Kind of a rainy day, so not a lot of outings today. But we made it to Shaeffer Park with Chuck and Cherie for a nice outing and took August for a short walk in the stroller(!) – the first time he’s been in a stroller for months.
Carly and August slept in quite late (close to 9, I think) and August seemed a little off – he did a lot of nursing and clinging throughout the day, although less so as the day went on.
In the morning Carly made a smoothie, which meant that August wanted to watch the blender, and then walked around with the lid to the blender for awhile. We played downstairs with the fan (he likes making noise into it. Or, more correctly, he likes me to make noise into it, and will pull my head close to the fan so I will do it), then he came back up and had fun watching videos on the blog with Cherie. He particularly liked the video of him using the vacuum cleaner, and she played it again and again.
Carly took him out on the deck, and he spotted two deer. He held onto the railing and made noise at the deer for a few minutes. I got the last few seconds on video, and then he went off saying ‘mama’ and ‘oma’ – I think because he wanted them to see the deer as well. He then wanted to sit at the table outside and play with his tea can for a few minutes.
From there we went down to the carport and played with bubbles and water. He used the squirt gun things by pointing them to the ground and pushing down on the handle to squirt out the water on the ground. I then changed him, and by that point Cherie had started skyping with Vivian and Cassie. August was thrilled to see Vivian again.
After lunch, we all went to Shaeffer Park, the first time August and I have been there. It is a nice park, with a beach on the Skookumchuck and about a half mile of trails through some really nice trees. For a half hour or so, Cherie played with August along the water, and then they walked up by the playground and picnic area. Carly and Chuck lounged and chatted on a picnic table that had been placed in the river. Cherie and August found some old fireworks in the grass, and August quickly picked up the word ‘firework’. She carried them in her pocket for the rest of the time we were in the park and would take them out when he said ‘firework’.
Then we all went across the bridge and walked the loop out in the forest. As we finished up, it started to rain and we hurried back to the start of the loop and stood under trees until the rain stopped. Cherie and Chuck had been entertaining August by saying ‘aagh’ and putting up their arms, etc. and we continued that and Carly chased him around us as we waited.
We walked back to the car, only to find that August wasn’t really ready to leave yet – he wanted to go back into the park. I let him play for a minute, then we left. On the way back, he really wanted the banana. He hasn’t eaten a ton of banana lately, so we were surprised when he wanted to hold it himself, and he ate over half of it.
After a few minutes at the house, Carly put him in the stroller and we went for a little walk. He enjoyed it for awhile, and as we passed the entrance to the nature area on the road, he made it clear we were supposed to go that way. Kind of surprised us that he picked up on that. But the stroller is a small one and doesn’t do well in the gravel, so after a minute of bumping in the gravel he wanted to turn around. We headed back, and he decided he was done with the stroller, and so he walked back from where Tall Cedar meets River Heights, helping push the stroller along the way, and then pushing it around (and into Chuck’s car) back in the driveway.
We sorted baby clothes (thank you, Andrea!) to take back to Korea. August tried on one hat for a few seconds, but wouldn’t try on any more. Then I took August downstairs to eat some banana bread and play again while Carly started to do some initial packing.
We all gathered for dinner (Ahi, spinach, and salad), but August wasn’t wanting to sit down. So Carly took him down to the carport for awhile and I ate first. When I was done I got him and we skyped with my parents. He was thrilled to see Gramma and Grampa again, which actually made talking difficult, but was very fun to see.
Another walkabout outside led us back through Chuck and Cherie’s room, where there is a ball that acts as a doorstop. He wanted the ball, so I suggested we get the one in our backpack. We got it out, then August started saying ‘fuv uhh’ again and again. At first I thought he was saying ‘flower’, then, as he walked back to the entryway, I thought he meant ‘outside’. But then he went back to the same pocket and pointed in and kept saying it. Then it clicked: he wanted the shovel that we used to keep in there. So we went down to the carport and to the sandbox and got the orange shovel. He was content with that, but then went back to the backpack and started saying it again and getting frustrated. He even put the shovel back in the pocket. The only thing I could think of is that he also wanted his blue shovel, which we couldn’t find.
At any rate, it was clear he was tired, so Carly took him for a bath. She sat with him for a couple minutes, but he then played by himself again.
In addition to his new words for firework and shovel, he also said ‘grass’ while pointing to grass at the park.
Schaeffer Park:
Headed home:
Walk with the stroller:
