Food (and the Holidays)

There have been a lot of holidays lately - which means food! And with Andrew's visit to the feeding specialist and his issues with eating, we've been thinking about food a lot.

One day, I had it with all of the old frozen bananas in the freezer and made them all up into better food - two different recipes of banana bread and banana muffins. They were all yummy! We had a slice for our St. Patrick's day breakfast of eggs and orange juice. Katsu thought it was really gross (to look at) but ate it anyways. Andrew ate some bread and some spinach for his green-ness.





We also had to make hot cross buns for Good Friday. Yum! And eat our Easter jelly beans.





We also have tried coming some more things lately from scratch. We are thinking about making all of our own bread instead of buying it. Also, we are thinking of making a Friday night pizza tradition, where we make it and put all kinds of yummy things on it. Here is a recent best:



And of course, we are just hoping that Andrew will learn to swallow earlier rather than later. The feeding team seemed to think he was doing really well. He really loves to "eat" food ... he just doesn't swallow it.

Big News: The Helmet is Off

I forgot to post that Andrew's helmet is off! He wears it at night for a couple more days (he got it off almost 2 weeks ago) and then he is done. The doctor thought he could keep wearing it, but since he hasn't had any improvement since his visit at the beginning of January, I think it is good enough.

Of course, that meant another big change was coming - a hair cut. We bought a hair cut kit (but we just used scissors this time) and did a little trim ourselves. But he kept crawling away! It was kind of hard, but at least it's not in his eyes anymore.

Before:







and After:

Easter egg hunt 2008

The day before Easter Sunday (that is Saturday in most of the world, I think), we opted to inherit our egghunting tradition to the youngest member of the household. Here, the youngest member of Funai clan successfully hunts for eggs filled with jellybeans that his parents enjoyed.

March 2008

By the end of March Andrew has sixth teeth, can crawl, walk with a walker, stand for several seconds and likes to act like a bully around his equals (those of the same age). Apart from the last one we enjoy.

Music February 2008

Andrew developed a love for African music, primarily the ones recorded on earlier tracks of the putamaya children CD. Either this song or any arrangement of Daft Punk "Harder Better Faster Stronger" is guranteed to bring smile to the little Andrew.

Setsubun 2008

According to my semi-well read understanding of Japanese culture derived from my own experience and wiki reading, Setsubun means a change of season. In particular, Japanese culture regards spring setsubun with importance and it coincides in the neighborhood of chinese new years (although I know that Japanese setsubun and Chinese new years do not occur on the same day. also, Japanese celebrate New years day on western calener, so do not celebrate chinese new years, at least I don't).

Anyway, in this spring setsubun the Japanese celebrate the wholesomeness by casting the evil goblin outside of the house by throwing dry-bakes soy beans. This throwing of soy-beans is often accompanied with aiming at the masked goblin, who is a disguise of the head of the household (i.e. father, which in this case is me), being casted away by children of the house with a phrase "Oni wa Soto, Fuku wa Uchi". Later you are supposed to eat the beans to the amount of children's age (though this may be a house rule).

No we are not heathen. At least we don't play with turkey's sternum after the celebratory meal.

Back in Ann Arbor

Back to cold Ann Arbor, Andrew's daily routine included waking up, not wanting to take nap, take nap, breastfeed, stay indoor and watch people go by and wait for Daddy to come home. Meanwhile, his teeth started to come out, started to stand and walk by holding on and showed a slight motivation to crawl.

This clip had some either editing or uploading issue to which I am not willing to revisit. The functional clip starts slightly before 2:30.


Feb 1

Tokyo Disneyland January 2008

Four videos of Andrew's first Disneyland in Japan. The highlights include watching lots of Japanese people go by, waiting in line with lots of Japanese people, and watching the parade with lots of Japanese people. Oh and the riding of carousel, and also riding in train for 3hr with lots of Japanese people, too.

Christmas 2007

I finally got my lazy Japanese bum to get on with an electronic video update. So here to several hours of downloading, editing and uploading of videos, starting with Christmas in Ann Arbor, USA and Saitama, Japan.

Christmas in AA


And our early morning update from jetlagged father and son


Christmas with Katsu's family

Holidays

We just got a new laptop (which I am working from) but we haven't uploaded pictures to it yet, so this will be a picture-free post.

St. Patrick's day was fun. We all wore green (except Katsu, who always gets mad when I pinch him, but never seems to have any green clothes). I made a green breakfast with eggs and orange juice, which Katsu though was gross and of course, Andrew could not eat.

For Easter, we did an easter egg hunt on Saturday where Andrew found all of our eggs - he did a really good job! Of course, he couldn't actually eat the jelly beans that were hidden in them, but he did have some chocolate which he enjoyed. We were going to make these resurrection cookies, but we totally forgot about it. We also went to a Japanese festival on Saturday that was lots of fun. Andrew really enjoyed watching the karate demonstration. We got yummy food and played some fun games.

But the big Easter news of course, was the 6 inches of snow we got Friday night. Katsu thinks this will be the last big snowstorm of the year, but I have my doubts.

Books in March

This has been a good reading month so far, so I just can't wait to post. I finally feel like I've read some good books.

Laura Werlin's cheese essentials : an insider's guide to buying and serving cheese : with 50 recipes - I never really thought about all the different kind of cheeses there are. Next time we have a weekend free we have got to go up and try one of the world's best cheeses, made right here in Michigan by Traverse City. I liked how this book had "homework" to have you try different cheeses and sample - I want to buy this or check it out again and try all these assignments.

The savior by Drucker, Eugene
I feel like I am kind of doing "theme" reading this month, as this book is about a German who plays his violin during the war at hospitals as a kind of military service and then is given a special assignment to play at a concentration camp. I started out really like the book. But towards the end, I just wasn't so sure. The ending was not what I expected at all. In the end, this book gave me lots to think about: about guilt, about the Holocaust, about standing up for others, about whether or not you or others are good people. By the end of the book, I questioned - who among all of these people was good? Who was really acting out of more than self-interest?

The Poets' corner : the one-and-only poetry book for the whole family
I didn't read this entire book, but I'd definately like it and want to check it out again. The selection of poetry was very eclectic and I liked to read poems from it in the morning at breakfast. Andrew and Katsu didn't pay a whole lot of attention, but ... I didn't get a chance to listen to the CD it came with but I found the idea interesting.

Here if you need me : a memoir by Braestrup, Kate
This book is about a widow who goes on to live her husband's dream of becoming a chaplain to the Forestry department (or something like that) in Maine. I have secretly always wanted to be a minister and find these kind of occupations fascinating. While the stories she shares of her work on the job were very interesting, but what I enjoyed most about the book is reading about this woman's relationship with God. I find her ideas about religion very different than mine, but I really like what she had to say. I especially loved how she took "God is love"; the loving acts of others in our times of need is the evidence of God in our lives. A good (fast) read.

Animal, vegetable, miracle : a year of food life by Kingsolver, Barbara
I really really enjoyed this book about a family trying to live off local food. I love her writing style to begin with, but I found the information about different plants and how they grow fascinating. This family worked so hard and really truly enjoyed the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor. This book gave me an added appreciation for the food I eat, a desire to eat more local food, and a desire to grow and store more of my own food. A great read.

The book thief by Zusak, Markus
A total MUST read. I loved this book. I mean, how can you not love a book with Death as a narrator. At first, I was a little skeptical, but this viewpoint worked wonders for a story about a German girl growing up during World War II in a foster family of sorts as she experienced the war, the persecution of the Jews, etc. Death always describes the scenes about the color and the way each day felt. The diction and imagery of this book is AMAZING. And the characters were so vividly portrayed. This is the best fiction book I have read in a REALLY REALLY long time.

I hate going to the Doctors

Two stories:

Last week I had a cold and my chest started to hurt really bad, all the time. So, I decided to go to the doctor. My health insurance sort of changed hands at the new year, so I double checked to make sure they had the right doctor for me. Well, I'm glad I did because they changed my primary care doctor ... without telling me! And so, it was downtown and I had to lug Andrew on a very crowded bus instead of getting to drive to my normal doctor. Then, my doctor was not very good (Well, actually I saw an RN). She recommended honey for my cough (even though I told her I didn't have a cough), claiming that scientific studies says it works pretty well, though she didn't know why. But then again, she though it might go through breastmilk and since babies can't have honey, I probably shouldn't either. And she said I could take Sudafed, but I had better check with Andrew's pediatrician first, to see if that was okay. So, in other words, it was WORTHLESS. And my arms ached for the next day from carrying 22 lb Andrew everywhere.

Today, Andrew finally had an appointment with his doctor about his swallowing problems. We got there at 2:30 or so for his 2:45 appt. At 3:00, we went back to the examining room, Andrew was weighed and got naked. And then, our doctor did not come until at least 4:00!!! What a crawling, naked except for diaper and gown baby is supposed to do for a whole hour in a cold examining room is beyond me! Then, poor Andrew had to be held down while the doctor tried to look at his throat causing him to throw up. And don't you love it when the doctor is like, "Wow! I have NEVER seen that before". So, now we need to see two specialists (a feeding team and an ear-nose-and throat doctor) in the next 2 weeks. Along with the helmet doctor he already sees. Plus, I have a doctors appt for a study I'm in.

Oh, I LOVE doctors.

Andrew is 10 months old (tomorrow)

This has been a busy month for Andrew. He learned to crawl and is crawling and pulling himself up everywhere! He pulls up on the standards - the couch, chairs, coffee table, bookshelves, our legs. As well as on books, on the wall. Crazy little boy. His new favorite thing to do is to get into everything. He seems to have a special affinity for electrical engineering textbooks, Disney classic DVDs in tins, and the cat's toys as well as cords and outlets. He is really happy just doing this all day.

He is also learning some other important skills, like stacking blocks (though he still prefers to knock them down) and putting things in a bucket (though he still prefers to dump it all out). I especially enjoy the second task because it means he is this much closer to chores, like picking up and throwing away trash. I also trying to brain-wash him by constantly singing "When we're helping we're happy ...", a great little Primary ditty.

Andrew's love of music seems bottomless, especially for African music and techno. He loves to wave his arms up and down and when standing to shake his bum. I am also trying to introduce him to poetry and art. We enjoyed some museums this last month which was great fun!

Andrew seems to have finally mastered "ma-ma" and "da-da" (and mostly attach them to the right parent) and seems to say the word "bye" as well. He knows Joe's name very well, but doesn't know how to say it yet. He misses Katsu a lot when he is at work during the day and loves to sit by the window and wait for him in the evening. He missed him terribly when we were in Texas.

Andrew is a bit of a bully. He likes to hug/wrestle other kids and also has learned the fine art of biting. We hope this is mostly because he is teething (his 5th and 6th tooth are coming in), and it will get better.

His gagging is getting better, but he still spits all food out and I think I have seen him swallow something like once. He eats a bit of yogurt, maybe 1 oz, by us putting it on a spoon and then handing him the spoon and he feeds himself. We have tried to feed him other things this way, but he quickly realizes they are not yogurt.

Overall, Andrew is really a very happy kid. He smiles a lot. We are having fun.

Terracotta Warriors & Fudge

Yesterday, we went on a miniature road trip to Midland, MI, which really must be in the middle of nowhere. It was very spur of the moment. The museum there was having a really cool exhibit that I read about in the in-flight-magazine that I had to see - 2 terracotta warriors from China. The artistry and beauty of these warriors is amazing - especially considering there are thousands of them (a whole army)! I hope I someday get to see the army in China, but that will be a LONG LONG time off. So, this exhibit whetted my appetite for now. (We didn't see this soldier, but a very similar one). The museum in Midland
was really well done for the small museum. It also had an exhibit called "Grossology" which talked about the science of burps, farts, sneezes, etc - lovely. Andrew was fascinated with an electronic faucet which talked about sneezing.

Afterwards, we stopped by Frankenmuth on the way home for their famous chicken dinner - SO delicious - and browsed the shops and bought some WONDERFUL fudge! German Chocolate and also Chocolate Almond which is already all gone, but was so fabulous I wanted to buy more on the website. And I don't even like fudge! It was a fun weekend. Too bad our camera wasn't charged so we don't have any pictures.

February 2008 Books & Such

For the one person who actually cares, here is what was going on in our house this week, reading and entertainment wise. Note - everything is on a scale of 4 stars.

Books

The Choice, by Nicholas Sparks – 1.5 stars – I like Sparks’ sappy romantic books, but not this one. I thought the story boring and prosaic and the entire idea of his “choice” somewhat unappealing with a fantastical ending.

The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, by Phillip Zimbardo – 3.75 stars – I really really love this book, but it is a very long nonfiction book. The book spends a great deal of time outlining the Stanford Prison Experiment and then discusses in general the ideas of not only personality but also (and mostly) situation and the “system” causing good apples to go bad – the bad barrel philosophy. I love the perspective this book gives me and find the psychology experiments very very fascinating. I loved it!

The Saturday Wife, by Naomi Ragen – 2.5 stars – For this kind of book (and genre), this book really made me think. The main character is (in my mind) nominally an Orthodox Jew but ends up marrying a rabbi and trying to convince him to follow her’s life dream – basically living a life of leisure in a really really expensive suburb. And the corruption that follows. I just had such a hard time believing that people can be so shallow.

The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss – 1.5 stars – This was our book for book club in February and I just didn’t love it. It follows the story of an old man (a bit crazy, I might add) and a teenage girl and you see all kinds of love. But as I and another reader wondered, “When is the book going to start?”. A very slow story and the “and yet” and “but”s of the novel started to grate on my nerves. But some people really love it – what can I say.

Austenland, by Shannon Hale – 1.5 stars – A quick read on a night when Katsu was at a friends watching movies. An interesting take on what it might have been like to live in a Jane Austen novel (boring, boring, and a few hot guys). But unfortunately boring.

Another day in the frontal lobe: a brain exposes life on the inside, by Katrina Firlik – 2.5 stars – This interesting memoir by a brain surgeon wasn’t quite what I expected … though I did learn some about the brain and got a different impression about what brain surgeons do. I don’t think I’d like this job.

CDs

Putumayo Kids - 1.5-4 stars - Andrew has really really loved these CDs the last month or so. African Playground and Dreamland both get 4 stars each. French Playground is 3.5 stars. Reggae Playground is 2.5 stars, Folk Playground is 1.5 stars. Animal Playground is 2 stars. Asian Dreamland is 2 stars. And yes - we have listened to WAY too many of these in the last month. But the African Playground CD rocks. Andrew dances along to EVERY song and only wants to listen to this CD.