Changes and Challenges

We arrived at Kai’s boxing class on Saturday afternoon and found some changes. They had set up for a birthday party for the son of the founder of the organization that puts on these classes.

Outdoors, next to the gym, were two large inflatables where kids could bounce and slide. Tables were set up for pizza and soft drinks. It looked like it would be a fun time.

Kai was not happy.

I had received an email the evening before letting us know that there would be a birthday party after the boxing class. I didn’t realize that it would, in reality, supplant the boxing class. I hadn’t told Kai about this change in routine and he was not happy.

He wanted to box.

For a little while, the instructor grabbed a pair of boxing gloves and had some kids work on their punches. But it was apparent that most kids just wanted to get on with the party.

I was chatting with another parent but made my way over to Kai when I saw that he maintained his angry face.

I told him he could have some pizza. He refused, saying that he wanted to destroy the party.

I tried to stay positive, talking about how the inflatables looked fun. Eventually, the lure of the pizza was too much and he said he would have a piece. One volunteer girl came over and gently teased Kai, “I thought you were going to poison all the pizza.” He said he did but then he un-poisoned it. He asked me to get him a second piece.

And then went on the inflatables. He spent most of his time on the one where you climbed up from one side, slide down the other, and then walk around to do it all over again. He was laughing and laughing, pausing occasionally only to ask the time. His soccer game was later in the afternoon and he did not want to miss it.

His boxing instructor came over when he saw Kai laughing. He asked Kai if he was having a good time, and when Kai said he was, the instructor laughed and said “I knew it!” as Kai is often prone to starting off grumpy before ending up enjoying himself there.

The birthday cake came out just when it was time to leave for the soccer game. I offered to let Kai stay and have cake, but told him that we would be late for soccer if we did. The cake looked scrumptious, but he opted to leave.

When we arrived at his special needs soccer game, we found the coach was not there. Usually this coach divides up the players with the special needs kids on one team, and some of the volunteer kids serving as the opposition team ala the Washington Generals (of Harlem Globetrotters fame). Kai likes this setup because his team scores almost all of the goals and wins every game.

This week, though, with the coach not there, another parent took charge. She divided the teams differently, with the special needs kids separated onto two teams, assisted by the volunteer kids. The special needs kids would thus play against each other.

This had been the setup in years past, but not since the current coach took over last fall. Having the special needs kids split up worked out okay before when the kids’ abilities spanned a broad spectrum. But since last fall, Kai’s abilities have stood out, as other kids of his ability dropped out, leaving only the kids requiring assistance from the volunteer kids.

How that played out this week was that Kai got upset as the other team scored goals. He particularly got angry when the parent serving as his team’s goalie made no effort to block shots from the opposing team. He came over to the sideline, dumped out his water bottle and refused to play any longer. He said he wished he stayed for the birthday cake and said he never wanted to play soccer again.

I went over to talk to him. And while I understood how he felt, I didn’t like how he handled his frustration. But then again, perhaps I didn’t handle my own frustration too well, either.

When encouraging him to go back in and play did not work, I got stern with him. I told him that he wouldn’t be able to use the iPad if he did not go back out on the field and make an effort. He finally went, but mainly to yell at the parent who was the goalie. When I yelled at him that we would go, he said that he would play nicely.

He ran after the ball, and took it away from an opposing special needs child who needs a lot of help to kick the ball. Kai dribbled all the way down the field and scored, then looked for my approval as he had played hard as I had demanded.

I was frustrated, with him, the situation, but mostly myself.

This group is really great for the other kids, but I don’t think it is right for Kai any longer. I can’t ask him to go out there and try hard, but then have the result be that he dominates the game and doesn’t give the other kids a chance to kick the ball and score. What do I tell him, play hard only if the ball happens to come your way?

Finding a special needs activity that is right for your child can be difficult. Just because an activity has a ‘special needs’ label doesn’t make it right for every child with that label.

