K Man Turns 4!

Last Saturday the K Man turned four. We had a small birthday party for him in the park behind our building with a Mickey Mouse cake. My goal with my kids is to keep things simple. This party was simple. We basically let the kids play, ate some cake, let them play some more. And they all loved it! The highlight was the water gun fight with all the kids fighting Mr. P. It was so funny watching them. The K Man is turning into a funny little guy. He is a little comedian and keeps us laughing. He LOVES youchien and enjoys having his little buddies to hang with at school. The teacher said he tends to act like the big brother, even though they are all the same age, but he looks about twice as big as his buddies at school. He is a big boy and the husband joked tonight he needs to make more money to feed these boys we have! The K Man loves his sister, and he also loves annoying her. He knows what makes her mad and you can see his wheels spinning when he tries to give her a hard time. In spite of his antics, he is very sweet and loves it when they play together. They both love pretend play and he will often be in dress up clothes or acting like a dog named Grettle. He is still doing sports class and loves his teacher, Gu Sensei. His Japanese is coming along nicely and you will often hear him playing on his own speaking both Japanese and English. He loves people, trains, buses, guns...basically all things boy. He also loves climbing in mama and daddy's bed. I am usually so tired that I do not realize he came in until I wake up in the morning. He loves his little brother J, and often you can find him kissing J or rubbing his head. For being such a big boy he has a very soft heart. It is fun watching his personality develop. I cannot wait to see where the Lord takes this very special boy. Happy fourth birthday K Man!

Family Bike Ride/Mother's Day

On Wednesday of this past week, we stayed local after having so many activities on Monday and Tuesday. We took a family bike ride to the local mall, bought the kids some summer clothes, and enjoyed an ice cream with a friend who was also at the mall. I am riding the bike now, very Japanese style, with J Man in the baby carrier while the K Man is in the back seat. When J can sit up then he can ride in the front seat, so hopefully by 6 or 7 months old. It really helps that Miss M can ride her own bike now.

Today was Mother's Day. I was able to get out of the house for a 4 mile run. It felt great to be back on the road, running my Sumida River route, and listening to some good tunes. I can just zone out when running and it is so nice. I love running along the river. I am so thankful we live in such a beautiful part of this city. The husband took the big kids out to lunch while I stayed in and worked on some BSF while the baby napped. Just that little bit of time in the Word was so rejuvenating. We enjoyed church this afternoon and dinner tonight at the local Denny's. I got some beautiful flowers and sweet cards from the family. I love my people to the moon and back. Even when it is stressful with three littles, I would not want to change anything about my life, our family, or our circumstances. They are such sweet gifts the Lord has given to me and I pray I can be a good steward in training them unto Him and loving them well. 

Golden Week Fun

This past week was Golden Week. Daddy had off work Monday through Wednesday for national holidays. Then he took Thursday off and worked from home on Friday. It was great to have the husband around all week. We took advantage of the car share service and escaped the city on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday we visited some friends who live in Chiba. They are only here for one year and Miyako has really enjoyed their two girls who are 5 and 7. They live near a great park, so while the dads took the kids to play at the park, the moms and Jun stayed inside and enjoyed tea and fellowship. It was a very fun day with lots of good play time for Miss M. On Tuesday, we took a car to Yokohama and visited a HUGE park, with over 200 acres of land. We did not even see everything they had to offer, but we had a fabulous time. The K Man loved riding the little train and driving these cars. Miss M loved the large playgrounds, and these huge jumping things. They reminded me of moonwalks. It was children's day so all children were free, plus the park was celebrating its 50th anniversary. It was very crowded but did not seem so crowded because it was so big. It is always nice when you can escape the city and concrete and enjoy large parks with lots of green trees. 

J Man - 8 weeks old

Friday the boys had check ups. The J Man is already 9 weeks old, having his 8 week old check up. Where does the time go? He weighed in at 4730 grams (10.4 pounds) and is 55.8 cm long (22 inches). I cannot say enough about how easy this baby is...he just is so laid back. I love that he is starting to make little noises and smile at us. It is fun to watch him change and to see the big kids have such fun reactions to the changes in J. Enjoy the pictures...we think he is very handsome.

K Man Birthday Fest

Today the K Man is four years old! We started celebrating yesterday with a four year old check up, shots, and dinner at his choice, Rainforest Cafe, with good friends. He is in the 95th percentile for weight (21 kg already, 46 pounds) and 55th percentile for height (103.6 cm, 41 inches). He woke up this morning at 6AM asking to open his presents and raring to go. We are celebrating today with some friends at a park behind our building. More about his official birthday party celebration, and his personality at age four, will come later. For now, I will document our fun night at Rainforest Cafe with some dear friends.