Mason Shoma

It is starting to feel like spring! The weather is getting warmer and we are seeing more growth from plants. There is actually a lot of growth and energy all around!

Our days at our school are limited. It is a small nursery school and only goes up to 3-year-old class. We will all be attending different schools in April. We went on a farewell field trip to the shrine to pray for our health and good fortune at our new schools.

After the other kids get picked up at school, I have some nice time to myself where I don’t have to fight over toys. It is usually when I do my most creative work. Today I made a car with lights, sirens, and wheel chocks.

Another day, another tantrum.

My graduation outfit arrived. Looking quite dapper!

On our walk we were lucky enough to see the Coca Cola truck come by and fill up a nearby vending machine. We were enthralled.

We had gymnastics class and it was so much fun. We were very active! Especially during our favorite game, potato harvest.

At home we have been playing card games a lot and Daddy keeps thinking up new ways to keep it interesting. We are now using dice to determine how many cards we can flip over when we play the memory game with my Tomica playing cards.

At the park we had fun running around and doing a kind of hopscotch.

Another emergency vehicle.

Oh, so many bubbles!

Tomorrow is our graduation ceremony so Mommy and Daddy had to pick me up early so that our teachers could get the school ready.

At dinner, Mommy and Daddy introduced me to some old Japanese songs. One very famous one was, Ue wo muite aruko, oddly known as Sukiyaki in English.

We kept rocking out with dessert too!

By the way, Mommy and I went to take a bath by “looking up while walking” which is the literal meaning of Ue wo muite aruko.

I woke up in the good mood and a hungry mood! Daddy made a big breakfast for me.

Then it was all about cars. A bunch of car crashes and repairs.

Daddy went out to work on the garden since it was a nice day and it is planting season. I was playing on my Mercedes but ended up helping Daddy in the garden.

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After all that outside work we went in for some quiet time. I did some coloring before dinner.

I ate a hearty meal happily!

Then it was time for my long overdue haircut. I let Daddy put the cape on me this time so I wasn’t itchy at all. It was done in no time. Looking good if I do say so myself!

After grocery shopping we went out to dinner but the place we wanted to eat at was full. So at my request we went for ramen instead. It was very yummy!

We walked home which was really cool because I just got some new shoes today that light up. Pretty flashy, yeah?

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On the way home we stopped by McDonald’s for some dessert. Yum!

Then it was flashy shoes time again.

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After such an active time at the park we took it easy at home and had some nice quiet time play.

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Monday
We learned about Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day). It was quite interesting. It was much better compared to last month’s traditional even which involved an oni. That was scary. This was cute.

It was rainy so we couldn’t go for our walk, but we still worked up a sweat dancing inside.

Tuesday
It was another rainy day so we had a lot of indoor activities. We did a red light green light dancing game where we had to stop when the music stopped. Somehow it turned into a train game where our train stopped when the music stopped. We also had to go to sleep when we heard certain sounds. After all that activity we had some quiet play and did some coloring. I’m getting really good at it, but I really limit my colors. I always use a lot of pink and sometimes a splash of blue, red, or purple.

Wednesday
We had gymnastics class today, but I opted out because I was hungry. My teachers were very accommodating and let me have an early lunch.

The early lunch worked out because Mommy had to pick me up early from school so I could go get a vaccination. I was not thrilled about getting a shot, but I handled it like a trooper. I cried a little bit but that is to be expected. I didn’t fuss or give Mommy and trouble. After, we went to get ice cream as a reward! We also stopped by the game center and I got a couple of new Tomica from the claw game. If this is how it works, then I’m really looking forward to my next vaccination.

Luckily there were no side-effects from the vaccination and I was in a very good mood.

I was watching TV when Daddy came home from work, so I read while he waited for my show to finish. I let him know when it finished and then we played with cars. As always, there was a huge traffic jam in town.

Thursday
We had English class today and we practiced a lot of pronunciation. We went through the entire alphabet. We started at A and went all the way to Z and pronounced all kinds of words that started with those letters. We also talked about our likes. And we did some dancing!

We went for a walk today too, so we were really hungry at lunch time. Itadakimasu!

I’m one of the last kids to get picked up, but that is fine with me. It gives me a lot of alone time with the toys that I want to play with. I don’t have to worry about taking turns or sharing. It really allows my creative juices to flow. Today I made a car carrier with the New Blocks, without instructions of course.

Friday
We went to the park today and had fun running around and playing peekaboo from behind a bench. There were also very pretty plum blossoms to look at.

Today’s New Block creation was a crane truck.

Daddy came home with a treat for me and Mommy. I took the big one.

Daddy made up a waki (armpit) song just as an excuse to tickle me. It is a variation of his number one hit, Kubi, Waki, Piko (Neck, Armpit, Bellybutton).

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What a great week! I had so much fun and can’t wait for the next school week. But first, I’m excited about the weekend, so I need a good rest. (Whether Daddy can get a good rest with my feet in his face is up for debate)

Ojisan is visiting from Tokyo today. We have to tidy up the house in preparation. I made sure to do my part.

I was really happy to see Ojisan again, but I felt the need to play it cool and not let him know that. I was almost standoffish at times. But I think he knows me by now and gets that it is just how I am.

After picking him up from the airport we went straight to lunch. We ate quite a bit there. Then we headed home to hang out. Baaba came to visit to so I went with Daddy to pick her up.

We had fun just hanging out at home and before we knew it we only had a couple of hours before Ojisan had to go back to Tokyo. First I went with Daddy to drop Baaba off at the train station so that she could make it home in time to have dinner with Jiiji. I made sure to tell her to tell Jiiji that I missed him and wanted to see him soon.

Then we went back to the house and picked up Ojisan and Obachan and headed off to dinner. We picked a place near the airport.

It is always fun to socialize while eating, but I was taught at school not to talk with your mouth full so I was constantly stopping conversation until people were done chewing. I know that conversation is fun and important, but so is table manners.

It was a fun day with Ojisan. His visits are always interesting because I often react differently to him. We never know if I’m going to play it cool or welcome him warmly. That is just how our relationship is.

As usual I practiced driving because it was the weekend. This time I brought some passengers to help be learn about driver responsibility. Of course, safety is important so I made sure they buckled their seatbelts.

After driving practice, I rode my Mercedes a bit and also had a go on my Strider. I’m not necessarily super focused on learning to ride a bike, but I have included into my outside play routine.

But after so much outdoor activity, I need a break so we went inside and watched some TV.

It was such a nice day that we just had to go to the park after lunch. We had a ball! We ran around a lot, pretending to be trains on a train track. We rode the rockers a lot. I learned a little about physics when riding the seesaw with Daddy. Daddy has to be as close to the middle as possible and I have to be as far back as possible to have any chance of staying level. The fun thing is that when we do that and then Daddy moves backwards the seesaw becomes a slide and I slip toward the center.

No, this wasn’t my dinner. But I wanted bread and this was the only bread we had. Yay!

Nice to snuggle with a blanket on a cold morning. But I can’t stay here all day. I have to get ready for school…just a few more minutes.

We had our emergency preparedness drill today and listened very intently to all the safety instructions

At the park we ran around a lot and asked our teachers to draw train tracks in the dirt so that we could play trains.

And look at all the “jewels” that we found at the park. I made sure not to lose them and brought them all home. I have quite a growing collection.

At gym class we made sure we stretched properly before we started. We pretended to be crocodiles as we crawled across the mat. When it wasn’t our turn we cheered on our classmates.

Sometimes at morning drop-off there is a traffic jam, so we have to wait our turn. Luckily there is a comfy waiting room for that.

There is always so much to do at school. On our walk we visited a flower shop and took a look at all the spring flowers. I also like making vehicles with New Blocks. The is my delivery truck with its wheel chocks on to prevent it from rolling away. I am also coloring a lot at school these days. Look how good I’m getting!

Even though I’m tall enough to push the doorbell at a school without climbing up on the shoe box, I still like to climb up.

On our walks there are so many interesting things to see like a Hinamatsuri doll display at the Prefectural Office.

And a postal truck making deliveries.

What a great week! I had a lot of fun and am showing signs of real growth. No major tantrums this week and let’s hope that we can keep it going. I’m really growing up. Look how tall I am on the step stool now. I’m actually tall enough to reach the sink without it, but I still like to be thought of as a baby sometimes.

While waiting for a table at a restaurant for lunch, I ask Mommy to take a walk for me. We ended up frolicking quite a bit.

Lunch was really good! I got the kids’ hamburger steak meal. It was so good that I had to order another hamburger steak! (I heard Mommy and Daddy discussing just giving up on the kids’ meals and ordering regular adult meals for me already.)

After such a good lunch I was in such a good mood that when we got home I just had to dance with Mommy!

We went to the park where I played with my construction vehicles and we played catch with a ball. I really wanted to play with both Mommy and Daddy so I made Mommy put away her phone so that she could concentrate on catching the ball.

Then there was more fun and goofiness at home with stretching and close-up.

We finished off the day with a cute little omiyage for dessert! (Headlamp optional)

Continue reading “Loving the lock plate”

I am fascinated by anything and everything having to do with cars. One of my favorite toys is a Times parking lot that is part of my Tomica Town set. It has parking bumpers and lock plates in the parking spots. I like seeing them in real life too! First you park, then up it goes to keep you from leaving until you pay. No need for a gate or ticket to the parking lot.

Sometimes you eat a meal because you are hungry. Sometimes you eat a meal for nourishment. Sometimes you eat a meal because it is delicious. But sometimes, you eat a meal just so that you can get to the dessert. Today’s lunch was one of those meals. I wanted ice cream so I made sure to eat all of my lunch. And it was a really yummy lunch too.

I got a package that had a Spider-man hoodie just for me. When we were in Hawaii, Uncle Matt heard that I liked Spider-man and he ordered this hoodie for me, not as a Christmas gift or anything, just because he thought I might like it. He was right! Thank you, Uncle Matt! Time for some web slinging!

The weather was really nice today so we had a lot of fun running around in the park! We ran so fast that one of my classmate’s hat came off. I was there to help her put it back on.

When Mommy came to pick me up from school, I wasn’t quite ready to leave yet. I wanted to read a couple of books so that I could choose one to borrow and read at home. Hmmm, this one looks interesting.

It was cold today, but we warmed up quickly by running around a lot. We played cops and robbers. I caught my teacher. “You’re going to jail!”

We also made a construction site in the sand. So much to dig and so much to build.

It is always very cold right after my bath. Got to stay warm.

“What Daddy?” It was getting hard to hear. Time for an ear cleaning.

Off to the races.

Gymnastics class was fun! We practiced vaulting over a horse. And we played a gymnastics class favorite, potato harvest.

What a fun day! Time to head home.

Daddy picked us up dessert today. So cute! A cate paw mouse!

Playing toy shop. Three dollareedoos for a bus! What a great deal!

We had English class today and we talked about things that we liked. “I like…” And we danced to the octopus song. While returning the cards one was put face down. Mr. Oliver said, “Oh nooooo~~~!” We burst into laughter!

I’ve been having fun with Daddy’s headlight. I can pretend that I’m a car or truck. It is so much easier to see now. (Note: headband size is the same as when Daddy uses it)

Snuggle, snuggle, snuggle.

We played cops and robbers today as well. We were the cops and our teachers were the robbers. It is nice to be the authority figure once in a while.

“Heeey theeere”

I love a good car crash! So many of my play time scenarios revolve around some kind of car crash in my town. Often leading to deployment of the emergency vehicles and resulting traffic jams. Today Daddy and I had fun videoing all kinds of crashes in slow motion. Enjoy! We sure did.

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I woke up fine this morning but then all of a sudden in the middle of breakfast I threw up. Then I threw up again and again. It must have been some kind of stomach bug. I threw up quite a bit this morning. But I didn’t cry at all. I was surprised of course and not feeling well, but I was a trooper and just pushed through the discomfort. I finally got everything out of me and then fell asleep. I wonder what it was. Maybe something I ate at the buffet yesterday? Or maybe it was just a stomach bug.

After I woke up, I was fine. You would never have guessed that I had emptied my stomach just a couple of hours earlier. Actual, I woke up quite hungry, since I didn’t have anything that stayed in my stomach from the morning. Daddy made some somen for me, and I ate a lot. It was very gentle on my stomach but also delicious and filling. Then I was feeling like my normal self.

Hey, here are the new socks that I bought yesterday! I love pink!

Daddy wanted to treat Mommy and me to a special Valentine’s lunch so he took us to a buffet that had a large selection and a lot of sweets! It was quite a long bus ride to get there, but that was fun in itself.

When we got to the buffet I ate so much! I even tried almost everything that Mommy and Daddy had. I was very curious and adventurous. But of course the best part was the sweets. I had a lot of desserts. Why not? It is our Valentine’s celebration after all.

After lunch we went shopping at a nearby shopping mall. Mommy had some things that she wanted to buy and I also had a couple things that I wanted to buy too. First, I wanted to buy some pink socks. Pink is my favorite color and I just needed some pink socks. We found a nice pair and I was very happy to get it. Also, I wanted to buy some new Tomica cars. It has become a bit of a tradition to spend the Valentine’s money that Nana and Papa give me on some Tomica cars. My first ever Tomica was from Nana and Papa’s Valentine’s money. We went shopping and I found a police car and bus that I really liked. I know what you are going to say, “Don’t you already have several police cars and buses?” Well, yes, but these are difference types.

After all the shopping was done we headed home, and then it was playtime as usual.

Crafts at school.

Pizza party with Daddy

Dessert.

Playing shop.

Valentine’s Day card from Nana and Papa!

At the park.

Dessert.

Playing shop again.