When we woke up and checked on Taisei this morning, to our surprise, he was sleeping in bed with his pajama tops, but nothing on below that! We immediately assumed that he must have leaked and decided to strip his wet pants off. But they weren't wet, nor even smelly. Huh? When we was finally awake enough to answer questions, he told us that he couldn't find them in the dark so he just went to sleep without them. Silly boy! When Taisei really needs to go, he has a habit of stripping off the pants immediately and then making his way to the bathroom. I'm not sure why, except that on several occasions, he's stopped to relieve himself before he made it to the bathroom. >:-( Arg. He hasn't really had any accidents except for during the last trip to Japan (where, believe it or not, jet lag even can affect your bladder! :)
Mirei had her first haircut today. Check it out. Before.
After.
Not the greatest picture. She was tired because we started so late. I knew I had to go with the boyish cut since the top was so long and wispy, while the layer underneath seemed to just be barely starting to grow. I matched it all up and hopefully the next one we'll be able to do a bob or something more girly.
Taisei was the one that really needed it, so he went first. Mirei watched carefully and wanted one too, so why not. Perfect timing.
For Taisei, this is turning out to be a fun summer.
Soccer:
We gave Taisei the choice to sign up for soccer or T-ball this summer. At first, he didn't want to do either one. He always says in Japanese, "Mary-sensei is good enough." In other words, he doesn't want to do much more than his regular class with Mary at the CFDC (U of U). Although we really do like that program a lot, we really wanted to get him getting used to doing new things, especially since Kindergarten is starting in the fall. Plus, it would be a shame not to start teaching him some skills with his seemingly high level of motor skills. After some encouragement, watching YouTube videos and talking to him, he agreed to sign up for Soccer. Then, he eventually decided he wanted to do T-ball as well, but unfortunately that filled up already.
So, soccer. After the second week, it seemed to be successful beyond our hopes and expectations. Each week, they have practice (20 min) then a game (20 min). Right off, he happened to get a very nice coach who he really likes. The coach happens to be from China, but I'm not sure if that has to do with it). He's good with the kids and tries to get them even playing time.
Game 1 - all the kids were timid. One boy wouldn't even play. Most of the kids just watched as the ball bounced right by. On the other hand, the team we played must have been hand-picked by the coach. Every kid could dribble and shoot. Every time they got the ball, they took off and left Orange (Taisei's team) in the dust. When Orange got the ball, you couldn't even tell for sure which way the ball would be kicked - usually out of bounds or backwards... right back to the other team. Even though you're not supposed to keep score, it ended 4-2, Yellow.
The best thing - Taisei looooved it! Now he understood why I was telling him that shooting it and dribbling it were different. So after game 1, we went and bought a proper sized ball. We went to the park and practiced dribbling, running, passing and shooting. He kicks the ball a little too late sometimes, but still very good timing. He can kick it without stopping it and it often comes right back to me.
Game 2 - Taisei went right after it. He connected solidly with the ball several times. On one occasion, he and another boy kicked the ball so hard at the same time that both went down. It drew a collective gasp from the crowd. Our parents couldn't believe how much better our team became in just one week. This time, the other team had two kids that were pretty good. But suddenly, Taisei and two of his teammates were really good too. The three of them were aggressive in going after the ball and had it in their red zone (do you call it that in soccer) quite a bit. Taisei had several great fast breaks, two of which he scored on. They were beautiful shots too, from a good 10-15 feet out, if I do say so myself. ;) One other teammate had the other two shots and they were beauties as well. Orange could never score on the red-zone scrums because the opposing coach was smart. He had taught all of his players to go stand right in from of the goal if the ball was ever in the vicinity! Three kids blocking a goal that was probably 4 feet wide. Nothing you can do there. haha. In the end, score was 4-4, with Taisei scoring two and Cambria scoring two. I'm afraid I got way too into the game, although I encouraged all the kids from both teams. I'll have to tone it down a bit next time. ;) If I can get it on, I'll post Taisei's two scoring drives.
I looked and looked for a place. I wanted something where he could let out his craziness in a more controlled manner. Perhaps get some discipline while he's at it as well. Just as I was about to buy a Groupon for a place in Bountiful, I found out that one of my friends from work, a known blackbelt and very hardward and successful employee at that, teaches right by our place in the Avenues! Perfect timing. Plus, another coworker's son, a friend of Taisei's was also just about to start. We took Taisei right away for a tryout.
I was worried during the first practice. He was reluctant and didn't understand all the terminology and the customs. He was very surprised that all the Caucasian were speaking some Japanese. Taisei wouldn't talk about it afterward so I was afraid that he didn't like it. But then when he was running around punching, kicking, and doing the things he learned his first day, we realized that he loved it. Phew! But at the moment, he's on a break from Karate.That's because his soccer games are on Tuesdays and now swimming are 4 days a week at the same times.
Swimming:
This one, we really worried about. Taisei's scared of the water and didn't enjoy his last swimming class much. To our delight, he loves the teachers! They do a great job of singing songs and playing games to teach the kids. It's perfect. He's even singing the songs at home sometimes. Before the class, he wouldn't put his face in the water or let go of my neck in the water. Now, he can wear a life jacket and paddle on his own for a limited time. He can put his face underwater and kick with a kick board. It's been great! We're so happy for the good teachers that are helping him develop these critical survival skills in the water.
Bowling:
We got family passes to bowl two games daily the entire summer for 25$. What an incredible bargain! Of course, we tell many of our friends about it and they just shrug. I guess bowling's just not the entertainment it used to be. And that must be the only reason they're selling these family passes for so cheap. Taisei's had fun bowling, and even Mirei's been able to use the ramp to do it herself. It's been a fun activity to take the family to go do often.
Mirei:
As for little sister Mirei - thanks to watching Taisei do all kinds of things, she's afraid of nothing. When they're out playing around, she's the one touching the bugs while Taisei's egging her on but afraid to do it himself. :)
Mirei's coming into her own this year. She's definitely Ms. Colorful. If she doesn't get what she wants, big time whine. If she likes what she eats, big smile and lots of commentary. Of course, we thing she's the cutest thing ever except when she has her attitude, which happens all the time.
Compared to Taisei at this age, she can understand basically everything we say. When we ask her questions, we can always expect a Japanese grunt in the affirmative, "un," or a distinctive English "no." She likes to say people's names. She seems quick at memorizing phrases, nouns and names. Today, we were playing with whimpy fireworks in the backyard and we kept saying "That's it?" For the rest of the night, she kept saying "That's it?!" Her two favorite made-up words are "chun-chun" and "chi-chi" (basically any animal, particularly birds). All bugs are "ari, ari!" She loves seeing animals, birds and bugs.
Mire's so smart - this is how she holds the book up. haha
She has always wanted to do everything herself, partially because she has to copy everything that Taisei does. That means we can't feed her, we can't put her clothes on for her, and other things.
Mirei likes to sing the zooo-san song in Japanese, especially when she sees elephants.
She likes to lie down with Taisei often and pretend that they're sleeping. She'll snore and make all kinds of funny sounds to try to show us that she's sleeping. That's kind of funny because as far as I know, no one in our family snores. :) She's been sleeping in the same room as Taisei about 2 months ago. It's been great. She tends to sleep through the night now that Taisei's in there.
Mirei's vice is sweets. It's seriously an addiction. We literally have to hide any candy-like object from her or she goes crazy. Once she tastes something sweet, she'll make the biggest deal until she gets more. For a long time, gummy vitamins were a huge problem. She's finally figured out that we're only going to give her one no matter what. But still, out of the blue, she'll start asking for candy "a-me? Mama, a-me?" (Japanese, of course.) The only bright side is that she also does like fruits... if they're sweet, of course.
Here she is only eating the jam. And that's good bread too. :(
Lastly, Mirei has not stopped doing her funny leg thing that I mentioned last time. Let's call it "planking," the teenage phenomenon that LaReen alerted me to. She does it every moment she gets a chance. She balances on her pelvic bone and lifts both legs as high as she can. We can't figure out what's going on - if the pressure helps her feel better, or what. Whenever she becomes quiet, she's usually planking. Really, this deserves its own post. I'll do that. Check up next time for pictures of Mirei planking.
Miscellaneous stuff from this summer:
We did our annual Taisei-and-Friends hike to Donut Falls. Unfortunately, there was so much water this year, we couldn't cross the raging river to get to the falls.
We cleaned out and painted our office. It's much spacier now.
You know how on TV, bubble baths seem to have WAY more bubbles than you ever get at home? We finally figured out how they do it on TV. While we were away from the bathroom, Taisei and Mirei used about 1/3 of a giant bottle of Burt's Bees bubble bath. We had just bought it too. :| All private parts are covered, just like they always do on TV with the bubbles. ;)
Ok, that's it for now. Just wanted to get something down on paper while I had a few moments. Keep checking back! :)
