Sunday, February 28, 2016

J Man turns 1!

On Saturday the J Man turned one year old. It is hard to believe it has been a year now since his birth. I look back on his birth with such tremendous gratitude to our Lord and Savior for protecting us and watching over our family. He clearly has big plans for us to be used for His glory as husband and wife and as a family. Some dear friends had us over for taco dinner and ice cream cake. They were instrumental in supporting us through his birth and helped organize our church support for months after we had the J Man. I would not have wanted it any other way than to celebrate the gift of his life with them on his first birthday. The J Man is such a sweet little boy. He is the smallest of our babies and is a delight. He loves his big brother and sister and he laughs at them often. He is already making car sounds and mimicking his big brother as he has watched the K Man play with cars and has learned how to do the same. He is not walking yet but is very fast at crawling. He can pull up and walk around the couch holding onto it. He says dada and often signs for more or all done when he is finished eating. He often gets left alone being the third child and he seems to be okay with it. He looks just like his daddy, which makes my heart melt. I am grateful beyond words to be married to such an amazing husband and father, and it is such a gift to parent these little people God has entrusted to us until they leave our nest and fly to develop on their own and make a mark on this world for His glory. 

We love you J Man. Happy 1st Birthday, buddy!


Kachidoki park

We had a busy weekend so we took a day off school and youchien today to enjoy the Kachidoki park, a favorite park in our hood. The J Man is now a year old and able to do a bit more at the park with assistance from his brother and sister. 


Kidzania February 2016

On Wednesday we took the day off school and went to Kidzania! The kids had such a great time. We went with a friend and her daughter. When it comes to large parks I have to go with another adult because Miss M and the K Man typically like different things and I cannot keep up with them both in two different directions. Thankfully my friend spent most of the time with Miss M and her daughter while I took the K Man to his favorites. The K Man did the fireman job and got to ride in the front seat of the fire truck and talk in the microphone. He was in little boy heaven. He also did soccer for the first time. He got to pretend he was on a team and they gave him a print out and picture of his form and how he can improve. Miss M made pizza, worked at the travel agency, and got her nails painted at Shiseido salon by her friend. They did a few things together like the Hato bus and Takyubin (think Japanese version of UPS). After our large play we enjoyed dessert at Bubba Gump to celebrate my friends' birthday. It was a great day and the kids made loads of memories.



Toyosu Gas Museum

So today we went back to the gas museum in Toyosu with a friend from the K Man's school. It was a beautiful day outside. The K Man loves driving the pretend cars. Miss M likes shopping in the pretend store and making fried rice. The J Man enjoys the freedom crawling around while the big kids play. Miss M just told me the actual name of the museum is called "What is gas?" I am sure many jokes could be made with this title.


Friday, February 26, 2016

Asobono

We took a day this week and went to Asobono play area near Tokyo Dome. It is one of our favorite indoor play areas in the city. It is hard to believe that the first time we went, the K Man was a baby and stayed in the baby room. This time the K Man was running around wild while the J Man enjoyed the play room. My how times have changed. We enjoyed the big ball area, the large bouncy yellow thing, the kitchen area, the Mel Chan room, the Sylvania family (Calico Critters) room, and the table games. It was a fun day and we were all worn out when we got home. 


Thursday, February 18, 2016

Scrapbook Day 2/2016

Scrapbook day fell on a Tuesday this month. On Tuesdays mama gets a sitter and a little "me" time. On this day I went to get my hair cut. I LOVE the hair salon in Tokyo. The shampoo and head massage are worth the high price in a cut and color...amazing. We also had our Tuesday party with our Harumi friends. We had not had one in a long time due to kids and parents getting sick (the flu is bad this year), so it was nice to hang out briefly with our neighborhood friends and catch up a bit. The kids are doing well. Miss M is continuing first grade with home school. This week we finished her grammar book for first grade and she was very proud of herself. She loves telling stories, illustrating stories, and writing stories. I think she has been telling the same story to me for a week. She loves Little House on the Prairie and includes Laura and Mary in her stories with her brothers. The K Man is still in youchien and doing well. His class had a little play a few weeks ago that I got to attend. He did great and his friends' mom made a video of them for me. I love watching him walk in the school and bow to tell the teacher good morning. He also gave a little girl in his class a Valentine. He is really into making paper swords, rockets and ninja masks lately. All he needs is some paper, tape and scissors and he is a happy boy. J Man is growing and eating all kinds of food that the big kids eat! It makes it nice to not have to prepare him a separate meal. He is a sweet baby and I cannot believe he is turning 1 in just 8 days! He is not walking yet but you can tell he wants to. He likes to pull up and walk along the couch holding on. He loves watching his big brother and big sister. Here are some recent pics from February.