Slip 'n Slide

What a scorcher this weekend has been! Sunday morning we had all the doors and windows open to let in some air, with temps rising in the upper 80s, even low 90s predicted! Not too bad on the surface, but for Santa Barbara, and its humidity, it was record-breakingly HOT! Little man got a visitor-- one of the neighbor kids, a little boy almost 8 years old (who has a 2-year-old brother, so he plays the caring big brother role very nicely) stopped by to see if Todd wanted to play on the slip 'n' slide they set up in the backyard. So Todd joined the fun and got to cool off while Mommy and Daddy did housecleaning.

Here he is during one of his forays down the slide... his expression is priceless! That grimace (click for larger pic) accurately reflects his initial hesitance.

As you can tell from this video, however, he quickly warmed up. After lunch, he went back out and played with squirt guns, the hose, and the little plastic wading pool. All in all, a nice way to cool off on a hot day :-)

Okay, Blogger is annoying me!!! Everytime I go to edit this thing, the video shows up in the preview and in the code, but when I publish the post, it is nowhere to be found. What gives!? Here is the Photobucket version, hopefully it shows up better. If Blogger decides to finally kick in and update this thing, you'll have 2 of the same video to enjoy. My apologies in advance for any possible duplicates...

Math whiz

A month ago I blogged about Todd teaching Pistachio how to add using his beads. He's continued to practice his addition since then.

We use flashcards that have an addition problem on one side, and a subtraction problem on the other. Last week, as we were doing the addition exercises, Todd turned the card over and noticed the subtraction problem. He wanted to know what the minus sign was. So, I decided it was time to start teaching him subtraction!

We started off with some simply ones. 4-1. 5-3. 6-2. He quickly caught on, and our nightly study sessions now included subtraction as well as addition.

He is always eager to do his arithmetic, mostly, I suspect, because he simply enjoys playing with the beads. Whatever-- as long as he's getting some learning in with the fun, why not? Beats having to struggle to get him to sit still and learn!

I started to wonder, though, if he truly grasped the concept of arithmetic or if it was just some bead-sliding game to him.

So today, I got out his box of mini tangram puzzle pieces, and got out the flashcards. I set him in my lap, and gave him the first assignment: an addition problem. He dutifully got out the requisite number of pieces and worked out the sum. Then I gave him a subtraction problem. He hemmed and hawed for a bit until I explained that subtracting means "take away". He got it after a few moments and was able to work out the rest of his arithmetic problems with the puzzle pieces... and nary a bead in sight!

Next up: using his fingers! :-D

Todd learns to read

Little man has, for a while, been able to identify what words correspond to certain sequences of letters, as I wrote about earlier:

http://toddsdiary.blogspot.com/2008/01/words-so-far.html

Well, this week we added several more words to the list, but not by the usual route. I got Todd's deck of ABC flashcards and decided to try to put some of them together to form short words. He knows his ABCs down cold and he knows his phonics, at least in terms of the sounds individual letters make. Figured it was high time to put those two skills together.

I started off with "A" and "T", forming "AT". After Todd understood how the "at" sound was formed, I added another letter to the beginning. C-A-T. And then M-A-T. A light bulb went off in Todd's head. The next few letters, R, B, and H, came easily. 5 new words!

Couple days later I tested him to see if he remembered it. He needed a bit of prompting at the A-T stage, but once he got it, he was able to fly through those 5 words. I added a couple new letters just to make sure it wasn't rote memorization, and he was able to get the words "pat" and "sat" without any trouble. In fact, he even went on to further define "sat" for me, explaining that it came from "sitting"!

Later that night, I quizzed him verbally: "What does C-A-T spell?"
"Cat!" came the immediate response, and likewise through all of his -at ending words.

Our ittle man is reading! :-)

Stop Hitting Yourself...

Do you remember when you were a kid, and you'd grab your, say, brother's hand and smack him in the face with it, repeating: "Stop hitting yourself!" and laughing at his consternation? Well, Todd adds a new twist to it. Observe... Todd and Daddy's hand:



Oh, and if that wasn't silly enough, Todd figures he can do the job just as easily and efficiently all by himself:



So if Child Services ever gets called on us, this is our evidence that he really did "do this to himself", honest!!

Guess who?

