The Frankie Chronicles

May 9th, 2010

2010-05-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

On Mother's Day, Frankie & I went to McKinney Falls, just south of the airport off 183. It's amazing to be in the middle of a state park only a half hour from home. The only thing that reminded me there were homes nearby were the sounds of mowing and weed wacking. The day was overcast and a bit cool - perfect for a small hike and picnic lunch outdoors.

Frankie loved the wildflowers and practiced taking pictures of them with my camera. He even took a good picture of me. We walked to the "upper falls" and across the rocks to the water. He thought it looked like the moon and enjoyed exploring the "craters". Our visit coincided with what must be a butterfly migration...there were butterflys everywhere...and plenty of caterpillars, too. Frankie had a good time finding caterpillars for close up shots.

As always, he was very friendly and social with everyone else. He asked a few people fishing what they were doing ("Hey Guy! What are you fishing for!"), told random passersby about the flowers, tried to make friends with everyone in the picnic area. Shy he is not.

After three or four hours, we headed home. We did some grilling at night and did our homework for the week.

Easter & New School

2010-04-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

Two big events this past week: Frankie started a new school and the Easter Bunny came.

While Frankie's old school wasn't displeasing, it wasn't structured enough to prepare him for elementary school. It's a strange thing to feel like your kid is already "behind" when they are four and a half, but since I am at work all day, I needed someone to be more proactive with teaching him, not merely watching him. The new school looks like an actual school and is run more like one...his teacher isn't a babysitter and seems very enthusiastic about preparing the kids for what they are going to come across in elementary school. So far, so good. Frankie has been more excited than he's been in a year to actually go to school in the morning - there's certainly been less "lag" this week.

Easter is one of Frankie's favorite holidays - he's had a bunny obsession since birth it seems...much of that attributable to Sleepy Bunny's influence. Oh, and the fact that he loves candy. And in particular, come to find out, peanut butter cups. He likes to tease me since I don't like the "goo" inside a Cadbury Egg. We collected two baskets full of eggs from the yard. It was overcast, but it never rained on us. It was a day of candy, much like Halloween...we have so much chocolate, I'm not really sure we'll ever finish eating it. I'll likely pawn it off on my work folk...they'll eat anything and I'd rather they get fat than us.

Taking Over In 2010! Yeah!

2010-01-14T08:22:00.001-08:00

I've decided to take over the blog in 2010 and open it up to friends and family interested in the comings, goings and sayings of Frankie. It's been a while since I've tried blogging with any frequency on account on being busy and what not. No more excuses, me.

Wed. May 6th

2009-05-08T05:33:00.000-07:00

Frankie had a good day at school and was very excited to see me - he ran up and gave me a big hug. We went to Terra Toys and picked out presents for Kyan and looked at everything. Frankie got a Gertie Ball and some magnet balls and a magnet wand as well as three balloons. He showed some interest on some of the Playmobil sets (the house and ice cream shop), so those may be birthday possibilities. We went to Zinger and I picked out a nice candle for Devin and Frankie choose a starfish soap, an homage to their ocean studies.

From there, we headed to Dart Bowl and Frankie bowled two games. He watched all the other bowlers, completely enthralled as well. Man, that kids loves to bowl. He was also a lot more focused in that we weren't straining to get to the end of the second game. When we got to the last frame, he looked up a the scoreboard and said, "It's my last frame. I'll bowl two more times!"

We drove to Galaxy for dinner and Frankie had sweet potato fries and steamed vegetables and a couple bites of my fish wrap. The Farmer's Market was still going, so we walked over and Frankie played in the fountain with all the other kids for at least an hour. He insisted on going "naked", but I made him keep his underwear on. He also pulled down his underwear and peed on the fountain (all the Triangle parents gasped!). Frankie got a sno-cone (Jim Jim's) and we left around 8pm. He took an extra long shower and decorated the shower stall with his bath crayons. We practiced writing words on the walls like we always do. After that, we got his room ready for the painters, read some books and went to sleep (around 9:45pm).

Sunday & Monday, May 3-4th

2009-05-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Frankie was I think still very tired from camping. All he wanted to do, really, was play with his toys inside. But the very first thing he wanted to do after you left was take a shower! He took a 45 minute shower and drew on the walls, played with containers and soap bottles and we practiced writing words on the shower stall walls. He asked me how to spell a certain word (tent, camp, yuri were some), I'd tell him the letters and he transcribed it for me. We played alot of games - Hi Ho Cherry O & Candyland, did a lot of drawing and story telling with the pictures amd pretend play with his stuffed animals. At some point, we made water balloons in the backyard for a while as well ("balloon time"). We took a walk after dinner (fish, his most frequent request, and peas/corn and crackers with goat cheese) to the elementary school half a block away and raced each other and ran around. He was very tired at this point and fell, scraping his knee. We went back home to get a bandaid and clean off the cut...he was mainly upset with the blood. Once the bandaid was gone, he asked me if the blood went back into his body and I assured him it did. He only made it through one book and was out.

Frankie protested going to school, as he often does early in the week. We joked that we would send Malcolm in his place and maybe Devon would not notice. He had a good day at school, but when I picked him up, I reminded him that we would need to go bowling Wed. because the bowling alleys are closed on Monday and he just lost it. Completely. Inconsolable crying and wailing almost all the way home...luckily, when we got home, he was happy to see that his baseball fan was up. After a snack of dried fruit and peppermint tea, he seemed allright. We made waterballoons in the backyard until dinner time and then had shrimp, scallops, broccoli, goat cheese and crackers...then popsicles with a little Magic Shell on them for dessert. It was hard to drop him off because I feel like I've barely seen him, but I had to remind myself that we'll be in St Louis for a whole week soon enough.

Sunday, April 26th

2009-04-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

Frankie and I had a very full day! We packed some snacks and tried two new parks, Brushy Creek Lake Park and Champion Park, which are right next to each other, further west of us and north of Parmer. Brushy Creek Lake Park has a small playscape and, starting in late May, a mini water play area (free). It was cloudy and windy but never rained. We walked the trail along the lake and talked about all the plants and flowers. Frankie climbed the rocks and played with the gravel and we spent a good deal doing things other than kicking, throwing or managing a ball (there was some of that as well, but he was able to turn his focus). He pet a dog very nicely (he seems to be doing better with pets both in public and at home for me) and even laughed when it gave him a huge lick on his face. He has definitely been showing more interest in dogs. We headed to Champion Park and Frankei insisted on getting in the water sprayers there despite the cold - he assured me it was "worth it". Luckily, I had a change of clothes and a towel in the car. We headed home to eat lunch and check in with Frank, the roofer, who was inspecting some of the work done on the house.

We laid down for a rest but I could not get him to nap. We then went to the pet store to pick our the aquarium and talk to the fish guy about what kind were a possibility for the tank. We spent a long time looking at the mice, birds and lizards as well, then picked up Spring Water at the grocery store.

After playing at home for a bit, we ate dinner (green beans, fish - Frankie's choice, and cucumbers/radishes) and took popsicles to the kids next door. Frankie wanted to give the extra "helmet" he got at HEB to Kyan which was sweet. Frankie played very well with them for the next hour plus and I made great progress with the little girl, Layla, who had been wary of me up until then. Frankie and Kyan played "chase" and soccer...we all threw the ball together at one point, so there was even a bit of sharing, too. He didn't want to go home, but they had to eat dinner and we had to get ready for bed.

Friday, April 24th

2009-04-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

It was wet and muddy but warm, so we put on our Crocs and went to the park to play in the creek at the park. Frankie enjoys splashing in the water and watching the minnows (the water is very clean and mostly shallow)...in various places. Others have placed numerous boards across, which are fun little bridges for Frankie to cross and jump off of. We ate dinner - can't remember what now - and in general, had a great night.

