Todd and I were both pretty hungry after church today, so we decided that, rather than drive straight to Sylmar (it was nearly noon), we'd accompany our friends to our usual post-service lunch at Jake's (a little cafe we frequent, it serves lunch and breakfast).
I ordered some stuff from the kids' menu for Todd, and one of the items included toast. He was looking forward to it, and wanted honey with it.
When his food arrived, first thing I did was butter his toast. Todd watched me carefully. I had barely spread a small pat of butter on a slice and was reaching for more butter, when Todd exclaimed: "Not too much!"
A bit puzzled, since it was very little butter, I queried why.
"Because butter has a lot of fat. Too much fat is not good for you, it will make your heart sick!"
Todd sees the new apartment
Todd's been looking forward to seeing the new place all week. Oma told him about it when Mommy and Daddy were first moving in, and he was excited at the prospect of Mommy picking him up and seeing it for the first time.
First thing he did (after greeting Daddy and the stuffed animals, of course), was walk around the apartment, inspecting it. Mommy and Daddy proudly showcased every room to him, as if we were trying to sell the place to him ;-)
The kitchen bar counter is exactly as tall as Todd, so he just barely fits perfectly underneath it, standing straight up. So what do you think he did? Grabbed hold of the edge of the counter and jumped up and down, so from the kitchen all you could see was this little head bobbing up and down over the counter!
When he spied things he recognized from the old apartment (like the microwave, vacuum cleaner, CD cabinet, the stereo, etc, etc...) he would immediately point to it and clamor about its familiarity. Thus, we heard a lot of "You brought this from the old apartment!" over the weekend ;-) On Saturday morning, before we arrived in SB, he asked, concerned: "Did you bring [insert name of stuffed animal] to the new apartment?" as if anxious that we might have inadvertently left someone behind ;-)
He liked having a whole couple bottom shelves dedicated to his books and study materials, and was good about putting them back where they belonged.
The cutest part of the evening? Mommy settled into the bed, leaning on some pillows, to examine some new books she's just bought. Todd grabbed a couple books from his shelf and climbed into the bed next to me, opening his books and studiously perusing them while I leafed through mine! :-)
Anyway... it's safe to say that Todd is quite pleased with the new place, and duly impressed. So are we :-)
First thing he did (after greeting Daddy and the stuffed animals, of course), was walk around the apartment, inspecting it. Mommy and Daddy proudly showcased every room to him, as if we were trying to sell the place to him ;-)
The kitchen bar counter is exactly as tall as Todd, so he just barely fits perfectly underneath it, standing straight up. So what do you think he did? Grabbed hold of the edge of the counter and jumped up and down, so from the kitchen all you could see was this little head bobbing up and down over the counter!
When he spied things he recognized from the old apartment (like the microwave, vacuum cleaner, CD cabinet, the stereo, etc, etc...) he would immediately point to it and clamor about its familiarity. Thus, we heard a lot of "You brought this from the old apartment!" over the weekend ;-) On Saturday morning, before we arrived in SB, he asked, concerned: "Did you bring [insert name of stuffed animal] to the new apartment?" as if anxious that we might have inadvertently left someone behind ;-)
He liked having a whole couple bottom shelves dedicated to his books and study materials, and was good about putting them back where they belonged.
The cutest part of the evening? Mommy settled into the bed, leaning on some pillows, to examine some new books she's just bought. Todd grabbed a couple books from his shelf and climbed into the bed next to me, opening his books and studiously perusing them while I leafed through mine! :-)
Anyway... it's safe to say that Todd is quite pleased with the new place, and duly impressed. So are we :-)
Swimming
After Todd's school assessment, we went back to the apartment and changed into our swimsuits so we could hit the complex's pool. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day-- perfect weather for swimming!
We had loads of fun dunking our heads in the water, and Todd even jumped from the top of the steps into the shallow end of the pool, dunking his head as he splashed in! He was still nervous about lying on his back to float (didn't want to put his head in the water), and about "swimming" with only his chest/tummy supported, but he seemed more comfortable in the water than previously :-)
We also enjoyed soaking in the jacuzzi and practicing some leaps and dunks in the nice warm water! It may have been a warm and sunny day, but with Santa Barbara's mild climate (and temps in the 70s), even a splash in the pool can quickly turn chilly!
