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It was a rainy day today so August and I headed to Itaewon where most of the things I wanted to do were indoors. We went to High Street Market to get a couple things (Caesar dressing and hummus), the Leeum art museum, a coffee shop, and a used book store. 

But first, when August woke up this morning he was upset when he realized Carly was gone. He was whimpering and pointing out the bedroom door. I asked if he needed a hug and he put his arms out. I hugged him and picked him up and he calmed down. 

He has really started to figure out buttons and can push most buttons hard enough to make them activate. He did it with his Under the Sea book this morning and later did it with a crosswalk button, a book at the book store, and he has done it with elevator buttons for the last couple of days. 

An uneventful subway ride down. It is a pretty long trip though so we went through a lot of banana bread and Cheerios to keep him occupied. 

In Itaewon we first walked around the area just off the main strip and behind the Hamilton Hotel. We had never been back there. It was raining lightly so we used the umbrella. August was very much in a pointing mood. He particularly was into pointing out: umbrellas (particularly the ones for sale at shops), recycling/compost containers (with their colorful lids), stuffed sheep in a shop window, small birds, and black cars. 

From there we walked to High Street Market. Now the wind was picking up and getting uncomfortable. So from there we went to the art museum. 

He seemed to be getting tired so first we just hung out in the cafe and he walked around a lot and ate a little. After changing him he wasn’t falling asleep so I decided we’d go see the art. We got a ticket to the current show and went through that. It was okay, but nothing special. August liked a piece that involved rotating fans and other pieces that included lots of cords and random objects – primarily because of the cords because he likes pointing those out as well. 

He still wasn’t sleeping so eventually we left, but not before he walked around the entryway a bit and had fun stepping on the analog numbers on the floor. 

He fell asleep right as we got to the Coffer Bean and Tea Leaf. I was able to finish out a gift card I’ve been carrying for two years with a chai latte and I read for the next 90 minutes while he slept. 

When he woke up he was excited to find himself in a place with large photos of cups of coffee and open cans of tea on the wall. He kept pointing to them (and to the drinks on the table of women across from us) and saying ‘Tea!’

He walked around and ate a big lunch (he had eaten most of a banana this morning as part of breakfast). 

We then headed across the street to the used book store. August did a pretty good job of playing with books and the Iron Man play figure they have while I shopped for books. We ended up with a good stack of books for less than 24 dollars. 

We then headed to the subway and home. Another good subway ride thanks to the banana bread and a woman next to us that entertained him. 

We were walking home close to 5:30 and saw Carly’s bus. We were able to surprise her in the park and walk home together. 

This evening he played behind the couch for the first time and I also had fun scaring him by poking my head out from behind the couch. 

 

Morning: 

Museum: 

The exhibit: 

One of his favorites: 

Looking down: 

Looking up in the lobby: 

What he is looking at: 

Stepping on the numbers: 

Coffee shop: 

Asking for milk (that’s the sign): 

Trying to get through the fence. You can hear him say ‘up’ and he signs ‘please’: 

Crosswalk: 

Book store: 

What we got: 

At home: 

 

August took a surprise early nap less than two hours after he woke up. After he had a bit to eat we had a few minutes to skype with my parents as he was asking for them. 

We went to his class. He had fun, but wasn’t too focused on the activities today. He was more interested in crawling and walking around the room and playing with my shoes and pointing out the cords and garbage can. 

After his class we did our grocery shopping and headed home. He ate a big lunch that included broccoli, peanut butter, egg, tofu, banana, banana bread, cheese, and salmon. 

We then walked over to Hangeulbi Park (the one SE of Toys R Us) and played there. We had the park to ourselves except for a woman dressed rather eccentrically riding her bicycle in circles around us. She was there when we got there and still riding in circles more than an hour later when we left. We left when school got out, but not fast enough to avoid August attracting a crowd of teenage girls. He impressed them by playing his up/down game. 

We stopped by Home Plus to buy more diapers since they were on a good sale and almost out. We then came home and he fell asleep for a second nap. He only slept 34 minutes and I was about to open the door when I heard him awake when Carly came in the front door. So I let her go in and he was very excited to see her. 