Monday - Wed, April 20-23rd

2009-04-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

Monday, Frankie was very excited to go to From the Heart when I picked him up. We had some time to kill so we played on the ball court, then went and got a chocolate milk at the gas station (something Frankie really likes to do - we do this once a week) before heading South. We were still a bit early so we went to the nursery down to street to look at at the flamingos and buy some hibiscus food - really nice herbs there by the way that put Home Depot to shame (not any more expensive either). As you saw, he bought the 3d glasses and dog card and was entranced with it. He had a great session with Janelle and made very sure he was saying his SSSSS sound properly the rest of the night. We went to HEB to pick up some chicken and frozen peas (which Frankie seem obsessed with eating) for dinner and a mylar balloon, had dinner, planted some basil seeds and catnip, played outside in the yard (catch, soccer) and took a bath.

Tuesday, we had dinner (chicken with cheese, more peas, corn and brown rice), played and went to sleep. Before he went to sleep, he said his stomach hurt and took some TUMS. The puking began at 11pm and went on to 5am.

Wednesday = sick day. Stayed at home except for picking up a prescription at Target...played games, did art project, read books, puked, slept. Got him to eat some mac n' cheese and crackers before going to bed. Loves the new game we bought with the leaves and honey bees - we played three times all the way through. I find he may protest a bit at first when I am trying to keep him directed, but gradually forgets to fight me and enjoys himself. I also let him vacuum the floor and he liked that.

Friday/Saturday April 17-18th

2009-04-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 17th
It was raining so we headed to Main Event for some glow in the dark mini golf, as promised. Frankie was *very* excited. Of course, the second he enters he wants to play everything at once. No one was at the mini golf, so we had the entire course to ourselves. I tried to keep Frankie focused on following the rules (meaning, not kicking the ball in the hole with his foot) and playing each hole through rather than jumping around from one to the other. He seemed fairly responsive, but I had to stay on him at every hole to do it properly. He digs the glow in the dark moonscape and pre-historic scenarios - kind of cheesy but when you’re three, it’s all cool. I let him climb on the “moon rocks” and he thoroughly enjoyed that. We headed to the games after that -- I generally put ten dollars on a card for games and when it’s gone, it’s gone. He played lots of skeeball and really enjoys the version where an alien taunts him into hitting the target. We played pool for exactly 20 minutes (about $2.17 worth) and tried foozeball (too hard). When he realized that he could trade in his points from the games for “prizes” he was delirious with excitement. He picked out three rubber balls, sticky insects and pop rocks. We left around 5:45pm to eat dinner at home and had chicken fajitas. We played with our new toys and read the three new books I ordered – Ben and the Balloon, The Great Balloon Race and Curious George and the Hot Air Balloon (I thought reading about balloons might substitute for playing with them sometimes) many times. He went to sleep around 9pm. (I also ordered Hot Air Henry and a book on constellations).

Saturday, April 18th
We had a very busy day! It was overcast and cool and we headed to eat breakfast at Galaxy Café. We went to Dart Bowl and Frankie bowled two games. he was so excited to be there than when we entered he wanted to say "Hi!" to all the bowling guys and waved at anyone who would look his way. I don’t know if you realized there is a pro shop there…we went and looked at the balls and I bought a t shirt – they are out of the ones in Frankie’s size but I will keep checking. It cleared up a bit so we went to Brentwood Park and played with Gertie basketball, and then jumped over to Hobby Lobby to pick out some craft projects. After going home and eating lunch, we tried to do a nap but Frankie was not having it. We “rested” and read books for an hour. Then, we made the suncatchers – a huge hit – and used our chalk pastels (also went over quite well because he can blend the colors or make them “hazy” as he says)…I had to work a little to keep him focused, but he did well with both. We went to Petsmart and looked at all the animals – Frankie really wants fish, I think. He is very amused by the “cat fish” because they have whiskers, of course. We watched birds and lizards, and then picked out a scratching post for Angus. Krista met us at home and we all played bowling on the deck in the yard as well as “chase” and basketball…then we went to eat at a place down the street that is pretty much like Waterloo Icehouse. Frankie was thrilled because I let him eat fries. We came back and he and Krista shared some leftover bunny cake…she left and it was bath time. He was so tired, he slept from 8:15 to 7:30am the next day.
Over the two day period, he only had one tantrum and I just walked away and told him I was sorry he was in a bad mood and frustrated and would be back when he was done. That seems to put a stop to it quickly. He talked very positively about his time at From The Heart.

Tuesday, April 14

2009-04-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

I picked Frankie up from school just as he was waking up. Devin said he had a really good day, and I remarked that it seemed like it had been awhile since we'd had an incident - and she agreed. Seems like we may have turned the corner on some of the aggression stuff (knocking on wood). He was in a really sweet mood, and as I was helping the kids open their snacks, he kept hugging me and saying "I love you, Daddy." I didn't even mind carrying him out because he was being so sweet (master manipulator - don't know where he gets that).

We headed home and made pizza dough, pesto, and tomato sauce, then he went next door and invited Peyton and Phoenix over to make pizzas. They all had a great time - especially Phoenix, who ate everything within reach. The boys played over here until 8:30, then went over to Peyton's so he could show Frankie his robots. I didn't get Frankie home until after 9. We skipped the shower and went right to bed. Well, sort of. He came downstairs a couple of times, until I finally let him sleep with the Gerty ball he'd borrowed from Peyton. He was out like a light by 10, then got in bed with me around 3. He's been in a great mood lately. Hope it holds out.

Oh, he also went poop all by himself. And by "all by himself," I mean he snuck upstairs while he and Peyton were playing, pooped, WIPED, and came back down without anyone knowing. But for the fact that he neglected to flush, I wouldn't even have known it had happened. And for the record, he did a pretty bang up job with the wiping!

Saturday, April 11

2009-04-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Easter! Thanks for joining us for the first part of our Easter celebration. After you left, we went to the park and played until the boys were exhausted, then came back here for lunch. Frankie ate brisket sandwich and cole slaw, then fought a nap. I slept for a couple of hours when he and Mom laid down (around 1), and when I woke up at 3 he was still awake. I forced him to take a nap at 3 - well, I started forcing him at 3, and from the sound of his wailing you'd think I'd employed medieval tactics. He finally crashed at 3:30 and slept until 6, when Kristin and Jason came over. We ordered dinner from Satay, and he and Kristin played with magnet balls, stickers, and the Easter toys she brought until almost 9. She gave him a long bath, and I forced Mom to let me put him to sleep. I crashed with him, and we slept soundly through the night. It was a great Easter.

Thursday, April 9 & Friday April 10

2009-04-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

I picked up Frankie from school and he'd had a great day. He was a little groggy, but I told him MawMaw JuJu and PawPaw Frank were coming, and he perked right up. We stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few essentials, and by the time we got home, Mom and Dad were here. As we pulled up, Jennifer and her boys got home, and Peyton screamed "Frankie!" and ran over. They stayed and had dinner with us, and the boys all played until about 8:30. After they left, Frankie had a very long bath with MawMaw. When he was in his pajamas, he came down and told me he didn't need me to read to him because MawMaw JuJu would, but that he loved me. I thought that was pretty cute - it was like he was worried my feelings would be hurt. He apparently had a rough night, waking up several times, but Dad would go in and rub his back, and he'd eventually tell him "go to your bed Paw Paw," and go back to sleep. I took Friday off, and we spent the day playing at the park and coloring Easter eggs until you picked him up at 3:30.

April 13th

2009-04-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

I woke Frankie up from his nap at school and he sat up and said, "I didn't bite anyone today!" I think we have instilled some fear in him finally. We went home and went immediately to the park - his request. Frankie got very angry with my on the swings because I insisted he try swinging himself and told him I wouldn't push until he did it a few times himself to practice. He just sat there definantly and I sat down on the ground. It was a showdown! Finally he said, "I want to go home - I am tired" and insisted I carry him. I finally got him to sit down and watch the birds and we talked about why he was upset and that saying he was tired wasn't really true. I tried to explain that he needed to do things for himself because then he could help himself if we were not there and he would need to do that when he started real school. Finally, we blew up a balloon and he came out of that black cloud moment he was having and we had a good walk home.

He wanted to eat cold rice and strawberries so we did that, then played alot of pretend games inside and painted/glittered for the next couple hours. He wanted to me to be an "elf" so that he could pretend to sleep, then he would wake up and catch me and I would have to eat him because he saw me (this was Frankie's idea, btw). Then, he was ready for dinner #2 - more rice, ham, cheese, strawberries and carrots.

I told him he could pick out new vitamins at Whole Foods, so we went there and he picked out a gummi bear variety and smelled candles. By the time we came home, it was bath time, so he had a long bath. He was anxiously anticipating his egg bath fizzy and loved watching it dissolve though it did turn the tub blue. He insisted that you get some as well... We read all our rabbit books and he has been particularly interested in the Velveteen Rabbit. Finally, he went to sleep around 9am and woke up at 5:30am to come to my room and we slept until 7:30am (got to sleep late because I had an off site meeting).

April 12th (Easter)

2009-04-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

Frankie had a fabulous Easter! After the egg hunt and candy gorging, it cleared up enough outside for the kids to play. We started off with washers, but that only lasted about five minutes…probably a blessing since I was sure that Frankie would nail someone in the head with one. The kids played “chase” and ran around and around, fueled by sugar. Ava wanted to play “rainstorm” in the little plastic house and they both giggled and hid in there while Joel, Kristina and I made rain noises on the roof and simulated thunder and lightning.

They opened every single Playdoh egg and made “blobs” and “Easter cakes”…it’s a miracle that nothing was actually stained or ruined in the entire house. Both Ava and Frankie opened their Easter Bunny baskets – I think Frankie’s two favorite items were a pair of $1 socks with balls on them and a “ball blower”, a wooden, hollow rod with a hole in the top…blow in one end and it suspends a very light ball in the air above it. Scott and Sarah made it by eventually, and Frankie and Sarah ran after each other and Krista held him up to play basketball everytime he asked - he loved all the attention, of course! Ryan and his Mom, Courtney, stopped by and all three played before everyone left about 1:30pm. For the most part, they all did very well together and behaved. I had to intervene a few times regarding the sharing, but that was with everyone, not just Frankie. It was actually shocking how good they all were despite the candy influence...which they generally forgot about once they were outside and otherwise involved.

Frankie was exhausted and well rested but he would not sleep. We read the Easter books my Mom sent and played with the new bunnies and toys, as well as drawing gumball machines and flowers. Our neighbors (Julia and Matt) invited us over to play and we went over there for about 45 minutes (they have a small playscape)…by this time (about 5pm), he was almost falling down tired. I made dinner to get some vegetables in him and he had a tantrum over the table over eating green beans (did not want to eat them and I insisted). We took an early bath (with all the balls of course) - Frankie is very into adding "balt salts". It's funny that he seems to want to do more feminine things with me and more masculine things with you. He wanted to read the Velveteen Rabbit and I couldn't read it without crying because I never can - Frankie was comforting as always. He went to sleep around 7:45pm. At about 4am, he requested milk and came and slept with me -- I could hardly get him up at 6:45am.

I emailed Janel about times to take him to From The Heart as I am sure you saw. I figure we could alternate - you take him one week, I take him the next. It's a drive so twice a week would be difficult and with the level of his problems (the report finds him pretty average overall, just some difficulty with combinations that give a lot of kids problems) I don't think that level of care is warranted.

Frankie does talk about Gertie balls alot!

Many days (3/27-4/7)

2009-04-07T21:40:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit derelict in my duties as far as these posts go. My apologies, but at least you and I have been talking regularly, and there really hasn't been much to report. Still, here's a brief recap:

Friday, March 27

Your closing day. Mom and Dad were in town, and they kept Frankie home from school. I tried to give him a hug before I left for work and he told me to "Go away, Dada." Figures. Mom and Frankie played at the park for hours, did lots of art projects on the new art table Debbie and the girls sent up, and played in Frog Mouth's Cave. Your closing went long, so I got to spend some time with Frankie after work.

Saturday, March 28

After you dropped Frankie off we had breakfast and played until Frankie and I headed up to UT to visit friends in town for the NDT. Frankie loved the campus - lots of green space to kick a soccer ball. He was shy at first, but eventually warmed up to everyone. As we were leaving, he said "You have a lot of friends, Dada." I thought that was pretty funny, since he's met so few friends here in Austin. Also makes me realize how much I miss all those folks. We came back to the house around 3, played for a while, then I had to get ready for the UT Debate reunion. I was out of the house by 7, but Kristin and Jason came over for dinner with Mom, Dad and Frankie. He apparently crashed without much of a fight.

Tuesday, March 31

Devin said Frankie had a great day. I picked him up a little early, which meant catching him just as he was waking up, but he was in a really good mood. Since he had such a good day, I told him we could go to the New Ball Store to pick out ONE thing. He didn't really grasp the concept of ONE balloon, and that was kind of frustrating him, but he found a striped Gurdy ball he'd been wanting, and finally settled for that. After a quick snack, we took it to the new park and kicked it around until Dada accidentally kicked it into a tree. Doh! Frankie was kind of pissed, but eventually accepted that it was an accident (although he kept asking "Why did you kicked striped Gurdy ball into the tree, Dada?"). At any rate, he accepted the Gurdy ball's fate, and seemed content to play on the playground and swing on the swings. We were at the park until almost dark, then went home for a late dinner, a bath, and a hard crash.

Thursday, April 2

Frankie had another good day, so I took him to the New Ball Store to replace the striped Gurdy ball I kicked into a tree on Tuesday, and to buy a kite (VERY windy day). He picked out a red octupus kite (oddly named "Squeaky", which Frankie really liked). We came home and had a snack, then headed to the park to fly the kite and kick the new Gurdy ball. Frankie made sure to let me know that I should be careful and not kick it into the tree. He reminded me several times. The kite held his attention briefly, but he was more interested in playing soccer and basketball with the Gurdy ball.

After we got back from the park we had dinner, then played with Peyton and Phoenix before bed. The boys have been introduced to the joys of popping balloons, and Frankie is slowly adjusting to the idea that he's gonna have to share if he wants them to play with him. Peyton really didn't want to leave, and Frankie really wanted to go play at Peyton's house, so we let the boys trade a book. Peyton took "Those Darned Squirrels," and Frankie borrowed, "Oliver Who Would Not Sleep," and a Transformers comic book (he didn't want the Transformers book, but Peyton was pretty insistent that he take it, and kind of appalled that Frankie didn't yet know about the Transformers, or show any interest in robots generally). I didn't get Frankie into the bath until nearly 9, and he was out like a light after one book.

Saturday, April 4

After you dropped Frankie off, Joel, Kristina and Ava came over for brunch and to see the house. We flew kites at the park, played on the playground and swings, and Frankie showed Ava the cool little play houses behind the elementary school. Frankie and Ava really enjoyed playing "3 Little Pigs" in the play houses. Joel, and I took turns being the Big Bad Wolf, and after we blew each house down, they'd run screaming to the next. It was seriously cute overload. Frankie got into fire ants and they got his legs pretty good, but he didn't really complain, and a dose of Benadryl helped. After the park, we came back to the house to play, but things quickly degenerated as Frankie began to get really tired and cranky (see: Benadryl). Joel, Kristina and Ava left, and Frankie went down for a nap without even putting up much of a fight. After the nap, we had a snack and went to Lowe's for planters and plants for our windowbox, then stopped by the grocery store to pick up some things for dinner. I cooked dinner while Frankie played, and it was too dark to plant by the time we finished. Instead, we went back to the park to swing in the dark (Frankie really likes being outside at night, and I don't blame him). We came back and had a long bath, read a few books, and then bed.

And that brings us to today, Tuesday, April 7. Like I said, I've been derelict in my duties. Thanks for picking up Frankie today, and for dinner. I like it when all of us are together. After we dropped you off, we came back here and took our Gurdy ball to the park until dark (I know it seems like all we do, but the novelty really hasn't worn out for Frankie, and I can't exactly blame him for that either). We got back to the house and Frankie said, "I'm very tired," so we took a bath, read a couple of books, and he crashed around 9.

April 5th and 6th

2009-04-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

Sunday April 5th: Frankie and I played at the house and met Ava and Kristina for lunch at Houston's and a trip to Terra Toys. I got off pretty easy with $3 worth of balloons and stickers. I bought him new Crocs at Sandy's and went to Joel and Kristina's new house. We played hide and seek in the backyard until they both got cranky and came home and had a late nap. Kristina observed they truly treat each other like brother and sister. Ava scolds Frankie when he is doing something wrong and it makes him do it more. After waking up around 5pm, we ate and walked to the park. Frankie met a friend, Ryan, who is his age and lives nearby. Ryan's Mom Courtney lives a few blocks from us. They really did very well together - we barely had to step in. I had to guide a little bit by telling Frankie to ask Ryan's name, but he initially approached him insisting "I want you to chase me!" and he wanted to teach him how to climb the rock. We stayed until nearly dark because our schedule was off. He did not want to wake up the next morning.

Monday April 6th: I picked Frankie up while he was midday through snack. He didn’t bite anyone but did hit someone with a hula hoop. Frankie said, “It was just an accident…I just walked away,” while Devin nodded no. But otherwise, he had a good day and was happy. Drop off was difficult in the morning for the first time in a while, so it was good to see him cheerful. We went to Target for a few things for the house and I let him pick out balloons for being good. We came home and I made dinner while Frankie put the balloons in and out of the cat door to the laundry room, squealing with delight and telling me “they are jumping into the balloon room!” We ate turkey burgers, broccoli and wagon wheel pasta for dinner then walked to the park. Frankie insisted on going the “lost” way (through the easement, which runs all the way to the back of the park to our backyard…he calls it the “lost” way because that is where we looked for Malcolm when we thought he was lost) because he gets to cross over a mini bridge or rocks to get to the other side with the path.

He really enjoyed watching dogs run through the creek and the soccer players on the field. We did both the “big boy” and “baby” swings. He wanted to sit on my lap on the big swings and ride. He kicked the ball around with some big lesbian ladies and enjoyed putting his ball down “huge-onic marble thing” – there are a lot of drainage structures all through the park which look, in many places, like big marble runs. We came home and watered the plants, and then he wanted to take a shower instead of a bath. As I was drying him off he said, “You know what I can do when I am older? I get to go on a hot air balloon ride! And then I’ll go up and get the moon and bring it to Baba’s house…” – the story got more complicated from there on out.

He ate his bedtime snack, something he has been doing pretty routinely…often the dinner he didn’t finish or yogurt and fruit/cheese. He told me he was happy his playscape in the backyard was fixed (the slide) and I told him Krista helped me put it together as well as the bed. He insisted that I call Krista so he could thank her. I did and he told her “thank you for putting together my bed and playscape” and gave the phone back to me. A minute later, he wanted the phone back again and took it and said “I love you Krista. Goodbye.” Very sweet and Krista loved it. We went to read books, put on “itch cream” and he went to sleep very easily.

Wed. March 31st

2009-04-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

Frankie bit again at school and told a group of kids to "shut up!" He said the boy pushed him, but Devin said that someone ran into him and it was an accident - she did witness the entire thing. We talked at length about how to deal with the problem. Because he didn't seem too opposed to missing dessert, I spoke about taking away his balloons and he started crying. Both Devin and I talked to him about how his actions make us and the kids he hurts "sad" and talked again about walking away and using words to describe feelings, not teeth.

We drove home a different way past Balcones Woods Park (off Amherst and Duval) and he wanted to stop and play, so I pulled over and we played for about an hour and a half on the playground and went down a few trails (it's very nature-y there). We got home and he played with his toys while I made dinner. I cut a bunch of strawberries and they were on the counter and he kept coming up and taking one and laughing. I kept telling him "Don't steal my strawberries!" every time he took one which he thought was hilarious. We had chicken fajitas for dinner. He was very excited because I bought chips and mild salsa just for him. During dinner, we saw a hawk in the backyard...Frankie has been very interested in all the new wildlife we've been seeing.

After dinner, I put together a mini soccer goal I bought for him the other day and we practiced our soccer skills and played in the yard until 7:30. We took a bath in the big bathtub with balls, of course. While I was in another room, Frankie pooped all by himself without the potty seat and wiped his butt (not very well, but the effort was duly noted). After the bath he decided he needed a snack and ate watermelon and cheese.

At some point he said "I love you" and said "You don't love it when I bite people". I explained that yes, I love HIM but not some of his actions. And that no matter what he does we will love him, but we might not always love the things he does. it was a good conversation.

He's been sleeping half in his bed and half in mine, but this night, he stayed in his room the entire night and came to cuddle with me in the morning. He's still intimidated by the distance between our rooms, but he's slowly getting more used to the set up.

Sunday/Monday March 29/30th

2009-03-31T08:54:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Frankie and I walked to Rattan Creek Park (“the new park”) and played, swung and explored. We also walked up and down the easement in the back of the house, which is filled with flowers. Frankie picked some for a vase on our table – “It’s like eating in a restaurant!” he approvingly says of having flowers on the table. We spent a lot of time walking around, looking for a missing Malcolm, who was gone for ten hours before showing up at the back door nonchalantly. All day I was worried about Malcolm and he kept saying, “Smile, Baba, don’t worry.”

Mostly, Frankie wanted to play in the new backyard and make sure his toys were strewn about (: He loves the new bathtub, which is very deep…”It comes up to my neck!” We drew catfish eating blueberries in the bath and, of course balloons. Monday, Frankie bit someone at school. As a result, there was no ball court or dessert at night for punishment. We went home and Frankie headed to the backyard. He had a tantrum regarding the balloons. I said he could bring five balloons to the park (he wanted to bring 20 or something) and then he said “None” defiantly, then he said “Ten” and then I said “Five” and then he said “Throw Them Away!” dramatically…then “Why can’t I have my balloons…” You get the picture – quite maddening! Finally, we had to have a talk and after he settled we went to the park and Frankie impressively climbed to the top of a big fake rock, played with bunny on a playscape and even gave another little girl a balloon. We played on the basketball court and sat on the bench and had a snack. We went home and played in the backyard some more.

I would not let him play with balloons for the rest of the evening and insisted he play with his other toys. He started to throw a tantrum again, then got involved in drawing and stickers (ask him what the biggest star in the sky is called). I am really trying to direct him away from the balloons and limit his time with them. We had a pleasant dinner of fish, broccoli, tomatoes and watermelon and saw a hummingbird outside. Frankie was very interested, so I told him I would buy a feeder.

We met the kids next door and he played with them in their yard – the boy is 5 (Keyan) and the girl is 1 ½ (Layla). They were gone for the past month in Iran (the father is Iranian) and Germany. Near the end when everyone was getting a little tired, the boy hit him with a badminton racquet…not too hard, but it upset him. He apologized to Frankie and Frankie and I talked about how this is what the people he bites feel like – maybe that is too complex a thought process but I wanted to talk about empathy a little bit in that situation. He’s been sleeping half in his room and half in mine right now, getting used to new surroundings. I got a new sofa yesterday and this morning, he wanted to “talk on the couch”. He went to sleep on the sofa which I made coffee and got breakfast ready. I coaxed him awake with an offer of watermelon and vitamins.

He also knocked something over and said "Shit!" yesterday. I told him it wasn't a nice thing to say but that I knew it was an "accident".

Thursday, March 26

2009-03-27T09:05:00.001-07:00

Picked up Frankie from school, and it was raining, so we didn't play on the ball court. We went by the old place to pick up the last couple of things, and so that he could say goodbye to the old house and make sure we didn't leave anything important behind. Once he seemed satisfied, we headed back to the new place. We went to the new park and played until about 6. He kicked the soccer ball while some older kids were getting ready for soccer practice, and he kept saying "I'm on the team!" He's really ready for organized soccer, even though he's going to be a ball hog, and he's really going to have to learn to take instructions. I'm going to use the carrot of joining a soccer team to instill some of those lessons. He was very interested in the playscape, especially figuring out new ways to climb up (there are a couple of playscapes, and they have lots of different climbing apparati, all of which he is intent on mastering). He's really becoming a sure-footed climber, and he was very proud of himself when he made it to the top. After that, we went behind the school and discovered an area that has 4 or 5 playhouses - very cool. We played in those until a butterfly caught his eye, and he spent the next hour stalking it. The crazy part is that the butterfly wouldn't just fly away - it kept coming back to Frankie, landing a couple of feet away from him each time. That was just about the coolest thing Frankie had ever seen, or so it seemed by his reaction. I'll send you the pictures. After the park, we went to the store to pick up a roast chicken for dinner (his request, as usual). After dinner, Payton and Phoenix came over and the kids played. Their mom, Jennifer, is a marketing person for National Instruments - it sounds like she has basically the same job as you. The boys played together well, but Frankie still had issues with them touching his stuff. I think that's going to get better with exposure. I'll keep you posted.

