Second First birthday party

After a smashing success of a birthday party at Grandma's house last weekend, party #2 commenced. The scene was carefully set in the days preceding.


Taiyo took it all in, sometimes getting into the mix and other times watching from a sheltered overlook.


There was some requests for present opening towards the end, which we dutifully complied with. I couldn't help but feel like Taiyo noticed the joys of tearing off wrapping paper just a bit.



Our sincere thanks to everyone who helped make this day happen and to everyone to attended.

Taiyo turns one

Today Taiyo turns one year old!!!

This past year hasn't gone by fast at all. It has gone steady, filled every day with amazing moments together with my son. He's taught me just as much as I've taught him. Together with Yoshiko, we're learning to be a family together and for that I am so thankful.

Taiyo's day started with a celebration.


Soon we were introducing Taiyo to the concept of "presents".


But he had his own ideas about what to do with them.


We gave him a birthday card, which we'll save for years from now when he can read it and understand a little more about how we felt on this day.


Next we were off for a birthday outing.

We saw lots of animals. As we hoped, Taiyo was transfixed and took it all it with amazement.


Afterwards, we returned home for a long nap and a birthday dinner together. It was a wonderful day together and a great way to celebrate Taiyo's first birthday.

Halloween

I've been sick the past few days and haven't gotten it together to post some updates. The pictures below tell the tale of Halloween.

Taiyo was a very cute puppy for Halloween. We had fun playing in the park before the big Halloween festivities.

I got the sense that for Taiyo, the photo below really encapsulates what he was feeling.

We made sure to scare him properly by threatening to feed him to the Lions.

But mostly, he was happy and enjoyed his first time through the experience.

This one was for us - and it is probably the only one that will be for us. Next year he'll run the show and we'll try to keep up.

Desktop Backgrounds - Ocean Beach and the Golden Gate Bridge

Just a few beautiful pictures of San Francisco's northwest corner in September.

At play

First it was pulling his head up. Next Taiyo smiled as he managed to sit. Soon he was climbing the legs of the furniture and the stairs of the house.

I believe climbing and pulling himself up into interesting spaces is deepening his awareness of the possible.

Favorites

Taiyo's favorite: Playing with a cell phone

Poppa's favorite: That sleepy smile

Discovering how to slide

WHOOSH - One moment your at the top and the next your flying towards the ground at a rather sharp angle. This doesn't appear to be fun the first time, but Taiyo quickly starting seeing the positives.

I'm too scared to let go of his hands yet...

New Angle

Momma got a new camera for her birthday. Now it is up to us to live up to possibilities it offers.

We stopped by the park in San Mateo today as the setting sun was casting warm light over a rose garden. Here's some examples of our first trials with the camera.

Happy eleven months!

At eleven months I'm noticing that he is getting better at milestones he's reach in the past couple of months- things like:

• feeding himself
• crawling faster
• walking with better balance
• improving in coordination and general dexterity
• waving "bye-bye"

Taiyo, I will try to enjoy and be thankful for every day this final month before your birthday as I think back with pride over all that you have accomplished in one short year.

You fill me with joy.

Our new TV

We got this awesome replacement for our TV when we moved into our new place earlier this year. It has become part of our daily lives and we really are glad we upgraded.

Closing the Cabin and first snow

We made one final trip to the Cabin for this year in order to close everything up. We were not expecting the snow that we found, but it made for a fun introduction to the cold wet stuff for Taiyo.

We held it out for him to touch and poke at and he wasn't at all sure that he liked it.

I like to swing

Taiyo goes to the playground every week now. He can't walk yet, but he can slide and he can swing. He's enjoying both more and more. Soon he'll figure out he can kick and pull with his arms to up the speed.

Facing Forward

When you first go into the car seat as a newborn, it doesn't mean very much to you. Things are still way too bright and nothing feels normal and you still don't have any idea what is going on.

But over the next few months, you start to gain awareness. At some point, you realize that you keep getting stuffed into the same seat in the same surroundings and then one day, POOF, awareness dawns and you get that you are in a car...facing backwards.

From watching Taiyo go through this, I get the feeling that this starts to suck. You can't see much although you know there is a lot of action out the window. You crane your next to try to see but it just doesn't work out.

And then one day, as if answering your prayers, those wacky parents decide to start putting you face first in the car, and an entire world unfolds before your eyes.

Enjoy the view, Taiyo.

Happy ten months!

We celebrated four years of marriage and ten months of Taiyo last weekend. Fall colors with starting to show at our cabin in the sierras. It was a wonderful quiet weekend with just the river and rocks to keep us company.

The cabin is a spiritual place for me - one I've grown up with since I was Taiyo's age. I love watching him watch the world.

On the move

Taiyo regularly crawls down the hall and around corners to greet me when I return home. He has begun to finally master the physical skills of crawling, which is opening up a whole new mental challenge for him - how to conceptualize physical space.

He's long been able to figure out that when I hide behind something, I'm still "there" and that only his vision is blocked. But now he is thinking about the concept of corners, rooms, vertical height and all the complexities that brings as he experiments with moving through space.

It is really amazing to watch him grasp the layout of the house and quite stunning to see him crawling off to favorite places.

So that's what these opposable thumbs are for!

Just as Taiyo was learning to crawl, he was also paying attention to the stuff we keep shoving in his mouth day after day. Some babies seem to set about feeding themselves early, wanting nothing more than to be left in piece with a nice piece of bread.

Taiyo's journey into feeding the hunger has been slower. He took a long time to really associate anything we gave him as food he could put in his own mouth.

But the power of the banana overwhelmed in him the end it seems. Now he is enjoying learning to munch on crackers, bread, broccoli, various fruit, and on and on.

As part of this new found empowerment, we are moving from two to three solid food meals a day from tomorrow.

Scale the Mountain

I am one of many things Taiyo has set about climbing. As I mentioned in the previous post, he seeks it as a personal test to figure out what it takes to scale any peak. How high he will go is still anyone's guess.

Riding High

Taiyo can sit and stand and crawl and (almost) walk. He loves nothing more than physically interacting with the things around him.

Usually he does this by pulling himself up and over barriers or even banging his head against the wall just to see what happens.

The world reacts is something he really gets. Now he is bent on figuring out just how it will react. He will test and push the limits for years and years to come.

A shaking sea-horse is no match for this cowboy.

Back!

We're back! It was a long trip but we are safe and sound back home again. Taiyo has changed so much in 1 1/2 months. But the biggest change has to be that he is now crawling!!!

We are busy re-arranging the house as life as we know it once again takes a big turn in the road.

Taiyo celebrated his ninth month in August. To mark the occasion he knocked back a cold frosty beverage.



We will now return to regularly scheduled Taiyo updates.