He was very clingy to her this evening and fell asleep a few minutes after 9. 

Morning. Lounging on the changing pad:

Class: 

Not wearing the bear hat: 

Bunnies on the wall: 

Park: 

Home: 

Carly gave August a bath in the morning. He did quite well, playing in the water for a few minutes before she sat him on her lap and then not complaining too much as she bathed him. 

After August’s nap I got a message from Derek saying he was bringing Logan to the park. We went down and met them in the playground. Neither of them was too interested in the playground though and they ended up crawling and walking all around the park, particularly paying attention to a hide, a car, plants, and pigeons. At first August didn’t pay too much attention to Logan. In fact, when we first got to the playground I walked right past the swings and slide to get to Derek and Logan and August was upset that I didn’t even acknowledge them. But after Carly showed up and Logan was heading down the path to the left of the rainbow bridge, August would notice what Logan was doing, and when he was getting behind he would want to catch up. And when Logan climbed up on a bench August wanted to get up on the bench as well.

After Derek and Logan left we headed straight to the pink building to do some grocery shopping. From there we went home but after putting groceries away and relaxing for awhile we went out for a walk. Before we got ready to go I asked August if he wanted to go outside and he started signing ‘please’ over and over. 

We walked down to and along the stream, stopping at the playground up the stream. He sat on and rode a little bee thing, and Carly walked him up on the play structure where he had fun spotting me through the boards. He went down the slide a couple times, and a swing opened up right before we left so we took advantage of that for a minute.

We continued walking up the stream, with August pointing out everything he saw, particularly puppies. We turned around at a pedestrian bridge where we looked down and saw fish and ducks.

At home today we set up the super bed: he’s taking up so much room that we brought in the twin mattress from the other room and put it next to the queen mattress. We moved the crib back into his room, where it is now more of a play area with toys in it and he can crawl in and out of it. So now we have one huge bed on the floor in our room. Plenty of room for him to sprawl out.

Morning: 

At the park: 

On our walk: 

Home: 

 

Carly had more parent conference during the first half of the day. While she was gone August and I took down the recycling, briefly came back to the apartment, and then went back down and played in the dinosaur park for an hour. Weather was nice but since it was early in the day we were the only people there. 

August took an hour long nap before Carly got home. She came home a little before 1 and soon after we walked and took a bus up to the Danggogae area. We first found a new coffee shop and got a drink, then walked to the park. We sat and watched the climbers on the rock climbing wall while August had a snack. Carly then nurses him and we went to the playground, but we were getting even more staring and attention than normal so we left the playground. 

We walked around the park and found a wooded area where we took turns helping August walk around. That was basically the highlight of the trip. 

We took the bus home and stopped at the pizza place on our walk back to the apartment. I was going to Itaewon with Derek for dinner so left soon after that.

 

Dinosaur park ark in the morning:

 

Skyping: 

Danggogae Park: 

Waiting for pizza: 

 

Achasan and Children’s Grand Park

It was a very log and eventful day for everyone. Carly had parent conferences all day until 7pm. So August and I went for a long adventure to Achasan Fortress and Children’s Grand Park. 

But the excitement started last night when August decided he didn’t want to sleep. Carly was up with him from before midnight until 2am. I was then up with him until 3:30. I got up when Carly did and took a shower but went back to bed after she left. August slept until 8am so I was able to get some sleep. 

Everything was going smoothly in the morning and we were going to go for an even longer day. But August fell back to sleep at 10:30 and slept 90 minutes. 

So when he woke up we headed south to the Achasan area, east of Children’s Grand Park. It is where my last hike with Jeff and Derek ended. 

August really liked looking at the community gardens on the walk up. Then we stopped at a picnic table and ate lunch. We walked through the ecological park and then started heading up towards Achasan Fortress. There are all sorts of facilities up there, including a playground. We spent at least an hour there and had it mostly to himself. With his Skidders shoes he was able to walk up the metal slides (with me holding his hands, of course). He cruised back and forth from one end of the teeter totter to the other saying ‘baabaa’ as each end had a sheep or horse on it. And he made a friend – a Korean girl a bit older than him – and they walked and crawled several times along the ledge at the edge of the playground. 

I changed his diapers outdoors for once and then headed up the hill. August fell asleep at this point. I reached the fortress but it was nothing special. You couldn’t actually go in and could only see a bit of wall. 

I walked back down and headed towards Achasan station and the back entrance to CGP. We ran into a major busy street, but then there was a baseball stadium and there was a military rifle drill exercise being performed before the game. We watched the whole thing: about ten minutes. 

We then walked to Children’s Grand Park, bought a sandwich for me at Popeye’s, and made our way through the busy, busy park, did I a quick trip through the conservatory, and found a little grass area by the outdoor stadium. We used our Pororo mat for the first time and ate our dinner. 

August was, overall, amazing today. One example occurred here. He crawled off the mat a few feet and then called me over. He started signing please and pointing to the playground. I told him okay, but that I needed to pack up. I set him back on the Pororo mat and proceeded to clean and pack. It took quite awhile and he waited patiently. 

We played at the playground, managing one stint on the swings. But it was too busy so we left. We went to the children’s/petting zoo. Most of the animals were already back in their houses but we spent a fair amount of time watching the fountain )with the sheep statues) and then the actual goats. There was a baby goat that was really cute. 

It was 6 so we headed towards the main entrance and the subway to take us home. The big fountain was on so we watched that as they played Phantom of the Opera and, as the finale, Gangnam Style. Felt like a very Korean moment as we were in a very packed park with people taking selfies with the flowering trees all around us. 

We headed home. August did really well on the busy subway. Got home about 7:15 and Carly showed up around 7:30. Some nursing, music and they were both asleep before 9. 

 

3am: 

Morning: 

Achasan: 

Achasan fortress: 

Walking to CGP: 

CGP: 

The fountains are on! 

Lunch spot. First use of the Pororo mat:

Most crowded I have ever seen the zoo and park. Friday after noon on a perfect day and with the trees in bloom. Everyone was posing for photos with the trees: 

Second fountain we stopped and watched. Note the sheep. August did: 

Goats (aka baabaas): 

Ending with the big fountain: 

August continues to catch up on sleep. He slept well last night. And Weezer going to go to Itaewon, but as we were getting ready to go, a mere two and a half hours after he woke up, he went down for a nap and slept 90 minutes. 

When he woke up things were going well, but the. He had a meltdown. That ended with him clinging to my shoulder as we listened to several songs. 

When he was fully recovered we only had 4 hours until Carly would be home. So we caught the bus to the Kwangwoon University area, which he haven’t been to in a few months. 

We headed across the railroad tracks to figure out, in reverse, the path I tried to take from eMart to this station last week. We ended up enjoying the artwork on the pedestrian overpass, watching the railroad workers put together a train, and then playing in a playground in the apartment complex on the other side. We first went on the swings and then he ate some food and we went down a slide together. I then put on his shoes. I was dreading his reaction, but he barely made a peep. We walked around and he sat and played in the sand before we returned to the swings. 

We then headed back across the overpass and walked through that neighborhood again. As we were walking near the station we came across a restaurant that had a seating area of red plastic chairs in front. August pointed at them and and started making the sign for nursing. He then started saying ‘mama’. I think he knows that we always sit down when he nurses or eats and thought that would be a good place. There were actually benches across the street in front of the station. We sat there and he ate and drank quite a bit more. 

We walked a few blocks west and then back east and over the over pass for a third time. We walked through the apartment complex, stopping for some more swings, found an exit on the other side and walked home. 

Actually, we walked to Home Plus where we did some grocery shopping. On the way home we stopped and watched a pigeon getting a drink and bathing in the fountain. August found this very funny when he wasn’t being distracted by the kids playing with balls. 

