Adin's baby Erik

Sometimes when I'm lovin' on Adin, I tell him that even though he's not a baby anymore, he's still my baby. He usually says, "I'm not a baby. I'm a kid." A couple days ago he started pretending to be a baby, crying, laying in my lap. Then he started telling me he had a baby named Erik. Fortunately, he's said that when Erik's not around, I don't know that Erik would appreciate it. Today he wanted me to be his baby. So I finally decided to bring the baby doll out of toy storage. Erik never played with it, so we put it away. Adin enjoyed wrapping it in a towel and putting it down to sleep. I'm hoping this will give him a focus for his intense love for Erik.

Erik LOVES snow

We woke up yesterday to snow covering the ground, and falling in fat flakes. Erik went out with Joe and shoveled, then he played by himself and with the neighbors. Joe's mom came over to watch the kids so we could go to the MN Orchestra (thanks Lois!) and she and Erik worked really hard building a snow fort. [This picture doesn't really do it justice. It's melted some, and you can't really see the shape. Oh well.] Today he's been out there all day, as well, and enjoyed showing off the fort to the neighbors. Last spring, he told me that fall was his favorite season and winter was his second favorite. I scoffed inwardly, thinking, he'll have so much fun playing outside this summer he'll change his mind. Nope. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if winter bumps fall to the number 2 spot.

Another step

When I picked up the kids from daycare, Erik told me he learned how to read a new word, map. How do you spell it, I asked. M-A-P At home, he got out a crayon while I was making dinner and wrote out the word, then asked me if I could read it. I could! Knowing that he can write many letters, I showed him that now he can write M-A-P he could really write lots more words. We got through cap,lap, and nap before he lost interest. He wanted to write wagon. The G gave him trouble (kept writing e) and he got frustrated and wanted to stop.

Later on, Erik and Joe were talking about writing a play. Bert and Ernie could discuss what they would be for Halloween. Ernie would be a fire fighter. Someone suggested that Bert could be a police officer and I pointed out to Erik now that he could write C-A-P he could also write C-O-P.

These times when the kids are on the cusp of new developments are so exciting. They have so much potential!