Rice Is Nice

Perhaps I spoke too soon about the rice. Apparently, it tastes much better when using chopsticks!

The Kid Can EAT!

For those of you who've met Denis and have been around him at snack time, dinner time, anytime really, you know what I mean when I say this kid will eat anything. And here's proof for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting our little garbage disposal.

Denis eating at our favorite Indian restaurant - Indo Mura - on Rokko Island. He loves chicken tikka, palak paneer, dal makhani, and nan. Believe it or not, plain rice is the thing we had to convince him to eat!

Denis devouring a plate Granny Mar's plate of okonomiyaki - one of my favorite Japanese meals - at a tiny restaurant in Arashiyama. I think Granny may have gotten a couple of bites of her own lunch, if she was lucky!

Had we taken him to Ko-chan's, our favorite place for Kobe beef, I know Denis would have eaten his fair share. But really, we have to draw the line somewhere. And apparently, the line between Japanese Yen/gram of Kobe beef is where we draw ours!

And the Other Winner Is...

Terie! She's the only one who guessed that our little guy's first name would be Denis (except for Linda, who guessed after the fact!), and I decided that that should trump all other answers in Round Two. I realize I'm a bit late on this, but I've finally gotten some "prizes" in the mail (one for you, too, Danielle!). Better late than never, right?

Granny and Grandpa Tom Have Arrived!

Granny and Grandpa Tom arrived from Canada via New Zealand on Wednesday evening, and Denis 'took' to them immediately. We've been exploring Rokko Island and Arashiyama since their arrival and have been having a good time together. I'll put together a slideshow once I get some of Grandpa Tom's photos - he's taken some great pictures.

Showered with Love

Last Friday, the school hosted a shower for the newest members of the Canadian Academy community - the recently-born Ali and the newly-arrived Denis. Plenty of food and drink for the adults and a playroom for the kids, it was a well planned party, indeed! It was great to see so many people drop by and meet the new additions, and we feel fortunate to belong to such a supportive community. Below are a few pictures from the party and of Denis opening some of his gifts. He loved each and every one of them!

And On That Farm There Was...

...a sheep

...a goat

...a duck.

The spring-like weather we've been having on the weekends has allowed for some great excursions. A couple of weeks ago, we visited a bird and flower ark on Port Island; and this past weekend, we drove up the mountain to the Mount Rokko pasture. Animals were fed, pet, and "oooohed" over on both trips. D has little fear of animals - which is both a good thing and a bad thing, I'm learning. I'm glad he's interested, but there will come a day when some creature decides to stand its ground. I just hope no fingers will be lost!

Pisco Ponders Puppets

Anyone else have a cat that watches TV? Pisco has recently discovered Baby Einstein and he can't get enough! How does a cat develop an addiction to television, you might wonder. It was innocent enough. In the beginning. He happened to be sitting on the Apple TV one day (the warmest spot in the apartment) when we started one of the videos. We could see him glancing over from time to time - ears pricked up and head cocked to one side - and within minutes, he was hooked. Now he comes running and takes his post whenever he hears the squeaky little voices of the Baby Einstein puppets.

The boys think it's sort of cute and endearing if Pisco keeps his post on the Apple TV and watches from the sidelines. But the moment he steps off and stands directly in front of the TV to get a better look, all hell breaks loose. Denis hollers at him in his best English-Russian baby babble to get out of the way and stop blocking his view. And Jon swears at him (Pisco, not Denis) to get down and not touch the TV - usually just in time. One of these days, Pisco will pounce on one of those poor unsuspecting puppets.

Me, I think it's cute and endearing all of the time.

My New KitchenAid

Somebody - besides me - loves to be in the kitchen. Is there anything better than getting to lick the bowl after mom has made something yummy? I think not! In an effort to 'feed' D's interest in all things culinary - and to keep my own utensils from disappearing - I stopped by the 100 Yen Shop (think dollar store) the other day and bought him some of his very own kitchen gadgets. As expected, they were a hit. And then they were hit. And beat. And pounded. Yes, they became musical instruments. If there's anything D loves more than food and being in the kitchen it's music and making lots of it! Unfortunately (or fortunately if you haven't had your morning coffee yet), I stopped filming before the jam session really got underway... All I got was this exciting footage of Denis pretending to be a chef.

Speaking of musical instruments, here's Denis trying his hand, er...mouth, at the harmonica. Thanks for the great gift, E! He loves it!

Random Pictures

Have you noticed I don't have much time to blog these days? I have! How easy it is was to take free time for granted. Hopefully, I'll find some of that elusive free time soon to sit down and write about our days with Denis a little more descriptively. In the meantime, here are some random shots of Little D around the house and around Rokko Island. Enjoy!