what's new

Last Saturday, August's scooter was stolen right outside a kids' store. She's only 3.5 years old and learning it's a brutal world.

August: Someone took my scooter...
Mama: We can get you a new scooter, just like the old one.
August: I don't want a new one. I want to find the old one!
Mama: Here, have your lollipop.
August: I'll eat my lollipop after we find my scooter.

[We searched around the block and then the adjacent block, but no luck]

August: Some day, my new scooter will be my old scooter.

[August smiled a little. 2 hrs later, she ate her lollipop.]

new home

Hard to believe, but it's been over 4 months since the last journal posting! We've since bought a new home, done some decorating and are still unpacking. We've been here 1 month and yet much remains to be done.

Some days, August says she likes our new home better. Her room is truly hers. There's no scary printer that she wants to banish to the living room. Everything in it is hers and she knows it.

On other days, August says she misses her old home.

But every Sunday is incredible. We roll out of bed, walk 2 blocks to the farmer's market and make a breakfast of fresh strawberries, pastries, coffee and OJ. After purchasing fruits, veggies, meats, honey sticks and flowers, we trundle home again.

tree

me: Where are we going to put the Christmas tree?
August: You told me where the Christmas tree would go yesterday. Remember?
me: Oh yeah.

August: It smells like Christmas Day.
me: What does Christmas smell like?
August: It smells like beautiful pine Christmas tree!

one good turn deserves another

August has acquired some negotiation skills. I try to reward her negotiations by compromising. I also try to stand firm when she whines, but it all depends.

Negotiations #1
Me: I'm hungry, let's get some pho!
August: But I want to watch Dora right now!
Anand: Mama & I are both hungry, you can watch Dora later.
August: Can I watch a little bit of Dora and then eat dinner?
Me: Ok...

Negotiations #2
Me: You need to go to bed now.
August: Why?
Me: Because I'm the mama and you're the daughter.
August: But I'm a mama too.
Me: Uhhh...
August: I'm Dolly's mama
Me: Does Dolly need to go to bed?
August: Dolly wants to watch tv.
Me: Well, let's read a book to Dolly.
August: OK!

Babysitting at the wedding

Flower girl

August's one quiet moment during Jennie's wedding.

Artist's self-portrait

August is three now and has some new fine motor control skills. She copied a picture for the first time this week. She also drew a picture of herself. I think it depicts her in a skirt with a ball.

jacked up

Just got back from a farmer's market, in Hanalei, Hawaii. A whistle is blown and everyone stampedes in at exactly 2PM. I cheated by going in through a side entrance and bringing the posse.

We bought: cherimoyas, starfruit, rambutan, passionfruit, longan, pineapple, apple bananas, this amazing mango varietal called "nam duoc" (as large as a papaya and no fibers), locally made goat cheese, purple potatoes, purple asparagus, string beans, some unknown fruit with a fiberglass like exterior that you can't touch, and a 10 pound jackfruit.

My brother Andrew carried the jackfruit and half the market stopped him and asked him what he was carrying and if they could smell it. Andrew said he was the jackfruit rockstar. Jennie corrected him and said he was the jackfruit groupie.

August fell asleep right before the stampede and missed the whole thing. But she'll benefit from the 2 hours of labor spent on prepping the jackfruit.

Teach me

Lesson #1
August: I'm hungry, Dada.
Anand: Do you want to drink some milk?
August: When I'm thirsty I want something to drink. When I'm hungry, I want something to bite on, like this. [demonstrates chewing]

Lesson #2
Anand: We're in a hurry, we need to get there on time.
August: "In time", Dada, not "on time".

Not the milk's fault

August was sick - drippy nose, cough, fever. We decided to try some home remedies. A mixture of ginger, honey and lemon worked pretty well in reducing the coughing at night, though Gusty was not terribly pleased at having to drink it. "It's good for you, it'll make you cough less and it'll make your throat feel better."
The next morning when August woke up I warmed up her milk as usual, then decided to add some ginger and honey since that had worked well the previous night. She drank a little bit, then said
"I can't drink this anymore"
"Why?"
"I can't drink this any more, it's too good for me."

Lollipop

August: A lollipop!
August: [struggles with the wrapper] Can you help me open it?
Connie: Sure, I can help you. Here, give it to me.
August: [hands over the lollipop] It's my lollipop, OK?

tv and a beer

The biggest article in yesterday's NYTimes stated that women are less happy than men in the U.S.. Just 30 years ago, women were happier than men, so this is a big switch.

After just half a day, over 700 people commented on this article. They fell into following buckets:

1) Men are just simpler, they only want tv and a beer.
2) Women are wired to want more in a compressed timeframe
3) Men aren't helping with childcare and around the house enough
4) Women want to be the martyr
5) Men are only expected to make money
6) Women are expected to be attractive, decorate the home, cook, and make money.
7) Men don't complain - the survey is screwed up
8) Women like to complain - the survey is screwed up
9) You can't successfully work outside the home and in the home both. If you try to sit in two chairs, you fall on the floor.


And my own theory: Bring back the unions. Nobody works 9-5 anymore, certainly not on the West Coast.

Secret toes

Me: Let's hurry home. I'm going to put nail polish on you!
August: Nail polish!
Me: Do you want it on your fingers or your toes?
August: On my toes.
Me: Are you sure? If it's on your toes, nobody will see it because you wear shoes all day. Why do you want it on your toes?
August: Because I like it.

stretchy

It happened. The little pregnancy paunch I carried around for 3 years is gone! I suppose if I had trained at the gym or made a concerted effort I could have erased it after 6 months, but I didn't. Strangely it seems to have happened on its own just in the past 2 weeks. Also, the extra 5 pounds is finally melting off. Just 4 more left. But I haven't done any running in 4 weeks. Coincidence?

Coke is it!

We've never taken August to Burger King nor McDonald's until this week. She's three years old now, so I think she can handle the poisonous hormones in the meat maybe a few times per year.

Me: What do you want August? A burger or chicken fingers?
August: I want a burger and french fries!
Me: [looking a little surprised] OK...
Me: [filling up the cup with Dr. Pepper]
August: No, not that one! You need to get this one [points to the Coca-cola]
Me: What? Why?
August: That one is my favorite.
Me: Uh-oh, looks like you've been here before.
August: I've been here with Lydia, but not with Mama and Dada!

Lydia is our wonderful babysitter. Sigh.

I have to

This morning August said, "I don't want to brush my teeth!"
Then she followed it up seconds later with, "But I have to..."


Is this the terrible threes? If so, I hope this stage lasts for a while.

New flower cardigan

Me: Can you put this on?
August: No, I don't like it.
Me: It's pretty. Try it on for me?
August: It doesn't matter.
Me: "It doesn't matter" means, "that's OK". Here, I'll put it on you.
August: You knocked off my glasses!
Me: I'm sorry.
August: You need to take off my glasses and THEN put it on.
Me: I'm sorry, you're right.
August: That's OK.

Love and marriage

Gusty came home one day and announced that she was married to Sky and Mikayla. Hmm, we go - that's awfully sophisticated. What does it mean that you're married to Sky? "Sky and Mikayla told me to go away. So I'm married to them." "You mean mad? You were mad at them?" "Yes, I'm married to them."
She might be confused on the subject of marriage (or maybe not?) But she's closer to the mark about weddings. Connie bought her a sleeping gown. Putting it on, the first thing she said was - "I can wear this for my wedding!"

Where do we go from here?

Gusty's new verbal maneuver involves asking questions.
Wake up in the morning: "What are we doing today?"
While we are getting ready to leave: "Where are we going?"
"Are we going to the park after school?" "What's her name?" "What's in my lunch box?"

I don't believe it!

Unfortunately, we had to serve Gusty the same pasta for dinner that she had at lunch time. Unfortunate because Gusty was having none of it. "I've already had this! I had this for lunch! I've already had this pasta". Then she threw her hands in the air and declared with an air of disappointment "I don't believe it! It's the same thing!"
Of course, this was very funny, and I started laughing and said "That's funny!". With a serious look she says - "What did I say?" "You said "I don't believe it!", I thought that was funny." "That was not funny, that was silly!" Then she put on the same air of disappointment, and said again "I don't believe it!" and laughed.