Eric is 3 years old! We had a party last weekend to celebrate. All of Eric’s favorite people were there: Mommy, Daddy, Grandma G, Grandpa G, Grandma D, Grandpa D, Aunt Carol, Uncle Rob, Tyler, Aunt Bev, Uncle Mike, Michelle, Uncle Joe, Aunt Traci, Josh, Jake, Aunt Deborah, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Rob, Annabelle (4) and her mom, and Blake (2 almost 3) and his parents.
Eric was so excited all week for his birthday and his party. Mommy and I kept talking to him about it to get him in the spirit. he did not need much encouragement. He talked every day about his birthday party. He talked about cake and ice cream. He talked about presents. He talked about seeing Grandma and Grandpa D. He talked about his friends coming to his party. And on and on. When the day finally came, he was like a wild man running around the house all morning. He was so excited, he didn’t know what to do. The anticipation was at its peak. Finally, Grandma and Grandpa D showed up. they were early, since they were coming from out of town and staying overnight. Eric loved it! Eventually, more and more people started showing up. Eric loves the attention!
The most memorable moment for me was when his friend Annabelle showed up. He saw her get out of the car and start toward the house. He got very excited and started shouting, “My friend is here! My friend is here!” Mommy and I then realized that this was the first time he had any of his friends over to the house. He always saw his friends at their house or at music class. This was a very big event for him! After she got settled into the house with her mom, she asked if she could see Eric’s room. This was a reasonable request. Eric proudly escorted her down the hall and with a sweep of his arm and an excited tone in his voice he said, “Here’s my room!” He later showed his room to his friend Blake after he arrived with a little less ceremony but just as much pride and enthusiasm. The three of them ran around the house all afternoon chasing each other and playing with all of Eric’s toys. The very same toys that I had spent hours picking up and organizing very neatly in preparation for a house full of people (24 guests plus Mommy, Eric, and I) were now scattered all over the sun room and family room. These two rooms are more commonly known as Eric’s play rooms. He seems to have taken over the house with all of his toys.
The party was much fun for everyone! Eric opened presents. Lots of cool new summer clothes! Several cool new toys! Aunt Deborah bought him his very own digital camera. It sounds like no big deal, except that the camera is from Lego and looks like it made out of Legos and indeed you can attach Lego pieces to the camera on top and bottom. Very cool! Eric loves having his own camera. He likes to run around taking pictures of everything. Now he can use his own camera, and Mommy and I don’t need to worry about our good camera getting broken or lost. All of his presents were great! He loves all of them and plays with all of his new toys. He has been wearing new clothes every day this week and still has more with tags not yet removed. Mommy was especially happy about the new pajamas!
Time to eat! We had ordered sandwiches and pizza from a local restaurant. The three kids sat at Eric’s new table to eat pizza. Mommy and I bought Eric a new table with two matching chairs just his size. He really likes having “right size” furniture. The kids ate pizza very nicely, and then back to playing.
Cake and Ice Cream! We all gathered around the kitchen table to sing “Happy Birthday” to Eric, and he blew out his candles. Aunt Bev made a beautiful cake with Mickey Mouse on it! It was also quite delicious! Eric was very excited to see his cake. He really likes to watch the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cartoon on the Disney channel. Again the three kids sat very nicely, while they ate their birthday cake. Eric was wearing his “mouse ears”, and the other kids received their mouse ears, while they were eating. Very cute! After cake and ice cream, the kids each received a small box full of goodies: whistle, ball, stickers, candy, etc.
The party started to wind down a little. Most of the guests had a long drive and/or tired kids to get home. Grandma and Grandpa D and Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rob were staying overnight. After Eric finally settled down and went to sleep, we all played cards until we could no longer stay awake. It seems everyone was exhausted from the long day.
Eric had so much fun and behaved very well all day. Mommy and I are very proud of him!