Category: Uncategorized

He was up at 7:35. Nursed, then watched Carly wash and cut the papaya. He was a bit concerned about her washing it off with soap, as he doesn’t like the taste of soap. I took a shower, and he came in the bathroom to ask what I was doing. Afterwards, he wanted to smell all the soaps and shampoos in the bathroom, including the ones we brought from home. We Skyped with my parents after that. Carly had brought out the toaster oven and plugged it in in the living room to make toast (not much room in th kitchen) and made fried eggs for breakfast. August touched a hot portion of the toaster oven and may have been slightly burned, or at least startled by it. They nursed and he was still in a bit of a bad mood and refused to eat. He stared hiding behind me, then I was lying back on him, and we were looking at ourselves in the mirror. He decided to eat and he ate a good breakfast. He ate at least a full egg and then a piece of toast with pineapple jam.

We then headed out to do some exploring. Right out of the building and into the sky train station. We bought three passes: August got his own card, as here it is by height, and the cutoff for riding free is 90cm. He is 92. He was very excited by this though and loved going through the turnstiles on his own.

We got off after one stop, over the river, and looked around. We went and looked at the first hotel that Carly will be going to for a job fair, the Shagri-La. Then went back to the pier and watched boats for a couple minutes, then hopped a shuttle boat to the Sheraton, up river. That is where her second job fair will be. Used the restroom there and looked around. We paused to look at some deer decorations and the big Christmas tree and presents in the lobby.

A quick stop at a mini mart for sunscreen, a purple carrot drink, and some dried kiwi, then we walked north, kind of randomly, to Chinatown.

Saw a temple and some old buildings along the way. August admired some metal machine parts in a shop. Walked around the Chinese cultural center a bit, but August was clearly getting sleepy. But up the cover, against his protests and walked north through Chinatown. He fell asleep at 12:35 and we suddenly saw the first coffee shop we had seen: a wonderful little place called Blue Water. It had really interesting copper light fixtures and decorations, and interesting light bulbs as well. And an actual cuckoo clock. We got an iced Thai tea and a macchiato, and a pork burger. About 8 bucks total. Stayed there while he slept until 2:01.

He woke up wanting a drink at the coffee shop, but we got up and headed out. Walked back to a hotel carly had seen to use a bathroom. Carly asked if august wanted to go in too, and he said “Hmm…hmm” and had a thinking face on. She went in, then of course he decided he wanted to go in. I waited, listening to “Christmas Wrapping” in the lobby area.

We found a restaurant, Hua Seng Hong restaurant ข้าวต้มปลาท่าดินแดงเจ้าเก่า, and went there for some lunch. Ordered noodles and duck, Hong Kong fried rice, and shrimp dumpling dim sum. When we first sat down, there was a spicy-looking pepper condiment. August said it looked spicy, then asked “Dada cool it down.” with a grin on his face. I think it was a spicy/hot joke. We liked all the food and August ate some of all of it. Before we left, Carly took him to the bathroom, and I waited outside, watching the cooks and looking at the pieces of what I think were shark fin.

We left and walked a couple more blocks north through China town, then turned left towards the river. Only a few blocks, but it was a market area, and the sidewalk was one person wide and very crowded. With August on my back I couldn’t really turn sideways to go by people. Close to the river we saw a piece of graffiti art that had an alien in a spaceship. August liked that, so we took a photo and talked to the alien.

At the river we tried to figure out the boat system. We told one guy we wanted to go to Central Pier, and he told us to run and jump on a boat. Couldn’t make that one though, so we waited about 10 minutes, then got on a blue line boat headed the right way. Crowded, but not horrible. We never paid. After getting off we figured out how to buy blue line tickets, but just those. Still not sure how other boats would work.

