Kiki the Giant

Kizuki is in the 98th percentile (of babies her age) for height, 85th for weight, and 45th for head size. She is a nicely proportioned giant, according to her doctor. I already knew she was a giant from the twangs and zingers of pain that have been growing in my shoulders. Lets hope she learns to walk soon!

Whose who?

Luckily they have seven years between them, otherwise we might have a hard time telling whose who! Kiki top. Uta bottom.

World Cup Fever

The World Cup has inspired some pickup games in the park amongst soccer loving Dads and their kids. Uta knows next to nothing about the game, but he was happy and proud to play along with Papa. He chased after the ball, following the herd, and did his best to kick the ball in the general vicinity of the goal, any goal, regardless of whose team would benefit from his efforts. For a long time he was the goalie, which I would guess would be too much pressure for the boy. But he liked it just fine. All that time waiting for the action to come his way gave him extra opportunity to tweak his outfit. He may not know the difference between a free kick and a penalty shot, but he is crystal clear on the proper way to wear his socks in true soccer style. 

Song and dance

Sushi 101

Uta just finished a week of Karate Camp. Everyday they practiced Karate, played games, and had a special guest teacher come. Monday was calligraphy, Tuesday was Judo, Wednesday was Sushi, Thursday was origami, and Friday was samurai sword fighting. Uta liked the Judo and Sushi best of all. He said he might even like Judo just a little bit more than Karate, but he cant be sure of that after only one time.

On sushi day Uta learned the carefully guarded secret of making a sushi roll with the rice on the outside. Uta was very eager to demonstrate his new skills for me. If you know Uta, then you know he can do nothing without first dressing for the part. And it is never as simple as Uta just doing something like cooking. There must be a story line, a cast of characters, lines to memorize. Tonight it was a big sushi competition. Kizuki and I were the judges. We had to pretend to eat loads and loads of awful sushi before, at long last, we tasted his master sushi creation. Kizuki was very happy to play along and managed to get sticky rice on every square inch of her body.

Before Uta fell into the Hudson River...

He happily skipped between rocks. After... He was not so happy.

Note to self: Not all rocks are rocks. Some rocks are really floating boards, ready and waiting to capsize under a trusting foot. Lesson learned? Only time will tell.

The Little Red Lighthouse

Uta was just three years old when Uncle J gave him the book, "The Little Red Lighthouse", and promised one day to take him to see the real thing. It has always been a favorite story of Uta's, even though he just couldn't imagine it to be true. But this weekend he got to see for himself. Underneath the great grey shadow of the George Washington Bridge, on the Hudson River's edge, the little Red Lighthouse stands tall and proud.

Happy Father's Day!