August was awake at 7. He walked out of the room wheel Carly was skying with Cassie and Vivi, so they got to see his wake up. A lot of drawing and play dough in the morning. At one point he was in on the reading area with Carly, playing with Under the Sea with Me. He was really interested in the speaker, and Carly was telling him you can’t push it, but to put it to his ear. So he kept holding it against his head, but on his forehead, not at his ears.
Marketing works: He really likes Maisy’s First Colors, and on the back of it are pictures of Maisy’s ABC and Maisy’s First Numbers. So he started requesting them, particularly the numbers, saying “This” and getting frustrated that he couldn’t read it right now. Unfortunately, despite Maisy books being sold everywhere, they aren’t available digitally yet (really, how hard can this part be? But so few children’s books are available).
Carly headed down to a coffee shop at 10 to do some work. We mainly did art and watched ABC songs. I also confirmed his weight measurement, confirming he hasn’t gained weight in the last couple months, but he has grown 3cm and is above average there. His head is also slightly on the big side (75 percentile). So he’s slightly tall and skinny with a big head.
We were also drawing on the iPad, and he figured out how to add a photo of him and Carly and draw on it.
She got home a little after 12. He fell asleep about 12:40 and woke up at 1:18, as I was getting ready to head out to see some our with our friend Meg. He went back to sleep and slept until 2. Carly made spaghetti sauce with broccoli blended in it, and after August woke up they walked across the park to the art museum. He wanted to be carried all the time, so she made a game of letting him get close, then scooting backwards so he had to go farther. He was frustrated at first, but it turned into a game. They walked through the art museum (I forgot to ask what they looked at) and then went to the coffee shop. He didn’t want to go to the play area. They read some books that Carly had brought along.
Meanwhile, Meg and I took the bus down to Insadong, then walked up to the gallery area. Unfortunately, the gallery she wanted to go to (Hyundai) was closed. So we walked up to the MMCA and had a pleasant surprise, as it was free for the holiday. And their current shows were really impressive.
We saw the Suh Se Ok exhibit (http://www.mmca.go.kr/eng/exhibitions/exhibitionsDetail.do?menuId=1010000000&exhId=201511110000357), which was there last time we went, but I didn’t really see it as August wasn’t a fan of the black and white stuff. It is all blank and white ink on mulberry pieces. Not my favorite stuff either, but I was able to appreciate it more with an art teacher there.
Then downstairs, first to the third installation to be in the Air Box space. It is by Julius Popp (http://www.mmca.go.kr/eng/exhibitions/exhibitionsDetail.do?menuId=1010000000&exhId=201511090000355). Hard to explain. Basically, it is 4 levels of water reservoirs. Water is released very precisely, and forms a word as it falls through the air and then lands in the reservoir below. So as you watch, 3 words cascade down in front of you every few seconds. And the language changes every minute or so. We saw English, Korean, and Russian.
Next to the huge William Kentridge show (http://www.mmca.go.kr/eng/exhibitions/exhibitionsDetail.do?menuId=1010000000&exhId=201503310000237). He is a South African artist, and it was amazing. Really large pieces, many in charcoal, that were used for these elaborate animations.
Then through the Ahn Kyuchul exhibit (http://www.mmca.go.kr/eng/exhibitions/exhibitionsDetail.do?menuId=1010000000&exhId=201508210000319), with its goldfish in circles and the 64 black rooms. But this time I also got to see the white sphere. You walk into it, and it is completely white. But it has an amazing echo. So any stomping, or whistling, or talking in it really echoes.
Finally, the Philippe Garrel, a French filmmaker, exhibit (http://www.mmca.go.kr/eng/exhibitions/exhibitionsDetail.do?menuId=1010000000&exhId=201511040000351) was interesting, but would take a lot of time to fully appreciate.
We looked in the gift shop for awhile then walked towards City Hall. She was taking the subway to have dinner with friends. I went to Kyobo books, where I found the Matthew Van Fleet Alphabet book (like our Cat, Moo, and Dog books). Oh, and Meg gave me a book for August. Her copy of The Boy Who Bit Picasso. She had had her mom send it over from the states. I got to read it on the subway home and it is very cool.
I took the subway home. As I was waiting to transfer to the bus, Carly and August called me on Skype. He seems so much older now, as he can say hi to me on Skype.
Got home and showed him the books. We read Alphabet once, then had spaghetti for dinner. He just kept eating more and more mushrooms. Carly gave him a bath that went very well. He saw the bubbles, so he and I did bubbles for awhile. Then, he reached down to put a marker away, only to stand up and bump his head on the counter. He went to nurse with Carly and eventually fell asleep sometime after 8:30.
New words/phrases: amarillo, rojo, rosa
Art. Julius Popp sculpture:
William Kentridge:
Gift from Meg to August:
Evening. Eating mushrooms (bus-ot):
