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8:26. Came into the parlor, rested for a couple minutes, then wanted to take care of the animals and wanted my help. He used the tweezers to extract a fish that had been stuck in my arm. Don’t know how that got there. He then did my head: “There’s a fish in your head.” After about 20 minutes we went and learned some Arabic and wrote it on the paper, at his request. Was happy to find that it actually makes some sense, and I learned the T, Th, B, and W letters. We paused to get some breakfast: the new cereal and strawberries. Then back to the paper for drawing molecules and more Arabic. At 9:45 he started typing in Arabic on the iPad. We then did a lot of song time from songbook. We found videos for Buffalo Gals and Casper the Friendly Ghost. I took a shower while he did some art on the iPad. He had started by watching Puffin Rock. But he climbed up on the rocking chair and declared he was a spider and watched from there for a few minutes before getting down and switching to art. It was the second day in a row he opened the door and wanted to count to make me hurry up and finish my shower. Then did a lot of molecule drawing and some Hebrew on the iPad using the pencil. He was drawing mem sofit and kof. He then reversed our usual role for molecule drawing; he did dots and had me turn them into molecules.

We read the Paddington book, then did a little play dough. We made a salmon sandoo for lunch and he scarfed that down. I have an app that plays Hebrew words for you, and we listened to that while we made it and ate. He liked that, and was repeating words. Finally, we headed to Teuni Teuni.

Class was about vegetables. No clear reason, or specific physical theme today. He had a lot of fun though. At the end we got a Spin Monster toy that might be one of the best yet. Kind of a screw thing with colored pieces that spin down the screw, and also act as a sort of marble toy. Also, the individual pieces can be used as tops. He was also excited to find that the wrappers for the treats have changed. Instead of being Thomas the Train treats, they now have Teuni monsters on them.

From there we rode his bike back to the ice rink. Played a bit with the toys outside first, then went on the ice. He fell down several times, but never complained. Took a few minutes, but I got him on the board and pulled him around once. He then pulled me around, and finally he sat on my lap and we scooted around together. He saw a guy closing off the north end, and I explained it was because it was melting. August then wanted to get his shoe wet, and found some puddles near the edge. Off the ice, he played with the toys more. He grabbed out two of the hacky sack sort of things, and started to walk off with them. I asked what he was doing, and he said he was taking them home to play. I explained they had to stay here, so he put them back, then made a game of saying he was going to steal them.

It was now after 2, which meant that the art museum play area was open. We went over that way and played in the ball pits. He made one big feet first jump into a pit. After that, he wanted to do a ‘making mama nervous’ jump, but would first flop on his bottom on the side before then jumping in. He got in the deep ball pit all the way, and said it looked like bubble bath, and had me pretend to wash him with the balls. We went in the big ball pit for the first time, and relaxed in there. He also tried climbing on my head from the side.

We came home and Skyped with my parents. We had tried earlier, but they didn’t answer so we had left a video message with August singing. They had gone to the Apple Cup for dinner. August played kalimba and cymbal and triangle for them, then I realized it was 4 so we said goodbye. August first rediscovered the Hangeul magnets, and played with those for a few minutes before I could get him away. He made them into “stairs” on the door.

The plan had been to go to Cafe Tolerance (kind of trying to stay inside, as the pollution was high again). Short on time, I suggested Mama Juice and a park. But he was set on Cafe Tolerance. So we rode that way. Along the way he wanted to cover to his bike down, and was playing with that for the first time, hiding when I took a photo. It was past 4:30 by the time we got my coffee and his mango juice, so I told Carly we’d be late and she could have some quiet time.

We sat in our usual spot and saw a heron and an egret. Korea is on their semester break, so everything is busy now, and it was loud for much of our time in here. Kind of good as August could use his music apps while I read. He paused to go touch the little fake cactuses. He also needed to go use the bathroom, even though we had gone before we left. But a good job of him telling me. Today was day four in a row with underwear and no accidents. The new norm. Started to get our shoes and coats on, as the men’s room is outside. But the woman working there said we could use the women’s, so that was nice.

He did some more typing on his ipad and music, and I got him a second juice, pineapple this time. The woman gave him a pack of crackers. He then ‘stole’ three other chairs and spun in them, using the table to spin himself, which I realized was a new thing for him. A boy, not much smaller than him, started crying, like really crying. August was concerned, and I suggested he give the boy a pat. August walked over and did, patting him on the foot.

Finally, after 5:30, we headed home. Going over the bridge, he looked up and admired the sky. Back at Brownstone, I wanted to stop at GS25 to get some crab for the pasta salad and go ahead and get stuff for lunch tomorrow. He was again wary of leaving his bike outside; I’d also had to convince him it was okay at Cafe Tolerance. Don’t know where this concern over theft came from (perhaps from the jump rope being taken in Berenstain Bears? Or the seagulls stealing fish in Puffin Rock?) We did that, then got home just before 6.

They nursed, then he gave mama shots and extracted fish from her and cut her hair, etc. he was laughing a whole lot. Carly had bought a small pack of blueberries, and August was impressed and wanted some. We opened the Spin Teuni toy and played with it. Carly made him a pancake. When she brought it to him he said “Some pancakes and blueberries! Thank you! Why you bring pancakes and blueberries?”

He did art with markers with Carly. They drew molecules and he was checking to see which ones were new markers. When we got new ones we put them in with the old ones, but in the last couple of days I’ve thrown several away. He then said  “That looks amaileous.” We asked what that means, and he said “you just made it up.”

Carly gave him a bath. I took him in on the bed while Carly took a shower. He made a nest, and was really adorable while cuddling in it. We read part of a Paddington chapter book. A bit advanced for him, but he kept requesting I read more of it. When Carly was out we got a new book, Berenstain Bears and No Girls Allowed and read it. August loved it and was constant questions throughout it.

He tried going to sleep without nursing. I told one Puffin Rock story, and he then wanted to nurse. A good effort. I left at 8:45 and he was promptly asleep.

 

Photos. Checking the owl’s ears:

Spider Zinnie: 

Writing Hebrew (it looks like Ps) and a molecule: 

Waiting for his toy: 

Pulling me: 

Ice selfie: 

Ball area: 

Listening to art: 

On our walk. Hiding in the bike: 

Our usual spot:

Looking at the sky: 

In his nest: 

Awake 6:52. He stood in the doorway of the parlor and I went over and gave him a kiss. He covered his eyes and I said “I’ll give you some alone time.” I headed back to the couch. He asked “What you said?” I repeated it, but instead of going into the parlor he came over and leaned against me. Then wanted to type on my iPad. After that we watched Puffin Rock and ate some Cheerios and strawberries. We read the note from Carly, which suggested he ask me about molecules. So we looked up pictures of molecules, then drew molecules on paper. I would draw a bunch of dots, then he would connect them with lines. Often making H shapes. He did some lines that looked like Arabic, and then he told me “Practice the language you don’t know.” So we did a little Arabic.

I put on some music, the Ask Your Mama album to “Gospel Cha-Cha”, and he started drumming with his hands on everything. Back to drawing. He was learning the terms ‘atom’ and ‘bonds’ And invented a new element “teterium”. There was a lot of talk about what color to make the atoms and bonds: “I changed my mind. I want purple.”

