A big full day. Started by waking him at 8. He flopped around on me and the full bed a lot before finally getting up. He went to the bathroom downstairs, and as he left, asked, “Did I go to the bathroom!?” Which showed just how deep in thought/distracted he can be when he goes to the bathroom. I read the book Should I Share My Ice Cream? Then we played Minecraft. I stopped early to get us ready, and he did a good job of eating and getting ready quickly, so when we got going we still made it to Ra’anana Park by 9:40.
They also brought Gilad’s bike. We parked in the dirt lot today, and August rode his bike on the sidewalk to the entrance by the covered playground. He yelled to Gilad, and the two of them took off racing in circles around the playground. It was the fastest that August had ever ridden, and he did a few fast screeching stops in front of me and Lauren before I convinced him to stop with that. He and Gilad took off on circles a few times, saying they were going to discuss Minecraft, but each time they ended up going too fast and couldn’t hear.
So they went over on the spinny thing for a few minutes and discussed Minecraft. We learned there are underwater TNT. I looked it up, and it is something that you can only find with the experimental/education options turned on, and you have to craft by adding sodium. So August was excited about doing that when we got on Minecraft.
They ran the airplane/spaceship game for a while, then did some more riding around. Eventually we sat down and had a snack. They got going at 11, and August rode his bike most of the way back to the car before I had him walk to cross the street.
We drove to Even Yehuda. The plan was to get nuts in the bulk foods store, then sit in the park and play Minecraft (do the TNT) until VIPizza opened at 12. Didn’t quite go as planned. Got the nuts (including a small bag of new nuts that turned out to be really crunchy—don’t know what they are), but VIPizza is still closed this whole week. He still wanted to go to the park. We went and he chose a bench. We got a world created, but he needed to use the bathroom. We went and used the one behind Maya (the health food store), then went to Sushi Ishimoto to keep playing.
A good decision, as Sushi Ishimoto took forever. We ordered 8 pieces of sushi (4 crunchy and 4 veggie combo), our usual pad thai and shrimp, and the chicken chong. He had a good half-hour of Minecraft, blowing things up with underwater TNT. So much that he decided he had enough. I was then reading A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to School when the food was finally ready. August had been snacking on pistachios while we waited.
I think it was there that he started reciting, “If the monkey was worth his bananas we wouldn’t see him!” It is something that Pinkie Pie says in one of the comics. One we haven’t read in a week or two, I think, and he randomly started reciting it today. She’s talking about a ninja monkey, of course.
He held the bag of pistachios in the car and had more as we headed home. We were finally home at 1. He ate 6 of the 8 pieces of sushi, really liking the veggies in each (one had avocado, which he identified right away, which surprised me because I don’t know when he last had avocado). He had some of the chicken chong, and said it was his favorite meat ever; the meat we got on Friday is his second-favorite, as he doesn’t like the fat with it.
He then did piano practice time. He did some finger exercises, as he calle them, then practiced using Simply Piano. He mainly covered things he has done before, but was excited that he was finding them easier.
We next did a Brother game where he was actually hurt but his family didn’t believe him. It kept going on and on, with him being put to sleep for billions of years and waking up upset, and I eventually had to say we were done.
He did alone time, playing with rubber bands, tying them around one of the small drumsticks, as he just figured out how to twist and make them smaller. I exercised. We then did his 15 minutes of Minecraft that he earned. Didn’t think Gilad was going to be available until later, but he popped into our game. So I let August play until 3:30. They were blowing things up underground in the TNT room together.
We got driving for school at 3:40. The pool didn’t seem heated, but it was nice and sunny and not windy, so August still wanted to get in. Didn’t bother him that there were no students. A little difficult to get in, but I was in by the time Carly got back from changing.
The cool part was how August was practicing over on the steps without his vest. He told us to not watch him, and to do our boring talk. After a few minutes he had us come back over and he told us he had wanted us to have a break from watching him all the time. So sweet. He was then performing for us, jumping back and forth. I suggested he step down one step and keep doing it. Then it happened: he was actually paddling back and forth. I would call it his first actual swimming. Very exciting to see, and he’s basically taught himself. What he really needs is for the sides of the steps to be further apart. Alas, they are not. The next step would be for him to come out to one of us, but he isn’t comfortable to go that far yet. Probably in the spring it will happen.
We got home after 5. We were standing just inside the yard, and I saw Carly drop something that went between the slats of the walkway. Had to happen at some point. She couldn’t tell what it was though. Wasn’t her keys. I finally spotted her watch down there. Luckily, she has two We also have a screwdriver that we can use to take up a board, but it will be some work.
August ate the rest of the sushi and said, “This is the best sushi ever…No offense.” Realizing that he had said it was better than Carly’s. He went to the bathroom, and again got confused about whether he had gone to the bathroom or not, or had even needed to. Or something. He said, “I think I got my mind mixed up.”
He did his evening Minecraft time, first with me, then Carly taking over for me. I had changed my skin, so when they were done we took a few minutes looking at other skins. He had some chicken chong, then had a Brother and Myna game where he was collecting potion ingredients for her. Carly took over and did a Brother and Myna story with him. He at first thought it would be too advanced for her. They did the whole Myna story, then restarted in the car.
We got to the auditorium for the middle and high school band concert. He was super excited to see a treats table before we went in and was jumping up and down. He had a cookie, then we went in. He said, “Oh, I like this room.” We sat in the back and ended up staying for the whole thing. He said his favorite instrument was the tympani. He was repeating what Jonathan was saying at the beginning: “Please pay attention to the Halloween…”
He sat on my lap for a couple pieces near the end, including the piece from The Magic Flute. We headed home, and as we got here was asking, “What happens if you pour alcohol on a wound?” “Wine?” “Milk?” Not sure where that came from.
At home we read three Friends Forever issues: Applejack and Cherry again, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich, and one about Twilight and her student. I gave him a food warning at 8:30 and he asked for an amazing apple like he had had with Carly yesterday. She sliced him an apple and he said it was “The best apple in the world” and also had pomegranate seeds. He eats his apples with the peels on nowadays, which is a real nice change.
He told me about how Carly better at Minecraft Brother games (because she’s read all the books with him): “At first I didn’t expect her to be too successful…But this was good…she didn’t say ‘kakow’ once!” I guess he doesn’t like how she’s made bird noises before.
I took him up and gave him his bath. Carly took over and I got ready for a run and left about 9:30 as she was about to brush his teeth.
Biking nowhere:
Biking with Gilad 1:
Biking down the ramp:
Swimming!:
Train safety system ideas:
Composing a song:
