Our favorite time of year!

Clara is 17 months old!!!

Dear Family and Friends,
It's no secret that Joey and I LOVE fall. We love the cool, windy weather and the beautiful fall colors, and we have always loved Halloween. I find I turn a bit sentimental this time of the year. Even though the leaves are dying and falling from their branches, and the weather is turning gray and cloudy, I somehow find so much beauty in it. Anyway, we try to make the most of fall every year. I think I mentioned our family "Fall Fun Days" in last year's fall blog. "Fall Fun Days" are a tradition Joey and I have maintained since we were married, and it's even more fun now that we can share them with Clara. 

We spent our first official "Fall Fun Day" visiting a local orchard. It was a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed picking apples and choosing some pumpkins. Actually, Clara picked the apples and chose the pumpkins while daddy helped, and I took way too many pictures. Clara loved the tractor ride out to the apple orchard. It was a fun day.

                                   

We also recently visited the Mystic Aquarium. It is an amazing place and we have a family membership so we can go for free anytime we want. Clara loves the beluga whales and also enjoys running around the indoor section of the aquarium looking at the various fish tanks.  

Joey is back into busy church mode again. His chorister program really grew last year and he now has several rehearsals during the week for the kids. His choristers will join another group of choristers from Trinity on the Green, New Haven for an Evensong service this Sunday. Joey is trying something new this year by dividing the adult choirs into two choirs. He has added a new choir called Schola which is an auditioned choir. The choirs will alternate Sundays and the kids will join with the Schola choir to fill out the soprano section. Joey is also directing the hand bell choir. 

Joey is still serving as Artistic Director of Calvary Music School and maintains a piano/organ studio of 8 students through the music school as well as a private studio made up of 5 adult piano students and two high-school/college-age organ students. He is enjoying his teaching very much. Calvary Music School presented its first ever faculty recital last week. Joey and I performed on violin, piano and organ along with 6 other faculty members representing voice, piano, mandolin, cello, and trumpet. The music school is doing really well; this fall we have the highest student enrollments that the school has had. 

I am still serving on the board of directors of Calvary Music School. I am very happy to report that my violin studio continues to grow. A year ago I started with 3 students and I am now up to 11. I hope my studio will continue to get bigger. I've been getting a lot of calls and am trying my best to figure out a schedule that works for our family. So far one of us is always available to take care of Clara. I love teaching and I love my students. I think it's going to be a great year. I also continue to gig in the area. Last week Joey and I played a wedding one day and a funeral the next. In general we try to keep Saturdays open so that we have one day a week when neither of us has to work. It's good to be busy and back into a schedule.

Clara is now 17 months old and it seems her rate of development has suddenly sped up dramatically. She now has at least 10 words that she can pronounce very clearly. She tries very hard to pronounce new words. She can pronounce the first 5 letters of the alphabet and really likes trying to count. She is very sweet and always gives us hugs before she goes to bed at night. She no longer needs to be rocked to sleep. She loves to "help" whenever she can whether it's putting clothes in the dryer, picking tomatoes, vacuuming with her toy vacuum or stirring something in a pot. She is always curious and involved. She still loves to dance and will mimic my movements on the violin by moving her "bow arm" back and forth in the air as if she is playing. She also like to pluck the strings on my violin. Her hair is still extremely blond and curly. She has a very comical personality and loves to laugh and be silly. She still loves books and is sometimes happy to sit and "read" them on her own. She brings so much happiness to us and we feel so lucky to have her in our lives.

We are looking forward to some fun things next month. My good friend Megan and her 2 daughters ages 17 months and 3 years will be visiting us for a little less than a week. Megan is expecting her 3rd child in February! I met Megan when we roomed together at a music festival when we were in 9th grade, and we have been friends ever since. I am so excited that she is going to come visit us. It will be so much fun for Clara to get to play with her girls.

After Megan's visit my parents are flying up from MN. My mom and dad are giving me a very special gift for my birthday this year. They have rented a town home for all of us in Stowe, Vermont for 3 days. None of us has ever been to Vermont, but it is supposed to be absolutely beautiful in the fall. Joey and I are very excited about the trip.  My parents come up on a Thursday and then we will drive together to Vermont. It will be nice to get away for a while and hopefully we will get to see some incredible fall foliage. 

Finally, I would like to thank all of you who voted for Clara in the Gerber Baby Facebook competition. I really don't think anything will come of it, but it was a fun thing to do and we appreciate all of the support. The results will be posted on November 1st, but I believe the grand prize winner has already been contacted and, although many of our friends were nice enough to vote, I'm sure there is no way we had more votes than others who chose to go crazy promoting their child in the competition. The truth is, every child is special and beautiful and deserves a college scholarship. But, thank you again for your votes. It means a lot! 

We wish you all a beautiful fall. Stay tuned for our October post!

Joey, Erin and Clara