Lime-a-licious!

Jackson likes lemons, but he LOVES limes!! We need to get this child to Sonic tout de suite!! (ps/ thanks to Rebec for the Austin tee!)

"Irrasshaimase!"

In order to obtain the maximum enjoyment of the following video clip, you really must read the following FIRST...

As you may have read in earlier posts (or not, Rebecca!), "Irrasshaimase" is something you will hear in Japan when entering a shop or restaurant. It means "Welcome" (as in: "Yes, we see you. We're glad you are here. Please feel free to enjoy yourself and I'm here if you need assistance. I acknowledge your presence although I am not going to be too in-your-face about it. Or am I?" - see previous post regarding "Quit yelling at me!")

Now this is where Jackson comes in. In addition to bowing any time he hears anything remotely similar to "Domo Arigato Gozaimasu" (a complete "Thank You" in Japanese), Jackson likes to also repeat other Japanese customs. Such as the aforementioned holler (sometimes in stereo) of Irrashaimase! So a few nights ago we found ourselves in Shibuya after a fantastic evening out with friends and then not with friends. We popped into a pretty famous and quite large and efficient ramen shop. As Eric ate his noodles, I was thoroughly entertained by Master Jackson. Every time a patron would enter the shop, they were greeted not only by the staff (complete with Secret Serice style earpieces), but also with little Van Sciver toddler tribal callings. Don't believe me? Just watch:

Ah-huh, Ah-huh

Here is a short video of Eric and Jackson on the train in Tokyo, fake coughing and clicking tonques, of course! (Click on the small "play-arrow" in the bottom left corner of photo box...)

Mini-Sofa King

I was folding laundry on the sofa this evening. I stepped away for a second and when I turned around Jackson had gone from toddling around to sitting on the sofa. Earlier he was trying to climb onto the cofee table (keep in mind it is Japanese size, and only a foot high...) I can not take my eye off of him for a second! See for yourself!

Chop Suey!

For starters, here is a pic of Jackson having his first encounter with string cheese, taken yesterday. I think he's enjoying it, don't you?

On to more important things...

You guys!! Jackson had his first (professional) haircut!! He loved it! He didn't even cry, until we had to leave! It was awesome.

We went to Zusso Kids at Takashimaya Times Square (fancy-shmancy dept. store) in Shinjuku. They ushered us in with smiles and bows, and showed Jackson to a little elevated Audi car. It was just his size and I do believe it is the first toy car he has ever "driven". Our assigned hairdresser asked me if he would prefer a train or car dvd, and I selected trains (you know, Japanese Shinkansen, etc!). They had baskets of small toys for him to handle; although he was mostly interested in the steering wheel and all the action going on around him! He was having a blast!!

It was quite an experience. The attendant spoke almost no English, and I speak VERY little Japanese. Fortunately, she had a laminated translated script to describe our options and the process. She was wonderful (I didn't get her name as her name tag was in Kanji, so let's call her Sally). Sally was quick and precise, sweet and gentle. Jackson was tethered to his play car and was sitting and then standing, shouting "Beep, Beep" and squealing. He was so animated and happy, I'm not sure if he even realized that he was aquiring a new 'do. We chose his new style from a catalogue of hairstyles, the Japanese boys' section to be precise. Eric was admittedly unsure of my selection, but I assured him it would grow and need future cutting, and therefore opportunities for a change of style. We ARE in Japan afterall.

The result was just darling! Sally gave Jackson a very fine haircut, and despite all of his Audi-shenanigans, he remained unscathed by her rapid scissors! He looks handsome and like a real boy, and his hair is certainly even (which I could never manage with his high chair trims at the mouse house!). She offered to give him a shampoo and I conceded. Sally took us to the shampoo area and asked me to "sleep" Jackson on a padded table. I laid him down and he looked a little unsure. I said, "Bath!" and he perked right back up! He enjoyed a quick and thorough pint-sized head massage with designer child products and was back in his Audi in no time.

Sally gave Jackson's hair a gentle blow dry and then trimmed a few more hairs. She asked, "Gel?" I again conceded and she gave him a cross between what his Aley cousins call "Spikey Guy" and a look from There's Something About Mary. Ha!!


Sally saved some of Jackson's hair for a souvenir of his "First Cut". We declined the US$360 keepsake calligraphy pen they could have made using his hair, and just accepted his shorn locks in a free envelope. As we reclaimed our little driver from his perch the mini-drama unfolded. Jackson was not at all ready to leave this amusement park experience! He was quickly distracted with the pretty girls at the counter, and as we checked out they offered him a present. I chose for him from the three options (most of which looked like they just might not pass the safety standards for children under 3!). He waved bye-bye and left with his new Chip 'n Dale mouse pad, his new 'do and a smile. We were so relieved and so proud. What a trooper!