By the canal, August saw these two big metal structures that looked like ramps. He asked “Are these for wheelchairs?” Spent a few minutes helping him walk up one, take a big step across to the other, and walk down it. We then went on the sky train, him going through on his own again. As we left the station, he was talking about his sandals, and joked that he wasn’t wearing sandals. I grabbed his foot and said “Then what’s this?” He replied ”Bracelets!”

We went to the minimart and got a few things. While Carly paid I took him outside. He was running and skipping in circles, then started up the stairs. Near the top, he stumbled and hit his knees on a step, scraping it a little. He came over to me and rubbed his leg on my leg, and said “It hurt on dada.” Not necessarily the nicest thing to do, but very cute. But then he was sort of rubbing my leg, as if to make it feel better, and he saw a scrape on my other leg. I don’t know where that came from. Anyway, he saw it, bent over, and kissed it. So sweet.

We got home right at 5. He went and got the play dough. We were playing with that and he wanted a color out. He tried to hand it to me and said “It’s stuck. Get it out you big oaf.” I said “Did you just call me a big oaf?” “Yeah!” he said as he smiled and covered his eyes, and leaned against the corner of the bed and promptly slipped off and fell on his face on the floor. He huddled on the ground and covered his eyes. We checked to see if he was okay, and he said “I’m working on something” a couple times and got back up and went back to the play dough.

We played with music apps for awhile, then he watched Puffin Rock. I used the Apple TV in the room to show it on the TV for a bit and he seemed pretty fascinated by that. Sometime later I turned off Puffin Rock, and he was a little upset: “More, more, more.”

I asked if he wanted to read books and he said “I want to do grown up things.” I said we could read a grown up book, or at least one with less pictures and suggested Frog and Toad. He said “Is Frog and Toad Are Friends a grown up book?”

When I opened iBooks he chose Jabberwocky and we had fun reading and explaining that. He said “We’re reading new books.” He then chose The Curious Garden. We read a little of that but he got distracted and was panting and said something and said “I’m talking like Mossy” – referring to when he is out of breath and looking for the puffins.

He then tried his new toothpaste and did some brushing, then went and spit in the sink on his own. We had talked about kinds of toothpaste at the store and how he could work on spitting out his toothpaste.

About 6:40 he wanted to go try the pool, even though it was dark. Carly got him ready to go, and as she put on his swim diaper he asked “Can you pee in there?” She said just in an emergency, but try not to, but then he went ahead peed in it, thinking he was being funny. Carly explained that that made her sad – he seemed to both think it was funny, but also be apologetic, saying “I’ll try to not do that…I’m going to try and not do that.”

They read Berenstain Bears Get in a Fight, then in the bathroom he unrolled the toilet paper again, which he knows he’s not supposed to do. Carly gave him a time out and sat with him in the living room. He kept saying “I’m going to try to not do that.” Then, when it was over, he went back to the living room and gave himself his own timeout, sitting down and counting to ten on his fingers before getting up.

We played hide and seek for a bit, then were going to go to the pool. But then he told Carly he didn’t want to go, so she started cooking bok choy
. But then he immediately changed his mind again. So I just took him out. It was 7:30. We went to the shallow pool. He made waves and called the bubbles ‘germs’. Tons of why questions. Over to the other shallow pool. He talked a lot about George going in the deep water in the Peppa Pig book. We then went over to the toys. I told him he could use all the things as he was the only kid. He talked about using “all the things” the entire time we were there. He needed to go to the bathroom, so we went back up just before 8.

Ate some dinner that Carly had prepared for them (I didn’t eat much). He did fine with everything, but decided he didn’t like the bok choy. After dinner he got on his iPad and used the Green Eggs and Ham app. He was reading through it by touching one word at a time so it would say the word, and he did a good job with the little word game things. He decided to put the play dough away, and got me to help him pick up the plastic things and carry the containers to their shelf.

