Labor Day Weekend! I took Friday off work, so I have a 4-day weekend. This is the weekend that Aunt Cindy and I celebrate our birthday.
Eric and I went shopping on Friday for a tricycle. Mommy and I talked and agreed that Eric is beyond ready for a tricycle. He needs something with pedals to ride around under his own power. We went to Wal-Mart first. We had looked at Meijer earlier in the week. Wal-Mart has the same model that we saw at Meijer, except that it was pink and lavender, instead of red and blue. I had hoped for more selection than this. It seems every store is selling the same tricycle. We walked from Wal-Mart over to Once Upon A Child, a secondhand store for infants and children. They had only one tricycle, and it was very old and in poor condition. It was time to pull all the stops and bring on the big guns. We headed for Toys-R-Us! They had a great selection of different tricycles. Unfortunately, Eric had had enough of shopping, and he was ready for a nap. Eric was too distracted by all of the other toys and gimmicks on the tricycles. He did not want to sit and ride on them. We went home. We will buy a tricycle another day.
When we got home, Eric took a nap, and then we played outside until dinner time. We played Eric’s new favorite game of croquet. Earlier in the week, we were playing outside when Eric said, let’s play croquet! I was caught a little off guard, since we had never talked about this game. Where did he learn about croquet? Mommy and I think that he must have seen it on one of his cartoons. He continued to ask to play croquet, so I finally went in the garage and dug out our croquet set. We hit the balls around the front yard for a while. I found a short handle from one of our paint rollers, and I replaced the handle on one of the mallets. Now, it is just the right size for Eric. And it is safer for Mommy and Daddy, since Eric does not always look before swinging the mallet. This shortens his reach to a safe distance.
We went shopping again on Saturday for a tricycle. This time, we went to Target, hoping to find a different selection of tricycles. No luck. Target has the same tricycle that we saw at Meijer, but for more money. We did find a reasonably priced helmet and bought it. Hmmm…what to do about a tricycle? Let’s try Toys-R-Us again. Eric is in a better mood today and not so close to nap time. First, we stop across the street from Target to drop off some old toys and clothes at the Goodwill store. As I am driving into the parking lot, I realize that Goodwill would be a good place to look for a tricycle. So, after we drop off the stuff in back, we parked out front and went into the store. We did not find any tricycles in the Goodwill store, but we did find a small bicycle with training wheels for $8! Eric liked it! He got on and rode back and forth in the store aisle while I helped him balance. I bought it, and we took it home. The horn on the handlebars was broken, so we stopped at Meijer on the way home to buy a new horn. The bike accessories are all the way in the back of the store. I found a bell and a horn. Eric decided that he liked the horn better, so I put the bell back, and we headed for the registers. Eric squeezed the horn all the way through the store. He had so much fun!
When we got home, we put Eric’s helmet on his head, and I adjusted the straps. I installed the new horn on the handlebars and adjusted the height of the bicycle seat. The height adjustment took several trials with Eric on and off the bicycle each time. When we finally had it adjusted just right, Eric was no longer interested in riding his new bike. So, we took off the helmet and played with his other toys outside for a while.
Later, while we were playing inside, Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rob arrived. Eric played with Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rob for a while, and then we went outside to play. Eric showed them his new bike and horn, but he was still not interested in riding it. Aunt Cindy drew on the sidewalk with chalks. Eric loves drawing with chalks on the sidewalk. Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rob both helped draw all over the sidewalk and driveway.
Aunt Carol, another Uncle Rob, Tyler, Grandma G, and Grandpa G all arrived in time for dinner. We are celebrating my birthday and Aunt Cindy’s birthday. Eric absolutely loves having so much family over to visit. He loves parties, and he loves his family! We had a lot of fun.
On Sunday, we went to downtown Indianapolis for the annual Rib Fest. We walked around, sampled some good food, and got free ice cream. Before we left, Aunt Cindy bought a tattoo for Eric. They looked over all the possible tattoos and decided on a baseball and bat with stars. Eric looked so cool, and he knew it!
We came home, Eric took a nap, we ate dinner, and then we went outside to play. Croquet, chalks, balls, etc. Eric decided that he wanted to try his bike. I put his helmet on, and he wanted to take it off. I convinced him that it was cool and Daddy has a helmet, too. He insisted on seeing my helmet, so I went back to the shed and dug out my bike helmet. When I came back around front, Eric was very excited to see my helmet. Now, he wanted to ride bikes with me. Where is your bike, Daddy? Go get your bike, Daddy! So, I went around to the shed again and got my bike out of the shed. I had to bring it out front and air up the tires. Soon, we were both riding our bikes up and down the driveway. Aunt Cindy helped Eric by pushing his bike and helping him work the pedals with his feet. Eric had a blast! He thought it was so cool to ride his bike just like Daddy. We continued to play until it started getting dark, and we had to come inside.
This morning (Monday) after breakfast, Aunt Cindy gave Eric a haircut. So cute!
