Washington DC Opens The Mall For Dave E

Kaysville resident Dave E. made it very clear to Barack O. that the government shut down was in direct conflict with his upcoming vacation with daughter, Hailey. Appropriately, Dave E., a man not apt to put up with limitations, exerted his extraordinary mind powers towards Washington DC and demanded that the barriers come down. And this is how The Mall opened just hours before Dave and Hailey's arrival.
 The two most important people in America were able to enjoy a few days in our nation's capital without disappointment. Hailey savored the National History Museum most, while Dave's interests tended toward the art of some guy named Van-go. They both walked and biked to all the pertinent sites and only had to push down a few barriers/fences out of sheer rebellion.
 

Inadvertant Punishment

When I go school shopping for Tanner I mainly guess on the sizes because he doesn't come with me to the stores. Taking Tanner shopping with me would be like releasing a Tazmanian Devil into polite society. There would be trouble and ain't nobody got time for that! Instead I bring clothes and shoes home and we try them on in a controlled environment where he can be himself (*see characteristics of Tasmanian Devil). The other day I tried some new boots on Tanner, tied them nice and tight and then forgot about it. The next morning when I got him up for school, I pulled off his blanket and there were his feet, firmly encased in his knew clunky boots. My poor little cub slept with his shoes on and probably didn't even know it.

*interesting factoid from Wikipedia*
A TAZMANIAN DEVIL is characterized by its stocky build, pungent odor, extremely loud and disturbing speech, keen sense of smell and ferocity when feeding.It has an exceedingly strong bite for it's size. A Tazmanian devil can eat up to 40% of it's own weight in 30 minutes.SEE ALSO: Tanner E.

Need A Towel??

Bath time at the Erickson's is like going to an indoor water park except at a much, much smaller scale. After a soap scrub down Tanner is allowed to play with the "big cup". A bath without the "big cup" is like eating a meal without flavor or like taking a walk in the dark. Bathing is joyless unless a mess can be made. No big cup means No big splash. So I drape the entire bathroom with towels and let the boy have a little "pool time".

                                                video below:

The Sound Of Joy

 One of Tanner's classic characteristics is that he is considered "non-verbal". I find that word to be hilariously ironic since he has the loudest and most expressive "voice" I've ever heard! As many of you well know, Tanner is very verbal but cannot speak. He has different sounds depending on his moods. My favorite vocalization from him is a sound he makes when he is content and happy. The sound itself is discordant enough to drive a bystander insane, I mean literally INSANE! But since I associate this particular pitch with a boy who is comfortable and at ease I have grown to welcome it. I use his "ahhhhhhhhhh"..breath..."ahhhhhhhh"... breath...."ahhhhhhh" to gauge his whereabouts. When the sound stops then I know he is bored and on the move. Boredom is bad, "ahhhhhh" is good.