Bharathanatyam Arangetram

Yesterday Eric and I attended a bharathanatyam arangetram for a former student's mother and sister. The dance performance was held in the auditorium at Santa Clara High School and the first two hours consisted of an introduction and various dance numbers. While food was passed out to attendees at intermission I decided not to push my luck and chose to get Eric home in time for dinner, a bath and bedtime. I'm not sure how much longer the event lasted, but I was happy to have some time to relax (and watch Footloose!) after Eric was fast asleep. As you can see in the picture, their outfits were beautiful and the dancing was amazing, mesmerizing.

A phone with a cord

Ten years from now Eric is going to look at this photo and wonder what was going on with this phone...remember rotary phones? Needless to say, Eric had fun pushing the buttons, pulling cords and calling India.

Which one do I use?

A hairbrush. A toothbrush. Though this picture captures Eric using his hairbrush on his head, we also have about five other shots that show him combing his hair with his toothbrush and attempting to brush his teeth with his hairbrush. Poor kid, the cruel tricks his parents play on him...who gives a kid a hairbrush *and* a toothbrush?

Stop that baby!

The time has finally come -- we've put our baby gates up for good. After having much trouble initially, Jason finally installed a gate at the top of the stairs so that Eric can't go tumbling down. We also have a pressure-mounted gate at the bottom of the stairs so Eric can no longer make a maneuver like this one unless we're there to open the gate for him.

12 months ago

I couldn't resist posting the last picture with the dentist posting since I didn't have another one to go with it...and since I posted that one I had to post this one. (Seems like a line out of If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.) Even though we don't use this bouncer seat anymore, I couldn't resist sticking Eric in it for a few pictures. I thought it would be fun to see how much he's grown. And my, how he's grown!

First Visit to the Dentist

Unfortunately we don't have a picture to go with this (forgot my camera), but Eric attended his first ever visit with the dentist today. Upon our arrival, we were pleasantly surprised to find the dental office waiting room had a big play house in the center of it. There were also a couple open-palm hand chairs and a television screen playing some animated show. While I filled out paperwork, Eric crawled in and out of the house and swung the doors open and shut. Once we were ushered in to the Mickey Mouse examination room, we were surrounded by plush Mickey Mouse dolls hanging from the ceiling, Mickey Mouse posters lining the walls, a Mickey Mouse doormat covering the floor and even a television donning Mickey Mouse ears. After only a minute, a young, spectacled Dr. Lee entered the room and introduced himself. We chatted for a little while, he played pass the toothbrush with Eric and even gave Eric Mickey Mouse sunglasses to wear (which he quickly pulled off). He performed a lap-to-lap examination and cleaning -- where Eric straddled my lap facing me, laid back and then rested his head on Dr. Lee's lap. Without complaining or crying, Eric allowed Dr. Lee to look into his mouth, clean his teeth, floss and apply fluoride. He did try to grab the tools Dr. Lee used, but I managed to contain his arms. Afterwards, Dr. Lee gave us some tips on dental care, along with a toothbrush, and we were on our way.