Surprise Trip to Disneyland

Kai realizing we were at Disneyland instead of a local park.

Noah not quite understanding what to be excited about but following Kai's lead none the less.

Two weeks without Daddy was rough but the surprise trip to his co-worker (apparently they do a lot of work together) Mickey's house made up for it just a bit.

Thanksgiving Day Disaster

I had such high hopes for this year's attempt at a proper Thanksgiving. It was going to be the very first time that I prepared a traditional feast. I planned a menu, took 2 days off from work and was convinced that Martha Stewart was to have nothing on me. But as usual nothing ever goes according to plan in the Ikeda family household. Our first snag came when Naoto had to work on Thanksgiving Day- no problem we switched the holiday to the following day. Problem #2 arose when then Naoto woke up with a 103 degree fever and a serious flu- no problem, the patient was confined to the bedroom - I was forging ahead and determined to create a warm chestnut roasted holiday for my kids. As it turns out cooking a multiple course meal with a four and almost two-year-old is not exactly an easy task - but it was game on. First course pumpkin soup and fancy appetizers were scrapped but we were still heading towards some sort of meal.  As soon as I got our bird in the oven (thank god we opted for a small chicken instead of a turkey) and was feeling like I got this- sure it may be more on par with Betty Crocker instead of Martha Stewart, but food was going to be served, then the final whammy was caste in the form of Noah waking up from his nap with a 102 fever and the same flu Naoto was plagued with. This is sadly what Kai and I ended up with at 8:00 at night. A chicken, some stuffing that was inedible, cold mashed potatoes and some steamed carrots and turnips. I managed to bake an apple pie in the morning and was convinced that it would be our saving grace but Kai informed me "Mommy I really only like the apples and not the pie." And there you have it. I learned I am thankful for take out and restaurants!

May the Force be with you.

"Always two there are, a master and an apprentice."

"Impressive. Most Impressive."

"Size matters not..... For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."

"A Jedi's strength flows from the Force."

 "You underestimate the Power of the Dark Side."

Me thinking: Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you're my only hope 

"The Force is strong with this one."

Pumpkins

Our first time pumpkin picking

Noah had zero interest in carrying around a pumpkin but did seem to enjoy picking up large clumps of dirt.

Searching for the largest, heaviest, dirtiest one in the patch.

A still unimpressed Noah

 

 

 

Hayride

Country bumpkin sucking flavored honey from a stick.

The Bean giving me the look of 'yeah I am going to shove this honey stick in my mouth even though I've dropped it about a million times on the muddy ground and let's face it Ma you're not gonna do anything about it.'

Noah declaring: Game on as he focuses intently on creating his masterpiece. I really hope I am right in thinking this child will do something creative in life.  He really does get a tremendous amount of joy from writing on my walls, painting on my carpet, and pretty much drawing on ANYTHING you dare to leave out. And just when you think you've hidden any utensil that could create or leave a mark, there he is with an electric blue cray-pas vigorously scribbling circles into the carpet while smiling with the cutest little chant "mite mommy mite (look mommy look)."  If he ends up being a doctor or lawyer I suppose I'll have to take comfort in knowing he can afford my weekly visits to his home where I come in and just tear sh*t up.

Carving his pumpkin with Cioci Stacey

Cioci hot on Kai's tail. Only my sister is tiny enough to ride that miniature elephant without the whole thing collapsing.

Another great visit with the Birrer boys.

A quick snap with Mema and Pepa before we head back home.

Kai showing me his 'cute pose' while standing next to a tree uprooted from Superstorm Sandy. He loved that we had no power for two days and got to run around with a flashlight - me not so much.

Last Days of Summer

This was one of our last trips to the park before summer was declared officially over. I thought it would be fun for it just to be a Kai and Momma adventure so we left our little Monster Bean with Papa and headed to Nikko Nikko Park.

My baby is certainly not a baby anymore and can bounce, jump, climb, slide and swing with the best of them.

 

 

Kai's 4th Birthday

Kai's makeshift birthday. You would think a fabulous vacation and lots of cool presents from London would have been enough for this kid but a birthday just isn't a birthday without some cake, balloons and apparently an extremely large machine gun.

We got back into Tokyo super late on his actual birthday, so everything was kind of thrown together the next day. He was pretty funny, he actually directed us on what we needed to do: "balloons, a cake and some presents and to sing happy birthday with candles," then his birthday would be complete.

