Goodbye to My First Baby

At around 4:30pm, the vet gave my Roo cat an injection so that she could rest forever. I took her along with her "fuzzy dog", who was a friend to her when she was younger, and her rag rug cat bed, which provided her comfort from drafts in her old age, to the pet crematory. She will eventually be buried in the woods behind my parent's home which has welcomed our beloved pets for many years.

It is very hard to express how much she will always mean to me. I have lived more of my life with her than without her and it will be a difficult to adjust to her huge absence. Fin is my first child, Erin Roo will always be my first baby.


My Girls Together

The Year of the Giraffe

Happy New Year, everyone! Fin and I had a lovely Christmas at my parent's home. We are both fighting colds, but not anything that slowed us down. We received many thoughtful gifts and got to visit many of our friends. As a huge treat, my sister and nephews made a surprise trip from Texas to be with us. Her husband could not come because of work, so we truly appreciate the sacrifice he made and hope he will be able to come next year with them.

I have been dreaming of this Christmas. In 2005, we all thought that surely it would be the last Christmas without my child. She even had a place set at the table and loads of presents. 2006 was a sorrowful Christmas. We even changed the venue so as not to sit in the family living room with such an obvious emptiness. Having Fin home to join us was a dream fulfilled and having Stacy, Sean, and Travis in to share it made it a Christmas for the books!

There are so many stories and tales, but pictures generally say it best.

Making cookies for Santa.


Watching t.v. with Rusty Cat... after tucking him in.


My mom had no idea about my sister and nephews coming. It was a complete surprise!


Putting out reindeer food with Sean.


When I told Fin to tell everyone goodnight on Christmas Eve, she decided to sit in this chair in the living room and hold court. Good grief.


She must have been good at some point. This was the sight awaiting her on Christmas morning.


Getting giraffe riding lessons from Stacy and Sean.


Playing with her slot cars with Travis.


Blowing bubbles with Gwen. Texas also relinquished Gwen and her parents, my dear friends Dana and Matt, so that they could be home in VA, too.


Showing off bath "dresses" in the tub.


As if Gwen was not enough, we continued the beautiful baby parade at a friends brunch on Sunday. Baby Beth, Miss Natalie, and a bunch of adults topped off the Christmas celebrations.



I can't wait for next year! Is it Christmas yet?

Fun in the Tub

Build-a-Puppy

Thank to a generous birthday gift from our friends W & E, Fin made her first trip to Build-A-Bear today. Lorna met us and was, as always, great at schlepping and herding.

There were tons of cute animals to chose, yet Fin fixated on the first animal she saw, a tan puppy with ears that stand up. She hugged some others, but ultimately the puppy was meant to be.

The stuffing she didn't quite get, but the WASHING was right up her alley! She was a pro at washing puppies with Nancy and we had a hard time getting her to finish and shop for clothes, which is what we wanted to do.



Then, the wardrobe selection began. She picked out a pair of jeans that she was content with and, after some debate, picked a tshirt that said, "It's all about me!"... which I thought was a horrible thing for a child to walk around carrying! She spotted a pink, glitter purse for puppy and I told her it was beautiful, but it didn't match the shirt. :) She found a pink, sequined tank top that looks suspiciously like one she has.

Now, you can debate nature vs. nurture all you want. All I know is it takes my daughter to matter of factly say, "Puppy needs shoes." as she proceeds to pick out matching, pink sequined sneakers.

Puppy in his snuggle carrier:


Driving Puppy in the ice cream truck:


Puppy chillin' at the crib:

She's Liking This Christmas Thing

Fin has a cold, but it doesn't seem to be stopping her holiday cheer. Yesterday, they had a pajama day in her class because they were going to watch "Polar Express" and drink cocoa. (Don't you wish you were 4?) We went pj shopping so she could get some traditional ones instead of the tight-fitting kiddie kind or the footie kind. She's already the youngest and one of the smallest, I didn't want her to look like a baby. I found some pretty black/white/green ones with a sparkly Christmas tree. They were fine with her, so we moved on... and then she saw some Cars pjs in the boy department. That was the end of that. I showed her some pretty pink ones with bunnies in snow gear. Nope. No interest. "Lightening McQueen! Mater!" So be it.

On the way to school:


Then, we went to have "formal" Santa pictures. We went to a local mall who has a very nice Santa. He took alot of time with her and tried to make her feel comfortable. She was feeling poorly and wasn't all that into it, as you can tell by her I-smell-something-funny look. At least she didn't kick him.


Finally, we went to see a Christmas light display. She didn't seem to care about the lights and she was very concerned that her Jimmie Car would hit one of them. But, she liked being in the car and out of her car seat. She sat on the middle console and I let her hold the steering wheel. That was the highlight for her.

Looking at lights: