your viewing pleasure. I will try to update this as much as possible and will hopefully convince Mindy that this is worthwhile.