They left around 8:30, well past all of their bedtimes, and by that point Frankie was too tired for a bath. We read two books, I told him a story about Frankie and Payton and Phoenix popping balloons, and he insisted that I include Ava in the story, which I thought was cute. He was out by 9:15.

Mom and Dad got into town around 10, and Dad said Frankie woke up around midnite, and Dad went in and rubbed his back and he went right back to sleep. I woke up around 7 this morning, and Mom, Dad and Frankie were already up playing. I think they're just going to play around the house today, but he was very excited about not having to go to school. He told me repeatedly that he did not have to go to Emmy's house today, and I think he was a little nervous until he was certain I was actually going to leave the house without him. And, as usual when MawMaw JuJu and PawPaw Frank are in town, he kindly told me to "Go away, Dada" before I left for work.

Tuesday, March 24

2009-03-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

Frankie had a rough day at school. More hitting. Ms. Devin said he's instigating now, getting into peoples' "personal space" then hitting or pushing them away. Her concerns are growing, but the biggest problem is that Frankie just doesn't listen. He knows he's doing something wrong, and he'll acknowledge it, but it's not curbing the behavior. I think consistent punishment is about the best we can hope for. And I didn't do a very good job that today, because after school he and I made cookies. We used that time to talk about why hitting is wrong, and he really did seem receptive to the conversation while we were cooking together, but I probably should've used the cookies as a stick and told him we weren't going to make them because he hit. That was my bad.

But we did make cookies, and we took a plate of them over to the neighbors. We went to the park and they played for an hour or so, then headed home for dinner (spaghetti with meat sauce). We finally had a warm bath, and he loves having his own bathroom. He went down with less of a fight, and slept in his own bed until about 3am. I'm hoping this is a sign of improvement.

Sunday, March 22

2009-03-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess you know about the first part of the day, since we spent it together. After you left, Frankie and I played at the new park, and in Frog Mouth's Cave. He really wanted to take a nap in FMC, but he was WAY too excited, and there were far too many distractions. He finally went down for a nap around 3, woke up at 5, ate dinner, then played with the boys next door, Payton (4 in May) and Phoenix (3 in May). They kicked the soccer ball, popped balloons, played on the playscape, and shot baskets on the short hoop. I think they're going to get along great, and Frankie is really happy being in the new place.

The gas didn't get turned on (doh!), so we didn't have a bath (he wanted a cold bath, or so he said, but when he barely got a foot in before he realized that was a bad idea). He went to sleep in his own bed after some struggle, but wound up in bed with me around midnite. My first goal in this transition to sleeping in his own room is getting him to go to sleep in his own bed. If he ends up in bed with me before the night's through, I guess that's ok. We'll work on that after he settles in.

Thanks for coming over for breakfast. I like spending time with you, and I think it's really good for Frankie to see us together and happy. Let's try and do that more often.

March 20th-21st

2009-03-23T06:30:00.001-07:00

Friday, Frankie bit another child again. I was disappointed as I thought we were done with that. However, one positive improvement was that according the Devin, he was scared about her telling me. So, the punishment has at least instilled some fear. When I told him that there would be no dessert, he cried and cried. We both explained to him that it he did bad things to someone else, bad things would happen to him. He kept saying, “I’m going to prove it to you” (meaning, he was going to prove being good to me). He asked to go to the ball court and I said “no” and he cried a bit more. We finally left and we did go play in the park (Ramsey). He actually brought a frisbee instead of a ball this time, so we threw it around and I attempted to show him how to throw it the right way but he wasn’t that interested. We went to the playground and he did really well with all the other kids. We got on the swings next to another little boy his own age and they seemed to enjoy each other’s company and making each other laugh. He also followed a group of older girls around, oblivious to the fact that they wanted to do their own thing. We ate a snack at the picnic table and went home around 5:45pm to have dinner (pizza and veggies). He told me about your new house and that he picked out his room and also mentioned frog mouth cave. After that, we did our “nature walk” and also played in the backyard…he finally conked out about 9pm and I fell asleep right along with him.

We woke up at 7:30 the next day. Sarah asked me to get some things at Costco for her and I also needed to go to Bed Bath and Beyond and Walgreens (as we were leaving, he offered to carry my bag for me and declared “I’m helping you!”) and Frankie was really great during all those boring errands. Since he was so good, we went to Dart Bowl and he did very well, as always. He played two games and on the second, his score with 93 and on his last frame he picked up a spare and was able to get in some extra bowling, something he was very excited about. We had lunch (he insisted on eating at Dart Bowl, but I said no) and tried a nap. No dice. We rested for a bit and read some books, then finally went for a “nature walk” at his insistence. We ran into some teenage boys playing basketball and he stood and stared and they asked him if he wanted to play. This made his day – they let him shoot and even lowered the net for him and held him up. He was thrilled that “big boys” were playing with him! We said goodbye and continued on and ran into Kathleen and Nigel. Frankie played with Nigel and gave him lots of bones, hugged and chased him. Went to Target after that to pick out things for his room – he picked the same baseball light as you know…probably good to have consistent elements in each room, actually! After Target, we went to Northwest Hills Park and played and watched some “baseball guys” practice. Went home, had spaghetti and sausage (he didn’t eat much…mainly cucumbers), then Snaps for dessert (black licorice which I can’t believe he likes!), played more, took a bath…then he decided he was really hungry and ate an entire cup of yogurt and a peanut butter sandwich (from earlier in the day which he never finished). We read books and went to sleep around 8:15pm (woke up at 7:30am on Sunday). Through the entire weekend, he peed in his pants one time at the park because he didn’t want to stop playing, but overall, did *very* well with that.

March 19th

2009-03-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

I picked up Frankie and he was excited to show me the rainbow necklace he made at school. At his insistence we played on the ball court for about a half an hour before heading home. We made up a few games and spotted deer was involved in playing them. He was anxious to get home to play in the pool and toss water balloons. I had explained to him what a bowling tournament was the other day, so he was intent on having one to determine who the “best” player is between us. Even before we played, he decided he was. Frankie does not have a problem with self esteem. We changed into swimming clothes, applied sunscreen and went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. We ate homemade turkey burgers, cucumbers, tomatoes and cheese for dinner and surprisingly, Frankie ate the entire burger – I think he is going through a growth spurt…eating a lot, sleeping more…all the signs are there. He chose M&Ms for dessert and shockingly even shared them with me, demanding I eat certain colors. After dinner, we read some of our new books (bought at the Book Fair at school – “Let’s Play Soccer”, “Follow Me Mittens”, “Curious George Makes Pancakes” and one about the seasons from National Geographic, all his picks). He wanted to go on a walk and I suggested he not bring a ball but that we do a nature walk and pay attention to all the things that are happening with plants and animals because it is spring (what they are discussing at school this week). This was successful and he really enjoyed pointing out the blooming trees, listening for birds and of course, crushing dandelions. We took an hour long walk, came home, played Frisbee in the backyard and finally took a bath around 8:15pm. We read our new books again, as well as the Richard Scary book which he’s really been into lately (he especially likes a page about good v. bad manners) and he fell asleep at 9pm. He’s been asking a lot of questions about my packing but doesn’t seem upset by it. He exhibits a cautious optimism about moving.

I really think the biting was a bit of an anomaly a few weeks ago – there have been no problems since that time. At least, I certainly hope it was. I am going to make an appointment with the ENT for him to determine is he still needs to wear earplugs. I seriously doubt he does (esp. considering the amount of water that must get in his ears in the shower and bathtub without repercussions) but just want to check.

St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

I picked up Frankie from school at 3:30. Devin said he had a good day, and he told me he took a long nap. When I walked into the classroom, he was in a great mood, and said, "It's not raining. We can play on the ballcourt," and we did for about half an hour. We played catch with the football, shot a few baskets, and kicked the soccer ball back and forth. This was Frankie's introduction to the new car, and he said, "It looks like Baba's car, but it's silver like Dada's car." He also said, "I know where you put the gum," and promptly demanded a piece. He said he was hungry, so we headed to Whole Foods for a snack. He picked cold boiled shrimp and teriyaki salmon, and although the plan was to go to the park across from the new house for a picnic, we wound up just eating it there. He devoured 7 shrimp and a big piece of salmon, then we headed back to the house.

We played at the house until 5:30, then went to Phil's/Amy's to meet a friend of mine (Shelly, an old high school friend) and her boys, Aidan and Cameron. We got there before them, and Frankie wound up running around the playground playing chase with a little boy named Alexander (he's probably 5 or so). It's nice to just sit on the sidelines and watch him play so well with another kid. When Aidan and Cameron showed up (I think they're 7 and 9), they joined in and the four kids pretty much wore each other out. Frankie at a hotdog and sweet potato fries from Phil's, and then had ice cream (chocolate with gummy bears AND M&M's - killed, at his request). The kids played some more, and we headed home around 8. Frankie was so exhausted he didn't even want to take a bath. We just brushed teeth, put on pajamas, read a couple of books, and he was out before 9 (and me with him).

March 16th

2009-03-17T08:32:00.001-07:00

I picked up Frankie from school at three and he was in a cranky mood. Devin said he was in trouble at lunch for banging his fork on the table right after she told everyone specifically not to. He did it intentionally with a devilish look apparently. He wanted to play on the ball court but I had work clothes on so I wanted to get home and change and he did not like this. However, we went to Target to get a new swimming pool, swimming trunks and a shirt and some water toys since the old ones all have holes and he cheered considerably knowing we were going to get wet in the backyard. While in the cart, he claimed he would "die" if he didn't have gum immediately. I told him that he would have the honor of being the first little boy to die from not having gum.

We went home and threw waterballoons in the backyard, blew up the pool (Frankie helped) and played in the Caterpiller Sprinkler (hands flip around and randomly spray everything). Frankie chased me around with the sprinkler trying to spray me. Eventually he told me he was hungry and wanted me to make him a stir fry with shrimp, which I did. He ate with his chopsticks, the had some candy hearts for dessert (his choice of everything). He decided he wanted to play CandyLand with actual candy and that was a fairly ridiculous enterprise...then we went for a long walk around the block. Frankie is into collecting all dandelions and crushing or blowing them on our journey. We came home and played frisbee in the backyard until 8 - it was the longest back and forth game I have ever seen Frankie engaged in. He was really into it and even asked for me to show him how to put his hands the right way so he could throw it flat. We came in a took a bubble bath, played "catfish" and "shark" in the bath, read Rudolph, Richard's Scary's Biggest Book Ever and a story about owl and the moon numerous times and went to sleep at 9:30pm.

March 11th

2009-03-16T06:01:00.001-07:00

Frankie was in a good mood when I picked him up but had not taken a nap. Devin said that he was being loud and not resting while the other children were (but other than that was well-behaved). He told me all about the farm animals they learned about a wanted to show me some of the books. He asked to play on the ball court but it was raining & cold so we headed home. He definitely seemed tired and content to do things around the house. After our snack of dried fruit and water, we painted some pictures and used stamps, then he wanted me to show him how to “weave” something like the Easter Bunny in a book we have. We spent a little time doing puzzles – I had to push him to do it a bit and reading the Richard Scary word book. We talked about spelling and sounding out words. I was trying to involve him in playing with other things outside of balls or blowing up balloons. We ate fish, pasta and “white trees” for dinner, the truffles for dessert. It always makes me laugh when he gets a serious look on his face and asks, “How was your day, Baba?” He was so tired after dinner, he asked to go to bed, but changed his mind. We played Easter Bunny and warmer/colder so Frankie could find his dessert in the egg. He wanted to see pictures of a catfish so we found some online – he was fascinated with the concept of a fish with whiskers…later we pretended like he was petting a pretend catfish in his bubblebath. Read Runaway Bunny, about Hakeem and The Story Of The Easter Bunny before he completely crashed. He slept through the entire night – 8:30-6:45am, then came and lay next to me for a while. He suggested that I go to school and he’d go to work, as he often does, and laughed.

March 15th

2009-03-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

Went to HEB and Frankie helped me pick out what to buy. We came home and ate lunch (turkey, carrot sticks, grapes), then went to try Dart Bowl but there was a tournament. We stopped by Sarah's to drop something off I bought for her for House Pizzeria (step stools for both bathrooms) and he played with Watson for a bit - very cute. We went to Brentwood Park and played on all three playgrounds and practiced our swinging, soccer and shocking at the end of the slide. Frankie got hungry and we went home for a snack (turkey, which he seems sort of obsessed with lately). Tried to get him to nap but he wouldn't so we just read some books and rested. The sun came out so we went outside where we've been since then, playing "Balloon Stomp", drawing with chalk, playing basketball and running around like crazy. For dinner, we will have chicken, green beans, salad and rice. He's been great today and has been listening and no accidents. He even let me know he had to go to the bathroom at Sarah's. He keeps talking about From The Heart - really liked it there and can't wait to return it seems.

In the backyard, we saw a seriously injured squirrel - his eyes were bloody. Frankie asked alot of questions about the squirrel and was very scared of the fact that he was hurt. He hugged me and said he was sad and wanted to go inside so he couldn't see the squirrel...it clearly upset him. He's mentioned it several times since then - I explained it was good to feel bad for the squirrel and sometimes animals in the wild get hurt. We gave him a piece of corn so he wouldn't have to find food, but he was clearly not going to make it.

In the morning now, he's been in the habit of asking me to go lay on the couch "so we can talk". This morning he asked me to tell him all about Gina. He thinks it funny that "her teeth are black" (Gina showed him all her cavities as an incentive to brush last time he was here and he foujd this hilarious).

March 13th

2009-03-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

Friday, we went to Main Event and Frankie loved it, even while it's variety of activities was almost overwhelming. He stopped dead in his tracks upon entry, looking around in wonderment. First, we played glow in the dark golf and Frankie was very interested in the "black light". I had to explain to him over and over how it worked and he asked me for one many times - I told him he could have one when he could drive. He played some ski ball, basketball (of course) and air hockey and really liked siding the card through to activate the games. It was almost empty so we had the place to ourselves, more or less. We played "pool" for about ten minutes (as long as it held his attention) and he just rolled the balls around on the table. It was dinnertime and we went to Pho Van for Vietnamese food - he had a Vermacelli Bowl with chicken and enjoyed it as well as the Pho. Went home and played in our bubble bath for a while and went to sleep later than usual (about 8:30pm). He was really sweet and pleasant and listened the entire time.

3/14

2009-03-14T19:16:00.001-07:00

Aaaargh! Just wrote this post, and blogger ate it. Stupid interwebs. Anyway, we had a great day. After you dropped him off, we did watercolors until about 11:30, then went to Dart Bowl. It was packed, so we had to wait for a lane. We played some Ms. Pacman and Galaga, neither of which held his attention for long, then had a snack (chicken nuggets, baked). We got a lane just as we finished our snack, and that was good, because he seemed to be fading. We bowled one game, and by the time it was over he wanted to go. We stopped at the library on the way home and picked up 3 new books (The Yellow Ball, The 5 Chinese Brothers, and Eat Your Peas, Ivy Louise). He was just about gone by the time we got home, and I thought a nap was gonna be easy. After ten minutes, he'd popped back up and wasn't going back down. We played around here the rest of the afternoon - some bowling, some golf, more watercolors. Around 4:30 we went to Hobby Lobby for a new sketch pad and a new watercolor pad, and some new crayons (120 unwashable ones, but he's never really tried to write on walls or anything, knock on wood). After that, we had dinner at Satay (his choice - I wanted to cook, but he wasn't having it - not even homemade tomato sauce and sausage). The couple sitting behind Frankie were eavesdropping on our conversation, and he was cracking them up. They asked how old he was, and when I told them, they said they had a 5 and a 3 year old, and that they were really impressed with his language. I thought that was reassuring. We stopped on the way home and at a cupcake (he got a red velvet, and just at the cream cheese icing). By the time we made it back to my place, he was pretty much out. We didn't even get a bath. Read two of the books, and he was out by 8. Great day.

Thursday, March 12

2009-03-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

It was another wet and rainy day, so after school we came back to the house and had a low key afternoon of painting and playing. Frankie painted a great flower, then proceeded to turn it into a ball, then a balloon. Wish he'd have stopped at flower, because it was REALLY good. We went to Albertson and picked up a turkey breast, broccoli and a baguette for dinner (he picked all three). After dinner, we had a long bath with shaving cream monster (a variation on tickle monster, so you can probably imagine how it goes), then a shower. It still amazes me that Frankie likes showers so much. He can stand under a shower with the water on his face for ten minutes. Even when he has a bath the night before, Frankie generally insists on getting in the shower with me every morning.

That's about it. Pretty uneventful day, but very nice. He didn't fall asleep until after 10, but he slept through the night.

Tuesday, March 10

2009-03-10T21:51:00.000-07:00

Picked up Frankie from school and he was in a very good mood. Devin said he had a great day – no biting or anything – but he didn’t nap. I expected him to crash early, but that didn’t happen. I also noticed when I picked him up that his shirt was wet from chewing on it, which she confirmed he’s been doing a lot. Seems like Kristin might be right about this being an oral issue. We played on the ball court for a while, then went to Dart Bowl (and he even let me bowl, which doesn’t always happen). He’s gotten very good at running up and letting the ball go in stride – one of the old guy bowlers there was very impressed, and pretty shocked when I told him how old Frankie is. We bowled two games, and he didn't even ask to play Ms. Pacman (have you played it with him? He loves it when the ghosts catch Ms. Pacman, which makes the games very short). He insisted we eat at Dart Bowl, and I finally relented (I know, shitty food, but we've been eating very well, so I figured it was ok). One of the waitresses there really loves Frankie, and she always lets him order (asks him what he wants instead of me - even though it's always chicken nuggets). It's pretty cute.

After Dart Bowl, we headed to the park across from what I hope is our new house. We played a lot of soccer, shot some baskets, and spent about an hour on the playscape and the swings. He's figured out static electricity, so we had to test all the slides to find one that would produce enough to generate a shock, and then did that about a dozen times. He's really amazing on playscapes. The boy knows no fear.

Before we left the park, we started to walk over to the house I'm trying to rent because the mom and the two boys were outside. By the time we got there, they'd gone inside, but he was very excited about meeting the boys and said, "Can I play with them when we live there?" I take that as a good sign, and really hope we get the place.

We headed home around 7, watched an episode of Franklin (they're on U-verse, free on demand) while he ate the two cookies you sent Sunday for dessert, then had a long bath with water balloons. He's also gotten very good at sticking his face in the water, a trick that never seems to get old. You might consider getting some shaving cream, because he loves the stuff. I now wait to shave until he stays with me, and we stand side-by-side at the sink while I do it. He actually does a pretty good job of putting it on his face just like Dada. I've been looking for a toy razor, but haven't found one. Tonight, we just played with shaving cream in the tub.

We finally got to bed around 8:30, read 6 books (remember that weird ass Blue Balloon book, where the guy baits the balloon with "balloon food", then holds a gun to his head? He LOVES that book - there are no words, I just narrate the pictures. You should also check out Those Darn Squirrels. Huge hit.), and he was out within 2 minutes of the last one (we didn't even have sleepy bunny or anything).

He hasn't been coughing tonight, but he does sound congested. I think it's just allergies.

FYI - there's a new door code at the daycare - 0309.

March 9th

2009-03-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

I picked up Frankie and he was in a great mood. There was no biting. I made sure to tell him I was proud of him for being good. We played on the ball court for about a half hour counting how many of each balls were red, blue, yellow etc… We went to Costco and bought some groceries as well as a shark kite. We got home and took the kite to Wooten Park and flew the kite and played on the playground. Frankie showed me how to go down the pole and enjoyed shocking me after sliding numerous times. We ate pesto and wagon wheel pasta plus veggies for dinner and homemade popsicles for dessert. He played in his bubble bath for a long time and we went to sleep a little later than usual (9pm). Frankie had trouble sleeping – he was having some coughing fits and was hot (the AC is not working properly but is being fixed today). He woke up late (time change stuff) – at 7:30am – and I took him to school. He wanted a turkey sandwich for breakfast with “four pieces of turkey”. He was really great both at night and in the morning and listened to everything I said.
PS: There is a full moon tonight.

March 6th - 7th

2009-03-09T05:57:00.001-07:00

I'm not surprised he fell in - last time we were there he came pretty close. Good thing he could be a test case!

Regarding speech therapy, only certain therapists at From The Heart are covered. I'll need to check with Kristin to see who would be the best choice. Biting may be partially related to the speech issues certainly, but the fact that he laughs sometimes when being punished for it tells me he also doens't take it seriously. Sounds like a combination of increased discipline and repercussions for actions combined with speech therapy will perhaps solve the problem.

Friday, I picked Frankie up at school and talked to Devin about the biting incident of the day. She was concerned because it was an aggressive act - he wanted a toy and bit. Obviously, we talked at length about how it was wrong but I can tell we're somehow not getting through. We went straight to Pease Park and Frankie enjoyed walking through the creek and looking for fossils. We ate at Galaxy Cafe in West Lynn, went home and played more before going to sleep.

Saturday, Frankie woke up early (4:30) and wouldn't go back to sleep. Unfortunately, that started off the day on shaky ground. He was in great spirits when we went to Jo's on 2nd for breakfast and then to the park off Enfield with Krista. Frankie ran too fast at one point and fell and bloodied his nose but after the shock wore off, he was ok. We went home and he refused to nap, so we headed to Target and he was rude and demanding in the car and had a meltdown in the store as we discussed. This was mostly a result of being tired. He hit me in the store so wasn't permitted to buy the toys in the cart and had a fit. Luckily we got home and we finally took a nap. He was completely fine after that. We made cookies and played outside the rest of the night. We ate dinner, then had dessert outside and played more and was very happy.

He was in a great mood Sunday morning. He woke up and insisted we sleep on the couch. We did for a while and he had his milk and we talked. We had a very pleasant morning before you came to pick him up.

Sunday, 3/8

2009-03-08T20:20:00.001-07:00

Picked up Frankie at 10 and met Joel, Kristina & Ava for breakfast at Galaxy Cafe. Afterward, we visited their new house. Frankie fell into the pool, providing the first test of the kidcatcher net they'd placed over it. He was fine - not even slightly upset. Just wet. From there we went to Perry park, and he and Ava played for a long time. We left around 2:30, and Frankie crashed as soon as we got home. We both had a good, long nap, then woke up at 5:30 and went to dinner with Kristin & Jason at the bell restaurant. We took gelato back to Kristin's, walked Tito, then came home. Frankie finally went down around 9:30. Think daylight savings time will play havoc with the schedule this week. I'm guessing tomorrow is going to be an early morning.

Kristin thinks Frankie's biting might be an oral issue. He's chewing on things a lot, grinding his teeth, and doing other things that make her think it's all related (this is a fairly common issue that speech therapists deal with). She really thinks therapy will help. She's going to call you to talk about. She still thinks you'll need a referral to establish the underlying medical condition that will qualify him for insurance coverage of the therapy. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help with this.

Biting

2009-03-06T05:54:00.001-08:00

I think on the days when he bites we have to do some sort of disciplinary action. It is starting to get out of hand. Maybe take something away and make a big production of it - like putting it up in the closet and saying, because you hurt something, we are putting this toy away and if you can go one week without hurting someone again, you can have it back. That is what worked for Gina with Zuri.

Hill Elementary

2009-03-06T05:48:00.000-08:00

http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/tx/548

Our elementary school at the new house is Jollyville which is a 7/10 and "Recognized" - it has a smaller child/teacher ratio than Hill.

North Austin Soccer Alliance

2009-03-06T05:38:00.000-08:00

North Austin Soccer Alliance
http://www.northaustinsoccer.org/

Recreational Soccer Ages 4-18

Development Training
http://www.northaustinsoccer.org/bgdv.html

$90 for 4-5 year olds. Right now they are just starting their Spring schedule. There appears to be a Fall season as well. Looks like he would meet the criteria to play:

"A beginning player must be 4 at midnight on July 31st, if the player turned 4 on August 1st, they WILL NOT be allowed to play in the Fall or Spring Season. These are USYS, STYSA, CAYSA rules and also the NASA By-Laws, no exceptions will be made."

I have contacted the admin via email to find out when Fall League registration begins.

Hill Elementary

2009-03-05T21:21:00.001-08:00

Holy crap - check out this about Hill Elementary:

Welcome to the Hill Elementary PTA website! We are proud of our school that has been recognized in the following ways:

US Department of Education Nationally Recognized Blue Ribbon School

Texas Education Agency EXEMPLARY Rating

Texas Monthly listing as the “Top Elementary School in Central Texas“.

Can that last one really be true? Crazy.

Thursday, March 5

2009-03-05T21:04:00.000-08:00

Frankie had another biting episode at school, and this one didn't involve Ari. Apparently, he was playing with something, and a couple of "friends" encroached on his space, and he bit one and tried to bite another. Devin still doesn't seem very concerned. Frankie and I talked about it, but I have a hard time knowing if it's really sinking in. A lot of this seems to stem from his unwillingness to share. I've been working on playing more games with him that require him to actually engage me, take turns, and share whatever we're playing with. Hope that helps.

Otherwise, he was in a great mood today. We played on the ball court for about half-an-hour, then went home for a snack (sweet potato bread with honey, cheese, strawberries & raspberries stuffed with blueberries). After the snack, Frankie rode his bike to the elementary school across from the house I'm hoping to rent. It's literally right across the street from Hill Elementary School, and just down the street from Anderson High School. There's a great playground there. We watched a bunch of 5 year olds have soccer practice, and Franke was totally enthralled. I'm going to look into 4-year-old leagues. We stayed at the park until 6:00, then rode back home and went to dinner at Maru. Frankie ate two pieces of tuna (maguro), which kind of surprised me. He liked dipping it in the soy sauce ("salty!"). For dessert, we split a cupcake at Hey Cupcake (vanilla cupcake, chocolate icing, multi-color sprinkles). Bath, books, criss-cross-applesauce with the bumpy ball, and he was out like a light. Another great day with the boy.

Wed. March 4th

2009-03-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

I picked Frankie up and he was in good spirits. Devin said he was having a good day and stayed dry throughout his nap. He had just seen LeAnne bring out newly blown up balls so wanted to play on the ball court for a while. Then, I told him I bought water balloons and it was warm enough for us to throw some in the yard and he was very excited.

We went home and I filled up about 100 balloons and we threw them everywhere, and Frankie especially enjoyed rolling them down the slide. We played basketball and bocce ball, then ate dinner. Frankie had homeade beef stew and apple pie. I mistakenly left the sugar dispenser on the table and when I turned around to make a salad, he dumped a bunch of sugar on his food. When I look upset he said "Smile, Baba! Don't be sad" and then he said he thought it was salt. We finished eating and went for a walk around the block, the came home and played in the backyard until bathtime.

Halfway through the night, he called for me and was sitting up in his bed and told me he wanted to sleep with me. He slept very well with me until 6:15am. He was a little sleepy when we finally got up, but enjoyed eating a popsicle (home-made, just juice and fruit) and Cheerios for breakfast.

I take him to the library because bookstores have too many toys. I've been cutting down trips to places with toys as well. I even make sure I go to Target alone if possible, but generally give him free reign at the craft store.

Tuesday, March 3

2009-03-05T07:09:00.000-08:00

Picked up Frankie from school a little early so I could talk to Devon about the biting incident with Ari. She thinks it's an isolated incident, so I'm going to reserve being especially worried. Frankie and I have talked about it, and I really think he's starting to understand why certain things are wrong. We'll see.

After we stopped at Whole Foods Central for a snack (sweet potato bread, a soft cheese, green beans with almonds, and kale - all Frankie's picks), we spent the rest of the afternoon at Zilker - Frankie really wanted to feed the pigeons after watching birds bathe in the fountain on the patio at Whole Foods. We played on the playground, and Frankie learned how to slide down a pole (very exciting). He really wanted to go to the New Ball Store, but I'm trying to avoid buying things for him. He's becoming very materialistic in a weird way - like he just wants to acquire stuff (balls/balloons especially). So, I'm trying to fill our time with non-consumer-oriented activities. Books were the one exception, but even when we go to BookPeople, Frankie has a hard time concentrating on books because he's so fixated on balls and toys. I expect this to be an ongoing battle for a bit.

After the park, we headed home for a dinner of pesto tortellini, broccoli, and green beans. After dinner, we took a long walk to Anderson High School and played with the soccer ball on the tennis courts and the soccer field. Frankie finally figured out that passing the ball makes for a more fun game of soccer, so we practiced setting up goal kicks into the practice wall on the tennis court. We did that for at least half-an-hour before I convinced him we really needed to go. After a shower (the kid has started preferring showers to baths, although his taste varies from night to night), we read one book and he was out. A very good day.

March 1-2nd, 2009

2009-03-03T12:37:00.000-08:00

Sunday, we showed Kristina and Ava the new house and went to Rattan Creek Park. It was cold and breezy but they explored the creek and playscape. Frankie was not having a great morning and Ava missed Joel. They both seemed off and Frankie wet his pants twice. We went to eat at the Domain at North, the played in the fountain area before going our separate ways. I couldn't get him to take a nap. Once we had snacks outside his mood started to improve and his day totally turned around. We spent the next three hours outside playing basketball and booce ball. He was very tired and slept in late the next morning.

After school on Monday, Frankie and I went to the craft store to buy Easter Supplies. We purchased a chocolate candy making kit, meow balls, glitter egg dye, stamps and many beads to make necklaces at his request. He is very excited for the Easter Bunny, who is pretty much like Santa with ears and a tail.

He had more trouble with Ari yesterday - he bit him again (did not break skin) on the playground. Frankie said Ari pushed him. Devin said that Frankie was in Ari's space, he did push him and then Frankie reciprocated by biting. We talked at length about how biting is not a good response to this situation.

He's been eating and sleeping more than usual, so I think he is going through a growth spurt. His tastes are tending towards fish, salad, dried fruit (really, all fruit), bread, turkey and eggs/tortillas. He seems to have eased off the candy for the time being.

He enjoyed the sunset last night and described it as "deep pink".

Saturday 2/28

2009-03-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

Picked up the boy at 9:30 and headed to Central Market for breakfast (his choice). It was too cold and windy (you were right) to play on the playscape, so we shared a an egg & chorizo breakfast burrito and fruit, then did some grocery shopping. Spent about 10 minutes looking at the lobsters and crabs - he's fascinated. Think I'm going to get an aquarium at the new place.

After putting away the groceries we went to Dart Bowl. Frankie bowled a couple of games (started a 3rd but lost interest about 3 frames in) and played some Ms. Pacman. On the way home, we stopped at Thunderbird Coffee for a piece of banana nut bread. We worked on his latest story, "The Monkey and the Gopher Play Golf." He wanted to go to Zilker after that, but passed out in his carseat before we got halfway there. He got a late nap (wasn't down until 3) and slept like a rock. When he woke up, we had dinner (baked chicken, green beans, mozzarrella & tomato salad), then took a long walk around the neighborhood with flashlights. Frankie likes walking at night, so I'm looking for a house in a neighborhood conducive to that. He especially likes playing "follow the ball light" - just shine a flashlight on the ground and he'll chase it. Came home, read a few books, and he was out like a light by 9:30, and me with him.

I'm concerned about Frankie's aggressive tendencies toward other kids. I'm making an effort to find him more opportunities to play with other kids. I've tried talking to him about it, but he still has a hard time verbalizing how he's feeling. He's getting better at identifying his emotions, but I don't think he's figured out how to make sense of them. It's something we're working on.