Back home I knew Carly would be getting home soon. He was doing great hanging out in the carrier, so I left him in there as I opened the windows and put groceries away. We then walked down the hall and met Carly at the elevator again. 

He wanted to go to sleep while nursing but it was way too early. I put on the Dunggae Dunggae video and he watched it as he nursed and then as he teethed on a straw. Made it to just about 7 before going to sleep for the night.

And his new thing today was wanting to touch all the parked cars as we went by them – particularly shiny black ones. Oh, and spotting cords and wires and power adapters in the bins of products outside of stores.  

Morning:

Nap: 

Adventure time: 

Train watching: 

Playground: 

Overpass art: 

You get points if you know what this is: 

He particularly liked this: 

And this: 

On our way home: 

Home: 

Taking up the whole bed:

August was really close to being his usual self today. Everything went smoothly this morning and he took a nap that was close to two hours long. It has been quite some time since that has happened. 

And he woke up from his nap happy, but clearly missing Carly, he kept saying ‘mama’ and pointing down the hall. Eventually, we went down the hall, and then out the door and finally to the elevators. We had surprised Carly by meeting her at the elevators yesterday when she got home. He clearly thought we should be able to do the same today. He kept pointing in different directions and saying ‘mama’ and after we were back in the apartment we had to go to each room so he could check to see if she was there. It would have been really sad, but luckily he wasn’t upset at the time. 

For our outing we walked to Toys R Us to look for headphones for the airplane ride. I was annoyed, but not surprised, to realize they have a specific section of the store that is blue and labelled ‘boys’. This is, of course, where they have all the robots, cars, and trucks. And no luck with the headphones. We did get a few things off the clearance shelves. 

We then walked to the secluded park a few minutes away (the one I discovered with my dad). We were there for two hours and we had the playground entirely to ourselves. He ate a good lunch, and took a long time, crawled around a lot, practiced walking, worked on climbing stairs, went down the slide, and, most of all, we went on the swings. Again and again. He now says ‘baabaa’ and points to the swings when he wants to go on them because we sing that song over and over on the swing. 

We headed home, but made a trip through the art museum on the way. 

At home he was still going strong so I gave him a bath. Unfortunately, this is where he kind of lost it (along with when I changed his diaper before his nap). The bath ended with a naked baby clinging to me. Even after he had calmed down he wouldn’t let me set him down. Then, I look down to find him asleep. A total surprise since he slept well last night and took a monster nap.

7 minutes later Carly gets home and I need to run to my PT appointment. She hurt her foot on the way home, but had to take a naked, sleeping child from me. He woke up when she took him, but he was happy. Just enough of a nap to forget the bath. 

Made more use of ‘up’ and ‘please’ and ‘more’. At one point at the park we were walking together and he clung to my legs. I looked down to find him signing ‘please’. I then asked him what the ‘please’ was for as he hadn’t made a sound. He just looked at me and said ‘up’. And this evening we opened the cheap harmonica we had bought at the store. I was playing it and he was intrigued. He would take the harmonica from me to look at it, set it down, and then sign ‘more’. 

Oh, and he had an interesting way to eat apple at the park. He would chew a piece and spit it out. He obviously liked the taste though as he went through a dozen pieces. 

Morning: 

Pointing at Carly’s photo using Pororo: 

Smelling and tasting cinnamon. He gave a really big grin the first time he smelled it: 

Playing with veggies. Long videos. Sorry, don’t feel like editing them down: 

His favorite thing at Toys R Us (because he isn’t allowed to get to them at home): 

Seriously?: 

The park: 

Offering me some banana bread: 

Home again: 

After missing our usual Thursday trip to the CGP last week since he was sick I decided to go on Tuesday this week. August is still not acting his usual self and is more easily frustrated, so it seemed easier than the other trips I was considering this week (ha – I now consider 10 subway stops ‘easy’). 

Today started out well. August woke up happy and seemed to be feeling happy. That lasted until we were skyping with my parents and I wouldn’t take him to play with the handle on the window. Things got tough after that. 

He seemed tired and fell asleep at one point, but woke up (twice) when trying to put him down. 

