Oh Erin

Okay - Couldn't let these 2 get by without a post. One of my big sayings with Erin is, "Do you understand?" I ask her that a lot, especially after correcting her behavior. Well, this morning she came downstairs and before we said anything to each other, she said, "I understand mommy, but can I have that purple lollipop?" I think she knew the answer before she asked, but wanted me to know how much she really wanted it.

Then, just now I went into the other room and she hopped up and handed me the brownie pictured below. Joe had brought it home from lunch and she has been eyeing it and apparently mouthing it too. She said, "Here mommy, I started it for you." Oh the temptations that lurk in the Maggiore household. Can't blame her with the brownie though - they are too good to resist.

Don't know where the missing saran wrap is - maybe in the tummy too!

The Great Wolf Lodge

Well, we did it! We took our family vacation from 2007 - only a few months into 2008. Our little family is big on vacations - we love them and look for every opportunity to steal a little time away from reality. Unfortunately 2007 had a few things going on and we weren't able to take a family vacation except to the Hospital, and we got a pretty cool souvineer. So, when Joe heard about a conference at the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, we knew it was our chance! We left Tues. about 3:00 and returned Wed. at 3:00. How's that for a 24 hour road trip. I woke up Tues. to a stomach bug, but was able to mentally ward it off since I wasn't going to miss this trip. For those of you that don't know about this place, it's a hotel(resort) with an indoor waterpark, wave pool included. Check out all the stuff it has in the background of our pictures. Erin had a blast, Anna loved the water and slept like there was noone else in the room, Mommy made it without "losing" it, and Daddy was very relaxed.

Daddy and His Favorite Girls!

Look at the massive treehouse and waterslides in the back.

Daddy and his beautiful daughters! (Don't you love the matching swimsuits!)

Erin got to go to storytime at night in her jammies!

Erin is always a sucker for oversized, dressed up characters. This is Wiley Wolf. Erin and I went on the Wolf Walk to learn about wolves while Daddy was at his conference.

Just one last picture to show the cool entrance. A couple times a day, this "comes alive" and the animals and trees start talking.

We are very thankful the Lord allowed us to take a mini-vacation and spend some quality time as a family - just the four of us. But, next time, we want all of you to join us. Can you say Marriage Conference '08! (the kiddies have to come too though - it's so cool!)

And in this corner....

We have Anna Maggiore weighing in at a whopping 13 lbs 8 oz!

Anna went to the Dr. today for her 6 month checkup and all is well. She is holding steady in the 10th percentile for weight and 25th for height. Petite but Powerful!!! We had a great visit with our regular Dr. who feels Anna is doing very well! Her calcium levels also came back perfect so we are clear for no more meds. Hallelujah - Let's eat prunes, drink milk and be happy!

Nathan's Blog

Hey guys - I know those of you that know Jessica have been following Nathan and Tricia's story via his blog. For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about - please click on the link below this post. This couple is on an extraordinary journey and you can only be encouraged by reading about it. I highly suggest reading the post Afraid of Heights from a couple of days ago, and also Safe and Sound which is a video of Nathan holding his micropreemie for the first time. He makes the comment, "When she first touched me, all her stats went up right to where they should be." It made me think, if we would let God "hold" us like that, all our stats would go up too! Just wanted to encourage ya'll to keep checking in on them, there's still a long road ahead of them and we can never pray too much!
The link - http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/

Lunch time Chat

Erin: Mommy, did you know there's a little bit of Jesus' blood in Anna's heart and a little bit in my heart?
Mommy: Did you say Jesus' blood?
Erin: Yes, but just a little bit.
Mommy: Did you talk about Jesus' blood at school today?
Erin: No, we talked about 'hogs' (groundhogs).

I suppose they did talk about the blood of Jesus today at school, and just bits and pieces got remembered. I'm thankful for those bits and pieces though. Every little seed counts!

6 Months Old

Today is Anna's 6 month old birthday! She is such a blessing to us and we couldn't imagine our family without her. We continue to be amazed at all the Lord has done in her life in the first six months and can't wait to experience all He will do in the next six months. She is our true joy, our little miracle

Anna Louise.

Playing her musical stage - she has to love to sing like her momma!
Always loving on that thumb!
Wow...I do have a big toe!

Catching Up!

The girls and I have had a few fun days that I haven't had time to blog about - so here are some pictures.

Fireman Cody to the rescue with his handy Dalmatian helper, Erin. We got to show Cody one of our favorite treats - The Jumpin' Monkey. It didn't take him long to get his stride and have a blast. Ryan and Emily were there too, but it's hard to catch Ryan for a picture - he was too busy having fun.
Okay, so get a crink in your neck checking this one out, but I don't have the energy to go in and flip it. Erin was thrilled that there was a Dalmatian costume - she is in the 101 Dalmatians phase.
Baba got Erin this cool ballet mat and bar and outfit for Christmas so she was showing her some moves. It also came with a cool follow along DVD. Who knows what's in Erin's future!
This is my best friend Jenny and her husband Mark, with Elena Kay(3) and Cassia(1). Yesterday was Cassia's first birthday party. These little girls are very special to us and will be my girl's life long friends.