Life in the Boonies

It takes months and months of consistent parenting to get a child into a routine. It takes only one cookie, one Christmas morning to erase all that. The day after Christmas Frank woke up expecting the same treatment. Cookies and presents! First he noted the presents are gone. As he is starting to say the word gone, he also waves his hand to sign all gone. Well, mom explains they are not gone, we just opened them all and that all his new toys are the presents. No more prettily wrapped boxes to sort and stack and then knock down though. Further demand of cookies gets delayed as we drop dad off at the Bart station. No daddy to play with today. That’s ok, just give me a cookie. As we sat in front of the still beautiful Christmas tree, mom explains we only get cookie on the morning of Christmas day. Frank promptly went to the other room, carried his elmo chair over and sat nicely in front of the tree. Now it is just like Christmas morning mom, hand over the cookie. Cute but no cookie, until after lunch. Frank prefers the gingerbread cookies over the sugar cookies. He is not fond of the Springerles but will eat it if nothing else if offered. He likes the tree shaped ones so gingerbread trees were all gone first.

Sometime while looking at our tree, Frank has linked the gingerbread man ornaments to the cookies we ate. Now everytime he sees them, he points and makes the cookie sign. Then he indicates the need to eat some. Well, here we go again; no cookies til after lunch. Thank goodness for gogurts. Those he still like and they are a acceptable substitute for cookies in the morning.

After several days of excited anticipation, Christmas morning finally came. Frank was so excited as he came down the stairs and ran to the presents under the tree, he banged his head on the table. The pain was eased away by a gingerbread man in Frank’s stocking. Cookie first thing in the morning!! - only on Christmas. Before doing his stocking presents, Frank grabbed the package from PEBL (he has been tossing that one around for days and knows that one is for him). A fun frog flashlight. After we showed him how to turn it on, he would do it and point the light straight in his eyes (as he does with all flashlights) . Frank helped mommy sort the presents and occasionally without mom’s notice he slipped some into his own pile. For one moment, Frank’s gingerbread man had only a leg left and the next thing you know, Frank had one with the whole body intact. Well, dad left his unattended and that’s what happens.

We all took turns opening a present. Frank wasn’t interested in ripping the wrapping paper or playing with the ribbons. He really wanted to help with scissors when mom was cutting the taped parts open. The first few rounds dad got more cooking ware just like he asked for and some wood chips for his smoker. Frank got a bucket full of safari animals and trees and rocks to dump in the middle of the floor. Then mom got a puzzle with pictures of elephants and giraffs and zebras just like Frank’s plastic ones. Pretty neat. Mom and dad both got magnetic hangers and promptly hung some xmas photo cards from our friends up. Frank got several books and a truck flashlight that he drove all around the dining room table. It ran over several safari animals before the driver was convinced to sit with a new cookie and his new books. Several different chocolate truffles but mom refrained til after lunch and Frank went to nap. Frank then got construction cones and lined them up around dad’s chair. Under Construction! Took dad two seconds to trip over one but fortunately, no one was hurt except the cone. It was a danger zone by the time we finished as Frank also got a set of Mr. Potato Head and more stacking cups. To top it all off, mom and dad got several presents for our backyard projects. Those are ones we will all enjoy throughout next year and Frank will have such fun helping in the yard.

Somewhere between that we had breakfast and Frank of course only wanted more cookies. We were all too full for lunch so some fruits and snacks and then off to tidy up and play with our toys. Mom had fun reading Frank’s new books to him. He got several counting books and the one page he loves is 7 balls. He tries to grab the ball out of the book and gets mad when he can’t take it off the page. Then he shows us the soccer ball is for kicking, basketball for throwing, tennis ball for throwing and another ball for rolling. While Dad started a turkey and stuffing for dinner, Frank napped just 1 hour and then we played bubbles and water hose in the backyard. Wired on sugar cookies I bet. Dad got shoot with the water hose. Good thing it is sunny and warm here. We started a fire nonetheless and enjoyed the beautiful flames as the house got heated up to 72 degrees. Frank helps dad carry the logs but stands back as watches dad throw it into the fire.

After dinner, mom and Frank enjoys a hot bath together. Then Frank’s day ended with more jumping on the bed, PJs, stories, and then goodnite kisses.  Mom and dad soon piled into bed as well.

Now it is starting to really feel like Christmas because we have gotten our tree, decorated it, and placed various presents under it. This is Frank’s first Christmas here in Pittsburg and he is certainly getting into the holiday season. He knows all about xmas trees as they were on display at stores before Halloween this year. So we have been talking about it for awhile and he was excited as we drove to several lots and finally picking our tree to take home. Then when Frank took his nap, we put up all the ornaments.

Frank is very gentle (most of the time) with the ornaments. He has found two crabs, 1 bird, 2 cats, 1 sheep, a train, a camel, several bells and a beautifully beaded ball so far. He loves to point at the blue light at the back of the tree and just giggle. We don’t know why since there are several other blue lights all over the tree. That must be his favorite. He knows the lights can be hot and not to touch and if he pulls on stuff the tree will fall on his head. He tells us this with his many hand gestures.

From the extra branches, I made a wreath and after some research on the internet, I got it to hang on the door using a hinge and string with no nails or holes of any sort. Yes, I’m rather proud of this accomplishment Still some branches left and Frank has found them extremely enjoyable for sweeping the leaves from the grass area back onto the driveway. But when some of the sap got on his hands and became very sticky, he was quite distressed and dad had to take him inside to wash it off.

A month has zoomed by and we have been very busy. Several quick updates before another month passes by.

Frank started saying “nani” while pointing to himself. After a few weeks of that he now says”nana” when referring to himself. How did Frank get translated to that, no one knows. He is making lots of animal sounds and likes mom to sing the Old MacDonald Had a Farm… song. He says EIEI to indicate the song request. Sometimes at bedtime he requests Wheel on the bus song and the baby on the bus goes nighty nite instead of up and down and the mommies and daddies on the bus says I love you.

After reading a book at Great Grandma’s with quiet as a clam and loud as a lion, Frank likes to imitate that. He puts his finger on his mouth for quiet and then roars like the lion; followed by his usual DA sound for truck meaning I guess also as loud as the truck. Dad was able to read one of the picture books in Chinese with Frank. He asked Frank where is ___ in Chinese for every picture and Frank knew them all except for chocolate. Both dad didn’t know the Chinese and Frank was never told or interested in that picture.

Frank continues to love jumping. Now he jumps on the beds cuz mom slacked off while her nesting instincts kicked in for the baby and had to sort all kinds of baby stuff. We are now trying to limit him to only jump in his own bed.

We are talking about the baby lots. Frank often does the sign for baby when seeing them in stores or in mom’s magazines. He knows baby is inside mommy as he sometimes “shares” his cheerios with baby. Of course he then proceeds to eat it after offering to the belly.

His memory is surprisingly good. Yesterday dad went to the dentist so he drove the green car instead of taking the Bart. All day Frank asked where the green car was and mom told him all about the dentist. Frank learned that you open your mouth wide at the dentist. He is interested in this so maybe soon he will go for a visit. Still missing those last 4 molars. Anyways, today we woke up late and didn’t drive daddy to the Bart station. All day Frank asked if daddy went to the dentist with the green car again.

We are now starting to learn the signs for gray and brown. Frank finally started to sign blue and green correctly. His sign for yellow looks sometimes like blue and sometimes like green. That reminds me during a terrible tantrum while in the bath (mom turned off the water before Frank was done playing) he was screaming bloody murder. Mom proceeded to finish the rinsing part and Frank signed play while continuing in screaming. Mom was amazed at his communicating that.

Frank knows about knives and cutting. When mom says cut or chop, at first he would do the cutting motion on the table with his fist. After 2 days of correcting him, he is starting to open up his palm so it looks more like a knife cutting.

One time we cut out a heart shape in red playdoh and mom told Frank to give it to daddy.  Now we always want to send hearts (love) to daddy on skype when we get a computer turn.  And we make hearts for both daddy and mommy cuz Frank loves.  Frank is still attached to bunny but he will often hug other animals like bear and baby Tad and gorilla to indicate he loves them.

Frank has no trouble putting the wooden puzzles together now.  With the mix and match ones, he even does them correctly matching the colors of the car.  The only tricky one is there are two white cars one with a star and one with a cross.  Mom showed him once and he hasn’t done it wrong yet.

Frank loves his books.  Especially if he finds something in a book that he can relate to.  Parsley is a new favorite as there is a man with an ax chopping down a tree.  Frank thinks that is daddy as he saw Nat chop wood for the fireplace.  Another picture in there is a daddy making wooden toys with the wood for his child; and a baby in a cradle.

We have learned to roll the ball!  Yippie!  Frank will sit with mom and we roll balls back and forth.  Sometimes he picks it up and lifts it over his head with a look on his face basically testing/asking mom if that is allowed.  When mom says no throwing then we continue to roll the ball.  He is constantly doing stuff to see mom’s reaction.  You can tell when he is looking at you and frozen in the pose waiting for approval or denial of his intended actions, especially when he already knows it is now allowed.

Some confusion with words.  We brought persimmons at the farmer’s market and mom said these are “shizi” in Chinese.  Frank made the lion roaring sound.  It took mom a few seconds to realize the Chinese for lion is one tone off.  We talk about the bathroom and asks Frank if and when he has made a poop.  So the Chinese for releasing gas is Pee which sounds like urinating in English.  So Frank learned the Chinese one first and he often blow air out of his mouth and points to his butt when he hears that word.  Now when we tell him we are going to the bathroom he does that automatically.  We are far from starting potty training.  He gets very mad when we forget to let him flush though.