It was now 9, and we realized he needed a bath. He was getting tired though, and agreed to do it in the morning. They then skyped with with Vivian and watched Thai videos on YouTube. He went with Carly to take the garbage to the garbage room. Carly’s warned him enough about the door alarm as you go through to the elevators that he is a bit afraid of it now. Before they left, he was looking at himself in the mirror, and hard to get going.

Finally, Carly started making his bed in the living room. On his own accord he went and took both of the pillows off of the big bed and added them to his bed to make it snuggly. He said good night to me, and then was asleep by 9:55.

Boat to the Sheraton: 

Dried kiwi: 

Walk to Chinatown: 

Parts he liked: 

Chinese cultural center: 

Nap at coffee shop: 

Lunch: 

Shark fin?

Walk and boat: 

Ramps: 

Pool and toys: 

Trying the key: 

He let out a longish yell at some point in the night, but went back to sleep. He woke up at 8:15. Nursed and then they skyped with Cherie. Afterwards, August wanted to pee standing up, but didn’t have his stool. He said “Maybe the garbage can.” and went to get it. Good problem solving (although we wouldn’t let him use it, as it was too small and slippery). He helped me put lotion on my legs: “massage, massage, massage…we’re rubbing it all in.” He spotted the guide book on a table and read ‘Thailand’ on it right away.

We went downstairs for breakfast just after 9. A cat came through the dining room, which was fun. Breakfast was amazing. There was a rice dish that was wonderful, and August also ate. We definitely prefer Thai breakfast to traditional Korean breakfast (rice and fish). We also had hard boiled age, fried egg, and his favorite, these little sausages. Oh, and some tang-type juice.

We then went on a little walk, where we got used to some Thai things: saw our first Buddhist shrine with the offerings of drinks (at a corner by a 7-11), got used to the heat, saw a lot of dogs wandering about, and got used to cars on the left side of the street. August found a big nut from a tree and carried that around, spotted a squashed toad on the street (which we wouldn’t let him touch), and looked at the green water in a pond by another shrine. And we also saw some lovely flowers that he liked.

We stopped by the hotel for a bit, then went to 7-11. Got guava and passion fruit juices and some different crackers. Back at the hotel we tried the juices. Carly said the passion fruit reminded her of Hawaii. August said “Reminds me of Mongolia.” The cool thing was that he recognized Hawaii as a place. Talking about the juice “That sounds amazing…I haven’t heard of this…this is 2%” I’d been reading the juice percentages on the containers.

He tried my honey toothpaste, and liked that. I asked “Do you want to read Gaston.” “I want to read Antoinette.” and gave me a big smile. Antoinette is the other dog in that book. We played some hide and seek in the apartment, then was nursing with Carly on the bed they had slept on. He kept asking “Why we on dada’s bed?” I had said that would probably be my bed the night before, but then we changed our minds.

While checking out he wore his sunglasses and sung the letters on the front of the desk “There’s a g and there’s and r and there’s an o and there’s a u and there’s a p and there’s a period, comma…”

Got in a cab at 12:15. In the cab he liked the little figurines, and ‘read’ the Thai around. He watched Puffin Rock much of the way. There was no seatbelt for him, so we put our arms around him.

Taxi driver had some difficulty finding our place, but we got here. He was a bit afraid going in again, like at the hotel, but once up to the condo he liked it. He especially liked the stuffed frog on the bed. Then, it turned out it actually changes into a prince. So Carly and he played a game where he kissed it and it would transform. A bit later he had his first fall of the bed. Then, when I was setting up the Apple TV he was upset when I wouldn’t let him use the remote.

We got ready and went for a walk. We were trying to find a small supermarket. Missed it heading west, but found it on the way back. But he fell asleep right as we found it, and there were only stairs down to the store. So I stayed out and Carly went in and got some salads and frozen spaghetti for lunch and things like sugar. She also got cash at an ATM. He was asleep from 2:45 to 3:39, when Carly woke him up back in the condo.

We ate our salads, and after August was slow to wake up, we prepared the spaghetti and he ate that. We then played with play dough on the floor. After awhile we changed into swimsuits and went down to the pool. We spotted some pigeons drinking from a corner of it, and we walked all around to check out the pool area. We then went into the shallow pool. Not heated, and it was getting pretty windy, so a little cold going in. August got in one step, and tried a second, but didn’t like his swimsuit getting wet. We went over to the big pool, and Carly went in deeper. August did further try a second step down, but I think it was a bit too cold. We headed back in a bit later.

We then went on a mission to find a big supermarket, about 20 or 30 minutes away, walking. For some reason we took the stroller. Backpack would have been much easier, as the street north got narrow, with lots of motorbikes. Not as bad as Vietnam, but not easy. And then there was a big pedestrian overpass over a street. We made it though. At the Top Super, he stayed with me and Carly went off to shop. He spotted the salad bar, and we got a container and he chose all the things he wanted to try: little corn, peas, dragon fruit, cooked carrot, and several other things. We did some more shopping and spotted Pororo on strawberries, and realized they were from Korea. We also got dried jack fruit and a bag of soy chip things.

We took a longer, but easier to walk, path home in the dark. We were eating the jack fruit, and Carly’s mouth started to itch. She was having an allergic reaction. We kept walking, and luckily it wasn’t too bad.

We were home at 7:45. We mixed a little play dough, then got out our salad bar snack selection and he had fun trying them all out. I also had gotten a lemon/honey green tea drink, and shared part of it with him. Carly heated some white sauce spaghetti for his dinner, and he ate some of that, although was skeptical of the white sauce at first. There was a fan in the corner of the room that he wanted on, so we plugged it in. He found a receipt or something, and was dropping it in front of the fan and it flew. He then started experimenting: a play dough lid, Carly’s shoes, “light things”, plastic.

He decided at one point to bring me a bite of spaghetti on the fork. Worked well, but I didn’t see the mushroom. When he pointed it out and tried to give it to me, it fell on my shorts. They nursed, then he watched some Puffin Rock. I was working on my iPad, further down on the bed. After a few minutes he picked up his iPad, kind of climbed over me, and set the iPad down so we could watched together. He lay on me for the next several minutes, watching, and only got up when Carly got out of the shower. We then read part of Green Eggs and Ham. A little later he fell of the bed again, this time almost hitting the desk, but mostly missed it, and fell on a body pillow on the floor.

Carly tried to get him in for a bath, but he wanted to nurse. We decided it would wait for the morning. He nursed, and was falling asleep so I turned off the light. He got up though and wanted it back on. He went back to nursing and fell asleep at 9:45.

Photos. Breakfast:

First walk: 

Taxi: 

Walk from our condo: 

Pool: 

Evening walk: 

Korean strawberries: 

Melon: 

Puffin Rock: 

At 4:40 he woke up and went out to Carly in the parlor. Can’t remember if he said anything to me, but on his way out of the bedroom he closed the door behind him. He then slept until 8:40. While nursing, after a short break, he said “No touching mama. No touching mama.” (Reminding himself he’s not supposed to grab at her.) He then typed on her computer. We were packing, and he took the Thailand book, and “stole” it. They nursed again, then he was being silly and hiding, and said to Carly (for no clear reason) “I’m going to hide from you. Cuz you’re crazy.”

They Skyped with Cherie and Chuck. I took out recycling (mainly bags of old baby clothes).

Carly had nachos, and he walked around eating a chip and making his loud “num” noises. He then hummed the sounds from the orchestra book – the trombone is his favorite. I took a shower. When I came out he was wrestling with Carly. He then got the hammer thing from class and was fixing everything. That ended for awhile when he wanted to hit he windows.

Carly took a shower and he went back to hammering. He then moved on to playing chords on piano (he spreads his fingers out to play intervals) and then on my iPad. Used that app for quite awhile and was asking a lot of questions. Then switched to Pages and was typing symbols and singing them. I was packing, and he saw the thin markers that we haven’t used in a long time. So he used those to write letters on the paper, but then found the little stylus with them. He wanted his iPad and used it to draw shapes in Paper.

Carly came back from taking out the compost and getting cash, and decided to take him outside on his bike. He stood up to use the toilet, and said “It’s a fountain.” That was new.

They went outside a little past noon and I finished my packing. They rode the bike, and went on the swings and were back at 12:45. He needed some cheering up, which led to me hiding, which led to the invention of the “privacy game”. I would hide, and talk about how I was having privacy, and he would come and interrupt it. After a few rounds, he switched roles and he was the one getting some privacy.

 

He and Carly read a couple Berenstain Bear books.  She tried to brush his teeth. He said “I’m a fox now. I do things on my own.” and insisted on brushing himself. Before we left, he peed. I heard “I peed everywhere.” He had made a bit of a mess this time. As we got ready to head out the door, he was asking a lot of ‘why’ questions about why we were going to Thailand, or why we had the suitcase, etc. etc. Finally, we left Puff and Angeles in charge and headed out at 2:50.

The trip to Bangkok was long, with oh so many lines to stand in. Always more lines. But it went really smoothly. On the bus he got his own seat, and played a bee buzzing game with Carly, waking her up. As we got close to the airport, an airplane went right over us, low. He said “Oh, maybe it’s going to help someone.” We’d talked about that with an ambulance we saw while waiting for the bus. Again, a lot of why questions: about the bus and the seatbelt sign (which he seemed to know said ‘seatbelt’, as there was no picture of a seatbelt on it, and it was on the wall of the bus) and Thailand. Wondered what an island is. “Thailand is an island”, he said, because it rhymed, and I showed him a map to show that it wasn’t.

Both on the walk from home and then in the airport he was singing is patented nonsense ABC song, which he hasn’t done so much recently. Took about 40 minutes to check in. He mainly played with the dividers for the lines, and rode on the suitcase while Carly pushed. He also hit/touched a couple people that were close to us in line. We stopped at Burger King. He ate fries and chicken finger things and then we made it through security – the play dough gave us a bit of a problem, but they let it through. Stopped at Starbucks for some sandwiches for the flight and got a banana and a blueberry yogurt drink for August (he chose the drink). Finally made it to our gate. Carly took him to the bathroom, then they played some hide and seek.

On the plane he kept asking to “open” the back of the seat. The tray table wasn’t enough. Figured out he meant the movie screen, which this plane didn’t have. He then kept asking “Where’s the movie thing?” Played with the air vents, then once in the air played with play dough, watched some Puffin Rock, and nursed. I noticed that the woman across from me had a coat that said ‘Live life as if you were to die tomorrow’. Which seemed like tempting fate on a flight that literally landed just after midnight. Anyway, we got out the markers and did some art and writing, then Carly read him the Berenstain Bears new baby book, then he fell asleep. Carly and I both slept decently, and got a couple hours of sleep (her more than me, but I was up later, watching The OA on Netflix). Soon after he had fallen asleep we hit some minor turbulence and they wanted us to buckle him up. We managed to sort of stretch it around him as he lay on the seat and made them happy. He was still dead asleep when it was time to land a little after midnight (after 2am to us). He slept sitting up, buckled, with his head bobbing down then standing back up. Did that a few dozen times, then he leaned over and laid his head against my leg. Let him sleep like that until we were the last people getting off the plane.

I picked August up and he was still mostly asleep as I got off the plane and onto the gangplank. We stopped to wait for Carly, and I told him we were in Thailand. He perked up and got a big smile on his face. Carly caught up and we headed to immigration. August was again very patient, just lying in the stroller as we waited. The immigration guy was a piece of work – barking at me, for example, for opening the passport up for him. I was supposed to leave it closed for some reason. Anyway, I had to pick August up out of his stroller for his immigration photo. He objected to it, but then put his hand up, saying “erase” and pretending to erase the photo so that was pretty amusing.

We got our cell phones (less that $20 each for unlimited internet, and more minutes than we’ll need) and then found our hotel representative. More waiting. August finally questioned why we weren’t moving, saying “go, go”. Then into a van (he didn’t appreciate when the woman tried to help him in), and 15 minutes to the hotel.

There, he liked the dogs we saw as we went in, but the approach to the hotel was kind of dark, and he didn’t like the lobby. That was a bit of a breaking point. As I checked in, he was coming over and pulling on a strap of the backpack, telling me he wanted to go.

But once up to our room on the fourth floor he nursed and calmed down. Went to the bathroom and said “Its a worm poop”. I turned on the TV for a minute and he started ‘reading’ the Thai words. When I turned it off he said “I want more TV”. Oh my.

I asked “Do you want to read Gaston?” and he replied “I’m hopping right now.” as he hopped on the bed. We did read a couple stories in Frog and Toad Are Friends, then he climbed down to Carly (she’d set up a bed on the floor for him) and fell asleep around 3am.

 

Photos. The privacy game:

The voyage. Bus stop: 

Own seat on the bus: 

Check-in line: 

Chicken: 

Yogurt drink and airplane: 

Air vent: 

Piano: 

Asleep: 

Prepared for landing and still asleep: 

Thailand: 

Waiting for mama at the bathroom: 

In his cave: 

And watching some TV: 

He was up at 8:35. A short night, given the late bedtime. They nursed and then played with play dough. Carly got a new bar of soup recently, and he has been talking about it every time he washes his hands, wondering why it isn’t square, and why it is Dove soap. He came out of the bathroom saying “What’s the dove soap about, agout, labout…” They then blew bubbles (I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that he calls the bubble mixture bubble “oil”), then did some painting: “Why we working on a masterpiece about?” “Paint mama. And I’ll attack you.” He said “I want breakfast food.” and was sad when I told him banana bread was all gone because he had eaten it all last night.

He and I went to Children’s Grand Park today to give Carly some final time to prepare for the job fairs and pack. We left at 11:45. He wanted to go to the children’s museum first, so we did. When we got in, he wanted to go straight to the chalkboard. Did that, and he drew for about 2 minutes. But then he changed his mind and actually wanted to leave; he explained that he wanted to find a playground that had swings. I convinced him to stay for a few minutes so we could go up and have lunch. We went up and ate. Afterwards, as I packed up, he spotted all the food on the ground (it was busy today, as the kids are off from school) and he started stomping on the crumbs. Finally, before we left we went down to the bathroom and he used a urinal.

We went and checked on the new playground. Looks like they’ve done some work on a path around the top of the hill, but as August asked “What they not working about?” Second week in a row that there was no sign of any work being done. We walked up to where we saw the welding taking place last week. Turns out it wasn’t for the playground, but for a new covered area around the minimart place.

We went to the playground (the one that wasn’t torn down there) and went on the swings. We got there at 1:10 and were on the swings for just over 20 minutes. After a couple minutes he noted he was being quiet: “Why you silent? What Zinnie not make any noise about?” We sang some Basho songs after that.

Checked on the zoo. Still closed. But we could see the guanacos, moutlons, zebras, and alpacas. The alpacas were new, as there used to be kangaroos there. We went to see if the seals were open, and they aren’t. August and I were both looking back towards the herbivores and spotted deer up on the hill, in what I have guessed is the veterinarian area. He was excited by spotting that, then went and stood at the fence, looking at the donkeys and deer and talking about how we couldn’t go through the fence for several minutes.

He said he was getting cold, but refused the hat. We talked about what to do next, and he wasn’t excited about the children’s museum or conservatory. Open to the coffee shop though. So we went there, and up to the third floor. We got a strawberry smoothie to share, and I held him up so he could watch it being made. We found a table with comfy seats. He played on the iPad, mainly making music in Notion, and I did a little reading. He started to get rambunctious and loud. I carried him outside and made him wait outside the door while I packed up, since he wouldn’t quiet down. Worked well (and we could still see each other).

We went back to the children’s museum. In talking about where to go, I mentioned the reading area. He thought this was funny, as “Reading area is at home.” He then said, joking, with a smirk on his face, “I want the parlor at the children’s museum.” Anyway, we went to the book room. He first played around with a magnifying glass, using it primarily to watch a girl and her mom who were playing up in the reading loft. The girl was wearing a tutu, and he was curious about that. A bit later he was bothered that the other five magnifying glasses were missing, and I had to go find them for him, and he put them all back in the holder.

He had to use the toilet, so back to the bathroom. Then back to the book room, where we went up to the loft and read the When I Grow Up book a few times. Again the bathroom, at 3:35. It was a urinal every time today. As we passed the small sink he asked “Why that the stupid one?” The previous trip to the bathroom, we had tried to use that one. The sensor works very poorly on it, and in trying to get it to turn on, I had squirted August in the eye. I must have called in the ‘stupid sink’, as he remembered this time. I started to call it the ‘silly sink’ after this and I think that stuck. Hopefully.

Anyway, back in the reading area, he played with the pretend cupcakes. He’s never gotten to play with them before. He gave me several of his happy looks while playing with them. He pretended they were different flavors, but somehow always gave me the kimchi-flavored ones.

Sometime after 4 we headed out. We sat out on one of the round benches in front of the children’s museum and ate a snack: some Larabar, peanut butter sandwich, and string cheese. On the subway home he ate some crackers and randomly quoted the Puffin Rock episode about dung beetles: “Oh no. They still need to make a nest.”

Home at 5:25. They nursed and Carly read some Pooh poems. He had some stir fry for dinner. A bit later Carly started his bath and then I finished. They were making sculptures with the letters and then he was making letters out of the ropes of the bag they go in.

August and I made banana bread together, and Carly took a shower. August finds it difficult to not keep dipping his finger in the dough.

Carly made some nachos, and August carefully inspected the chips he had to make sure they didn’t have any “stuff” on them. We all ate nachos and watched Puffin Rock together for awhile.

Amazingly, he had stayed up until the banana bread was finished. He had a couple slices, but again would not actually say ‘banana bread’, even though he was terribly excited to have some. So funny. We read Berenstain Bears Get in a Fight and Pajama Time, and at 9:25 he went in on the toilet. From there he headed to bed and was asleep at 9:50.

 

Photos. Painting: 

Licking the window: 

Swings: 

Watching animals: 

Magnifying glass: 

When I Grow Up: 

Looking for a reaction when he kicks: 

Playing hide and seek: 

His happy looks. Excited: 

Chin up: 

Big smile: 

Squinting on the subway: 

Being silly: 

Playing with the strings: 

Inspecting a chip: 

He was up at 6:40. They sort of played the Zoo on the Loose game. I was up at 7:30. Carly made him oatmeal and I fed him and we blew bubbles in his milk. He did some Notion on his iPad, then we read Berenstain Bears (new baby and Double Dare). We got all the animals and hid them and played in the blanket. Carly tried to take him in for a nap around 9:50, but no such luck. He ate some more oatmeal, then Carly Skyped with Cassie, and then a short one with Chuck and Cherie.

Carly took him out on his bike for a bit. They first just went around the hall, then came back and got ready and went outside. They went over to the park and went on the swings. They were were back at 11:30.

I gave him a slice of banana bread, and he snuck into the parlor, where we generally don’t eat, and thought it was hilarious when I realized what he was doing. He read with Carly, then bit her while nursing. Been awhile since he’s done that. He finally fell asleep, and it was for a long time,  12:15 to 2:35.

After he was up and had nursed, he was playing with the orchestra book on his own. He pushes the buttons and counts the rhythms. Usually it is made up counting, but there is one strong line that he actually counts correctly. He had some stir fry, then we headed out on a walk.

We headed to Toys R Us to buy a cheap umbrella stroller for our Thailand trip. Carly went in to Toys R Us to buy it, and August and I continued on (he was in the bike) to the parks just to the north. We checked at the one on the right side of the street, but there weren’t swings. So we went across the street to 백합어린이공원. I knew there weren’t swings there, but there is a apartment complex playground right next door that does have them.

So he went on the swings for awhile, then got off and was on the spinning climbing thing when Carly showed up. They both went on that, then both went on the swings. He likes to switch back and forth on the swings, so occasionally would get off his, then just go stand by Carly with a look on his face, until she realized he wanted her swing. Also, once he turned around to face the other way, and said something like “Why you facing the lizards about?” but it wasn’t lizards. Finally, I figured out he had been saying ‘letters’, as there were small letters on one of the panels of the play structure. He was very excited when I figured out what he was saying.

We went over to the bathrooms in the park before we left. Carly took him in the women’s restroom, but it was dirty. She somehow scraped her hand on something, and it was bleeding when they got back out. August was a little freaked out by seeing the blood, but was calmer when we assured him it wasn’t his. Haven’t really seen that reaction in him. So I took him into the men’s room (which had ample cigarette butts in the sink, but was otherwise clean) and he used the urinal.

We headed home. When we got there, I dropped off the stroller and headed to Home Plus to look for a belt and get a pizza. No luck on the belt. They literally only sell one length of belt here. I don’t understand this. I got the pizza and headed home. While I was gone, they had eaten apple and peanut butter and he had started to watch Puffin Rock. We ate pizza and he read some of the orchestra book with Carly. After that they played with play dough, then he and I read two of the Berenstain Bears books.

I generally avoid the potty training details, but after that he went in on the toilet and sat down. And pooped and pooped. I’ve never seen him produce so much. Glad it wasn’t in a diaper. Wiped him twice and he got off the toilet, but would then get back on. Then sat for a long time.

Anyway, after that he finally got in the bath. We blew bubbles, and he was catching them, first with the wand, and then just with his hands. He was playing with the letters, but then biting them, and really tried to bite them hard when I told him to stop. He wanted mama after that, and she came in at the end.

Soon after that he was saying “Where are my pajamas. I want to read books.” He saw Carly with her toothbrush in her mouth, but she wasn’t holding onto it: “You’re just sucking. You’re just sucking.” Which he hears from me when he isn’t brushing with his brush.

They went in on the bed and were reading the turnip book, and a couple others, I believe. He saw me wearing a tie for the first time, as I was choosing clothes for Thailand in case I have to interview. He was rather amused by the outfit. He then tried our toilet standing up, then they went to bed at 9:50.

And then he was out at 10:30. Carly stayed in bed. He wanted breakfast foods, but kept saying no to everything I suggested. Then I figured out he wanted a “slice of…” banana bread. He just wouldn’t say banana bread for some reason.

We read all three Berenstain Bears books, then he went to the bathroom. Thought it was just pee, but then, back on the couch, I put him on my leg to put his diaper and pants on, and he said something about pooping on dada, and indeed there was a bit of a mess. He found this rather funny.

He and I went in to bed at 11:20. He’s really grabbing/hitting while nursing, so we tried to get him to sleep without. She left the room for awhile, and I talked to him. He was quite upset and kept saying “I can’t”. I sang, and told Puffin Rock stories. He said those helped, but he was quite distraught. Finally, he fell asleep at 12:15 but still needed a little nursing for that to happen.

 

Photos. Playing in the mirror while he waits to go: 

Playground. Trying out standing:

Boxing Day at Home Plus: 

Pizza: 

Song buttons: 

Listening: 

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: