Kokochi

My Dav

Last weekend, Dav bought a sleeveless shirt. I liked it but didn't see him wear it.

On the days I don't take T to Karla's and Granny comes to our house, I ride on the back of his motorcycle to work. Very practical. After work, we IM to ascertain time - as in "I'm leaving now" or "in 5 minutes", and I meet him. We work a block away from each other so it's not complicated.

Anyway, the other day, the day that was luxuriously hot in SF which is oh so rare, he rode up a bit ahead of me so I could see him waiting for me. He was wearing his new sleeveless shirt. There he was all cool on his motorcycle with his hot sleeveless shirt so I could see his big arms, with his gloves, and waiting for me. That image made my heart flutter. I seriously thought to myself, "Am I married to this awesome guy?" Why yes, I get to hop on the back and ride home together (with my laptop bag and some groceries in tow...sorta crashing the image).

I love feeling my heart flutter for my husband.

Great, that's great mama

I made vege spaghetti tonight, and as I showed Tesla her bowl, she said, "I want my noodles." I replied, "you can eat with mama and daddy." She left the kitchen repeating, "that's great mama, great, great, great."

Tesla's play

• Baby chair Tesla used to use when she was much younger. We put it away, but lately, she asks for it to put WanWan (doggy) in.
• WanWan with Mardi Gras beads around her neck
• 2 of her drinking cups
• A Hello Kitty decoration M bought in Japan as a gift
• Her wallet
• A clean diaper that she plays with and puts on WanWan
• And to the left, the giant pig from the fair.

p.s. Experimenting how to resize pictures from the high quality of the camera and somehow messed this one up. Learning...

Summer

My goodness, this weekend was wonderful, hot weather. Real summer - which is a luxury in SF, although I have to admit when days like this come by, I think about global climate change. Tesla and I hung out in the Regenbogen yard to enjoy their kiddy pool. It was so hot, even I got in.

Dav was in Napa today with his friends who are visiting from NY. With this weather, I'm glad T and I stayed put. She's napping a long much needed nap right in our bed now.

change of camera

The camera on my cell phone , the one I use for pretty much all my pics, and I've enjoyed since I always have my cell phone with me to capture the special moments whenever they are, just doesn't work anymore : (

Big bummer. So for the time-being, I'm going to use Dav's super great camera. It's got amazing quality but is giant to carry around. I'm willing to try for a bit to experience how it changes the kind of pictures I take.

Thanks to M for the flower!

collage art

Spent some time gluing and painting the other day. I love encouraging creativity with T. Her dancing is getting more complex, and since she makes us watch her pretty much every day, it's rather nice to see her experiment with new steps : )

First dentist visit

Tesla went to the dentist for the first time today. I know the books recommend starting at 2 years but I just couldn't imagine it being useful when there was little way to bargain and coax her into keeping her mouth open at that age. At 3, however, it was actually a pleasant and fun experience. We took her to a kid-specific place that had lots of stuffed animals, a movie on the ceiling to watch while lying down, and lots of goodies to get after the appointment. Dav and I were surprised at how well Tesla listened to instructions and let the dentist poke around. The staff were very patient, and let her touch each tool with her fingers before using it on her so she knew what to expect.

Her teeth are good, but we do need to start working on having Tesla stop sucking her thumb. We'll try positive reinforcement and encouragement first, and hopefully won't have to use other drastic, rather mean enforcement that would be needed if she doesn't stop by 5 and hopes not to have her front teeth pushed out.

After being such a good patient, Tesla got a balloon, stickers, a sugar-free lollipop, and a bag of goodies such as toothpaste and a toothbrush.

[click on the pics to enlarge and see her expressions : ) ]

It wasn't raining today, but Tesla wanted to wear her ladybug raincoat. We went to our local coffee shop, Farley's, then took her to the carousel which I had promised we'd do once Dav got back from his trip last week. Tesla remembered that promise! The cute thing was she had her raincoat and blue balloon from the dentist all day long!

My mom's calligraphy

My mom has been practicing calligraphy for years now, and she's reached the stage where she can express her style (vs. having to strictly follow the classics), and I just love her work. I have a piece of her's in our living room.

Recently, one of her works was chosen to be shown at the Mainichi Shodoten at Kokuritｓu Shinbijutukan (the National Art Center in Tokyo). I am so proud of her piece. My mom!!

It is "fuchiya" (不知也　ふちや) which means that it's sometimes better not to know everything...from a Buddhist saying that there are things in life that are OK not to fully understand, and that can bring happiness.

Especially since I know how hard it is, I'm in awe, and very happy that she is Tesla's grandmother - so elegant and artful. Such a great role model for me and Tesla. And for this piece, my mom is using such a giant brush that when she practices at home, she needs the full living room and uses her full body. It's not a regular thing at all.

お母さん、おめでとうございます。とっても素敵です。感動してます。実依より

Total Solar Eclipse from Iwo Jima, Japan

From NHK. The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century. Wish I could have watched it live. Must be absolutely magical...At 5:23, there's a neat shot of what is called Prominence which is a giant cloud of incandescent ionized solar gas that forms for hours or days, is colder than the sun at about 10,000 degrees celcius vs a million degrees and floats above instead of falling into the sun. It's not known why. Sure is fantastic to see, especially when it's apparently 2~3 times the size of planet earth!

Tesla swimming

Last Sunday we hung around a pool. And although in the past, Tesla has been fine with jumping in water and even the ocean with waves, suddenly she was spooked. It didn't help that initially there was a giant pool cleaner that shot out squirts of water, so she really didn't want to be anywhere near that even after it was turned off.

Dav was patient though, and with a noodle and torso floater, Tesla gradually got into it, and really, for the first time, swam. She got the kicking and paddling, and could get herself back to the pool edge by herself. She's been talking about the pool ever since.

Having her learn to swim for safety reasons is on my list that we haven't done yet, so I'm pleased she got a taste.