We had loads of fun dunking our heads in the water, and Todd even jumped from the top of the steps into the shallow end of the pool, dunking his head as he splashed in! He was still nervous about lying on his back to float (didn't want to put his head in the water), and about "swimming" with only his chest/tummy supported, but he seemed more comfortable in the water than previously :-)
We also enjoyed soaking in the jacuzzi and practicing some leaps and dunks in the nice warm water! It may have been a warm and sunny day, but with Santa Barbara's mild climate (and temps in the 70s), even a splash in the pool can quickly turn chilly!
School assessment
We took Todd to the school we're interested in placing him, for an assessment. We met with the kindergarten teacher, who briefly showed Todd around the room before we left him with her for the next half hour for his test.
When we returned, we got some positive feedback and learned that while Todd was his usual quiet self, he at least opened up enough to answer the questions that were asked of him. The teacher told us she'd speak with the headmaster, who would in turn get in touch with us this week.
After we picked Todd up and took him back to the apartment to go swimming, he informed us what he had done in the classroom: his teacher read him a story and then asked him some reading comprehension questions after it. She also showed him some patterns to see if he could deduce the next item in the sequence. And then they played with Tinker Toys together, all-too-familiar to Todd from preschool.
This is the school we're hoping Todd will be able to enroll in this Fall:
St John of Damascus Academy
Here's hoping for some good news this upcoming week :-)
When we returned, we got some positive feedback and learned that while Todd was his usual quiet self, he at least opened up enough to answer the questions that were asked of him. The teacher told us she'd speak with the headmaster, who would in turn get in touch with us this week.
After we picked Todd up and took him back to the apartment to go swimming, he informed us what he had done in the classroom: his teacher read him a story and then asked him some reading comprehension questions after it. She also showed him some patterns to see if he could deduce the next item in the sequence. And then they played with Tinker Toys together, all-too-familiar to Todd from preschool.
This is the school we're hoping Todd will be able to enroll in this Fall:
St John of Damascus Academy
Here's hoping for some good news this upcoming week :-)
Turtle Surgery
As I drove Todd to SB, he fielded an imaginary call from his imaginary cell phone. It was Geronimo and Pistachio calling from SB to tell him that they missed him. How did I know? Because Todd provided their squeaky, high-pitched voices while he talked to them in his normal voice. During the conversation, it was discovered that Pistachio had a tummyache. Todd promised to heal him when he got to SB.
Curious, I asked how he planned to cure the turtle, fully expecting him to tell me he was gonna give the turtle medicine, or take him to the doctor. No. What followed was an intricate description of invasive surgery:
"I'm going to cut open his tummy. Then I'm going to pull the bad things out, and put the good things in. Then I'll put glue on his tummy and put it back together. And when the glue dries it will be stuck tight!"
Ouch?
Curious, I asked how he planned to cure the turtle, fully expecting him to tell me he was gonna give the turtle medicine, or take him to the doctor. No. What followed was an intricate description of invasive surgery:
"I'm going to cut open his tummy. Then I'm going to pull the bad things out, and put the good things in. Then I'll put glue on his tummy and put it back together. And when the glue dries it will be stuck tight!"
Ouch?
I love Ama
Todd was busy drawing and writing, and came across a post-it pad. That's when he came upon an idea. First, he asked Oma, "How do you spell 'I Love You, Ama'?" Oma spelled it out for him. Then he asked "How do you spell 'Pao-pao'?" Again, Oma spelled it out for him.
That's when Oma finally decided to see what he was up to.
He had written:
I LOVE YOU AMA
PAO-PAO
on the sticky note, and pasted it up on the wall next to his bed!
His reasoning?
"When Ama comes by to see me, she will see the note and read it!"
Awwwww... :-)
That's when Oma finally decided to see what he was up to.
He had written:
I LOVE YOU AMA
PAO-PAO
on the sticky note, and pasted it up on the wall next to his bed!
His reasoning?
"When Ama comes by to see me, she will see the note and read it!"
Awwwww... :-)
