Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 0 No. 90

2005-07-26 23:27 (Kristen) We woke up late today, after another rough night. I'm wondering if he is thirsty or hungry at night, and that's why he is attached to me from 6 AM onward and sleeping so restlessly. We made sure that Jamie drank a good deal today, and gave him a small second supper after he ate a small first one. We hope that this will work.

My dad and stepmother are visiting, and came over this afternoon after lunch. Jamie had fun playing at Browning and had a fair sized lunch ( lots of cantelope), but an otherwise sedentary morning meant that he wasn't ready to sleep yet. We met up with my dad and Nicole to go for a walk, but Jamie was wide awake by the time we reached the Second Cup. I left Dad and Nicole there, and walked Jamie around the block a little more but no luck. We ended up taking our drinks to the playground, where Jamie played happily and I followed him around until a surprise thunderstorm arrived and we all had to run home in the rain. I nursed Jamie to sleep, then spent some time with Dad and Nicole until they left to go back to their camper in a (I fear) futile attempt to avoid rush hour traffic around 4:00.

Jamie woke up late in the afternoon, and then played trains with me for a bit. He watched tv with John while I made dinner, and then John napped and I played with Jamie some more. We went over to John's parents' place to pick up some staples (rice, umeboshi*), and Jamie had some of his grandparents' dinner. Then it was off to the park to run some energy off the boy, and he had fun walking along edges and chasing his dad on the way there. He played until it was close to 9, and we walked home. He bathed, and while he didn't use the potty himself, his squirty fish peed quite a bit, and needed to have the cups they "peed" into dumped into the the toilet with a cheerful "byebye pee!". Jamie will love reading about this when he's older.

It was nice to see my dad interact with Jamie. This is only the second time that they've met, and my dad can be very good with kids. It's reminding me of the things that I loved about my dad when I was young, which is a good thing.

2005-07-27 23:27 (Kristen) We made arrangements last night to meet my Dad and Nicole at the Metro Toronto Zoo for the day. We woke, therefore, to the sound of rain this morning. We spoke on the phone, and decided to meet at 10:30 instead of 10:00, which threw my morning off. Jamie and I were out the door twenty minutes late, and that wouldn't have been so bad except that the Zoo shuttle bus from Scarborough Town Centre that the TTC advertises on its website stopped running last year. rather than head back along the RT to Kennedy Station, where there is a zoo shuttle still, we took three buses from Scarborough Town, asking three different drivers if they went to the Zoo, or could get us close to there. Finally, an hour and fifteen minutes late, we arrived. Jamie had been pretty good on the subway, RT, and bus(es), but was ready to run around.

We met up with Dad and Nicole, and set Jamie free to run through the zoo. We saw monkeys, which Jamie loved, and then we saw tropical birds, a white rhino, baboons (Jamie was fascinated by the 'baby' baboon), orangutans, gorillas, elephants, zebras, cheetahs, and a pair of lions, ass well as some rare Sumatran tigers. Jamie took a lot of it in, but was a little overwhelmed by all the animals, I think. He ran around at maximum speed for an hour and a half, had some lunch, and didn't settle for his nap. He didn't settle, and didn't settle, and I thought that we were doomed. Finally, at three, he fell asleep in the snack shop near the front gates, letting me have a chat with my Dad and Nicole for the first time in the day. Jamie was very active!

We went home on the bus to Kenndy, then on the subway. Jamie slept for an hour and fifteen minutes in total, which was half an hour longer than I thought that he would on a crowded bus full of day camp participants. We came home, met John at the park at Jackman School, and walked to Mezes, where we were to have dinner with John's parents, Dad, and Nicole. Jamie charmed all the wait staff, but was pretty rangy. He did enjoy his food, and thinks that chicken swished through tzatziki like corn through butter is great. He also liked the pickled octopus. John and I both took Jamie outside, and he found the most happiness at the fountain nearby at Logan and Danforth. He dipped his feet in it when I removed his sandals, gleefully making bubbles and being careful not to fall into the fountain like a four-year-old girl that we saw.

We went back home to talk some more, and Jamie watched a little tv while we did. Then Dad and Nicole left to go on the next leg of their trip, and Jamie went to bed. He was very tired, and only stayed in the bath long enough to wash his hair. Then it was to bed, and he fell asleep faster than he has in weeks. Perhaps he actually got enough exercise today, and that was a great part of his problem in sleeping. We'll know by 6 AM if I'm right.

2005-07-28 24:18 (Kristen) Jamie slept in until almost 10 this morning, and I slept almost as long. It was the first good night's sleep we've had in a long time, and I think that it is almost entirely due to yesterday's exercise. When he woke up, he had a great appetite, and he ate well all day. He napped for a bit with Ken, and was happy, cheerful, and independent. Makes me wish that we could take him to the zoo every day. As it was, we just ran around the neighbourhood, and cut back on the tv.

This evening, rather than staying in and playing in the basement at Browning the way that we usually do, we took Daniel, Ross, and Jamie to the little kids' playground at Jackman School. We all played a rousing game of structure tag, where everyone ran about and played tag according to a series of more and more complicated rules made up on the spot. Jamie ran about too, and had fun climbing up the structure and going down all the slides by himself. He face planted himself at one point, getting an open mouth full of playground wood chips: with his many exclamations of "bleah!" we got them all out of his mouth, and he was remarkably copacetic. He rode home on Daniel's scooter, sharing with Ross. He is getting better about walking places, and not needing to be carried as he gets out more and more with the cooler weather. I commented to our neighbour after she said it felt that we hadn't seen much of each other lately, that the hot weather, paradoxically, made it feel like winter, as everyone is staying inside. Today's cooler weather (coole? it's still over 26!) made a big difference.

Jamie is imitating our speech more and more, with greater and greater success. He has a very funny little way of saying "hey!" which he may have picked up from me, Daniel, or Lilo (from Lilo and Stitch). It's a little protest that is very funny (to him too). He is trying to say "oyasuminasai", or "good night" in Japanese. He is playing with chalk by taking the long sticks and pushing them through the decorative holes in the porch railing, which are almost exactly the right size. Mio visited briefly today with her friend from Japan, who is actually studying in Indiana. Jamie has really missed her, and she has missed him too. He insisted on walking with her down Broadview, and fortunately let her go at the corner of Broadview and Browning, where we usually part when Mio is leaving at lunch and I am taking Jamie to Browning. He's getting bigger, and sweeter, and stronger, and more and more fun to be with.

2005-07-29 24:39 (Kristen) To keep Jamie from watching too much tv, we spent most of the day outside, going places and doing fun things. In the morning, we went and found a friend, and played at Withrow Park. Jamie enjoyed splashing in the wading pool, although he complained that it was cold (and boy, was it ever bone-chilling). He also is starting to insist on doing things himself, and was displeased that I insisted on going down the curly red slide with him (which is, I should add, a very fast slide). He also, suprisingly, insisted on going into the water without his water shoes on, which surprised me.

Jamie is becoming very sparing with his kisses, but kissed me tonight at the part many times. I was very happy about that: his kisses are so sweet! He has been doing a number of other things: first, if you need to get him to eat something, and are not worried about neatness, he loves to eat like Cookie Monster. "Jamie? Can you eat this banana like Cookie Monster?" results in a cheerfully chomped banana, most of which ends up inside him.

We went to the library after his nap, and he seemed to like looking through the books. He liked meeting a little girl his age more, though, and enjoyed playing with her. He likes other children his age in general, which is why getting out to the parks is important. He was negotiating with other kids in the sand pile, and is pretty gentle with others.

After the library, we went to Tai Tai and Ho Ho's to have dinner with them and also with Ted's family from Kingston. After dinner (and Jamie ate a huge meal), we all went to the park to run some more energy off the kids. Jamie loved the slides, and was insisting again on running over the play structures without any help. John and I have been teaching him how to climb up things properly, even if he needs help, and he's picking up on it. He's brave enough to go down the big slides by himself, but there's always either me or John to spot him, if not touch him.

2005-07-30 24:39 (Kristen) We slept in, although Jamie was content to play for a few minutes by himself beside me before he helped me to wake up. It was market day, and John took Jamie there by subway, as he won't be driving for a little bit until he feels better. Jamie enjoyed it very much, and now knows the Japanese word for station (eki), which he happily crowed out every time they went into a station. [John: in alternation with "Tunnel!"]

He came home with John and his dad in the car, along with our friend Jane, who came to stay the day. Jamie was wide awake, despite having eaten richly, at 3:30, when he dragged me upstairs to nurse to sleep. He slept for two hours, but woke up crying and was yelling for us in the hallway by the time we reached him. He was quite upset, and took a long time to calm down afterwards. An apple helped, and he went shopping with me, John, and Jane before we all went to John's parents house for dinner. We ate, Jamie scarfed chicken like Cookie Monster (who needs to be a cookie monster with manners!), and ate well. He finished the meal by lining up his soba noodles in nice, straight rows. This reminds me of my habit of lining up Smarties in lines, according to colour, when I was a bit older than he is now. Then it was off to the park for a good turn or five going down slides, and home when the bugs started to bite.

John and I have been talking about teaching Jamie to fall asleep by himself, since he has trouble doing so at night. Tonight, we started a new regimen: we dressed Jamie in the bedroom after his bath, and John and I both read a book to him that he chose (Kiss Goodnight Sam). Then we both sang him lullabies while he nursed, with the idea that we can wean him from nursing to lullabies eventually. He clearly associates leaving his grandparents' house with singing "Gin Gin Gira Gira", and doesn't fuss at all when we leave after singing it. We hope for something of the same reaction from him, if eventually, with the lullabies. Wish us luck!

(John) Jamie's new words for the day: "Okay!" and "Dark!"

2005-07-31 23:00 (John) I slept in until 10 this morning, by which point Jamie and Kristen had finished breakfast and were happily playing with trains. I had my morning cereal with him, which was notable in that Jamie insisting on preparing it and describing the process (cereal, spoon, milk, blueberries), a habit which he continued for much of the day. We then got ready for our day's expeditions, which began with a subway ride up to Yorkdale Mall with Ted, Alissa, Ian and Amy to go see an excellent Kurt Russell film called Sky High.

Jamie lasted a good hour and forty minutes in the theatre, thanks to months of training staring at a TV screen from a few feet away (sigh) before he eventually decided that he wanted real food and not snacks. Which meant that I could have watched the entire film, except that there were about twenty minutes of trailers. Fortunately, I knew where the nearest sushi place was, and made it back with Jamie, some eda-mame and California roll in time to see the end of the film.

Jamie fell asleep in the mall (and missed our first visit to the Apple Store), and stayed asleep for over two hours, waking up at my parents' house when we were getting ready to go to the Silk Road Cafe for dinner.

(Kristen) When we got to the Silk Road (all 14 people in our party, including John's aunts), we saw that another large party already there was made up of Ken, Tami, Michelle, Gary, Ayami, and Michelle's other brother Tobin. Jamie was delighted to see Gary, and dragged him off for a walk while we settled in. He started to get a little agitated later when the Sagara party of 6 left to go home, but John and I were ready: we plied him with food and a book (I read and turned the pages, John had the spoon at the ready) until they had left and Jamie was settled again. In this way we got him to eat a good-sized dinner. Margaret, the new owner of the Silk Road (now Taste of the Silk Road) made Jamie a special meal of tofu and vegetables long before everone else's meal arrived so that he could eat right away. That was so nice!

When he was full, I took him to the local playground a minute or two away to burn off some energy. He had a great time running around the little kid part with two other children close to his age but became bored with that area and wanted to go down the bigger slides instead. We went to do that, when John showed up, followed by the rest of the dinner party. The kids and adults variously ran around, chatted, or spotted children as they went down slides and climbed stairs. Jamie managed to have his head overtake his feet on the curly slide once, which occasioned a nurse, but he was back on the slide with no encouragement from me. He must have run around for close to an hour and a half by the time we all went home, and was looking a little tired. He practiced peeing (mime) in the bath, which makes me think, more than ever, that he's ready to start toilet training. He asks to sit on the potty now, and tells me when he has peed. So, maybe soon. In the meantime, we're working on getting him to put himself back to sleep at night. One thing at a time.

2005-08-01 20:15 (John) Here are Jamie's rules for hide and seek. Find a partner. Grin gleefully at them, wave and say "bye!" Wait for them to run around a corner. Find them. Squeal with delight. Repeat.

Jamie has been working even harder on his language skills today, spending long periods of time mimicking everything he hears. He's delighted also to be able to name important things, like "battery!" a few minutes ago when Tom replaced a musical keyboard battery; and as I write this Daniel and Jamie are antiphonically reciting their vowels. No more profanity in our house! Not even anymore mention of "cake" at mealtime, as it took a few minutes to get dinner back on track after Kristen started talking about the carrot cheesecake ice cream she had at Dessert Lady this afternoon.

Speaking of foods, while Jamie will still eat pretty much anything he sees other people eating, he has some specific preferences and strong opinions about food. The only part of a tomato or cucumber that is edible is the seeds. (He gets this from Kristen.) Same for eda-mame, though this follows more typical culinary practice. A glass of ice water is a container to let ice cubes melt in until they're small enough to pop in your mouth. Food that touches the floor is bleah; food that touches the table is either bleah or ummamma at parental discretion. If it's too hot to comfortably touch, you go "tss!" and then blow on it "puh! puh!".

(Kristen) He imitates my working out the Sudoku puzzles in the paper by grabbing a pen and writing very seriously on the page. He is very helpful, and gets a real kick out of Garbage Night, when he helps John take the garbage cans out. He can be kept at the dinner table longer if you read books to him: he particularly likes the one where all the animals talk about the baby, and then the mother duck kisses the baby duck, who is very happy. He was very happy to see Mio after a week apart, and again at dinner, when Mio came over to have salmon dinner with us at Browning. It was a good Jamie day.

* For the benefit of Scrabble players, words that are not in the Scrabble dictionary are marked with an asterisk.

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