We tried to do some exercise, but he kept trying to touch the phone. When I put it in my pocket, he got more upset, then was trying to leave the refrigerator and freezer doors open, which was even more frustrating. I was picking him up and taking him to the reading area. Eventually, we calmed down. We talked about getting frustrated, and he said “I don’t want you to do that.” He also copied my frustrated voice, putting his arms down by his side and saying “Zinnie!”

We did a ton of music time today. I’ve found it is easier to stay at home for long periods of time, as we are now focused on activities for longer, instead of moving on from one thing to another every five minutes and leaving a trail of destruction. So we’ll do 20 or 30 or 40 minutes of music at once. He wanted new songs, so we were learning songs like “Down by the Station” and “Did You Ever See a Lassie?” And others. He then wanted to draw notes, so we did more art, drawing notes.

Then we did do exercise together. He got into trying everything out, like wall sits, etc. We then read most of the orchestra book. We would pause when he saw notes, and he would sing. One of the songs he made went:

“The funny thing

The important thing

To know

Is the scissors are sharp

You have to be careful.”

I had stood up while he was singing and then he said “Hey. I thought we were reading it.” We finished the book, then took care of some animals. He was trying to give a shot, but the one with the vet set doesn’t work very well. So I went and got the doctor kit. He asked where it was from and I said the Kerns gave t to us when they moved to Israel. We played with it, then he asked “Tell me again bout staying with the girls.” So we looked up that day in the Day One app and talked about that day and other days he had babysitters.

We then composed a song for contrabassoon in Notion. Which reminded me that yesterday, as we left Children’s Grand Park station, we saw two people with cellos on their backs. August asked what the first one was, then spotted the second. Then, as we were outside the station, we looked across the street and saw yet a third. That led to me asking him what instrument he would like to learn, and he said double bassoon (aka contrabassoon). We might have one of those kids that chooses the largest, most expensive instrument.

He then had to go to the bathroom, after which I took a shower, but not until after I got him strawberries and crab for a second breakfast. While playing around, he said “Oh Baba. You’re too young to dive. You have to be older to swim.” Which I’m not quite sure if it is an actual line, or a retelling of the story I tell about Baba going swimming.

I made a sandwich for lunch, then realized the pollution level was really high – over 160. So we had more music time. Played cymbals and tambourine and triangle. He said he wanted more instruments. I asked what we should get next and he of course said double bassoon.

He went to the bathroom and had me tell him more about baby brains. We then ate lunch, starting with a pineapple coconut jello thing he chose at Home Plus awhile back. I mentioned that he had had coconut before, but couldn’t remember where, and he answered “Thailand yogurt” I mentioned that Gramma likes coconut, and he asked a bit later “Does Opa like coconut?” Also ate our sandwich.

Drew more molecules and Hebrew then he said “Want to make more music.” He wanted more instruments again, and I thought of the iPad. So he was playing bass and strings on there.

Pollution or no, we needed to get out. We left at 1:45. The idea was to go to the play area at Toys R Us. But we didn’t go because two things happened. First, he walked. And walked. Until 2:18. That was much of the way to Toys R Us. Every step. It was an exploring walk, finding all sorts of things (ginkgo berries, weird spots, leaves) along the way. Then, a couple blocks short, he suddenly wanted up. I put him in the stroller and he fell asleep at 2:25. Went to a coffee shop in the building on the third floor, called Cafe the Table Harris.

I started waking him up at 3:10, with little success. So I pushed him across the street to the park (백합어린이공원) and woke him up at the swings just past 3:20. Bingo. He needed to go to the bathroom (a third day with underwear) and then we went on the swings. We were singing songs, and I pulled out a few we hadn’t sung in awhile: A Ah Apple, and A is for Apple. I kept messing up word on the latter, and ended the “So many ways to mess up this song” He found that hilarious. Eventually he got off, and went over to the climbing structure. Climbed on it a bit, and went across the bridge, then wanted to go on the tube slide. This one is different though, with bars farther apart. He tried hanging on the bars a bit, and I helped him sit across the bars so he could slide down the last few feet. He wanted to stand on the bars, and I let him do it at the bottom. I took a photo, and told him it was a ‘Making mama nervous’ photo. I sent it to her, and she delivered, writing back “You’re making mama nervous!”

We headed out, getting to Home Plus by 4:40. It was a Zinnie-paced trip, as it lasted 50 minutes, despite having a rather short shopping list. For example, he really wanted to touch all the things in the pre-built aquariums and I was telling him he could only touch a little. He responded with “But I want to touch things a lot.” Also the first time we were searching out each other, having walked down different aisles, circling around, etc. And he wanted to play the privacy game in the store.

We got home after 5:30. They nursed, then they took care of animals. He then came out, commandeered the iPad, and sang from the songbook.

He went in on the toilet, then, pointing to the old sticky tape by the door, asked “Can I eat that?” I laid out a life lesson for him: No eating sticky things you find on walls. Or floors. Or under desks. Etc. So then he asked if he could eat hard things, then stated “I’m eating hard things.” and started eating the wall, the door, etc. As we walked back down the hall he said the funniest part yet: “Sorry, I just like to joke. I can’t help it.”

We read Drum Dream Girl at his request, then he did some iPad music, then art in Sketchbook. I gave him a bath and it was a hair washing day. Which went pretty well. He claimed to not like it, but then afterwards he was talking about every day being a hair washing day. He was out at  8:30. They nursed, then he had a bagel and cheese with me: “I’ve never had a bagel before.” Not true, but he probably doesn’t remember. They nursed after Carly got out of the shower, and they read After the Storm. He went with me to the bedroom and we read Drum Dream Girl and most of Berenstain Bears Go to School.

He had said he wanted to try falling asleep without nu
rsing today, and he agreed to try, lying between me and Carly. We gave it a good shot, starting just before 10. I told Puffin Rock stories and sang songs. He really wants the stories, so working on making him keep his head down for me to keep telling the story. He kept crawling over Carly though, or saying “Mama, mama, mama, mama…” and thinking of things: wanting water, the humidifier on, etc. I kept putting his head back on the pillow. He wasn’t getting upset really, and then started to really yawn. So close. At 10:30, as he was lying on his own with his head on the pillow next to Carly, he suddenly gave some big sobs. Carly let him nurse, we told him he had done a really good job trying, and he fell to sleep.

Photos. Drawing molecules: 

Ginkgo berries: 

Walking: 

I don’t understand: 

Playground: 

Down the slide: 

Touching aquariums: 

He wanted to try on the pink snowsuit: 

7:17. Opened the door, but closed it again without coming out. Came out a bit later, then went into the parlor. I went in after awhile, and gave him a little note that Carly had left for him. He took it out of the envelope and we read it together.He wanted food. I thought there was pancake batter left, but there wasn’t. He was happy with a smoothie instead. He lay on floor of the kitchen while I got ready. He had me tell him why we wash strawberries several times. When it came to blender time he ran in the parlor and closed the door. Would open the door and say “Are You done?” then close it again when I told him I needed to do more blender.

We did some yoga and exercise together in the morning (sometimes he tells me what to do), then watched Puffin Rock while I took a shower. I also put all of the stuff we were donating to the Beautiful Store out in the halls and labeled it, and found a couple things to add to the pile. It is the first of our donations this year. Meant to get a photo before it all left, but didn’t. Had a lot of his early stuff in it: his first bathtub, his high chair thing, his first potty chair, some baby toys, the train set (that he didn’t really get into), etc.

