Kimono cutie, lovely lists

Dear Maya,

When we got back from Japan, before Uncle Matt and Aunt Rhi even had time to say so, mommy could tell that you'd gotten bigger. It must be something about how you looked in relation to our house, and we haven't measured you yet to see if you'd had a growth spurt, but you certainly look taller and more mature. When you had that nasty stomach bug, you lost about 6 pounds in 3 days (!) but gained most of it back once you started eating again. It seems as though the weight was distributed differently, and instead of a round-bellied toddler you're looking more and more like a little girl. Mommy is happy and sad about that all at once.

Seeing as how you seem to be growing up so quickly and aren't a little baby anymore, mommy would like to list some things about you and our life together so as not to forget as you grow out of them. Mommy was going to do this around your 2nd birthday, but we were so busy so I'm going to break it down now instead. We've been super jet lagged and sharing head colds this week so we haven't taken any new photos, but mommy saved up these cute pictures of you in a kimono from our trip so they'll break up the long lists.

Bedtime songs:

• Row, row, row your boat
• Mary had a little lamb
• Twinkle, twinkle in English 
• Twinkle, twinkle in Japanese
• Tsuki (Japanese children's song, 'Moon')
• Momotaro (Japanese children's song, 'Peach boy')
• Dendera ryu ba (Children's song from Nagasaki)
• "I love Maya, I love Maya, Yes I do, Yes I do, She's a little sweetie, And a little cutie monkey, too, monkey, too" (to the tune of 'Frere Jaques')
• "Maya, Maya, Pretty little Maya, Maya, Maya, Sleepy little girl x2 (loosely sung to the tune of "Soft Kitty" from The Big Bang Theory, but mommy thought she made up the song herself in the sleepless hazy weeks after you were born)
• "Good night birdies in the trees, Good night grass and bugs and bees, Good night mountains, Good night flowers, Maya's gonna go to sleep for eleven hours" (lyrics changed to "See you later birdies...Maya's gonna take a nap for a couple hours" for nap time)

Songs you can sing (to varying degrees of accuracy):

• Twinkle, twinkle
• ABCs
• Jingle bells
• Tulip (Japanese children's song)
• Old MacDonald
• Funiculi, funicula
• Bingo
• Clean up, clean up

Nicknames we've called you (approximate oldest to newest):

• Boopy girl
• Pookie girl
• Pookie bear
• Pookaloo (an oldie but a goodie from your great-grandpa)
• Punkin doodle
• Punkin boo
• Maya-moo
• Monkey moo
• Moo
• My-my (by daddy)
• Maya-ko (by daddy)

TV shows you like:

• Blue's Clues
• Yo Gabba Gabba
• Dora the Explorer
• Go Diego Go
• Shaun the Sheep
• The Backyardigans
• Curious George
• Thomas & Friends
• The Muppets
• Sesame Street

Japanese words/phrases you've been saying:

• Ji-chan, Ba-chan (Grandpa, Grandma)
• Kore (this)
• Oishii (yummy)
• chodai (please)
• Ikou ka (Shall we go?)
• Yaya koshiya x2 (an awesome chant in the traditional comic theater style of kyogen)

English words/phrases you've been saying:

• What happened?
• Help us! (using the royal 'we' I guess?)
• No I can't! (usually when you mean you don't want to do something)
• Chair! (usually meaning you want someone to sit somewhere)
• Pull! (usually when you're doing the pulling and want us to stand up and come with you)
• My Maya! (usually when we're trying to take something away from you that you shouldn't have)
• Thank you, (name)
• rainbow 
• airplane (you even recognize the sound from indoors!)
• broken (sounds like "glue gun")
• penguin (sounds like "penmin")

Well, we've got a special event here today which we'll report about next week. Until then, love you!

Japan trip, Part 4

Dear Maya,

We're back in the U.S. safe and sound, but it was a rough last week or so of our trip. Mommy didn't take nearly as many photos as usual so this post won't be as fun as it could be. So to back up and explain what's been going on since the last post...


February 17th
You woke up from your nap and started crying loudly. We went into your room to find that you had thrown up everything you'd eaten for breakfast and lunch. The rest of the day whenever we tried to give you food or drink, even a couple sips of water, it came right back up. Diarrhea started, too. We took you to an ER late that night and got some nausea medicine so you could at least keep down some water and sports drinks for hydration. We got home and you slept the rest of the night.

February 18th
The ER doctor told us to follow up with a pediatrician. We made an appointment for the afternoon and after your exam they decided to give you an IV since you were so dehydrated. It was really scary for mommy and daddy to watch you so quiet during the IV. You had a high fever and your heart rate and breathing were a bit quick on top of the stomach symptoms. Thankfully that night when we got back to your grandparents' house you seemed a bit more normal and were playing and ordering us around.

February 19th
Mommy got sick just as you were seeming better. Mommy went to the doctor to get some medicine.
February 20th
Daddy started to get sick, too. You seemed better and even ate a little. Mommy was feeling much worse.

February 21st
Mommy and daddy felt awful. You had barely eaten for days but had been downing the electrolyte drinks the doctor had recommended. Since you were acting better we started to feed you more normal foods but then you started throwing up again.

February 22nd
Back to the pediatrician for you early on this morning. We got a more gentle medication for you as it seemed you threw up every time you had the previous one. We all felt a little more human by afternoon and went to pray at the family grave site.

February 23rd-25th
Although we were all feeling a bit better, we decided to change the itinerary for the remainder of our time in Japan. We'd been planning to spend a few days in Kyoto and Osaka with your aunt, uncle and cousin and also visit with mommy's old host family, but we didn't want to take any chances. Instead, mommy and daddy worked on packing and cleaning out things we'd been storing in the garage. You spent time playing outside and at the park with your grandparents. We visited a few friends to say goodbye.

February 26th
We flew from Nagasaki to Osaka's domestic airport, then took a bus to our hotel right by the international airport. After snacking and napping, we went out to explore a nearby shopping area. We noticed a children's indoor play area and decided we would take you there the next morning to tire you out before our flight.

February 27th
After playing, we had some yummy sushi for our last real meal in Japan. Then we headed to the airport and your Aunt Miho and cousin Ryota came to see us off. We flew out at 6pm and although you cried and yelled for the first 15 minutes of the flight, soon after you fell asleep for about 3 hours or so. The rest of the flight you weren't too noisy, either. We arrived in Seattle, then had a flight to Minneapolis (you slept the entire flight!) then a flight to Albany where Uncle Matt came to pick us up.

We got home last night at 1am, unpacked a few things, showered and then fell asleep at 2:30. Imagine mommy's surprise when she opened her eyes and looked at the clock and it said 2:30. PM! All three of us slept soundly for twelve whole hours! It was a long, exhausting trip home so I guess we all needed to recover a bit. The jet lag will likely last a lot longer than it did on the way to Japan. We're already missing everyone and everything about Japan so it'll probably take us time to recover from that, too.

Well, time to get some more sleep and hope our jet lag gets better soon! Love you!

Japan trip, Part 3

Dear Maya,

You are running circles around me as I write this, stopping every few minutes to get into something you shouldn't, so I'm sorry if I forget some of the details of our third week in Japan. Here it is spelled out as best as I can remember:

February 10th
You had some quality time with your grandparents while mommy and daddy went through some of their old belongings that were in the storage area above the garage. It was a pretty quiet day by comparison to our time here so far.

February 11th
After a quick stop to see some friends whose son was home from the soccer school where he lives, we left for a two-day stay in Nagasaki City. When we arrived at our hotel you were really sleepy but couldn't settle down in the big bed we were all going to share. Daddy rigged up a small bed for you out of a big blanket and two wing chairs pushed together and you went right to sleep! Daddy was tired from the drive so he rested, too, while mommy souvenir shopped at the 'Holland Slope' right outside our hotel.

In the late afternoon we walked to the Lantern Festival, Nagasaki's big Chinese New Year celebration. First we went to 'Central Park' where there were tons of lanterns to look at in every shape imaginable. You loved the animal ones: tigers, camels, kangaroos, pigs, fish, elephants, you name it! Later we walked down the main street of Chinatown where endless round lanterns hung over our heads, steam from the vendors' hot dumplings swirled around us, and crowds and crowds of people enjoyed it all.

   

February 12th
It was a dreary, rainy day so instead of exploring any more of Nagasaki's outdoor sightseeing, we hit the Penguin Aquarium. It was perfect for you--not as big as a zoo so we could take our time at each exhibit, and a little different from a straightforward aquarium to keep your interest. You even loved the 3D theater and ran around trying to touch the penguins and fish that seemed to be flying through the air. After we left we headed home to your grandparents' house.

February 13th
We didn't have any plans and it was chilly, so what better day to take you to your first onsen? We drove up the mountain to the hot spring resort town and rented a family bath at an inn there. It was a covered outdoor bath with a view of a flowering tree and the mountain beyond. Mommy and daddy felt so relaxed after soaking in the hot, mineral-filled water. You enjoyed the bath, but I think your favorite part was the ice cream afterwards.

February 14th
Valentine's Day in Japan is quite different than in the US. Over here girls and women usually give gifts of chocolates or other sweets to the men in their lives (or who they'd like to be in their lives). Then on what is called White Day, March 14th, the men return the favor. While daddy was in the shower this morning you and mommy sneaked down to the corner store and bought him and your grandfather some chocolates. We had some other errands the rest of the day that mommy will blog more about when we get back from Japan.

Running back from the store with chocolates

Giving daddy his chocolates (mid-shaving)

Giving your grandfather his chocolates

February 15th
We went out to a yummy barbecue restaurant with your grandparents for lunch. Afterwards the weather was so nice we decided to drive to a big park for you to run around, but you fell asleep in the car. We turned around to head home and you woke up, so we stopped at a local waterfall to play for a short while instead.

February 16th
We did a little shopping in Shimabara and then daddy went to help some relatives plant crops while you rested and mommy worked on photo editing and blogging. At night we went to a dinner party with some old and new friends and you had so much fun running around and playing with all their kids.

And now on to our last week in Nagasaki...the time is going so quickly!
Love you!