08.22.08
Backyard fireworks
As a follow up to the fireworks we went to see, a few days later we pulled out the sparklers we`d received from Motoki`s kindergarten (They give them out at the beginning of summer vacation).
08.20.08
Fireworks!
This is the first year we`ve actually taken Motoki to see fireworks.
We tried last year, but waiting around at the festival before the fireworks started was really too much of a hassle, and too tiring in general. (We`re not incredibly social people. Wandering around in a huge crowd for hours is NOT my idea of fun.)
This year, we found a festival relatively close that was doing fireworks. We were lucky enough to be able to find a parking space for free, next to the grounds, just 20 minutes before the fireworks started. And then we had the amazing luck of finding a place to watch literally just below the fireworks themselves. (We could see them being launched. Literally within less than 10 meters away. )
It was a wonderful experience, and Motoki was in awe. If I ask him about them now, he does a full body explosion motion.
More Aquarium…
I just remembered that in my joy to have properly managed to get streaming video set up without having to resort to using an outside site - I completely forgot to post a number of other photos from the aquarium.
So, here we go - all taken on the way home, back across the bridge;
08.08.08
Ah, the joys of being shot down.
Just when I think things are going quite well - we`re on two to three word sentences! Countless words! Joy of joys!
We had a small over-the-phone consultation with the developmental specialist today. She called to change our appointment (in 2 months) to a week later, but apparently had spare time and asked details about Motoki`s development. She told me that he was “Right on schedule”… For mental retardation/cognitive delays and a predicted adult developmental age of 14. In fact, she was actually concerned by his inability to properly order words in his short sentences. With two words, it`s not so obvious - “big cat” and “cat big” both work, but with three words it`s pretty clear his ordering is entirely random. And it`s not a consistent mistake, it really is random. In the span of minutes he`ll use three different orderings. Word order isn`t something that is acquired as you go along - it appears to be a very fundamental rule that is usually in place before speech begins.
But the biggest concern is the mysterious absence of question words. No what, where, who or why… At this stage, every other word should be a question.
So even if Motoki is producing and linking words, there is something fundamentally broken in the process.
Progress… At 65% the normal pace!
08.05.08
Drama
Walking to the aquarium. There was music being played from somewhere in the vicinity, and it made the entire area feel somewhat surreal.
(Can you tell how pleased I am with the new camera?)
A Trip to the Aquarium
I recently made the amazing discovery that Motoki`s disability card gives him and one guardian free access to the Nagoya Aquarium. This is something very big. It means that I can just randomly take him down there to spend the day without having to take a huge pile of cash. (Normal admittance fees are 2000yen for adults and 500 for children younger than elementary school.) It`s not THAT much, but certainly not something I can imagine doing more than once a year or so - and particularly not just me and Motoki. If we were to go, it would be a family event.
But when it becomes free… It`s no different than a trip to the park. I have a feeling we`ll be heading down there quite often now. If only I`d looked into their discounts earlier!
Watching the dolphins.
A Random Shrine.
As we were driving along one day looking for a small park to play in, I came upon this little (seemingly abandoned) shrine. We spent about an hour playing in the coolness of the shade.
Streaming movie!
This is pretty much a test, so if anyone actually watches this - please tell me if it works.
