The many changes of Erin

When you live with someone day in and day out, it's hard to notice all the small, subtle changes that occur until either someone makes you stop and see them or they turn into big changes. So, when my parents call and ask me "what new things is Erin doing this week?" sometimes it's hard to come up with anything. However, when relatives come to visit who haven't seen Erin in months, I realize just how much she has changed and accomplished.

So, here's a list of some of Erin's accomplishments since the start of the year.

1) Erin is eating level 2 foods and starting to try meat
2) Erin is eating some finger foods using a pincer grip
3) Erin has gone from having two bottom teeth to a total of seven teeth and gets them brushed with special baby toothpaste!

4) In addition, Erin grinds her teeth
5) Erin claps her hands together - but not on cue
6) Erin can pass an object from one hand to the other
7) Erin loves playing "peekabo" and knows how to pull an object off her face
8) Erin grasps the concept of object permanence and looks for an object when it goes out of sight
9) Erin is holding her head erect and only has to go to PT once a week now
10) Erin has outgrown her reflux and is sleeping in her own crib in her own room full-time
11) As a result her crib/bassinette has finally graduated to being a playpen in the living room and Erin enjoys playing in her jail
12) Erin can make transitional movements from lying down to rolling, sitting, tall kneeling, or hands and knees without help and is able to sit unsupported
13) Erin is exhibiting precrawling behaviours such as turning in a circle, rolling, scooting backwards, and rocking on her hands and knees - we anticipate she will be able to fully crawl in a few short weeks
14) Erin has started to develop some stranger anxiety, but not consistently
15) Erin loves to "dance" - in sitting, lying down, or when you hold her up to stand
16) Erin has perfected what we refer to as "old man face"
17) Erin is babbling more to indicate what she wants with her favorite sounds now starting with "m". She occassionally uses "da" but is more fond of "ba", "ah blah", "ga", and "ca" lately.

Just add water and watch her grow!

I thought you might enjoy seeing a "before" and "after" shot of Erin to get some perspective on how big Erin has gotten in just a few months. The "before" photo is at roughly two months. The "after" photo is at about eight months.

Before, Erin was leaning back on the incline unable to hold herself up or even fill half the tub. After, Erin is sitting upright, holding her head straight, and has almost outgrown her tub!

Erin's Baptism

Erin was baptized on Sunday, February 15, at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Austin, Texas. Her godparents are my sister, Heidi, and her husband, Larry.

We were truly amazed by how well the day went. Erin woke up at 6:30 in the morning with a fever of 102 degrees. We thought that might prevent Erin and us from going through with the ceremony.

Never underestimate the power of God and a little Tylenol. Erin's fever broke and she made it through church and the entire ceremony without a problem. She didn't cry once! In fact, she seemed to enjoy being blessed with water and was very interested in her candle.

We were so overwhelmed by the outpouring of love that Erin and we received. Most of my immediate family was able to be there. In addition, Kurt's mom flew in from New Mexico on Friday to spend the weekend with us, which was also a nice early birthday treat for her. However, the biggest surprise was finding Kurt's dad waiting for us outside the church - especially since he had told us the day before he would not be coming. However, he flew in Sunday morning. I know it really meant a lot to Kurt to have both of his parents there. It also meant a lot to us to have close friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even part of our engaged sponsor family present to welcome Erin into the church.

We feel so blessed to have had so many love ones there to share in Erin's day. We hope that all of you will continue to be a very important part of our lives and Erin's, and play a role in helping Erin grow up to be the kind of good, mature, God-loving, adult we can only hope and pray that she will be.