Daddy had to leave for a business trip to Tokyo today. It is only going to be for a couple of days, but I’m really going to miss him.
I was really good and didn’t cry or anything. I sent Daddy off with smiles and happy thoughts!
In like the first hour he was gone I said that I missed Daddy nearly a dozen times.
Then I got right back to my usual obsession with cars.
On our way to school today it started to snow. I was able to catch a few snowflakes in my hands. They were so pretty and delicate.
It was a very cold day to day. It had snowed a bit overnight, but there wasn’t that much snow left for us to play with. Still, we had a lot of fun running around. But it got cold so we sought warmth and headed into to the prefectural office to warm up and check out some pretty flower displays.
Yesterday was Setsubun so our teachers explained about the day and the tradion. Basically, it is the change of the seasons and a chance to expel all the bad luck and misfortune represented by oni, or ogres, and welcome in the good luck and good fortune. We expel the oni by throwing beans at them. Yeah, it doesn’t seem to be the most effective weapon against club-wielding ogres, but tradition is tradition.
We practice throwing to expel the oni, but I have to admit, practicing against a poster is a lot easier than against a big red oni that invaded our school. Yeah, we panicked.
Despite the traumatizing tradition, I had a great day at school. When Mommy came to pick me up I was playing with New Blocks, which are one of my favorite school toys. I made a tow truck pulling a car that had a flat tire.
At home I started practicing with the next level of practice chopsticks that didn’t have any rings to keep my fingers in place. I have to get ready to use real chopsticks at my next school.
It was getting late in the evening, but it was still light enough for a quick visit to the park. We played with the ball for a bit. First we played catch and then we played my version of soccer where only I am allowed to use my hands.
Then I played on the slide. But the slide was dirty and there was cat poop in the sand at the bottom of the slide so I just played on the slide steps.
After Jiiji, Baaba, and Obachan went home I wanted to play outside. So I hopped on my Mercedes and drove a few circuits. Then I practiced driving in the real car. Somehow we got on the subject of flat tires, so Daddy thought he should show me how to change a tire. We didn’t actually take the tire off, but Daddy showed me where the tools were and showed me how to raise the car up on the jack. He explained how to take the tire off and replace it with a spare. I know I’m only three, but it is never to early to learn about car maintenance and emergency preparedness.
Today we had a birthday party for Daddy, whose birthday passed, and Baaba, whose birthday was coming up. I was in a very good mood because I woke up and got to watch a lot of TV since it was a no-school day. And to ensure my good mood, Daddy made me a parfait for breakfast.
Mommy and Daddy were cleaning up and getting ready for Jiiji, Baaba, and Obachan’s visit. I was a very good boy and just played with my toys by myself while waiting for them to arrive.
When they arrived I received a surprise gift from Jiiji and Baaba. They got me some Tomica! And I didn’t have any of them so I was really happy to get them!
Besides the birthday celebration, it was also Setsubun so we ate the traditional ehomaki. I had an adult sized one but had no trouble eating it. We also had some other food that included some ikura which was great! I ate quite a bit and this was all before the birthday cakes came out.
We had a great time celebrating together. I ate so much good food! That was fun. Okay, whose birthday is next?
Rainy days. Stuck inside. Not much to do.
Even though it was raining today, I made sure to practice driving. I try not to miss a chance to practice driving on the weekend. It was even more fun than usual today because I got to use the wipers.
When playing with my cooking set I made quite a mess. Good think I had my dump truck to help me clean up.
We went out to yakiniku for Daddy’s birthday! As usual I ate a lot of meat but I also ate a lot of vegetables as well. I don’t overeat like I used to when I was younger. It was a very fun dinner and we celebrated Daddy’s birthday really well!
What a goofball.
My double-decker bus ride to school.
Visiting our duck friends at the park.
Practicing for our natural disaster drill.
Looking at and smelling flower petals.
Rhythmic dance.
Playing karuta with classmates. We played with vehicle, animal, and country flag cards. Once I got the hang of it, I wanted to play again and again!
Getting really good at coloring.
Gymnastics class.
I had some trouble at school again. I tried to hit a classmate because they tried to sit down next to me. Even when my teacher came to talk to me I tried to hit, kick, and spit on her too. She took me to another room to talk it out and let me have time to calm down. These incidences still keep happening.
English class.
Cool dolls on display.
Chilling at the park.
The end of a fun week of school!
People keep telling me how much I’ve grown so I decided to see for myself how much I’ve grown. So I got a measuring tape and tried to measure my height. It was a bit hard so I had Daddy help me.
I was very excited about a playdate with my friend today! I needed a lot of energy so Daddy made me a special parfait for breakfast!
When my friend came over I decided to play a little hard to get and hid under the blanket.
We made some origami animals and it was a lot of fun! Especially when my friend’s mommy made the origami doggy ear flap. It really hit our funny bone.
Cream-filled snacktime!
Headbutts of affection.
As you can tell we had a great time playing together! I can’t wait for our next playdate!
I wasted no time and got right to practice driving. It is one of my favorite weekend activities. I would like to do it more often and longer, but apparently Daddy doesn’t want to waste gas so my time is limited.
We went to the park today. It was cold, but it is nice to be outside.
Below are pictures I took with Mommy’s phone. Quite artistic.
There were a couple of cats hanging out in the park so I chilled a bit with them.
Mommy had plans tonight so it was just the boys for dinner. We headed to McDonald’s and not only did I get a Happy Meal but I also got ice cream for dessert!
The weather on Monday was really nice so we went for a walk to the park and took a group photo with all the classes in our school. We also saw a bunch of animals at the park like ducks and cats.
On Tuesday at the park I found a bunch of acorns and did a pop quiz with my teachers. “Which hand has the acorn?”
On Wednesday we had our gymnastics class. I did really well on the mat and the bar.
Silly roaring.
I love cheese!
Prefectural office visit.
Open wide.
I had another bout of selfishness. I had a pleasant walk home from school with Mommy and was well behaved until dinner. Mommy put in extra effort to make me happy and made a car shaped omelet for me I was very happy. I liked it so much that I didn’t want to eat it. But we should waste food so near the end of dinner after I said I was full Mommy asked if she could eat the omelette. I said yes. Knowing how I can overreact to surprises she asked is she could cut the omelet to eat. I said yes. So she cut the omelet and I freaked out. I got really upset and told her to put it back. So I basically told her to uncut it. Mommy was very tired and losing her patience so she just stated facts and did not engage me beyond that. I was left to myself.
When it was time for bath I refused. I said I wanted daddy to give me a bath. But he had to work late and it was getting very late but I still refused to take a bath. Mommy let me be. I angrily played until daddy came home. When daddy heard about what happened he talked to me and explain what I did was wrong. By the point I had enough time to think about it on my own and understood that I was misbehaving. It was late so Daddy explained that there was no more time to play. Bath, books, brush teeth, and bed. I agreed knowing that I had been wrong. I was sad but got to bed and was asleep soundly.
Mommy had to work today so I spent the morning with Daddy. We played with cars (small ones), rode my Mercedes, and practiced driving (in the big car). We also chatted with Nana and Papa while practicing driving.
Daddy suggested that we go meet up with Mommy in the city and have lunch together and I loved that idea. I said that I wanted to ride the bus, so we hurried to the bus stop and caught a bus to get to Mommy’s work place. It was a very fun bus ride.
We met up with Mommy and I was so happy to see her. Then we went to get some lunch. We found a nice ramen shop, but had to wait a bit to be seated. Once we got our food I wolfed it down. It was a really nice lunch. Until my tantrum.
For the strangest reason I chose to throw a tantrum in the ramen shop after we finished eating. Daddy went to the restroom and I got upset and claimed that I wanted to go first. When he came out and said that I could go I got more upset because I wanted to go first. Of course there was no way to turn back time and undo Daddy going to the restroom but I wouldn’t listen to reason and got really upset. I practically had to be dragged out of the ramen shop.
Outside the ramen shop I wouldn’t stop and tried to go back in to somehow be the first one to go to the restroom. Daddy got very upset, especially since after the tantrum I threw yesterday I promised that I would be better and not be so selfish about little things. I showed no signs of calming down and we were in the middle of a shopping arcade, so Daddy literally picked me up and marched me away toward the subway. People were looking at us and probably wondering what I was screaming about, but Daddy just had to get me out of there. We got to the subway and I started to calm down a bit, but Daddy was very angry with me. Mommy talked to me but I still couldn’t explain what I expected and why I threw a tantrum.
I calmed down enough to ride the subway home, but Daddy was not talking to me. After all that he did to go out of his way just to make me happy, I decide to make everyone sad and angry over something silly like who got to go to the restroom first.
We got home and I was pretty much left to myself since I had upset my playmate. Things were okay for a while. But then Daddy had to go grocery shopping. I wanted to go with Daddy but he said no. I got upset again and then threw another temper tantrum. I tried to force my way into the car but Daddy put me back in the house and locked the door. Mommy locked the door from the inside as well. But I unlocked it. I was out of control.
I am having a really hard time controlling my emotions. Once I get worked up it is very hard for me to calm down. It took me a very very long time to calm down after Daddy left. When he came home it was a very uncomfortable atmosphere. I knew I did something bad but I just couldn’t control myself.
After dinner I was back to my normal self, which was strange considering how upset I was and the ruckus that I caused.
My mood swings have been very extreme lately. It all rotates around me getting or not getting what I want. I can be super happy one moment and then be a crying, screaming, hitting, kicking, throwing terror. And that happens when I don’t get what I want or what I think I should get.
I wanted to go for a walk. So I told Daddy let’s go for a walk. I wanted to walk only with Daddy so I didn’t invite Mommy. I let her stay home and rest.
When Daddy asked me where we were going to walk to (thinking it would be a nearby park or convenience store), I said Nishimatsuya, which is the baby and kids store that we often go to that is over a kilometer away. Daddy said if we are going to walk there that I would have to walk the whole way and that he wasn’t going to carry me. I agreed.
And sure enough I walked all the way. We had a lot of fun talking and pointing out different cars and sites that we saw. On the way I saw a yummy looking dessert that I thought Mommy would like on display at a convenience store. We made plans to pick it up and bring it back home for her.
When we got to the store we did some window shopping in the toy section and then we did some real shopping in the grocery store next door. I helped Daddy shop by pushing the cart around and picking up all the foods that we needed.
I got to pick out a bath ball at the dollar shop for being such a good helper.
We started to head back but I told Daddy that I wanted to go to the park. So we looked for a park on Daddy’s phone and followed the route to get there. It was small and kind of dirty, but it was a new experience. I had fun playing there.
Then we headed home, making sure to pick up Mommy’s dessert. She was very happy to get the dessert but even more happy to hear about our walk and adventure.
I love driving practice. I turn on the car, operate all the buttons and switches, and even use the GPS navigation system. I put in my destination then pretend to follow the route displayed on the screen, turning right and left at the right places. Then when we reach our destination, I get out of the car and do what you normally do at the place. If it is a gas station I pretend to fill in the gas, if it is a post office I pretend to pick up some mail, and if it is a convenience store I pretend to buy things.