Ryan, Isabel and David Klint

Ryan On The Train

2008-07-04T16:22:00.004+09:00

We were on our way to dinner and we saw these ads for Ryan's college.

David wants the camera as usual.

Us on our way to dinner.

David, pay attention! We're in church!

2008-06-30T09:11:00.009+09:00

Our church is crazy kid friendly. We have this "Kid Island" area at the back, which David only has a passing interest in, so either Isabel or I usually end chasing David around through all his adventures. Here are some:

This is the kid island. It's got legos. David's here with Rie-chan, but she's barely 1 year old. David's a year and three months. He's way too cool for her.

This is Kaori-chan. She's 4 months older than David. She's Lucy to David's Charlie Brown.

Too slow!

But David managed to pin her down.

Fine, well, I'm gonna get some chow.

Playing with Kaori-chan's too hard. Look's like Rie-chan's company is a bit more comforting.

And we don't have pictures of this last part, but after the sermon, we have a short worship set in which I (Ryan) am a backup vocalist. While Mama was distracted, David b-lined for the front of the church. I took him in my arms and continued singing. Now, our church is rather charismatic, by Japanese standards, so after having watched the congregation worship from this new vantage point, David followed suit and thrust both hands up in the air in praise. With that, I saw a dozen more hands shoot into the air, obviously inspired by David's innocent example. I'd never been more proud.

A Cure For Cancer?

2008-06-29T20:05:00.001+09:00

We'll find out in 3 months.

Dynamic architecture

2008-06-26T10:35:00.004+09:00

This is the craziest thing I have seen!

Obama, Japan

2008-06-23T12:11:00.013+09:00

So here are a few more photos of our trip to Obama. As you can see, the whole town really supports Barack Obama's candidacy.
They even make little Obama cakes.

With the back of his head on it. They're not that tasty.

Here are David and Isabel on our train out to Obama.

As you can see on the train sign here, Obama, in Japanese means little beach. Well, if your read kanji you can see that.

We stayed in a tatami room, which was tons of fun. There is something very relaxing about a tatami room. No furniture to clutter the space. It's wonderfully peaceful.

David managed to find his own little piece of furniture. It's actually the little tray for the phone and for tea maker. David improvised and turned it into a chair.

David's first encounter with a mermaid.

Tough As Nails

2008-06-23T10:41:00.002+09:00

You think you're tough in a tight corner? My mother-in-law came face-to-face with a bear in Seattle. "Oh my gosh, what did you DO?" I gasped. "I took a photo," she replied.

Hardcore!

David's First Haircut

2008-06-20T22:18:00.001+09:00

Earlier today, Ryan shaved his head while David watched. This evening, David got his first hair cut. David loved it. He tried out the clippers himself. I've been postponing this cut because I thought he would dislike the experience. Nope, he really enjoyed it. No more curls! We had to do it, it's so hot and his hair was getting too long to curl anyway.

David's First Haircut from isabel klint on Vimeo.

Lunchtime: Juice Making, Finger Painting and Face Painting, With Some Eating

2008-06-20T11:58:00.003+09:00

A Little Context For The Video

2008-06-18T10:22:00.003+09:00

When David gets angry or frustrated, he waves his hands frantically in front of his face.

This week, he's added a new behaviour. He either throws whatever he's holding or makes a throwing down motion and goes "Ooooooooh" or "Noooooooh" in a deep voice (well, as deep as he can make it). We try not to laugh.

We're not okay with the throwing but we want David to feel like he can express his feelings to us, especially his negative feelings.

When we do his 'angry waving' back, he thinks it's hilarious.

He also does an angry dance. You can see a little bit of it in the video. It's almost exactly the same as my angry dance. He's never seen mommy's angry dance, so it's nice to know I've passed something along.

David Laughing

2008-06-17T21:50:00.000+09:00

Angry and Laughing from isabel klint on Vimeo.

Short video of Obama

2008-06-17T17:29:00.002+09:00

I'm sure Isabel is going to be posting some cool photos of our visit to Obama, but I thought I'd throw up a quick little vid. This is fairly unremarkable, but I know family members like seeing videos of David very once in a while. Obama is a small town on the sea of Japan. We went to a ryokan, or a spa hotel, this last weekend there and had a wonderful time.

Extreme micro-targeting

2008-06-16T20:27:00.003+09:00

This is a toy shop in the Kansai International Airport. I almost forgot about this pic. I think most of the toys here are designed for children that have already been weaned, but I'm sure they have fond memories of the "booby."

Not Us

2008-06-14T14:11:00.002+09:00

Don't worry, we are safe. The earthquake was quite far from us, in the North.

Thank You

2008-06-11T22:33:00.002+09:00

Thank you for all the comments and good wishes. We're cautiously optimistic here these days. It's great to read what you guys have to say and know that you're happy along with us.

On the 15th we're hoping to go to Obama, Japan to hang out, see the sights and buy some t-shirts. We've heard the sushi is really good in this sea-side town.

The pregnancy advice here is, don't exercise or lift anything at all and eat lots of sushi.

David Busy At Play

2008-06-10T21:51:00.003+09:00

When David gets serious about his toys, we say "David's at the office right now."

More Scottish Treats

2008-06-10T21:45:00.002+09:00

Caption What David's Saying

2008-06-10T21:24:00.000+09:00

Positive Beta

2008-06-09T19:34:00.001+09:00

Good news: we are pregnant. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers! We are very grateful and full of thanks.

Yay!

Church at the Beach

2008-06-09T00:05:00.004+09:00

Day of the oral polio vaccine: finally out to play.

I do not think they did any market testing on this one.

David sees a camera.

David and me.

David and a pal.

David climbs a tree.

David.

David in the water with Dad.

Baby Improving

2008-06-07T21:35:00.002+09:00

David is eating more but drinking still a little less than before. He seems pretty normal but his gums are still very red and tender.

I'm still stressed that somehow he'll be the one in a million kid who dies from the polio vaccine. I guess if there is a teeny chance I can stress about something very unlikely, I'll take it. Why? Heaven help me.

Ryan did a great job being home with the sick baby today, and when David saw me at the end of the day he immediately clung like a monkey onto Ryan. Very cute and reassuring after his behaviour earlier this week.

Stress

2008-06-06T18:10:00.002+09:00

Moderately-ill baby + oral polio vaccine + beta on Monday = very stressed out mama.

House? Trashed. The floor is sticky. YUCK! I keep things nice and cluttered but squeaky clean around here. Every time my feet touch the ground I die a little inside.

Laundry? David being sick plus the rain we've been having have caused us to enjoy an excess of laundry.

I have seen My Neighbor Totoro about 12 times in four days. Twice after 3AM and before 8AM today. The baby looks and acts healthy unless I am present: once he sees me he must cling to me like a limpet and cry. He sleeps with his face pressed onto mine and both hands gripping a fistful of my hair. I know he's had some tough times, but I'm starting to need a little space. Just enough to eat a sandwich and clean the floor.

Washington Lottery: Birds

2008-06-05T21:44:00.001+09:00

This made me cry. I guess I've had a long couple of days. Now I want to take some kiwis flying.

Every Day A New Hospital

2008-06-05T20:20:00.001+09:00

Saturday, we noticed David had a fever.
Sunday night, no change, ER.
Monday, no change, regular GP.
Tuesday, feeling better, no eating.
Wednesday, refusing to drink, pediatrician. Diagnosis: Herpetic Stomatitis, treatment: IV + meds.

Getting his IV:

Thursday, refusing to drink, new pediatrician: stop the antibiotic, continue the antiviral, no IV. He'll drink when he's thirsty. A friend from church came with me for moral support; really I was starting to unravel at this point.

We get home, he eats a full meal (puréed chicken and rice with mayonnaise and soy sauce) and drinks fresh watermelon juice and a full bottle. He then eats a couple olives and a chicken shaka-shaka (my dinner, as it happens).

Chicken Shaka-shaka:

Guess he was just waiting for Ryan to come home for dinner.

Weird three-haired (or horned?) dolls at the clinic.

Finger-painting today.

My sentiments exactly

2008-06-05T15:15:00.003+09:00

Lands' End

2008-06-03T16:51:00.008+09:00

UPDATED: I revise my statements below. The second pair of pants wasn't so large, just kind of long and very generous in size about the waist. Width-wise, it was okay. I'll say that the shipping was very reasonable and I am very happy overall about my order. Just, surprised. Surprised that I am a petite medium.

UPDATED: It's not 10", it's 5". I don't want to exaggerate.

I just ordered some clothes from Lands' End. The dress and two tops fit really well. The pants... Let's talk about the pants.

I used the "My Virtual Model" feature, which is pretty cool. I measured myself with measuring tape, and entered all my measurements. Ryan did comment that my virtual model looked a little heavy. I should have listened. The numbers! The numbers don't lie! That's what I was thinking.

I was hoping for some comfy, elastic-waist and drawstring type yoga pants. Sort of like sweatpants, but not sweatpants. Comfortable, easy to sit on the floor in (cuz, Japan) and with a very adjustable waist for those pesky IVF cycles. Not tight around the thighs, my wardrobe has enough tight pants for all of New Jersey.

The pants, while lovely, the pants are HUGE. They are very floppy around the thighs. I think I could fit both my legs down one leg. I realise I chose wide-legged styles, but come on. 10 inches of ease? I could send these to my sister to use as a sleeping bag. She could put one leg inside the other and sleep like a baby.

Now, they are adorable. They are exactly as described. They do fit very generously, which was sort of what I was going for. But somewhere in the product description, they should say how much ease there is. Like, your thigh is X, so the ease is 10".

And the tops, while lovely, while they do fit really well, truthfully, the sleeves are really long. So if you are short, get the 3/4 sleeves. That way they won't be down to your knuckles. And even if you are heavy in the hips and thighs, go down a size in pants, unless you like very roomy pants.

If I do get pregnant, the pants I ordered will be perfect maternity pants. I'm hoping it's another little miracle to make my life easier.

Did I tell you about my miracles? God loves me, he gives me these little miracles. Not winning-the-lottery miracles, not getting-pregnant-whenever-I-want miracles, just leetle ones. Like the ice-cream miracle.

Me, Ryan and my in-laws were ending a day of shopping or lunch or something and we stopped at the convenience store for some ice-cream. The servings here are lovely and small, so you get exactly as much as you would eat anyways. I wanted bitter caramel. They didn't have it. Ryan got me vanilla. Here's the miracle: it was bitter caramel! Yes! Stuff like that happens a lot.