Pics Update!

Check out the latest photo alblums:

http://picasaweb.google.co.jp/Gdoggystink/

There are about 4 of them.

Shelving

So... there's been this big ol' leftover cabinet-desk blocking our halway entrance for 5 months. (Refer back to "The new kids room" post for where it came from). Anyway, a month ago I spent the better part of 2 hours just breaking it down into pieces to be taken to the trash. That was before I realize that it would have been easier, and cheaper to have the thing picked whole as a piece of furniture (becasue the garbage men won't pick it up).

But then one morning (the last morning of my summer holiday in fact) it came to me! We were in serious need of shelving for our outdoor closet. After a quick couple of measurements, it turned out that the leftovers were almost the perfect fit for the closet.

What follows is the constructions an installment of a new shelf for our place.




Perfect fit, cost only 2 hours of labor, and now there's nothing to try and sneak into the garbage!

Taylor's in Anjo

Our friends put this one together for us. Shot in... May? Hilarious ending!




Thanks Bartek and Monika!

Sitting Up

Well, monkey number two has been crawling for 3 months. (crawling = sliding on her belly like a crocodile in search of prey, or like an army commando crawling across a field of mines). She's been able to sit up by herself (if we help her get into the sitting position she'll stay up without toppling and smacking the floor) for about 1 1/2 months. But the latest, is her ability to go from her stomach, up to a sitting position all alone. It's pretty awesome!


Just this weekend she has started grabbing on to things and trying to stand. I guess a legitimate crawl is not on her list of things to accomplish before walking. Fair enough.

Number 2

So, the diapers came off about 3 months ago. For the first month it was fun for him, but there were lots of accidents. For the second month it wasn't so fun, in fact he hated the idea of doing it at home (even though he did it at nursery perfectly) and he would almost purposely wet his pants to spite us (or so it seemed). For the third month he enjoyed it, because he could do the whole routine by himelf. Not only that, he enjoyed the privacy. He didn't want anyone watching... although when he was done he would run and out and yell "I HAD A PEE".

Even with all of this success, he never EVER wanted to have a poo. It was IMPOSSIBLE to get him to even sit for 10 seconds to try. If he was wearing his training pants when he got the urge, instead of going to the toilet, he would run to the bathroom, grab a diaper, pull his pants off, put a diaper on and then do his thing. Best of all, he would always do it in the same place, in the corner of our office, next to my chair.

Well, finally a couple of weeks ago, he had success at nursery and we all celebrated with ice cream. That was the turning point. Every time from then on, whenever he got the urge, he would ask "If I poo in the toilet, can we get ice cream." Well yes has been our answer and we did a whole week of ice cream runs. But now the "fun" of number 2 has taken over the reward of ice cream. He runs out screaming "I had a poo!" everytime. In fact, when we're out shopping or whatever, he'll randomly stop at toilets and claims that he has to poo (even though the likelyhood is near zero because he already had 2 today)... but who are we to complain. Life is getting easier!

Sleeping Through The Night!

Well, I'm probably damning myself for attempting to write this blog, but... after 8 months of hard work, it's finally happened... RIO sleeps through the night! YEAH!!!!!

If she does stir, she will just play by herself in her crib, or have a quick squwak befor settling again. What's better is the routine to get her to bed. Bath, PJs, teeth, book, and then goodnight. No rocking, or cuddling required. She might fuss for a couple of minutes, but most of the time she'll just roll around in her crib for a bit, and then drop off to sleep peacefully. This is SUCH a releif, after having to deal with Fuzuki for 2 1/2 years!

Speaking of that little little devil, he's doing pretty well himself. Not quite as good as his sister, but he now can get himself to sleep without anyone in the room. For the past half year, it has been a matter of going back to check on him every five minutes, but now we just stick the two of them there together and let them sort it out.

Fuzu will still get up every other night and walk into our room in the middle of the night, and this requires me to go back to his room for a breif stint (5-10min), but we're working on weeding that out.... I'll keep you posted, but hopefully with good news and not bad (knock knock)

Would You Believe... Chuck Norris With A Beebee Gun?

I know this may be old news for most of you in Canada (who get your movies half a year before they come out over here) but there's a NEW Get Smart. Remember the good ol' days when agent 86 would whip out his shoe phone, request the cone of silence, or just plain old be his usual obnoxious self.

Well the movie pays tribute in a very honest way to the genious of that TV series. I rented it the other day and couldn't stop laughing. There may be some chance of a sequal... so keep your fingers crossed.

Learning to Swim... and Loving It!

So the Fuzunator went to Canada and got his swimming legs on! A couple dips in the lake every day and he was lovin' it! Upon return to Japan, we searched and found a reasonable pool in close proximity that he could go to practice and have fun.

At first he was like a fish out of water (except that he was actually in the water) and he would splash, giggle, scream and flop around like such. Now after a good month of experience, and with the help of a lifejacket, is quite comfortable jumping in and swimming around any pool we can find him. He's not perfected his butterfly stroke yet, but his doggy paddle is down pat!

Swimming is also my way of getting exercise. Not in the actual pool itself, but the act of getting him changed in and out of his clothes as he tries to run for the pool is my workout for the moment.

Turning Thirty

Today I turned 30. Didn't feel like anything special. Just got up did my stuff as usual, had a chat with the family in Canada and read some birthday mail. Maybe I'll have some cake later.

People say you feel older or in shock. I don't know about that. Maybe it will take some time for the shock to settle in, but its not here right now. About the only thing that feels 30 for me is my body. Getting beat up by my children is my biggest problem, and working too much with too little exercise is probably the second biggest.

I guess I might as well make a 30th anniversarry resolution... to exercise more. Don't expect to read about me kickboxing 3 days a week or anything, but I'm gonna try something. You can check up on me!