He was up at 8:30. While he was in nursing, Colin was drawing pictures, and when Cherie asked him who he wanted to give the pictures to Colin went and was sliding them under the door like he’s seen Vivian and August do a lot. He was very proud of himself. Colin then spotted a water bottle outside, then two other water bottles inside and knew which one was Cassie’s and which was Jeff’s. August had mixed cereal for breakfast, then took a form that Chuck had printed for her into her. Vivian got up and sat on Cassie’s lap, and August had the idea of sitting on Vivian’s lap. When she wouldn’t let him he hit her.
A bit later Cassie was alone in the chair and closed her eyes. August made a loud noise to wake her up, then when Jeff massaged her arm with a car August liked the idea and did the same. Colin and August went outside with me. Colin was carrying some Duplos I wasn’t sure he was supposed to take out and August was concerned about Colin getting them wet. He then said “I want to walk on the flat sandy dirt.” He meant the new dirt between the garage and house. There, he asked “Could you make a ball for me oma?” He and Vivian ended up in the garage, hiding and finding little green plastic things left over from building the play structure.
I took a shower. He couldn’t handle the chairs and video again. I then went out to help Jeff and Cassie move pieces of the play structure out of the garage and over to the dirt area. Carly made August a cheese and broccoli grilled sandwich. He said it was “really good”. Sat there for a long time eating his sandwich. He got cold sitting right under the air conditioner so eventually he agreed to put a shirt on. They nursed, and he pinched her or something. He seemed to think she was joking about it hurting and kept adding ‘really’ to his question: “It really, really, really hurt mama?”
Cherie had gone shopping and came home with a bunch of hot wheel sorts of vehicles, mainly from the dollar store, to be used on the roadway printed on the floor of the play structure. She made sure she got the same car for Vivian and August, but of course he still wanted whatever one he didn’t have at the moment. Still, they had quite a bit of fun with them.
He ended up going out to the RV with Cherie and Vivian. I went out a bit later. They were watching the bulldozer and playing on the bed. August needed to use the bathroom, but Vivian took the one in the RV so I took him back inside for that and water at 12:10. On the toilet he talked about always wanting his toe nails painted: “If my toes are not painted I don’t like it…Can we get green?” “I want to paint it again. I want to paint my whole body purple.” Apparently he also told Carly he didn’t like her toenails since she didn’t have them painted.
Chuck skyped with Derek and Thatcher. The kids had fun saying hi to each other but it was pretty chaotic. Carly ended up with the kids out on the porch and I then skyped with my parents. I started it out on the porch with August and Vivian, but then the workers started spraying straw on the dirt area where grass would go. I went inside because of the noise. A few minutes later I saw a big cloud of the straw come up on the porch and Carly and Vivian retreating from it. The hose had come unattached on the truck and sprayed it up there. I went back out on the porch a bit later when they were done, but then the woman came by with a leaf blower to blow some of the straw back off the porch.
Vivian and August did more playing out on the porch, and I went with Cherie to help spot the RV while Chuck parked it in the new spot. It fits nicely and now they have electricity as their cord can reach the outlet on the garage. And with the RV out of the main driveway it now feels huge.
Things were getting rough between the two kids so Carly and I decided to take them to Weona Park. We left a little before 3, Carly driving. They had complex ideas about switching between Cheerios and crackers and who would get what first. Carly is good about that attention to detail. I was more like ‘here’s the crackers you get on this trip – make them last.’
We first went on the carousel. We rode the giraffes this time. They are the tallest animals, and both the kids noticed they were higher this time. They did okay with it. I’d read the whole application for the carousel to become a national historic place so knew a lot about it now and could appreciate that the animals still have their original paint on them.
We then went and played in the playground: swings, tire swing, up to the play structure, back to swings. Eventually Vivian needed to use the bathroom so we went there. After they had both gone they played on the railing down from the men’s room, swing from it. We then went over to the baseball field. August had one of his funny moments of opining out loud: “I don’t like baseball. I love baseball. I love it the most…We’re not playing that?” We walked around the baseball field a bit and the kids played on the portable bleachers, jumping off the ends.
We headed back towards the car, August chasing Vivian. We stopped to get a drink and when August asked to use Vivian’s harmonica, which was in my pocket, she got upset and I took the harmonica away from both of them until we were home. We left at 4:35 and after they were calm in the back August asked for a mint. I heard “Vivian can go first.” Which seemed impressive on his own until I realized that Vivian had actually whispered it to him first.
At the house August still wanted a harmonica so Cassie found him one of the others and he was happy. Cassie put in the ramen noodles to eat with the seitan and veggies and August had dry ramen noodles for the first time and liked them. Colin drew all over his face with a blue marker, and Jeff joked that back in his day that would have meant his face was blue for a week; nowadays there are no consequences as it will wash right off. During dinner Jeff told his Cambodian noodle soup story. August ate a good amount, but really liked the broth, which was funny because it was just the plain ramen. He ate a ton but then said “I don’t even like the food.” Which I think just meant he was full: “When I’m not eating that means I’m full.” He had a long conversation with Jeff about being full and when he does and doesn’t eat food.
We headed outside with Vivian and played by the RV, jumping down the gravel embankment, then over by where Jeff was working on the play structure. August had worn Vivian’s pink rain boots so she put on her snow boots. They stomped in the puddles of the slide, which was now lying on the ground out there. For the past couple weeks August and Vivian have been playing the “I love ____ more” ‘game’. Today Vivian had decided she wasn’t playing that game anymore (a development of which I approve), so when August started to say he was dirtier she said she wasn’t playing that game and he asked “We’re not playing the who’s dirty game?”
Carly and I then took the kids for a walk down the short bath from the road to the park parking lot. We made August walk and he complained a lot about poop and wet grass despite wearing rain boots. He’s definitely a city kid and we have a ways to go to make him into a ‘wild child’ (which is a book I’m reading). We walked just a little ways down the trail around the lake, then came back and played by the boat launch – they wanted to tromp in the edge of the lake and I said no. They then walked on the edge of the retaining wall next to it and stomped on some shells.
We came back in to find Cherie making blackberry pies. They got to each play with and eat some extra dough. Then it was bathtime. Vivian and Colin went first. August sat on the toilet for quite awhile (he had had a long sit earlier in the day as well) then I gave him a bath. He complained about his right foot hurting and wouldn’t keep it down in the water. Looked like he had a mosquito bite. He walked out into the kitchen, wet a
nd naked, and found everyone having ice cream. So he had a little ice cream, then brushed his teeth, and went in for bed after that and was asleep just after 8.