Author: Ryan/Dada

We went to APIS to see the fifth grade musical (Geology Rocks) and to visit Carly. We then came home and August just kept staying awake. He blew yesterday’s record out of the water by staying awake 5 hours and 50 minutes before he went to sleep. The big highlight here was that he learned how to play peekaboo by himself. You need to check out that video below. 

He slept for a bit less than two hours. When he woke up, we walked half way to APIS and met Carly walking home so we could walk with her on the way back. 

First wake up: 

APIS:

Not sleeping:

And the coolest thing. He just started pulling the pillow case over his face and playing peekaboo:

Walking to meet Carly and coming home:

In the evening:

August slept late (7:50) and then was up for close to 5 hours – the longest he has ever been awake for his first stint. He then turned around and took a two hour and forty minute nap. Possibly his longest nap since I have been watching him. 

That didn’t leave much time for adventuring. So we just went for a walk south and east of Home Plus, stopped for a few things at Home Plus, and then played in the playground on the way home. 

All the time around the house made for some good photos.  

During the day: 

Teeth! Two of them, at least:

Not falling asleep for a nap:

Finally:

After the nap:

On our walk:

He seems to be into the color yellow, as demonstrated by his excitement of yellow things on our walk. Many of these are reenactment (you can see me turning around so he can see them again) so he was often even more excited the first time:

Three of my favorite photos of him:

We had the APIS Thanksgiving celebration today in the evening at the buffet restaurant in the building next door. In the afternoon we had a nice walk over to APIS so I could go to PT. 

During the day:

He fell asleep soon before we got to APIS. I managed to tranfer him to the chairs so he could keep sleeping. Until the bell rang, that is:

As I was leaving APIS, I realized I couldn’t find August’s bear hat. I was pretty sure I had put it in my pocket. After PT I retraced my steps home and found it a couple blocks from home. It may have just fallen out, or August may have pulled it out. He did that once before but held it in the air:

At Todai Carly and I took turns holding him while the other ate. He loved looking at everything in the dining room, but particularly all of the plastic fruit and vegetables sitting everywhere and the bubbling container of blue lemonade. A few people held him. This is Brittany:

He liked the novelty of sitting in the high chair, but grew frustrated when we wouldn’t move him forward enough so he could grab things off the table:

August was invited to his first birthday party. It was for one of the babies born to an APIS family last year. 

On our way to the party: 

Fun at the party:

There were six of the babies at the party. We lined them up from oldest on the left (Ripley, the birthday boy) to youngest in the right (Kinsey, six months):

They performed a traditional toljiabee ceremony:

People were amused when Carly held August like this:

We walked home and on the way found a slide. Here is evidence of how he loves the slide:

Leaves on the playground:

Our evening walk. We said hi to most of his sculpture friends, of course, including the family statue:

August has a third tooth coming in. I thought it was his top right canine, but the internets tell me it is more likely his lateral incisor (the tooth between the canine and the front tooth). Although this is also (supposedly) slightly unusual because the top front teeth usually come in next. 

The tooth is quite elusive so far and I have been unable to catch a glimpse of it. It is definitely there though. 

More details as they develop. 

We wanted to go to Itaewon to hit up the English book stores to get some books for August. We went to three shops and came back with a pretty good haul. 

First, we went to Home Plus to get ingredients for a soup Carly wanted to make. August got to visit his dog statue friends and tell his mom about them: 

Here we are in Whatthebook. He was very excited by all the books:

The store also has a good selection of deodorant for its Western customers:

We then went to dinner at our usual hummus place, Petra Palace. August took his left sock off again:

On our tour of the best changing tables in Seoul, here is the table at Itaewon Station:

Back home. Here is our haul for the day:

August enjoyed his new books:

he also got to gnaw on a carrot:

Due to a slight mishap with the chicken, August and I headed back to Home Plus for more. Here we are stopping at one of his usual park attractions, the vending machines:

Playing before bed:

We went to the store in the morning and in the afternoon we hopped in a bus headed south. We got off at Gongneung Market and walked through the market and then walked west to the river and followed it back north to home. 

Saying goodbye to mama in the morning:

Playing:

New toy. Dad’s belt:

He really likes the balloons at a cell phone counter in the pink building:

On our way to the bus, we stopped in the park to watch the pigeons. While we’re there, this woman came along and the pigeons swarmed her. She poured out 3 bags of food for the pigeons and put out a bowl of water for them. We ended up talking to her, and it turns out she feeds the pigeons every day, in direct violation of the signs that say ‘pigeon feeding ban’ (in korean). While talking to her, Preacher (that is what he calls himself) came up and started talking to us as well. I’ve met him many times (as did my parents – he is an old man who wears camo and carries a walking stick). Anyway, I think you can say you know a park pretty well when you find yourself talking to two of its eccentric characters at once:

In Gongneung Market he got excited every time he saw the colorful fruits and vegetables, which you can see in this video:

He also really loved this dog:

On our way home we found a park with a slide. I’ve helped him down slides a couple times in the past, but he wasn’t too excited by it. This time he loves it and went down about 20 times:

Our lovely, but noise (the highway is just to the left) path home:

He fell asleep about 15 minutes before making it home:

Back home:

When he last played with the 1kg weight a couple weeks ago he couldn’t lift it off the ground:

We met up with Derek and his almost one year old son Derek in the morning. After lunch we walked to APIS. 

Waking up:

Playing on the counter while I eat my cereal:

Play time:

With Logan in Home Plus:

Asleep on the way to APIS:

Awake from his nap:

He carried a ginkgo leaf the rest of the way to APIS. You can tell he knows he isn’t supposed to put it in his mouth, but he wants to do it anyway:

Playing around again back home:

Today we went to two preview classes for classes I might sign him up for on Fridays. I already have him registered for a ‘5 senses’ activities class on Mondays and a music class on Wednesdays. They start the first week of December and run through February. 

Anyway, the classes today were mixed activity classes. One was in the morning and one was in the afternoon. 

But first, morning time:

The first class. 

Paying attention; 

Playing with a toy:

Videos:

As we walked home we saw women in the park making kimchi. It turns out it is gimjang, or kimchi making season (my physical therapist is going to her hometown this weekend for a family gimjang event):

They offered us fresh kimchi, but we decided to go home and eat a banana instead:

Banana time:

August decided to take control of the camera:

Second baby class of the day. I just got photos after an activity involving tennis balls dipped in paint. August managed to taste one of the tennis balls dipped in blue:

Tuesday we twice walked to the park. The first walk, in the morning, we mainly stayed outside and watched the birds and played in the children’s area. The second walk was in the afternoon. We went in the art museum and were then able to meet Carly as she got off the bus.

 

Morning fun: 

Attacked by Eddy:

We had another instance of him insisting on falling asleep in my arms:

Our first walk to the park. Our usual, watching the pigeons:

There really are a lot of them:

There all over the trees too:

He was excited by this statue – one we haven’t looked at before – but then got distracted. Turns out it was the flock of pigeons circling overhead:

Here’s a better view of the pigeons flying in circles:

He has several objects in the park and blocks around us that he will spot and get excited about. They include certain signs, vending machines, barber poles, statues, etc. Here are two of them:

Back at home, eating a banana and having fun:

Second nap:

Petting the dog. We do this every time we walk through the park:

Saying hi to another statue he loves, the camel:

And here he is greeting mama as she gets of the bus: