Happy New Year!

Happy 2013! I don't really have a grasp of time, so I'm not sure what the big deal is. Mason and I were in bed way before midnight.  We were just pooped from all the crazy, fun we were having with Ethan. Here's a glimpse of the craziness:



Can you imagine how much more fun it'll be when Mason's a better walker? He'll be a great partner in crime!

While Mason and I didn't make it to midnight, you'll never guess who did. Yup, dada definitely made it. But so did mama! She usually falls asleep on the couch shortly after putting us to bed. But she and dada were tired (more than usual) the next day. Dada even stopped at Starbucks for coffee before we headed up to Sacramento for New Year's Day celebrations with dada's family.

For as long as dada can remember, New Year's Day was spent with family.  Turns out New Years Day is a big deal in Japanese tradition. We always spend it with family and eat special food. The first time mama joined in the new year's celebration, she asked dada and grandma what the different foods meant. Neither one of them knew what they meant. It's just what you eat and do on new year's day.

Now that mama is a mama, she wants to know what these things mean so she can explain it to us if/when we ask her about it. So here's what she learned:

• Kuromame (cooked sweet black beans) symbolizes good health.  Mama and I like these beans, so I guess that means we'll have good health.
• Kamaboko (fish cake) resembles Japan's rising sun and are associated with celebratory, festive events. I like these too...just cooked, not cold.
• Ozoni is a soup made with mochi. It's just something you eat on new year's day, but it has it's roots with the samurai. While I like mochi, I didn't really care for the mochi soup. Good thing mama likes it! She's already looking up recipes to make the soup. 

She found all this info on the internet, so it must be true, right?

She also found something called Toshikoshi soba, which symbolizes long life and health. They're hot soba noodles that are supposed to be eaten just as the new year begins. Mama wants to add this to our new year's tradition and is looking for recipes online. Somehow I don't think Mason or I will be enjoying these noodles until we get to stay up to greet the new year. Bummer.

Happy New Year!

A rockin' new year's eve!

Mason's rockin' out on New Year's Eve. Special thanks to uncle Henry for his Pink Floyd t-shirt. Happy New Year everyone!

Mason is 1 year old!

Mason is 1 year old! Happy Birthday to Mason!

Things he likes:

• Walking: he's still wobbly, but he's walking all over the place these days.
• People: he definitely likes to be with people. if you leave in him in a room by himself, he'll cry
• Flying: he breaks into a big smile when dada flies him through the air
• Playing with water: he splashes water everywhere when he gets a bath. he also likes to play with Tachi's water and try to stick his hand in the toilet (eww...gross! good think mama and dada get to him before he succeeds).
• His thumb: it'll be interesting to see how mama and dada get him to break this habit. 
• Whining: he complains a lot. when he's really fussy, he'll look for mama or dada. walk up to them. tug on their pant legs, look up with those doe eyes and starts whining because he wants to be picked up.
• Pulling people's faces: if you're holding him, watch out. he's quick
• Me: mama says he's my biggest fan. he follows me around the house, plays with everything that i want to play with and gets into all of my toys

Things he doesn't like:

• Napping: he's just not a good napper. at least he's sleeping through the night
• Being hungry: but who does? when he's hungry, he gets really grouchy, kinda like mama.

The aquarium, Tang-style

Today we went to the quarium with Caylie, uncle Ed, auntie Lia and Po-Po. After lunch at Aqui's, we headed off to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. OMG, it was super crowded! We couldn't park in our usual spot, but we managed to find parking

We went to see the jellyfish, but I didn't want to go near them. You see, at lunch auntie Lia told me about how she and uncle Ed got stung by jellyfish. I was afraid they would try to sting me if I got too close. Mama tried to reassure me that it would be okay, but I didn't want to take any chances.

When I wasn't listening to mama, Uncle Ed threatened to throw me into the ocean. Does he know how cold that water is?! Throwing me into the cold ocean water is considered child abuse. After that, I didn't really like him as much. Dada said auntie Lia would protect me from mean Uncle Ed. He said she wouldn't let him throw me in the cold ocean.

This time Mason also had a chance to get in on the action. He liked watching the puffins dive in the water to eat and playing at the Splash Zone. Good thing dada packed extra shirts for us! Po-po really liked the seahorses. She said she's never seen them before.

I had a great time showing everyone around the quarium! I'm so happy that uncle Ed, auntie Lia and Caylie moved back to the Bay Area so we can hang out more often.

Christmas means presents galore

During the holiday season I've been noticing that the number of presents under our Christmas tree would grow. One morning mama and I had a conversation about it.

Me: Oh, there're more presents. Maybe they're for Logan.
Mama: Or maybe they're for other people, like Mason, Ethan, dada, mama or our family and friends.
[short pause as I furrow my brow to think about what mama said]
Me: Or maybe they're for Logan.

Mama and dada have been trying to teach me that Christmas is about giving presents, not just getting presents. They asked me to help deliver gifts (homemade goodies) to our neighbors and give gifts to my Little Gym and swimming teachers (also homemade goodies).

Unlike last Christmas, this year's Christmas was jam-packed! On Christmas Eve, we packed up the family and headed to Ethan's house. After lunch and a nap, we packed up the car with turkey, gravy and presents and headed up to Sac. When we got to auntie Doris' house (she's actually grandma's auntie, which makes her my great, great auntie), dada and I went inside while mama and Mason stayed in the car (he fell asleep).

I said hello to everyone by shaking their hand and saying, "It's nice to meet you. My name is Logan." Uncle Kaz (he's also grandma's uncle) was quite impressed. We got to see all of dada's family from cousins Kimora, Kyle, Ethan, Seth, Sammy, to great, great aunties and uncles and everyone in between. We had a blast watching Cars2 on a humongous TV and running around. Santa even made a stop to visit us on his really busy night. And guess what? He gave each of us presents.

After auntie Doris' we went over to grandma Shibata's (Kimora and Kyle's grandma) house to open more presents. There were so many presents that they didn't fit under the tree! Once all the presents were distributed, I got busy opening presents. I said things like, "Ohhhh. Oh my goodness. Look at that."  I helped mama and dada open their presents too.  When all the presents were opened, I said, "I need more presents to open." We got so many new toys that we could open a toy store!

We spent the night at Ethan's house and headed home after breakfast and opening even more presents! They were mostly Mason's because he was tired and cranky at auntie Bridget's. The Tang family came over for Christmas dinner. We got to hang out with Caylie, uncle Ed, auntie Lia and Po-Po. And guess what. We got to open more presents! 

Thank you to all of our very generous family and friends! We're so lucky to have you as part of our lives. Merry Christmas!