Last month, I visited my two sisters, my brother-in-law, and of course, my nephew Elliott in Cincinnati. Once again, Elliott asked if he could guest blog, and I happily complied. –EEK (MPJ)
A few weeks ago, I was happily conked out in the car on the way to Musikgarten (a musical play on kindergarten). When we arrived, I groggily opened my eyes and saw Uncle Eric sitting next to me. (MPK)
It seems like every time he visits, he magically appears in the car while I’m taking a nap. Even though I’m already three years old, I still have a ways to go before I’m a bitter, cynical adolescent, so I was thrilled to see him, and I gave him a big hug. (MPM)
Uncle was wearing his Dodgers hat, so I broke out my own hat as well, and showed him that the L.A. blood still runs strong in this Midwestern boy. He also brought me a toy forklift and one of his Transformers, which he had kept stashed away in his closet for years. I don’t know what a grown man was doing with a box of childhood toys in his closet. He kept mumbling something about them being worth something on eBay someday, but I wasn’t buying it. In any case, he said he was even more happy to let me have them, and I can’t say I disagree. (MPO)
Uncle Eric is always teaching me critical skills necessary for surviving in this world. This time, he showed me how to psych people out when they’re about to give you a five and how to express satisfaction after a tasty meal (“Mmm, mmm, mmm!”). In return, I taught him how to express emotion on command. (MPQ)
In addition to these life lessons, we also spent a lot of time playing at home and in the park. (MPS)
I had fun playing with Uncle, but he seemed to sleep a lot on this trip. I told Mommy that Uncle is getting old. [True story! –EEK] She claimed that he was working a lot, which might have been true, but he is getting old. (MPU)
While we were at the park playing, Uncle had to take a call. He spent almost an hour on the phone, and he looked frustrated and haggard afterwards. So I asked him if he would carry me, and I gave him a big hug, and he had a big smile on his face afterwards. Adults are so easy. (MPV)
As always, food played a major role on our trip. Aunt Jessica made delicious muffins and cupcakes in cones, and I ate a few dozens of those. Daddy and Uncle Eric snuck out one evening for wings and beer. I wanted to go too, but Mommy somehow didn’t think it appropriate for me to drink beer with them. Uncle agreed, saying I’d have to wait until I was at least five. To make up for this, Uncle made us Polish hunter’s stew out of the myriad of pork products he had acquired from Chicago. Mmm, mmm, mmm! (MPW)