August 1 – Daniel: “Where’s Pa?” Me: “He went to work.” Daniel: “Why’d you make him do that?”

August 2 – At Whole Food Market

August 2 – Faith of a black bean seed? Daniel has a bowl of macaroni and dried black beans to use to create objets d’art. He and Poppy planted some black beans in a mug and put them in the kitchen window. Since these were black beans meant for consumption, Poppy and I had assumed they were of a variety that wouldn’t reproduce. Daniel, on the other hand, had continuing faith. He watered and kept check on his beans and notified me this morning that they had sprouted.

August 3 – Daniel wanted Papa to pretend to be various bugs, which he did. As an ant he said that he liked to eat sugar. Daniel: “But sugar isn’t good for you because it doesn’t have any minerals in it.” Later in this conversation Daniel was saying that he liked to eat bugs (not sure how it got there). “Bugs taste like meat and juice. Lady bugs taste like licorice.”

August 7 – “When can we go to Sodor?” (The Island of Sodor is where Thomas the Train Engine lives.)

August 7 – Trying out the desks

August 7 – Pretending to read a book: “And this says ‘Girls, he’s and womans'” Papa: “Which one are you?” Daniel: “I’m a he. I guess I need to read all this mess.”

August 8 – Demonstrating a funny noise when holding one side of his nose: “I think there’s a cricket in there.”

August 8 – Got on ear muffs to see Ice Age at the theater

August 10 – I was singing Mahna Mahna. Daniel: “Why do you like to sing that song?” Me: “Because I think it’s funny.” Daniel: “Don’t sing it, but it is quite funny.”

August 11 – Playing with his leapfrog explorer before going to the market.

August 12 – ‎Olympic training‎

August 12 – Studying the clouds: “That one looks like God walking around.”‎

August 13 – ‎Playing with a water sprayer on a pretty day

August 13 – Drying his hands on my shirt: “You’re a towel, right?”‎

August 14 – Typing and clicking on Papa’s laptop: “Whoopsiedaisy! What’s all this mess?”‎

August 17 – Wanting the camera I keep in my purse: “Where is that thing you used to take pictures at the park one time? It’s a phone that doesn’t make calls.”

August 18 – ‎The lady working in the deli at Publix was already very amused with my conversational four-year-old. As she was having trouble getting the tamper proof wrapping off a bottle top she said her hands didn’t work as well as they once did. She really cracked up when Daniel said with empathy, “I know how it is.”

August 20 – ‎Last time we were at Kroger, Daniel asked the self checkout attendant for stickers. This is one of the ones she gave him. On the way home he asked me what this and that said, which of course I couldn’t read from the driver’s seat, so I had him spell them for me. He spells “integrity”, “honesty”, and “respect”. After each I would say the word and define it for him. Then he spells “noisulcnl”. I can’t imagine what this word could be. He spells it two more times. I have no idea. Only later do I look at the sticker and not only realize it was “inclusion” backwards, but what lead him to spell it backwards in the first place.

August 20 – ‎Daniel: “I don’t want to be smart.” Me: “What do you want to be?” Daniel: “Boring.”

August 22 – Daniel had lunch with a view of the ducks.

August 22 – ‎Me: “What kind of girl are you going to marry?” Daniel: “She will be sweet and nice. She will be funny. She should know how to cook. She should know how to do everything.”

August 23 – Daniel to me while standing on his head: “Did you do this when you were a little boy?”

August 23 – “Mama, can we go back to Target any time we want?”

August 23 – “Can you just hang out with me?”

August 24 – ‎Daniel is descended from several wood workers. He demonstrated that part of him this morning when he assembled a screw driver, loaded it with an allen bit, removed 8 screws and disassembled his step stool.‎

August 24 – ‎Me: “What’s wrong?” Daniel: “I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.” Me: “OK Scarlett”

August 25 – ‎Poppy reassembled Daniel’s stool yesterday but Daniel is very quickly took it apart again. “Poppy left that bit in there because he knows I like to make messes.”

August 25 – Daniel interrupted me while I was singing to tell me something. Then he said, “OK. You can resume that song.”

August 27 – ‎Playing in a weeping willow‎

August 27 – ‎Coming home with the erector set‎. Hoping this will cure the need to disassemble his stool.

August 27 – At Toy’s R Us Daniel was playing sweetly at the train table with a barely walking baby girl. The girl’s mother asked him if he had a little sister. “No, but I have a Mimi. She’s a grown up, but she’s really little.”

August 28 – Daniel just used the Walgreens automated line to order two prescription refills. He will take good care of his elderly parents.

August 28 – ‎My poor baby with his runny nose and low grade fever. He’s sitting on the erector set bucket taking apart things I’m making.‎

August 29 – ‎My funny little snotty nosed Scarlett. Me: “Can you blow out that side of your nose?” Daniel: “No! I’ll do it tomorrow.”

August 29 – ‎My pitiful sick boy taking it easy on the couch.

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