And so I think we will stop going to this activity. I hate to end on such a sour note. But I think that will be best, both for Kai as well as the other kids.

Weekend Away From Mom and Dad

It was a memorable weekend. And not just because it was Easter and we had our first spring-like weather after a long, tough winter.

Our son spent his first night away from both Mom and Dad since he was three years old.

My sister and brother-in-law had begun the arduous task of sorting through my dad’s things and cleaning up his house, but I had not been up there myself since we moved my dad out. This three-day weekend presented me with the rare opportunity to go up there.

My wife offered to go with me to help out, but we knew that if we brought Kai up there with us, we would not be too productive.

So we appreciated it when Kai’s grandparents offered to watch Kai while my wife and I went to my dad’s house. Kai would spend a day and a half with his grandparents while we were away, the longest time he would be away from us since before he could remember.

It is a testament to Kai’s progress that my wife and I did not have to think too long before taking them up on the offer. A couple years ago, we would have thought differently, that Kai would be too challenging to leave with grandparents for that long.

When we told Kai about the plan a couple of weeks ago, he seemed a little nervous. But my wife told him that his slightly older cousins had stayed overnight with Bubbe and Papa a couple times so he was now ready to as well.

Kai said, “I’ll make it my mission!”

We drove up to their house in Michigan and had lunch together before we departed. Kai was not happy to see us leave, but neither was he particularly distressed.

When we phoned that evening, his grandmother assured us that he was doing fine and had done all of his favorite things. But Kai himself was not too talkative. We thought he might be mad at us.

We thought that nighttime would be the hardest time for Kai, but they maintained our custom of reading with him at bedtime, and then Bubbe slept in the same room with him so he was fine.

The next day, they filled the day with fun activities.

Kai introduced them to coloring Easter eggs.

They went to see the snow and ice that are still on Lake Michigan.

And they went hiking at a nearby nature center.

When we got back late that afternoon, they were on their way out for another walk. Kai was happy to see us, but he still wanted to go walking with his grandparents. We could see that he was perfectly fine, and they confirmed that Kai behaved very well the whole time.

At one time we would have thought that this would be a Mission Impossible. But Kai completed it with flying colors.

Happy Passover

Celebrating Passover is one of Kai’s favorite family traditions. I think it’s the result of the rituals that he has come to know and love, and because he gets to see his grandparents who shower him with love.

He was ready to begin the activities as soon as our guests arrived.

Here you see him setting up the Seder plate.

And when we sat down at the table, Kai eagerly followed along, or in some cases led us through the Haggadah. There was no skipping any steps with him.

He took center stage when it came time to read about the 10 plagues. Kai was ready with his paper-bag hand puppets that he had made a couple of years ago.

In the background of the following picture, you can see that it was a snowy evening more appropriate for Hanukkah than for Passover.

When it was time to eat, Kai sat at the table nicely, even without his iPad. And then he waited patiently while we adults finished eating before he went on to step 14, searching for the afikoman.

It is no longer a surprise for us when Kai behaves well and has great interactions with his relatives. We have come to expect it.

But it is still something we appreciate greatly.

Happy Pesach, everyone!

A Real Play Date

Our son’s therapist at school told my wife about a boy in Kai’s class that he is friends with at school. She thought that this boy, E, was a good match for a play date for Kai.

It has been a long time since we’ve matched Kai up with another child on a play date.

There are challenges, not the least of which is that Kai’s school draws kids from more than a dozen different suburbs so most of his classmates do not live in our neighborhood. E lives two towns over, about a 45 minute round trip away. So it’s not like Kai can just walk home from school with him or stroll over to visit any time he wants.

But it is not just the distance that is a factor.

For what seemed the longest time, Kai did not really play with other kids. Most play dates we set up for Kai when he was younger involved him doing his thing while the other child did their thing. It was mostly parallel play, with a minimal amount of interaction.

