Author: Ryan/Dada

He was up a bit before 8, he and I getting up at the same time. After he nursed, we did some painting. At some point though he got a bit crazy and was trying to roll on the wet paint, and got upset when I stopped him. Carly took him for a bit. He then watched Puffin Rock, and I took a shower. Carly made Swedish pancakes, and August really liked it. He asked  “Why I like this?”

We pointed out the presents. He wanted to open them, although he hadn’t pointed them out before. He started pointing at one in particular. I tried to Skype with my parents, but they weren’t online. We opened one of the presents from Dee and Grant. It was a musical Wheels on the Bus floor puzzle. He played with it a bit, then decided he wanted to play with play dough. He and Carly did that. They first made large numbers, adding digit after digit, then made words. August first requested ‘aquarium’, so they made that, then I suggested ‘pirarucu’, which is a large freshwater fish that we see at the aquarium. Carly was joking around with August and asked August if he knew what to do with used wrapping paper. She then threw a piece at him, and he looked up at the same time and it bounced of his forehead. He didn’t complain, but he reached down, grabbed the ball of paper, and walked over and threw it in the garbage. Game over.

We skyped with my parents and we opened all the gifts from them and Dee and Grant: cool kaleidoscope things, shirts for me and Carly, a book about the symphony, and a Zoo on the Loose game from my parents, and a puppy dog and vet set and four musical floor puzzles from Dee and Grant. Carly asked what the name of the puppy was, and August named it Minkalinkamoojangli. Luckily, it is Minka for short.

After skyping, Carly took him in to try a nap. They came back out though. We played with some play dough, then made some cocoa, and put together nachos for lunch. August will only eat the dry chips still, refusing even the slightest bit of even cheese. He and I then read all three Berenstain Bear books together (new baby, double dare, get in a fight). During the last one, August wanted his sunglasses, so I got those out for him.

After that, he took a long nap from 1:30 to 3:20 when Carly woke him up. They nursed, and at first he was trying to go back to sleep. They used the vet kit to take care of the animals from the zoo game. Carly then got a popsicle out for him, and he sent Carly Skype messages from my iPad.

We all headed out for a walk at 4:30, him in the bike. We walked up the stream and to the spiderweb playground, at August’s request. As we went, he was touching the trees as we passed them. As we approached the playground he sang a “Spiderweb Playground” song.

At the playground he first went to the swings. Carly got on the other swing. He noted that we all were wearing glasses: “We both have glasses.” At one point he noticed that Carly just had her arms wrapped around the ropes of the swing, and wasn’t actually holding them. He warned her “You’re not holding on mama.” And at one point he kept requesting that I go and do the teeter totter. All by myself.

He was ready to head back and go to the pink building to get vegetables for stir fry, but as we walked across the playground he said “I guess I want the spiderweb first.” He climbed and sat on that for another 10 minutes, and said that his spider name is Sunon. Before we left he had to have one more shift on the swings.

We went to the pink building, and I took him to the bathrooms at the movie theater, where he used the urinal. Carly went on and did the shopping, and was done when we got back. He spent some time looking at the claw machines they just put in (the latest fad in Korea), then we headed home.

At home he watched Puffin Rock, and I put on Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 (the one featured in the book). August and I read part of the book, too. Carly made stir fry. August ate some, but not a lot. He was then typing on Carly’s computer. He had seen Carly do the ‘paste’ command, and now figured it out himself.

Carly went and took a shower, and he was hungry, so I got him a bowl of stir fry and he ate quite a bit. We read some Pooh, then on the toilet he unrolled a bunch of paper. I saved it, and had to hold it above my head as he was being crazy and trying to rip it apart more. Carly gave him a bath. He was not happy with the hair washing. After which he and I read Creepy Carrots, Hug Machine, Peppa Goes Swimming, and then the Gaston book a couple times. He really likes that book now. I lost him at one point as he went to Carly, but then came back, and he went and used the toilet a couple of times. Finally, we used the vet kit to take care of the polar bear.

Carly took him in to bed at 10:15, but they were back out at 10:35 for a couple minutes. I got ready for bed and they were back in bed telling Puffin Rock stories. First Carly told one (a vegetarian story), then I told our two standards (Oona fishing for Baba, and Baba trying to swim). We were really trying to get him to go to sleep without nursing, and he was close, but ultimately too upset. He fell asleep at 11:10.

Mixing paints: 

Looking at presents: 

Opening presents:

– https://youtu.be/WGj3xxuB2Nk

– 

– https://youtu.be/4cwuc9iMxhw

– Being a vet: 

– https://youtu.be/ff8N8hKiW9k

– 

Singing to the symphony book: Getting to the playground: 

Glasses on the swing: 

Bubble catching: 

Swedish pancakes and Puffin Rock

Big numbers

Rolling on the (dry) paint

Words

Kaleidoscope shapes

Opening puzzles with me

Hot cocoa

Reading Berenstain Bears

Swinging together

On the spiderweb while Mama spins

Presents: 

Afternoon walk: 

Evening: 

Photos. Big numbers: 

Rolling on the (now dry) paint: 

Words: 

Cocoa: 

Reading Berenstain Bears: 

Spiderweb playground. Swings with mama: 

Spiderweb: 

Home: 

He was up before 5:30. He decided he needed to use the big toilet, so no going back to sleep. Carly got up with him. He watched Puffin Rock, ate oatmeal (he asked carly to spill, but refused to use he spoon still), did play dough, some music and ShapeKit on the iPad, and they read Berenstain Bears. And lots of nursing.

When I got up, he wanted to paint. We did that together for awhile, and he was having me paint shapes. But then: “You paint a shape while I rest with mama…I locked it so dada can’t get in. He’s painting shapes.” They read more Berenstain Bears books, then he and I played with play dough. He kept going to ‘rest’ with Carly. He had to go to the bathroom, and sat on the toilet for a long time. I stood in the hall, playing with th Teuni Cannon, much to his amusement. Back in the parlor, we played for a few more minutes, but then he wanted to nurse. In the hallway, he briefly tried to argue that he wanted to take his bike out and ride it, but then he went in and fell asleep for a nap at about 9:35 to 11:22.

They nursed and did some reading, then he came out and I gave him some banana bread. He was talking nonstop, explaining where we should eat and that he didn’t want butter on it: “Let’s eat over here cuz banana bread has crumbs…no butter, no butter, no butter. Banana bread is yummy without butter.”

They nursed again, and then played the puffin game for a long time. He now pretends to swim, counts how many fish he catches, then offers them to one of us. Often they are ‘seagull fish’, which are apparently disgusting. I took over at one point, and refused to eat the seagull fish. He tricked me though: “It’s not seagull fish, it’s gummi worms. (I take the fish) Seagull gummi worms.” He was then resting in the pillows on the reading area, and hiding under pillow “Don’t see toes now.” I was getting his toes. I suggested we skype with my parents. He disagreed about the location: “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I want it out there, not in the parlor. No, it’s not a good idea.”