In case you're wondering, that Spongebob bucket is part of the Easter gift baskets that Todd got from Aunt Debbie and Uncle Ron when we all went to Grandpa's house to celebrate Daddy's birthday... which fell on Easter this year!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Happy Birthday, Grandma! Here's a little hand-drawn greeting from your little man. The picture at the bottom is a cake with a couple of candles on top :-)

Prayers for Oma

Todd has added a small get-well prayer for Oma, to his daily bedtime routine. He keeps asking how Oma is doing, and if she's still sick-- yearning to go back to LA.

Tonight, he explained how exactly God heals people: He has to touch you on the head, and then you will be made well! I guess he's retaining more material than I thought, from all those stories he's had read to him!

Knott's Berry Farm

Todd remained in LA for the rest of the week while Mommy and Daddy returned to SB, and back to the grindstone, on Sunday evening.

On Monday Todd, Opa and Oma trooped to Knott's Berry Farm for some R&R and a much-anticipated visit to Snoopy:



In Todd's arms is his newest favorite stuffed animal-- a Pokemon creature that Uncle Ron and Aunt Debbie gave him for Easter yesterday. It resembles a turtle because it has what looks like a turtle's shell on his back. But it also has a twig with leaves growing out of its head-- in true anime fashion ;-P It's name? Why, Pokie, of course!

Todd had a great time, riding many of the kiddie rides by himself, and wore himself out so much that he fell asleep on the way home-- in the middle of eating a banana!

Happy Easter

I wish I had remembered to bring the camera with me when I went to pick up Todd at school this morning! It was 11:30am and the kids were lined up to do an Easter procession, each class walking single-file up to a foam cross set up in the center of the play room. They carefully tucked in their hand-made flowers and then stood in a semi-circle around the cross. One little girl, upon spying her parents amongst the gaggle of camera-wielding grownups, broke from the line and made a beeline for her folks. That cracked everyone up. After the procession, the kids sang songs and finally, the head teacher led us all in a prayer. As usual, she instructed the kids to fold their hands and close their eyes.

I couldn't resist. I looked up and snuck a peek at Todd. And what did I see? My little boy with his hands carefully folded, and eyes closed... not just closed, but scrunched tightly shut, almost in a grimace! Hey-- he was certainly following instructions!

Afterward, we met Daddy at Cajun Kitchen for a delicious breakfast lunch (no, not brunch-- breakfast food at lunchtime) before heading home to clean up and trek down to LA for the weekend.

Campers, packing and lunch

... continued from the previous post...

This morning I kept reminding Todd that since school is dismissed at noon today, we would be picking him up early and he would eat lunch at home instead of at school. Then I told him we'd go to Oma and Opa's house later tonight, and eat dinner there. He perked up at that, and asked: "Why can't we eat lunch at Oma and Opa's house?"

I explained that he got out of school right AT lunchtime, that it would take a long time to drive there, that we still needed to clean the house and pack up, and that by the time we got there it would be far too late for lunch = too hungry!

Todd's solution?
"We can eat lunch in the car! (i.e. on the way)"
Hehehehe....

On the way to school, after getting off the phone with Daddy, he asked me if I'd finished packing everything yet. I said no, and he suggested this time-saving technique: "You can clean up while I pack lunch!"

Before long, we passed by a truck with a camper attached and Todd wanted to know what it was. I explained how people can use it to sleep while traveling. So, Todd hit on another bright idea:

"When I grow bigger, I will get a camper. Then I can drive while you and Daddy sleep in the camper!"

You mean we can travel and not have to worry about transportation!? Awesome idea, son. I'm posting this here for posterity-- a couple decades from now I'm gonna remind you about this little deal next time we want to travel far away on vacation ;-)

Getting Dressed

Todd must have enjoyed a good night's sleep last night because this morning he was bubbling with all kinds of cute things.

Today he managed to get dressed all by himself. He's been able to remove and put on pants and socks all by himself for a while now. But he insisted that he wouldn't be able to learn to do the rest (i.e. shirts) until he got older. Then last night, I pointed out that his friend Molly, who is younger than him, has been able to dress herself entirely for some time now. That must have gotten him motivated.

