What A Kid

I took Franklin to the doctor this morning to refill his prescription for the runny nose he's had the past few days. It was a bit surprising to find that the doctor was even there on January 1st, but there he was, and when we got there at half past ten, the number was already 66. Franklin drew number 91 and we walked down the street to Starbucks where Frank had a Belgian waffle. Daddy had his first super-caffeinated coffee in over a year, but he has handled it pretty well, so far.

As we walked back past the doctor, our number was still double-digits away and we continued on to the Nobel Book Store at the corner of Chung Ming S Rd and Kungyi, across from the teppanyaki place. The store was packed with people thumbing through books, and Franklin and I made our way downstairs to where the kids' books are kept. On the way to the back wall, we passed by the Lonely Planet travel section. Frank's eyes lit up and he said "BUDDAH!" At home, his favorite game is to skim the pictures of our travel guides to find pictures of Buddah. He reached for Costa Rica. Unfortunately, Franklin didn't recognize any of the incarnations of Buddah in the book, and gave up in favor of finding some dinosaurs.

On the way out, we met a radio controlled car on the sidewalk. This was the best thing ever and Frankie clapped and clapped his hands and chased the car for a good five minutes before blowing it a kiss goodbye.

Yesterday, we went to the hardware store to find a nut to match a bolt in Gretchen's crib. Dad's eyes are getting old, and his first two choices were incorrect. I don't know if it was a fluke or what, but Frank reached his hand into the bin and came up with exactly the right one.

Walking home from there, we passed by a dry cleaner on DaDuen 10th St that has a Myna bird out front. We've met this bird before; he says "Ni hao" (hello), " I love you," and "Kan mei-mei" with chilling fluency. That last one Kan means "Look/see/read" and mei-mei means "little sister or pretty young girl." When that bird said Kan mei-mei, Franklin immediately said "Mei-mei Hospital!"

And last week at the PNCC, Frank took apart Mom's breast pump one piece at a time and put it back together with little assistance. I'm not making that up.