To prepare her for school, we make Pia practice writing out her full name. She does it well enough, except that she forgets the 'i' in Sophia.
Mommy: (teasing Pia) Pia, come here. Look at what you wrote. You forgot the 'i' in Sophia, so your name sounds like sofa.
Pia: MY NAME IS NOT SOFA!
* * *
Ever since Daddy started his new job, Pia has been escaping her previously daily assignments (math, reading, writing).
One night, Daddy and Pia were in the kitchen, Daddy had just finished his supper and checking how Pia's day went:
Daddy: Pia, did you help Mommy take care of Sammy?
Pia: (proud) Yes.
Daddy: Good girl. Did you go to Domu's school with Mommy to pick him up?
Pia: Yes.
Daddy: Did you do any assignment today?
Pia: (fear...is she going to be given an assignment?) Daddy! I don't want you to talk about that!
* * *
Sunday night, Dominic complained that his knees were cold. Monday morning, he was running a 39.8 degree fever, feeling very weak, and throwing up. There was no way he can go to school so he stayed home.
The 39.8 fever had us worried. A warm shower and paracetamol quickly brought the fever down to 39.75 (this 21st century medicine sucks)
After reading online that fever is the body's way of fighting infection, that a fever up to 39.9 is beneficial, we calmed down a little.
By noon he was complaining of a painful headache. Some headaches are simply bothersome, but his is painful. Then he started throwing up. Anything that went down came back up. For lunch he had water crackers and water, which he expelled as well.
Pia asked "Why is Domu vomiting?". Because he has flu. A very bad flu.
Late in the day we bought him some electrolyte-based drinks (similar to Gatorade), on the idea that this will help keep him from dehydrating. We frown on soft drinks, so they get a chance to drink them only around once a year. He seemed to really enjoy the new drink.
By Tuesday, Pia also started to complain of pain in her tummy, and a headache. We took her temperature. It was 39.8. Now they were both sick.
The she wailed out in panic.
* * *
Pia is playing pretend...something. Maybe she's playing as an airline stewardess, but it's hard to be sure:
Pia: Ladies and gentlemen, please fatten your seatbelts.
* * *
At the playground. A sunny day, around 10:30am
Daddy: (pointing to a shadow of a pole) Dominic, Pia, come, look at this. Why is this part of the ground darker than the surrounding?
Pia: It's a shadow. Because the sun doesn't shine there.
Daddy: I'll place this rock just inside the shadow, and we'll come back in a few minutes. You'll see that the shadow has moved.
After 10 minutes...
Daddy: Come, look at the stone and the shadow
Dominic: Wow, the stone is outside the shadow. How did that happen? I think it's because the sun moves.
Pia: (does something with her fingers and then casts its shadow on the ground) Look, a bunny!
* * *
Dominic's school organized a mini concert and held it at a real theatre. All 300 students of the school took part in half a dozen musical presentations.
Dominic had two roles. First, in his grade level's song and dance gig, he played the role of a 'Wallabee', hopping and jumping and singing across the stage.
He also participated in the finale, where all 300 school children got up on stage to sing one last song. Dominic was in the front row with all the other grade 1 students. This row was lined up across the entire stage, from the left edge to the right.
As the children sang the final song -- the 80's hit "We are the world" -- they waved their outstretched hands and swayed left and right to the melody, moving as one.
Almost.
Everyone else was facing front toward the audience, except for Dominic, who was in the front row staring straight up at the ceiling, focused on a spot almost directly on top of him.
He was staring mesmerized at a flashing disco orb. It attracted him so much he was absently going through the motions of waving and swaying and singing, completely unconcerned about the hundreds of adults seated in front of him.
* * *
Walking home one day. Mommy, Pia, and Sammy were about 15 meters ahead. Dominic saw a spider on a lamppost. In the land of the poisonous spiders, this is only his 2nd time to see a spider.
Dominic: (shouting hard) Mommy! Come quick! Look! A spider!
Pia: (turns around and runs back towards Dominic) Trap the air! To the rescue!"
Too tired to ask what she means.
* * *
Dominic is sick, and has been throwing up everything he takes in:
Pia: Daddy, why is Dominic vomiting?
Daddy: Because he's sick
Pia: Why is he sick?
Daddy: He has some bad germs in his stomach
Pia: Why does he have bad germs in his stomach?
Daddy: They got into his stomach
Pia: How?
Daddy: Maybe he ate something bad
Pia: How did the bad germs get in?
Daddy: Through his mouth
Pia: DADDY! YOU'RE NOT ANSWERING MY QUESTION!
Daddy: What's your question?
Pia: How did the bad germs get in?
Daddy: He ate something bad
Pia: What did he eat?
Daddy: We don't know, we think maybe he ate too much candy, or maybe he ate bad potatoes. But we're not sure.
Pia: YOU'RE NOT THINKING!
* * *
Pia's questions can sometimes tax our pitiful brains. While watching Aladdin:
Pia: "Daddy, why can the genie fly because he has wings?"
Daddy: (busy, and not sure if what was given was a question or a sentence)...Huh?...Yes.
Pia: DADDY! YOU'RE NOT ANSWERING MY QUESTION!
* * *
One day...
Pia: (a plastic wicker basket over her head) Daddy, what do I look like?
Daddy: I don't know. What?
Pia: I'm a firegirl
Daddy: (hasn't heard of this superhero) Firegirl? What powers does she have? Can she turn into flames?
Pia: DAHDEE....No, I have no power!
Daddy: What can you do?
Pia: I fight fires
Daddy: Oh...I girl fireman?
Pia: Yes! A firegirl.
* * *
Pia and Mommy were watching a movie about a town plagued by a killer shark. Pia likes to ask questions while watching:
Pia: Why are the people running and shouting?
Mommy: Because there's a man eating shark.
Pia: Why does the man like to eat sharks?
* * *
Sammy is now able to balance himself while standing up. We just need to position him in an upright position, and then we can let go. He'll keep himself upright and standing until he gets tired and then he'll plop himself down.
He's still unable to stand up by himself from a sitting position.
He's also now able to take a couple of steps before falling forward. He gets giddy each time we coax him to 'come here'. And we catch him before he falls.
To help him practice walking, initially we used a technique were one person stands behind him, hold each hand of his hands and then ask him to walk. The one behind walks as well. Sammy likes that a lot and he'll walk to every room in the apartment.
We've discovered though that while this technique helps him practice his goose stepping, it does teach to to walk with his upper half well forward of his lower half. He looks like an ambling Tower of Pisa. We don't think he'll progress quickly that way.
So we've switched to just holding him in one hand and walking by his side. He enjoys that even more, as it challenges both his steps and his balancing.
We think he'll soon be walking by himself. Certainly by end of next month.
* * *
Pia picks up expressions from her TV watching. She tries to use them herself. Sometimes she gets the expressions right, sometimes she doesn't.
One day she was playing with toy plates and dishes, pretending to wash them:
Pia: There, after I wash these plates, they will be s<inaudible>ky clean.
Daddy: What's that you said?
Pia: I SAID, THEY WILL BE SPOOKY CLEAN!
* * *
It's Pia's job to set the table for lunch each day. Almost every day she attempts to escape this responsibility.
Mommy: (from the kitchen) Piahhhh...set the table please, we will eat soon.
Pia: Mommy, it's not my job.
Daddy: Pia...come on now, we talked about this. What's you job: To...set...the...
Pia: To set the...
Daddy: Set the what?
Pia: My job is to set the clock!
* * *
After dinner, Pia runs to the living room to play with her doll.
Mommy: (calling out from the kitchen) Pia, brush your teeth.
No response.
Mommy: Pia, brush your teeth
Pia: (playing doctor with her doll) MAAAHMEE...I'm a doctor!
Daddy: (??) Pia, go brush your teeth
Pia: Doctors don't brush their teeth.
Daddy: Yes they do.
Pia: But they don't brush their teeth while there are sick people in the hospital.
* * *
Pia caught a cold from Sammy, who caught it from Dominic, who brought it home from school.
The runny nose bothers Pia, so Mommy told her to drink lots of water so she'll get better.
So she pours water in her tumbler and drank. After drinking:
Pia: Mommy, I already drank lots of water
Mommy: Good.
Pia: But why does my cold still not go away?
* * *
The children weren't accustomed to having their own bedroom when we first moved in to our apartment. They'd ask Mommy to stay with them and read stories to them until they fell asleep. They also want the bedroom door kept open.
Dominic was especially problematic. For the first few months, it was especially bad when he had to get up at the middle of the night to pee. He's scared of getting out of bed in the dark.
First he'd moan. Then he'd groan. Until his moaning and groaning turned so loud that his Daddy or Mommy had to get up and lead him to the toilet.
After months we've had enough and we decided he has to learn to go by himself. So we made up our minds to ignore his midnight howling.
So he'd moan long and hard. Then he'd groan. Then he'd howl like a wolf cub. That'd go on for about 10 minutes. Until finally, when he can no longer hold it in, he'll rush down his bunk bed, run into the toilet, relieve himself, switch the toilet light off, then run as fast as he can back to bed before any 'ghosts' can catch him. All that time he'd be grunting and growling, incensed at his inconsiderate parents who unknown to him, are giggling in the dark.
* * *
We went to the zoo. While watching the snow leopard, Pia started dancing and making funny faces at the leopard:
Pia: (singing loudly) Hello Mr. Leopard, you cannot eat me, nyah-nyah-nyanyanyah. You cannot eat me, wa wa wawawa.
Daddy: (teasing, and pointing to a spot among the plants behind Pia). Pia, the leopard can get out of the cage through here. It's open.
Pia: (sudden flash of white fear, softly) O.....K....I....won't....sing...it...anymore.
* * *