More recently we learned from the staff at his school that Kai does interact with other children. And we did try to set up the occasional play date, to varying degrees of success. But it’s hard to find another child who shares the same interests as Kai. And Kai never expressed wanting to have another classmate over to the house.

His mom and I have been his only playmates outside of school. And while it is nice to have that bond with our son, we want Kai to have a friend besides us, or at the very least, the capability to have friends.

And so we decided to pursue a play date with E.

My wife invited the boy over, communicating through staff at school and E’s sister as E’s parents do not speak much English.

This past Friday was the big day. I think I was more excited, and anxious, about it than Kai was.

I repeatedly told him to be nice to E and to play with him.

“Yessssss” Kai groaned, tired of hearing me.

My wife told me that the E would come to our house with Kai after school, they would play for about three hours, have dinner with us, and then she would drive him home.

That seemed like a really long time. I was sure my wife would stress out trying to keep them occupied for that long.

So I was surprised when I called her after work and found out that they had been playing nicely.

My wife told me how they played “kendo” for a while in the backyard using fallen tree branches as the proxy for Japanese bamboo swords.

Then they came inside and raced some vehicles as they made a makeshift track out of books and other things.

Finally, they played Wii.

When I got home, they were having dinner. And then after dinner I joined them on the Wii for a game of Mario Kart. I got to see the boys really talking to each other and interacting. In most homes, that is nothing unusual, but it was a beautiful sight for us.

By the time we all dropped E home at his house, the boys had been together for nearly five hours. There were no incidents; it was all just fun.

Kai said he had a good time. So we will definitely want to do this again.

Two kids playing. Something most parents can take for granted.

But for us, it is another big sign of progress.

Striking Another Boy

So much for the hope that my son would have a better day at school.

When I called my wife after work yesterday, she told me that Kai had a major incident at school. He had struck another boy.

Every Wednesday, Kai’s school rewards students who have been safe for the past week with a video during lunchtime. Kai had had an incident earlier in the week so he did not qualify.

He’s known for a few days that he would not get to watch the movie, but he still has difficulty handling disappointment. And so it seems that he was upset when other kids were enjoying their movie while he was not.

What happened after that is open to question. After Kai’s teacher phoned my wife, my wife had the impression that Kai hit another boy for no reason other than that boy getting to watch the movie that Kai could not.

But when we questioned Kai at home later, he said that he approached the boy to ask him what movie they had seen. When the boy ignored his question, Kai got mad and hit him.

Whether or not that was the case, it still did not excuse him from hitting the boy. (And, fortunately, the boy was not hurt).

My wife and I discussed Kai’s punishment over the phone, and she talked to him sternly about it before I came home. He would not be able to use the iPad until the weekend, and if he did not finish the school week off strong, he would not be able to use it over the weekend either.

When I came home, Kai was not joking around about magically losing his Point Sheet. He knew that we would not be in any mood for silliness.

I reinforced to him that hitting a boy was not an appropriate or acceptable response. I asked him if he apologized to the boy, and he said he did.

His teacher had let my wife know that Kai had bumped his head after the incident. I asked Kai how that happened. He indicated that he deliberately hit his head on the floor in anger, something we have not seen at home in a very long time. I rebuked him and warned him that he could get brain damage if he did that.

The only positive, such as it is, is that I did not hear Kai blame anyone else for what happened which is what he usually does. He seems to understand that he was the one who did something wrong. He seems motivated to have better days today and tomorrow.

Hopefully he will be able to do it.

Magically Bad Day

I usually get a pretty good gauge of my son’s day at school within seconds of stepping into the house after I return home from work in the evening.

If Kai runs over to greet me and eagerly encourages me to look at his Point Sheet, then I know that he must have had a very good day.

If he is engrossed in his iPad and greets me in a friendly, but distracted way, then I know that he had a good, but not especially great, day.

And if he comes over and says, “Dad, whatever you do, do NOT look at my Point Sheet!” well, I know that he did not have a good day.

And that is how it was when I came home last night.

