What to wear...

"Oh, Arthur!  Whatever am I to wear today?"
"There, there, Maggie.  Just wear what makes you feel comfortable and happy!"

Maggie has taken to picking out her own outfits out of her closet.  One chilly morning, Daddy brought her down from her bedroom clutching this little Mariachi number.  We put it on her for fun.  She loved rustling the skirt with her fists.

She's also become quite interested in alternative footwear.  Sometimes that means no footwear, much to the horror of the Japanese people around us.  Sometimes that means footwear in an alternative size, like Daddy's size!

Monday was National Children's Day here in Japan, meaning Maggie had the day off from nursery school and was ready for a day on the town with Mommy and Arthur.  But what to wear?  She came downstairs with a variety of options, including a bathing suit, a sundress,  and a tutu...

Better change that diaper first!  After the diaper change, Maggie was still having trouble deciding, so she had Daddy read her a few stories before she faced the what-to-wear dilemma.

It's decided.  She'll wear a swimsuit...

... And a tutu.

Maggie was ready to leave the house in a completely different outfit by 7:30AM.  Too bad nothing opens around here until 9 or 10!

Buttercup is happy to lounge around the front yard in nothing but her striped pajamas.

Here we are at the mall, bright and early at 9:30 and in time to get a really cool Anpanman shopping cart! Awesome!

We have regular-izedwooden playing blocks at home, but these foamy over-sized set at the mall are so much fun!

Moving onto video games... Hey look, a step-up stool!  Our favorite!

Daddy's little lego protegee, Maggie is diligently working on her skills with the mammoth collection of Duplos here in the play area.

Arthur sweetly stayed asleep for the bulk of the outing, allowing Maggie max playtime.  Thanks, Arthur!  You're a doll-baby.

Might as well be Disney

So how does a tofu-family entertain itself here in Japan? Jaunt off to Tokyo Disney on the weekend? Not exactly... Here's Maggie playing in the pedestrian walkway alongside our house with a laundry basket, a rock and a whole in the wall.

Then there's these "pick up after your pup" posters that she just loves! At the top of the walkway stairs is an empty park with some flowers, rocks, and a water fountain. Maggie could play here for an hour. Might as well be Disney.

It's Saturday morning, and Daddy says we're going to Tokyo.  We tried out a new hairdo... cute, but not very sturdy-looking.  We'll be redoing this one all day long... Ain't nobody got time fo'dat!

Better make sure all the dishes are done before we take off...

And the yard needs some weeding.  So much to do before we head off to Tokyo!

Before anybody gets on any train, though, we better make a Mister Donut stop.  It is Saturday after all.  This Saturday, our buddy Jack and his mommy joined us!

Maggie, getting her donut face on.

Maggie, showing Daddy how we do the donut dance.  Click here and you can see it, too... "Do-do-do-do-do-do-dooonuts!"

Finally made it to Tokyo Midtown.  We read about this kid-friendly venture from an article Matt clipped out from the Japan Times, the English language newspaper we subscribe to here at the Tanaka House.  This park uses lots of water in it's landscaping, and water is Maggie's favorite landscape feature!

Here she is playing peekaboo in the flowers...

Maggie pays attention to the signage...  At least enough attention to use the signage to play more peekaboo!

Coucou!

Oh boy, a bunny on a leash!  This is the second bunny on a leash we have encountered here in Japan. Click here if you want to see Maggie do the Tokyo Bunny Hop!

So what was Arthur up to all day?  Well, here he is checking out the scene at the Midtown complex...

And here's what he was looking at... Likes the bright lights, this one does.

But here's where he spent the majority of the outing...

Nothing to see here, folks!

Tuckered out on the train ride back home.

Maggie's dogs are barking...  Yours would, too, if you had to terrorize a town the size of Tokyo!

'Dis n 'dat

Just a few pics from the last couple of days:

Arthur, hanging out in his pink bouncy buzzy seat. I would put a blanket of another color over it, but here in Asia pink is a manly color. At the hospital nursery "minna pinku de gozaimasu" (everyone's in pink) the nurse said of the babies.

Maggie found her way into the fridge. She's showing off a new taste combo of Parmesan and strawberries. Bet you never thought of that, huh?

Here's Maggie rearranging the drawers in the kitchen.

Dad's ready for work. Maggie's ready to pull off every one of his patches.

Never fear for these Tofu-bunnies! A fearless Tofu-kitty is on the watch.

Arthur, sleeping through tummy time.

Arthur, ready for his baby massage.

Arthur, ready for his bath.  He LOVES the bath.  He'd float around in there all day.  If he's in a good mood, he'll hang out and Mommy takes a bath after him, so we get a two'fer!

Would you look at this little gentleman?

Maggie discovered Mommy's little helper!   Like a little mountain goat, she always has to be at the highest point she can climb to...

... Too bad she doesn't have the balance of a mountain goat!  Maybe in another post, you'll hear about the fall she took yesterday.  Two can get kinda crazy!

Hanging out on the sofa with Tofu-san.

Maggie's little helper helped her reach Daddy's wallet.  She's learning early where her bread is coconut-buttered.

A Tofu-kitty has to take refuge somewhere.

To daycare... or not to daycare?

I don't have work outside of my home, but one of my kids goes to a nursery school here in town.  That would be Maggie.  I was hardly ready to put her in any sort of daycare when the time came, but it was out of necessity.  Matt and I had to attend a class for 5 days, no kids allowed.  We went ahead and signed her up for the whole month, so I could unpack boxes in peace.  We had just moved to Japan.  She was nearing seven months old, and my milk was starting to go away.  Soon I found out I was pregnant again.  Of course, the first thing to happen was she got really sick the next week.  She's gotten sick several times since then, but at least it made me go ahead and figure out the doctor thing here.  She was only in it for part of June, all of July, and a few days in August, because we went back to the  States for a wedding and then Matt had a school. We got back to Japan around Thanksgiving and decided to put her in again starting in December.  At this point, she was scooting and sometimes walking around and playing, so I felt a little less guilty about it.

In the end, it turns out that nursery school here in Japan is a good thing for Maggie and for our family.  First of all, it forces us to deal in Japanese.  Do you see this journal that I have to fill out everyday before taking her in?  And when I get her back at the end of the day, I get the same in return, plus a cute report in Japanese to decipher, but our reward is that we get to hear about Maggie's day, even though she can't speak.

Maggie decided that today she wanted to ride in her chariot to go to daycare.  This is not our yard, by the way.  Matt only wishes it was.

Maggie runs right in and takes her shoes off just like a little Japanese kid!

At school, they feed them Bento Box lunches.  At home we keep Maggie on a similar diet of rice balls and seaweed, along with a healthy serving of fruit.

In addition to being exposed to Japanese language, culture and food, Maggie probably has a much better day at the nursery school than she would at home with Arthur and me.  Most of my day at home is spent preparing some sort of fun meal for dinner (which Maggie is welcome to eat but seldom wants), keeping up with laundry (among other things we have to hang clothes out to dry here, so it's an ordeal...), and maybe embarking on some other bigger picture project (that is, if Arthur will allow it).  At nursery school, the entire day is geared towards things Maggie wants to do, like play with blocks, go on walks, and run around like a crazy person with her tomodachis (friends).

I was in the hospital for five days after a normal unmedicated vaginal delivery of Arthur.  That's the standard stay after childbirth in Japan.  Visiting hours were from 3PM to 7PM.  Thus, he was basically an only-child for those 5 days, thanks to his grandmothers who were taking care of Maggie while I was in the hospital.  I had a tearful moment the morning I was scheduled to leave the hospital when I realized our homecoming meant the end of both Maggie and Arthur's only-childhoods.  Thanks to Maggie going to nursery school, Arthur gets a decent helping of the only-childhood Maggie had.

Maggie LOVES her new baby brother, so he needs lots of protection from her affection, which can be a little intense at times.  It's very exciting, though, to think of what good little buddies they will becomes as they grow up together!  Maybe one day, Maggie will hold his little hand on his first day of nursery school...