Daddy’s View

Birthdays are fun!  Eric’s cousin Jacob celebrated his 13th birthday this weekend.  Eric and I drove up to the birthday party and Jacob’s football game Saturday night.  Mommy stayed home, since she was not feeling well.  We stayed overnight at Uncle Joe’s house.

Timing is everything.  In this case a little off.  We all ate around 3:00pm…except Eric.  Eric does not usually eat until much later, so he was not hungry yet.  However, when it was time for cake and ice cream, for some reason, he was very hungry all of a sudden.  Big surprise, huh?  Aunt Cindy and I managed to get him to eat some grapes and potato chips later, but no real dinner for Eric.

After the birthday party, we all went to Jacob’s football game.  He is playing in the junior league for 12-14 year old boys.  It was a really good game.  Eric and I left just as the fourth quarter was starting.  It was well past Eric’s normal bedtime.  We found out the next morning that Jacob’s team won the game 27-20.  Eric was not happy with his new surroundings at bedtime.  We did not have a night light and he was in a new place that he had not slept before.  After a few minutes, he cried out loud.  He was frightened in the dark.  Daddy picked him up, turned on a closet light and let Eric sleep in bed.  He was so content to be lying next to Daddy in bed.  Eventually, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.  Eric and Daddy slept well until early morning.  Eric began to get restless and tossed and turned.  Daddy got a fist to the eye, a knee to the rib, and nearly rolled off the bed.  Eric never woke during all this.  He happily snoozed through it all.  When he finally did wake up, he was very excited to realize he was not in his crib, but he was in bed with Daddy.  Just to see the expression on Eric’s face, Daddy would endure the punches and kicks all over again any time.

We spent the morning playing with Uncle Joe, Aunt Traci, Josh, Jake, and Sport.  We played with a beach ball in the living room and played with “the claw”.

Eric slept almost 90 minutes on the car ride home.  He cried for Mommy the rest of the time.  With only 8 hours sleep overnight, his car nap was not nearly long enough.  We tried to take a nap later in the afternoon, but Eric was not interested.  Maybe he will go to bed early tonight.

Tomorrow starts his new music class.  He goes for 10 weeks every Monday morning to sing and dance with the teacher, the other kids, and the parents.  He really enjoyed the class he took during the summer.  He will be excited tomorrow to be there again.

We went for a walk around the block today after dinner.  We do this most nights when the weather permits.  Eric lately wants to get out of his stroller and push it.  We sometimes let him out when we get close to home.  He does not move very quickly when he pushes.  Mostly because he wants to stop every time he sees something different in the pavement…every three or four steps!  Most of our neighborhood does not have sidewalks, so we walk in the street.  Another reason to not let him out to push too much.

When we return from our walk, Mommy needs to run to the store for more milk.  Eric and I stay outside and play in the front yard.  He loves to pick up rocks from the landscaping and redistribute them to other parts of the landscaping.  We got out his big green ball and kicked it around for a while, too.

The church bells start ringing.  Eric mocks the sound in near perfect pitch.  He does this quite often when he hears sounds.  When we are walking, he often repeats the “woof woof” of the neighborhood dogs as we pass them.  When the music stops, the church bells chime eight times for 8 O’clock.  This was Daddy’s cue to go inside and get Eric his “ba ba” to wind down for bed time.

Oops…Daddy forgot that Mommy went to the store for milk, because there was none left in the refrigerator.  Now what to do?  Eric is excited about drinking his “ba ba”!  Daddy makes a quick decision to substitute water and juice in a sippy cup.  Whew!  It worked.  We settle in the living room chair to read a couple books, and Mommy is soon home with a new jug of milk…Our hero!

I updated Eric’s website today. 26 new photos and 1 new video.

Sunday Afternoon:

This was Eric’s 2nd trip outside of Indiana.  His 1st trip was to Michigan last year when Daddy had to go for training.  Mommy and Eric tagged along for the week.  It was the most fun I ever had on a business trip.

This trip was not quite as far to travel, but he is now more aware of his surroundings and the passing of time.  He is not exactly thrilled to be stuck in the car for more than 2 hours.  Eric’s Aunt Deborah rode in the back seat to keep him company.  This was a helpful distraction, although he did not want to take a nap.

Daddy and Aunt Cindy went to church Saturday afternoon while Mommy and Eric took a nap at the hotel.  We thought it was important for Eric to get at least a short nap before the reception.  He slept only about 35-40 minutes before Mommy had to get him up and dressed.  He was very sleepy through dinner and afterward.

Eric remained sleepy, but still had plenty of smiles for everyone at the party.  He really liked meeting his little cousins, Anthony and Mario.  After dinner we danced a little, but Eric was too tired to really get into the fun.  Mommy and Eric went back to the hotel around 10:00pm.  Daddy stayed at the party for a couple more hours until it was over.  Grandma and Grandpa gave Daddy and Aunt Cindy a ride back to the hotel.  Mommy and Eric were fast asleep.  We tip-toed in quietly.  Mommy woke briefly to say “good night”, but thankfully, we did not wake Eric.

Aunt Cindy stayed in the hotel room with Mommy, Daddy, and Eric.  Daddy and Aunt Cindy were celebrating our birthday, like we do every Labor Day weekend.  Traditionally, we go camping, but last year we spent the weekend in Carmel, and this year we spent the weekend in Algonquin.

This morning, we all gathered at a restaurant for breakfast.  Eric was thrilled to see everyone again – and more rested.  He was smiling and laughing with everyone.  The car ride back home today went very well.  Traffic was reasonable, and Eric did finally take a short nap for 30 minutes.  He was very excited to get out of the car at home and run around.  We made a brief stop in Merrillville to let him walk around, but it was still a long trip.  Eric ran round the front yard like a wild man!  Aunt Deborah left, and we continued playing until he tripped and skinned his knee on the sidewalk.  It was a minor scrape – Daddy washed it off for him, and we continued playing in the house.  With little sleep for Eric this weekend, Mommy and Daddy are hoping for an early bed time tonight.

Every day with Eric is an adventure!  This weekend certainly was, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

Saturday Morning:

Today, we hit the road.  We are driving to Illinois, north and west of Chicago, to Aunt Eileen and Uncle Geof’s anniversary party in Algonquin.  This will be the longest car trip that Eric has been on.  We have our fingers crossed.  He does pretty well on the 150-mile trip to Grandma and Grandpa D’s house, but this will be another 80 miles.  The distance is deceptive, since we have to travel through Chicago.  What normally should be a 3.5-4.0 hour trip is more likely to take closer to 5 hours travelling through Chicago.  With Eric along, we are planning on 6 hours.

We are really looking forward to the whole event.  Eric does not often get the chance to visit with his Great Aunt and Great Uncle.  He will be excited to meet his cousins.  The party should be a lot of fun.  Eric loves to dance whenever he hears music – TV shows, commercials, radio, ring tones.

 Eric’s Aunt Deborah will be travelling with us.  She is very excited about riding in the back seat with Eric.  I know Eric will have fun, too.  We are hoping he gets in a nap, though.

Today is my birthday.  Mommy and Eric came to my office to take me out for lunch.  We went to Zorba’s in Zionsville.  I really enjoyed seeing both of them during the day.  I wish every day could be like this!

Right now, Eric and I are eating cake and ice cream!  Mmmmmmm!

Another weekend gone…
I am constantly amazed at how Eric learns. Usually, he shows me that he learned something when I least expect it. Today, we were outside, and I was working in the driveway. Eric was walking around and playing with the rocks outside the garage. I turned away for a few seconds, and when I looked back he was sitting in his car. Now, we have been trying to show him how to climb in and out of his car since he got it for his birthday. It has been a little awkward and difficult for him, as he kept trying to crawl in head first. Anyway, he has not played with the car for a few weeks, and then all of a sudden, he just climbs right in. No trouble at all. So, for the next hour or so, I continue working in the driveway (checking brakes on one of our cars), and Eric continues to get in and out of his little car over and over again, opening and closing the door as he does. When he gets in, he has the biggest grin on his face as he holds the steering wheel for just a few seconds before climbing out again.

Yesterday, we played in the house most of the day until it was time to go to Debbie’s parents house for my birthday dinner. While we were waiting for everyone else to arrive, Eric and I wandered into the backyard with his ball. Their backyard is up against a city park with several soccer fields, so there is plenty of room to run around. I headed down the slope to the fields, kicking the ball. Eric is hesitant to follow. He keeps looking back at the house and saying “ma ma”. He is at the stage where he does not want to be far from his mommy. He prefers both of us near him all the time. Anyway, he can’t resist the fun of playing ball any more, and he follows me onto the soccer field. When he catches up to me, he runs toward the ball and without slowing he kicks it as hard as he can, saying “kick!”. We have not been teaching him the word “kick”, but I was saying it while I kicked the ball out to the field. He also has never kicked a ball like that before. He usually picks it up to try and throw it. He learns fast! We kicked the ball all over the field and across the next field. Eric got very excited when I would kick it real high and far. He took off running after it, so he could kick it next. He is running very fast lately. I think it might be his new shoes 🙂

Today was the motorcycle race at the speedway. As with any race at the speedway, the Air Force jets fly over our house on their way to the speedway for the opening ceremonies. This time, they flew over 4 times! The first three passes were low and we could see them. The final fly over was above the clouds but much louder. They must have been flying pretty fast. Anyway, after the first fly over, I asked Mommy to bring Eric outside, because I knew they would fly over again. When they did I pointed to the sky and said, “Look Eric. Look at the jets. Cool, huh?” On the final fly over, it was very loud for a long time. When I looked over at Eric, he was watching the sky looking for the planes. We could not see them, but he said, “Cooool!”

Every night when Eric goes to sleep, I think, “How could I possibly love this little boy any more than I already do?”, but every morning I wake up and I do. It is the greatest feeling.

Anyway, yesterday after dinner we were playing around the pool table. More specifically, we were playing Eric’s Music Playhouse CD, and we were dancing around the pool table. We sang and danced through all 30+ songs on the CD. It was a blast! Eric really loves to dance. He is learning some words to the songs and knows the different dances that go with each song. My favorite is when he makes the “Woo hoo!” sound of the train whistle during one song.

Another weekend gone. Weekends are my favorite time (no surprise), but not for the old reasons. The weekend is when I get a chance to spend a lot of time with Eric. During the week, I am home for 2 or 3 hours every evening before his bedtime. We spend some of this time eating dinner, an occasional walk around the block, and winding down for “nite nite”. But on the weekends we spend time watching Barney on TV, playing outside, trips to the store, swinging in the back yard, blowing bubbles on the front porch, and so on. This is real quality time for me. I cherish these moments more than anything.

This weekend we spent Saturday afternoon over at our condo changing locks and cleaning up. Just Eric and me. (We have new tenants moving in tomorrow.)

Sunday brought a trip to the mall for new shoes. Eric outgrew his first pair of shoes. His foot is now a 6W. There was a sale, so Mommy bought 2 pair – brown shoes for dressing up and running shoes for everyday play. He really likes his new shoes! Unfortunately, we realized this evening that one pair is the wrong size, so Mommy will return to the store tomorrow and exchange them for the correct size.

While we were walking at the mall (it is an outdoor mall near our house), Eric counted “1, 2, 3” all by himself. Mommy and I were playing a game, and every time we picked him up to swing him forward, we counted to 3 first, and we all said “weee!”. Soon, Eric was counting for us whenever he was ready to swing.

After all that shopping, I offered to treat for ice cream. When we got to the store, we decided we were all hungry and ordered lunch instead. Eric’s meal was served on a frisbee, so he now has a new toy! We served up ice cream at home later in the evening before bedtime. Eric loves to have ice cream with Daddy!

Tomorrow is Monday. I can hardly wait for next weekend!

Welcome to my blog. I hope that I will be able to inform and entertain you through stories, photos, videos, observations, and more of and about my son, Eric.

Eric is the first child for my wife, Debbie, and me.  He is (in our opinion) the cutest, most adorable, and lovable little boy ever.  He was born in May 2008.  This was the happiest moment of my life.  God has blessed us with a beautiful son.

There is a cliche that everyone has heard parents say “They grow up so fast!” and they really do. When we brought Eric home from the hospital he weighed less than 8 pounds and could be held in one hand. Now, less than 16 months later, he is 34″ tall and weighs more than 24 pounds. For those keeping score, he is 99th percentile in height for boys his age and 50th percentile in weight…tall and skinny. He is walking, running, climbing, talking (just words, no sentences), dancing, singing (humming), playing ball, feeding himself…

My wife and I both agree that if we had known how much joy raising a child could bring, we would have started sooner.

Anyway, this is the start of my blog. I am new to this format. For a nerd, I am surprisingly unaware of most internet trends. Does a facebook have faces in a book? I thought a twitter was a high frequency speaker…but isn’t it spelled tweeter? Oh well, I finally started a blog. I know, I know, blogs are last year’s internet trend. Maybe I will get on facebook and twitter next year after the next trend is already started. At least I had my own domain and website 10 years ago. Of course the website hasn’t changed much in those 10 years, except the addition of Eric’s web page to showcase his photos and videos.
That’s all for now. I don’t know how often I will add to this blog. That will depend mostly on my spare time, of which I have very little lately. I will try to make time and be somewhat consistent for those following.

-Robert