I hope I never take these days for granted. I think it’s easy to fall into the daily routine, let things just happen, never fully realize that the moment can easily slip away into memory. I think of these things when I’m with Jake, but the world around you intrudes. I never want the times alone with him playing, laughing, crying, and fussing to become memories, but they do, they always do.
Today mom and nana used their xmas present-spa treatments, so the Jakers and I went to the zoo. We went straight for the keiki zoo, where he was quiet, not quite sure what to make of the goats, pigs, and koi, which he was allowed to pet (but didn’t). He was most interested in the chickens and playing with the milk cans.
As we approached the cow petting area, I told him that milk came from cows. When he saw the cans, he grabbed his milk cup from his bag and ran over to them. He tried to find where the milk came out, moving his cup all over the can. These things amaze me. He’s seen cows in his books, but we’ve never told him there was a link b/t milk, cows, and cans. He put it all together himself.
His favorite place in the zoo is the playground. He played for a good 45 mins on the jungle gym and slides, having an absolute blast. He likes other kids, I think. He stares at them quietly, just looking, trying to figure them out. When he’s satiated, he moves on, plays, laughs.
Lunch was next. He was a little restless in the restaurant (
New Elim), but he enjoyed his food (
kimbap). We went to Wal-Mart to get some basics for nana’s new apartment, went home, went to nana’s new apartment, ate, and he slid into his new crib with much ease.
I’ll never take these things for granted. I really never will.
Song of the Day: They Might Be Giants:
The House at the Top of the Tree
Jake's best friend, Lina, came back from long trip to Korea this week. Today they finally got to hang out. They went to the Children's Discovery Center, a favorite pkace for kids here. They had a blast, playing, learning, goofing off. We finished off the trip with lunch at Nico's. We even had dinner together at Chun-chon Dalkalbi. He only slept for a short time in the car, so he should be tired as I write this (8:23PM), but he's still pretty wired. At least he'll sleep late.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the Discovery Center was when I was watching Jake on the boat replica. These places tend to make kids get a little wild, and rightfully so considering it's a place to let loose a little in a space designed for them. I was standing there just watching Jake and a kid of about 9 came running up to me and started WAILING on me. He's just going apeshit and ends the assault with a swift kick, full on, right to my shin. I looked around for mom and dad, not surprisingly, they were nowhere to be found. If Jake EVER does that he'll be up shit's creek for weeks. I really was kind of shocked.
Song of the Day: The Damned: 
