Christmas 2009

Kick-start of our Christmas @TMG

Christmas Lights at Tama-Center
Christmas Lights at Lake Miyagase

Christmas Party with our ABC Club members

Christmas at home

Gen and I made an advent calender of Santa Clause,

and did some Christmas Tree decoration together.

He loved several Christmas books, and enjoyed the atmosphere.

And, he LOVED all the presents he got from his loved ones.

Now we wish you the very happy New Year to all!

Hometown in Okayama

Gen and I were taking a short "vacation"
to go back to see my family and friends in Okayama.

Unlike the last time we took a jetplane, (it was aweful!)

taking Shinkansen seemed to have become one of his favorites.

Ibara Tetsudo, local train in Okayama

I really love the views from this train.

So peaceful!

Love Music!

What do you think Gen is doing?

He is listening to some school brass band performance.

Hidden place for butterflies

One day on our way back home from small shopping in neighborhood, we happened to find a "hidden-secret" spot where so many butterflies were flying. Orange ones, purple ones, yellow ones, white ones,,, it was just so amazing and Gen got too much excited!

"Look, mommy! There are more butterflies out there!"

Halloween decoration going on @ABC CLUB

♪ Halloween, Halloween, What does it mean? ♪

Halloween Night is around the corner.

Our ABC Club is being decorated with

Halloween motifs little by little.

We made "Happy-Sad Pumpkin Head" from paper plates.

Kids really love their pumpkins showing its "happy" side.

Real "Spooky" atmosphere is too much for little ones,

so our club is providing a "Spooky-Cuty" Halloween.

Here come "cute" ghosts!

Our Halloween Event will be held on October 26th.

Come and join us!!

Sunny days of September 2009

Gen and I tried Machida Squirrel Park again.

He really enjoyed feeding the small friends.

We went for Aihakawa Park and

Gen tried to say "hello" by touching each flower.

After that we went for Hattori Farm,

where we had a really "yummy" icecream!

Gen was so excited to see many farm animals like

goats, cows, sheep, horses, roosters, pigs and so on.

He is such an animal "lover"!

Sunflower Field

Sunflowers, sunflowers, sunflowers!!

Gen likes to walk around this sunflower field, which is just like a maze!

Kids had a lot of fun surrounded by so many sunflowers.

It was just so relaxing and energy-regaining.

Summer Festival 2009

The nearest shrine to our house holds its summer festival in the middle of August every year.

We can enjoy various foods and desserts at food stands, and especially kids enjoy some game stands. Gen was closely watching at goldfish scooping.

We had a lot of fun. Putting on yukata is one of my most favorite parts in visiting these summer festivals. Gen wears "jin-bei" for his traditional Japanese summer cloth.

The summer festivals in Japan usually relate to "shintoism." Our ancestors were thankful for Shito Gods for their harvest, and its spirit still continues to our present time.

Chippie's Park

Gen really likes animals, so we went for a chippie's park in Machida. I do not know why but there is a very huge tortoise, which walks relatively fast, that makes Gen "freeze"!!

But he loves to feed squarrels and had a lot of fun. He refused to leave the park!
It was such a wonderful time for Gen and me. This park is pretty small, but big enough for Gen to run around and have fun.

Harvest

Basils are growing so well. This is our second time to cook Genovase basil paste and enjoy pesto. The fragrance is richer than the ones we usually buy at a grocery.

Here comes a tomato! Very sweet and tastes so good. I hope Gen will like eating fresh vegetables right from our herb&vegetable garden, though he is such a picky eater now...

Gen's First ABC Chants

Although he doesn't say ABCs very clearly, he perfectly imitates the rhythm.

Star Festival

July 7th falls on "Tanabata" or "Star Festival" in Japan. There is a fairy tale for this Festival. It goes like this; Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful wife Orihime, who was really good at sewing, and a hard-working husband Hikoboshi, who was good at growing crops. They loved with each other so much, so they didn't do their work properly. The God got angry and gave them a punishment. They were torn apart by The Milkey Way, and were allowed to meet with each other only one time in a year. That is July 7th, Tanabata night.

On Tanabata night, we write our wish on a piece of paper, and place it on a bamboo tree together with some beautiful ornaments.

Here's what we wished for on Tanabata night. On a yellow strip, I wished for our family's healthy growth. On a blue strip, Gen wrote something he wanted to wish for.

May our wishes come true!

Happy Tanabata Night! (Star Festival!)

Trip to Hakone

Eight mothers and kids have decided to make a two-day trip to Hakone Hotspa. On the way there, we had some fun at Odawara Park and Gen loved to feed a goat.
The hotel has a huge and beautiful SPA. Kids are ready to have a fun spa time.

After the spa, they are ready to eat. It's just amazing how well they wait for their moms to pick some food for them. (The dinner was buffet style.)

The next day, we went for Hakone Aquarium, where Gen showed a good concentration on carefully watching fishes.

The two-day trip was over. We had a relaxing dinner at a nearby Japanese stylr restaurant.

Gen's first spoken word

Not mommy, not daddy, but Gen's first spoken word was "Inai-inai-ba," or "Peek-a-boo!"

We have a famous Japanese program called "Inai-inai-ba," and Gen loves to say "Ba! (Boo!)" in unizon with the opening song.

Yard work

Gen does a great job helping his daddy in our yard.

He loves to play with pebbes.

One day at ABC playgroup

We had so much fun dancing, singing, playing, enjoying games and craft after reading "The Very Hungr Caterpillar."

After the program, Wakana asked me to read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?."

Date!?

Gen's got really nice cute little girl friends :)

Perfect season to go out on a date!

Japanese Children's Day

May 5th is "Children's Day" in Japan, and it's usually a celebration for boys as a counterpart of Girl's Festival on March 3rd. My parents, Gen's grand parents in Okayama, gave a gorgeous Samurai Doll for Gen last year, and we have decided to display it from the end of April to the beginning of May every year.

On Children's Day this year, we were thinking about entertaining Gen with fancy dinner or big cake, but we ended up with playing with him all day long. What he really likes to do is to play with his parents. So we spent the day with Gen, letting him play with whatever he wants to play, and having so much fun together.

May 5th is literally "Children's Day" for our family. Gen's the boss!

Missing Aunty Keiko

In the end of April, Gen and I were back in my hometown in Okayama. There Gen really loved to play with my sister, Keiko. On the day when we were going back to Tokyo, Gen suddenly kissed her while she was reading.

"Love you, my aunty."

We will be back in Okayama again, soon. Or we should invite Keiko to stay in Tokyo for a while.

SAKURA

One morning in April, we went to a nearby park.

Stairway to cherry blossom trees.

It's amazing that the park is only 10 minutes walk from our house.

Beautiful cherry blossoms with Perfect Sakura-Pink!

Trip to Enoshima, Mt. Fuji and Asamizo Park

In early April, Gen and I made a flower crown with a paper-plate. It took a little bit of time to color paper-plate green and dry it, but it was worth doing it. Gen realy enjoyed picking his favorite-colored flowers, checking how he looked in the mirror, and gave a big smile to himself.

Gen and I enjoyed a small trip to Enoshima Island together with Aryn&Rhyan, and Tomomi&Tomoya. We enjoyed Enoshima Aquarium and a nice stroll to Enoshima Island.

Koji and Gen really like to drive away to Mt. Fuji. They really enjoy their "boy's" time.

I took Gen to Asamizo Park, where a small petting zoo is available. Gen didn't really like guinea pigs, but loved this goat.