Pumpkin patch

We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday with Caleb and Shelby. Eric had a very good time. Here are just a few of the many pictures I took.

Isn't he adorable!

I love these sweet expressions of joy!

They all rode in these little tractors pulled behind a large tractor. That was big fun.




Robert and I both commented on how big he looked to us in this picture. Not a little baby anymore....

Breakfast with the Elephants

Eric's favorite animals at the zoo are the elephants. I love taking him to the breakfasts where he can interact with an animal. We went on Saturday with Tabitha and Aaron. Abbie was also there with her daddy. We got to pet their trunks and pat their heads. Eric really enjoyed that. He has been talking about it ever since. We also walked around and saw other animals at the zoo.

So busy!

We have had such a crazy busy week that I have not even had time to blog about any of it. Last Saturday we went to a block party at a church near our neighborhood. Eric had the best time!!!!!! There was a police helicopter there, which was the first thing that caught Eric's eye. He was allowed to climb in and play with all the knobs and adjustments. He would have stayed in it all day, but other children occasionally wanted to see it. He would get down and do something else, but then run back as soon as they left. I think I see a pilot in our future... We got to watch it take off, which was pretty amazing (and extremely windy).
Monday we had exercise and then went to lunch with Abbie, Tracie, and Aubrie.
Tuesday we went to the park with Caleb and Shelby. I got a picture of the kids at the end of the day, probably should have done it first, as they were all hot and tired by the time we were ready to go.
Wednesday we had another play day. There was a really neat tunnel at this park, and Eric got to learn about his echo. So, he and Michael practiced by yelling a lot. Notice how sweaty they are.
Thursday we had exercise again. Then we played with Nate. His mother and I did a few educational things with the kids. We are planning to start doing that once a week.
Friday I started work at Gymboree where I am teaching a music class. (Eric is of course my favorite student) He was thrilled to be going back to Gymboree again and loved playing all the instruments.
I am going to be a little more careful in my scheduling in the future. We were a little hectic this week.

Fun at the Fair

We went to the White County Fair last night with Robert's parents, his brother Tim, and his uncle Warren. Eric had a fabulous time! Rides, games, animals, what more could you ask for?

He loved the fishing game!

Eric milked a cow! By far the coolest thing he did at the fair.

His favorite thing to do was ride the ponies. He did that twice.

He loved riding all the rides.

His grandparents were showing him a cricket. His Nana was letting it crawl on her arm so he could see it. When it fell to the ground, he immediately began to chase it so he could stomp on it. I was so proud. :) Here he is with his "squished" cricket.

Observant boy

Eric frequently learns things on his own, through his own observations. He was marching around the kitchen yesterday when he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the shine on the dishwasher door. He looked at the reflection as he went by, then suddenly stopped and said, "Hey! That is the wrong leg." He was marching sideways and noticed that as he lifted his left leg, the reflection was lifting the right leg. He stood for several minutes in front of the dishwasher testing out this new discovery.

Also on a sweet note, he was looking at the blog last night, and he saw the picture of the three of us and said, "Look, it's my family." That is the first time he has said that, and I thought it was precious.

So Tired!

Eric woke up this morning at 5:45. His eye was bothering him. I don't know if it was itchy because of allergies or if he had an eyelash in it. We couldn't see anything, although it was a little red. We went to exercise and came home for lunch. After we ate, he was just sitting on the couch staring off into space. It was still an hour and a half to 2 hours before his normal nap time, but he looked tired, so I asked him if he was ready to go to bed. He said, "No, it is not nap time", and then he flipped onto his side. I thought he had thrown himself onto the couch because he was mad that I suggested he needed a nap, but I walked over to look, and he had fallen asleep. He was so very, very tired, but he did wake up about an hour and 45 minutes earlier than usual this morning.

Teaching again

I started teaching the 3 year olds at church again last night. (This is the same group I taught all last year in the 2s.) It is a class of all boys. There are 6 that come regularly. We have a fun new curriculum, and the boys had a great time. We are covering Gen 1 right now, and I got little magnifying glasses for the boys to use. Eric and I collected some leaves and rocks before class, and the boys LOVED looking through the magnifying glasses at the items. (Caleb is sitting on Eric's right, and Jackson is on the other side of Caleb. Jackson is another of Eric's friends.) Eric is the youngest one in the class.