I heard my wife telling him to go get his Point Sheet. He had apparently hidden it somewhere and she could not find it.

He told her, “Mom, don’t let Dad see my Point Sheet.” Apparently Mom is allowed to see it but Dad is not.

I don’t yell at him if he’s had a bad day, but I do like to hear what happened. Oftentimes I will then talk with him about how he could have handled a situation differently. I don’t think I am being unreasonably harsh, but my wife says that Kai is scared to show me his Point Sheet on these days.

After much urging, he finally brought it over. But then he folded it up and hid it. “See? I did magic! It’s gone!”

Eventually he made it reappear and I got to take a look at it. 71%. Not as bad as I was anticipating after all that drama, but bad enough that he had lost his iPad privileges at home for the day.

Kai never likes to talk about what happened that caused his score to be so low. And it wasn’t so bad so we did not get an email from his teacher to explain anything. So we are left a bit in the dark on this one.

I just hope that when I get home from work tonight, there will be no need for any magic tricks.

Who is the Picky Eater Now?

We went out to a Japanese restaurant last night to celebrate our anniversary.

My wife ordered amaebi (sweet shrimp sushi), which Kai and I had never had before. The body of the shrimp is served as onigiri, wrapped with a ball of rice. Our server, the Japanese owner of the restaurant, asked my wife if she would like the heads of the shrimp as well, which she did. The entire head of the shrimp is deep fried in a light batter.

Kai did not like the sushi as we forgot to order it without wasabi, the Japanese horseradish that Kai does not like.

However, he was eager to try the shrimp head. He asked what the two small black things were and we told him they were the eyes. I was not sure I wanted to eat the shrimp head myself, but Kai happily gobbled his down and said it was good.

So, I tried it, too, and was surprised how tasty it was. The whole thing was very crispy and easy to eat.

My wife and I ordered a large platter of sushi for ourselves, only some of which is pictured here.

For Kai, we always get regular shrimp sushi and he ate them after my wife scrapped off the wasabi.

This time, though, he also wanted to try octopus. My wife and I do not like to eat octopus, being too chewy for our tastes. We warned Kai that he might not like it, but he still wanted to try it.

We were very surprised when he said he liked it. In fact, he liked it so much that he wanted us to order a couple more pieces for him.

So, the little boy who once was such a picky eater is growing up to have an adventurous palate, surpassing even his parents in some respects.

Good for him.

And it will be good for us, too, as we expect to be spending quite a bit of time in Japanese restaurants later this year.

Then and Now: Wedding Day

Today’s Then and Now features a picture of my parents on their wedding day.

The thing that stands out in that picture is the big smile on my dad’s face. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him smile like that.

The “Now” photo is actually from seven years ago today, when the three of us officially became a family.

Happy anniversary to my wife and son!

Then and Now: The Grand Canyon

My sister and I found a bunch of my parents’ old photos and we have been going through them. It is an eye-opener to see them so young.

Of course, we know that they must have been young at one time, but it is hard to picture them that way. I think we all tend to remember old people as they become after they are old, rather than what they were like in other periods of their lives, particularly before we knew them.

One of my projects will be to scan these old photos.

It has been fun to see that before they had kids, they traveled to some of the same places that I have taken my wife and Kai to recently. From time to time I may post some of the pictures they took during their travels.

This first one is from the trip they made to the Grand Canyon back in 1954, 60 years ago.

And this is a photo of me and Kai there last week.

Spring Break Vacation, Day 6 – Going Home

We had a few hours after we woke up before having to head to the airport to go home. Kai wanted to use the pool one more time. It was a little cold for swimming that early in the morning – temps in the low 50s – but we didn’t want to disappoint Kai so we braved the cold and took the plunge.

We had a good flight home, with Kai insisting on holding our hands during takeoff and landing.

As we came into Chicago, we saw gray skies, a far cry from mostly sunny Las Vegas and Arizona. It was a sad reminder that our vacation was over.

