Summer is on the way!

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy June! It's really starting to feel like summer now. Yesterday it was 82 degrees in Stonington and sunny. Joey and I are debating about when we should install the window air conditioners. Overall, May was a cloudy and rainy month, although we did have some lovely Spring-like days, including Memorial Day.

Sweet Pea!

Beautiful Spring Weather!

In some ways May was a difficult month. Shortly after I recovered from a bad cold and sinus infection, Joey developed a cough and fever and was diagnosed with pneumonia. He felt pretty miserable for about two weeks. Fortunately we are all healthy for the moment, and Clara only dealt with a few days of a runny nose.

A walk on the beach

Joey's busy church year is beginning to wind down. The choristers had their end of the year rehearsal and party last week and sang beautifully in church this morning during Calvary's "Youth Sunday" service. One of the young chorister gave a short speech in front of the congregation about how much she and the other kids appreciate and love Joey, and then all of the choristers presented him with a beautiful, hand painted (by the choristers) bowl and gift certificate. (See pictures below). What a special gift! The adult choir, which rehearses weekly, has finished for the summer. Joey will continue to plan and play services during the summer, and hymns and anthems will be sung by the volunteer summer choir which rehearses on Sunday mornings. Handbell choir has also ended for the summer.

Hand-painted by the Calvary choristers!

Joey and I both had students perform on two Calvary Music School solo recitals which were held on May 18th. They all did a great job, and it was nice to see their progress from the last recital. We will continue to teach many of our students privately during the summer months, since CMS is on break until fall semester. Joey will hold a choir camp for his young choristers sometime in August, and I am trying to develop some type of summer string program for CMS violin and cello students, which will most likely also take place in August.

Performing at the Stewardship Party!

On May 11th, Calvary hosted the annual Stewardship party in order to give thanks for the people who so generously give of themselves and their time to Calvary Church. Joey and I were asked to perform, along with one of our CMS voice teachers and an advanced CMS voice student. We played some really fun music, including a piece which is always a crowd pleaser entitled "Csardas" by Vittorio Monti. It was a really fun evening, and it was great to be able to perform for so many wonderful people in our church community.

Little Ballerina

Splits!

"Do Self!" Clara attempting to tie her ballet slippers

Something very exciting happened this month for Clara. She started her first ballet class! She and I are taking "Mommy and Me" ballet class through the Eastern Connecticut Ballet School. She had to be two years old to start the class, and she thinks it is the greatest thing in the world. Most of the little girls in the class are almost three or over three years old, but Clara is doing great and keeps up with all of them. She loves her teacher and follows instruction very well. She also loves her required dance wear which includes a pink leotard and skirt, pink tights and pink ballet slippers. She insists on wearing her ballet outfit whenever we are home and loves her ballet bag. She was so excited after her first day of class that she couldn't even take a nap later in the day. She talks about her ballet class a lot and really looks forward to going. We will definitely continue the class in the fall.

Very serious!

Leotard and Piano

Clara has developed another exciting skill this month. She can now play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" by ear at the piano. We did not teach her how to play the song. She just figured it out be ear one day and started playing . Now we hear it all of the time. She always wants to play the organ after church on Sundays, and her favorite instrument is the newly donated Calvary harpsichord which is housed in the front room of Calvary house. We dedicated the harpsichord in church recently, and Joey and I played Vivaldi, along with our friend and fellow CMS cello teacher Carly. Clara is certainly getting an education in keyboard instruments.

Loving the bunny at Mayfair

A couple of weeks ago Calvary Nursery School held their annual "Mayfair" fundraiser. It took place in our back yard after church one Sunday. There were games, music, food, a petting zoo and ponies. Clara had a wonderful time and thought is was pretty cool having ponies in "her" backyard. Clara also got to dance around the Maypole with other kids, which was very sweet.

 Clara and Mommy

Next week Joey, Clara and I will take a three-day trip to Kennebunkport, Maine to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary and Father's Day. We found a great two-night special at a beautiful resort on the water, and we are looking forward to going back to Maine. We have not been to Maine since our honeymoon. We are also planning a trip to Minnesota during two weeks in July. We will fly to Minnesota and spend time with our parents, some extended family and friends. The last time we were in Minnesota was before Clara was born, so many people are looking forward to finally meeting her in person. My parents will also visit for a short time in August to see us and to see my aunt and uncle from Virginia. It should be a great summer!

I took a lot of pictures this month, so I will use pictures to show some of the other fun things we had going on. (See below). We hope you have a wonderful June and enjoy the beginning of summer.
Till next post,
Joey, Erin and Clara

Happy Mother's Day 2013!

Thanks for the Mother's Day flowers Mom and Dad!

Arts and Crafts at Clara's desk!

A typical evening in our house: Daddy playing piano while Clara dances

Our little helper: Planting veggies and flowers

So much fun!

Flying a kite in Newport, RI

Clara LOVES her pony!

April Vacation!