The final look, with "Sally," and obviously with the gel. The tears came when he had to "share"
(aka return) the ball with Sally. The kid loves toy balls, what can I say...

More Hair Shots...

"Now, just a little off the top..."


"Hey, that's the BACK!"


"Dad, are you watchin'?"


New 'do with new mouse pad...


Jackson with a giant Anpanman! "And PUNCH!"


Finally, one last pic for today...

Not a hair cutting photo, but pretty darn cute! Oyasumi!

"Malaysia's Truly Asia"

Jackson has two favorite commercials in Japan, neither of which are truly Japanese. The first is actually the infomercial for Billy Banks work out dvds, as previously discussed. The second is the ad from the Malaysia Board of Tourism. He loves it! I think it is the theme song. Recently there is a second version of the ad with a cartoon Malaysian girl flitting about amongst actual photography of Malaysia. The irony here is that Eric just told me we might be going to Malaysia near the end of our life in Japan! I'll be singing the theme song for weeks! Check out the resort where we would stay. I can't wait to hear the thump of another stamp in our passports! ;) Ah it is good to be a RIM wifelette haha.

Cluck cluck little chick!

I don't think I have mentioned yet, but Jackson has learned how to click his tongue, and it is a riot! Ha also likes to perform "air snaps," (snapping his fingers with out actually making any snapping noise...). He is very happy and grinning a lot, with the shrug I mentioned a few posts ago. He has started to walk to us and grab fistfuls of clothing and pull as if to plead, "Pick me up!!" We have also taught him to "be strong", and he will flex his little baby arms and make an intense face. (Which would have been great to see at the sumo tourney, although it didn't happen then...) Priceless! He likes to walk in a very tight circle, and he likes to make surprised faces. He is just actually pretty freakin' incredible and we are just eating him up and squeezing him to pieces!!

I have a bajillion (and that's a lot) pics to sort through but I really will post more this weekend. Ben is going to Kyoto and it will be lonely and quiet with out him. But he will be back in a few days and we will be glad to have him!

Holy Cow Fat Man!

Wow - Sumo was amazing!! Beneath the rotund exterior their is a lot of muscle, and force! We had a blast! Jackson was a peach; we were so impressed with him and he earned several good-baby-credits! i will post pics when Eric and Ben return from Akiba. They're getting their "geek" on... Muah!!!!!!

Sumo!

We are so excited! Tomorrow we are going to a Sumo Tournament! This is Japan's national sport. Six tournaments are held each year; Tokyo hosts three tournaments annually (January, May, September) at the Kokugikan Stadium. Ben is going with us, and Jackson is free. ;) We will get to explore the Sumo Museum as well as the gift shop - yippee hahaha. Expect personal photos after, but in the mean time here is a pic from their website:

Taste of Tokyo Disney, Takao-ow-ow...

Okay, here is a pic to wet your appetite for more! This is Eric and Jackson at Tokyo Disney Sea Tuesday. I will post more and update this weekend. Suffice it to say, we all had a blast, and Jackson LOVED it! I thought he would be a bit too young to enjoy it, but he was laughing and clapping and dancing and squealing...

Here is Jackson with yet another group of admirers! These girls were wearing "Green Man" hats ;)


Too cute not to post - Eric and Jackson safe and sound and content back in the Mouse Pad...


Okay one more! Here is Jackson at dinner after our day at Mt. Takao. This restaurant was traditional Japanese style, and Jackson loved the tatami mats. Check out those mean little choppers!! (He has four now, two up top, two below...)

And finally, Luke and Jackson having a phone conversation after our gorgeous meal (Ukai Toriyama, Takao)...

Takao Chomp!

Things are crazy busy right now with Ben visiting; I have a lot to post and heaps of photos to sort through. But in the mean time, here is one quick pic of Ben and me at the Takao Station! Oishii! ;)

Kun (and Ben-san, aka Benson)

A few little pics of Jackson from yesterday to tide you over until the next upload... ;)

A boy and his spoon - perhaps you thought I was joking about him always having a spoon???

Jackson with a darling local girl. Kawaii.

Ben-san and Mary-san, together again, in yet a third country together!

Ketchup!

Sorry it has been a few days! Our super duper gorgeous friend Ben is here visiting us from Perth, Australia. We visited him in Perth when we lived in Sydney, and he visited us in Sydney from Perth. He also stayed with us in Austin for a few weeks while I was pregnant with Jackson. In fact, it was the raucous good time we had that landed me on bed rest. Haha not really, but it was while he was there that I was ordered horizontal. So he said hello to Jackson (sort of) then, and now he is meeting him in person! Ben was here less than a day before Jackson was able to say "Ben"; he really loves him already, and smiles at him and walks to him. Ben is very helpful as well taking hold of the stroller with Eric to hoist our toddler up stairs in train stations etc. He is a jolly good guy and a jolly good time, and we are all basically jolly good. ;)

Tomorrow - prepare yourselves - we are going to Tokyo Disney Sea!! I know Jackson will not remember, but I guarantee you that between the three adults and all our cameras it will be a well documented adventure! We are staying at the Hilton Tokyo Bay, which has a gorgeous pool. So tomorrow we will do Disney (and Jackson and I can go to the hotel for his nap etc. and then return to meet up with the fellas), and the next day we will play at the pool and relax. Yippee! I just love mini-breaks, don't you??? And it has been ages since we had one. Of course, much of our life is like a vacation, so I can't really complain. I am very grateful for all of our wonderful opportunities and the very charmed life we lead. But I wish my family could be here to share it!!

Today we went to Akihabara (aka Electric Town) and the boys "got their geek on". Jackson was a peach and enjoyed a McDonalds totally plain cheeseburger. ;) Quote of the day: Ben - "Is it possible to be in love with a store? Not to love it, but to be in love with it?" In regards to Yodobashi. After the intensity of nine floors electronics, cameras, toys etc, we headed to dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant - mmm, oishii.

En route, we changed trains in Taranomon. It was a crowded car and the commuters were not at all obliging in making a hole for the stroller to vacate the car. In the process, as if in slo-mo, my flip flop gently slid off my foot. I tried ever so poetically to retrieve it with the gripping strength of those five toes, but alas, it slipped off my foot, past the closing doors of the train, and through the few inches that seperate the platform, train, and the abyss that is the tracks...

There we stood on the platform, amidst a sea of movement; Ben and Eric on two feet, myself on just one (Jackson oblivious in his stroller). Eric summoned the platform attendant, who summoned another attendant with the "claw". We motioned and gestured, both to my bare left foot (Oh the horror to the Japanese!) and to the black depths below the yellow paint on the platform. After three more trains passed, the JR representative presented my shoe with a bow. The entire extraction process was so expedient that neither of Ben nor Eric captured it on camera. I do however have this shot of my shoe in a location where shoes do not belong...
(Pictured here below eric's pair of shoes, on his feet as they should be!!)


The next little bit of excitement came at the dinner table (at said Chinese restaurant). I was bouncing Jackson on my knee as he was saying "Ahh ahh ahh ahh" - then out of no where, came "Ahh ahh ahh BURP!" - it was hysterical; WE were hysterical. And the best part was the looks we got from our neighboring Japanese patrons. It was as if they couldn't figure out why we thought a burp was so funny. It was classic. Bounce, bounce, bounce, belch. Classic!


Now you should get the visual of our current "situ" - as Sarah calls it. Eric brought home a hub from work. While Jackson slumbers and inevitably has sweet baby dreams of Dixie, (unaware of the joys that await him tomorrow!!!) the three of us sit in various perches in our tiny living area on our respective laptops type type typing away like a little micro office of sorts. Obviously I am blogging, I think Ben is downloading You Tube vids and Eric - well, he's flicking through Flickr photos. ;) Yes, we are totally into our new camera. All of our cameras and Ben's are charging, to be fully prepared for the future photo ops at Disney and beyond!

So there will be plenty to post, but plenty going on. I can't commit to keeping a current blog whilst entertaining Ben, Eric, and more importantly JACKSON! But you know I will catch you up asap.

Hugs to my peeps, Bobbin I miss you - call moi, and to my sisters, look out because I am expecting a reunion shortly!! Peace out.

ps/ Having Ben here has totally rekindled our Aussie slang and slight accent. Thank your stars you are missing it haha. ;)

Action Jackson!!

Click the play button above to see Jackson dancing to some music in our favorite corner booth! We had been shopping and thought he should have a break from his stroller. If you listen in the beginning you can hear the Japanese girls say "Kawaii" (cute). He was really showing off for them! In the sceond clip you can see him trying to snap to the music, with no encouragement obviously! Ha. :)

Bonsai Birthday!

Eric took this fantastic photo at the the park on his birthday, and then we went to "Benihana of New York" in Tokyo. ;) We are LOVING our Canon EOS 40D!

Gorgeous Day, Gorgeous Boy!

Today was Eric's birthday. We went to our big beautiful park and had a blast! Jackson toddled and made a new friend his age and just his size. Then we had dinner at Benihana haha. It was a wonderful day, as I think you can see!
(as always, click the photo if you want to see it enlarged...)