Carly was heading in to work for awhile. He said “I want a kiss before mama goes.” She left at 12:40. We skyped with my parents for an hour. We spent much of that time playing with play dough. August also spent much of it sitting in front of the camera so they could just see his pajamas. They would then pretend to tickle him. He sat on the reading area in the pillows, then was commenting on how sunny it was today and wanted his glasses, so we got those and he put them on and showed gramma and grampa, and I reminded him that they had gotten them for him this summer.

After Skype, we were getting ready to go to a park. I had asked which park, and he requested the tree play ground. As we got ready, he reminded me “You need to find your gloves.” I had earlier told him I needed to find my gloves, and he remembered.

We left for the park at 2:30. On the way down he wore both his gloves and his sunglasses. He climbed on the mushrooms, then wanted the shovel to “practice digging”. We made two sand castles using our bucket. The first one he stomped on, but the second he said “I’ll leave it there.” He then wanted the swings. Spent a lot of time on the swings. At first I asked if he wanted his sunglasses back on “No dada. If I am on the swings I do not wear my glasses.” But later he put them on, and I also got his hat on him, so he had the whole package.

He took one break from the swings and we wandered to the other side of the park. He went and grabbed the shovel and bucket and took them with us. He was worrying about them and didn’t want someone to take them. If I tried to set them down on the ground while we played, he went and picked them up and handed them back to me. He climbed on the wooden climbing structures a bit, then the catepillar, and finally the turtles.

Then back to the swings. This time, he wanted to do “swirling” – I figured out he wanted me to twist him up, like we’ve seen big kids do. Did that several times. Then he wanted to go crooked, so I was pushing him around at angles. Finally, before we left we did a few more sand castles and stomped on them. Carly had called, and I asked how much longer he wanted to play, and he said “A lot”. But a few minutes later he said he was getting cold and wanted the coffee shop.

So we packed up and headed out, and went to Caffe d’Ate nearby to warm up. He chose a mango yogurt smoothie. I would have gone with a usual strawberry or blueberry, but I told him he made a good choice as it was really good. We shared that, and he composed music in Notion while I did some reading.

After 20 minutes or so we were ready to head home. But as we walked through the park he wanted to go to the dinosaur playground. Went there and went on the swings for about 20 more minutes.

We got home at 5:30. They nursed. After which he came out and wanted “Breakfast foods”. He got sad that she wouldn’t give him more banana bread and lay on the floor for a few minutes at her feet in the kitchen. When I tried to talk to him he went into the parlor for a second, but came right back with the playdough. We played with playdough, and he then ate a ton of mushrooms after carly cooked them. At one point he went in the parlor and got a stamp for the playdough. He came back and asked “Why there’s no humans in the parlor? I handed him the last of the mushrooms in a bowl. He looked at them for a second, then said “Grab! You stealed it!”

Carly got out one of the healthy popsicles that she had made earlier. He ate that, making yummy noises the whole time. Then played with soap bubbles in bathroom, smearing bubbles all over the shower, toilet, etc. The nursed and read Berenstain Bears books, and opened a Christmas card from Glecy.

I gave him a bath. He didn’t want to go at first, and was instead “resting” in the pillows of the reading area. But then I said we could play with squirt cars and he said “Fine” and headed for the bath. He played for a long time, but didn’t want to be washed. I finally forced him to get washed.

He was first in bed by 7:45. He wanted the humidifier on, saying “I want the Huy-mood-afier on. It helps with my cough.” She got him to sleep, but just as she was about to get in the shower, he came back out. Carly tried to get him back to sleep. No luck. She came out and took a shower. He read books on the iPad with me: sang to the songbook, then Gaston a couple times, and then Hug Machine. They went back in, and he came back out again. We went in the reading area and read Winnie the Pooh: all of the House for Eeyore story, and the poem Sneazles. As I read the poem I tapped my feet to the rhythm. August was holding my feet as I tapped. Then, when the poem was over he simply walked off. I heard the door to the bedroom open, then shut. That was 9:40.

At 10:20 I heard the door open. He had never fallen asleep. We ended up laying on the floor by the door in the parlor. I sang him several songs. Then I started singing “Ladybug, ladybug”. He instantly got sad and told me to stop. I’d forgotten that at one point that song made him sad because the ladybug leaves. I changed songs, but Carly heard him crying and came out. He said he was ready to go back, and she took him in at 10:40 and they fell asleep.

 

Photos: 

Tree playground: 

Protecting the bucket:  

Popsicle: 

Holding my hand as he isn’t sleeping: 

Presents ready for Christmas: 

He was up just after 7:30. They nursed, then played with play dough. Called the cloud cookie cutter shape a “storm”. Randomly, he started singing “Big snail…is in charge. Big snail…he’s in charge” then ended with “hippopotamus”. He said that Carly’s tree looked like poop, and they also pretended that August was play dough. Carly made a worm, and they played with that: making it fat, exercising, getting skinny, etc. A bit later, August perched on the coffee table while they played with playdough, making hearts. Carly made him oatmeal for breakfast, and made a valiant effort to get him to use the spoon.

I had asked him earlier what he wanted to do today, and he said Children’s Grand Park. Which sounded good, as it was cold and when we had gone earlier in the week we hadn’t gone to the children’s museum. But as we were about to leave (the backpack was entirely ready to go, and he was dressed), he decided he wanted to ride his bike. So then the plan was to do that first.

I took him out, and it was snowing quite nicely. We rode around our side of the park, then he wanted to go over the bridge. That was where we started to actually see snow on the ground. On the other side he noticed the snow in the planters, and got off the bike to touch it. He saw a big sign about keeping your dog on a leash and cleaning up after it, so then he pretended to be a puppy, pooping on the ground. Back on the bike, we head out to the streets, and did a loop around Home Plus. He got off to walk, and liked crossing the streets. He didn’t want to go back to the park, just keep crossing the street, so we turned it into some practice: reminding him to look both ways, etc. Then I would let him walk the last lane or two on his own. We also used the very safe small crosswalk in the parking lot and let him go back and forth a couple times.

At 10:30 I took him back in, rather against his will. I was getting cold and hungry. He didn’t want to go in the apartment though, and we ended up spending well over a half hour playing in the hallway: he sat on the floor, then wandered around and found a little kids bike thing that he sat on a lot, a scooter he stood on, and a kid’s bike that played music.

I got him back to the apartment and made grilled cheese sandwiches for us: with tomato for Carly, and with salmon and teriyaki for me and August.

After lunch, Carly took him to Home Plus. He was recognized by women at checkout who said something about me having him in the backpack. And at the elevator he asked a girl why she had a stick thing. Carly also found out that shopping with the bike is a bit more difficult: he was fine at first, but near the end he wanted to be carried. With the stroller you can just stick him in it, but with the bike he can just get off and lay down on the floor or wander off.

Back at home he watched Puffin Rock, then played with Musyc. He and I then painted. He sort of helped Carly as she made enchiladas. I heated up the pasta with cheese and he ate a good amount of that. We then played with play dough. His water drink spilled at one point. Intentionally or by accident wasn’t clear, but it wasn’t a disaster. We also played with the piano.

