A trip to the mall

We enjoyed a trip to the mall today. Not much else to do in this rainy weather. And John actually doesn't complain when we go. We shared some Chick-Fil-A nuggets for lunch. And wandered in a few stores. I scored some great deals on clothes for John.

And he scored a new toy from the Lego Store. It's a pullback "RC" from Toy Story with a couple of sidekicks. One is named Woody.

And the other is Buzz, complete with his own rocket. John's current fascination with rockets and space ships means most anything can serve as a rocket, even the helicopter we picked up earlier in the week. On at least one occasion, he was carrying the helicopter around and singing the theme song from Little Einsteins ("We're going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship, zooming through the sky...") Blast off! While we were in the Lego store, we spent a lot of time looking at a new Lego, The Space Shuttle Adventure, complete with all the solid rocket boosters needed for blasting off. We had a little upset while we were in the store. The power flickered and we all had to leave the store while the lights got straightened out. I'd already told him we'd buy the RC Lego, but he just didn't understand why we had to leave without it. I promised we'd come back before we left the mall. He doesn't always believe me (or even listen, it seems) when I promise him things, but this time he seemed to accept it.

All in all, a very pleasant trip and a good day.

-EBP-

Read more...

Rain, rain, go away

John made some strides today working at the computer. I believe he's mastered the mouse well enough that with a bit of effort he can manipulate his way around a computer game. He gets that the mouse is connected to the pointer and that if he moves one, the other moves too. He still gets frustrated easily, especially if you are standing over him. If left alone, he does much better. Occasionally, he gets stuck if the mouse is limited in where it can go. He's yet to learn to pick it up and relocate it to allow for more movement. But I'm very pleased with this new skill. And the little mouse he's been using is just perfect for his little hand.

Aside from getting more rain from the remnants of Hurricane Alex, it was pretty quiet here today. We did step out to run some errands, but I wasn't prepared for the downpour we encountered. Oops! I was obviously more focused on what we needed to do and didn't think much about the rain I KNEW was imminent. Anyway, we didn't melt and the errands got done.

-EBP-

Read more...

Squeaky clean

Today was a pretty good day. John and I went shopping and had some lunch out. At Target we picked up some things for our trip later in the month to the river, including a life jacket and a new camp chair for John. His new chair sports the latest movie craze: Toy Story. Funny thing is that a month or so ago I tried to by this very same chair for John and it was a no-go. He was so not interested. Today was a different story. We had to break it out and use it as soon as we got home. Then he proceeded to carry it around the house, mostly because he could.

Before we left for Target today, John was talking about buying a present for June, which happened to be the task on the last trip we made to Target. When I told him we didn't need to buy her a present, he started talking about buying himself a present. Of course, I told him no. Then it occurred to me that he's got money in his piggy bank, which happened to be down off the shelf because he wanted to put some coins in it that I'd given him a couple of weeks ago. So I suggested that he could spend some of his money to buy himself something. He thought that sounded pretty good so we took $20 out of his bank. I asked him what he wanted and he told me he wanted a "really big Buzz Lightyear" because they have the large robotic one on display at Target these days. "Well," I said, "I'm not sure you have enough money for a really big one, but we might find a smaller one that you can buy." The good news is that he has no concept of how much money he has. So he felt no need to spend it all, although we nearly did. After perusing all the Toy Story toys, we settled on a poseable Buzz, but then he found a Rex flashlight. I told him we could afford both, but after hearing Rex say "Roar!" fifty times before we even got past the baby section, I decided that Rex should stay at Target. Cute, but too annoying! Thankfully, John was fine with that decision (no tantrums today! Yeah!). John understands the rule that we can't open something until we buy it and often talks about the rule endlessly until we check out. When the time came, I made him hand over the toy and the money to pay for it. Then I made him wait until we were in the car to open it. I had learned a lesson the other day when, in the checkout line, the helicopter lost a rotor almost immediately. Buzz is now safely resting on the twin bed in John's room. Well, I assume he is. He might actually be exploring his new home, looking for his spaceship that we left at Target...

In other news, Mr. Bear got decontaminated today. After much lovin' (and possibly some use as a Kleenex) in the last week, it was time for a cleanup. I was nervous but decided after proper Internet research that his bath should take place in the washing machine, safely inside a pillow case. So after a short gentle spin in the washer and three drying cycles, he's as good as new and smelling mighty fine. And as you can see from the photo above, just as loved as ever. My next trick is to buy a back-up bear. I don't believe Ganz is making them anymore. So I might have to get one on ebay or something.

-EBP-

Read more...