At some point he said he was still hungry and I asked what he wanted. He got serious and said “Hmmm…something like…something that mama don’t let you have…hmmm…” We settled on oatmeal, then played a lot of piano and xylophone and drums. We also took care of animals using the vet set: the rhino, hippo, and shark. For the shark he used tweezers to remove garbage from its throat.

We left at 10:50. He sat on his own and sang on the train much of the way before wanting me to sit and doing Art Maker. We went up to the CU and got lunch. He instantly grabbed one of those questionable sausage things and wanted to try it. We also got kimbap and a mango juice.

We headed to the children’s museum where I had to renew our memberships. Then up to the cafeteria. On the way up he was talking about the sausage thing and how I didn’t like it. He insisted “Dada! Try out it too.” We ate in the big room for some reason (day off from public school, it appeared). He needed to go to the bathroom and he told me. It was a second full day without diapers.

When we came back he followed me through the lunch room. He then told me “You hit a boy.” We talked about that, but I hadn’t seen it. When I asked why, he said “On purpose” but couldn’t explain more. Nor could he tell me which boy it was. It is a sort of acting out to see what happens thing, as a few minutes later I saw him ‘hit’ a woman too, but it was barely more than a light touch on her arm. We kept eating, and before we had left he had ‘hit’ two other people. Not necessarily what I want him to do, but it seems to be like the baby pooping or washing strawberries thing – wanting to talk about it again and again. And he didn’t do it at all the rest of the day.

After lunch he wanted to go to the art area. So down to the first floor and first the chalkboard. There for a minute, then through the nature area: the minerals, through the tunnel (trying to get the button things to work – the snake wouldn’t light up), up in the treehouse thing, looking at the Venus flytrap chair, the life of a pine tree, etc.) Then on to the arts area: he did ribbon dancing for a couple minutes, then we played with the floor magnets, making shapes (they have also added more colors of magnets).

He wanted a snack of the last of the soy crisps, so we went back up to the cafeteria. Actually, this is when his last two ‘hits’ happened. Ate those, then went to the book room. Played with a tic tac toe game, then went up to the loft. He chose a Korean book and then surprised me by carefully pronouncing three or more lines of Korean, syllable by syllable. There was a mom and girl up there, playing with the dinosaurs and all the balls. August stole a blue ball, but gave it back, then they played with him a bit, rolling balls to him, trading, etc.

Done there, we went next door to the little kids area (which he can use for less than two more months!) We went up to the kitchen where a mom and daughter were playing at the table with the food. The mom set up a chair for August. He sat down, and he ended up playing with the girl. They shared food, then I suggested she wanted tea, and he kept pouring tea for the two of them. Another boy joined in as well. So cute. Suddenly, August got a sad look on his face and said “Can we go home now?” It was now past 2:00, so time for a nap if it was going to happen. Took him to the bathroom, then we headed out.

But he recovered and played around outside for quite awhile. He ran around, jumped, and looked at the plants. He got a blade of long grass and played with that. He heard water rushing under one of the circle areas. Odd, as we’ve never heard it before and it hasn’t been raining. I realized that if you turned your head it sounded like the sound went away. I showed August, and he liked that.

He was then ready for a walk and I got him in the backpack. We walked up to the new playground area, and were both sad to realize they hadn’t made any progress since we last saw it three or four weeks ago. We went to the swings nearby and went swinging for a long, long time. It was nice and sunny today, so felt good. We were there from 3 to about 3:45. He did a lot of regular swinging, then wanted to stand up and was actually swinging that way. I was teaching him out to switch from standing up to sitting down on his own. He also went on his tummy and kept talking about how he could touch the ground that way.

He then wanted a snack, and we went in the minimart, where he commented on how we saw the workers working there (making the awning for the tables). He also was fascinated by some chocolate milk we saw spilled. We got an orange juice, then he found a packet of what I thought were dried strawberries. They were actually gummi things, but still good. We ate those on the walk back to the exit to the park. August walked most of the way. He kept talking about finding the “new benches” and I figured out he meant the place we saw the workers working. That had actually been to the left out of the shop and we had walked the other way. He was a little disappointed, but kept walking.

We went to the bathroom, where he was intrigued by the squat toilets and had to investigate every stall. We then played in the maze painted out on the ground (kind of like the labyrinth in Thailand).

His only real moment of grumpiness came when we got on the subway. No seats, so we were standing at first. He wanted to rabbit and lay on the floor. I wouldn’t let him, so he got upset. We got off after two stops, calmed down, then got on the next train. On the walk home he was singing numbers, then trailed off by the corner. He was falling asleep. I tickled his feet in order to get him home awake.

We were home at 5. Played some Ants Go Marching, then ate pasta salad together and watched Puffin Rock. Carly was home at 5:30. They nursed, then he was just laying on the living room floor. He asked “Why mama home?” “How’s your work going?” “What’d you do in work?” That caught us off guard. In on the toilet, he had me tell him more about washing the strawberries. Carly made him a pancake, and he ate that. We played with play dough, and I had the idea of pressing one of his bracelets into it. We then found other textured things to press it on: the art containers, the play mats, a drum stick.

In the bathroom again we talked about babies and big kids, and I mentioned big kids stopping nursing. He said he was still going to nurse. He was then pretending to drink something, and I thought he was pretending to nurse. He said “No. I’m eating fo-MUL-la”. I had to check with Carly – apparently they did one time discuss how some babies drink formula instead.

Carly gave him a bath while I hung laundry. She mentioned ‘molecules’ (I think she was explaining the washing strawberries thing) and he asked about
them. So they were looking up photos of molecules. I suggested they also look up Venus flytraps. After his bath it was pretty straight to bed, and he was asleep at 7:45.

 

Photos. Warm spot while I made breakfast: 

Removing garbage from the shark: 

Looking at the ceiling at CU: 

Balls in the reading loft: 

Pouring tea: 

Grasses: 

Standing: 

Conquering the swing: 

Jumping: 

It ended up being a big big kid day for August. He wore underwear all day for the first time, went down the tube slide on his own several times, and started doing forward rolls on his own in the evening.

He got up at 6:07. I was still asleep and he came over and whispered “Want to nurse”. I got up and told carly, and she took him to the parlor. After nursing he came and did the suggested words stories on my iPad, then found the songbook. We ate some banana bread and then he watched Puffin Rock and I showered. We did a little play dough, then played piano and xylophone. We did a big mosaic of shapes on the paper and colored in much of it. I got up to get cereal at one point and August didn’t want me to go: “I thought we were mosaic together.” When I suggested he could wear his underwear outside he got excited. There was some discussion of a balance bike and he was saying that Logan’s bike is a balance bike. So I showed him a YouTube vide of a balance bike. At the end he said he didn’t want a balance bike, although it wasn’t clear if he was upset because he was worried about the balance bike, or because he had been wrong about our bike being a balance bike: “I don’t want a balance bike to tip over…that’s a balance bike.” (The latter as he pointed to our bike.)

