Mason Shoma

Loving getting to share a Starbucks treat with Mommy. Funny faces may have been a result of the sugar high.

Making silly faces while singing a strange song.

Mommy and I went to a nearby matsuri (festival) today. Daddy had to work late so we went jus the two of us. I got to wear my cool new jimbei! We were lucky to find one that had trains on them.

There were a lot of people at the matsuri. But luckily we didn’t really have to wait in line for food at the food booths. I ate some yummy food and Mommy got a me a little prize at one of the toy booths. I was very happy to get this cute little tour bus pouch.

The festival was very festive and I had a great time with Mommy!

We went to visit the subway station today. We all love the subway. It was too bad that we could only visit and not ride the subway. Still we got really excited when we heard the subway trains coming and going. We couldn’t really see them, but it was still very fun!

We had a birthday party for one of our younger classmates. It was a lot of fun and us older kids helped decorate and celebrate.

We also played a new game where we held on to the mat with all our might while our teacher tried to pull us off of it. I know it may not sound like much fun to a grownup, but to a little kid it was super fun!

Daddy brought home a coworkers omiyage today and it looked pretty yummy. But I don’t eat chocolate yet so I only got to smell it. Wow, did it smell good!

We had a fun time playing at the park today. We had fun looking for all kinds of bugs and we had fun running around playing cops and robbers.

It usually takes me very long to fall asleep. Part of the problem is that I enjoy my bedtime routine a lot and don’t really calm down before bed. Bath time is fun, book time is fun, and even brushing teeth time is fun. So to try and calm things down a bit we started reading my books in bed instead of in the living room where I bounce around on the couch. To be honest, it doesn’t make much of a difference, but we’ll keep up this routine to see if I can fall asleep faster.

On our walk today we saw a lot of cool vehicles! We saw an ambulance, huge flatbed truck, and a police car. That was very exciting for us!

When we got to the prefectural office, which was our destination, we took a little water break. For some reason I chose to make this expression.

Can’t exactly say why.

Today, my friend came over to play and we had plans to play in the wading pool. So, I took it easy in the morning to preserve my energy.

We had a ton of fun in the pool! Daddy bought some water balloons for us which made it even more fun!

We had a such a great time that we were in the pool a very long time. My friend was quite worn out and was drifting off to sleep after we came in from the pool. I was pretty tired too. After she left, I just chilled for the rest of the day.

We had our Sports Day today, and my first big accomplishment was not crying when we arrived at the gym. In previous years, I burst into tears when we got to the gym and I saw so many people that I didn’t know. This year I was ready for it and didn’t cry.

When we sat down, I was in a goofy mood and was playing with my neck cooling ring and making goofy faces. When our teachers told us it was time to sit with our class, I went without any fuss.

When it was time to start the opening ceremonies I was one of the first to line up when our teachers instructed us to do so. Overall, I followed instructions very well today.

I was very good at just waiting for the next set of instructions and not running off or doing my own thing.

Although I followed instructions and did what I was supposed to do, I didn’t exactly do it enthusiastically. If I’m being honest, I would have preferred to have just stayed at home and played with my cars, but I’m did my best to do what I had to do.

Even though I do what I’m told, this monkey doesn’t dance when told. I like to dance and enjoy dancing, but I don’t do it on command. I went to my spot, didn’t cause any trouble, but I did not dance.

A lot of my classmates were enjoying Sports Day and had a ball. I was there because I had to be. No smiles from me. Although whenever I caught Daddy’s eye, he made silly faces and got some smiles out of me.

After our warm up dance and some other classes performances, it was time for our performance. Remember, what I said about this monkey not dancing? Well, the following pictures are from our “dance” routine. The smiles are from when Daddy made funny faces and started doing the dance routine on the sidelines. He made me smile, but could not convince me to dance. Actually, just putting on the costume was a big accomplishment for me. I put up no fuss, but did not dance.

After our dance routine we had to wait for other classes to finish there performances and events before it was our turn again.

Our next event was a cooperative square relay. We took turns running different sides of a square. I ran very fast and very straight! This was probably the most willing participation from me out of the whole day.

Our last event was gymnastics performances. As you know I did not participate in the practices until the very last month. I made a lot of progress and was able to do every part of the routine. But today I did not feel like doing it in front of so many people. It was a long wait until my turn and by that point I was not feeling like doing gymnastics. My teachers know this is a sensitive subject for me and did not try to force me to do it. They gave me a chance to try, but when it was obvious that I wasn’t going to do it, they brought me over to Mommy and Daddy.

My gymnastics teacher came over right after and wanted to tell Mommy and Daddy that I did the full gymnastics routine really well at rehearsal. She said she understands that it is hard to do in front of a lot of people, but wanted Mommy and Daddy to know that even though they didn’t see me do it, that I could do it. She complimented me on learning how to do the whole routine in only a month.

The Sports Day did not necessarily end on a good note, but I can say that I did my best and there were some nice moments there. Mommy and Daddy were very proud of me and know that I made a lot of progress over the years. The main thing is that I showed up and did my best!

I love Mommy! And I express that love very passionately!

After school, Mommy and I thought we deserved a little treat at the end of a long week. So we stopped by 7-Eleven and picked up some smoothies. It was very cool. You choose your smoothie flavor (which was pretty much just frozen fruits in a cup) from the freezer and then bring it to a special smoothie machine. Then it makes your smoothie right in front of you. As you can see, I was very excited about my smoothie.

Yummy!

We went to the gym for a full Sports Day rehearsal. I did very well and followed all the directions. When it came to the gymnastics portion I performed very well. I jumped over the jumping box without problem and did all the poses and forms on the bar. I think I’m ready. As for the dancing part…I stood on my mark very accurately. Yeah, I didn’t dance. But I still got up in front of everyone, so that is an accomplishment in itself. I think I’m ready for tomorrow!

We had our English lesson at school today and as always we had so much fun! We learned about numbers, colors, and fruits!

On our walk today we heard a helicopter and when we looked up we saw a Doctor Heli (an EMS helicopter). It was very exciting!

Mommy had a seminar in the city today, so Daddy met us at the station and took me home so that Mommy could attend the seminar. He asked me if I wanted to eat at a restaurant in the city but I said that I wanted to eat at home. The station had so many people and I didn’t feel like dealing with a crowd. So we took the train home and at our station I saw some restaurants that looked yummy and didn’t have a crowd. I told Daddy that I wanted to eat that. So that’s what we did. We ate at a nikudon restaurant. It was as delicious as I imagined it. And my kids’ meal came with a Paw Patrol hand towel. Score!

Today we walked to the elementary school gym, just so we all knew where we would have our Sports Day this Saturday. It was a short walk, but very hot. We made sure to take a bunch of water breaks.

Back at school we had gymnastics class. We will perform some gymnastics at Sports Day, so we are all practicing really hard. I of course had a late start but I’m doing pretty good. I can already do all of the athletic feats that we are going to perform. I just hope I don’t get stage fright.