When I woke up from my nap the cookies were ready to be cut and baked. After cutting a few I wandered off having done my part. But I was to return once they were baked.
I conducted a couple of taste tests after the cookies were baked and they were really good! Now we could bring them to the fire fighters…but not all of them. I wanted to keep some for myself.
I had such a fun-filled morning that I was really tired at lunch. Also I still might not have shaken off the jetlag and caught up on my sleep. I was so tired that I actually nodded off while eating. That never happens to me. Even when I was a baby I never just nodded off while doing something like eating or playing. This was definitely a first.
Mommy must have been tired too because she nodded off a bit as well. Or maybe it was my melodic singing that lulled her to sleep.
While playing in the pool today I discovered how to use the hose. Things just got a lot more interesting.
After all that pool fun I needed a juice break.
Nana and Papa have the best backyard. It is so big and there are so many fun things to see. I wandered around with Daddy and he showed me plants, bugs, and lizards. I ran around a bit, playing a bit of keep away with Daddy. But when outside in Hawaii, you kind of want to end up in the hammock or the pool. I did both.
Hammock first.
Whenever I’m in the family room and not playing on the floor, I’m in Nana or Papa’s chair. They are so comfy that I can’t pass up the opportunity to sit there. It is also the perfect place to watch some TV.
The firefighters were so nice to me that we thought it would be a good idea to do something nice for them so we are going to make them some cookies. As luck would have it, I brought my vehicle cookie cutters with me because I thought it would be nice to make some cookies with Nana. It’s nice to be prepared. Speaking of prepared, we are only making the dough now. The cookie cutting and baking, and more importantly the eating come later.
Today I got a special treat and got to visit a fire station! As we pulled up I immediately noticed the fire engines and fire trucks and got really excited! I had heard that I would get to see some but I hadn’t realized that I could get right up close.
The fire fighters were so friendly and showed me all kinds of things. Even though I may not look it, I was really excited, interested, and impressed! I even got to sit in the driver’s seat of the big fire engine! I was a lot bigger than I thought! I had only seen them from far away before, but up close it was so huge!
I even got to turn on the lights and the siren! I hid my excitement well.
Next I got to use the fire hose. Daddy and I practiced putting out a fire by shooting the hose at a target. We did pretty good for our first try.
Then just when I thought it couldn’t get any cooler, I got to ride in the big fire engine. It was so awesome! If felt like a real fire fighter!
Then I got a tour of the fire engines many compartments and tools. There was so much to take in.
It was the most amazing thing ever to visit a fire station. Not only were the fire engines and trucks really cool, but the fire fighters were really friendly and kind. They were so nice to a very quiet two-year old who barely showed any emotion. It was an awesome visit!
Thank you, fire fighters!
I woke up early again this morning and sought out Nana and Papa right away. I didn’t even bother looking for Mommy and Daddy. I was fine with Nana and Papa taking care of me in the morning. They played with me, changed my diaper, fed me, and got me dressed. Around that time Mommy woke up.
Then I figured that everybody should be up so I went to wake Daddy up too.
After a nice long sleep I got up pretty close to my normal weekend time. I climbed out of bed and went in search of Mommy and Daddy. First I went to the master bedroom because that is where I remember Mommy and Daddy sleeping on earlier trips. When I went it I didn’t find them, but I did find Nana and Papa which was great. They said good morning to me and checked to see if I was hungry. I told them what I wanted and they got my breakfast ready. By then Momm and Daddy had noticed I was up and came out. I wasn’t really eating and was just playing a bit and entertaining Nana and Papa. I’m already so comfortable with them that there were no problems this morning.
We needed some essentials so we went shopping which was fun, but I had to do things my way. When I wanted to ride in the cart I had to ride in the cart. When I wanted to walk and push the cart I had to push and no one else could touch the cart, even to help me avoid crashing in to things.
Lunch time was great because I could eat leftover kalbi from last night, but I think I surprised everyone by not cleaning my plate. I was too eager to go back to playing with my toys. Before long I got lonely so I recruited Nana to play with me and read to me.
Nap time was not fun. Lately I have been very resistant to naps and bedtime. I fought against my nap time today and nothing could soothe me. I finally got to sleep but I pretty much cried myself to sleep.
When I woke up got out of my room on my own. I had my snack and was in a pretty good mood. I had a nice surprise FaceTime chat with my cousins,
Papa had set up the pool outside so we took advantage of the cool early evening weather and hopped in the pool to cool off. I had fun splashing around, using water guns, and t being outside. I even got airplane rides from Daddy.
When relaxing with Mommy after the pool I was goofing around with Daddy and talking about all kinds of pies. Why? I don’t know. It’s just the kind of conversations we have sometimes.
Dinner was really good, but I was more into the watermelons that we had for dessert. We had really sweet watermelon. I had three slices! Even though it was a seedless watermelon I had mommy take out the white soft seeds before I ate it.
After dinner I followed Nana outside and had a mini walk with her. We walked around the front lawn and even pick a plumeria for Mommy.
After we came back in I had Nana read me several books.
Daddy found a board game easy enough for me to play so we had a game with Mommy and Nana. I didn’t win, but it was fun!
I did not want to go to bed again. I fought against it and even when Mommy and Daddy joined me in the bedroom I did not go to sleep. So they changed tactics and Daddy was on bed return duty. Whenever I tried to get out of the bed he calmly and firmly returned me to bed, reminding me that it was bedtime. I cried the first 4 or 5 times, but after that I just calmly accepted it. He must have returned me to bed about two dozen times. It took a while but I finally got to sleep about 12 midnight. I think I was still affected by jet lag and that’s why I wasn’t sleepy. I was rolling around, playing, and just not going to sleep.
My first full day on Kauai was great because it felt very normal. We didn’t necessarily have any special plans and our day was full of just spending time together, and that was awesome!
After dinner I had some time to play so I hung out with Nana and Papa. We explored my new cars a bit and tried figure out all the buttons and levers.
Then before we knew it I had to get ready for bed. I had no trouble with my routine at Nana and Papa’s house. The bath was the same and so were the bath toys. I was washed and clean in no time. Then after I put on my pajamas the bedtime routine was the same. Books, brush teeth and bed.
There was a pack and play crib, but after I learned how to climb out of my crib back home, we decided against using it and I got to sleep in a regular bed. Even though I had been going to sleep on my own very well for a year and a half, all of a sudden I feel lonely in the bedroom alone, even at home. So Mommy and Daddy stayed with me until I fell asleep, which was pretty fast considering how tired I was from a very long day. It was less than half a day at Nana and Papa’s house, but I already have so many fun and great memories. It just feels so natural. I think that’s the best part.
We’re all checked in and about to go get dinner before our flight, but I’m all ready to go! It has been a long time since I rode an airplane and I am very excited!
The kalbi that Papa made for dinner was delicious! I ate quite a bit. Basically, the moment Daddy put the cut pieces of meat on my plate they disappeared into my mouth. I love my fruits, but I’m also a meat eater. I may have eaten more than Nana did.
I’m such a big boy now that I’m no longer sitting in a booster at the dining table. I just have a cushion on my chair and I’m at the perfect height. I think there are a lot of baby things that I used on my previous trips that will not get used on this trip.
Ojisan (Mommy’s brother) and Obachan (Mommy’s aunt) came to visit us today. Ojisan lives in Tokyo but likes to fly, so he flew from Tokyo all the way to Fukuoka just to see me for a one day visit. The more I see him the more I warm up to him. It is hard to believe that I would cry my head off before when I saw him.
It helps that he brings me Tokyo Banana snack cakes. At first I played hard to get and pretended that I didn’t want to eat it, but of course I really wanted to eat it. It was delicious!
One of the reasons why they visited was the we are leaving for Hawaii today and they wanted to see us off.
Coincidentally, Ojisan’s flight back to Tokyo was about the same time as ours. So they came to the airport to see us off. It was such a nice visit. I can’t wait to see them again when we get back to Japan.
One the best features of Nana and Papa’s house is the huge back yard. There are so many things to do and see. While Papa was cooking dinner, I started exploring. We went to see the anole lizards, when checked out the different plants, and just wandered around the yard a bit. Then I saw that Papa had taken out the hammock for us. That was so much fun, I almost didn’t want to come in for dinner.
We arrived safely on Kauai and Nana and Papa were waiting for us. I was still a bit groggy from my sleep on the flight, but by the time we got to the house I was fine.
Once we got to the house I was very happy to be there and everything came back to me. I immediately went exploring to familiarize myself with the house again. I went through the whole house looking for my cousins Maimai and Tata but could not find them. I was informed that they would not be visiting this trip. I was a bit sad because I’ve never experience Hawaii without them there. I guess I’ll have to get use to a relatively quiet and empty house.
Nana and Papa were so excited about our visit and they even got some new toys to play with. It was a new car set! I loved it immediately! Thank you, Nana and Papa!
After settling in a bit, we headed out to do some shopping for essentials. That was a lot of fun and I quickly slipped right back into life with Nana and Papa. When shopping, if Nana or Papa went off to pick something up, I would ask about where they were. When I saw them come back I would brighten up and smile. It felt so very normal very easily and quickly. It is like we just picked up from where we left off on our last visit. There was no “getting used to” period.
By the time we got back from shopping I was my usual goofy self. As an example, here I am excited about an instruction manual that I found.
I have a feeling that because I feel so comfortable here, we are going to forget to take pictures or make note of different things. I hope I can record as much as I can about my visit, but my first priority is to just enjoy it in the moment.
After grabbing a quick brunch at the airport, we waited for our next flight. Some people don’t like waiting at the airport, but I thought it was great. There were so many airplanes and airport vehicles to see! It was very entertaining.
Our next flight to Kauai was very short, but I still managed to fall asleep. I was actually asleep even before the plane took off.
We made it to Hawaii! One more flight and we’ll see Nana and Papa!
Yay! It is finally time to get on the airplane and go! I don’t get to do holo holo airplane very often so this is so much fun!
I’m two-years old now so I get my own seat. That means I have to put on a seatbelt. Daddy explained the seatbelt sign to me and I quickly understood the rules. When the light is on I should have my seatbelt on. The whole seatbelt things was new to me so I wanted to play with it a bit, but when it was time to take off, all Daddy had to do was point out the seatbelt sign and then I fastened my seatbelt properly and left it on.
I was very well behaved on the airplane. I did not cry or fuss at all. I enjoyed the inflight entertainment system. I still didn’t want to use my headphones, but it was nice to have some kids’ movies running on the screen. I played with my stickers a bit, but mainly I was on the iPad. I almost never get to play with it so I enjoyed the iPad time that I was allowed.
When the food came I was happy to have my own meal and ate quite well. I didn’t quite eat everything because we just had dinner before we took off, but I ate a good amount.
I slept quite well on the plane, even though it was a short sleep. By the time the food service was done and they turned off the lights, there were only a few hours to sleep before landing. I took advantage of that time.
It seems like my vocabulary is growing every day. I’m speaking a lot more at home and at school. I somehow know what language to use in each place. I use a lot of Japanese at nursery school and am speaking in short sentences now. Mommy and Daddy get updates from school about my day and are surprised to hear about the sentences I’m speaking. They don’t hear me speaking in Japanese sentences at home. At home I use English sentences, with spatterings Japanese words here and there when necessary.
One of my biggest breakthroughs is that I’m just starting to say my own name. Before I would point to my head when I wanted to indicate that I’m talking about myself or to answer a question like “Whose truck is this?” Now I’m actually saying my name. Well, “Mayton”, but close enough.
Since we took the bus to the restaurant, Mommy and Daddy could drink beer at dinner and they were happy to find that the beer was only 190 yen ($1.30). On a hot summer day, that is a very welcoming. Even I thought that it was very enticing. It looked pretty refreshing on a day like this. Only 18 years to wait. *sigh* That’s pretty long.