Christmas

On Friday, December 19th, Erin was cleared by Dr. Grier to return to day care and to go to Dallas to see her cousins.

So, we drove up to Garland the next day, and had a nice early Christmas celebration. I think she had a good time seeing all of her cousins, and finally got to meet her Uncle Todd. However, Erin was a bit overwhelmed by all of the activity. She became fussy during the opening of gifts, and proceeded to fall asleep midway through her cousins' excitement.

However, Erin had a chance to redeem herself during Christmas festivities the following week.

That Monday, her GG came to visit for a week from New Mexico, along with her two dogs, Spencer and Zoe. Erin had a great time laughing at Spencer, a 120 lb. "small brown dog"! She also got to take her GG to see the lights downtown at the Zilker Park Trail of Lights. Unfortunately, Erin fell asleep right after the entrance archway and didn't wake up until the trails end! At least she got to see the archway and the giant tree. :-) I'd also like to think she enjoyed seeing the animated reindeer I made Kurt buy for our front yard, but really, those were more for me.

Christmas was rather low key, with me working Christmas Eve, and later enjoying a wonderful roast, followed by church services with Erin, Kurt, Kurt's mom, my parents, Heidi, and Lauren. On Christmas Day, Erin showed much more interest in her gifts - trying to put the bows, tissue paper, and packages in her mouth. It was so cute! We spent the day enjoying each others company, eating, and watching "It's a Wonderful Life." It really is a wonderful life, and the best present was being able to share it with Erin. :-)

We hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas season.

Love,

Christine

Recent trips

I have done a lot of traveling in the last two months. At the end of September, I went to Dallas for the annual Greek festival with Granny and Grampa. It was nice to learn about Granny's culture (as she grew up Greek/Romanian Orthodox). I really enjoyed the music and all the bright colors.

Later, in mid-October, Daddy and Mommy took me to Balmorhea State park with Uncle Larry, Aunt Heidi, Lauren, and our friends, the Loutons. There is a natural spring there, where you can go scuba diving. I'm too little to know how to swim, but Daddy and Mommy had the chance to do some diving. We also went to the McDonald Observatory to see the stars. I had a great view from my stroller, but fell asleep before the "show" was over. We also did a little hiking in the Davis mountains. I tried out my Baby Bjorn carrier for the first time. That was cool. I liked being higher up looking out at the world.

At the beginning of November, I went to Dallas again. This time, we were there to support Aunt Heidi in the 3 Day Breast Cancer walk. Last year, I walked inside Mommy's tummy, but this year I just helped cheer for Aunt Heidi and play with cousin Lauren. I was so proud of Aunt Heidi. She walked without the rest of our team and raised over $3,000. :-) While Aunt Heidi was out walking, I also got to go with most of my cousins to the zoo on the DART train. It was the first time I'd ever been on the train or to the zoo. Like cousin Erica said I'm lucky because I got to go before any of them ever did - when I was only zero! I had fun watching my crazy cousins play and seeing all the animals. I liked the otters and gorillas the best. That night, after the zoo, I got to go somewhere else new. It's called Chuck E. Cheese and it's full of kids, bright lights, and interesting sounds. Mommy says I'll like it even more when I'm older. I know my cousins did. It was a nice place to celebrate my cousin Sara and cousin Lauren's birthdays.

In a few weeks, I'm going on another trip - back to Louisiana to see some of Daddy's family for Thanksgiving. I'll tell you all about it when I get back.

Love,

Erin

Uncle visits

Erin got to finally meet her Uncle Hans when he came to visit from Colorado on September 30th (our second anniversary). They had a great time talking together. :-) Hans was great help - making her do her physical therapy, helping us decorate her room, and building shelves. We were sad to see him go and hope he will come visit often.

Uncle Carl came out to visit at the end of October while here for work. It was the first time he got to see our house. We all had a lovely visit. Erin and Kurt enjoyed taking him to Fry's (the computer store). Next time, we hope he'll bring Merri and Christina too. :-)

Family visits

Erin got to meet her Aunt Gretchen and cousins Nicholas, Erica, and Sarah just prior to Nicholas' 10th birthday. A few weeks later, she also got to meet her cousin TJ and Aunt Nancy, when everyone came back down for Aunt Heidi's 40th birthday. She really enjoyed meeting more of the Leibold clan and we know she'll have a great time playing with all of her cousins in the years to come.




Grandma and Grampa Leibold were kind enough to babysit so we could all go enjoy a girl's day out at the spa. Thanks!

Thank you

A special thank you to my parents and to Kurt's mom, Elizabeth, for coming out to help us during the first few weeks of Erin's life. We really appreciate all of your help and are so glad that Erin got to meet you.

Love,

Christine