Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Eric at Four

As of today, Eric is four years and one week old. I've spent much of those four years shaking my head, in utter amazement. He drives me crazy, cracks me up, and makes me proud, sometimes all within a span of a few minutes. I never know what to expect from him, and with this uncertainty comes a mixture of amusement and frustration. He keeps me busy, trying to make sure he hasn't broken something, whether it be my stuff or his arm, but he's not worried at all. I keep waiting for him to grow up a bit and let me relax, but then I think about the bigger picture. If he falls, he gets up and keeps going, with a smile on his face. That's better than I can say for myself some days, and I've got 33 years on him. (By the way, while he was running, just before this picture was taken, he fell. See what I mean?)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

blowing out candles

I have much to say about this very big day, but not right now. More to come . . .

on my birthday

On my birthday, we spent the afternoon with family and friends, celebrating Eric's 4th birthday. He doesn't yet have many friends of his own, so we decided to invite our friends and their kids. We ended up with 15 children, ranging in age from two to nine. More than I had originally imagined . . . I've heard somewhere that when considering who to invite to a party, the number of kids should match your child's age. Hmmm . . . The main events included a bike parade and face painting, and I think we met the needs of at least most of our guests!

Did I mention it was my birthday? Truth be told, it wasn't how I had originally envisioned spending the day. Maybe, for a brief moment or two, I would have preferred to talk to my friends without constant distraction. Really though, how lucky was I, to enjoy a beautiful afternoon (look at that blue sky!) with my family and good friends?

That evening, Brian was very kind and picked up some Indian take out while we watched Fraggle Rock with the kids. I even treated myself to a cider. (Because I'm trying to kick my soda habit, I went for alcohol instead. I then pictured myself cracking open a beer everytime I want a coke . . . I found the idea humorous.)

And, even better, he gave me the following morning off, to do some gardening. (This is what I originally envisioned.) Gotta love him. What a lovely birthday weekend.

Eric's new bike!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Sarah's Flowers

In terms of a subject, you can't really go wrong with flowers, can you? But still. Maybe being five years old and three feet tall has its advantages. You don't have a choice but to be close to the ground. And you don't have a choice but to look up. Both of these perspectives make interesting photos, don't you think? Stopping to smell the flowers (and to take many, many pictures of them) isn't something that you have to think about when you're five. You just do it. (By the way, there were A LOT of blurry ones, too. But, since I'm the one compiling them, I get to choose which ones I want to show off!)

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Praying Mantis

Brian took these pictures of a praying mantis while walking with the kids at the Historic Occoneechee Speedway trail. They walked while I ran, and when I finished Eric eagerly showed me where they saw it, but unfortunately, it had moved on.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

a matter of time

There may be little evidence of it here, but I am blogging. The blogs just happen to be for my explorations in literacy course and include topics like "my thoughts on transactional/reader response theory" and "what I plan to do for my next lesson". (I'd rather be writing about what fun we're having at home, especially after it finally rained. It felt like a big moment and we had a good wet time, as you can see!) As most of you know, I started this coursework with reservation, and although I still have many unanswered questions, I'm enjoying thinking about the process of reading, and the teaching of it.

As for this blog, I'll do my best to at least post some photos here soon . . .