Ready to get clean

Little Miss Ryleigh is getting more and more agile each and every day.  She's standing up all the time.  She can crawl super fast.  She gets herself into places that she has a hard time getting out of such as under chairs, behind things, and.....

...in the dishwasher!

She got there all by herself without any of us coaxing her or helping her!  I can tell already that she'll be like her Big Bro and will be into everything.  If it isn't bolted, screwed, locked, glued, or nailed, she'll be into it.  But she's cute and I love her, so it's okay.

Not much else to write about that I can think of tonight, so I'll sign off for now.  Best wishes to all.
-Jip

Remember when...

As we got back in the van tonight after a delicious, but trying, dinner at the Officers' Club, Jip and I reminisced about a time that wasn't really that long ago but seems like forever and a day in the past.

When RJ was little, we went out at least once a week for dinner. He would sit in his high chair and eat the food I packed, drink his water, and just be cute. People would compliment us on how good he was and be amazed with his sweet disposition and healthy appetite.

Those days are long gone. Tonight, RJ sat in his chair only about 75% of the meal. He barely ate. He whined numerous times about anything and everything--his crayon broke, his boot fell off, it was bath night, etc.

Ryleigh wasn't much better tonight. She did sit in her chair. She did eat the food we brought for her (and tried some sticky rice--it was a hit!). Ryleigh's behavior was fine--no whining that tonight was bath night. But, Ryleigh has become a swatter. Several times, she managed to catch the spoon before it reached her mouth and carrots were flying. She also likes to fill her mouth with water from her sippy cup and then just let it run out. Despite a bib with a large pocket/catch on the front, she still managed to be soaked by the end of the meal.

Jip and I can't remember the last time anyone complimented us on RJ's restaurant behavior. (We still get lots of compliments on how cute Ryleigh is, though.) And, tonight wasn't the worst restaurant experience--there have been worse times, by far. But, the night could have been better. Going out isn't something we're willing to give up--we need the treat and we think it is important for the kids to learn how to go out, from appropriate behavior to proper etiquette. But we are looking forward to the day when the meal can be a little more leisurely, when kids will have full tummies without repeatedly asking them to eat, when messes are kept to a minimum, and when conversations will be lively and joyous (no whining!!).

Leftover photos from the weekend

Just a few random, leftover photos from the weekend to share today.  RJ is finally asleep -- it was a struggle to get him down -- and now Ryleigh is yelling...this could be a long, rough night.

First, some cute photos of Ryleigh learning to "drive."

This is fun, Mom!!

What happens if I push here?

I've got this down.  No problem.

Next, some product "Engrish" from our trip to D2.

This watering can "assists to enjoy your life."  I'm so glad...

"Dad and mom Improve Yard with the Home Wipe."  Must be one terrific wipe!

And lastly, a couple random photos involving our car.

We see this quite often in Japan.  The power pole that is out in a lane of traffic.  On this occasion, we had to stop behind the pole until the light turned green.  Then, we were able to swerve out around it and enter into the intersection.  The picture doesn't do it justice--two cars would have a very hard time passing between the pole and the fence to the right (out of the picture).

This is the parking garage for the Leaf Building in Yokohama.  It was a two story parking garage, but each space had a lift, so essentially it was like a four story parking garage.  Pretty slick idea, but not very easy to back into.

Well, that's about it for tonight.  I'm off to see if I can help Amy with the crying kiddo.
-Jip

Pool!

As soon as I saw the weather forecast for today, I knew we needed to make a field trip to D2, a hardware store on steroids. So, we grabbed a little lunch, then it was off to D2 for flowers, bungee cords, and a... POOL! We found a great inflatable pool for the kids and we were all super excited to try it out after we got home.

Jip inflated the pool using his super handy rechargeable air compressor and we were in business in no time. Jip is quite clever and hooked up two hoses--one to the spigot on the patio and one to the kitchen sink for hot water. The result was a perfect temperature for kiddos, especially a certain little girl.

Ryleigh at first wasn't too sure about the pool. She got splashed a few times, and she was ready to get out. So, Jip helped her sunbathe for a few minutes and then Ryleigh was ready to dive back in. Then, Ryleigh only came out after the water cooled too much for her liking.

RJ was super excited from start to finish and even blew a few bubbles--voluntarily! I hope he shows the same enthusiasm during the first round of swimming lessons that start in just one week.

In other news, Ryleigh's first tooth broke through today. We felt it yesterday and I was sure we were still a week away from seeing any white in the sea of pink gums. Wrong! The little lower cuspid was visible to mom and dad this afternoon. It isn't quite visible to a camera though--Ryleigh isn't exactly ready to open up and say "ahhhhh" on cue. But, as you know with us, pics to come...

IKEA and Kid-o-kid

The weather today was very rainy.  Not a pouring rain, but more like a Seattle drizzle.  We decided that it was a good day to stay indoors, but not necessarily at our house.  We've been thinking about getting some more toy storage for our play room since the number of toys has now outgrown the number of bins to put them in.  Amy and I knew what we wanted, checked online to verify the dimensions, decided to go to IKEA before heading over to a new play area we'd heard about, loaded the kids in the van, took off to IKEA...only to find out that what we wanted was sold out.  OOPS.  If we'd just checked the status beforehand.  Two more mouse clicks and we'd have known that it was not on the shelf.

Since we were there, we decided to get something different.  Actually, what we got is identical to what we already had, so we knew what we were getting.  After we got home, I put it together.  Ryleigh and RJ were great helpers as we got started.  RJ was very good at putting wood dowels and screws in the correct holes--except for the time near the end where we were missing one wood dowel.  I looked high and low for it.  I asked RJ and Amy to help me look, too.  Finally, I gave up and starting putting it together without the dowel.  That's when RJ produced it and gave it to me proclaiming that he'd "found it, Dad."  When asked where he found it, he said, "In my hand."

Hi, I'm Ryleigh and I'm here to help,too!

Always a helper.

Look at the concentration.

He wasn't quite strong enough to get the screws all the way in, but he did pretty well on the few he tried.

After the IKEA trip, we went to a place at Minato Mirai (near Landmark Tower in Yokohama) to play in a place called KID-O-KID, which is attached to a toy store.  There were all kinds of things in the play areas including an indoor sand box, a baby play area just for kids under 18 months, an area filled with little balls, a miniature kitchen, a bouncy castle, and many other things.  RJ and Ryleigh both had a good time.  Here are a few photos.

Look at me in my cute "Made in Japan with American parts" shirt.

Ryleigh went over to say "Hi," and immediately pulled on the little girl's hair. 

The stare down.

Meanwhile, in the sand box...

...and later, in the kitchen...

RJ enjoyed rolling the marbles.

Ryleigh was into spinning anything she could find to spin.

The glass bubble boggled her mind for a while.

 Have a great day and I hope that it's not as rainy as ours!
-Jip