As we were getting ready he was in my bathroom and pointed out the floor needs to be cleaned: “Why dada needs to clean his bathroom?” And at one point he spent several minutes jumping around the room, pulling a sock over his head until he said he was tired.

A couple times during the day he asked about mama being gone, but wasn’t upset. He’s gotten used to having her around for breakfast. At one point, when he pointed out it was dark or breakfast time, he asked why she wasn’t here. “Why mama not here?” He then told me to pretend to be mama. I asked “What does mama say?” He replied, in his best Carly voice: “You’re making mama nervous! You’re deleting all my work!”

He was standing across the table from me and out of the blue said, with a very serious face: “My brothers, I see in your eyes a hunger that makes me sad.” If I didn’t know his propensity for quoting from Puffin Rock it would have freaked me out. But it is a line that the shrew, Mossy, says while giving a speech. He then was asking what ‘hunger’ was. He also turned the line into a song a couple times today.

He was still hungry so we ate strawberries and banana bread. Then played more Ants Go. The refrigerator turned on and made the fan rattling noise he likes. We just kept playing music, adding in the drums and the kalimba. The cheap drum head was breaking, so we fixed that with tape. We played music until 10:50. More than 40 minutes.

August noticed that Angeles had fallen off the chair. I set Angeles on top of the piano and August said “That’s a lovely bench.” August asked why Angele’s hair is blue, and I said some people like to dye their hair. August directed his next question to Angeles, not me: “What’s hair dye, Angeles?” I asked “Do you want to dye your hair?” He got a thinking face and said “Ummm…no.”

As we finally got ready to head outside, he said he wanted 11 pairs of socks. Actually, it was 100 at one point. After some more silliness on the floor, we headed out.

We went over to the park past the pink building, where the boys had been on the swings before. This time we had them to ourselves. August noted a few times that we were the only ones there, or that there were just adults walking through the park. Besides the swing he also played on the exercise equipment, pointed on some “dirty snow” and started investigating everything he found on the ground, especially gum stuck on the ground, as there seemed to be a lot of it. He had ridden the bike there, but walked much of the way to the pink building before getting back on.

We went to the pink building at noon where we went to the food court and chose an omelette and hamburger steak for lunch. While we waited we went and looked at all the kitchens and the food that was being made. It was good (for 5 bucks) and he also ate the pickled radish for the first time in quite awhile, eating about half a piece. He barely tasted the pickled ginger, as he was afraid it was spicy (it was), but he ate most of the soup that came with it as well (which is good, because I don’t really like it).

At 12:45 we went to the bathroom in the movie theater. He was standing at a urinal at first and couldn’t go, and said “Maybe the pipe in my penis isn’t working.” So funny, but also an interesting use of language. He also commented on the nice bathroom, saying “This bathroom looks nice.”

On our way out he wanted to go in the kids book room. We went in and ended spending a lot of time reading. We started with a book called Duck goes Potty, which we read three times, and he did a lot of the reading. We ended up reading three more: It’s Raining Cats and Frogs!, Ding-Dong-Ding!, and Chocolate Mud Cake, each which we read more than once. He would have kept going, and was climbing on the shelves to get more. But it was definitely time for a nap, since he had gotten up so early.

We got home at 1:45. Ate some strawberries and played the musical instruments, then went on the toilet. He then sang one of his “My brothers, I see in your eyes a hunger…” songs.

We got walking, in the stroller this time, and he fell asleep at 2:28. Had walked by the Sarang Bbang coffee shop, but it was closed, so headed back to Brownstone. Almost just came home, but decided to go in Ediya, as I’ve never actually been to the one in our building (the one that replaced the bubble tea place). While there, Torrey came in and we talked for a minute about Israel and India (where they are going).

When he left, I pushed August home, and woke him up at 3:15. Took him awhile to wake up. We did a little play dough together, some some yoga, then he found his little baby trumpet and played that a lot. He was getting quite loud, pretending to wake me up, and I made a joke about bothering the neighbors. He took this pretty seriously at first, and I had to assure him they couldn’t hear.

We went out one more time on his bike. We rode around the park and over the bridge. He wanted to cross the street, so we went down the walkway by Home Plus, then headed back to the playground. Went on the swings, then he saw two slightly older brothers doing the tube slide (which August today decided should be called the ‘pipe slide’). August did it a couple of times, needing my help to get going. But then he figured it out, and did it entirely on his own about 6 times. He still wanted me to spot him at the top, but I wasn’t touching him at all. I had told Carly we were there and she came and, unknown to him, watched him go down the last time. This was all very exciting for him, and he was very proud of himself.

We went home about 5:30 and they nursed. Then ate dinner and played piano and xylophone and drums. He asked for a Flynne story and I told the one where she is mean. He wanted a new one where she is hungry, but we got distracted before I could come up with that one. He then read the Milk Bob book with Carly. I got stuff ready for Beautiful Store and they were playing. August took the baby blankets from me while I was carrying them. After that, he took a long bath with me. He wanted to write ABCs with the squirt cars and sing the ABC song. We haven’t done that for a long time. He then had squeaky feet as he walked around the house. He then read Berenstain Bears and the Double Dare with Carly. But he hid behind me on the reading area while she read, covering his head with one of the baby blankets. She kept asking if he wanted her to keep reading, and he said yes. Afterwards, he pretended to be a sheep.

She went to take a shower and he and I went in on the bed and he sang to the songbook. He came up with all sorts of songs. A few:

“Good friends everywhere

Cat and a dog

Cat and a God

Fri nds everywhere
.”

“The pool

I can go in there

If I pay money

You have to be seventy years old

To go in there…

Seventy years, not seven…”

“This song is called ‘I can go whenever you want’”

Finally, we read Berenstain Bears Go to School. He was then being silly on the bed and surprised himself by doing a forward roll. Another exciting moment. He kept trying to do more, and was successful a couple times, but the first one was the best. He then pulled all the pillows over as if he was making a fort, but then pulled Carly’s blanket over on my bed and said “You’re taking over dada’s bed…Dada cannot sleep anywhere…why you not giving any space to him? No space.”

While playing around, I bonked him in the head worth my elbow. He got a bit upset, but not hurt enough to cry. He went to Carly and wanted to go to sleep. But after  bit they came back out. Just for a few minutes though, and then she had him back in the bedroom. I went to bed a few minutes later and he was still awake, but calm. He fell asleep a couple minutes later, just after 10.

Oh, and this morning I finally read the shirt I got from my parents for Christmas. August saw it and asked why it said ‘English’ on it.

 

Photos. Our mosaic: 

Park. Dirty snow: 

Exercise equipment: 

Lunch: 

Radish: 

Pushing: 

Wanting more books: 

Waking up: 

Hiding while Carly reads: 

He was up at 7. Carly skyped with Cherie. He ate a pancake for breakfast. He and Carly worked on some small puzzles, then with me he sang from the songbook and then we read Drum Dream Girl and the cookie story from Frog and Toad. He then asked carly for strawberries, and started doing jump forward (well, side) rolls. He typed his autocorrect stories, then we played the privacy game and hide and seek. Then some more pianos and xylophone. He wanted to learn a new song, so we looked at the songbook, and he decided on Paw Paw Patch. We ended up watching the videos of it first. Carly Skyped with Glecy. At first she hadn’t answered, so they left a vide message and August had fun with that. I took a shower, and while I did they did playdough and played with the animal sticker farm thing. Laughing a lot over that as I came out.

