With Ellie being a halvsies kid, Aya and I want her to be bilingual and bicultural.  But with Aya gone during the weekdays, I was beginning to worry that maybe she wasn’t getting equal time with the Japanese language. At the same time I was also looking for something new to do with Ellie. The repetitive winter routine had gotten, well… repetitive. I had looked into a baby swim class, but I felt it was too expensive for what it was. Plus, I don’t like wearing shorts let alone a swimsuit. So I started researching for a Japanese story time in the area, and I found one! Continue reading “SHIKKAKU! (FAIL!)”
IS THAT A BABYRUTH?
Every day, Ellie likes to start off her day with a nice dump. Every morning when I come in her room to greet her, she’s already had her morning poop. But on this one particular day, the term “morning poop” would not do what I saw justice.Â
First of all, when I walked into her room the stench overwhelmed me. My knees buckled and my vision blurred. Even though the curtains were shut and the room was dark, I acted as if there was a bright light. I squinted my eyes and put my hand out as if to shield my eyes from the light. After I waded through the dense hazy air to get to her crib, I noticed that she looked thinner. She had an extra bounce in her step. Did you lose weight? I thought. When I opened her diaper you could hear shrieks. Whatever was hiding in there, I had just let it out! And what I saw was absolutely incredible. How one little person can crap their entire body weight is beyond me. Needless to say, it was not her typical morning poop. She had somehow killed the devil in her sleep and trapped him in her diaper. I was horrified and closed one eye trying to limit my view. She had beets for dinner the night before, and it turns out they look the same coming out as they do going in. I didn’t want to breathe through my nose or my mouth. She smiled at me with pride though. “I did that! All by myself.” Of course she felt good. Why wouldn’t she after producing something like that? Even after the clean-up, she desperately needed a morning bath.
RTF IS BACK, WITH A VENGEANCE
I knew it was going to be an interesting day when Ellie woke up earlier than usual. And not only earlier, but cranky. And not just cranky. Crying, twitching, fussy, whining. It never fails that when she has a rough day, it happens to be on a day I feel particularly tired and worn out. However, I still had hope that I could turn that frown upside down. But when she barely took her morning bottle and whine-ily squirmed off my lap, my hopes started to fade. Continue reading “RTF IS BACK, WITH A VENGEANCE”
THE BABY FACTOR
You know those “I gave blood today” stickers? Â I’ve realized that being out and about with a baby is like walking around with that. Â But better. Â Everyone is so nice to me. Â I feel like I’m in an episode of Leave It to Beaver. Â When I’m walking through the neighborhood, people wave at me and give me the right a way to cross the street. Â At the store, people open doors for me. Â Women, men, even kids! Â They smile while they do it too. Â Even the grumpy lady at the post office is super nice to me when I’m with Ellie. Â I get smiles and looks all the time. Â I do realize these looks and smiles are for her, and not me. Â I just get the benefit. Â Hence, the baby factor. Continue reading “THE BABY FACTOR”