Dear Family and Friends,

I find it difficult to write about what a nice month this has been for our family, when so many are suffering after the bombings at the Boston marathon and the explosion in Texas. I remember the first post I did following the horrible tragedy in Newtown and wanting so badly to write something about what had happened, but I couldn't find the words. I still can't find the words. We all deal with tragedy in different ways. I was very depressed after Newtown, and it took a lot of talking with close family and friends to get through it. I felt selfish for being so down when I was not the one who had lost a child. I couldn't even look at Clara without getting emotional for several weeks after the shooting. I'm sure you have all had different reactions to the recent horrible events, and I hope that you have been able to find comfort and healing. While we must go on with our lives, we will keep the victims of tragedy and their families in our thoughts and in our prayers. 

Pray for Peace

This post will cover our recent Spring Break vacation, and I will do a separate post about Clara's birthday. 

Joey, Clara and I took a week long Spring Break trip to Alexandria, VA this month. We broke the trip up into two days of driving both on the way there and on the way back. Clara did a great job traveling with us and was able to entertain herself pretty well during the long hours in the car. She also stuck to her sleep and nap schedule the entire trip, so she was rested and happy. We stayed with my Aunt Gay and Uncle Harry in their beautiful home and got to spend some really nice time with them and with my cousin Adam. Clara met Adam for the first time and is crazy about him. We visited the National Cathedral, the National Harbor and Children's Museum and toured old town Alexandria. We also visited my dear friend Megan and her family since they also live in Alexandria. On the way back we spent the night in New Jersey and visited the Adventure Aquarium in Camden. Clara loved it. Thank you Gay and Harry for treating us so well. We had a great time!

Here are the photos from our trip:

Getting ready for bed in the hotel

Fun at the mall carnival!

Daddy didn't feel well after this one.

Hanging out with cousin Adam!

The National Children's Museum

Fun with chalk

Shopping for groceries

Big Bird!

Clara and Mommy

Children's Museum

Anything strange about this picture???

Peep store at the National Harbor

Walking on the Pier at the National Harbor

Joey, Clara and Gay (GG)

The National Cathedral

Attending Evensong at the National Cathedral 

Fun at Megan's house

The Birthday Girls! All three have April birthdays.

Good times with Megan and family

Daddy and Clara in old town Alexandria

The Adventure Aquarium

Clara's new friend

Not so sure about this guy

In the shark tank

  

Surfing at the Aquarium!

Check out the blog post all about Clara's birthday below this one! She turned two years old on April 20th!

Wishing you all beautiful Spring weather, especially in MN where friends and family have been enjoying April snow storms!
Take care,
Joey, Erin and Clara

Clara is two years old!

"I am two!"

Dear Family and Friends,
It has been a week since Clara's 2nd birthday. I wrote the post about our trip to D.C. on Clara's birthday, and I was really excited about writing this post, but came down with a fever, cough and sinus cold the day after her birthday. This is the first day that I have felt like doing much of anything. The illness really wiped me out, and I had to miss a week of teaching. Anyway, I am feeling pretty good and am ready to write. 

April 20th, 2011

One year old!

2 years old!

Our sweet little Clara turned 2 years old on April 20th. I remember wondering last year on her first birthday what she would be like at the age of two. So, what is she like? She is sweet, loving, feisty, stubborn, independent, curious, intelligent, beautiful and full of life. She talks and sings a lot, and her true love right now is ballet and dance in general. She also has a love of books. I'm glad that Joey and I read to her from the very beginning, because she loves to be read to, and she is also very good at pronouncing words and recognizing letters and numbers. She lets us know when she is not happy, but she also has moments of sweet compassion and tender love which sometimes bring me to tears. She loves animals, and she loves to be outside. 

Hanging out pre-party!

We had a small birthday party for Clara at our house. Clara loves the "Hello Kitty" cartoon character, so we made that the theme of the party. I made the mistake of googling "Hello Kitty Birthday Party" and found out that people go crazy with the theme. We kept our party pretty simple, although I thought the cake was really cute and fun. Clara was happy the entire time, and when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her she had the biggest smile on her face. Joey made macaroni and cheese, and we had a fruit salad and a veggie tray. The weather was a little cool, so we kept the party inside and hung out in the big front room of the house. It was a good time. 

Chocolate on the inside. Yum!

Getting ready for the party

"Happy Birthday to You!"

The cake table

Make a Wish!

Cake hangover

Opening present

Clara and friend.

Awesome Clara sized umbrella.

And so another year of Clara's life has begun, and again I find myself wondering what my little girl will be like at 3 years of age. She is going to change a lot this year, especially in the language area. I find myself trying to slow down time as the baby side of her slips away and the little girl side comes more and more to the surface. But I guess in the eyes of a parent, your child is always your baby. I think twenty years from now I will still look at my little Clara and see her big blue eyes, soft pink lips and round baby face. 

I don't know how Joey and I were so lucky to be given such an incredible gift from God. Happy Birthday baby girl. We love you so much!!!

Clara's gift from Mommy and Daddy: A 1/32 size violin

It still looks big next to her!

Some post-party music