He had slept for less than 8 hours, so I expected a long nap, but he only slept from 12:12 to 1:09. They nursed, then played with the fruits and veggies. I came in and played too, and he came up with some interesting fruits: “spicy watermelon…podo with jackfruit in it.” He ate banana bread, then part of Carly’s toast and egg for lunch. He ate a bite of egg by himself with the fork and was proud of himself. We then played piano and xylophone together.

I was going to take him outside, and Carly was heading to a coffee shop to do some work. He had refused two pairs of socks yesterday, but changed his mind today:“I want two pairs of socks now. I want my feet to be warm.” “You know what? I want my own shoes.” He was reciting a bunch of Mossy lines from Puffin Rock, including “I can’t believe it! They took all my food.” He then pretended to act like Mossy and eat berries. With two pairs of socks on, he had fun sliding on the floor. August decided we should take the big shovel and took it out of the stroller and put it in the back of the bike. Finally, he made a Mossy/Marshy joke and asked where Marshy was. We found him in the bedroom, and August was waking up.

We headed out at precisely 3 with him on the bike. I had suggested the tree playground, but he wasn’t enthused by that one. Instead we walked north and made it to Sarang Children’s Park (사랑어린이공원) – the one with the small floor fountain. There, he went on the swing. Had fun watching his shadow. He also practiced pumping, and is getting better with his timing. Spent most of our time on the swing, but then I reminded him of the shovel and we went over to the sand. Spent a lot of time filling up the bucket, pulling it up on its chain, and filling the chute that you can then pull a handle to open so the sand spills back out. He also stood on the chain, sort of swinging on it. He spotted some beads and I reminded him this is where we can pop them in the table thing. So we did that for awhile, with him trying to pop them up. He wasn’t too successful with up, but could push them down. He found some ice on the ground by a tree and had fun stepping on it. Went back to the swings for awhile, but it was getting cooler. He kneeled on a swing a bit. Before we left, we rode the bike around the park. He identified an eighth note on the ground, then got off the bike to ‘play’ a picture of a piano on the play structure.

It was about 4:30 when we headed home. We stopped at the playground by the youth center at the ‘Bye fuzzy’ platform and had a snack – crackers and soy crisps and banana bread. He was watching people play basketball, then played around on the platform. He was standing on the edge of the platform and said he was making me nervous. We were then practicing tones/ emotions. At one point he wanted me to be something like angry/worried/sad or something like that.

We got home right at 5. He sat with Carly in the hall and had some pasta salad.They then nursed. Carly took his diaper off, but said she was too lazy to get his underwear. He said “I’m lazy too”. They read a Bob Book or two, then I suggested some Hebrew. August wanted to paint, so we started that, then Carly gave him a popsicle, so he ate that. He was playing the Hebrew kids app, and Carly started doing it with him, but then he wanted to do it “on my own”. But then he was getting stressed out by one of the games, which was rather cute. Carly made him a veggie pancake for dinner, then gave him a bath. He was asleep by 7:10, but came back out just after 8, then a couple more times in the next couple hours.

Photos. Funny look: 

Park. Sand chute: 

Standing on the chain: 

On ice: 

Kneeling: 

Watching basketball: 

Dinner in the hall: 

He was up at 7:42. They skyped with Cherie and Chuck after nursing. Carly tried to play Ants Go Marching for August, but wasn’t very successful. They then skyped with Vivian and Cassie. August showed them his underwear: “I have underwear on.” August wanted to make banana bread but was hinting at it, saying “What you want to make? Breakfast food.” We continued to skype with Vivian as we mixed the banana bread, and they hung up after we had it in the cooker. He nursed again, then was nonking me with the hammer. He had me tell him about baby brains. Generally, when you ask him “Do you know…” he’ll just say “Yeah” even when he doesn’t. Yesterday I was telling him it is good to say “I don’t know”. Today, when he was on the toilet, Carly asked him something and at first he said “Yeah”, but then said “I don’t know.” He ate egg and toast with Carly, then he and I learned fruits and animals and vehicles in a children’s Hebrew app. The banana bread was done, so we ate some banana bread, and we also read Honk at some point.

We all went outside 12:50. He wanted to wear his underwear, but Carly convinced him to still use diapers outside for now. He rode his bike, and we went to the center of the park, then over to the playground. Mainly they went on the swings. At one point I got on a swing and August pulled the right rope to move me back and forth. Before we left, he went down the tube slide once. Carly and I were cold, and it was time for a nap, so got him to head home. At the elevators, and down the hall to home, he insisted on moving himself on the bike. Just yesterday he and I were talking about getting a balance bike for him in Israel and I mentioned he’d be able to push for himself. He said no, he wanted dada to push. A day later he was telling me not to push.

At home he slept from 1:55 to 3:11. Right before we left the playground, he had found some metal beads on the ground. We took them home, and I washed them off when he went in for his nap. I’d put them in a small Tupperware container. He found the container, opened it, and the beads rolled all over the floor. We found most of them. He then played with them, and I taught him how to rotate them in the cup by moving his hand in a circle.

Carly went to the grocery store. While she was gone, he talked about wanting to go to the store on his own. I said he couldn’t do that yet, and that we’d get in trouble. He said “I’m going to go to the store later when I’m not older…I want the police to come.” He made the connection to the police on his own: we’ve talked about the police a few times, in particular when he asked what would happen if we didn’t pay for something at the store.

Carly got home and he said “I want mama practice The Ants Go Marching”. Eventually we switched; she started cooking and I played piano. In addition to Ants Go Marching, I looked up the lyrics to When Johnny Comes Marching Home and we sang that (and the drinking song it is based on). He broke the stick again. He wanted to glue it right away, but I said he could wait.

We then played with play dough and looked at Hebrew letters. I talked about taking him outside, but he first helped Carly mix together ingredients for the veggie pancakes. When he was ready, he went to find his bike and didn’t see it: “Where’s my bike? There it is!” We had left it down by the door.

We headed out in the dark, around 6. We walked/rode to the little park past the pink building. Two boys were on the swings. August watched for a bit, then wanted to play on the exercise equipment. We did that for awhile, and he stomped on snow. He didn’t want to go to the nearby playground with more swings. Instead, we went to our dinosaur playground. He sang songs he made up as we walked. There, we went on the swings. Near the end, he looked over at the ground and play structure and asked “Is that just shadows?…or painting?” We got home at 7. Said he smelled something good. Carly had pancakes for him for dinner.

He did some painting with Carly, then we all did some Hebrew together. Carly took a shower. August composed a little music on the iPad, then typed in Pages, then we did a little play dough. He and Carly looked for some Hebrew alphabet videos.

I gave him a bath, and we talked about babies pooping and eating and he started talking about choking “I’m choking on things now.” He wasn’t even pretending to put things in his mouth, but still not too funny. Tried not to encourage it, and made him agree to not do it with mama when he went out. He understood, I think, but slipped a couple times, and said “I’ll try not to do it.”

