1 month checkup
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Went with Tonchan and P for a checkup. Tonchan is doing well -- gaining lots of weight and her neck is getting strong. Oh yeah, she's also damn cute, thank you.
1 month checkup
1 month checkup
Originally uploaded by renfield.
tonchan hatsumode
Hatsumode = "first shrine visit of the year"
We bundled her up:
Stuffed her in the sling:
(where she promptly fell asleep)
And headed to Hikawa Shrine:
We bundled her up:
Stuffed her in the sling:
(where she promptly fell asleep)
And headed to Hikawa Shrine:
2006
I guess I'm supposed to write something looking back at all the things that happened in 2006, maybe even provide some links back to my favorite or significant posts; you know, like grandpa Kuroda dying and Daisuke, Maya, and Tonchan being born. Friends arriving and friends leaving, eating good food and staying at cool places...
Then again I can also remark that I lost 2 kilos, shrank a quarter centimeter, and shaved my head regularly.
So what's in store for 2007? More sitting (I hope), less training (I suspect), more diapers (I am sure.)
Then again I can also remark that I lost 2 kilos, shrank a quarter centimeter, and shaved my head regularly.
So what's in store for 2007? More sitting (I hope), less training (I suspect), more diapers (I am sure.)
winter?
Been unseasonably warm past couple days, so taking the opportunity to sneak outside (between diaper changes and feedings) and shop for bread, buy/sell used English books, and get my head shaved.
Brain gets a bit toasted sitting inside all day, so it's nice to get out every now and then. Also interesting to see the kinds of people who are out and about during the day. Sitting at work all day I never get a chance to ride the bus and wander about shopping amongst the common folk. Good to mingle with the peasants every now and then; keeps one humble.
Brain gets a bit toasted sitting inside all day, so it's nice to get out every now and then. Also interesting to see the kinds of people who are out and about during the day. Sitting at work all day I never get a chance to ride the bus and wander about shopping amongst the common folk. Good to mingle with the peasants every now and then; keeps one humble.
traditional jewish xmas dinner
traditional jewish xmas dinner
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Sprial ham with honey glaze, potato panckaes with applesauce, carrot soup. Merry Chanukrismas!
little man Kai
The Birth of Our First Baby
Originally uploaded by Cornelius_20D.
Corn's kid is born! Little Man Kai has joined us on Dec 22, so now Tonchan's got someone to date in a few more years.
meimei
P1000284.JPG
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Parentals Kuroda came by this morning to present Tonchan with the traditional girl's hagoita (decorated fan.) Grandma also wrote out this cool birthday announcement.
gifts for tonchan!
P1000274.JPG
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Tonchan is just scoring big time! From all her friends at work and across Japan and the US, and all her family, she got tons of flowers, a bunch of toys, new clothes, towels, stuffed friends, and this cool stocking from Aunt Linda!
She also really, really doesn't like coming out of the bath and being cold. She cries and screams and is generally pissed off with me for a good hour, until I wrap her up and make her warm and let her suck/chew on my finger for a while...but what really makes her happy is when mom comes and feeds her. Meanwhile I have been soaked and nearly pooped on from bathtime. Just think, in a few short years this bundle of screaming joy will be exclaiming "I don't want you I want MOM!"
Ah, fatherhood. 10 days down...24 years to go...
damn straight
city hall and shibuya
Went with mama to Minato City Hall (Ward Office sounds lame) to register Tonchan's birth and start some paperwork. The federal gov't gives us a fair amount of money for a child's birth, plus Minato will kick in some more, for both the birth and for the mom's medical expenses.
The interesting bit, as always, was how they deal with a foreigner dad. Technically, when we got married P came off of her father's family registery, had her own created, and I am on hers (in the section on the bottom where it says "Pets and other notes" there is the comment "married to a foreigner.")
So to register Tonchan's birth my name as father has to be just like it is on P's family registery, which is basically my maiden name. I am curious as to how the US Embassy will react to that, because I don't actually have anything that shows I am me, with my current name and my maiden name. When I got married and changed my name, I simply went to the US Embassy and said "Got married, took my wife's name" and they updated my passport. When I went back to city hall to renew my registration as a resident alien, they used the name in my passport, no longer my maiden name.
So when I go to the US Embassy with a copy of Tonchan's Japanese birth certificate, it will have dad's name as my maiden name...not quite sure I will use that to prove she's mine! This should be interesting...
After that little adventure in Japanese bureaucracy we had a quick/cheap/easy/filling pork bowl at Yoshinoya and took the train to Shibuya. First showed mama the 5-story fabric store across from 109, and then reminded her how to get to Tokyu Hands, so now she's set for shopping. Finally had a warm and refreshing bevvie at the QFront Starbucks before taking the bus home.
The interesting bit, as always, was how they deal with a foreigner dad. Technically, when we got married P came off of her father's family registery, had her own created, and I am on hers (in the section on the bottom where it says "Pets and other notes" there is the comment "married to a foreigner.")
So to register Tonchan's birth my name as father has to be just like it is on P's family registery, which is basically my maiden name. I am curious as to how the US Embassy will react to that, because I don't actually have anything that shows I am me, with my current name and my maiden name. When I got married and changed my name, I simply went to the US Embassy and said "Got married, took my wife's name" and they updated my passport. When I went back to city hall to renew my registration as a resident alien, they used the name in my passport, no longer my maiden name.
So when I go to the US Embassy with a copy of Tonchan's Japanese birth certificate, it will have dad's name as my maiden name...not quite sure I will use that to prove she's mine! This should be interesting...
After that little adventure in Japanese bureaucracy we had a quick/cheap/easy/filling pork bowl at Yoshinoya and took the train to Shibuya. First showed mama the 5-story fabric store across from 109, and then reminded her how to get to Tokyu Hands, so now she's set for shopping. Finally had a warm and refreshing bevvie at the QFront Starbucks before taking the bus home.
namahage
namahage
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Went to Azabujyuban with mama to do some shopping; laundry basket for Tonchan's stuff, sheets for her crib, etc. For some reason some Namahage drummers from Akita Prefecture were performing. No idea why, but it was pretty cool.
Came home and Tonchan finally fell asleep, so now P is napping, mama is napping on the couch, and Tonchan is napping in the basinette. I am doing the laundry and being a good new papa/husband.
laputa aoyama
Had our annual team Bonenkai in Aoyama at the trendy Laputa. Good food, excellent turnout. Unfortunately it was raining so we couldn't use the extensive outdoor area, but then again no one tried to take a drunk swim in the decorative pool either.
Afterwards headed over to Nishiazabu/Roppongi for some random drinking of Korean traditional mountain root beverages; jars of hairy vegetables and unidentifiable bits and bobs floating in progressively browner liquids, poured into shot glasses and giving of the pleasant smell of wood, feet, and traditional Korean mountain roots soaked for years in progressively browner liquids.
By 1am it was time for karaoke, but I and a few weaker souls got some ramen and headed home instead.
Afterwards headed over to Nishiazabu/Roppongi for some random drinking of Korean traditional mountain root beverages; jars of hairy vegetables and unidentifiable bits and bobs floating in progressively browner liquids, poured into shot glasses and giving of the pleasant smell of wood, feet, and traditional Korean mountain roots soaked for years in progressively browner liquids.
By 1am it was time for karaoke, but I and a few weaker souls got some ramen and headed home instead.
with baba
with baba
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Mama came to visit Tonchan today. I also had my how-to-bathe-your-baby lesson. Tonchan basically enjoyed it, though I think she was freaking out a bit not because she doesn't like the water, but because I had no idea what I was doing and almost dropped her into the water a couple times. They gave me helpful hints like "Don't hold her ankles and dip" and "No jamming cotton swabs into her nose."
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