could it be?

I watched Oprah's final show last night. It was good. I liked that she was the only guest. I liked that she talked to us, she said good-bye to us - her viewers. If you know me well, you know that I have enjoyed watching Oprah since I was a teenager. I used to think I would be on her show one day. I tried to get tickets to a show a few years ago with no luck. Well, one of the last things Oprah said in her last show was to email her and that she would actually read these emails and respond. So this morning, I wrote to her. I thought if I didn't make it to a show...maybe I could have a piece of her legacy in the form of an email. And you know what? She emailed me back. It does sound like a form email, but I will take it for now. It actually made my day...

One Lucky Girl

I am 32 years old now. Yep...had the birthday on Friday. I did not take the day off so I worked, but was flooded with birthday messages from facebook that kept the festivities going for me through out the day.

Owen and I went out Thursday for dinner and Friday for lunch. We tried a new hibachi grill for lunch and it was fantastic. Owen brought home a cookies and cream ice cream cake on Friday and we enjoyed that for 3 days.

Saturday we kept the birthday celebration going and went to Gulfport to outlet mall shop. I had a specific item in mind for my birthday present and was lucky enough to find it - A New Purse!! Then we went to eat an Italian restaurant on the coast that was one of the best Italian meals I have had in a long time. Everything we tasted was delicious. Definitely a restaurant that deserves a 2nd visit.

After lunch we came home and my birthday officially ended...but that is ok. I think this is going to be a year of changes and growth for our family. My prayer is for new and exciting things to happen for my family. I am not sad about being 32, I keep hearing your 30's are the best decade and I am going to embrace that train of thought.

I do have one more celebration tonight. I am going out to a birthday dinner with my friend Amanda, which should be a good time.

Love, Erin

Tough Week

What a week! Andrew started a new class this week at his daycare. I did not anticipate this being a hard transition. But, it has been. Monday morning was terrible. He cried like he was being tortured. But Monday afternoon was worse. The moment he saw me he started screaming my name and his face turned red. He was sitting in a high chair and I couldn't get the snaps undone fast enough. He clinched onto my shoulder and cried until he realized I was taking him home. At home, he was just so sad. He did not want me to put him down - so I didn't.

The next morning he woke up happy until it was time to eat breakfast and then the clinging and tantrum began. He only wanted to eat while sitting in my lap. I gave in thinking he may not feel well (he is getting in a lot of teeth, so I know they were hurting him). But the moment he got his way, he was happy again and not acting sick - so I was out smarted. When we pulled up to his daycare and parked, Andrew started crying. This has never happened. When we got to the room, he cried louder. I have been heartbroken these past two days leaving a crying baby. I did call both Monday and Tuesday and they told me he was great and having a good day. When I picked him up yesterday he ran to me and said "mama" in the saddest voice. I actually picked him up early b/c we had his 6 month check for his tubes at the ENT. The moment the doctor walked in the door my baby Andrew started trembling and crying. Just like the title states - it has been a rough week. Luckily his tubes look great! His tonsils and adenoids are huge - potential future surgery. The doctor gave Andrew a sucker and from that point on he was happy. UNTIL, we get home and have to eat dinner. The Oscar winning tantrum resurfaces and he does not want to eat in his high chair. This time I was strong about it and he cried for less than 5 minutes - I know b/c the oven timer was on. After his melt down and realization I was not picking him up, he settled down and ate a great dinner. AND THEN, we had a baby sitter come over b/c Owen and I went to to a realtor's award banquet. Andrew did not like this idea. He clinched on my shoulders and would scream if our babysitter or Owen tried to take him away...so for the 3rd time this week I have left my baby screaming and crying. It's been a tough week for me too.

However, we had success this morning! No crying when he had to sit in his high chair to eat, he actually let Owen feed him breakfast, and he only got upset for a minute when I dropped him off today. No tears...just a little unhappy. Yea for progress!!!

We have the same babysitter coming on Thursday so Owen and I can go to a Art for Heart auction downtown...hopefully since it the same lady he will be ok on Thursday. I know I have said this before, but this week has been hard on me.

Fun Weekend in NOLA

Saturday we decided to make a day trip to New Orleans to visit the aquarium. Andrew seems to be aware of fish so we thought he would enjoy it. He did enjoy it but became fidgety pretty quickly. Never the less it was a fun thing to do. At the end of the aquarium there was a kid zone and he was able to run around and stretch his legs. Here is a picture of Andrew and me in the kid zone.

This picture makes me smile. It was a good day.

No shirt, No Shoes, but Service Please

It has been a week since my last blog post. I haven't felt that talkative this past week so I guess that is why I have taken a short break.

When we come home from work and play school (my new phrase for day care, that I am stealing from a friend) Andrew likes to go out on our patio and help me water the plants. He also loves opening and closing our screen door. Then we go get the mail and walk around the house exploring and looking for cats. He meows at them and one of them actually responds to him. The cats belong to our next door neighbor. She has 2-4 of them.
Yesterday we did all of that and decided to go outside one more time before bed time and eat a cookie. Here is my sweet baby boy (and Ralphie) enjoying life to the fullest!

17 MONTHS

Andrew is 17 months old! As always, I can't believe he is toddler. I took these pictures on my phone yesterday...he is always on the move so it is hard to get a clear picture.

He is learning and doing so much these days that it is hard to write down everything.
* He is going through a mommy only phase right now. I love it, but it is making Owen sad. Even when I drop him off at daycare he clings to my legs and cries. His teachers tell me he gets over it pretty quickly when I leave.
* I pick Andrew up between 4:15 and 4:30 in the afternoons. His teachers tell me that he starts to say mama at 4:00 pm every day and waits by the gate for me to come around the corner.
* His vocabulary is increasing by the day and will try to say anything you say
* He has become interested in trains and likes to say "choo choo" whenever he sees a train.
* When it is time for bath, I say "Andrew it is bath time"...he stops what he is doing and trots to the stairs. Then he starts saying "choo choo" b/c he knows we read a train book before bed time. He is now letting me rock him before bed time. We say our night prayer and I sing to him and then I put him in his crib. This is a new change b/c I used to have to get up and sway with him. I am personally loving the rocking routine. I tend to stay a little longer since we are sitting down.
* He officially has 8 teeth (4 top and 4 bottom) and two top molars have been trying their hardest to fully break through. He has been "growing" those top molars for a month now. I just noticed his bottom two molars peeping through also. I can tell he is in pain but he is a strong boy about it.
* Andrew still adores Ralphie. He gives Ralphie hugs and kisses every day. I like watching the two of them grow up together.
* He loves to be outside. In fact it can sometimes be a battle to get him to come inside.
* He is developing his own opinion and can tell you "no" by shaking his head.
* He started saying "help me" over Easter weekend. He says it in the appropriate context too...it is so funny and I am not sure where he got it from.

We are so in love this little boy. I love getting him up the mornings. He is funny and I enjoy watching him learn, discover and think. He is absolutely a joy!

cousins!

This past weekend my mom's side of the family had a reunion. It was fun seeing people I had not seen in a while. I really was excited to go because Andrew would get to play with his cousins from Memphis. Ella is 4 months older than Andrew so I enjoy seeing them play together. Emma, the big sister is my God daughter so I definitely like spending time with her.


Andrew, Ella and Emma


Emma and Andrew are "pretending" to take a nap

I love making family memories.