Conservatory of Flowers

Took Jack to Golden Gate Park today first to the Conservatory of Flowers. What a wonderful place. Jack immediately exclaimed that the building is all made of glass. I told him that some of the glass was broken a few years ago in a storm and he wanted to discuss that event repeatedly throughout the day.

One room has a setup to hatch butterflies and let them fly around the room alighting on flowers and people. Many different kinds. Jack just stood up close to the glass of the hut where the butterflies and moths come out of their chrysalises. We saw two emerge and of course there were many others that were in different stages of plumping up their wings before being released into the room. We were there with our friends Jenny and Emma. After quite a time in the butterfly room, we walked all through the other rooms, filled with orchids and bromeliads. The last room has carnivorous plants and many "pingjing," which are little scenes constructed with rocks and plants and miniature houses and boats. Another big hit with the kids.

Leaving the Conservatory, we walked three blocks to a playground where we did the usual stuff for a little while and then walked under two tunnels to the deYoung museum. They had an area outside where fog is released (not steam, fog). We all enjoyed walking through the fog, Jack most of all. He later reported to his Daddy, "The fog is actually water. I got wet." The fog eventually turned off and we went up in the elevator to the top of the tower. The top is enclosed with glass and you get spectacular views of the whole city. We could look across the mall to the new Museum of Natural History that opens in September. The roof is planted with bushes and grass to save energy. Jack was a little uncomfortable up in the tower because the glass walls give the illusion that you are standing very high up with nothing between you and the sky. He wanted me close and when I sat down on the floor, Jack immediately crawled into my lap.

The day was just the right temperature, the sky was blue, it was perfect. Jack fell asleep on the drive home and slept for an hour and a half. I was plenty hungry by the time we could go into the house for lunch.

Jack is really looking forward to earning his gift for being completely toilet trained. He explained to me today that "I am getting close to Fairfield. I call it Fairfield because that's where the store is that has the astronaut helmet."

The Snugget Farm

Jack and I had a great day today. We played in the living room and dug in the dirt pile. We went to the park where Jack made a new friend, Brannen, a three-year-old boy who is as articulate as Jack. The two boys played very nicely together, carrying on quite a discussion, sharing tools, and working on digging a hole. When Brannen wandered away to listen to a mother reading to her child, Jack called after him "Brannen, come back to the job site"!

The photos show 1. Jack's new construction site office with the workingmen riding in and on top as it is moved to a new site on two flatbed trucks and 2. Jack outside on this sunny day.

I wrote down Jack's narrative in the morning as he played with his working guys. Don't know what a Snugget Farm is? You will find out. As he talks, Jack is doing things, like moving his new little construction site office on a flatbed truck, building a wall with blocks, putting construction cones in place.

Jack: "The workingmen are driving away. He's going to make his own little Snugget Farm. His own little Snugget Farm. He's sitting on a Snugget Farm. A Snugget Farm is like a little chair. There's usually a little table. [Jack has built a structure out of blocks and put two little guys on it.] There's two big round things to balance it. There's usually a yard around it because they don't want anyone to come around the Snugget Farm. They also store things in Snugget Farms. They put signs in Snugget Farms. They are throwing things into the Snugget Farm. They put construction cones in there. They store other things in the Snugget Farm. They're stacking the construction cones up. They're going to drive away now. They are putting Snugget things inside the office.

It's time to go, guys. You know what? They need another truck to go with. They need to bring a trailor behind. They need to bring a steam roller. They're going to make a road. They found out there's a lot of blocks to make a road. Call the road planners. They're scooting the office now. The trucks are rumbling up the road. They're going to make a road over here. They're going to have compactors over here. It's going to go to a town. They're tearing up blocks and putting them over there. Do they use offices to make a road?

They're going to a road. It's time to make the new road. They're so happy to go to the new job. Now there's a guy pile! There's danger cones up. [Jack puts all his little people into a pile.]

What Do You Want to Be When You Get Even Bigger?

Jack built this tower all by himself. I was somewhere else in the house while he worked and was surprised by this edifice. I asked him how he got the top blocks positioned and he said he stood on tippy-toes. We build towers every day. Thursday Jack told me that there was an earthquake the previous night that shook down our tower. Then he confessed that it was a "Jack earthquake." This tower got more turrets and some little people sitting in the various levels.

Thursday Jack asked me "what are you going to be, Nana, when you get even bigger"? I said I didn't know, and asked him what he thought I should do. "Fly airplanes, Nana. You should fly airplanes. I'm going to be a fireman when I get bigger."

When Greg came home, Jack asked him what he is going to do when he gets even bigger. Then Jack asked what Ripley is going to do when he gets bigger. When Greg asked Jack what he thought, Jack said, "He's going to be a dog teacher." "Is he going to teach dogs or people"? "He's going to teach dogs. He will teach them how to eat and how to rip up a sippy cup."

We have a library book about Frank the Firefighter. In it, Frank rescues a child and the dog Sparky rescues a kitten. On the next page, Sparky and the kitten are on a bed in the firehouse. Jack wants to know what happened to the child. We look through the book until I find a earlier page showing a family standing in their pajamas on the sidewalk. Ignoring the question why they are wearing pajamas in the daytime, I suggest that Frank gave the child back to his mother. Then Jack wants to know why they didn't give the kitten back too. The author of this book needed Jack to help with continuity and logic. Nearly every book that we read has issues like this. Machines are depicted without steps to climb up into the cabs. Is Jack just too observant or do authors underestimate kids?

A Sweet Picture to Imagine

Jack is doing great with toilet training. He is very motivated thanks to Stacy's reward system: he gets to choose a stamp and mark boxes on a chart on the refrigerator; he gets a lollipop or a tiny piece of chocolate; he gets a Playmobil crane for success over a certain period of time. For two weeks while I've been there, he's been 100% dry without a diaper. He tells me when it's time to go to the bathroom.

Here's the sweet scene that occurs every day: Jack is sitting on the toilet holding a little plastic figure of Pinocchio's creator/father (Geppetto). He asks if he can hold my hand. We just stay that way for a long time as he tries to poop. On Thursday afternoon as we held those positions, Jack announced rather enthusiastically that he was going to be pooping until night. I said that in that case, I'd better sit down. "Yes," said Jack, "sit down." When Jack is through, he lets me help with the paper work and then he grabs his little seat off the toilet, washes his hands, and heads for the kitchen to choose the stamp and get his chocolate.

The photo shows Jack reading to his friends Emma and Jenny at Marian's beauty salon. We were there to get my hair cut. Emma and Jenny came by so Emma could get used to the hair cut experience. Marian is wonderful. She books us for over an hour, cuts my hair, trims Jack's, and then lets Jack sweep up the hair. We are the only ones in the shop. And she charges only $18.00. She has a customer for life!

New Techniques Is Promising

Last week, the New York Times had an article about the "baby whisperer," Dr. Harvey Karp, who wrote "The Happiest Baby on the Block." Remember how to hold and swing a crying baby while shhhhing in his ear?

Dr. Karp says when a toddler gets into a tantrum, you need to adopt a soothing, childlike voice and imitate the child's facial expressions. Repeat the child's words over and over. For example, suppose the child wants a cookie and is wailing "I want it, I want it, I want cookie now." The adult should repeat, "You want, you want. You want cookie. You say, 'Cookie now, cookie now.'"

On Wednesday, Jack asked me to get the books he had taken to Daddy's house. He said they were in the suitcase. I looked for the suitcase and couldn't find it. So we looked in all the rooms of the house. No suitcase. We called Daddy, "I'm sorry, Jack, the suitcase is in my trunk."

Jack started saying he wanted the books now. Daddy should bring them home now. We hung up the phone and I tried the technique. By this time Jack was half crying and demanding the books. I was sitting on the floor with him and said, "You want those books, you want those books now. You want those books. You want that book about the little boy and his machines." Jack calmed down and we started talking about the little boy. We agreed that Jack has most of the same machines. "He doesn't have a tanker ship," said Jack. "That's right, no tanker ship. But he does have a street sweeper." "I want a street sweeper." "Should we go look on the computer and see if we can find a toy street sweeper"? "Yes."

So now perfectly calm, Jack and I spent about half an hour looking at the various toy street sweepers and agreed that none of them is really what we want. Jack, however, decided that the Lego street sweeper is close enough. By now he was calm enough that I could discuss with him the fact that he just had a birthday and had a lot of new toys. So the technique worked, but I may have made a tactical error in suggesting the lack of a street sweeper.

When Daddy came home about three hours later, Jack happily pulled the books out of the suitcase. They were not forgotten!

Literary Jack the Birthday Boy

Today, Jack is 3 and we're all wondering how the time flew by so fast. What a great kid. He says he wants to stay a little boy and I have to say I will mourn the loss of this little 3-year-old when he grows up.

In the last few weeks, Jack has surprised us with his expressions. For example, one day, he was crying because his mother had gone to work when he was still recovering from a bump on the head. I tried reading to him. When we came to a page with a little mirror, I read the text: "what do you see in the mirror"? "Tears," said Jack.

We all heard: "Change my diaper, came a muffled cry." He had to be quoting something, but what? I asked him where he got that phrase. After I explained what a phrase is, Jack said: "the blue car." I was still puzzled until I read him "Benny the Breakdown Truck." When the blue car parks in the construction zone, a dump truck empties its load of asphault over it. "Get me out--came a muffled cry."

Sure seems unusual to me for a 3-year-old to be offering up literary allusions. Without a doubt his language skills are remarkable. Maybe he won't be a workingman.

When Alex and I arrived for the birthday party today, Jack became really excited when he opened his present and it was the tanker ship he wanted. We think he wanted a tanker ship because of our discussions about the ship that hit the Bay Bridge and polluted the bay. Jack asks about that ship occasionally, especially when we get to the page of boats and ships in Best Word Book Ever. In any case, he was overjoyed with the Playmobil ship. It requires assembly and we finally had to put it away so Jack could interact with his party guests.

I forgot my camera today, but I hope other people got some photos. The kids were really great. All but one of the Billygoats, Emma, and several other good friends, plus all the parents. It was a houseful, but remarkably orderly. Jack did not mind the other kids playing with his toys, except for the new ones. Maria was there and Deborah Jean and Jenny and Bart and Jack's San Francisco families.

Happy birthday, Jack/Nurkey!

Haircuts--Jack's and Nana's

The astronaut no longer has hair in his eyes! Jack sat very still while Marian cut his hair, but he didn't like getting hair in his mouth. He got to clean up with Marian's new Swivel Sweeper! Then we read a book about walking draglines to Marian.

This week Jack has been "cutting" my hair. First he said he was going to cut it as short as Daddy's hair. I said Papa wouldn't like it that short, so he said he would cut it as short as Papa's hair. "If you don't like, come back to me and I'll make it longer." He also put golden in my hair instead of silver.

Tonight, Jack was very excited about going to Daddy's house. When Greg called, Jack yelled, "Put him on the speaker phone." Later, he was playing with his little rockets: "Last countdown until Daddy is in the window."

We were reunited with Emma and Jenny this week in a touching scene at the library. Jack couldn't wait of course, so he gave Emma her Christmas present right there in the midst of the crowd of kids waiting for storytime. Emma wasn't the only kid who loved the excavator. Jack and Emma were very excited to see each other again after over a month. What a great friendship.

Quiet Day in Pajamas

Tuesday, Jack hadn't gotten a good night's sleep so he wanted to stay home and in his pajamas. We had a quiet day building in the living room. Just before I took this photo, Jack announced that the workingman needs his hard hat and goggles to demolish a building. The crane hauls blocks away. Those small blocks double as jacks at Smallbills Garage when Mike McCanick repairs the garbage truck.

Wednesday before 9:00 Jack was eager to go to the playground. I held him off by putting him in his highchair with the playdough. Stacy and I were puzzled when he announced he was "blurring Nana." Then we realized what he meant--he was shaking his head sideways with his hair flying. No doubt I was a blur.

We spent four hours at the park, digging in the sand, attending the little class in the Rec Center, and walking through the park. Alison arranged for Jack and the other kids to plant seeds in two cups, which they will water over the next weeks to watch the seedlings grow. Jack enjoyed putting the dirt in his cups and adding fistsful of seeds. Walking through the park, we were impressed by the number of tree limbs down everywhere. The Nerky House had a big pine branch right in the middle! The branch was too big for me to lift, so we'll have to wait for the park staff to clear it. Jack and I raked some small branches off the path. We walked to the park and home again, for a long morning with lots of exercise.

After lunch, Jack heard a wonderful sound and let out a long screem--the chipper! What a rush to get his socks and boots and coat on. There were four or five utility trucks, one a covered truck hauling the chipper. The first job was on Chilton Street and we settled down on the sidewalk to watch. Bye-bye Christmas tree, grind up those Eucalyptus branches. We moved around to the front of the school and sat on the wall while the crew took care of two big piles of branches. It was loud and finally Jack was ready to go back home.

This week Jack is very proud that he has pooped in the big toilet every day! It is a wonderful achievement. He is growing up.

Jack the Astronaut

Grandma Neva really scored with the astronaut suit. Jack wears it every day and discusses its many pockets and zippers and badges. We got I Want to Be an Astronaut from the library and read it again and again. Another book about space shows the orange suit as well as a space toilet and equipment.

Wednesday was a happy day for Nana and Jack, reunited after illness and vacation. We went to the library and to Hill Park. Thursday was a little more difficult because Jack got very tired at Billygoats and missed his mother in the afternoon. Stacy came home and comforted him and after she returned to work, Jack was fine. Now he knows Mommy is always just a call away. Good job, Stacy!