Eventually (after 11), I decided we should just leave the apartment. Total change. August was great on the subway down to Children’s Grand Park. We then went and saw the seals and then the herbivores, where he saw his first favorite zoo animal, the guanaco (when we went with my parents August got upset when a guanaco walked away from him). He also quite liked the mouflons as they are basically wild sheep. 

He then fell asleep so I went to Peace Cafe to get a smoothie and start my book group of one idea. I read one chapter and then August woke up after only sleeping 30 minutes. 

We then went to the children’s museum for a couple hours. Spent time in the toddler play area until it got busy. There was a 9-month old, Bin, that played with and alongside August. At one point Bin was holding August’s foot. We spent the rest of our time in the book lounge. August had just as much fun in there but it was almost empty. He played more with the magnifying glasses, and in fact when we found two of them left across the room he pointed back to the set and then set off crawling, carrying one to return it to the set. We then went back together and got the last one. 

He started to get upset and look tired again and it was time to leave (close to 4). We headed off and things were going fine until a woman was freaking out that I was letting him sit on the floor between my legs while I fed him Cheerios. Not sure if she was concerned that it was dirty or unsafe, although I was bent over, with one arm around him to hold him. 

I tried to tell her it was okay but finally gave in and out him on the seat next to me as she wanted. She then was upset that I had him too close to the edge (again, I had an arm all the way around him). She may have actually touched him as she was trying to get me to scoot him back. Anyway, at this point he started to lose it (and I wanted to get away from her anyway) so I got up and put him in the carrier. He screamed until the next stop. I got off and he fell asleep almost instantly and we hopped back on the next train. 

Second nap lasted another 30 minutes until we were home and I tried to set him down again. He was again rather on edge until Carly got home. I think in part it is because he is sick, because he is getting all of his milk through nursing nowadays (he only drank 1.5oz from the bottle today), and because he simply misses Carly. He was much happier and content for the rest of the evening. 

The good news today though is that he has started to say ‘up’ and even sometimes signing please when he wants to be picked up. He did this pretty consistent with me throughout the day, although needed some reminding with Carly. So much better than a shrieking infant pulling at your pants. 

Oh, and Carly got him to pretend to wipe his own nose with a tissue this evening. He thought it was funny, but clearly gets what is happening. He had pretty much hated the process to now, but hopefully this means he will now be more accepting of it. 

On our trip: 

Guanacos: 

Spring: 

Eating a good lunch: 

Note the red spot on his cheek from where he had tipped over and bumped his cheek (but didn’t cry!): 

Bin: 

Book lounge: 

Back home: 

Wiping his nose: 

 

Cough, class, and Carly

His cough continues. He is getting tired of being sick and we are getting tired of him being sick. But, this whole thing seems to be an extended version of how a cold goes for me: sore throat, then post-nasal yuckiness, then a runny nose. So, we are getting towards the end of it…

Both of his wake ups were rough on him today, probably because he woke up too early each time because of a stuffy nose and then had to endure us constantly wiping it. He was crying heavily when Carly left for work (she could hear him at the elevators, but calmed down and was fine after that. 

His appetite is better and he ate quite well today: from the pasta dish to broccoli to a lot of strawberry and Cheerios dipped in peanut butter. 

He is using the ‘more’ sign a lot now (for more food, to reread a book, to sing a song again, or to go down the slide again, etc.), as well as constantly pointing. So he is getting better at communicating. He is also doing pretty well with ‘please’, occasionally using it without prompting. 

His class went pretty well. He was hesitant at first, and there was one activity he sat out as he was overwhelmed, but otherwise it went smoothly. He is interacting more with the other babies. He and a girl were having fun playing together with a rotating stool. Class today was about cars and busses. He enjoyed throwing around the big plastic ring he got to play with, but sat out getting pulled around the room in tubs decorated as busses. 