I think Kai will tell you that he enjoyed the vacation. Though his lasting memory of Las Vegas may be the stench of cigarette smoke rather than the shows or attractions we saw. And what he enjoyed most on the trip may be the extra iPad time he had on the planes, hotel rooms, and on the drive to the Grand Canyon.

But I hope the sight of the Canyon will stick in his memory as well. And with the perspective of time will come to appreciate these experiences of traveling to new places.

I just know that I got to once again live out my dream of exploring these wonderful places with my family. And that memory will brighten all the gray days in Chicago.

Spring Break Vacation, Day 5 – More of The Grand Canyon

We stayed only one night at the Grand Canyon so we wanted to make the most of the morning before heading back to Vegas in the afternoon.

The western portion of the National Park is not accessible by private vehicles so we caught the shuttle bus and picked a couple of spots to get off and see the sights.

Pima Point was quite spectacular, but very windy. With the temperature only in the 40s, it was cold.

Kai got upset with the wind and he and my wife tried to shelter themselves behind this sign until the next bus came.

They were happy when we were able to warm up with hot apple cider and hot chocolate at the next stop, Hermit’s Nest.

After we took the shuttle back to its starting point, we got in our car and drove to the eastern part of the Park, stopping at a few spots along the way.

Here’s the view at Grandview Point:

And the one at Lipan Point:

At the eastern end of the Park is Desert View where they have an old watch tower.

We climbed to the top.

And had a great view out the window.

We had someone take one last photo of the three of us.

And then it was time to drive back to Vegas where we would catch our flight home the next day.

In Vegas, we saw one more hotel lobby, this one at the Bellagio where we went to have dinner. They have a spectacular exhibit featuring flowers and Chihuly glass sculptures.

It’s always a little sad when a vacation is coming to an end. But we feel good that it was all that we hoped it would be.

Spring Break Vacation, Day 4 – On to the Grand Canyon

After three days in Las Vegas, it we were ready to move on to the Grand Canyon. We picked up our rental car and began our road trip.

First stop was Hoover Dam, about a half hour outside of Vegas.

The Visitor Center had exhibits that explained how the dam was built and the electrical power that is generated there.

We then got back in the car and continued our journey.

All was fine except when Kai got car sick and we had to make a stop to recover. We continued on without Kai using the iPad the rest of the way.

It is breathtaking to see the Grand Canyon for the first time, and a feeling that cannot truly be captured through photos, though I did take many.

Kai seemed to enjoy seeing it, too, though I think it ranks below a new update to his Plants Vs. Zombies app in terms of thrills for him.

One thing that is interesting about the Canyon is that the colors change as the day goes on. For us, as the afternoon turned to dusk, I got some of my best shots of the day.

We stayed that night at the venerable El Tovar, the old hotel near the edge of the canyon. Rooms there cost more than the one at the luxurious hotel we stayed at in Vegas, though we barely had enough room for the three of us in the small, cramped space with very old furnishings.

But there was something about the old place, being so close to the spectacular view, the clean air with no cigarette smoke, that made it very special.

We were in a good spot.

Spring Break Vacation, Day 3 – A Few Complaints

At the conclusion of Day 2, my wife and I had marveled at how Kai had gone that whole busy day with nary a complaint, even with all the walking we did, which was quite a contrast to some other vacation moments we’ve had in the past.

But by our third day in Las Vegas, some complaints started bubbling to the surface.

We do not smoke or drink alcohol in our house, and rarely take Kai to places where that is allowed. But in Vegas, that is unavoidable.

Cigarette smoke really bothers Kai, and casinos, particularly, are full of people who are smoking and drinking. And while we did not make it a point to go to casinos, you can’t help but walk through them to get to many of the attractions we visited. Kai’s grumblings got louder with every casino we walked through.

Casinos were not the only area of difficulty, though, as in Vegas, people are smoking and drinking everywhere including on the sidewalks.

“There’s another man smoking! Hurry, let’s get out of here!”