This morning, I helped him out of his jammies, and then, to save time, I laid out his clothes in front of him and instructed him to get dressed. (Meantime, I was busy dressing myself) Fully expecting him to tackle only the pants and socks (hey, that's still less work for me) I was surprised when I peeked over and saw him pulling his T-shirt over his head, and then studying the logo to make sure it was in front. To my amazement, he continued with the flannel button-down shirt that goes on top of the T-shirt-- not only did he get it on, but he managed to fasten every button except the top button! Of course, it took him about 10 minutes but hey, I was busy getting stuff ready anyway, so it was a good use of time. I periodically asked if he needed help, and he kept refusing it (till the last button). Lo and behold! Little man had finally gotten dressed ALL by himself, without any help, for the first time!

He was so proud of himself that when I suggested he tell Daddy later today about it, he wanted to share the news sooner, while driving to school: "When I hop in the car, you call Daddy and give me the phone so I can tell him!"... and tell him he did :-D

Watch the road!

As I was on the road, heading home after picking Todd up from school, I casually flipped the rearview mirror down so I could see him in the backseat and observe what he was up to. I typically do this, but apparently today Todd wasn't about to let me. He proclaimed:

"Put the mirror down! You have to concentrate on driving!"

I was quick to follow his safety caution and thank him for the reminder ;-)

Fast forward to just a minute ago: I was getting ready to vacuum quickly in the living room. Todd wanted food. I wanted to vacuum and offered to fix him dinner after I finished vacuuming. His compromise solution?

"I can eat dinner while you vacuum!"

Sounds like a good plan, son! As soon as Mommy finishes typing this up, she shall get to it :-D

St. Patrick's Day

Saturday was the St. Patrick's Day celebration at the community center for the student housing complex. Brunch was served-- piping hot green eggs (scrambled), green hash browns, and ham (not green), along with an assortment of rolls, croissants, and other sweet pastries. The kids enjoyed some fun outside: painting, play-doh, and a candy hunt (picking up candy hidden in a grassy field).

Todd enjoyed playing in the playground with another little girl about his age. She reminds me a lot of Molly-- same size, same hair, same age, same independent streak. It's no wonder Todd took to her immediately and assumed his "big brother" role with glee.

Here's a couple pics of Todd. I forgot to bring my camera, so the first shot is from my phone-- it features Todd on the see-saw, after having his hair freshly spiked and sprayed with green paint. The next picture was taken a few hours later, after we'd gone shopping and returned home-- by then I had the camera, but his hair color had mostly faded, and the spikes relaxed. Note the hand-written name tag, though-- in an appropriate color, too-- green!





Todd LOVED having his hair dyed, and enjoyed the little festivities. It wasn't much, but for a little kid, it's plenty of excitement :-D He kept asking when it would be St. Patrick's Day again, and if he could dye his hair green again. He was a bit sad when showertime rolled around and he observed the water turning green as I washed the last of the dye out of his hair. Ah well-- as quickly as time flies, next year's St. Paddy's Day will be upon us before we know it!

Computer geek?

Not if I can help it :-P

After a nice long nap this afternoon, Todd and Mommy settled down to play a few educational games on the Nick Jr. website, all with the Blue's Clues theme. We played a couple rounds of Memory and "What's that Sound?" Then we found Doodle in Blue's Room-- a talking easel that draws by himself.

Todd got plenty of practice using the mouse, because part of the game featured free coloring-- click on a color, and then drag the mouse around the drawing pad to draw. At first he could only scribble all over the screen, but before long, he figured out how to control the mouse motions, and he was not only able to color a picture reasonably within the lines, but also write his name-- even though the D's engulfed the T and O by the end ;-)

Before long he was able to select different colors on his own, click the eraser to start over, and even select different pictures to color! Between his typing and his mouse skills it won't be long before he is completely comfortable using a computer... but, uh, let's teach him to read first so he can actually READ what's on the screen and type things other than his name! ;-)

Teaching Turtles

I am giggling as I type this, for Todd is busy teaching Pistachio.

But first, let me backtrack.
A few months ago I'd started to teach Todd how to add-- we had one of those little workbooks and I used pennies to help Todd add small sums. He soon got the hang of it, and enjoyed it. At first it was 2+3, 4+2, no big deal... but having to keep lots of pennies gets cumbersome. So, several weeks ago I bought some beads-- 10 rows of 10 colorful beads each. I think 100 beads is plenty to keep Todd occupied until he can do arithmetic without their aid :-)

Anyway, this past couple weeks I'd been teaching Todd not only sums under 10, but sums OVER 10-- like 6+7 and even 11+4... Todd quickly caught on to the concept of using multiple rows of beads.

