pencil marks on a wall, i wasn't always this tall...

Sunday was Erin's 2ND birthday! It seems like yesterday we were bringing her home, and yet I also can hardly remember what life was like before she arrived. She is so special to us! I took her to the Doc for her 2 yr check up - she is 38 inches tall and weighs 30.2 lbs. The pediatrician asked if she has a vocabulary of at least 20 words... ha ha!! I told him that Erin never stops talking at home and would be surprised if it was less than 100 words. She has also memorized several of her favorite books and consequently can "read" to herself when I'm busy with other things. This helps me out a lot because when I read to her, she likes to have the same book read 3 or 4 times before moving on to the next, leaving me little time to finish laundry and dishes before the next meal. How did my mother do it????

Today (if the weather holds out) we'll be off to the zoo with Vanessa and crew. Erin enjoyed the zoo last spring, and it should be even more exciting now that she can talk about it. Her favorite animals are elephants, monkeys, and lions. Hopefully at least one of those will be out and about today :-)

I am so relieved that spring is here. All my life I thought I was a winter person, but I'm starting to realize that I was just a summer person who needed winter in order to fully appreciate summer. I don't like the sedentary feel of winter, especially with a daughter who loves to be outside on the swing as much as possible. She's already been asking when she can go to the pool! I wasn't even sure she'd remember the pool, but I guess she's a summer gal too...

time keeps moving from a crawl to a run...

A few weeks ago I went to Dallas for a conference with my Mom and sisters... Since my grandparents live in Ft. Worth, my Dad drove the rest of my siblings up from San Antonio and I got to see all of them in one place for a couple days. It was good. I'm not sure how long its been since just the 11 of us spent some time together (or if it'll ever happen again) but gosh it was great to be a family again for a day. Dad took us all out to Pancho's Mexican buffet (famous for their fabulous sopapillas) and even though there wasn't a table big enough to accommodate the whole group, it was a great time of laughing and reacquainting. I sat with Nathan, Shelley, Aubrey, Timothy, and Bethany, and I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. We took turns quoting lines from "The Office" until our sodas were in danger of spewing from our noses. Gross, I know. But it made for good memories. I realized sitting at that table that I hardly know my little brother Tim. He takes Tai-kwon-do, is a pickier eater than I am, and is way taller than he has any right to be. It seems like yesterday he was a one-year-old and I was carrying him around everywhere - we shared a room and I fed him all his meals. Now he's 10 and loves to sword-fight. Where have all these years gone?? Now I'm a real mom with my own baby, and time moves even faster. There are sweet moments with Erin when I think "I'm gonna remember this forever" and a few days later I can hardly recall the circumstances... life goes on and we're too busy living it to document everything. But there are moments with my daughter and husband that I will remember forever, pictures or not. And I'll always remember the weekend in Dallas with my family. It WAS good.