Graham hasn't had many chances to see the dryer at work. But, he was pretty keen to examine it when it was working recently.
Graham didn't sit and watch very long. Once upon a time, Craig would sit for ages watching the clothes spinning around.
Graham didn't want to leave before it had finished but found himself becoming bored with sitting there. It was a tough decision for such a little bloke but eventually he moved away and began playing with other toys.
On the weekend he had the chance to get outdoors and go to the park near home. Craig now finds most slides to be great places for experimentation. Sliding down on his bum is way too boring.
On Saturday night, Craig and Graham had already had their bath and were ready for bed when Aunty Bess rang on Skype! It was a video call so Craig and Graham had a good chance to talk to their cousin Ishan.
Graham didn't say much but he was very interested in the goings on.
Craig didn't talk a lot either but he seemed to have a much better understanding of what was happening. It's always good to hear from the relatives.
As expected, when it came to Craig's turn to get onstage he was very nervous. The host had to help him find where to stand but allowed him to hold the microphone by himself, the way he wanted.
But, he recited his lines very well. It was very pleasing that all the adults in the audience stayed quiet while Craig composed himself and then everyone applauded politely when he'd finished speaking.
Some of the other costumes were as excellent as usual. The photo isn't very good but this little girl looked more like a pirate than Johnny Depp.
The prize winning costumes were also very good but Craig's Dad couldn't help wondering about their relevance to Halloween.
Going home to take a break was very boring for Craig.
On Saturday night, Craig and Graham were given the opportunity to play in some parks in Neihu.
They actually had a lot of fun, even if the photos don't show it.
Graham is quite comfortable standing up by himself these days.
The boys played together happily quite a bit as well.
It was quite a late night for the boys but travelling by MRT keeps them awake. They both like trains.
The weather was gorgeous again on Sunday morning so it was back to the parks near home with Dad while Mum stayed at home to clean. Occasionally, Craig squeezed Graham out a bit when they were playing but he was pretty good to his little brother most of the time.
Graham still prefers to play by himself and this is still his favourite slide. He climbed up and slid down here for half an hour without a break.
Which is probably why he (and Dad) needed a midday nap.
There was more playing in the parks near home in the afternoon but no photos were taken. After dinner, there was a walk through Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall where Graham held his Mum's hand and walked for ages.... well, at least 100 yards.
So long as someone helps with his balance Graham has become quite happy to walk now.
But Graham wasn't so happy about having to wait.
Both boys had some fun in local parks on the way back home even though there was still a little bit of water on the ground from overnight rain.
Craig's Dad reckons Craig needs to get outside and exercise more than he does. Craig enjoys getting outside but living in a small flat in the middle of crowded city makes it difficult.
Graham also likes getting outdoors but he needs a bit more close attention while he plays.
Craig's Dad decided to take Craig to see the Occupy Taipei protest early Saturday afternoon. There's a very detailed blog post here about the protest written by an Aussie living in Taiwan. Craig was asked to line up in front of all the satellite TV trucks gathered near the scene.
Driving back and forth passed the protest was this immensely stupid person playing loud Chinese music. His sign says "Long live China--We are all one family".
Not only was the music from the stupid man's car very loud, some of the protesters were shouting through megaphones. It was not much fun for Craig. He doesn't like loud noises.
A nice surprise was a young lady stepping forward and asking if Crag's Dad would like to get in the photo with Craig. She must have assumed she was helping tourists. ;)
The number of protesters was actually pretty small. Taiwan's Central News Agency put the number at around 500.
After taking photos with the protesters Craig and his Dad went inside Taipei 101 to do some shopping at the Aussie supermarket in the basement. Just as they came upstairs and tried to leave, the protesters were attempting to come on to the department store. Some rich person must have arranged for it to start raining just after the protest got started.
Craig likes any lunch that has chips. (He hasn't learned to say fries yet.)
Back at home that night Craig and Graham battled for position in front of a tiny DVD player.
The boys played together more happily the next morning when the DVD player had been put away.
On Sunday afternoon, Craig went with his Dad to the office. Craig quickly got down to work with his stickers and drawing book.
Craig was very well-behaved for almost an hour but it was really a bit boring for a little bloke. After Craig had run the length of the office and back again Dad's co-worker Edison very kindly started playing with him.
On Sunday night Dad brought home a desk diary that had been given to him by his co-worker Jinny. The diary had sat unused in the office for months but now Craig can use it for drawing. It's just like recycling, only different. ;)
This toy is meant to help little people learn English. It's actually very good but Dad was still surprised when Graham started trying to sing along with the ABC song.
He can't make most of the sounds yet but the fact that he's trying bodes well, don't you think?
A lot of attention was paid to the look of the food. Although there wasn't much in each dish there was around nine dishes in each set meal so no-one went hungry.
Graham's booster chair had to be to tied down so that he faced sideways because of the funny bench seats but he was quite happy.
Craig sat with Great Aunt From the Fifth Floor. She did a great job of feeding Craig even though most of the food was not suited to children's taste buds at all. Plenty of picking and choosing needed to be done to keep the little ones happy.
Every dish was beautifully prepared.
This was dessert--a serving for four adults of a sweet soup.
And there was fruit to finish.
While the adults finished eating and then continued chatting, Craig pretended to be a Chinese philosopher.
And he spent some time playing with his cousins Soit-Jade and Yu-chi.
Back at home in the evening, Craig began feeling underappreciated whenever his parents were playing with Graham. So, when Craig's Dad tried to cheer him up by reading to him from a football magazine, Craig was happy to lie down and listen. He cheered up very quickly even though he wasn't really interested in Dad's boring football stuff.