About 4:30 he and I headed out again. We first went to 중평어린이공원, the park just west of the pink building. There were two girls on the swings. First he went and rode on the motorcycle thing. He was looking back over his shoulder watching the girls, saying “Wait a minute…” He wanted a turn on the swings, but they weren’t getting off. Eventually, I said we could go ask for a turn, and he wanted me to do the asking. But as we walked over they were getting off. He was wearing his gloves, and spent several minutes on the swing. He then got off, and saw the girls sliding on their feet on the playground surface that was getting icy. He tried that out and squealed with glee. Did that for several minutes, and then wanted another turn on the swings. They were back on the swing though, so we rode on the exercise machine that swings left and right. I then had the idea of going to the nearby playground in the apartment complex. Four swings, and always less busy. So he got back on the back and we headed over there.

There were three boys playing at the playground. August noted how quiet each place was. So we had our pick of swings. Spent the entirety of our time there on the swings. He sang a “I’m a donkey” song, then turned around on the swings and was facing the buildings. So then he did a “The building’s over there” chant. He had refused his hat up to this point (both today, and this winter) but was getting quite cold. Back on the bike, he let me put the hat half on him, then I was able to pull it down fully. Success! He wore it the whole way home. We were back a bit after 5:30.

He played with play dough, then he helped me make banana bread. Randomly, he quoted from Puffin Rock “I don’t know Oona, we’re meant to be getting the seaweed.” He was sneaking licks from the spatula as we mixed it, not able to wait until we were done.

Carly took him in for a bath, but they didn’t get around to that for awhile. They were nursing, then August was on the toilet peeing, then off, then back on to poop, etc. she came out to get her computer to look up why people have gas and why do flamingoes stand on one leg (his pressing questions of the moments). They came it for something, then went in for the actual bath.

I listened to bells of York Minster on a Facebook video – the first time they’ve had bells in three months. Good memories of York.

Pretty straight to bed after his bath, and he was asleep a little after 8.

Playdough: 

Snow: 

Hllway:

Afternoon walk and playgrounds:

Home. Sneaking a lick of banana bread dough: 

He was up a little after 6. He lay in bed with Carly for a few minutes, whispering so as not to wake me. I was of course awake, but it was still nice. They got up and Skyped with Cherie and everyone in Seattle. I got up after that. August wanted art on the iPad, but he quickly switched to Puffin Rock.

After one episode he and I went and played in the parlor. First with the big blocks, making letters and shapes arhat he would then get in the middle of and destroy, then with various old toys: the car magnet game, the Teuni Cannon, etc. For the stacking animal thing he said “You used to play with this when you were a little baby.” Which was curious because he usually denies having been a baby.

He nursed, then came back and we read part of an I Spy book and a Nursery Book that were under the desk. He then went and did some art with Carly, then used the toilet. He was climbing up to try and get the toilet paper, then wanted the tweezers. He was fine with the tweezers, playing with them on the Duplos, blocks, etc. but then I started reading Where the Sidewalk Ends. He came and tried to pinch my hair and I told him to stop, Carly came in and said we’d have to take the teeezers away, but then he went and actually pinched her. He didn’t like having the tweezers taken away, so was upset after that.

Around 10:30 or so I took him out on his bike. He was excited to go out and ride it. We rode it all over the park, and across the bridge and around on the other side. The new exhibit was open in the art museum and he wanted to go in. He was disappointed when we got inside and I said we had to park the bike. He wanted to go around the museum on it. He agreed though, and we explored the new show. He picked up on the smells, as some of the pieces had distinct smells to them. We then went downstairs to the children’s art area and I helped him climb on the metal structure this time.

We then headed outside again, and walked and rode around for awhile longer until Carly, who had gone to the bank, met us. August gave her a really nice welcome. We went to Home Plus and went down and did some shopping. We got some play dough, and August played more with the electric piano and tried out football. We got some kimbap and other stuff, then went up to the second floor and had a quick lunch before heading in to his class. Carly had gotten a peach yogurt during and August drank most of it – some now, and the rest later at home.

Class was about getting sick. There were syringes that you could use to shoot things out of. Any big forks that you used to pick up oranges and apples and put in a mouth. At the end of class, the teacher went and changed into a Santa outfit and came out. August had quite a strong reaction: finding it simultaneously funny and horrifying. I picked him up, then we watched as the other kids got presents. I set him down and he first sort of swiped the present away before taking it. After he came back out as the teacher and handed out the treats, August did a great job of saying thanking, and did a big bow, all on his own.

We headed home and ate a little more kimbap for lunch. August randomly said “I’m going to sneak up on Bernie. Got you Bernie! That’s not Bernie, it’s a seagull.” The last line is reminiscent of a line from the show that goes “That’s not an egret, it’s a seagull!” But I think August made up the rest.

He went to sleep and slept from 2:10 to 3:30 when Carly woke him up. They nursed for a long time and they watched videos from the summer. They then played the puffin game, where he now actually pretends to swim and catch fish underwater, counting how many he has, then gives them to her to eat. Usually they are “seagull fish”, which cause the other person to spit them out because of the bones and feathers and eyeballs.

We headed out to go to the stationary store up towards Nowon to get notecards for the job fair. It was raining, so we took the bus up. August and I went in for a minute, but he was uncomfortable, warm probably, but didn’t want to get out of the backpack. So I took him outside. We stood under a cover and ate crackers and watched people and cars while we waited for Carly.

She came out, and we walked home. Actually, we went to Pink Burger. As we walked, August made up a “We’re going to Pink Burger” song. Carly said something about how we were actually going to a vegetarian restaurant, and August picked up it was a joke, saying “Mama made a joke!”

We ate at Pink House Burger (as it is officially called). While they made our food, I held August most of the time so he could see what is going on. When the food came, he mainly ate french fries, at the end using a fork. As we left I suggested he tell the guys there that it was yummy. He called it out in English, then I suggested Korean. But he said it again in English: “It’s yummy! What you prefer English about?” Outside, we played on the spheres for a minute, me holding his hands while he jumped from ball to ball. He found a dried leaf and wanted to take it up with us. He asked what tree it was from, then decided “It’s from a different tree.”

We got home at 6:30. He and I did some painting: “Hey dada, paint a shape.” “Paint another quadrilateral while I sleep.” “Paint an icoseles square now while I sleep.”

Sitting on the toilet, he had a little conversation with himself: “What you don’t need the stool about?…If you need the stool, you’re a baby.”

Carly got the new play dough out and we played with that. The new play dough came with little cookie cutter shapes that worked really well. They then nursed and read some Dr. Seuss. He did some art on the iPad, then he and I did some more while Carly took a shower. He then moved to Notion and wrote some music, most happy about his “crazy notes”. I’ve noticed that he now varies his notes from high and low, making more melodic lines, whereas he used to push the same note over and over.

I gave him a bath, which lasted a long time. We played with the squirt cars at one point, and he said “Squirt cars are fun. Big toilets are fun.” I got his hair washed, at which point he wanted mama. He was asleep at 9:30.

 

Old toys: 

On the couch: 

Bubbles: 

Our outing. Climbing in the art museum: 

Foosball: 

Giving mama a shot: 

Santa reaction: 

Eating crackers while we wait for mama: 

Walking in the rain: 

Fries with a fork: 

Painting: 

Paint on his foot: 

Telling me to paint a shape: 

New play dough: 

Sleeping: 

He was up a little before 7. They played with the underwater puzzle and Carly blew bubbles for him. He then figured out how to blow bubbles himself and kept practicing. He called the bubble mixture “oil” and Carly told him it was soap. He said “Oil comes from cars.” They then Skyped with Cherie and continued to do bubbles. He saw Thatcher and Kayla, and was intrigued by Kayla’s glasses. So he wanted to try on Carly’s glasses and she let him. After Skype, he did a little play dough, then the Peter Rabbit puzzle with Carly while I showered. After my shower he did some art and Easy Music on my iPad. Carly made him some oatmeal, and he was impatient about it getting cool enough to eat, so they cooled it in the refrigerator and freezer.

He ate the oatmeal while sitting on the floor. He didn’t want to use the spoon himself. “No…I don’t want to drip…I like mama dripping.” They then sent Skype messages for Glecy’s birthday. He sang a “I’m a dog” song for her. Glecy called back and talked. She mentioned a birthday cake, and he really wanted to see it. When she and Carly started talking for a minute first, he kept asking “I want to see your birthday cake? Where’s your birthday cake?”

We headed out to APIS so Carly go get some work done and print some stuff out. He wanted the bike, and I told him we could ride his bike later, but we needed to do backpack now. He said “No. start with pedaling.” and gave a funny face.

We took the bus to APIS. We first got Carly’s shoes, then tried to take them up the street to get fixed. Along the way I suggested August and I play in the park for a few minutes, but he said no. We went with Carly, then headed back to APIS. There, he did some typing and practiced the stapler, then did some art. We went down to the bathroom and he used the urinal. We did some art using pens and crayons, and we took down the door decorations. When the bell rings, he does a little dance, and I got that on video once. He’s also working on his skipping, and skipped in the hall. Finally, he spent a few minutes pulling Carly’s chain of power strips around the room and singing.

We headed out. The plan was to go to Dream Forest, but it wasn’t clear when the rain was going to start falling. We walked to Dream Forest, and up to the playground as it was drizzling. A guy who August and I met once before (quite awhile ago) came up to us and started talking. He is autistic, and started by naming all 50 U.S. states. There was also a lot of talk about U.S. politics (he likes Obama and hates Trump) and African-Americans, and then he went into how he likes wrestling. I listened for a few minutes then told him I needed to get back to my family.

We sat under the cover thing at the playground (the one that is kind of odd, since it doesn’t have anything in it) and ate some lunch. August looked up and saw the stars/constellations painted on the roof of the structure and was intrigued by those and asking about them.

It was raining harder, so we decided to head home. We considered taking a taxi, but once we got out it wasn’t as hard as it seemed. We walked through the park and caught the 147 bus, then transferred to the 100 bus at Induk. We walked the 3 blocks home. A nice walk in the warm and rain, actually.

At home they nursed, but August bit Carly – the first time in a long time, and the hardest. He apologized, but there was a lot of tears on is part. Eventually they nursed again. He then watched some Puffin Rock, and at some point took his shirt off all on his own and was pretty happy about that. We then played with the music app Figure. The first time in a few weeks. Carly gave him a bath, which lasted for quite awhile, then we played with play dough. Carly asked if he needed to use the toilet, and mentioned that she’s as going to take a shower, so he could use my bathroom if he needed. He replied “I don’t want to go on any of the toilets.” While she was in the shower, he decided he wanted to see his bottom. He started turning around like a dog trying to catch its tail. Very amusing. I told him he could see it in the mirror, so we went in the bathroom and I picked him up so he could see it in the mirror.

At some point in there we also read Creepy Carrots. He did some art on the iPad, then pretty quickly wanted to go to bed and nurse. He was asleep at 7:30.

 

Trying on glasses: 

Writing “funny letters”. There’s a Q and N and L and others in there: 

Helping mama: 

Stapler: 

Art: 

Looking up at the constellations:

Walking in the rain: 

Playing with the umbrella: 

Resting in the backpack: 

He slept until 8:30. Wanted to type first before he nursed. After that they did some playdough and he did art on my iPad using the pencil, then helped with the vacuuming. He was hungry and said “I want breakfast foods.” He saw the pancakes that Carly had just made and said “Oh no. Is those hot ones?” After eating, he was walking around singing, partly at least about pancakes, including the line “If you eat them…” He went in on the toilet, then carried the garbage can in to the parlor again. When asked why he said “Just because? Just for fuz…just for muz…” They skyped for awhile, then I got markers out for him before I went and took a shower. When I came out, they were doing play dough and he was sticking the play dough letters on the end of the table and singing. He sang a “If you nurse…” song as he walked around. Played on the piano for a bit, then went in on the toilet. On the toilet he has talked about being a little kid before “Why yesterday you were a little kid about?” Back in the living room, he sat on my lap to play with and sing along to piano chords on my iPad.

Carly was later holding him upside down in the parlor. He kept saying “you’re meditating good!” Carly had been fixing the Christmas lights, and August pulled a chair into the parlor and wanted to get up on it like mama had. He got upset when Carly wouldn’t let him. They nursed, then he and I got ready to go to Children’s Grand Park. He wanted to ride his bike, but I talked him out of it. He had said ‘children’s museum’, so Carly asked him to say it a few times as she likes how he says it. She also got him to sign ‘more’.

He and I headed out at noon. He did art in the subway. At the station, he said “Escalators are amazing.” as we went up the escalator, and started singing a song. The first thing he wanted to do was to go check on the new playground they’re building. We went and looked at it – they have built a circular hill and started a play structure coming down part of it. He asked “Why they not working on it now about?” But then as we continued walking we saw three guys welding metal together and painting a structure. Watched them a few minutes, then sat nearby and ate some lunch. We heard a noise coming from over on our usual path and he said “I want to figure out the noise.” So we went and found it. It was a leaf blower. We watched the leaf blower and a guy raking.

We then discovered that the entire zoo is closed because of bird flu. We went to a seating area with some signs and a little library room. We’ve never hung out there before. There was a sign with a moon on it, then another with musical notes and clefs. I looked in the library thing, and he hit leaves around, acting like a leaf blower. August was playing around and looked in the bushes and said “I saw a cat.” I tried to get more lunch out, but he said “I don’t want lunch.” and started putting the food back in the container. He was done there, so we headed over to do some sidewalk chalk.

Walked ‘our path’. He found a fuzzy seed thing and took it apart, then a feather “What you find a feather about?…What bird it from? I want dada look it up.” “Dada run! Run!” So we ran down the hill, him still holding his feather. Played by the rectangle pond for awhile, and he dropped the feather in. Then started walking toward the sidewalk chalk area, but he got distracted by seed shells he spotted, dropped by a bird, then singing along to a song.

We finally got to sidewalk chalk. He got straight to it and did a mosaic of colors, putting down color then sweeping it with a broom, all on his own for 10 minutes or so. He had me help a little when he wanted to mix colors: he’d tell me to do some blue, then he’d do the yellow on top of it then sweep. When he was done, I had us both look at it. He asked what it looked likes and I suggested Christmas lights when you squint and he liked that. I suggested he sign his artwork, and suggested August, Zinn, or Zinnie. But he chose ‘ZZ’, which I sometimes call him, but we’ve never written it down. So he wrote ‘ZZ’ next to his art, and then followed it with a ‘?’

We then went up and – since it was so warm – changed him outside. We talked a lot about Pooh and the other characters – he wanted me to do the voices for some reason. Oh, and he was joking about picking leaves, and I joked if he picked I’d tickle. He liked this, and would go pick a leaf, then come over and actually grab my hand to make me tickle him. Finally, he wanted to know what it said on the nearby building. It says ‘forest open-air stage’. He needed help with ‘forest’ and ‘air’ but got the other two on his own.

We went up and washed our hands, then he wanted to walk the wooden ramp up to the conservatory second floor. Did that, and we sat up there and ate some more food. He then wanted to go downstairs to the place with fish. We went down the stairs, and I was ahead of him. He said “Hey, hey. I’m coming, I’m coming.” We spent some time looking at the fish, then went to the outside greenhouse area. He kept asking why there weren’t any fish in that pond out there.

We headed out, and changed him outside again. Got walking again, then spotted another bush that had orange berries on them. Played with them for awhile, getting the seeds out of them. Then said he needed to pee. He was asking about the soft little white bushes again. He was running and realized he was running in a triplet pattern. We went to the bathroom behind the coffee shop, then he spotted another bush with berries, black this time. He played with them for quite awhile, talking about how they birds eat them, but then saying there was “sickness” in the berries and the birds would get sick. I asked what it was, and he said “bird flu”, which we had talked about with the zoo being closed.

As we walked to the subway, I asked “What was your favorite part?” He immediately said “Touching a feather.” More art on the subway home. From Hagye to home he sang a song “I’m a cat”. I figured out the first couple notes were based on the dinging sound the subway makes before the doors close.

When we got home, he pushed the button. When Carly answered, he sang two versions of his “I’m a cat” song to her over the intercom. We were home about 5:30. They nursed, then he was upset about Carly putting her computer away. Carly took him out for an evening walk again. They rode around on the bike and went on the swings for a little while. Came back and ate some letter pasta, mushrooms, etc. for dinner. After his bath he kept saying “Go away from my puffling, NOW! Step away from my puffling, NOW!” Mama Puffin says that on Puffin Rock. Watched some Puffin Rock, and tried on his new gloves and mittens. Then took a long time in the bath with Carly. He had a popsicle, then was asleep at 8.

 

Photos. Play dough art: 

Upside down: 

Watching the leaf blower: 

Feather: 

Sweeping: 

Chalky hands: 

Chalk art and signature: 

Joking about tickling: 

Looking at banana trees: 

Trying to show a berry: 

Art: 

New mittens: 

He was up at 5:30. They skyped with Vivian, etc. for quite awhile and had pancakes for breakfast. Made playdough letters, and early on he was ready to go outside: “Get me ready to go outside.” But before that he was playing notes on the piano and asking what they were. He was actually playing notes, so we were looking up chords on the iPad. I was trying to figure out if I needed to pay money for an app, and tried to use GarageBand instead. We tried it out, but it didn’t. August kept asking “Why?” it didn’t work.

He and Carly went outside at 9:20, and were back a little after 10. They had taken out recycling, rose around on the bike a bit, and gone to the bakery for bread. He got a little cheese ball thing as a treat and shared it with me when he got back.

We played with play dough. He wanted me to make cubes, then he would squish them and print a litter in it. He was then walking around and made up a song. There were lines about spitting, and pooping, and something else, then a few lines about a fish eating. He was sitting on the toilet, and I started reading him the Cat on the Mat Is Flat book. We then went and read more in the reading area. He shared some noodles with me, then was pretending to have a flashlight: “The batteries are dead…there are new batteries. There is a button. It is lighting up dada.”

He was getting sleepy, and Carly put him down for a nap. He slept from 11:30 to 12:35 – his first kind of full nap during a weekday in quite some time (37 minutes on Friday was the next closest). They nursed, then he was just playing on the piano on his own, playing two notes at a time.

I took him out for a walk at 1:30, with him on the bike. As we got close to Madeul Stadium, he was holding his hand by his ear and saying “I don’t hear anything.” He then wanted to pedal on his own, so I was giving him a good push and he was trying pedal as far as he could. We went to the playground by the stadium and played here. Haven’t done that much recently. He found some shells in the sand, then we sat down and had some food to eat. He ate all of the pasta veggies that Carly had made. He then wanted to try the swing, with me pushing him. Started off slowly, and with short sessions, and he was nervous. He asked “What happens if you fall off?”, and I said the sand was nice and soft. He would swing for a few seconds on one, kind of jump off, then want the other one.

A guy came over and talked to me. Turned out he was a retired English teacher in a Korean high school. Each Monday he brings his grandson, who lacks some use of his left hand, to the center for disabilities across the street. Anyway, while I was talking to him, I realized August had been swinging for several minutes as I pushed him. He left, and August continued to swing, getting more and more confident. He started chanting “Up to the sky!” And a few times said ”Isn’t it pretty?” At some point he looked across and realized that the piano sculpture was a treble clef: “Why there a high clef about?” He also noticed that we were the only people playing in the park: “It’s empty…why just dada and Zinnie on the swings?”

One had one mild fall when he got off going to fast. I rubbed his back and he said “Why dada wipe the sand off about?” Wasn’t traumatized and wanted right back on the other one. He had a a bigger fall, in which he fell on his stomach and got some sand in his mouth. I told him to spit it out, and he did, and was fine. A total of three falls, and he didn’t get upset about any of them.

From there he went to the play structure and climbed up – and then back down –  the wooden wall with a rope on his own. He then wandered over to the exercise equipment and played with that. He wanted to climb up on the sit-up bench, and I helped him up. He sat at the top of that for awhile. Without me saying he was cute, he asked “Why are you cute about?” He then gave me his ‘cute’ look for a photo. Finally, he walked on the piano sculpture. He had a pretty hard fall on the black keys, but got up and didn’t fuss.

On the walk home he spotted a heron on the stream. Not one of the small ones, but one of the big ones that we don’t often see. He got off and hung on the fence and watched it for a few minutes.

At home they nursed, then went back out with Carly for a walk by the stream. After a bit I felt like going back out for a walk too, as the weather was so nice. I met them halfway between here and the stream. August wanted to get juice, so I walked to King Kong Juice with them, and August chose mango pineapple. We got it without sugar, but it was rather tart, and he didn’t drink much.They did more walking, and I headed home.

They were home a bit later. He watched Puffin Rock, then wanted to play on Carly’s computer. She was doing some work, so asked him what her students’ homework should be. He came up with a whole list: “Writing…painting…work…fix something…”

He typed on the iPad, then played with the tongs in the freezer, picking up a popsicle. He and Carly had made popsicles earlier in the day, and he’d already had two: one early in the day, and one as they went for their walk. Carly gave him a bath, then he and I did a bit of the Peter Rabbit puzzle, with Peter Rabbit, of course, then we read. He requested a Pooh poem, then that we read Opposites, which he basically read all on his own. He then wanted my iPad to draw. I had barely said no and he came and jumped on me saying “No, no, no, no” We took him to bed and he fell straight to sleep, by 8:40.

Park: 

Cube: 

Popsicle: 

“I don’t hear anything”: 

Bonk: 

Climbing up and down: 

Exercise equipment: 

Being cute: 

Treble clef sculpture: 

Watching the heron: 

Hanging off the side: 

Tongs: 

He got up at 7:20. I slept a bit longer, and he and Carly called Cherie, who was on the phone, in Centralia. After I got up, August wanted to watch Puffin Rock. I gave him his iPad and he went in on the reading area and said he was going to watch there. He said “It’s very soft and cozy.” I heated him some banana bread for breakfast. They nursed, and read Animal Tales. At some point he wanted me to leave, and said “Get out.” I told him to say it politely. He said “I want some alone time…I’m a fox.” I peeked back in to take a photo and he said “I told you to stay out.” He really is becoming a fox, as I’m pretty sure that is a Flynn line.

Just a little later he came out and came out and we read Creepy Carrots a couple times. He got up and was playing with the Pooh pillow, then wanted to write ‘Pooh’ on paper. So we went to the markers and paper and did some writing. We then did a little painting, in brown, before Carly got ready to go and took him shopping at Home Plus.

He was in the stroller and kind of zoned out for much of the shopping, but then wanted out at the end. They got back at 11:30. They had gotten freeze-dried strawberries and August wanted them. Sadly, they had disappeared at some point. They nursed and I took a shower, then August and I played with play dough while Carly made the veggie pancakes.

He then moved to the iPad and did art in Sketches. After awhile he started walking around and talking/reciting lines about Bernie in Puffin Rock: “Bernie is a hermit crab…” That went on for awhile. He needed to go to the bathroom and found that he could get on the toilet on his own with the stool. He went and got Carly so he could show her. While washing his hands, he heard Carly start the blender. He called “Stop!” Then took his stool out to help. He wanted a dry paper towel to wipe cinnamon she had dropped on the counter. He looked at what he had wiped and said “It’s a texture!” He then stood on the stool and helped with the dry ingredients.

When he’s been on the toilet he’s started to unravel the toilet paper. Carly solved this by putting the toilet paper up on the shelf. This time, he was knocking the garbage can over. I moved it across the bathroom. When he got off, he picked up the garbage can and took it to the parlor. He said “Why’d you move it in the parlor? Because you’re silly!”

He spent a lot of time doing art in Sketches on my iPad. Worked with some new fills and textures.

He ate some pancake before we went on a walk, and had chocolate on his face, which Carly pointed out. I joked about licking it off his face, and said that Carly could have some. She said “I don’t want your chocolate.” To which he replied “Why not?”

We headed out on a walk with him on the bike, leaving Carly at home. As I pushed him, he said  “Hey dada! Tell a Flynn story!” So I told a story about Flynn getting trapped on cliff and the other animals saved her. We finished the story as we got to the park. He sat on his bike in contemplation for a minute. I asked what he thought. He thought some more and said “That’s not how it goes!” I asked how so and he replied “The Flynn part.” Tough audience.

He had seen some bigger kids hanging by their hands from the rope ladder, and wanted to do that. So he went over and found that he could hold himself up off the ground. That was fun. From there he went over to the sand area. He found a feather and played with that, hiding it in the sand for me to find and sticking it and sticks in the sand. He was making little sand castles when I started eating a Larabar. He wanted some but said “I want dada to give you a piece cuz my hands are all sandy.”

He wanted inside the hexagonal place to play. Played in there for awhile, and he climbed over the edge – the first time he could climb back and forth from one side to the other. He wanted to build sand castles, but all we had were a couple sticks, so we built some small ones and did some writing. He said he wanted us to build a big sand castle. I said it was too cold, and he responded “Well we can try.” Hard to argue that one, so I used my foot and we made a big round castle. He started decorating it with all sorts of branches and leaves and grasses. He observed “I’m doing lots of decorations.” He wanted me to make the moat bigger, so I did, and he said “Thanks for not crushing my decorations.” Finally, after 10 or 15 minutes I was ready to go and asking if it was done. He seemed to suggest that the moat should have water in it, but of course the faucet was off. He then spit in it a few times, and seemed to think that was good enough.

As we got ready to leave, he climbed out and then slid down face first. Kind of an awkward landing, and he announced “I’m okay!” On the way back I suggested Mama Juice, and he said he didn’t want any. I listed the three juice places though and he wanted to try King Kong Juice. Looking at the menu, he first wanted tomato, but without thinking I suggested he wouldn’t like it (sounds disgusting to me). He settled on mango banana. I was then trying to convince him he should try tomato next tome.

We came home and they nursed, then he was acting crazy. He watched some Puffin Rock and we had nachos for dinner. He just wanted the chips though, so Carly made him pancakes for dinner. The two of them then did play dough. I gave him a bath, which went fine until it was time to wash his hair. He insisted that mama come do that, so we switched and she finished up.

They nursed, then Carly got him some strawberries, and he wanted them warm. He convinced us to put them in the microwave, but then quickly said “Stop!…I don’t want it hot!” We realized he didn’t want them to get too hot, which often happens when Carly is heating food for him.

Carly started cleaning, and he helped. He wiped and wiped and wiped all over the place. He spotted a squished ginkgo berry on a wheel of the bike and said “What the ginkgo berry gross about? What the ginkgo berry smell like poop about?” A bit later Carly asked “Are you sleepy?” He gave a funny look and said  “Not really.”

In the bedroom, we had the humidifier on, and he was letting it go in his mouth. He asked  “What it go in your mouth about?” I asked “What does it taste like?” “Carrots, I think.” He fell asleep right away at 7:30.

 

Home: 

Saturday’s photos. See Saturday’s post for Sunday’s photos. 

 

 

Art museum: 

Back home: 

Some art: 

Trying out the ergo: 

Coloring book: 

He really slept in today. My book group meeting started at 8:30, and he woke up sometime between then and 9. He slept over 13 hours last night. Right after he woke up he asked to go pee on the toilet.

He and a carly Skyped with her parents and then Glecy. Between, he came into the room I was in and got his water pen books out and played with those. He asked where the (dry erase) eraser was and tried to erase the ‘libros espanol’ sign, which had fallen of the basket. Carly made him oatmeal for breakfast and he ate all of that. Sometime after my meeting was over, he was singing rhythms and said “I want to count the notes of you walking.” So I stomped a beat and he sang a song. We started laundry, and August got upset when we wouldn’t let him push the buttons on the washing machine. Carly was getting ready to go outside for a walk. He really liked the idea, but was getting impatient she was taking so long, at one point calling from the doorway “Mama! Hurry up!” We all headed out at 11, with him on the bike.

All went fine at first, with Carly pushing. We went across the bridge over the stream, then down the other side. After a couple blocks worth though he started to take his feet off, drag them, etc. Then he was hanging off the side of the bike. Spent several minutes with him half on the ground and half on the bike, pretending to be a worm. Pretty funny, actually. So took awhile, with some starting and stopping, and carrying him, to get to Toys R Us. As we got close I was carrying him. And I asked if he wanted his hat. He politely said “No, thank you.” He was talking away and telling his own Puffin Rock stories. I caught “Careful! Don’t let the hedgehog eat the seaweed.” Which I’m pretty sure isn’t from an episode, and I asked and he said no and agreed that he’d made it up.

At Toys R Us he was back on the bike and Carly pushed him towards the back, looking for gloves. She forgot the play area is back there, and he got upset when she said we weren’t going in today. But he cheered up inside Toys R Us when there was a woman demoing this sand/play dough stuff. He played with that for 10 minutes or so while Carly checked out umbrella strollers. We played with him a bit too. We then headed home.

Some more stopping and playing on the ground along the way. At one point he wanted me to pick him up. I only pick him up if he says either “Please” or “I got my dada!” (Although he never actually says the latter, saying “I got my Zinnie” instead, leading to our debate about who says which line). Anyway, this time he didn’t want please, but said other things instead, like “Pick me up, pine needles.”

As we got closer to home I needed to set him down a couple times, which he didn’t like. He saw the gas station and asked what it was about. We walked back and watched a guy fill his car and then the car drive off. He noticed water on the ground and asked why it was there, and we figured out it was because there was a car wash. We got walking and he wanted to go back again once and got upset. Carly carried him, and we distracted him with the art museum, and going in to use the toilet there.

We got to the art museum, and Carly took him into the bathroom. Sadly, the new kid play area there has been delayed by a few weeks. We then went downstairs to the children’s art area, which is actually a children’s art area now, with interactive stuff. He tried climbing on the climbing structure thing, I pushed him and Carly around in a cart thing, he made a rectangle out of some balls on a light table, and then he and Carly climbed the stairs to the top of the hill area.

From there we headed home. I made a salmon sandwich and shared it with August, then cut him some strawberries. I had a headache, so went and lay down for awhile. He was watching Puffin Rock, and got excited when they said it was ‘August’. They then did play dough, and Carly was waiting for him to do some clean up when I came out. I suggested he do it robot style, so I helped a bit and he really got into clearing up. They nursed, and cuddled on the couch. We got the new markers out and did some writing and then watercolor painting. They nursed and read the Animal Tales book, after which he and I played on the piano.

He went and did some hiding in the parlor, and some looking out the window. It was now 5 and I asked if he wanted to go outside again at all, and he said he wanted to stay in. Carly went down to Megan’s apartment to do a Skype interview with a school in Kuwait. August and I read a bunch of new books while she was gone, including Creepy Carrots and Hug Machine (both a couple times) and Gaston. He jumped up and said “I have something for you. We can share it.” “What?” I asked “I don’t know.” He went and looked in the fridge, but didn’t decide on anything. We then did some painting, and while putting his paint brush in the water and watching the colors swirl around he said “It’s like oil.” I don’t know where this came from, and I asked Carly later, and she didn’t know. Actually, it may be from the children’s museum, and the new turning table thing in the water area – I may have said that looked like oil. But we only did that few a few seconds, once. Anyway, we painted and he wanted slurred notes. So we painted those and practiced them. He was hungry, and ate a couple slices of banana bread. Then he wanted a treat again, to share. This time, I made some hot chocolate. We were finishing it up when Carly got home. I told him “Don’t tell mama we are having hot chocolate!” So of course he went and yelled “We’re having hot chocolate!”

They nursed and we did more painting. He was then climbing around on the couch, playing with his pants, which we had taken off for a bath. I said the “I want to get in the water!” line for Sophie, and August said “What’s that, Sophie?” which is what Carly usually says. I got him in the bath, but he wanted Carly to wash him, so we traded. He had wanted a quick bath before getting in, but started playing with the squirt cars once in.

After his bath he wanted to use Sketches on my iPad. He showed his artwork to Carly, and was then showing her how to do things. He wanted her to “Write Althauser Niman”. They then were coloring in the coloring book part of the app.

Carly got his toothbrush and he did a good job of brushing on his own. He said he was brushing  “like a big kid” Carly asked “Can mama brush your teeth?” He replied “Maybe not today. It’s difficult. What you say it’s difficult about? I’m doing it by myself today. What you sucking yesterday about?”

Back in the coloring book, they were trying to figure out what animal was hanging from a tree. He said “Maybe that’s a squirrel? A mouse? A kinkajou!” Carly didn’t know what a kinkajou looked like, so I pulled up photos. She said we should have one as a pet. I suggested a nocturnal animal wouldn’t be the best pet. She asked about what cats were, and I looked it up: crepuscular, active during dawn and dusk, so that was our word of the day.

He went to bed around 9:30. As I said good night to leave, he said “I love you dada and night night.”

Oops. These are Sunday’s photos. See Sunday’s post for Saturday’s photos.

 

Cozy: 

Cinnamon texture: 

Some art: 

Chrysanthemum Park. Standing on the bike: 

Hanging: 

Feather: 

Leaning: 

Dada and Zinnie hand prints: 

Wanting to build it taller: 

Head first:

King Kong Juice: 

Hands: 

A long day. And the weather dropped down into the teens at night, so it was nice and chilly when we left the house early. We were going over to Jill and Derek’s house to watch Rosie for a couple hours so Jill could go to the pension office and run a couple errands.

But first, August woke up at 4:30. Early, early, early. Carly got up with him. August noticed the cold, and asked her “What’s it cold about?” He let her put songs on him (but requested the short socks – he doesn’t like socks pulled up his legs at all) and they sat on a warm spot on the floor. He was sitting on the toilet when she washed her face, and he looked up and asked her “What are you up to, mama?” And they watched some Puffin Rock and she got him oatmeal for breakfast.

We watched some more Puffin Rock and he finished his oatmeal for breakfast, then had strawberries and banana bread. I took a shower, and we got ready to go. I got him to try his hat on for a few seconds before we left, but he still wouldn’t wear it. He noted it was cold out (still shy of 20) when we left at 7:45. We had to wait 8 minutes at the bus stop, then took the 15 to their house.

When we got there at 8:30 we found that Atsuko was also there, helping Jill. Logan was not yet gone to daycare, as he was having a tough morning. Totally not surprising, given all of the upheaval going on (dad off in Canada, sister gone three nights in the hospital, a bunch of different people watching him, and the house getting packed up for the move). When August tried looking at a book Logan took it away. Logan got the big blocks out and was making a tower. August was just sitting there, watching, and I said to August “What you doing? Watching Logan” Logan replied with “No watching Logan!” and held his hand up, as if blocking August’s view.

Luckily, August didn’t seem to take it personally. They got him ready for daycare, and all took off a little past 9, leaving me and August with Rosie. Rosie was sad seeing her mama walk out, but handled it quite well. Given that she was just in the hospital for 3 nights with pneumonia, she’s gotten used to a lot of different people watching her. She did rest on my should for 10 minutes or so, and I thought she might fall asleep. But she got down, and we played around. August was mainly excited about trying all of their snacks: they have a whole basket full of bags of kid snacks, and we tried all of them: blueberry yogurt bites, freeze dried strawberries, some sort of cookie, etc. We played with the blocks, Rosie clapping every time she put a block on. August found the Boynton book Are You a Cow? and we had fun reading that. Rosie can’t go outside for a few days (oh, before she left Jill had Rosie use the nebulizer – August really liked watching that, and I explained all about it, and Rosie being sick, which he kept asking about. Think we have new material for taking care of the Duplo animals), but at one point she went and got her shoes and brought them to me. I put them on her, then she went and opened the closet and got out her coat and wanted me to put it on her. When I didn’t do that though she went and tried opening the door.

Rosie sort of fell or something, minor, and I picked her up. This time she did fall asleep a few minutes later, just before 10:30. It took me two attempts, but I managed to set her down in the crib, which is low. That is a long way to lower her – I was never, ever close to lowering August that far when he fell asleep.

August still wanted snacks (think he was ready for lunch) and we got a slice of white American cheese out of the fridge. He did not like it, however, and he said it “Tastes like poop.” He remembered using the square blocks to make squares out of play dough, and kept asking for it. I had meant to ask Jill, but didn’t. We looked for it, but didn’t find it.

He was sitting on the toilet when Jeff and another guy showed up to take Logan’s bed out. August said he thought that Jeff looked like Uncle Paul. He was still sitting on the toilet a couple minutes later when Jill came in. She started talking to Jeff, so she didn’t hear, but he was leaning forward, looking out the bathroom, and asked five or six times: “Where’s the play dough?” We asked her a bit later and it turned out, as I had suspected, that they had already thrown it away.

Sometime around when Rosie was going to sleep and Jeff was showing up, August said “I want a story of Baba as a grown up.” This is the second time he’s asked, but we’ve gotten distracted both times. The story I made of Baba wanting to learn to swim is the one he’s requested the most – I think he likes the ‘growing up’ stories (and likes them on the show – the ones about Oona learning to fish, or dig, or act like a Puffin).

We were out in the living room, and August saw Jill’s scarf on the chair. He grabbed it, and put it on. We’ve never put a scarf on him, but he understood it. He posed, and pretended to be cold, and said “You wear a scarf cuz it is cold outside.” Wore it for a minute or two.

We got going, and went and caught the bus back to Hagye Station. He fell asleep on the bus at 11:33. He slept through getting off, going to the train, getting off, and buying lunch at CU, but then woke up as we walked into Children’s Grand Park. I think he heard the music and recognized it. He nodded back off, but then picked his head up again right as I was about to the coffee shop. He started to sing numbers to the song (I think he recognized the song) but then really got excited and sang loudly when the next song was “The Ants Go Marching” (in Korean).

So I made a left turn and headed to the children’s museum. We went up to the cafeteria. He started to get upset, saying he wanted to play first, but I was starving. I told him I had bought him a juice, and he was suddenly okay with lunch. Had actually gotten two: one was in a funny bottle from ‘Bad Farmers’, so I had to try it. He didn’t eat a ton (we didn’t open the kimbap at all) but had a bit, and it was enough for me. From there we went to the veterinarian area. We took care of a bunch of animals, looked at the real x-rays they have, and he went over to the food area and we brought a bunch of foods back over to the animals and found out which foods each animal liked (he particularly liked how all of the herbivores found the fish ‘disgusting’). He went and got the big lion stuffed animal to feed it something. I was having the small monkey hide behind the counter, and August found this both hilarious and terrifying.

Eventually, we were overwhelmed by a bunch of older boys. A few tried to talk to us while we were in the middle of a patient, and I told them to please leave us alone. But the noise got to August and he said (after he himself was banging something on the counter) “What you making so much noise about?…I want to go to a quiet place.”

On the way, he saw the spot where he had been kicking the glass last time. He at first made a joke of it, but was then actually kicking the glass. When I stopped him, he laid down on the ground for a few minutes. After he was better, I asked if he wanted to go to the bathroom, and he did. We did that, then went to the reading area. He was standing by the base of the steps to the loft area, and another girl came and looked like she was going to go up. He pointed at her shoes and said “You need to take your shoes off.” We then went and played with a balancing scales game for awhile. He then wanted to read Oh No!, so we found it and took it and my iPad up to the loft. We read that, then he did art on my iPad for quite awhile. He then found a Korean book called Tina and Orchestra. We read parts of it and looked through it. He saw some notes in it and was singing them.

We talked about going to Costco. He liked the idea, getting excited: “I want to get samples. Yum! I love the samples!” We talked more about what he loved and he said “I love Flynn(?)…I love treats…and sparkles.” Don’t think he actually said ‘Flynn’, but didn’t figure out what it was. But ‘spar
kles’ was clear, and I don’t know where that came from.

We headed out, but first remembered about the book exhibit downstairs. We went down and looked around for a few minutes – there are samples of children’s books from around the world. Pretty cool, but August was hungry and wanted to go eat. So we headed out, and ate a Larabar on the way to the subway.

The trip to Costco was pretty straightforward. He stayed in the backpack, and was hungry so was requesting we go get samples as soon as we entered the building. He got a couple pieces of cheese, a mandu, and some chicken. We paid, and he got out at the restaurant area. We got a couple pieces of pizza. They have blueberry smoothies now, so I gave in and tried one. A little better than the apple they had before, but not much. We had some of that, repacked our stuff, and headed out. He was talking about slipping on the ground as we got of the moving walkways. Like a snail, he said. He was then demonstrating slipping for awhile next to the statue outside. Then got in the backpack and headed out.

We stood on the subway home. We were sticking our tongues out at our reflections in the window. Got home at 5:30 and Carly wasn’t home at first – she had stayed a bit late. So I heated up the slice of potato and bacon pizza. While I did that, August rolled around on the floor and was making up pizza rhymes: “Pizza, mizza, dizza,…” We were then painting when Carly got home. He asked me to paint a shape at one point, and even specified black, but when I did it he said “Good job trying, dada, but I need to wipe it cuz black is not for the painting.” As he was rubbing it with the paper towel, he joked “It bothers mama’s ears.” At one point he was singing notes, and stomping the floor to rhythm.

Carly gave him a bath, and he went to bed soon after that, by 7:20.

 

Watching Puffin Rock: 

Watching Rosie get her special medicine: 

Rosie wanting to go outside: 

On the floor: 

Scarf: 

Asleep: 

Juice bottle: 

Veterinarian: 

Lying down where he kicked the glass: 

Balancing: 

A piece of art: 

Cuddling: 

The orchestra book: 

Costco: 

Sticking out his tongue in the subway: 

Painting: