Note: Still no photos. But we are headed to Philadelphia for a couple nights next week and I’ll try to post some of the cousins photos.
Colin was the first kid up. When August came out at 7:15 Colin ran up to him, saying “Bee, bee, bee!” Colin then ran around in circles yelling “Tractor, tractor, tractor!” August talked to Carly, confirming “Is this my mama?…these are the close mama changed into?” August did some good sneezing in the morning as he played on the floor with Carly and Colin. After eating Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast, he got down and was playing around, then tried to convince Carly to go outside by arguing that the outside chairs were more comfortable than the chair she was sitting in. Really trying to convince her.
He and I went upstairs to the changing room and the music thing. Played there a few minutes, then went back downstairs. Vivian and Colin were watching a video, and August started touching her with the orange bendy thing. She didn’t want him to and I threatened to take it away. He said “If I hide it in my shirt maybe you won’t take it…I’m going to make Vivian mad…I’m going to hurt all of Vivian’s stuff.” He didn’t seem upset, but I took a break with him in the bedroom.
We came back out, and got a chair for him to sit next to Vivian. It was the one with red rubbing off and he didn’t want it: “Vivian can have th scratchy chair.” He kept trying to scoot to her chair. He was offered multiple solutions, and eventually he switched chairs with Colin, getting a fully red one. But then he started scratching it with his finger, saying “I’m going to scratch it up.”
Another break. Admitted he was in a bad mood. Decided apple would help cheer him up. Ate some, then got orange juice and we cut a long straw to make it short and then he was happily sitting in the chair.
I went and took a shower. As I came out, he had just bit his tongue on something. Carly took him in to nurse. Cassie, Carly, and I started getting ready to take the kids to a park. Kind of felt like it took forever. August was hungry and Vivian gave him the rest of her sandwich. We finally left at 10:15.
We got to Mt. Bethel Community Park. He was grumpy and didn’t want to get out of the car. The playground was too sunny or not fun. I asked if he knew why he was grumpy. He said “Everything is mean…I want things that are not mean.” Carly took him to the playground and got him in a swing.
They arrived a few minutes later. Vivian: “my swing is taller” and stick out her tongue. Cassie spott d a groundhog and Vivian went with Carly to investigate. August wanted down and we went to the purple merry go round thing. Vivian got on, then off, and August grabbed he spray bottle. Vivian was upset about that. We ended up over at the play structure. They fawned over a baby, with Colin hugging it and saying “baby, baby, baby…too.”
Vivian and August did a lot of climbing in one part. He said “It’s okay if there’s no grown ups and I’m climbing.”
Back to swings “Fresh air in my nose…it makes the machine work…bum, bum, bum…when it fills up, it makes it work…the tank.”
I took them on the round turning thing that you hang on. They took turns. August put bark on a bench while he waited, but then Vivian decided she didn’t want him doing that. I have her two Yens I. A row at one point and August wasn’t happy about that he ran across her path and got hit. She luckily held on. He went and nursed, and the cloud cover went away. We looked at the dairy barn and we left about 11:45.
Got home and Cherie gave each of the kids a spray bottle. August got blue, Vivian got red, and Colin got a clear one. Vivian and August then argued about whose favorite color was blue and whose was red or pink. I got lunch for August and me. Vivian went out to the motor home with Cherie and Colin went up for a nap. August ate most of the Boca Burger I had made. I gave him one of his pie crust cookies after lunch. We cleaned up after lunch, and August did some vacuuming. It was some nice quiet time in the house. Then August wanted to go outside to the motor home too so Carly took him out.
I went out to check on them a bit later. They were all playing with the harmonium. After that they had letter cookies. They gave the Zs and Qs to August and I got the Ds. Cherie suggested he take an M in to mama. He really liked that idea, although he almost ate it twice by accident on our way inside.
Back inside we were having some nice quite time. But he was bored, saying things like “I want to play with someone.” We went back out to the bus. Cherie spotted him from the motor home and said something. He covered his eyes and didn’t want to walk. When I told him he had to walk he said “No, it’s quite a long way.”
In the motor home Vivian was playing with a deck of cards. August wanted the same deck. Cherie went through negotiations and got them each a deck they liked, then suddenly August said he wanted to play on the bed and took Vivian with him.
At 2 August and I went in. He found a bird in the house. I think it went out the door as we were opening windows together. Vivian and I got lemonade. Vivian got a cup for August but first accused him of taking hers but he was actually holding my cup.
A guy came to pump the sewage out of the motor home, which was a big event for them. They first watched from the window, then the front porch. Once the truck was gone, Carly took them bike riding in the garage again. Back inside we planned for another outing. August went to the bathroom and said he wanted to sit there for “hours and hours”. A few seconds later: “Mama, I’m done!”
August and Vivian were digging in dirt before we left. Vivian actually invited him to, but then had a very specific spot for him to dig, and he couldn’t dig in Colin’s hole, where she was digging. Vivian had suggested a walk around the lake but when I told her we were thinking a park she said we were going to too many parks. But I found some naturey parks in Stroudsburg and showed her and she liked the idea.
We drove Zacharias Pond Park and were walking at 4:25. For like a minute. Carly carried August and he said “I just want to fall asleep on mamas shoulder.” But then they both needed the bathroom. From there it was to the small playground, which actually had a couple of good climbing features for both of them, and a metal bar that they climbed and swung on. Started walking again, this time to the left, but August wanted a snack. We sat at a picnic table and ate the sandwich and a few crackers. Finally, a real walk. We walked the longer trail, August mostly being carried, but doing some walking. He would say it was too slow when he walked, but then get distracted by everything and sit down, etc. Found a couple pieces of exercise equipment: bars I helped them hang on, then a slanted board they slid down. We got to the pond and they played on the bridge. From there we then walked the edge. We saw two eagles, a mama duck and six babies, snails in the pond, some small fish, and a frog, which we first heard under a deck area but I eventually spotted.
On our way out we went to the bathroom again. I took August to the right outhouse this time but he said it smell bad. When I let go of the door it slammed on his fingers. Luckily, not hard so no damage done.
On the way home they negotiated over the end of the seatbelt in the seat between them. Carly had to set the timer on that one. We were back at 5:30. They hung on the branch out front, then went out with Cherie for the Smurf Pez dispensers. August wasn’t too grateful for his. He got a generic smurf one, which I called Happy Smurf, but I think he wanted one he recognized like Papa or Smurfette, which the others got.
August had actually dug in the dirt while the others went to the motor home with her, as he didn’t have his shoes on. He then came in and told me and Carly about digging the dirt by the p
lants. He seemed worried about it, so I went out with him. It turned out he was worried that Vivian would be upset.
Back inside he said his foot was hurting. He told Carly “My foot is just worn out.” from the bark, etc.
We got things ready for dinner. A leftovers day but with fresh corn. He tried stealing Vivian’s chair a couple times, which made her scream. I pointed out it was a game that he’s always played with grown ups and we find it funny. He ate some noodles, fried rice, and corn. Cherie was then loading the dishwasher. He kept closing the drawers/door and she was explaining she wasn’t done yet. He kept asking “why?” She started giving nonsense answers, which he caught on were funny: “Because the sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home.” Him: “What my old Kentucky home is?”
Jeff came home with lollipops with mystery flavors. August got a yellow one which turned out to be pineapple. When it got small again he asked if it was okay to crunch it. Vivian went out with Cherie to fill the Pez dispensers. Colin was following August around and August would stick his head in Colin’s face and say “Space, Colin.” They came back in with the filled Pez dispensers and had fun eating those.
I then said it was reading time. I had mentioned the Loch Ness Monster earlier and Vivian had wanted to read it. So we read that, then Tallulah’s Tap Shoes. Vivian was sitting next to me, and Colin next to her. Vivian’s head was on my shoulder. August actually had problems with this. He tried scooting in with them, then he was trying to hit and pinch Vivian to get her attention. He finally went off, not listening to books. We finished by reading Oh, Daddy! a couple times and George Catches a Cold.
It was then bath time. Carly did bath today and they did a silly tea time. A lot of laughing. While August and Vivian were in there I played night night with Colin and his cement mixer. After the bath I think August was frustrated because he wanted to go upstairs. Cherie taught him to say “I want to go upstairs.” and stomp his feet.
August headed to bed and was asleep at 8:05. Vivian and Colin had to go in and say goodnight. I did more reading to Vivian: Berenstain Bears Go to School (twice – appropriate since she’s going to kindergarten soon), Gaston, Goodnight Already!, Hug Machine, Creepy Carrots, and Dinosaurs Love Underpants.
When I went to bed and turned on the light there was a moth-like insect flopping around on the bed around and on August. I caught it and put it outside.