“That woman is smoking, too! She’s going to get black lung.”

“That person is drinking. That is bad for your health!”

I am really glad he is so anti-smoking and drinking. Hopefully he will stay that way when he grows up. But the public admonishments were a bit embarrassing, and I had to ask him to speak more quietly lest all these people hear him.

While Kai noticed every smoker and drinker, I was thankful that he did not notice the little cards littered on the sidewalk that had photos of a nude woman. I did not stop to pick up the card either, but I’m pretty sure they were advertising one of the prostitute services that are legal there. I don’t know how I would have responded had Kai picked up a card and asked about that.

We had fewer planned activities for our third day in Vegas.

In the morning, we headed over to the Mirage where we would see Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. Siegfried and Roy are the duo that had the most-visited show in Vegas until one of their white tigers seriously injured Roy during a show and ended their careers. They now have a mini zoo of sorts that houses their famed white tigers and lions, as well as dolphins.

We first went to the dolphin portion of the attraction. For a while, Kai enjoyed watching the dolphins swim.

We had seen the dolphin show at SeaWorld last spring and this paled in comparison. While they have “training sessions” throughout the day with the dolphins, it is really nothing like the spectacular shows at SeaWorld.

And on this, our warmest day in Vegas, Kai started getting agitated after we had been in the 80-degree sun for a while. The day before we had carried a bottle of water with us, but when Kai found out that we had finished off that water, he moaned and complained until we were able to get more water.

The Secret Garden portion houses the white tigers and lions. It was interesting to see the rare white cats, but they were all laying around sleeping so it wasn’t terribly exciting.

Over all, the attraction was okay, but perhaps a bit overpriced and not a place where we’d stay for much more than an hour.

After that, we decided to head back to our hotel and use the swimming pool. Our hotel is very nice, but the pool is surrounded by tall structures on all sides. Even in the middle of the day, no sunlight shone on the pool itself. And even with the 80-degree air temperature, the water was very cold.

But Kai loved it. When he wasn’t swimming, he was picking up leaves and placing them around his head with the headband of his swimming goggles. I didn’t have my camera at the pool, but he wanted me to take his picture so he brought a few leaves back up to our room and re-created his Caesar-like headdress.

After swimming, we relaxed back at our hotel room, and then headed back to the faux outdoor mall for an early Mexican dinner.

Kai particularly enjoyed his mushroom tacos. My pork barbacoa (in the foreground of the photo) was excellent.

We wrapped up our day with another show. This time we saw the Cirque du Soleil show, Love, featuring music of The Beatles.

On the way to the show, we passed the Mirage volcano that we enjoyed the other day. But this time Kai said he was scared and wanted to hurry along before it erupted.

This was my first Cirque du Soleil show. For those who have never seen one, it is an eclectic mixture of acrobatics, artistic dance, and music along with video screens and interesting costumes and backdrops.

It is, perhaps, a bit too artsy for my taste and for Kai, but we both still enjoyed it. Kai said that the music was his favorite part, and he said that he knew “70%” of the songs. My wife really loved all of it.

I really liked that Kai sat through the entire show (about an hour and a half) even though it did not have a real storyline or plot. He smiled at the whimsical parts and recognized the sad moment when a mother died leading into the song “Hey Jude.”

It was a good way to conclude our time in Vegas. But I think Kai was ready to move on to the Grand Canyon.

Spring Break Vacation, Day 2 – Star of the Show

We started off Day 2 with breakfast at a nearby McDonald’s. Then we caught the monorail down to the south end of The Strip. We learned that all of the hotels on the strip are humongous, so walking even just a few hotels down takes a while.

Our first destination was Mandalay Bay where we wanted to see the Shark Reef. The Shark Reef turned out to be a nice little aquarium; not particularly large compared to big city-aquariums, but nicely presented. We had a bad experience at an aquarium a couple years ago, so it was nice that Kai enjoyed this one.

