kyoto: day TWO

This was a big day. We rode the bus (it wasn't always a happy time...) down to the southeast edge of Kyoto with Kiyomizu-dera as our first stop. Full post on that coming up. Then we walked through the old steep streets on our way to get noodles for lunch. Blue is saying cheers or kampai as they say in Japan. We kept on seeing large plastic ice cream cones outside of shopfronts advertising their green tea ice cream so we had to get some. Then we kept on walking to yet another gorgeous temple - Koudai - not complete without the equally gorgeous gardens. Jumping is a great way to get a kid excited about posing in front of temples. As is asking to see their best dragon face ;). We strolled along to Heian Jingu just as they were closing so we will have to come back to see the gardens. I hear they are really nice.

                  

kyoto: day ONE

Day one in Kyoto included a taxi ride to the AirBnb apartment in Northwest Kyoto, a stressful nap experience that prompted us to nap on the go for the rest of the trip, a grill your own meat dinner which was tasty and affordable (Blue's favorite - cow tongue! He thought it was bacon, sshhh), a stop off at the convenience store to get diapers and a chocolate treat, and then lights out.

headed to KYOTO

We headed down to Kyoto last Thursday on the Shinkansen and this was our view for the first hour or so...

buying RECYCLED bikes

Graham and his coworkers are in a temporary office until theirs gets all fitted out. So Graham rides the train to Ginza each morning (about five stops on the Hibiya line) but come January the office will be in Ebisu which is only one stop away. So we had been scouring Craigslist and Gaijin Pot for a used bike so he can ride to work (maybe a 10 minute bike ride). We were not having much luck when we discovered that several wards (what they call neighborhoods in Japan) have programs where they fix up and resell for cheap bikes that get confiscated off the street. So we gathered up the kids in the stroller and headed out one Saturday morning in October.

It was nearby since it was run by our ward (Minato). We signed in and were each given a number and told to walk around and choose three or so bikes that we were interested in. Then about thirty minutes later they put all the numbers in a bingo ball and started calling them out... in Japanese. The three bikes Graham had an eye on were the first three bikes to get chosen. There were probably about 60 people there for thirty available bikes and our number probably got picked on round twenty or so. At least we think it did. It was really hard to understand what was going on. Needless to say, we didn't get a bike.

So, on round two we hit up another ward who we thought did it a little differently. Supposedly, according to the internet, it was a three day sale and you just went and picked out a bike. They would fix it up for you and a couple days later you go back to pick it up. We get there and that is clearly not the case. Almost everyone there has a number that corresponds to a bike they had previously scouted. They open the gates and in a mad dash we actually find ourselves with an available bike that doesn't look half bad. If you want a bike you have to act really fast so Graham grabs the papers and gets in line to check out. An hour or so later, after the bike has been paid for and registered, Graham realizes he will have to ride the bike out of the lot today. So much for getting to work on time. We are out in the boonies. So he gets on to ride it away and realizes it is way too small! Too late!

We still don't know if the bike is for a girl or just a small Japanese man. But the Japanese in general don't seem too concerned about it. I have seen many guys here riding bikes that look too small. Graham's commute is short and the bike was cheap so it will do.

ode to KARATE

Three is the magic age when kids are all the sudden eligible for classes outside of school. Extracurricular makes it seem so serious but I guess that is what they are. I have always assumed it was because people don't want to mess with diapers but I am sure it also has something to do about being able to sit, listen, and follow instructions.

When we knew we were coming to Japan and that Blue would need a good way to use up some of his excess energy on his days off from school I immediately thought of karate. I liked that it was culturally appropriate and I liked that it was all about physical discipline. Blue is very physical but a little lacking on the disciplined side. After a little internet research and some translation help from Graham's coworkers we found a really nice dojo only a twelve minute walk from our apartment. All was going well!

So we show up for the first class and the first bummer is that the parents stay to watch and provide guidance if needed. There is only one instructor so he can't be corralling the one wayward kid the whole time. Which meant that I was a major distraction to Blue. And it meant that the teacher wasn't the authority figure. Another bummer was that he only spoke Japanese.

So the first couple classes Blue ran around pretending to be a dinosaur almost the entire time. The walls of the room are covered in mirrors and he would just practice his T Rex impression. Which, admittedly, is very good.

I was encouraged by the other moms who said it took their kids several months to settle into the class, to listen and participate. One time he ended up with a private lesson when no other kids showed up. And he did so well. Clearly, he knew exactly what to do. But he wasn't interested or patient enough to wait in line and join in with what the other boys were doing. We downloaded Kung Fu Panda on the iPad hoping he could pretend to be a jaguar doing karate instead of a lumbering bracheosaurus. He was into it for a while and would often ask to go to karate. And occasionally in class he would participate. He was a little better when I was bribing him with M&Ms but even that turned sour when all he could think about was the chocolate.

And then he stopped wanting to go. So we have stopped going for now. I had planned to push through til we left for Christmas but I couldn't figure out how I was going to motivate a kid who didn't want to be there in the first place.

In January we are going to try soccer... It is taught by Brits and is a little less structured and controlled. Hopefully a little more fun. Karate might have been too serious for Blue.

happy SIXTEEN months

I used to do these every month for Blue, I think until he was two. I haven't been so regular with Wiley. Sorry, girl. But she hasn't stopped learning and growing so I am picking it back up here.

I guess it was about a month ago when she really perfected the use of "no". For a long time it was mostly just really cute. You would ask her if she wanted a bite of broccoli and she would say no like you had just asked the most silly and ridiculous thing. Very cute and good-natured. I would ask her questions just hoping to get a cute little no in response. But now that she can communicate a little more she gets pretty frustrated when you don't or won't give her what she wants. The no has become a little more of a whine. I'll try and post a video later. It is actually really easy to capture because she has not been enjoying having her picture/video taken recently. I get a no every time.


Yes and No from Micaelan Davis on Vimeo.

Other words she can say. Some of these are quite old developments at this point but nice to have a comprehensive-ish list:
- help, please
- thank you
- socks
- feet
- shoes
- nose
- eyes
- mouth
- baby
- yummy
- bite
- light
- Blue
- mommy
- dada
- milk
- water
- cracker
- meat
- Wiley
- ball
- book
- Pops
- up
- stick
- jump
- nap (pacifier)
- bap ("that"- i think. she often uses it in reference to her puffy pink vest that she likes to wear all the time)
- bye

She is still fitting into most of her 12 month clothes. She has a delicateness to her but she is not skinny. Average weight I would guess. She is not a voracious eater. Still greatly depends on her milk for calories. But she refuses to drink it out of a sippy cup. Blue did the same thing.

She is independent with a defiant streak. She has thrown more tantrums in her 16 months than Blue ever has. In fact, she probably throws more tantrums in a day than Blue ever has. That is just not his style. She loves to sit on your lap and read books for as long as you can last. She loves to watch and copy and do things by herself.

She has started to fight back when Blue picks on her and will pull his hair or grab his toy and chuck it across the room. It has backed him off a little. Graham and I were laughing last night that he is really going to wish someday that he hadn't picked on her quite so much. He isn't going to know what hit him when she finally devises her plan of attack.

Saying goodbye is Wiley's favorite part of the conversation. Not that she is anxious for it to end. But I think she could sit there and blow kisses and wave goodbye for a good few minutes. So bye. And mmmwah.

Update:
I forgot to talk about her teeth! She has the top two and bottom two. About a month or more ago her top left molar came in. The top right one is now peeking through. Next came the bottom one to the right of the two on center. It looks like the two on top are about to come through as well. Weird, huh! All over the place. She had that first molar almost all the way worked through before I noticed. I was just not expecting a molar before the ones in front. It does help with chewing. She never fusses about them though.

OCTOBER in instagram

Hope everyone had a great October. Ours saw us through a birthday party all the way to Halloween and generally just starting to feel more settled here in Tokyo.

1. Karate. This deserves its own post... Coming soon.

2. Training chopsticks. These are so much fun. He doesn't eat his raisins without these now. 

3. His pads make him a jaguar. 

4. The boy is three!!!

5. Her crazy hair got even crazier. 

6. Three going on sixteen. Insisted on sitting in his own seat. 

7. Garage (sidewalk) sales!

8. Watching for mom.

9. Helping dad get a used bike. A bit of a fail. Also deserves its own post. 

10. Enjoying their new bikes. Err, scooter. We call it is a bike so everyone is happy. 

11. New neighbor friend. 

12. School children.

13. Took a seat to watch me get ready.

14. Happy Halloween. Roar.