Tried for sleep just after 9, but came out at 9:38. He sang from the songbook. A lot of words/songs. At one point he sang “I am glad to have her.” He then listened to Berenstain Bears Go to School, then spent a few minutes being hyper on the floor (he called it that). He then chose Drum Dream Girl on the iPad to read. We’d never read it before. It is about a girl who wants to be a drummer in a town where only boys can drum. It really got August thinking and asking questions: “See the mean guy…why?” We talked about it for a long time. Finally, we read Peppa Pig at the Pool before he went back in after 10:20.

Still no. I started getting ready for bed, and he brushed teeth with me. He abandoned me and went back in with mama. But when I went in to bed he was still awake. I told a couple Puffin Rock stories, making him keep his head on the bed for me to keep talking. He climbed back over Carly, kept lightly kicking the wall, and fell asleep about 11:15.

Sometime later he was fussing in his sleep, and I heard him say “I don’t want to go there.”

Photos. Banana bread:  

Pulling me on the swing: 

Bike: 

Helping make pancakes: 

In the dark: 

Hammer. Scratch on his tummy that we don’t know the origin of:

Songbook: is  

He came out at 6:41 today. Again just a couple minutes after Carly left. But today there was no crying. Not even a peep. He lay down on the floor and slid around, finding a warm spot. He spotted a chocolate chip, sat up, and whispered “Can I eat it?” I gave him permission this one time to eat floor food. He rolled around a bit and got up, changed his mind and went back in front of the washing machine and lay down again.

Once he was up we looked at some Hebrew, started laundry, read Berenstain Bears Go to School, typed Hebrew and Arabic on the iPad, and ate Cheerios for breakfast. We played The Ants Go Marching on piano and xylophone. When I went to get the laundry out, he climbed in the basket and said “There’s no space!” We played the privacy game, then he wanted some frozen mango. Later we had some strawberries.

While I was hanging up laundry, August went to the bathroom. Suddenly I heard the toilet paper, and went in to find he had unrolled most of the roll. I picked it up, and started re-rolling it. He didn’t like that and kept trying to grab it. I was walking around, holding the toilet paper above my head. I decided I couldn’t roll it up with him upset, so I put it up in my closet. He sat on the floor, and I went back to hanging up laundry. Then I noticed it was quiet. I walked back in to the parlor to see him climbing the shelves, grabbing at the toilet paper. Took a photo, took him down, and closed the door. When he calmed down, he wanted to make a Duplo tower, and we made quite a nice one. After that, he watched Puffin Rock and I finished the laundry and took a shower.

Afterwards, he was looking out the window. “Dada, come.” It was snowing. Quite heavily. We watched that, then went and did more Hebrew on the app. He was then playing xylophone. The stick broke again. We played together, and as we played he said “We’re making it hard for mama to teach the students!”

Looking out the window, he sang a “There’s snowy weather in snow” song. And observed “I don’t see some bugs. Why I don’t see bugs out? Why they don’t like the snow?”

He wanted to go outside, but didn’t want to go on the toilet first. I said we’d go once he went to the bathroom. He played around for a few minutes, then announced he was ready to use the toilet. We then headed outside.

The plan had been Children’s Grand Park today, but once we got outside and started playing in the snow, we decided to just stay here. There was a decent layer on the ground, and it was still falling. He just walked around in it for a bit, then we got out the broom and he was sweeping snow. Then making letters. Eventually we started making snowballs. The snow really stuck to his gloves though (he was wearing both his gloves and hat without complaint), so I would make a snowball and hand it to him. He threw them at me and at posts. When they fell on the ground he would stomp on them. At one point a guy came up and was demanding attention from August. August, excitedly playing with snowballs, wasn’t interested. Eventually he moved on.

August wanted to taste the snow, and I explained that you only eat the clean snow from up high, and just a little. He responded: “No. I like the snow on the ground. I’m eating a ton of snow.” He also said “I love snowballs.” We ran into Preacher, who, right after talking about the awful South Korean president, told me that Trump was a “Good man”. Sigh. When we had started it was still snowing nicely, but it stopped and got sunny. Which was nice for the warmth, and also the snow warmed up and was easier to make into snowballs. By the end he was having some success making snowballs on his own.

August wanted to go over to the playground. He walked up and over the wooden path, running his hand along the rail to push off the snow. As he was going down the other side he slipped and fell on his bottom. Didn’t bother him much. He wanted to go on the swings, so I brushed him off, and he did that for awhile.

After awhile he liked the idea of going over to the art museum to see the new play area. We went over and found that the play area was closed from 12 to 2. It was about 12:40. So we went up to the coffee shop and got a tropical juice pack and a cream cheese pretzel. At some point I realized August didn’t know what a pretzel was, and had mentioned I’d get one for him at some point. We ate/drank those and more of our lunch, then got going for a walk at 1:25. He was sleep 1:41 and I went to Cafe 감나무 아래, across from Sushi Jun. One of the last close coffee shops I need to check out. I let him sleep to 3:07 and woke him up.

We went back to the art museum and the play area. The old play area is entirely gone, which is kind of sad. It is much larger, but doesn’t have a trampoline or as much climbing space. It is just a slide, ball area, and three tubes to crawl through. There is also a small table with some sheets to color. We played there with the balls and ball pits, then went and did a little coloring. The coloring sheets were from their Wonderland at SeMA show, that had the video of Dorothy and the ruby slippers saying “There’s no place like home”. He was coloring the shoe on the sheet, and I said that line, and I think it rang a bell for him. He kept asking me to explain it, and I was telling more and more of the Wizard of Oz each time.

Outside the museum, August was standing on one foot and looking at his long shadow. He was excited about being able to stand on one foot. Another man came along and asked where we were from, then asked if we had any American money, and he had a collection of money from different countries. Had to disappoint him. As we walked to Home Plus, August ran to a rhythm, and we decided if it was sixteenth notes, etc. He saw dirty melting snow and asked “Why it very yucky?”

At Home Plus, August was talking about about the little moth he had scared in Thailand. It came up a few times during the day: “Zinnie can scare moths in Thailand.” We went down to the first basement and looked at underwear. He picked out a pack with seven pairs, with origami animals on them. He was very excited. As we walked through the store, he asked “Why you have to watch out for big lizards?” Another Thailand memory.

We went downstairs and got a few groceries. I let August get the pink milk this time. He always wants it, but it is the nonfat and we usually get another kind. We also got some pineapple and coconut fruit cup things to try. And a yogurt sample he really liked.

As we walked home, I overheard a girl, maybe 6th grade, talking to her 1st grade or so brother in fluent English. She was having problems with him though so I didn’t stop to ask if they lived around here.

At home he put on a pair of underwear, the elephant. When Carly got home at 5:30 he ran to her and said “I’m wearing underwear!” They nursed, and we ate spaghetti for dinner. We played hide and seek and the privacy game. We were writing with the markers when he accidentally peed. He realized what he was doing. Got him to the toilet and was telling him it was okay, not a big deal, etc. He said “No. it’s not okay.” and shook his head. got him in the crane (he claims it is a seagull) pair and headed back out. First, he was dancing to the Korean poster (it has notes on it). Back out in the living room, he wanted, Chinese letters, not Korean. He did a cool little dance, waving his arms as he sang “Chinese letters”. Tried to get him to repeat it, but he would just sing the song.

We talked about how he is currently acting out things he wants to do but knows he shouldn’t. Like taking markers without asking, for example. He would give Carly the marker, then take it from her.

They nursed, then had more dinner. We read some Berenstain Bears, then he sang from the songbook for quiet awhile. We then went in on the bed with me and played in the nest. He said there was an alligator outside the nest/burrow that bit a duck, so the duck came in with us. He was talking about being sleepy, and cu
rled up with me for awhile. Eventually he wanted to get ready for bed and get mama. He was asleep at 9:30. 

Sweeping: 

Writing: 

Photos. Warm spot:

Still fits: 

Climbing: 

He said the pieces looked like eighth notes: 

Snow: 

Play area:  

One foot: 

Pink milk: 

Underwear: 

A couple minutes after Carly left, I heard noise, then talking, from the bedroom. A minute later, at 6:37, he came out. This wasn’t good.

“I want to nurse. Can we go outside now? Can we meet her now? What happens if we meet her now? I want to go now…I want to open that.” He kept trying to climb the door stop and handle to get to the latch that was out of his reach. Finally, I asked if going out in the hall would help him calm down. His answer was “No” and he actually left and walked the other way and lay down in the parlor and calmed right down. First on the floor, then the reading area. He didn’t want me in there though, and I sat on the couch.

At 6:55 i heard him move towards the door, but when I peeked in a couple minutes later he was sitting up and said “Go away” and covered his eyes. A minute later he got up, came out for a second, then headed back in the parlor and closed the door. I heard him walking around. A couple minutes past 7 I went in and he was standing and I gave him a pat. Wrong thing to do. He started crying again and saying “No, no”.

A couple minutes after that I asked if he wanted to read. He said “No”, but when I asked if he wanted the songbook he said “Dada do it on his own” but then came out. He wanted the iPad. When I opened iBooks he chose Berenstain Bears go to School and we read it on the couch. He then wanted the songbook, and wanted me to sing “Down in ththe Paw Paw Patch”. I didn’t know it, so we looked it up on YouTube and watched a couple versions, then looked up ‘paw paw’ on Wikipedia. Learned what a paw paw is.

He watched Puffin Rock and I took a shower. We played hide and seek. Made oatmeal and he ate some, but then would slowly eat almost the whole bowl. Played with a blue clip thing after wanting to do a harder metal one he had found somewhere. Think he came across one of these in Thailand. Anyway, the metal one was too hard to do on his own, so I got the blue one for him. Later, when we went to leave, I found it clipped to the cuff of my sweatshirt when I put it on.

We watched some Arabic and Chinese songs on YouTube, then he sang songs to the songbook. He made up a song about the snow outside. We skyped with my parents. My mom had mentioned in a message that Paul and my dad had the flu, and that she was trying to avoid it. He wanted to ask them, mainly Paul, about being sick. He asked “Why Uncle Paul not avoid the flu?.” My mom mentioned the pool in Thailand, and he got sad about it when I said we couldn’t go to a pool here.

Near the end he wanted to hang upside down. After the call, we worked on doing a headstand. We did it against the closet door. Then we played piano and xylophone. I played Ants Go Marching on the piano, and he played along on the xylophone. He understands the rhythm, and sort of seems to be trying to get the right notes. But he doesn’t want me to show/demonstrate what notes to play. We did that for a long time.

He broke a xylophone stick after I told him not to bend it more. I was very calm about it, and explained that while the sticks don’t cost much, that I’d get frustrated if he didn’t listen to me, etc. He said “Go ahead and do that” (be frustrated, that is). He asked of himself “Why you broke it?” That also led to a discussion of doing things to find out what will happen, and also was he wondering why he was motivated to break it, or was he wondering why the stick broke instead of just bending (two very different things to wonder about). Anyway, I then got out the superglue and he watched me glue both the stick and the piano key that he (re)broke last night when he stepped on the piano keys.

Finally, I gave him a bath and washed his hair. A quick bath as we needed to head to class. Then got dressed and on his bike and we got to class a couple minutes late, at 12:42.

Class was all about pulling things apart. Started with two cubes with handles in them, and Velcro that attached them, that the kids pulled apart. There were then octopi with suction cups on them, and cows they pulled out of holes. There was also a triangular tunnel that August refused to crawl through, but he liked climbing over. He was insisting on my help though until the teacher was playing with/teasing him. Wanting to get back to me, August was able to climb over it on his own.

On the way out we ran into Olivia and her mother, who was taking her to the doctor. Outside, he requested I stop while going up the ramp on the bridge. He got off to touch the little snow that remained from the nighttime snow. Over by the playground we went up to the rocks so he could touch more snow, but then he wanted to go on the swings. It was definitely time for a nap, and when I said no, he started to have a fit on the path. A guy walked right up to us and started laughing at him. I had to rather forcibly shoo him away. Add that to the list of ‘Things that wouldn’t happen in Thailand’.

At home I figured it would be a good day to actually fall asleep in bed. He begged to differ. We read Pajama Time at one point, but otherwise he mainly just refused to consider the idea of napping. He basically decided he’d skip a nap. But that would mean he would fall asleep for good at 5 or so. So at 3 I gave in and we went out in the stroller. We crossed at Baskin Robbins. He was awake. Less than a half block later I said we would turn around as the wind was blowing in our faces. When I turned, the cover blew down in front of him. When I didn’t hear a peep I knew he was asleep.

We went home and he was asleep from 3:18 to 4:30. I woke him up and get him out of the stroller. He kept trying to go back to sleep, laying down on the floor. After about 10 minutes I got him up enough to go play some more piano. Then I suggested we learning Hebrew together. It was the greatest reaction every. First, as soon as I suggested we learn Hebrew, he enthusiastically agreed. I’m not even sure he knew it was a language, just that I’d suggested we learn something. When I said we could learn together, he stuck his hands out in front of him, perpendicular to the ground, and said “Together!?…Yeah! Let’s go!”

So we got my iPad and found an app and downloaded it. We used it and got markers and started drawing the letters on paper. Carly got home as we did that, and he was excited to tell her. They nursed, then he was typing on her computer, in English. I suggested we could install the Hebrew and Arabic keyboards on his iPad, and he liked that idea, so was then typing  Hebrew and Arabic.

Carly had stopped at the store (I’d planned to go, but his late nap meant that didn’t happen) and made spaghetti and veggies for dinner. He was excited about dinner, saying “I love cheese” and as Carly was feeding him “That’s definitely a mushroom.”

We practiced more head stands. I actually did one too, against the wall in the reading area. I told Carly to come in and see if she wanted, but before she could August pushed me over. We then studied some more Hebrew and wrote it. And then did more Ants Go Marching on the piano and xylophone. The stick broke again so we glued it yet again.

Carly took a shower and August and I played the privacy game. After her shower, August was ready to try to sleep. Carly was getting him dressed and he took his socks, ran down the hall, and hid them in the parlor. He came back and said he wanted his feet to be cold. Tried for sleep, but came out at 8:25.

He was singing from the songbook, and made up a song where he sang “Won’t you be my friend?” – based on Mr. Roger’s “Won’t you be my neighbor?” He sang another one that went “Go away from the car…go away from my car, car, car.” I don’t know where that one came from. He then read Berenstain Bears Go to School with the narrator. It highlights the words as she reads, and August was following along, calling out words that he knew. He went back, and was asleep at 9:10.

His photo for Carly: 

Teuni Teuni. Pulling: 

Being an octopus: 

Touching snow: 

Trying to fall back to sleep: 

Typing Arabic:

For a relatively short flight, it was a long travel day. We woke him up at 5:40. He was saying something like “I wrote it” a few times. We left at 6, and took a taxi about 35 minutes to the airport. In the cab August did some joking around (“My arm disappeared. You can’t hold it now.”

“I smelled the nursing.”) before relaxing for awhile, and noting when the sun started to come up. We were at the airport about 6:40.

The whole process went pretty smoothly, although August at times was less patient than he had been on the way down. We made it through checkin, then at security August ran back through the metal detectors because he had found something on the floor. We got food at a sandwich place, then sat in a seating area and ate. We played hide and seek, then I taught him tag. I asked him what he wanted to do next, and he said “autokizer”. That turns out to be his form of yoga. He did that, and focused on getting his foot up high. I asked “How high can you get your foot?” He replied “Very high”. He asked Carly to join him, and she did it a little, too.

We then proceeded to our gate. For the last stretch he insisted on pushing his stroller himself. So that took awhile, as it doesn’t like to go straight in the first place. As we were boarding, August talked about “Were going to a cold place.” He put his hand in Carly’s hood and said “You’re wearing a glove.” He had already mentioned nursing because his ears hurt, and on the plane, as we waited to taxi, he put his fingers in his ears. Once in the air, we played with play dough, then ate lunch. He did some water coloring in the Pororo book they gave him, and watched some Puffin Rock while wearing headphones. While Carly read him Berenstain Bears Get in a Fight, he put his feet up in her face at the “Get your dopey feet out of my face!” line. Eventually, he took a nap from 12:40 to 2:05. Think we read some Berenstain Bears, and he did some singing, he made up a “airplane, its good enough for me.” That’s based on the “C is for Cookie” song that Cookie Monster sings. He wanted me to tell him about babies and diapers and toilets, so I was telling him about brain structure (I keep adding more and more) as we touched down.

We worked our way out and made it to the bus. Another bus, and we made it home at 8. Given the two hours time difference, it was 12 hours from leaving the rental condo to getting home. It was darn cold in here. Carly went down and got some sandwiches at Paris Baguette and bread and milk. August had me guess what he wanted to do. I kept guessing things, but he kept saying no. Finally, when I had failed to guess, he said “Zinnie wants to ride his bike.” He got super excited. So we took it out in the hall and rode up and down the halls. We met Carly as she came off the elevator, having gone back down for a couple other things. We also collected our Christmas cards from the mailbox.

Back inside, we discovered we hadn’t flushed a toilet before leaving. That wasn’t pleasant. August ate some fruit and crab (two of the things she had picked up). We read Pajama Time and One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish, and then Berenstain Bears books. We all went to sleep at about 11:15.

 

Photos. Leaving: 

Taxi: 

Waiting for food: 

Yoga: 

Flight: 

Dopey feet: 

A nap: 

Bus home: 

I’m writing this as we’re packed no ready to get up early to head to the airport. We will miss Thailand, although Carly won’t miss the job fairs.

August was up at 7:30. Nursed for awhile, then watched Chinese songs and Treetop Family videos on my iPad. Carly Skyped with her parents, then we then Skyped with my parents about the big news. August wanted to feed the monsters again. Don’t know how much I’ve mentioned the monsters that live under the bed and in the couch. We decided that they are nocturnal, so sleep in the apartment while we are gone, and go out at night. Carly was starting to pack, and August got my shoes and wore them and was walking around, saying “Muck up dada’s work shoes.” He’s been brushing his teeth really well lately, doing it for extra seconds. Today he got up to 21 at one point. We watched a little Puffin Rock, and I remembered that yesterday he had remembered that a group of starlings is called a ‘murmuration’. Also, right before we left, he lay down on the couch for a little rest – that’s been a pretty common occurrence lately before we leave.

Finally, yesterday he kept having me explain over and over why babies don’t use diapers “doota doota doo…poop!” That comes from reading Everybody Poops.

We left at 10:15. A wet day. On the stairs outside the gate, Carly spotted a snail. A big one. August did a good job of looking at it and leaving it alone. As we left he said “bye snail…bye monsters.” (I had mentioned along the way that he hadn’t said bye to the monsters today.)

On the train he wanted to break the rules: “I’m eating real. I’m breaking the rules.” “No. I like to break the rules.” Before we got off, he lay down on the floor of the train. When we got off he said “It was dirty on the train and I was sleeping on the dirt spot.”

We stopped at the two bakery sort of places in the station to put together lunches for us. New things I got were a looktan pie,  and an English Croque Monseuir. In the park we put August in the pack pack, then walked up to the cool architecture area and walked all around that on the random paths with Carly. August saw the broken tire that he had spotted last time and said “I don’t like broken things; I like fixed things.” We sat in a covered spot there and ate lunch. August saw a spot of something on the ground and examined it. He said “What’s that disgusting smell?”

We walked to the pool, and got there just before 12:30. We had the entire place to ourselves, and the woman let Carly in for free. We stayed until close to 2. We had a lot of fun, and August worked on kicking and tried going on his back a couple times, and just generally got more comfortable with the water.

The plan from there was to walk north to see the northern part of the park and stop at a coffee shop there. All went well until we were in the coffee shop and August started screeching and wanted to climb on the table, etc. So we left. Stopped to nurse him at one point, then put him in the backpack. He never fell asleep for a nap, but was upset for several minutes before calming down. We headed for the children’s museum.

On our way to the children’s museum we walked through Queen Sirikit Park, which we hadn’t yet been to. It is basically a botanical garden, and incredibly beautiful. We learned what a wishbone flower is. We exited the park by the children’s museum and went there. It was 3, and closed at 4, but both the little kids area and the 3 to 7 year old area were closed for cleaning. But he had fun playing outside: first at a small playground (sponsored by Pantene) where the swings were really low and he liked touching the ground, then over on the rings and bars we had played on before. He wanted to go back to the other playground, but I convinced him the sand would be wet. Before we left we sat down and ate our desserts that we had bought with lunch. Left a little before 4.

Coming home was a bit rough. He got restless on the first train, then lay on the pavement while we waited for our transfer. He did better on the second train, sitting on Carly’s lap and making letters with her out of their hands. Once home, I went and picked up take out from Steak and Shabu. Food took some time, as I think they were just opening, and I talked to Gary and his wife while I waited and thanked them for the oatmeal cookies last time.

Back at the apartment, Carly had been packing, and continued to pack and clean. We paused for dinner. He sat on the toilet for a long time, and had me tell him over and over about why babies use diapers and brain development (I kept adding more and more detail, as he had me repeat it so many times. I gave him his shower, then he spent a long time looking at the songbook and making up songs. He’s really making up original songs and tunes now. Today there was a “Markers in the sky” song, a song about Zinnie, and several others. And he randomly quoted Puffin Rock: “Who said anything about jumping?” We read Berenstain Bears Go to School twice and he was asleep at 8:15.

Photos. Snail: 

Lunch: 

Pool: 

Walk through the park: 

Wishbone flower: 

Children’s museum: 

Looking out at the front of the train: 

Rest on the platform: 

Letters with their fingers: 

Sleeping on the floor: