Daddy’s View

Today, we had a tree removed from our front yard.  Eric enjoyed watching all of the activity.  We watched out in the back yard while they trimmed the trees in the back.  Eric giggled every time he saw a branch fall.  We watched from under our covered deck, so we did not worry about any branches falling on us.  This also meant that we could not see the man up in the tree who was doing all of the cutting, but we certainly could see the branches falling.  Apparently, he could hear us, though.  After a few branches and the subsequent laughing and giggling, we heard the man call down “This is the first time I heard anyone laugh at this!”  I think the worker was as entertained by Eric, as Eric was entertained by him.

We went back inside for a while…until they started trimming in the front yard.  This would be the main event!  The medium size tree in our front yard was mostly dead, so we decided to have it removed before mother nature could make other dangerous plans for it.  Eric, Mommy, and I watched as they cut many of the larger branches from the tree.  They used a crane, parked in our driveway, to lift the branches out to the street, where they ran them through a large wood chipper.  Eric was fascinated by all of the machinery!  Finally, the tree was cut loose at its base.  The workers had climbed into the tree and secured cables and straps to a couple of the higher limbs.  The tree did not fall over when it was cut.  It simply swung to the side a bit.  The crane lifted it high in the air over the other trees to set it down in the street for further reduction with the chain saws and wood chipper.  As the tree floated up and over the other trees, Eric asked Mommy, “why is it flying?”  This was truly an entertaining day for Eric.  ( I think that I enjoyed it nearly as much!)

Grandpa D went on his annual fishing trip with several other members of the family.  This is the weekend after Mother’s Day.  This is the weekend that Eric and I go to visit Grandma D.

We got up Saturday morning and ate breakfast.  I fixed pancakes as usual.  Just before breakfast, I asked Eric if he knew what we were doing after breakfast.  He did not know, of course.  So, I told him that we were going to Grandma D’s house.  He jumped and cheered all the way down the hallway.  He was very excited.  Mommy left before we did.  She went to spend the day with her mom.  Eric and I finished getting ready for our trip.  First, a bath.  Then get dressed.  Next pack the car.  We rode in my camaro.  Eric is so excited any time he gets to ride in “Daddy’s Purple Car”!  Eric climbed into the back seat and away we went.

The drive went well.  We stopped a few times for potty breaks.  We sang songs and talked about going to Grandma D’s house.  Eric was very excited!  We arrived just as Grandma was crossing to her mail box.  Eric and I waved as we passed to turn around and park at the curb.  Such good timing to arrive while Grandma was outside.

Eric and Grandma went into the house, while I unloaded the car.  It is surprising how much stuff you need for a one night trip when travelling with a 3-year-old.  It is even more surprising that it all fits in my camaro somehow.  Eric and Grandma played cars in the living room for a couple hours until time for dinner.  They also played on the piano for a while.  I enjoyed watching both of them having so much fun!  I let them play and only interrupted to remind Eric to use the potty.  I actually took a short nap while they were playing in the kitchen floor rolling a ball back and forth.  I was nearly exhausted from a long busy week and a few short night’s sleep.

Time for dinner!  Grandma picked out a cool restaurant for us.  We all rode over to the restaurant.  Eric insisted that he wanted pizza for dinner.  I assured him that the restaurant would have pizza.  We arrived and went inside.  Eric was amazed!  The restaurant was full of trains!  There were model trains running inside a display case.  There was a larger train for the kids to ride.  There was a train that delivered food right to our seats!  It was definitely going to be a fun dinner!

We finally peeled eric away from the display case with the model trains, so we could take our seats at the counter.  The waiter took our order, and while we waited for our food, we watched the train come around and deliver food to other families at the restaurant.  Eric thought this was pretty cool!  While we waited, we went over to the big train and bought a token to ride.

Just as we were about to get on the train, we heard the whistle that meant our food was on its way to our seats…via train.  We hurried and sat back in our seats to wait for the train to arrive.  When it stopped, the waiter promptly delivered our food from the train cars onto the counter in front of us.  This was very cool!  Eric thanked the waiter for his pizza, and the train left to return to its station in the kitchen.

We ate our dinner, and Eric was ready to ride the big train.  Eric held up his token and smiled!

He gave his token to the conductor and hurried over to the passenger car on the train.  He sat down and patiently waited for the ride to begin.  I cannot recall ever seeing a bigger smile on his face!  When the ride was over, Grandma bought another token, and this time Eric jumped into the engine!  So much fun!

We finally dragged Eric out of the restaurant to go home.  When we go tback to Grandma’s house, she fixed Eric a bowl of ice cream.  After ice cream, Grandpa called to check in with Grandma, so Eric took his turn to talk to Grandpa.  Eric related most of his day to Grandpa, mostly about the trains at the restaurant.  Grandma read him a couple of books before he went to sleep.  Of course, Eric had found the two longest books in the pile!  I don’t think it bothered Grandma, though.

For breakfast on Sunday, Grandma had made one of her famous breakfast cakes!  Eric’s favorite breakfast!  He ate his fair share, and Grandma boxed up the leftovers for us to bring home.  After breakfast, Grandma and Eric played while I packed up our stuff and loaded the car.  It was finally time to leave.  It is not easy to break up those two having so much fun, but we wanted to get home to Mommy before she missed us too much!

Happy Mother’s Day Grandma D!

This is the third blog post today.  Be sure to read the other two!

After all the excitement over the weekend,  Eric had yet another funfilled day planned for Tuesday!

Mommy and Eric went to the zoo with Eric’s friend Blake.  Hot, humid, so much fun!

Eric’s friend Annabelle invited him to a birthday party at Monkey Joe’s.  He was very excited.  He talked about it for days, even while anticipating his own party!  Since Mommy spent the day at the zoo, I was tasked with taking him to the birthday party.  My pleasure!  Mommy stayed home to relax.  The birthday party was a lot of fun!  Eric climbed on everything in sight and slid down everything else.  So much fun!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY Annabelle!

Happy Mother’s Day to Mommy and grandma D and Grandma G and all of the other mothers who love their children and take care of their families.  You are all appreciated.  One day each year will never be enough to show our gratitude and love for you!

Eric woke up the day after his birthday party.  He remembered that it was Mother’s Day.  He ran to me and asked me if we could give Mommy her card now.  He asked me this earlier in the week after we had been to the store and bought a card for Mommy.  Eric could hardly wait to give it to Mommy.  I had also picked up a small gift for Mommy and wrapped it up.  Eric proudly carried it out to the kitchen where everyone was gathering for breakfast.  He also carried a card for Grandma D.  Mommy and Grandma both loved their cards!  Mommy is very excited about her gift!

Aunt Cindy prepared breakfast for everyone.  This was such a relief for Mommy.  After the long preparation for the party and the party itself, Mommy was not looking forward to preparing breakfast for a full house.  Naturally, I would have volunteered to make pancakes, but Aunt Cindy had it covered with her delicious breakfast lasagna.  Grandma D had brought some of her famous “breakfast cake”, too.  We all ate well.

Eric and I treated Mommy to a wonderful day of pampering.  Mommy spent some time alone at the mall to do some window shopping and get a massage.  Mommy needs a little quiet time to herself now and again.  While Mommy was out and Eric took a nap, I cleaned up the house and put away all of the preparations from the birthday party the day before.  Later, we went out for dinner and ate at Shapiro’s.  It was a nice quiet dinner, and we all got what we wanted.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

 Eric loves his Mommy!

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!

Saturday morning, we woke up, ate breakfast, and I reminded Eric that we were going to Grandma and Grandpa D’s house.  Eric was very excited! He could not wait to leave.

 Maybe we should get dressed first, Eric.

Eric was very impatient for the entire trip.  We got an early start, so we did not hurry.  We stopped in Lafayette for lunch.  Eric was upset when we stopped, because we were not going to Grandma and Grandpa D’s house.  I assured him that we would be on our way as soon as we finished with lunch.  He was equally impatient at each of our potty stops along the way.  Each stop, I had to reassure him that we were going to Grandma and Grandpa D’s house.  When we arrived in Merrillville, Mommy wanted to stop at Kohl’s to use a coupon that expired that same day.  Eric was growing ever more impatient.  When would we ever get to Grandma and Grandpa D’s house?  He told everyone we met that he was going to Grandma and Grandpa D’s house.

We finally arrived!  Aunt Cindy came over for dinner.  Aunt Cindy and Grandma each had an Easter basket for Eric.  Eric got his hands on the candy right away.  He was also fascinated with the toys, especially the noisy ones.

Aunt Cindy, Grandma, Mommy, and me all helped Eric color Easter eggs.  It had been a long day, and Eric was very tired.  We were not sure if he would make through all of the eggs.

 “Can I go to bed now?”

Sunday morning after church, we had Grandma’s “breakfast cake” for breakfast.  Eric, Grandpa, and I all ate too much.  Later before dinner, we had an Easter egg hunt in the back yard.  Eric had much fun searching for and finding all of the eggs.

All in all, it was a very fun weekend.  Eric enjoyed himself immensely.  He is always happy to see his family.  Most everyone was there: Grandma D, Grandpa D, Aunt Bev, Uncle Mike, Michelle, Michael, Uncle Joe, Aunt Traci, Josh, Jake, Aunt Deborah, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Rob, Mommy, and Daddy.

Today was a good day that started off not so good.  Eric woke this morning from a bad dream and with a small fever.  I comforted him, got him into some dry underwear, and brought him to Mommy wo was still in bed.  Eric lay with Mommy for a while until they both got up and had some breakfast.  Eric had an appointment this afternoon to get his picture taken at the photography studio in the Meijer store.  The photographer was wonderful, and Eric was very cooperative.  We got some excellent photos.  The photographer said that Eric was the best 3-year-old that she ever worked with.  Eric will be 3 next Friday.  I will share some of these photos here next week.

Eric loves playing with his Lincoln Logs.  Cousin Tyler helped him build this…

Eric also loves to crawl through his tunnel…

A couple weeks ago, we opened up our camper to do some cleaning and organizing.  We were not expecting the RV inspector to show up, but he did.  He brought his clip board, a pencil, and a critical eye.

 Something does not look quite right here.  Why is this light not on?

Let’s just step inside for a minute to fill out this citation.  I’ll need your signature right here at the bottom… 

Eric is always a good helper.  He almost always wants to help.  After dinner, he helps me clear off the table.  On Saturday mornings, he sets the table before breakfast (pancakes of course).  Most nights, he can’t wait to get a beer out of the fridge to put in front of my place at the dinner table.  Sometimes Mommy has to put it back in the fridge, so it won’t be warm by the time we actually sit down to dinner.  Any time I have a project to do around the house, he likes to help.  He holds my screwdriver, wrench or hammer; or he holds his clipboard and pretends to take notes for me.  His favorite job is to help me measure.  He even has his own tape measure that Grandpa D. gave him after Christmas.  The tape measure belonged to Eric’s Great-Grandpa D.  It is small – just Eric’s size.

I have been working on our new camper this last week.  It had some maintenance problems that needed attention.  Eric was so excited to be outside while I was working.  On Friday evening, Eric and Mommy came outside to help me.  Eric was in charge of dispensing bolts when requested.  He also helped Mommy hold the light for me, since it got dark before I finished.  I really appreciated all of the help from Eric and Mommy.  It was also raining off and on, so I was grateful to be able to finish sooner with the help.  On Saturday morning, I continued working.  Eric played in the yard and periodically checked on me to see if I needed any help.  He asked lots of questions about what I was doing.  Finally, I was finished, except one last task.  Eric came up to the garage with me to get the necessary tools: screwdriver…check, adjustable wrench…check, another screwdriver…check.  We were going to remove the old license plate from the back of the camper.  Eric’s job was to carry the screwdriver and wrench out to the trailer and hold them until needed.  He did very well.  He learned the difference between a screwdriver and a wrench.  I think Handy Manny had a little to do with this lesson.

After the repairs were complete and the license plate removed, we were ready to open the camper.  This is Eric’s favorite part.  The first time we opened it last weekend, he could hardly wait until it was okay to go inside.  There was no difference this time.  As soon as he got the okay to go inside, he was in there.  He helped me clean out the cabinets.  He was in charge of tossing things in the trash can just outside the door.  He was very disappointed whenever I took something out of the cabinet and decided not to throw it away.  Today, we closed it back up.  Storms are forecast for tonight, and we will not be cleaning it during the week, so we thought it better to close it up.  Besides, we need to get some practice setting up and taking down before we go on our first camping trip.  Eric was sad to see the camper packed down, but we reassured him that it would be up again soon.

We made a trip to Covington, KY and Elizabethtown, KY this past weekend.  We met someone in Elizabethtown to trade Mommy’s car for a truck and camper.  But first, we went to Covington, which is just across the river from Cincinnatti, OH.  We wanted to take Eric to the nearby Newport Aquarium.  He had such a good time at the aquarium in South Carolina that we wanted him to see this aquarium.  He loves fishies.  We almost always go to the pet department when we are at Meijer, so Eric can look at the fish swimming in the tanks.

We spent a lot of time in the car over the weekend.  Friday, we drove to Covington.  Saturday, we drove to Elizabethtown and back to Covington.  Sunday, we drove home to Indiana.  We made frequent stops for potty breaks.  Eric is doing very well with his potty training.  Mommy and I are very proud of him.  He is still learning to go to the toilet before he goes in his pants, but we check with him frequently and take him to the toilet often.  He did especially well this weekend considering that we were using all manner of public toilets at gas stations, restaurants, the hotel…everything from clean to dirty, toilets to urinals.  He did especially well with the hotel toilet.

We bought a GPS a couple months ago.  Eric loves it!  He enjoys listening to the directions and reminding us to use the highlighted route.  “She said turn right, Daddy!  You turned left!  You were supposed to turn right!”  These comments followed my left turn into a gas station when the GPS map apparently thought that it was across the street from its actual location.  So now I have a GPS as a front seat navigator and Eric as a back seat driver.  I should never get lost!

When we arrived at Covington, we went directly to the aquarium in Newport, KY nearby.  We saw all kinds of fish and other animals.  We saw gold fish, blue fish, yellow fish, sharks, octopus, crabs, turtles, starfish, jelly fish, frogs, sting rays.  Eric got to touch a starfish.  I touched a shark, but Eric could not reach far enough to touch it.  He tried, but he had just as much fun just splashing the water.  We also saw birds, snakes, and seals.  Unfortunately, the penguin exhibit was closed for construction.  Apparently they were building more penguins 🙂  I was disappointed, because the penguins are my favorite animals at the aquarium.  Eric was having so much fun.  He was not always pleased when we decided it was time to move on to the next exhibit.

 Gotcha!  Eric had his face covered while pouting, but he peaked out just as I took this picture.

After the aquarium, we headed for the hotel to get checked in.  Finally in our room after wearing out the bell man with all of our luggage and stuff, we realized that we left Eric’s cup in the car.  We just arrived and already we had an adventure to go on.  So, Eric and I headed for the parking garage to get his cup.  This required taking the elevator down to the lobby, then switching elevators to go down into the garage.  Eric loves to push the elevator buttons.  We retrieved his cup and we returned to the room.  All is right in the world as long as Eric has his cup!  While we were in the garage, Mommy determined that the refrigerator in our room was not cold, so Eric and I headed back out to get ice.  Fortunately, the ice machine was on our floor.  Although, Eric would probably have preferred it on another floor just to ride the elevator.

All settled in with our drinks on ice, we all went out to explore the hotel.  This is a ritual that Mommy performs every time we stay at a hotel.  We look for the fitness center and the swimming pool or spa.  We found the pool on the 2nd floor along with the fitness center.  The pool looked very nice and there was a large hot tub.  On the main floor, we found the manager’s reception or “happy hour” in progress.  Mommy and I enjoyed a cocktail, while we all had some snacks: pretzels, popcorn, and nachos.  In the lobby area, we also found a large bird cage with a colorful parrot inside.  Eric liked this.  We talked to the parrot for several minutes.  Its name was Emmy, and it did not talk much.  We only managed to hear it say “hello” one time.

We ordered room service for dinner.  Eric had some very yummy spaghetti with meat sauce.  After dinner, we suited up to go to the swimming pool!  Eric was excited.  He had been talking about the swimming pool since he found out that we were going to a hotel.  He remembered the pool from the last hotel that we stayed in.  He did not go in the pool that time, because the water was too cold.  That was not a problem this time.  I think the water was a little warmer, but mostly I think Eric was too excited about it to not go in the pool this time.  It did not take long.  In fact Eric could not get in the pool fast enough.  We grabbed a “noodle” that was floating in the pool, and Eric floated all around.  I helped him float around the pool.  We made several laps back and forth, while Mommy watched.  After a while, we got out of the pool and into the hot tub.  The temperature was just warm, not too hot, and Eric loved the water jets.

After swimming, it was near bedtime.  We started winding down.  Eric is wearing his pajamas and very tired.  It was a long day!  We got him settled into bed for a bedtime story.  Bed…check.  Blanket…check.  Star pillow…check.  Panda…check.  Bear…oops!  “Where’s bear?”  “He stayed home to take care of your bed at home.  Isn’t that nice of him?”  “Yes.”  Whew!  that was a close one.

Good morning!  Let’s be quiet.  Mommy is still sleeping.  Okay.  Eric and I got dressed and went out to explore the hotel.  We took the elevator down to the first floor and checked out the breakfast buffet.  In the elevator, Eric was talking to the other riders.  He asked everyone which number they were going to and where their room was.  One man answered “45”.  Everyone chuckled a little, and I asked Eric if he saw a number 45 on the button panel.  To every one’s surprise, he pointed and said “right there, 4 and 5”.  Sure enough, the buttons for 4 and 5 were right next to each other.  You can’t outsmart this kid!  At the buffet, everything looked good!  They have pancakes, not waffles.  The man from the elevator ran into us again, and he said “Hi, 45!” to Eric.  We headed back up to our room to get Mommy.  Breakfast looked good, and we wanted to eat soon.  Mommy was awake when we got back to the room.  We all went for breakfast.  Mommy waited in line for an omelette, while Eric and I scooped up some eggs, bacon, ham, hashbrowns, and pancakes.

After breakfast, it was time to load up the car and start the trip to Elizabethtown.  Eric and Mommy waited for me in the lobby, while I brought the car around from the garage.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch.  Eric had Macaroni and Cheese.  We explained in the car that we would be giving Mommy’s car away and getting a new truck and a camper.  Eric misunderstood this a little.  He thought we were going camping.  We explained again that we were not going camping, but we were picking up a camper.  He continued asking all day when we were going camping.  Sometimes it is easier just to wait and see than to try and explain.

We met Uncle Joe’s sister-in-law, Tammi.  She brought her camper and truck.  We looked it over, popped up the camper to see the inside, and closed the transaction.  Finally, as we loaded our stuff into the truck, and Tammi and her daughter climbed into Mommy’s old car, I think Eric understood what was taking place.  We got packed up, filled the tank with gas, and hit the road back to Covington.  Eric really likes the new truck, and especially the camper.  He took no time at all to get comfortable!

We ordered pizza for dinner and time for bed.  Another long day!

Sunday, Eric had pancakes for breakfast again.  His favorite breakfast food!  Two days in a row!  For a second helping, we went back to the buffet for more pancakes.  The bird cage was uncovered, and the parrot was squawking.  Eric and the parrot squawked back and forth at each other for a couple minutes, while I scooped up more pancakes and syrup.  “squawk!”  “squawk!”  “squawk!”  “squawk!”

After breakfast, we went back down to the pool.  Mommy stayed in the room this time.  Eric and I floated around the pool a while and relaxed in the hot tub for a few minutes before heading back to the room.  In the elevator, Eric struck up more conversation with the other riders.  “See.  Number 4 and number 7.  What floor are you going to?”  “We are going to 8.”  “Okay that’s a good plan.  We are going to 4!”  As the doors opened to the 4th floor, “This is where we live.  You can still go to number 8!”  Back in the room, Mommy was almost ready to go.  We finished packing our stuff and called the bell man for a luggage cart.

With our luggage loaded up on the cart, we told the bell man that we were parked on G4.  So, we all headed that direction.  First, the elevator to the lobby.  Eric pushed the buttons for us.  Then, the next elevator takes us to the garage.  Again, eric pushed the buttons for us.  It is now raining, so Mommy, Eric, and the bell man waited under the canopy, while I pulled the truck over.

On the road again…first stop: IKEA.  Mommy really wanted to go to IKEA, so we stopped in Cincinnatti to do a little shopping.  Eric enjoyed the ride!

We’re home!  What a wonderful weekend!