Today I watched intently as Todd held Pistachio and told him to add "2+5". Through Todd, Pistachio used his fins and went through the exact same motions Todd always does when doing his addition problems: first counted out 2 beads, then 5 beads, then pushed them together and counted them, finally pronouncing at the end "Two plus five makes seven!" Clever turtle! ;-)

I commented on how Todd was teaching the turtle, and he explained further:

"The class is in there (pointing to the bedroom), but there is a man sleeping in there (Daddy's sick and in bed) so we have to do it out here. This (the living room, where we were) is outside the classroom!"

Pop makes for an unlucky Pops

Todd and Geronimo were saying a thank you prayer before bed today, and Geronima began expounding on all the things he was thankful for-- a cute Pao-pao, Mommy and Daddy, clothes (yes, he still has the onesie on), a warm bed... and Todd summarized it nicely: "You're a lucky turtle!"

I pointed out that Todd was a lucky boy too, for all the same reasons. He pointed to me, saying I was a lucky Mommy. Indeed! I agreed. But then he turned the tables.

"Not Daddy. He's not lucky."

Why not!?

"Because he drinks soda! Soda is not good for you!"

:-D

I wanna be a girl

I was ruffling Todd's hair after his shower, musing on how difficult it was to tame that hair, especially with the Daddy-inherited cowlick, and the hair that's not as fine as Daddy's because Mommy's hair is so coarse. I commented that he was long overdue for a haircut, causing him to pull away and exclaim: "No! Don't cut it! I want my hair to be long-- I want to be a girl. Just like Mommy!"

This gave us a good giggle and we humored him, saying he'd be a girl like Oma and Grandma and Aunt Debbie. But he didn't want to be a boy like Daddy? "No!" loud and clear.

Well, what about his beloved Opa? Opa is, after all, a boy too!

Todd's solution?
"Daddy can play with Opa!"

Daddy's big popo

Some time ago a few of the slats on the bed fell off, probably due to Daddy climbing into bed a little too enthusiastically (hey, after a long hard day at work, nothing's more welcoming than a soft pillow!).

Today Mommy uncovered a few wood chips on the floor near the bed, and wondered aloud what they were. Daddy explained that it was him and his big butt that caused the slats to go out of line again.

So, of course Toddy piped up with his own version of the story:

"Daddy's big popo made the bed kaputt!"

The week's highlights

On Tuesday, Todd got to see where Mommy and Daddy worked. Daddy picked him up and brought him by the office, where Todd shyly got to meet some of our co-workers, and draw on our dry-erase boards. Some of our co-workers sat on giant rubber balls instead of conventional chairs, but Todd apparently found that notion silly: "Why is he sitting on a ball? I don't want to sit on a ball-- I'll fall down!"

Wednesday night, while Mommy was out having pizza and beer with her colleagues, Daddy and Todd enjoyed a little pizza night of their own-- hitting K-Mart to look at toys, and then grabbing a pizza from the attached Little Caesar's.

Friday, Mommy and Daddy snuck out early from a farewell shindig for one of the VPs, and had fun picking Todd up at school together. He didn't quite know what to make of the sight of BOTH parents appearing there, but he sure as heck wasn't gonna complain! ;-)

Saturday was good for more Daddy-son bonding time, as the boys spent the morning running errands and playing while Mommy slept in and recovered from her flu.

And Sunday we had fun mattress shopping-- bought a new mattress for the futon-- a Tempurpedic kind, a real bargain-- full size at under $500. It makes the futon much higher than it used to be, much to Todd's amusement. He loves climbing that thing. And of course, Mommy and Daddy were clamoring to try it out, so Todd had to join in the fray, too!

This morning, as I was getting him ready for school, he piped up plaintively (as he had been doing all week): "I don't want to go to my new school!" But this time, unlike the others, he offered a reason: "I will have an accident!" Awww...