Although I did have some backup gifts stashed away for him, the gun, which he picked out while we were having his balloons inflated, took center stage. I'm really hoping this phase will end rather quickly.  Apparently though, giving little boys enormous guns to play with is not something new in my family.  Just as I was feeling I've lost all control over this gun toting tot, Naoto reminded me of this little gem. There's my brother smiling below with what looks to be the exact same gun Kai is holding.  I took a small amount of comfort in the fact that my brother was three in this photo and clearly my mothering skills are far superior since my child is four.

Noah always looking for an opportunity.

My 4 year-old

Malaysia Continued [brace yourselves I think this may be the longest post on record]

Meeting up with my boys in KL- love that I am completely oblivious to the fact that Noah has a gun aimed at me. Hmm miss me much???

Heading to Langkawi

We've arrived and are officially on vacation.

View from the pool

Floating Noah

Beautiful beach that was right next to the pool

Fun in the sun here we come!

Kai taking on the ocean with his swim cap, we weren't too sure what exactly was going on with that but he was pretty insistent on having it on at almost all times so we of course didn't argue. 

Noah's love of drinking pool water

Pool Gladiator

Once he discovered jumping into the pool it was impossible getting him out.

Showing us he had no fear of putting his face under the water.

Silly times in the jacuzzi

This is their o-shiri ganbare song and dance, which translates into 'lets go my butt you can do it'  This number it seems is the highly anticipated follow up to the smash hit "o-chin chin" which was a fantastic little diddy about another private part.   Cause for concern or destined for greatness- I'm opting to believe the latter.

Noah went for a second verse. Maybe worth noting this was a private jacuzzi.

Hotel grounds which were just exquisite and really did make you feel like you were transported into some sort of chichi jungle.

I love that my children have not lost the ability to pass out just about anywhere when they're tired. We were having an early dinner when Kai decided he was done - there were no tears no tantrums he just laid himself down and off he went.

Kai's angry face- we catch him making this face to Noah to show him when he's really means business.

Have to throw at least one attempt at a family portrait in there.

Our desperate attempt to appear as hip parents.

Kai takes flight

Noah stays grounded

Noah desperately trying to figure out why his mother has packed him in dynamite for the day. Those swimsuits are definitely better in theory.

The bean declaring he's done.

My super cool little dude

Naoto trying to convince me he really is going to the gym.

Our day of rain that clearly didn't damper any one's spirits

Tamer times in the jacuzzi

Since it rained that day we had to improvise.

Noah puttin some serious food down- that kid eats more than all of us combined. Kai always keeping it classy by drinking the milk out of the porcelain pitcher.

Never a dull moment.

He always seemed to have serious attitude when he was in the pool. He didn't really want to play with any of us- like he was too cool to be seen with us. We realized he's just more of beach bum than a pool lover.

Kai on the other hand loved the pool much more than the beach.

Noah telling us he really means business and is ready to hit the beach.

A swimming Kai spotted from beneath. He actually decided he was going to learn how to swim on the trip and is now taking lessons and is totally loving it.

Really large coconut.

Collecting shells

Mangrove tour

Where we saw a ton of monkeys

Then Kai was done and napped most of the way back.

Pretty boy

Eying the juice and plotting a plan of how to end up with both glasses.

Silly little tricksters.

Doesn't get any better than this.

Napping beach bum

Me enjoying Noah's nap.

It was nearly impossible to get them to leave the outdoor shower, luckily they are extremely cute and everyone was quite fond of their little show. 

Sword fighting

Back at KL- think this was the National Mosque.

Yummy food.

Yelling lord knows what at the fish

Evening stroll

Walking up a billion steps to reach a very cool cave.

Lots of monkeys along the way, which of course completely freaked me out. 
 

Making paper swords and causing trouble in the hotel room.

Noah's 'nothing to see here' look

Followed by his convincing sweet and innocent face

I knewn he was up to something- it was just a matter of time before he spilled the beans.

Now it was Kai's turn to give the 'what- we're not doing anything look'

And he's caught although he's totally trying to act like he does not have a plan to take that porcelain plate out of the draw and throw it on to the ground.

Last night in KL

And another awesome vacation came to a close. Man do I love being a part of this wacky little family.