Fourth Grade

Today was Erin's first day of FOURTH grade!  It feels like just yesterday she was getting walked to school for the first time for Kindergarten and now she's half done with elementary school!  We love Love LOVED the traditional school year summer - especially the part where there didn't need to have a bed time!  My girls are both night owls just like their parents and, although I keep Erica on a tight schedule so we don't mess things up during the day, Erin got to stay up at late as she wanted and go to bed whenever she wanted all summer.  Well, until about a month ago when we started reining the midnight to a more reasonable time in preparation for school.
 
This year is the first since Kindergarten that Erin is not in the same class as her BFF (Best Friend Forever), Brooklyn.  Last night when we were getting ready for bed I asked her if she was excited and she said she was more nervous because she wouldn't be with Brooklyn.  Oh, to be young again!  Luckily for them, Brooklyn's older sister got accepted this year to the charter school nearby which starts at the same time as our school does.  So, her mom drops her off on her way to drop off her sister at the charter and then the girls get to walk to school together. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  I never thought I'd find a reason for my night owl to get up early but that was it!  This  morning she hopped right out of bed, was ready to go before Brooklyn got here AND ate breakfast which she never does.  Tonight she asked if she can get up as early as she wants to and was ready for bed at 8:45.  On a dance night!  So crazy and so cute.  Here's to another year of loving school!

18 Months

Erica is officially 18 months old.  And no, we still haven't had our family pictures updated yet.  I suck...  She is tall and skinny - much to her sister's chagrin who got my height-challenged gene.  At her 18 month appointment she weighed 20.8 pounds and is 32 inches tall.  That is the 16th percentile for her weight and 60th for her height.  Her hair is long enough to put the top in all kinds of cute pig-tails and pony tails and our amazing nanny has figured out how to paint her nails while she sleeps.  She is just like her Daddy and big sister and does not like to eat breakfast.  We've figured out that if you just put "snacks" out - like cereal and pieces of waffles - she will graze on them and actually eat the equivalent of breakfast before it is lunch time.  She has started puckering up to give us kisses and will make the "mwah" sound when she throws kisses.  Thanks to nanny Kayla she can sign lots of things to tell us what she actually wants - more, please, grapes, milk, juice, help - but now we need to get her to say them with her mouth.  She can run and jump and open doors and climb up and down the stairs without having to sit down - holding onto a hand - which scares the shit out of me that she'll just try it on her own one and day take a nose-dive.  She is still my baby girl even if she doesn't look or act like much of a baby anymore.