You see, Todd has been having accidents fairly regularly at his new school, and it all boils down to his being too timid to ask to go to the bathroom. We tried taking away the privilege of watching TV during dinner (we tape his kiddie shows during the day, and watch one 30-minute episode while eating-- keeps him sitting still) if he didn't stay dry during the day, but that didn't work.

And when Todd made his statement this morning, I hearkened back to an incident when I was about 8 or 9 years old, sitting in a school assembly, and wet my pants because I was too shy to interrupt and ask my teacher (who was sitting right behind me) for a potty break. If I, at 9 years old, was still too afraid to ask, how could I expect more of a 3-year-old? So, I decided to try the opposite tactic: rewarding him when he DOES stay dry. I mulled over my options-- what could I reward him with when he got home, still wearing the same pants I put on this morning?

Something to eat? No, wouldn't want to encourage junk food. A toy? No, that seems a bit much, plus the house will get cluttered and he'll just get spoiled. Then I hit upon the perfect solution-- stickers! I could give him a few to put on himself or Mommy or Daddy or the animals-- wherever he pleased. Then another idea: we bought him a calendar a few weeks ago for fun, now we could actually use it. I told him he could put a sticker in his calendar if he stayed dry, and if he stayed dry the entire week, we could do something special during the weekend. What luck, then, that this month there's no shortage of outside-sponsored activities, like St. Patrick's Day and Easter festivities. So, at lunch today, I shall poke around Michael's and see if I can find any good stickers and worthwhile little trinkets for rewards.

And we shall see if this new system will actually work. Wish us luck!

Todd the caretaker

After spending a week with Oma and Opa, Todd was understandably reluctant to return to SB and have to go to his "new school" again on Monday morning.

So last night, he declared: "I don't want to go to Santa Barbara. I want to stay here for a long time!"

I queried: "Who's going to take care of you?"

"Oma!"

Referring to the fact that she goes in for her 3rd round of chemo this upcoming week, I pointed out: "But she's not going to feel well next week."

"Opa can take care of me!"

"But Opa has to work!"

Not to be deterred, Todd replied: "I can take care of Oma!"

I asked him how they were going to eat, and he asserted: "I can cook!" and when I asked him what he could cook: "I can cook lots of things!"

After a pause, he relented on one thing he knew he wouldn't be able to do while taking care of Oma: "But I can't drive. I don't know how!"

Kid-less week

It's been nearly a week since Mommy returned to LA with Todd in tow. We originally intended to spend the entire long weekend there, but I ended up leaving Todd behind when I returned to SB on Monday night, for a number of reasons. Oma was doing much better and could take care of him. Todd still had a runny nose and cough, one he developed since he started school, and we wanted to give him time to fully recover. And after 3 weeks away, his Chinese had become rusty, and this was a good opportunity to refresh him in it. Plus Oma and Opa missed little man :-)

For the first time all month, I've actually felt worry-free during the day. Sure, we miss Todd, but it's different. No picking up Todd at 5pm, dreading the sight: different pants (because he had an accident during the day), cold hands because the kids aren't wearing their jackets, and face, hands and sleeves dirty and smeared with dried snot from his constantly running nose. No worrying that he hasn't had enough to eat/drink because he didn't finish his lunch. Etc...

The peace of mind that comes with knowing that Todd is in good hands, being well-cared for, simply cannot be described! It's been such a relief not having to worry about his well-being all day. Not having to practically force-feed him liquids at night because I know he's not hydrated enough during the day. Not having to scrub his hands and then carefully apply thick A&D cream onto them because they are so dry, chapped and red from continuously wiping snot from his nose. I tried giving him a pack of tissues to keep in his pocket and use, but he ended up "sharing" them with the smaller kids-- well hey, at least he's sharing, right? ;-P

Well, next week it's back to the grind. Back to restless worrying. It's been nice while it lasted!

This week Oma asked him if he missed school. His answer?

"No. I miss playtime!"

Ah yes, our future scholar...!

Valentine's Day

Was all but forgotten today as Mommy hurriedly rushed Todd off to school in the morning. It was only when we arrived and saw the other parents hauling in cards that I realized we'd forgotten not only the "holiday" but to get cards for Todd to give to the other kids! Oops :-/

Here's his haul of Valentine cards, all kept nicely in a little paper bag with his name on it:



Mommy and Daddy got to pick up Todd together tonight, since Mommy got out of class early and Daddy had arrived at work early that morning and so could leave early. After grabbing him from school, we all headed to IHOP for a nice little family dinner. Mommy and Todd enjoyed chocolate chip pancakes, yum! :-9

Oh, and here's another random shot of Todd, taken last week. Here he is, freshly showered, modeling the Ugg-like booties from Grandma:

I don't like girls

At what age do boys and girls start declaring their disdain for the opposite sex? You know, cooties and all that icky stuff. I thought it was in elementary school. Apparently, like many other things, kids are starting younger these days :-P

We'd recently switched around the routine. Whereas during the first week Mommy dropped Todd off and Daddy picked him up, we switched it the second week so Mommy could get in early and get some work done (as her main source of assistance was in a timezone 3 hours ahead). Todd didn't take kindly to the change, and kept insisting he wanted it back the other way. Finally, he offered Daddy a reason:

"I don't like Mommy!"

Taken aback, Daddy asked him to elaborate. So Todd did:

"Mommy is a girl. I don't like girls!"

Awwww... :'(

New TV show

Blue's Clues plays at 11am everyday on Nick Jr. Since we're at work and Todd's at school during that time, I typically record it and let Todd watch the day's episode that night during dinner.

Today the routine started as normal-- rewound the tape in the VCR, hit "play" and settled back, awaiting the familiar intro notes of the show with the belove blue doggie. To our surprise, something new entirely played: Nick's new show "Ni Hao Kai-Lan", making its debut on Chinese New Year.

I wondered how Todd would react to seeing something else besides the expected Blue, but he didn't seem to mind, and halfway through the episode, it became clear that Kai Lan was a big hit! Not just with Todd, but with Mommy and Daddy!

Among Todd's favorite shows, each one provides a unique educational element. Blue, Dora and Diego all provide academic-type learning: letters, numbers, shapes, colors, critical thinking, etc... and Dora and Diego provide a bit of a language element with some Spanish words. Caillou, on the other hand, portrays the everyday life of a 4-year-old-- stuff Todd can relate to and emulate.

Kai-Lan, we've found, teaches life/social skills-- manners, courtesy, and how to deal with everyday situations. And of course, it splashes in a bit of Chinese!

So, all in all, Todd's favorite programs provide a nice, well-rounded smorgasbord of learning activities, and most of them are interactive, too! And although I'm a bit miffed that they've replaced Blue's Clues with Kai-Lan in the daily programming array, I'm pleased that Kai-Lan is a worthwhile replacement. Let's hope they'll someday start broadcasting Blue again! :)

Getting ready for another week

So, Todd survived his first week of school just fine. The school portion of it is only in the morning, from about 9am to 12:30pm. Then comes lunch, nap/quiet time, and by then most parents have come to pick up their kids, leaving a handful of them in what basically amounts to normal day care, till 5pm. I wasn't terribly concerned about how Todd would fare in the actual classroom portion, I was more worried about little things on the side: Todd not finishing his lunch (on account of how slow he eats), not getting enough to drink, being too shy to speak up and let someone know he has to use the bathroom, not staying warm enough (and being too shy to ask someone to help him with his jacket), not washing his hands thoroughly enough, etc...

He's had a couple accidents in school, and has had a few days when he came home with part (if not all) of his lunch still intact and uneaten. By week's end his nose was running like a waterfall. This weekend was spent remedying much of that: making sure he got plenty to drink and lots of fruits and veggies to eat, making sure he stayed warm, and re-teaching him proper hand-washing technique. He's hydrated better now and no longer sounds like a smurf when talking ;-P

As far as the classroom stuff itself goes, Todd's teacher says he's doing well, especially considering he's the youngest in her class, most of the other kids there are 4-5 already. She says he's very attentive (now there's a surprise), follows what she says, and even sings along with the songs they learn! Every day one kid is designated as the "Christian Soldier" of the day, giving them a chance to do a little "show and tell" with whatever the current month's theme is. This month the theme is "my favorite dance moves", and Todd's turn is on the 21st. Guess we've got a few weeks to teach him something. I'm thinking something from Blue's Clues, maybe. He can bring his stuffed Blue. Any other ideas? ;-)

Here's to another (and better!) week!