Erin is 11 months old!

Erin hugs her dolly, Miss Lucy.

Erin is playing with her toy piggy bank. I'm sure she'll take after daddy and be very frugal.

Erin plays in the leaves with her "fur-cousin," Rushford.

Wow, Erin is really growing up. She is starting to look more like a little girl and not so much like a baby anymore. Her hair is growing in and is almost long enough for a little pony tail on the top of her head. She loves music (especially when daddy plays the piano) and will even dance along with the tunes. She is on her way to walking; she's taken about 15 consecutive steps now. She can help with getting dressed and undressed now too, which makes it so much easier to get her ready. Erin really loves animals and will squeal in delight every time she sees one (especially her fur-brother, Carl). She is also saying dadada a lot and mama when she is tired and when she wakes up. She babbles a lot of "nonsense," which really does seem like she is trying to say complete sentences sometime.

We never knew how much we'd love our beautiful daughter. She is such a blessing in our lives.

Safety First

Daddy built this beautiful gate this week to keep Erin from falling down the spiral staircase. Before we had this, we just kept an ottoman there to keep her out. As hard as she trys, Erin can not open it (good work Jay)! He made it out of Red Oak to match the woodwork on the staircase. Erin is one lucky girl to have such a talented daddy (and Nicole is lucky to have such a wonderful husband).

Halloween Preview

Erin took some time out of her busy day playing to pose for some Halloween preview pictures. Isn't she the cutest butterfly ever!! (Thanks to Trish and Anna for letting her borrow this costume)


I don't have any idea how I managed to get her posing like this!

Erin gets excited as she catches a glimpse of Carl (her kitty).

Erin loves to play with her trick-or-treat basket she got from Grandpa Keith and Grandma Diane.

Erin trys to decide if she should keep climbing or go down and play with her basket.

mid-October Update

Life is good (but busy) at the Barker house. We are really enjoying the beautiful fall weather and the leaves are just stunning. Jay has his list of fall chores, which includes getting the deck stained before the snow comes. We celebrated Jay's big 3-0 and his first birthday as a daddy!

Erin is as cute as ever (I know that I'm biased!). I'm loving being a mommy, but being a work-outside-the-home mom is definitely tough. I am sorry that I haven't been updating once a week, like I originally had planned on doing. Here are some cute pictures from this weekend (I'm glad I had off today for Columbus Day, thank you Christopher!).

Erin just loved sitting in this great big pile of fall leaves. Look at that great big smile!

Erin is definitely teething again, as evidenced by her chewing on everything!

I finally got this close-up picture of her two front teeth.

Erin has been standing unassisted and taking a step once in a while. However, she prefers the security of walking along furniture or with her walker toy.

Here is daddy on his 30th birthday trying out his new waders and holding some of his door prizes from his friend's stag party that was on Saturday night. Everything he needs for a fun day of fishing: waders, tackle box, filet knife and BEER!

Erin is 10 months old!

Erin will be 10 months old tomorrow! We just can't believe how quickly she is growing up. A lot has happenend this month. She got her first teeth (the two middle ones on the bottom), she said her first real word, she took her first step (although she is not walking around yet), she started waving and clapping her hands. With mommy back at work, there aren't as many pictures of Erin this month. However, here are a couple cute ones that are new.




Erin loves to stand against the piano and play the keys. Maybe she end up playing the piano someday like daddy.

Erin absolutely LOVES her kitty Carl. She squeels in delight everytime she sees him. He is such a good kitty and will even let Erin touch him.

Erin went apple picking for the first time today. She loved to suck on the apple and use it as a teething ring.

Bye-Bye

As daddy was leaving for work tonight, he gave mommy kisses and then leaned over and gave Erin a kiss. Erin then looked at daddy and said "BYE-BYE" as she waved to him. Jay and I just looked at each other in delight. There was no mistaking that Erin clearly said "BYE-BYE." Erin said her first word with meaning! I'm sure this will help Jay to get through his long night in the ER. Erin has also been saying something that sounds like "Carl" (our cat). However, I read that "K" sounds are some of the last to be said by kids, so I'm not really sure if that is what she is saying. She totally adores Carl though, so I wouldn't be surprised. Plus, kitty was Jay's first word, so it would be her first attempt to follow in daddy's footsteps.

She took her first step today!

After we got home this evening Erin was playing and pulling herself up (like ususal). Erin seemed like she was standing really good, so I took her into the kitchen to show Jay. I helped her pull up and then let go of her hands. She stood by herself for what seemed like a long time (probably only about 10 seconds though) and then she took a step! She then did this again and actually took a couple steps. I started crying when I saw this, as I just can't believe that this amazing and perfect little girl is my baby. She is growing up too fast. We love her so much.