Disneyland!

Wow, what a day! I was so excited that when I woke up at 5:45 to use the bathroom, I couldn't go back to sleep. Fortunately Edamame woke up pretty early too, so we got an early start to our day. After presents(yeah! he could FINALLY ride on his tricycle and take it for a spin around the block), breakfast of crepes, some playing, and showers we were off to Disneyland, and because of the early wake up time, Edamame at least had a decent nap in the car(as opposed to a really suck one he could have had at Disneyland).




We got there and met up with Grandpa, and the fun began.



This being Disney and Japan, the lines were long, so we rode on the carousel and teacups(a HUGE hit!), which only had a 10 minute wait each, before getting some lunch.



Then after much begging by Edamame we went on Roger Rabbits Cartoon spin. He was scared while waiting in line...bad sign. The two two year olds behind us we're taking turns being scared too. Then Edamame said he wanted to ride with Grandpa. Not a good idea, he was crying within the first 10 seconds or so. Fortunately the ride broke down and they got us off of it. I could hold my dear sweet baby, and we got three free front of the line passes! Being the smart people that we were, we each took a turn on a different ride with Edamame, without the 40 min wait! My turn was on Peter Pan(dark and thus scary necessitating mommy), Grandpa did Dumbo's Flight and 007 did Pooh's Honey Hunt.



Of course we also hit up It's a small World, Teacups(again), the Disneyland Railroad and the Jungle Cruise, which we're all good choices. On the Disney Railroad there is a section with Dinosaurs, which was fun until the one scene with the T-Rex trying to take out a Stegosaurus, at which point I heard a little voice saying "No, dihdote, no dihdote", but once we were out in the sunshine again he said "moh dihdote! moh dihdote!". I guess the coolness of dinosaurs outweighed the scariness. At this point though it was 5:30 and Edamame was obviously tired, so we grabbed some more food, got a few presents vicariously from other people, and made our way to the exit. Oh and to top it off, our last trip to the bathroom, he wanted to go pee pee in the potty too! Woo hoo, good end to a good day. He then passed out in the car after 5 min(007 won the bet, I had said 10 and grandpa said 7.5 min).

Today's adventures will be Ikea to spend our gift certificate/prize and carrot cake with Obaachan, Ojiichan and maybe Uncle Tak. I'm going to try to do a nemo decoration on it, wish me luck!

Happy Birthday!

Yep, in just a few hours it will be 2 years since Edamame was introduced into the world. 4:57 am to be exact, it was a long night, let me tell you.

Anyway, this kid is spoiled this year! Grandma hooked him up with a ton of fun stuff from the States, he gets a trip to Disneyland, and a tricycle from Grandpa, and Nemo pajamas from GGD. We were just thinking about it this evening, and just totally in awe of the generosity of our family, and how spoiled this kid is going to be tomorrow! I just finished making crepe batter(and a batch with egg substitute thanks to grandma!), good golly it is fun, but scary!

Oh, and in case you weren't a reader 2 years ago....I'll repost what I wrote the day he was born using my old blogging software. I can repost the birth story too, but those always sound weird after the fact...or at least it did to me.

"Ok, so first and foremost the unofficial winner is PAMELA!***editor's note*** there was a contest to guess the date, and will be again this time around*** The reason she is unofficial is because she got her second guess in on July 1st, a day after the due date. Now I don't want to be mean, but I can't break rules for family, so that is why she is the unofficial winner, because her second date of the 11th was post due. The stats on the little guy are as follows

C Y K
born: July 11th, 2006 @ 4:57am
size 3094 grams and 49.2 cm or
6 lbs 13.3 oz and 19.3 inches

Black hair and black/blue eyes(seriously not a brownish black, but a blueish black/dark grey)

we've discovered he likes to chew on his shirt and he likes to have his hand held when he cries. He eats a ton and doesn't seem to have mongolian spots(blue butt). Dad(007) says he is extremely cute, which I second. Here have a look!"

Tanabata

Today's Japan Cool! is about Tanabata. It is called the star festival, and held on the 7th of July. The reason is that two lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi get to meet on that one day. They were introduced long ago by Orihime's father, and fell in love, got married, and promptly stopped working. Everyone was so mad that they were separated by the Milky Way, but her father had mercy and lets them meet once a year.

To celebrate we decorated a branch of bamboo that we got from primary at church. We actually got two, but Edamame thrashed one in half before we left, so we got another. You're supposed to write wishes on the paper for them to come true.

I forgot to take pictures, so we used our photo booth to take some.






Of course with any Japanese festival there has to be food associated with it as well. Somen(thin wheat noodles) is the dish of choice, but in variegated colors, like pink and blue and white. I was looking for something else besides just somen and didn't find anything, but I did find this AWESOME blog post by someone who went all out for Tanabata. Remember it is the star festival, so lots of stars. Even if you can't read Japanese, it is neat to just look at the pictures! We settled for miso soup with clams. Edamame didn't want noodles, and I was grubbing for some clams. I felt bad that 007 wouldn't eat it, but I've discovered that I need to eat what I crave. One of the huge benefits of being pregnant in Japan is that I tend to really dig Japanese food while I'm pregnant, makes it easier being here than anywhere else. I digress, the soup was GREAT, easy, and simple to make. Oh, and Edamame totally dug the clams. He was excited from the time I put them in the cart at the grocery store. We watched them move in the sink while we were soaking them in salt water to clean them out. It was a lot of fun to eat.

Now after a nice 4th of July weekend, have a great Tanabata too!

My wish list

I'm starting to think about stuff I want while I'm in the States. I can find anything there! So far here is my list. Any reviews, comments, suggestions.


Klean Kanteen Sippy Cup! Yeah for not being plastic!

Also on the no plastic bandwagon.

Stainless Steel kids set or click on the link at the bottom of that page and get stainless steel bento(lunch) boxes.

I'm also thinking about getting some hemp prefold diapers and newborn diaper covers. Any suggestions on where?

Oh and this!

Sleepy Wrap
Yes I am a sucker...oh well!

I did it again!

Yep, it got too hot and Clark had been itching his head as he fell asleep for the last few weeks. I can't seem to figure out how to do it part way, so we just take it all off. At least he's getting older so it'll grow back faster. He helped. Actually I couldn't shave it until he helped me start it.





We had more fun with Daddy and his camera.




Daddy clipped his hair this morning to match...though not quite as much.

July - the month of Birthdays!

Yep, great month! Tons of people born this month, including 007 and Edamame. Grandma and Aunt Michiko, I think Hiojiichan was born in July too. It bodes to be a lot of fun, especially Disneyland with Grandpa. Plus some cool stuff has happened already!


I got a postcard from the Japanese gov't saying that my visa was ready! Woo hoo, a week earlier than they said I could expect it!

Potty training is going surprisingly well, he's starting to ask to go pee pee and poo poo in the toilet(though sometimes as a way to avoid bedtime too). This morning he even asked while he had pants on. Before that the only way we knew was if we had nothing on from the waist down. Of course this hasn't stopped him from running around in his birthday suit a vast majority of the day. Once his pants are gone, the shirt has to go too. Oy! I guess I know what my mom went through with my sister. I haven't done much, just let him run around, and try to catch stuff when I could, and he figured out the rest. Heck, I don't even have to bribe him to sit on the toilet anymore!

We're thinking about getting grass in our back 'yard'. Trust me, it needs to be in quotes because it is only about 3 feet wide, and runs just a little more than the length of the house. Nevertheless, grass would be fun.

My cucumber are ROCKIN'! I think I'll be able to pick them before we...

...LEAVE for Utah this month! Woo hoo!!!! Can you tell I'm excited! I'm soooo excited. It'll be sad to be without 007 for 2.5 weeks, but sacrifices must be made.

The purse I'm making for my niece's 2nd birthday is looking really good so far. That doesn't mean I still can't mess it up, but at least so far so good.

I'm almost completely recovered from taco's on monday night. Yeah, I'm a glutton for punishment, but they tasted pretty good.

My spinach plant is still growing strong!

I've realized that Clark has actually started to eat almost all forms of meat. Bad timing, I know, but hey at least now he's not the limiting factor. His only exception is chicken, it must be too dry most of the time because he'll only eat KFC chicken that is nice and tender.

I'm excited, after reading Elder Ballard's article in this month's Ensign to be a force for good on the internet. Yeah!

I'm officially trimester 2 now people. What does that mean, absolutely nothing. Though it does mean that when I start to show I won't feel as guilty as if I had already started to show. I need to run again...my stomach will cooperate or else! I just gotta say as yucky as pregnancy is, I'm still extremely grateful to be able to get pregnant in the first place.

Oh yeah! At church, I'd had a rough morning and couldn't eat much(watching 007 and Edamame chow down on oatmeal made me sick), and when I told one of the other ladies in primary, 'cause she asked, she gave me an onigiri that she'd made with her husband, complete with shisoand konbu. It was huge, delicious, and made my day. Thank you.

Sorry no pictures today, I've been lazy, and he's been sans clothing most of the time. Not a very picture conducive way to live.

Anpanman!

I said I'd talk about Anpanman, and now is the time! Plus, I really don't want to wash dishes or fold laundry, though I am contemplating blog design changes, oh la la! So now for, JAPAN COOL!


Anpanman is this cartoon superhero who's head is made from bread, not just any bread though, a roll filled with sweet bean paste. This was an very yummy Japanese treat until the advent of chocolate, and truthfully is still enjoyed by many, including me. What makes him even cooler is his plethora of bread and food friends who fight together against Baikinman. Baikinman litterally means Bacteria man. Yep, shoots Anpanman with his gun, and *gasp* Anpanman turns moldy, and is down for the count until one of his friends can get a replacement head from the baker JamOjisan. Anpanman gets a new head everyday. Wow!

Anpanman is instantly recognizable to ALL children here, including mine, who hasn't even seen a single episode.

He of course has a wicked rad theme song. Yes, the subtitles are normally there so that kids who want to read or sing along can. Sorry, I don't know of an English translated subtitled song.

Then of course, what would a cartoon be without merchandising? Anything from play vending machines, doctor sets, kitchen, vacuum, cotton candy maker(makes real cotton candy), and my favorite, a kaiten(conveyer belt) sushi restaurant.



Heck, Anpanman even has his own museum! One of them is right here in Yokohama. We'll have to go one day.

Ok, that's it for Anpanman. I better do something productive, even if it is sewing my niece's birthday present. What better way to recover from last nights tacos than lounging in front of the boob tube sewing.