We next went to the Egyptian-themed Luxor hotel.

The main attraction there was Bodies, The Exhibition. Bodies features whole-body, partial-body, and organ specimens preserved from actual human bodies. Each section of the exhibition focuses on a different system of human body: skeletal, muscular, respiratory, and circulatory. It was a fascinating look inside human bodies, seeing how all the organs, arteries, veins, and nerves connect together. There were also organs damaged by smoking or unhealthy eating which presented a vivid warning to Kai. With Kai’s love of science, this was a great educational experience that was very interesting for all of us.

Photos were not permitted. Here is a screenshot from their website.

After lunch, we made our way over to Planet Hollywood. We learned that they have a faux “outdoor” mall just like we saw at the Venetian. Perhaps all the casinos do. I marveled at how many malls with very expensive stores there must be there.

This particular mall featured a “thunderstorm “ every half hour. We watched one storem, and the thunder and lightning effects were fun. The rain was limited to a small portion so shoppers did not actually get wet.

Kai seemed to enjoy the storm, though when we were there later and the time for another storm was near, he hurried us away as his fear of storms kicked in again, even though this wasn’t a real one and he did not even get wet when he saw it the first time.

Next it was time for to see our first Vegas show. We wanted to see a couple and I had researched family-friendly shows on TripAdvisor and other websites. One that sounded particularly good for Kai was the Armando Vera Up-Close Magic Experience, which was actually a pre-show to the Nathan Burton Comedy Illusions show.

For Armando Vera, everyone sat close and got a good view as he performed. The magician came out, introduced himself and bantered with the crowd. He was personable and very funny. His sleight-of-hand tricks had you saying, “How did he do that?”

Before we had left home, I had prepared Kai for the possibility that a magician may ask for volunteers. At the rodeo we went to last summer, there was a portion of the event where kids were invited to go on the field. While I did not discourage Kai from participating, I was worried about sending him down by himself and did not encourage him. Weeks later, he was still angry when he saw the photos I took of the other kids on the field. While he did not expressly say so, I think he was disappointed that he did not participate with the other kids. So, this time, I wanted to make sure he knew it was okay if he wanted to volunteer.

When the magician asked for two kids to assist, Kai raised his hand and Armando selected him along with a girl. The magician talked to each of them. I was a bit nervous, but happy when Kai responded to Armando very appropriately.

Armando had fun with the kids and did a number of tricks with each child. Kai’s reactions were priceless. On one trick the magician made foam balls squeak but when he asked Kai to do the same thing, the balls were silent.

The best trick was when the magician put one ball in Kai’s hand and had him close his fist. When Armando said the magic words and Kai opened up his hand, about ten balls appeared.

Kai was the star of the show, and it was great to see him enjoying it all.

The remainder of the show was just as entertaining. Clint Carvalho, appeared on America’s Got Talent, came on with his trained birds and was quite funny. The other magician, the main star, was Nathan Burton. His act was much more showy and fast-paced than Armando’s. He had showgirls, bright lights, and a lot of action.

At one point, Nathan asked a woman to select a brand of cereal, and she picked Special K. Then Kai was selected to name the price of a box of the cereal. Kai said, “Uh, $15.” Then Nathan lowered a box that had been hanging from the ceiling since the show started. He opened it and revealed a box of Special K with a price of $15.

Photos were not allowed during this portion of the show, but I got a picture of Kai afterward with the box of cereal and his price.

All of the participants of the show met the audience and posed for pictures afterward.

We then walked down The Strip and saw M&M World. Even though Kai doesn’t really eat much chocolate candy, he likes the M&M commercials, and he likes NASCAR, so he enjoyed seeing the store.

Our day ended with dinner at a nice Japanese restaurant, Shibuya, in the MGM Grand. We had to wait about 40 minutes for a table, and it was already late, but Kai did well.

The meal was delicious, though I was too starved to remember to take a photo.

So, all in all, Day 2 was a very fun, successful day.