After class we went on the swings and looked at the ‘dino baabaas’ as we sang “Baa Baa Black Sheep”. We then went home where he ate quite a bit and then took a nap. It only lasted 52 minutes and he woke up crying. The next half hour was filled with a lot of the loudest crying he’s produced in the last several months. He fell right back to sleep in my arms but woke up when I put him down and I could not get him back to sleep. Finally, I put on Hozier and he was silent on my shoulder for five songs. He didn’t fall asleep but he was back to normal at the end. 

We went back outside and played at the two playgrounds in the apartment complex on our way to the bridge. We then met Carly halfway on her walk home (this time meeting her in the underpass). We walked home, stopping again at the second playground to nurse and play. 

Just yesterday he started to be interested in going from sitting to standing without holding on to something. He attempted this at the park and continued to try it out at home. He got very close before he went to bed, so he might figure it out soon. 

At home he and Carly had a great time playing together. You could tell the both missed each other today. His shrieking slowly started to return and he was pretty inconsolable while Carly took a shower. He went to bed pretty quickly after she was done. 

Playing with tea. He loves the tea cupboard, and was going crazy pointing and saying ‘tea’ at it. So, I let him play with some tea: 

Class: 

Putting it on his head when I ask him to: 

Walk to meet Carly and playing at the playgrounds: 

Evening: 

A lazy Sunday morning, for the most part. August and Carly were up from 4:30 to 6:10 (they made use of their time with some Skyping) and then slept in, so I had the place to myself for a bit this morning. 

August didn’t seem too bothered by his cough, but with the weird night and the fact that his teeth are bothering him (he has yet another tooth coming through – I think that is tooth #43), we decided to stay home until after he took a nap. 

So August filled the morning with a lot of reading of the cat book, pointing at people on the photo wall, and being entertained by Carly using the vacuum cleaner. Oh, and screeching. Lots of screeching. 

After his nap (which was too short) he was in a bad mood but decided to go out anyway as I thought that might cheer him up. It did. We went to Home Plus and August had fun doing some shopping with Carly while I shopped for pants. We then finished the grocery shopping together and headed home. 

Carly wanted to make a pasta dish, so I took August back out. We were going to go to the playground, but it had rained in the meantime so I decided to just walk first. As we neared the pink building, August made it known that he wanted to go inside. 

So, I went where he pointed, and thus the August walk was invented. By following his pointing and asking him which way to go next, we:

– saw the balloons in Home Plus

– walked down and out the other side of the building

– crossed the street to the fruit stand and continued down the street

– crossed the street to the small playground

– went in the swings

– walked around the playground

– did more swinging while we watched kids play soccer

– headed home when he started doing the sign for milk

– went back in the pink building

– went downstairs and looked around the grocery store

– exited the grocery store and headed to the book/toy store

– looked around the store at the children’s books, balls, and toys (spotting all the Pororo toys, of course)

– exited the other side of the book store and meandered around the food court area

– headed back up the escalators to the second store where we looked at the furniture

– spent a fair amount of time looking at the fabric at a hanbok (traditional clothing) stand where August was upset I wouldn’t actually go in to see the colorful fabrics up close (it was closed)

– went back downstairs, looking at the balloons again

– headed outside and back to Brownstone

– examined the motorbikes outside the noodle place, where I learned that what he most likes about them is actually the helmets sitting on the handles – he went back and forth from one motorbike to the other, looking at the helmets

– started to walk around the building before he changed his mind, looked at the motorbikes some more, entered our usual entrance, and went up the elevators

– went to the mailboxes and played with their doors for a few minutes

– finally returned home

He nursed and then we left again to let Carly finish and get some relief from the screeching. This time we spent about 45 minutes walking around the park across the street. We went on the swings, looked at the dinosaurs (dino baabaas), played on the exercise equipment by the bus stop, admired the ‘mama’ sculpture (it must remind him of Carly somehow), and then stood on the rainbow bridge for a few minutes until he started saying ‘mama’. 

All of that must have worn him out as he fell asleep quickly once he started nursing, barely making it to 7. 

 

Getting his Pororo figure: 

Our first outing: 

The August walk: 

Our final outing. The ‘mama’ statue: