Changing my Tires

I had to get my spring tires put on the subaru finally. And Bree took a bunch of pictures of Clara running around the waiting area while I was talking to the woman.

Later that night, Bree tried on a Kimono she bought her parents--but it turned out to be a little too short in the sleeves for her. HAHAHAHAhahahaha!!

Tokyo con Bree a la Clara Day 3

Clara woke up at 5:30am. Awesome. I finished mama mia with her in the other room while Bree stayed in bed. Clara goes down for her nap at 7:30am. We're in no rush to get an early start to day after yesterday. Bree decides to walk to the lawson's or family mart for a razor.

She leaves. She comes back.

"I can't leave without you."

Ah crap. Fortunately teh front desk was able to help us out. They also had a bit of a free breakfast which was nice. Bagels and toast and schmear and liquids to drink.

We take the train to a station near Hama Rikyu Garden. While walking to the garden we stop in a big building with lots of eateries in it and get some food to go so we can picnic in the garden. We make it to the garden adn I take clara out of the backpack and she manages to get her pants covered in dirt and food in 2 minutes nd 18 seconds (practically).

I got her a sandwich but it was a waste of 340 yen because she just ate the egg drops in my egg drop soup and the tofu chunks and the tofu chinks out of Bree's rice bowl.

WE walked around the gardens which had some really awesome big, old trees. Not as many flowers as the imperial one (I'll give it that) but I really liked all the big old trees with fresh spring leaves on them. We also saw a wedding couple (He was white, she was Japanese and they were both in traditional wedding kimonos which were very pretty). Then we took the 1:35om ferry up the Sumida River to Asakusa.

Once we get off hte ferry i don't recognize ANYTHING. Tyler navigated last time and I guess I paid negative amounts of attention. We get to a signal and ask a lady next to us for SenSoji Shrine or Nakamise Dori and she points us in the right direction. But we hit it perpendicular instead of head on. But it didn't matter because the temple is undergoing cleaning or renovation or something so it was all covered. We crossed Nakamise Dori and went around so we could come back up it the full length (or most of hte length) leading towards the temple. Bree bought some fans and I bought a green parasol because Clara was starting t to get a little sun.

A woman took our picture (but really a picture of Clara) and I took a picture of a group of High School boys laughing their heads off in front of the gate. I took a picture (lots, actually) of Bree trying to tie the paper to the rail. We have no idea what it means or what its for, but it was mostly just to cover our Karmic basis. Unfortunately she ended up almost breaking the thing and taking down a bunch of other tied on papers, but she didn't. But it was close. I'm sure hte karma gods were just laughing at us.

We hung out around a pigeon memorial off to the side then decided to head back before rush hour. It wasn't so bad even though we hit the train at 4pm and had a 30 minute ride back to Roppongi station.

We had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe (I know I know, but I only packed so much food for clara). It was CRAZY expensive! But pretty good. Especially since Bree bought and she let me get a Fudge Sundae (which was really really good). ON the walk back home Clara fell asleep in the carrier again while I was wheeling her around.

Bree Rocked the Tokyo navigation and got us safely back to the hotel. I totally would have never been able to cross this stupid huge street we needed to cross. Bree found a way and also some teeny side street that was the right direction! I broke down and asked a random guy herding people into a taxi where Hardy Barracks was, and I literally had to turn my head around and it was right there. So she totally did it. It was awesome.






Here's bree getting the "praryr scroll" or whatever it is (we still have no idea--she just put 100yen in the box and picked a drawer)






Here she accidentally pulls the stick out of the holder when she tied on her prayer strip






and she got distracted so she ripped her prayer strip in half while tieing it on so she had ot pick it up then tie on half a prayer strip (yes, I am laughing at her right now but still taking pictures)



Then she had to put the wire back in the holder so she didn't leave it broken : )









Clara passed out in the stroller/backpack but US IN front of Hardy Barracks at day's end! Woo hoo!!

Tokyo con Bree a la Clara Day 2

So, the train station is about a 30 minute walk at my pace with Clara on my back. Lets just start out the day with that. A 30 minute walk to the train station at 8:30 in the morning.

We get to Ginza and try to Matsuya department store but it doesn't open until 10am and it was only 9:15 or so. So bree looks at the map and says

"Well it looks like we can just walk to the Imperial Garden from here."

I think to myself "no, we shouldn't do that." yet heard myself say, "Sure. Ok."

THREE HOURS LATER!!! WE find the freaking garden!! I was so over it. Stupid Imperial Garden. You can't even see the palace from the garden (that I could tell, and Frommer's corroborates this) but wahtever. Her map was crap and I should have spoken up. BUt it eventually became the principle of hte thing-we WILL Find the garden! We WILL make it to the Imperial East Garden!!

We were faked out a few times before we reached it, but we eventually made it. With the help of a not so crazy Japanese man who found us an English Speaking "Tokyo Tourism" person to help us, and a lot of complaining (at least for my part) we did make it. We also had a pit stop at a fountain park. And took teh subway ALL THE WAY BACK.

Clara fell asleep for about an hour (before we hit hte fountain park but during another really nice walk through an equally nice park that was not the imperial garden). I took her off my back and wheeled her forwards until she fell asleep then I pulled her behind me becuase it was easier on me. One we hit hte garden she was awake and she walked aroudn a bit. Fed her some raviolis while we sat on a bench. Showed her the fish off hte bridge, showed her the flowers, she picked them then trhew them on the floor.

We stopped for some food for us at the train station on teh way abck and it was rediculously hot curry! Whoa! So hot! Bree thought it was fine but I was having some issues. The ladies all thoguht clara was adorable, but I was glad bree was there to help wrangle her. We put her between us on teh bench with all our gear on the seats opposite us at the table.

We took teh train abck to the Ginza shopping district and walked around Matsuya for 10 mintues, didn't find what bree was looking for, went to the bathroom, got some groceries from teh basement shop, then tok the train abck to Roppongi station and walked to HB about 3:30pm.

We ate some dinner from what we bought at Matsuya (or the grocery store on the bottom floor of Matsuya--Clara enjoyed the Apple). Clara peed 3 times on the floor and pooped all over my suitcase (it was gross, not only ebcuase it was on my suitcase and she got some appendages in it, but becuasei t was basically an entire can of mandarin oranges that she had for breakfast that morning). Clean up was surprisingly easy though, after the "AHHH!!! WHAT?! You pooped ON my suitcase?!"

I put clara down to bed and Bree and I started watching Mama Mia but went to bed at 8:40 bcuase we were both exhausted from all the walking.

The phone rings at 9:40pm. I bolt up in teh pitch dark and think "WAHT?! What's goign on?! What's happened?! Is someone injured?! Who could be calling at this hour? ITs what, 2, 3 am? This must be seirous! where's the phone? WHY IS IT SO LOUD?!"

I get out of bed, stumble around hte bed, stumble to the other nightstand (Which is right by bree's head) and fumble to find the shaking mass that is the ringing phone (Again, right by bree's head) and pick it up

"hellO!?!"
"Uh. . .this is front gate. Yoru pass expired."
"What?"
"Uh, you visitors pass, expired. You need to come sign again."
"What?"
"Pass only good for 24 hours. So Pleasse come sign it again."
"Oh, oh. Um. . .she's sleeping."
"Oh"
"Can I sign it for her?"
"Um, ok."
"Ok, I'll be there in a minute"

I hang up the phone after a few tries (its still dark) and go to turn on the light. Bree wakes up (or at least admits she's awake now"

"Where are my shoes?"
"Why? What's going on?"
"your pass expired. I guessi ts only good for 24 hours so I have to sign again."
"Oh. Do you want me to go?"
>pause< "Yeah" "ok"

So, after that minor interruption, we slept very well for the remainder of the night.

BUt seriously, it felt like they were calling at 2am. We were SO tired from all the ridiculous walking that day.

Tokyo con Bree a la Clara Day 1

I flew down to Tokyo on Monday the 18th with Clara to meet Bree! Whoo hoo! She came in for a visit. I had to take the morning flight out of misawa which put me into Tokyo about 4 hours before bree's plane would even think about landing. That sort of sucked, hanging around Haneda with Clara while she's trying to run away and into people's luggage and baggage carts. It would have been fine except for the shrieking while she was running. I kept telling her all the people in teh airport didn't think she was as cute as I did, but that didn't seem to sink in.

Anyway, Bree got in safe and sound and walked out to meet me abotu an horu afterh er plane landed. We were goign to take the airport limo to the HArdy Barracks, but we missed the shuttle and didn't want to wait around for another 40 minutes for hte next one, so we took the train to Tokyo Station then had a 3000yen cab ride to Hardy Barracks. There was a closer train station but we didn't know that at the time. Clara fell asleep on my lap for literally 2 minutes in teh cab, but she was pretty good for the whole time. MInus the snacks that lay strewn across teh floor of the train we took. Sorry japanese train car clean up person!

Anyway, the first day was jsut travel. She had to sign in at hte front gate and surrender her passport while she was at the Hardy barracks (Which is basically jsut a TLF in the middle of Tokyo and for $40/night it can't be beat! Especially since they had a crib and two rooms connected by the bathroom so we could put clara to sleep and still be up).

Every time she left she was suppossed to sign out her passport again, but we dind't really know that or understand or pay attention becuase we were tired and it was 8 or 9pm by the time we got to the hotel, so we ended up leaving the next morning without getting her passport back and when we came back on that evening and Bree presented her Hardy BArracks visitors pass to the gate guard his face said

"What th?!"

Then he communicated to us that she was suppossed ot turn that pass in and take her passport whenever she leaves, then when she comes back give them teh passport back and take the pass. whatever.

The first picturee ws clara being entertained before takeoff by a guy working on the tarmac. THe second is Clara being entertained by a flight attendant doing her thing. See video below for clara being entertained by lifting the arm rest up and down (occupied the better part of a half hour). The last photo is clara passed out on the bus from Haneda airport to Narita Airport. She was, needless to say, exhausted. But she was a trooper for hte whole trip!

For those of you who hate backposting

Go check out october. I don't think much happened in the second half of the month becuase we were busy unpacking and stuff. But if I happen to decide to blog about it now in May, or perhaps even June or July if that's when I get around to it, I'll be sure to let you know.

There are 8 new posts and I updated 2 with pictures.

Doughty! This one's for you kid! ;)

Clara's New Sign

Today Clara signed "Help" for the first time. It really surprised me actually, because I've only shown her that sign maybe 6 times and every time was very far apart. She's pretty quick for a just barely 14 month-old if this humble parent may say so (oh I can just hear the commentary now! : )

She was trying to get this bubble wand thing out of the tube and it was screwed on. So she brought it to me and >scene<

Clara: more
Me: more? More what? Its just the bubble thing.
Clara: mor--help
Me: Help?! You want help opening it? Ok!
Clara takes the toy, plays for one second, hands it back to me and I put the wand back in the tube and hand it back to her.
Clara: tries pulling the wand out, hands it to me; Help
Me: You need help!? OK!!! Practically unable to control my excitement, I unscrew the wand and hand the toy back to her.
Repeat lines a bunch of times
>scene<

Patrice is my witness. It all happened while we happened to be on a skype call. It was funny too because my mom was just asking me what signs she knew and if she knew help. I said no because its not really a motivating sign for her. She's more into looking at things and pointing them out to me, dog, baby, car, duck etc etc etc.

I guess she's moving on! Which is sorta good, because I'm kind of sick of saying, "No, that's not a dog, that's a giraffe. No, that's not a dog either that's a boy. No, there's no dog in here, that's a TV."

I'll have to get a clip of her doing some signs, but she doesn't really do them on queue. But she does know a bunch:
HELP! : )
Dog
baby
Potty
nap/bed
milk (which sometimes just means drink)
duck
bird (which both look a lot like milk to the undiscerning eye)
book
more
phone
Food/eat
bath
car
Hear (like, she'll point to her ear and then sign dog if she hears Frankie barking or something. Not all the time. but if there's a noise that she notices, she'll stop and point to her ear and I'll say something like, "Oh, what do you hear? do you hear the dog/car/duck/grandma/grandpa?"


We're working on a bunch more, but she has yet to discernibly sign them. Although, she's got one that could be either Dad, Grandpa or just man. I'm not sure. Its hard because she doesn't see men all that much, and she used the same sign for Gifford, so I think when she points to her forehead she just means "hey look! A man!"

Its a work in progress.

Miss Veedol Beach

On the way home from errands yesterday I decided to keep going past my house and check out Miss Veedol beach with Clara. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day.

The sand was still mostly wet from the previous three days of rain we've had, which was good becuase hte wind was blowing pretty hard. It the sand hadn't been wet it would have been a teririrble sand storm. As it was, any loose sand just blew along the ground making some really cool shapes.

She wasnn't really sure what to think of the sand terrain. She kept wanting up then down then up then down. She keept pointing to the birds off in the distance and signing "bird" (or, to the untrained eye, Milk : )

On the way back to the car I found a little patch of semi dry sand in the grass so I put her down and started drawing in it with a stick. She bent down and patted the sand then looked at her hand and looked and me and got a semi-panicked look on her face.

I wiped her hand on my leg then wiped off my leg with my own sleeve. She put her hand in the sand again and then put her hand on my leg. Then she grabbed my hand and put it where she wiped--I guess reminding me that I was suppossed to wipe my leg off now.

I probably can't take credit for that one though--Grandpa Greg taught her to wipe her hands on pant legs while in Maryland. But it was still pretty cute, especially coupled with her grin.

She ended up sitting down and playing in thesand for a bit and really liked it. Hopefully we'll be able to take more trips there this spring/summer when its not so windy.

Traveling

Blogging Hiatus until way later.

I'm traveling to, in and around, and from the states starting Thursday April 16th.

Scheduled day of arrival back in misawa: 09May09, 1840 hours (ish, assuming I make that flight).

Scheduled departure again to Tokyo: 18May09, sometime in the morning? I'm picking up a houseguest.

Perhaps she can then babysit whilst I catch up on blogs. I'll be sure to mention any back posting for those of you who find it annoying (I do too, but I can't stand goign out of order. you all should know me better than that by now.)