"What Happens after the Baby Goes to Bed" (Or, "The Box of Insanity")

The house quiets after 20 minutes of screaming and crying from the baby's room. Finally,
a moment of peace for two very tired parents.

"What should we do tonight?"
"Uh, I don't know."
"TV? Movie? Go to bed early?"
"Mmm, that last one sounds good... wait, it's only 7:42. Shoot."
"I guess I'll load something up on the computer."
"Hey, we still have that puzzle that I got for you at Jusco."
"Oh yeah. Let's do it!"

The playing card-sized box is opened and spilled onto the table.

"Hey, did you know there are tweezers included in here!?"









"Wow... these pieces are really small. Good thing there are only 204 pieces."










"Oh, this won't take too long."

Husband: "I'm going to use the tweezers for the whole puzzle!" (Wife rolls her eyes.)
















An hour later...

Inserting the last piece, "We are never doing this again."










"I have a headache. Let's go to bed."

Osashiburi desu, ne? (Long time no see, huh?)

Being a parent is exhausting. We typically find that by the end of the day we'd rather zone out in front of the computer watching tv shows from home (or going to bed early, for that matter) than type in the blog. Sorry. So we have a lot to catch you all up on... here's some tidbits of our goings-on in this neck of the woods.

Dan's been doing all his "goodbye" lessons at school. He gave his going away speech for one of his junior high schools today and has been moving all the teaching resources cluttering up our apartment to his desks at school for the next poor soul to come in September. No, not really "poor soul," but I don't envy their immense task of going through all the handouts, text books, and notes that have accumulated over the last 6 years (we have a lot of stuff from the girl before us too!) Anyway, Dan is really excited about (finally) starting his new position. It's been a seemingly long wait, but July 25th is in sight, thank heavens.

Dan is still teaching eikaiwa (English conversation) class, although the future of that class is a bit up in the air at the moment... there is a slight chance that I (Andi) might teach it, but Dan has some chatting with his new office before that position is offered to me. We both feel it is probably better for the class to have a new teacher again. I don't know if I'm "new" enough to really push them to excel, but they've never had me as a solo teacher and my style is definitely different than Dan's (or our team-teaching style before Kai came along). Not sure what I would do with Kai if this happens, but we'll work something out. He might live in my baby carrier? Otherwise the slew of "obaachans" can "janken" for who gets to hold Kai (the grandmas can rock-paper-scissors) ;o)

Oh yeah, so anyway, today in eikaiwa Dan got a great question from Keiko. He asked the class how they were (typical starter question). She raises her hand and very seriously asks if she can ask a question. She went on to ask that if on days with sun it is "sunny" and days with clouds it is "cloudy" and days with snow it is "snowy," when it is hot can you say it is "hotty?" A pretty good question! The class had a pretty good laugh, I guess, when Dan explained to them that "hottie" usually refers to cute girls. Good old Keiko. I love her!

As for me, I've been making origami stationary like a mad woman. My sister-in-law Jenny asked me to make her some more if I had the chance (I had given her some for Christmas awhile back) and so I took the task to heart. Now, 24 pieces later and oodles of folded kimonos, little girls and boys, butterflies, birds, and even Noh masks... Actually it has been really good for me to have a goal to work towards and something that gets those creative juices pumping. Here's a few pictures of some of the stuff I've done. I have some more recent stuff that I have yet to document... I'll post a few of those in a different entry. Now I'm debating how to sell them (ideas, anyone? I'm thinking of an Etsy account, but if anyone knows of a good coffee shop or something, I'd love to hear about it!)

Kai has been developing by leaps and bounds these days. It is amazing. He is getting really good with his hands, can sit by himself (mostly... Mommy sticks close or puts a pillow around him), and even rolled over on his own once (he's a bit late on that... he hates tummy time, so it hasn't been much of a goal for him!) He rolls onto his left side all the time, though. And tonight I had pee shot straight up my shorts for the first time (I was sitting down). Good times. We tried rice cereal tonight too (made from scratch, mind you) and he pretty much hated it. We should have gotten that on video for you. He gagged on it and everything, poor little guy. I tasted it and concurred it was pretty gross. We're going to buy some apple juice to mix into it and see if that helps at all. So, for now, I guess it's just yogurt and breastmilk! We also started letting him "cry it out" at bedtime. The first night was pretty bad (over an hour), but after that it hasn't been any longer than 20 minutes and then he sleeps all night. I feel like a terrible mom while he cries himself to sleep, but I know we are doing the right thing. Another perk... naps! He has gotten into more or less of a schedule, allowing me a few breaks during the day to do my own stuff, be it cleaning or stationary (usually stationary, to tell you the truth!) Kai also learned the "p" sound last week. After we demonstrated it for him, he would practice when he didn't think anyone was watching and then interrupt feeding sessions with me to show me he could do it. So cute. I really, really love this little boy. What an awesome gift from God!

I'll have to blog again soon about our evening activity the other night, pictures and all....
So with that teaser, I'll leave you for now. Until next time,

DAndiKai

(I read this to Dan after I wrote it and he said that the "teaser" sounded provocative. It's not. Sorry to let you down.) :o)

Bon Appetite!

Well, Kai is going to be 5 months on Monday, so we knew it was inevitable that he would want to try eating like a big person soon. And yesterday it came to a showdown of wills... Kai won. In the middle of dinner, after much protesting and squirming and whining (by Kai), Mommy and Daddy pulled out the plain yogurt, the baby spoon, and removed all of Kai's clothes. It was eatin' time! (And like any good parents, got it on video for posterity -- and to share it with all of you!)

So, for your cuteness quota for the day, Kai's first "solids." Bon Appetite!

出口 Rumble 101

Dan and Andi sat down to eat lunch with Kai in his chair like any other Sunday afternoon lunch. Kai had been crabby, and cranky, and fussy all morning. So cranky that Dan had to take him for a walk in his stroller just to get him out of the house. They got rained on.
Kai was playing with a toy, semi-contently, when suddenly he grew quiet. Dan and Andi looked down from their scrambled eggs and saw that all-too-familiar grin on Kai's little face. With a short grunt and a flex of every muscle in his body he did it. He rumbled out the 出口　(de guchi - or in English, "exit") Yes, that is what they call it - "a de guchi rumble." Of course, it happens daily, but this particular day Kai hadn't rumbled all morning.
Dan said to Andi "He just rumbled, I'll change it when we're done with lunch."
Bad choice by Dan.
No, Andi didn't argue with him, it was just a bad choice.
As the two were finishing lunch and a quick piece of chocolate for dessert, Dan reminded Andi, "He still has a dirty poocher (short for poop catcher)."
"Oh yeah," Andi said with a small grin, "should we change that poocher?" she said to Kai.
As Andi pulled Kai out of his chair the extent of the the damage was becoming apparent. The 6" dark yellow spot on his sleeper above his left hip. The more faint, yet still obvious spot on the fabric of the chair. Oh yeah - blowout had occurred.
Andi gingerly carried the now relieved (and oddly warmer) Kai to his changing area. Cautiously she unbuttoned the sleeper, pulled his legs out, now seeing more of the damage. Barely able to control her laughter she opened the decimated diaper and lost all ability to not laugh. "Dan you have to see this!"
With a quick glance Dan also lost control . The diaper was filled to capacity, legs coated, belly button filled in, and back smeared with you-know-what. Now the important thing was how to proceed. The options:

1. Diaper wipes - lots and lots of wipes
2. A wet rag that would later be properly disposed of with the other bio-hazardous materials
3. A full stripdown and a hasty dunk in the tub

A dunk in the bath seemed to be the best option at the time. Dan quickly loaded Kai's small bathtub and Andi very, very carefully carried the squishy, squirming pile of boy and poo into the bathroom. Dan helped the little man-cub stand in the water as Andi wiped down his cream-coated bum. The water ran yellow with poo.
The crisis was over - the blow out would be completely contained with a load of laundry. In went the sleeper, in went the cover of Kai's chair, the rag, the towel-- all the contaminated pieces thrown into the spin cycle to (hopefully) return to their former state of cleanliness.

Thus is life with an infant. It appears that the nearly-five-month-old is totally oblivious to the chaos that he has thrown his parents' lives into, but he knows who's in charge...

And hopefully these parents can move past poop stories soon... other stuff really does happen here. Until the next blow out...

Is this OUR child?

We really feel like we have a new child on our hands these days. We left for vacation a month ago and I think we brought home a different kid. He happens to look just like our baby, but he has a totally new set of skills. It really is amazing.

Kai has discovered his hands-- together. He is always doing "prayer hands" when he sits in his bouncy chair or lays under the baby gym. He picks up toys by himself. He can almost sit up unassisted. He weighs a TON (Andi's back attests to that one. He weighed in at 18 pounds this weekend. Bruiser!) He loves his stroller and gets excited when we go out for a walk. He's more responsive to our playing with him and has begun to really play back. He also is very diverse in the sounds he makes -- this weekend it was a combination of protesting with his mouth closed (mmmmmmmmm!!!!) and high pitch squeals of delight. It's been a fun transformation!

Most amazing of all, though is the fact that a mommy can see her child everyday, know everything about him that there is to know, and then see something new. Like dimples! I noticed Kai has two very tiny dimples above the sides of his mouth. No pictures yet, but very very cute. Incredible that he keeps changing...

And cuteness means "I get what I want," unfortunately. Kai has been "trying" a little food here and there. Not much, just enough to taste it. Like ice cream... (healthy, I know...) Anyway, it makes for some cute photos, so I thought I'd indulge you all. Enjoy!

A Little Boy, Mommy, and the Four-Daiper Disaster

Once there was a little boy who liked to play on the floor. Mommy liked it when he played on the floor because then she could do other things like the laundry. But Mommy knew that when she heard a certain rumbling sound, she needed to stop doing those other things and change a diaper.

Well, yesterday, said rumbling was heard as the little boy was playing. So Mommy quickly finished what she was doing, and waited a few minutes (lest any rumbling was not over quite yet.)

Mommy picked the little boy up, carried him to his changing area (a towel on the floor in his room) and took off his pants. She noticed that some poop had escaped the confines of his diaper onto his leg, so she knew this was going to be a FULL diaper. And indeed it was. So full, in fact, that it not only crept out the leg hole, it also oozed out the back end, getting yellowy poo onto his very cute onesie. Alas, these are the days of our lives.

Mommy then noticed that the poop had quickly run onto his CLEAN diaper that was going to replace the dirty one. Dang it. So, she finished wiping off his little derriere and pulled out the once-clean-now-soiled diaper. Bare bottom on the towel. As she grabbed yet another clean diaper, a shower of tinkle sprayed upwards, causing Mommy to instinctively cover his little manhood with the NEW clean diaper. Unfortunately, the outsides of diapers are water repellent and non-absorbent. So tinkle dribbled all over his previously wiped-off bottom half, all over his changing towel, and all over Mommy's hands too!

Through some mixed-emotion giggles, Mommy sighed and lifted the diaper to inspect the damage. Much to her horror, there was a new puddle of poop under him on the towel! AHHHH!!! The little boy flashed his most innocent glance at Mommy, as if to say, "What?" She clenched her teeth, wiped as much up as she could, and then had to fold over the towel so the toxic materials didn't spread to him or dirty the fourth diaper of the diaper change.

And there was still the pooped-on onesie to reckon with. Mommy stuck a wet-wipe between the little boy's back and the dirty spot, as to not smear poop all up his back and into his hair while removing the clothing. Worked like a charm. But then clothing needed to be replaced. So Mommy went to the closet and managed to pick the single onesie that escaped the threshing floor of "too small clothes" to go home to America. Too stubborn to let it get her down, she decided to dress the little boy in that outfit. Unfortunately, this quickly turned into something resembling a hogtying contest with the baby as he attempted to squirm away from the shirt stuck over his face! After a good 10 second wrestle, Mommy took it back off, somehow managed to slip it on back on all the way over his head and then squirmed his arms through the long-sleeves that were nearly too tight.

Once Mommy and the little boy stopped fussing they managed to see an ounce of humor in the situation.

But as Mommy typed this little saga up, she heard, once again, that ominous rumbling sound...

The End.

Two and a Half Weeks of Globetrotting...

Hey all, Andi here, writing from Wyoming. Bard is back in Japan, hopefully not trapped under a pile of rubble. If you haven't heard yet, there was a fairly large earthquake (6.8 or so) in our region yesterday. According to the news, the death toll is up to at least 9 and there are a dozen people missing, lots of landslides, and there have been over 470 aftershocks associated with the quake, at least 15 of them over a 4.0. Needless to say, our families are happy we are here in the US instead of in Japan. Please keep our friends in Japan in your prayers (and if you want to throw out a prayer for patience on my part, I'm itching to see if anything broke in our apartment). I'll make sure to update you all when we get home ("home" as in Japan.)

As for our vacation, we had a great time in Minnesota. We got to go to a Mommas' Reunion (the support group primarily comprised of former Bethany girls that are moms, moms-to-be, and some-day-moms), visit a few friends, eat LOTS of yummy foods, and do a little shopping (Dan gets an A++ for his JC Penny's trip that he spent $96 and SAVED $104!!! Good job Dan!!!) Most of all, though, we really enjoyed spending time with our family out at the Chateau Jaspersen on Lake Hanska. Although the weather was less than idyllic during the week, the weekends were perfect and one day could have skied on a flat as glass lake ALL DAY. No kidding. Dan eased back into his slalom skiing for the first time in about 3 years. He had a few aches and pains, but for the most part kept up with the rest of the gang. I found a favorite new water activity: kayaking! Our sister-in-law Jenny and Dan's dad Dennis got kayaks for Christmas, so Jenny taught me the ropes. It is AWESOME. I can't wait to get back out there, do some training and then someday go out on a Boundary Waters camping/kayaking adventure with Jenny. Someday...

Kai did pretty well with the travel, all things considered. His night was day and day was night, so he was awfully confused the first few days, but he and I settled into a decent enough routine. Unfortunately his nights of sleeping through the night are gone for the time being, but I'm hoping we will get back to "normal" in a few weeks (once we do the jet lag thing AGAIN.) Flying was decent, but I'm not looking forward to the trip back. YUCK. Anyway, Kai has enjoyed getting to know all his aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, godparents, and oodles of friends. Kai also has a new milestone under his belt... his first cold. Holy buckets, did he get sick when we got to Wyoming. We're pretty sure that his cousin Jensen shared a few germs (to be expected) and Kai and Dan were pretty miserable for the first few days out west. They both are feeling better now, but Kai has a cough that just keeps hanging on, poor little guy. He still has plenty of smiles for us now though. In some ways, I think his cold was harder on Mommy than it was on Baby!

Wyoming has been fun. We saved most of our shopping for here (the limit on baggage made our trip a little harder). Just boring stuff, although I bought a few new pairs of pants that were
much needed after losing baby weight. A nice problem to have, but a hassle and a half when you live in Japan in a gaijin body! We went out to dinner in Loveland with our Japanese cousins that live in Denver, Yasushi, Mieko, and their 6 year old son Taiga (and a little girl in Mieko's belly!). Kai's godparents (Dan's cousins) Christopher and Kym Poetter met us too. I'm a bit jealous that the Abe family invited the Poetters over for sukiyaki (my favorite Japanese dish)... hopefully next time we're in town we'll get to all get together again!

Tim and Dan went out to the BrewFest here in Cheyenne last night and had brother bonding time while Tim's girlfriend Cami and Mom and I watched a chick flick (we watched 27 Dresses... not a bad movie, but not really that amazing either...the girl time was nice though!)

Father's day has been nice. Mom, Dad, Dan, Kai, and I went to church (and Kai met his Cheyenne branch of his fan club). Neil was here when we came home, so after lunch, the guys went out and built a ramp to help Dad get the roof back on the barn. Now we are just hanging out at the house and trying to stay cool.

We've got a few more days here in Wyoming and then we head back to the island. Dan's going to call his supervisor to ask her to check in on the apartment, just so I can have a bit of piece of mind after the earthquake. Until then we're going to have fun with Nonna and Grandpa and Chris and Kym are coming up for a "mini-get-away" and time with us! Yea!

We'll write again when we get back home for sure, if not sooner. See ya!