Happy Birthday, Erin!

Yesterday was the third birthday of our littlest "Big Girl", Erin Lee. She had a grand day, complete with her choice for supper (pancakes) and her choice for a movie night ("The Heffalump Movie"). Her tricycle is a hit, and she really can almost pedal it. (Either she's bigger than I thought, or it's smaller!)

Of course, for Moms, birthdays are always nostalgic. All day long I was remembering three years ago and how much I was just loving being taken care of in the hospital and focusing on this new little one. And what a privilege to see a personality unfold over the past three years! Erin is our kid who's never met a stranger and is always looking for fun. Just last week, she asked one of the men who was helping in the church nursery if he would, "...please get down on the floor and be a heffalump." He got a kick out of that, but we weren't surprised...it's just so Erin. She's also brought our family new words such as "babypants" for shorts (because they aren't full-grown pants yet) and "hemigana" for sunrise/sunset (long story). And as she's the kid who always wants to be like the big kids, she's delighted to finally be a big three-year-0ld. I sigh as the "terrific two's" slip away, but I'll always be able to look back and smile when I recall one of my favorite memories of Erin, screaming in a fit of passion, "I...DON'T...YIKE...MOMMY...ANYMO'!!"

And just a side note, yesterday was also the birthday of our friend Janice, a fun lady and great role model as a Mom. She visited us last summer, and I told her I'd put this picture on the blog...so I finally did. Happy Birthday, Janice!