Erin is 8!

Erin turned 8 last Tuesday! She's growing up fast. We didn't really do a party for her, because we're going to have the whole family get together next weekend for her baptism. She was cool with that. But lest you think we skipped over her birthday, just know that she partied all week!

I took that Monday off, the day before her birthday. She picked out a color and we painted over the stripes in her room. In the afternoon, I redecorated the rest of the room and wouldn't let her go in there until Rob got home. The pictures I took weren't spectacular, but she was happy with her new room & sweet new saucer chair.

The next day, her actual birthday, my parents kept the kids all day. They did all kinds of stuff! They went to see Despicable Me, which was a huge deal because we never go to theaters - seriously, the kids have only been a couple of times. Needless to say, they LOVED it! They also went out to lunch, went shopping, and swam. That night, we had dinner at Red Robin. When we were finishing up dinner, Erin was happy to get a phone call from her Nana Sandy in Illinois! She felt pretty important.

After dinner, she opened her presents and we had caramel cheesecake (her request).

The party didn't stop there! The next day, the kids spent the day with Nana. They had cupcakes and brownies, and Erin got to open more presents! They went shopping and played and had a great time

A little about Erin:

- She is super smart! That kid can figure out just about anything, and she's very insightful. She thinks things through and figures out the "whys" and "hows".

- She has always been pretty grown-up. She started talking pretty early, and was never difficult to understand. She's easy to reason with, and was never a big fit-thrower. She's a good-natured kid.

- She has an insane memory! Erin can remember obscure stuff in great detail from years ago. She can commit stuff to memory after reading it once or twice (very handy when she has to memorize stuff for school)

- She is an extremely nice big sister. She has loved her brother since Day 1, and was never jealous of him. She is very kind to him and always makes sure he's OK. She shares with him, comforts him, makes him laugh, and teaches him stuff.

- She's not shy. I really admire this because I was really shy when I was a kid. She loves to mingle and visit with people before church. She orders her own food in restaurants, and she likes to do things like run in and pick up a pizza we ordered or grab something from the store while I'm pumping gas.

- Erin is funny. A little sarcastic & a little weird and a lot of fun!

Rob and I realize how lucky we are to have been blessed with Erin. She's a great kid, and it's certainly not our doing... it's just who she is. We love you, Erin!