I heard him yell about 6:05. I ran and found him on the lower stairs. He said he didn’t want to go back to sleep, but he asked “Did I forget anything?” and wanted to go back to the room to check. We went upstairs and Carly met us. He said “Poop” as I handed him to her. His usual greeting to her. They went downstairs and came back up a few minutes later, carrying her ipad and having finished a level in Math Tango.
I then introduced him to the Magnus chess app that was just released. We played for a bit upstairs. It is basically August’s first adventure game and chess app rolled into one. Very cool, as he’ll totally understand how the pieces move and some basic chess strategy by the time he’s done with it. Also found out that he refers to the room downstairs as “The room where Uncle Paul watches soccer.”
We went downstairs and he played while I watched Formula 1 qualifying. The first time, I think, I’ve seen any Formula 1 on a big screen since I watched in a restaurant in Spain. He called the king hats in the game “Christmas hats”.
We went upstairs afterwards and Carly made eggs with cheese for breakfast. He was really excited about going to the dam and wanted to go right away.
I took a shower. They then skyped with Cassie and family. I watched the end of the Mexico versus Korea World Cup match. In the kitchen, Carly had an adventure with the ice maker in the freezer as it got blocked up. Paul helped fix it, and August helped pick the ice up off the floor. After I said something to Carly, August said “Nice move, Uncle Paul.”
August did some shrieking, and my mom taught him the word ‘banshee’. We were getting ready to leave and I realized we hadn’t put the new air filter in the car. August watched my dad put it in. We then left at 10:45, mom riding with us. August asked “Why do we have two cars?” Then “Look everybody! We have two cars!”
He and I read How I Became a Pirate, which he quite liked. He also repeated a new version of his chant that I heard him doing earlier: “I found a nut, but I’m pretty sure you’re a butt.”
We got to the dam at 11:25. Sadly, the cafe there was closed for just this weekend, messing up our lunch plans. We first went to the fish ladder. I mainly held him there. Lots of chinook to watch there, and he pretended to be fish going up and down river.
We then walked across to the museum and dam. As we looked down into the dam there was a turbine sitting out and he was wondering about it. I told August he should ask uncle Paul dam questions. He walked over to Paul and grabbed him by the leg and twice pulled him closer to the window. We then walked over to the view area where you can see the whole dam. Along the way he really wanted three lights lit up on the hand crank generator. Looking out at the dam, he and Carly talked about it, then my dad cam and joined them. We then sat there, eating Cheez-Its and apple.
Next, through the history museum area. He and Carly looked at the different kinds of rock and petrified wood. August was now eating Cheerios from a bag. They sat by the big canoe and raccoons, then I suggested he steer the steamboat. Made a game of that, having the rest of us come on with tickets.
Carly had the idea of going to the Alpenhorn. So no playground, but August was definitely more excited to get a milkshake anyway. As we walked up and go to the bathroom, he was at first complaining that 35 minutes to get a milkshake was a long time, but then he put it in perspective entirely for himself: “That flight was like nine hours. Compared to nine hours it’s still short.”
As we walked back down to the car, he spotted the drains for rainwater. He then asked “Thrn they use it?” I explained that no, they did not. It’s a very different situation than in Israel, where he’s learned about Tent of Nations and Palestinians in Ramallah using rain water.
We were driving by 1:20. He was starting to look tired. When I asked if he wanted to take a nap he gave me a thumbs up. Carly had requested Josh Ritter so that was playing. He asked “Mama, can I have a sleepy song? I’m taking a nap.” He was asleep from 1:32 to 1:54. When I woke him up at the Alpenhorn horn he said “Poopity doopity”.
We chose a raspberry shake. I got a Reuben, and Carly got a wrap. August was insistent he only wanted a milkshake. We talked about having to have other food, but then of course they prepare the milkshakes first, so he ended up only having milkshake. My parents got theirs first, so he got to try the Irish cream and blackberry milkshakes. When Carly set down her drink, he said “I’m guessing it is a Pepsi or Coke.” During our meal he told grampa to use his straw when he was only using his spoon, and told him he should push in the circles on his drink lid: “I love it.”
We got home at 3:05. He was out back watering things. He wanted Carly to turn it off, instead of turning it off himself. She said that if she did it he wouldn’t be able to use it for the rest of the day. She thought he was going to regret it later, but he said “No, I’m not going to regret it.”
I went downstairs and was cleaning some stuff out of my old closet. He examined rocks with Gramma, then they went outside and did some gardening. He was a lot of help as they planted a couple begonias. They were out there for a long time, and doing a lot of talking. I helped him take the garbage to the big garbage can and put away the potting soil, and mom headed inside as her foot was hurting. I helped Carly start the barbecue and she grilled the rest of the veggies and the corn on the cob that she and August and shucked a bit earlier.
August wanted to explore the garage, so we went in there. He wanted me to carry him though so his feet wouldn’t get dirty. He put different things in the clamp, had Grampa explain some of the car engine to him, then played with the metal lathe. Grampa came back in and August said he had questions for him. He asked him about the air compressor, then the lathe. Dad explained it, and then turned the lathe on for him.
He went in and ate his first corn on the cob actually on the cob. Basically inhaled that, then had some of the other veggies. We then played the Magnus chess game together. Then played with the toys I had brought up from downstairs in my closet: the Space Shuttle models and 747, a few rocks, and the kaleidoscope I built at the Seattle Science Center when I was a kid (some Halley’s Comet-related special event?). He wasn’t too impressed with the Space Shuttle models at first – he wanted me to turn it on and was disappointed when there was no battery. He then did some pipe cleaners with Carly, then she gave him a bath. Back out in the living room he played with the space shuttles again, this time having the little one launch, then lose its solid rocket boosters when they were out of fuel, then the main fuel tank. Just like he’s seen on the launch videos.
He saw my mom drinking a pink drink, so he got to have some of his ‘sugar water” as well. I left them at 8:30 but he wasn’t falling asleep. He came out with me and Carly went to bed. We watched the end of the Sounders soccer match together, then went up and he had peanut butter and syrup toast. I saw Iris do a flip in the grass outside. Paul was throwing a ball around for her. August and I went out to watch. August said “I’m not used to Uncle Paul being outside.” We went in and brushed his teeth. I took him down and as he went in I told him to just lay down next to mama and let her sleep. Apparently it worked, as he fell right to sleep and Carly didn’t remember him coming to bed.
