Day with Nana & Yeye, April 11, 2013

Robert's post on April 11th

This morning Cam returned the dentist's registration sheet all filled in, so Nicholas and I got warmly dressed and set out with the push-chair for Alta Vista and Bank St.  The trip there was quite straight-forward, we sang a few songs together but that was all.

We parked the push-chair inside on the ground floor and walked up.  The receptionist was quite busy, so we asked for Patti and she came out from a back office.  I gave the envelope to Nicholas to give to Patti, and he passed it to her.  She crouched down to talk to him, but he didn't speak - there were some other clients there, so we didn't stay long; Nicholas said 'bye' and we went downstairs.  We were holding hands, and when we got downstairs Nicholas raced around and around me, turning me round until I was dizzy, and laughing.  Then I got him into the chair again and we started back. 

We went via a sidestreet this time, with no traffic.  A workman was loading a ladder onto his truck; he saw Nicholas bundled up and remarked that he must be asleep.  I smiled and walked by, but Nicholas said he wanted to see the man, so I turned around so Nicholas could talk to the friendly man.  After talking for a minute we walked on; 10 minutes later we reached the Alta Vista library and went in.

Nicholas knew that the children's books are downstairs; we went down and were greeted by the lady behind the desk, Sylvia I think - she told Nicholas her name and gave him a big smile.  We wandered into the French language section and Nicholas picked a book off the shelf and asked me to read it to him.  I translated it for him, and he enjoyed it, and then he found a second book about the same little boy (V.....?).  I read him that 1 too: the little boy broke his leg, but he entertained his friends by inventing a story about a prince who tickled the monster's feet, and so rescued the princess.  Nicholas liked that story too, but now it was time to walk home. 

Before we left he picked out 2 more books that we checked out.  The first 1 was in French and we read it  before we left - A little girl is feeling angry and pushes her little brother.  Her father sends her to her room, and her toys help her to chase away her grouchy mood.  Nicholas saw some paintings of Maisy on the walls, and asked for 1 of her books too, so we got Maisy (in English).

We had walked most of the way home when I noticed an elderly man sitting on the front steps of a house that I canvas every year.  The people always contribute to the Kidney Foundation and they're very nice.  We stopped to say hello and Nicholas got out of the chair, and the old man was very pleased to make his acquaintance.  He had a strong German accent (I knew the people there spoke German), and he was hard of hearing, but he was interested in talking with Nicholas; Nicholas decided he was going to show the man the French book.  They went through the pages together - Nicholas noticed that he'd missed 1 page.  He was very impressed with Nicholas - said with feeling that he's a beautiful child, and touched his cheek tenderly.  I agreed!  Then we said good-bye and walked the final block home.

Nicholas had asked him why he was sitting outside (he had been smoking, but put out his cigarette to talk to us), but I don't think he heard or understood the question.  In spite of our difficulties in communicating, all 3 of enjoyed our conversation.

Joshua had a good day too; I'll tell you 1 interesting story about Joshua.  The 4 of his had circle time, and sang songs and played on the musical toys; all of us enjoyed singing and playing together for about 15 minutes. 

Later on we were again in the living room, and we began singing children's songs again, at which time Joshua said: no-no-no-no!  Jean told him - Joshua, I am going to sing the song, and if you say no-no-no, I will put you in the playroom and close the door.  Then she sang the same song she had been singing - and Joshua was silent and well-behaved. I was impressed!  Joshua had understood, and had opted to tolerate our singing.  He likes playing in the playroom, but at the moment all the action was in the living room, so that's where he wanted to stay.

By the way, Joshua had a good sleep today, about 2.5 hours.