He got up at 8:05. He found Carly outside and they cuddled on the couch. He didn’t want her to read anything. He showed her his counting trick, where he unfolds his fingers as he counts to 4, but ends up with 5 fingers. He then asked what a nuclear bomb is, and Carly looked up fission. August wanted to use his morning iPad time and he started with the Super Tony video about being swallowed by a whale.
He asked, “What’s a millionaire?” A word from one of the videos, and a word of the day. We had some banana bread, then he wanted to use my headphones for a Brother game. They started as a sort of sensor, but up on the bed he had the idea of setting up a full x-ray analysis station. We got the cardboard box from the IKEA box, then my keyboard for the keyboard, and the headphones were hooked to it. He really wanted printed out x-rays and diagrams like they had at IKEA. We played a bit of that, then it turned into a way of spying on Sister, then stealing her chocolate and other items. We were listening to the Stray Cats and I pointed out songs I remembered.
We went downstairs, and Carly read Dog Man to him. I worked for an hour. He had bought a bag of cotton balls at the grocery store yesterday, and now had fun dipping them in things. He put two in soy sauce and thought they looked like poop. He dipped others in things like flour and za’atar and made them different colors.
We left just after 12. At the school Carly headed to work in her classroom. August stopped by the corner of the auditorium. He was nervous about going to the party. Not entirely sure why. He said it was a party, and not a play date. He sent me down to take a photo of it. While I did so he got closer. He then agreeded to let me carrying him in, but I was supposed to set him in a hiding spot. Not many hiding spots around the pool, but I set him by the drinking fountain and he looked from there.
He had seen the food and decided he wanted to start there. Omri had seen him, and he was a little shy at first, and he went under the table for a minute. But then they found a common activity in grazing at the snacks. I steered him towards fruit, but there were also chips, a pastry, and havla, which they were both disappointed in, even when I let him open a second one that had chocolate in it.
He and Omri were then playing around a lot. They were picking nuts and seeds and dropping them down a hole. Omri did a dance performance that she knew and he watched. When pizza came they sat together. I felt like their servant, as first Omri had peach iced tea, so I went to get August some. He wanted a straw, so I went to get that, but while I was gone some of his spilled. Omri had also asked me to refill hers, so on the way back August was yelling at me to come and see the spill, while Omri was shocked I didn’t have her refill yet. Meanwhile, another kid was trying to get my help because another empty cup was blowing over.
Got through lunch, then he and I got in the pool for a total of three minutes before they announced cake. We went up and sang happy birthday, then he had cake. He did a good job waiting in line.
Omri’s mom had initially said they were leaving as August and Omri found a dirty, dead palm shoot bulb thing. She gave her ten minutes, and August and Omri went into the bathroom to wash it, which just made it very black and crumbly, which they liked. They then started to leave, and August ran quite a ways to say goodbye to her. Apparently, someone told them about cake though, as they were still there for cake, then left as we were eating.
Carly came by as I was getting him a second piece. He was happy with the second piece as it had one of the Paw Patrol characters on it, and his first had just had the chocolate cake. He ate that, but then was climbing on Carly and bonked his head on the table.
He was done with the pool and party and insisted on going home. Carly hadn’t even gotten in the pool. We tried to talk him out of it, but after several minutes it became clear. I told Carly she could go swimming and we could come back and pick her up, but she didn’t want to do that. Back at home he did tell me something about not going back because of the party. So I think there was a level of embarrassment, either for hitting his head or getting upset.
We were home at 2:40. He played with his cotton balls. He asked “What’s a tourniquet?” It is from one of the survival quiz videos he likes, and the question about a rattlesnake bite. I explained, and he said “That’s what I thought!” Another word of the day.
We went upstairs for another Brother game, stealing smaller stuff. Bar had invented the “eraser quintaser”, which erased things, like my watch, but they were still there. Carly went on a walk. More Brother game of spying on his mom and Sister and realizing. They had a secret pillow area they were going to. When Bar and Brother crashed the party it turned out it was supposed to be a surprise for his birthday.
Downstairs, he wanted me to make plastic shoes for him out of packing material from the iHerb box. He said “They were going to be a real upgrade.” I made one for him, but didn’t have enough material for two. I think it got recycled later though.
I went upstairs a little after 5 to work. He was starting Dr. Petplay as I left, where he was going to analyze the x-rays and Carly was going to be the people bringing in their pets.
I came down at 7:30. He had watched the horror stories video on Super Tony (https://youtu.be/G1159Ry6bPA). Luckily, it isn’t too bad, and ends with a funny one: ‘Day 326…and the internet still isn’t working.” Another favorite recently is the Be Amazed survival riddles (https://youtu.be/YK4fQTA2Eps)
He Told me about his laser knife, which toasts while it cuts. We made a laser knife out of a red straw and a wooden chopstick. He combined it with his chronometer, which was a green straw with the round scale from the broken tire pressure gauge, and which he said measured both distance and space time.
We wen upstairs and played. I had pita and hummus and he started eating hummus with his finger. Normally I would stop this, but it was the most hummus he has ever eaten. The game had Brother and Bar on an intergalactic adventure after they realized Mom and Sistet were already in other galaxies.
He went to the bathroom and told me about the concept of ‘Time length.’ “Time length is like the length that time reaches…to where there’s no time.” He asked me to fill up his water bottle, and the bathroom was dark so I turned on the light. But he told me “You can tell by the pitch. Use your sense of hearing, not sight.”
Downstairs, he was hungry and ate a bunch of raw tofu: “It’s really good when you savor it…that’s why I take tiny bites. I like it cuz it’s mild. It’s on the plain side.”
I washed him, making it a quick bath as I bribed him with one of the cookies Natalie had brought over. We got him ready and I left him and Carly right at 9:20. Right on time, as we try to move up his bed time. He came in to use the bathroom as I took a shower a little later.
X-ray game:
Dipping cotton balls:
Under a table with Omri:
Soggy plant thing:
Plastic shoe:
The toasting knife:
