Happy Birthday, Erin!

Our big girl is now 9 years old!  Her celebrations are not over, but the actual big day is past.  She started partying a couple of weekends ago, on the 14th, when she had her two friends Olivia and Enzo over for a birthday lunch playdate.  They scarfed some pasta and cupcakes, played outside, painted beautiful masterpieces, and played Bingo!  It was perfect for Erin and she had a blast.



Erin and Anna assisted with making the cupcakes:



Grandma A. came to visit this past weekend in honor of Erin's birthday, and we had a wonderful time making applesauce, going out to dinner, playing, going to church, going to Erin's dance practice, getting ice cream, and organizing Anna's Legos (not a small task).  It was so great to have her visit!



Erin was happy to have her birthday off of school this year, since they were off for "Fall Break" the afternoon of the 20th and all day on the 23rd.  We still had Sawyer come over, and the girls had to go to the dentist.  Erin was not pleased about that, but she did awesome and got a great report. She also got to wear their birthday hat!



Before the dentist, she started her day with presents from us (Daddy was out of town in Germany for work, but we girls celebrated) and a surprise birthday donut breakfast and tea party arranged by Anna.  Later that morning, we went to Enzo's house for a playdate.  Erin loved it, but she was less than thrilled that Anna, Sawyer, and I stayed to play as well.  Enzo's family had cupcakes for Erin and a birthday balloon, which was so nice!  From there, we went to the dentist, and then to Mexican for lunch and then home for some playing and birthday cookies, then to Anna's tennis and back home for a pasta dinner.  I think she had a great day.











The festivities continue next weekend when we will go to Concord for Erin's and Cooper's birthdays!  So much fun!

She won't have her checkup until December, so we will have to wait on that.  Erin seems to be healthy, happy, and growing!  She is such a hard worker and tries so hard to do her very best.  We could not be more proud of her for giving her all every day.  She is doing wonderfully in school this year and is probably the happiest I have ever seen her.  She loves the responsibility and independence at school this year, and her teachers say that she makes great use of her time.  They have lots of homework in third grade, but they get time at school to work on homework.  She usually only comes home with 1-2 short assignments left to do at the end of the day.  She continues to be awesome at spelling, grammar, math, and religion...and is really enjoying learning cursive!  Her handwriting is far better than mine has ever been.  She is doing speech at school this year against her will and is working hard on reading comprehension and language.  She has come so far!

Outside of school, she is really enjoying dance this year.  She likes ballet and is also doing great with the modern dance for the Christmas show that she's in this year (she tried out and got a part in the holiday show!).  She is our pianist and loves to play.  In her free time, she still loves to play school.  She's got a class going with neighbor friend Ella at her house and also a class at our house.

I hate to brag too much, but it's hard not to brag about Erin when we think back on how far she has come in her life.  I usually tell people that she didn't talk until she was 4, because the noises she did make before that point were not purposeful or intelligible.  So, for someone who got a later start with talking, she has sure made up for it!  She used to struggle with fine motor skills, but she is now playing the piano beautifully, writes in cursive like a nun, and does crafts with tiny beads like a champ.  She has made leaps and bounds socially - in kindergarten and first grade, she rarely spoke or made eye contact with anyone.  Now she talks to everyone and strikes up conversations even with kids she doesn't consider to be her friends.  She really amazes us in every way.  We are so very proud of her, and most of all, we are thrilled to see her happy and comfortable in her own skin, something that did not come naturally to Erin.  She is truly a special kid, and we are so grateful to be her parents.

September

Well, that month went quickly!  We had a really good month, getting in the swing of school.  We had a really fun day on Saturday the 2nd, going out on Jordan Lake with two families from school on one family's boat.  It was a beautiful day and not crowded because it had been rainy that morning.  We all went tubing and had a blast swimming and enjoying the water!  We had a nice Labor Day too, meeting Jimmy and Danny's family for a lunch picnic at Womble Park.  Anna also got in a couple of pool visits that weekend to end the summer as well.  The rest of that week was pretty routine, with the low point being getting flu shots for the girls and me.  They powered through and enjoyed some yummy ice cream afterward.  The weekend was busy with church stuff since they had the annual ministry fair , so Bob was helping with that.  Erin also had fun at ballet class on Saturday.

The following week was fun and busy, including Lunch with Kids day on Wednesday the 13th.  Sawyer and I definitely felt like third and fourth wheels to the friends! 





That weekend, Bob worked at the Apex Music Fest with the Knights of Columbus while we ladies watched a Wolfpack win and also went over to neighbor friend Ella's house for a birthday playdate/movie party.  Sunday the 17th, we helped collect food for a food drive and then had a fun afternoon watching Erin's BFF Olivia play soccer in Holly Springs.  We enjoyed a yummy ice cream treat after that too!



The girls were off on Monday the 18th for a teacher workday, so we had fun with Sawyer, mostly playing outside, including a garage picnic. 



We all went to Jump Street in Cary that afternoon for Anna's friend Mitchell's trampoline birthday party.  Anna then had tennis after the party, so you can imagine how tired she was that evening!  It was a fun day.  Bob began the first of his 3-in-a-row trips to California that week as well.  Erin was home sick that Wednesday and Thursday with some kind of mild stomach bug, but it wasn't too bad (thankfully), and, even better - no sign of SVT!  That weekend was more Wolfpack football (at home - we have not tried to take the girls yet since those games are so long), and a fun dinner out on Saturday, complete with face paint.  Erin decided on Sunday to try out for the Holiday Cabaret at her dance school.  I tried to explain the process of trying out and that since she just started ballet and has not taken any other kind of dance, that she might not get a part this year.  She tried out for all 5 pieces in her age group, and she got a part in one!  We were proud of her because the tryout process was pretty crazy and overwhelming, but she seemed to enjoy being a part of it.

The last week of the month was more of the same, with Bob traveling to California and then on to New York, and we ladies holding down the fort.  Sawyer's last day was Friday the 29th, and now I've got a couple of weeks to myself!  We watched neighbor dog friend Bear Thursday-Sunday which hopefully helped Anna get a little dog fix in, since she is working hard every day to get a new dog.  I will say that it is nice to have a cleaner house and not worrying about being home at regular intervals for potty breaks.  I am sure she will wear us down eventually.  Anna and Daddy went to paint pottery on Saturday while Erin and I went to dance.  She is working on creating an army of porcelain!

So, September was a nice month.  We didn't have much earth-shattering going on, but we definitely stayed busy.  October, of course, is Erin's birthday month as well as Halloween, so we are excited for both of those fun things!