Theo...Live in Odaiba - 2

If I'm not mistaken, the last time that Theo went to Odaiba was sometime in November of last year, as documented in this blog post. After more than half a year, we decided to go there again, this time, together with friends Myra and Jing Villareal and their lovely daughter Andrea. But instead of taking the usual train, we went there in style, via the futuristic-looking boat shown below:

It's called the "Himiko", which definitely provided a very smooth and fun ride, especially for...


...our little Theo, who enjoyed the view from within, this being his first boat ride ever, and not like the "boat" rides that we take at Shinobazu Pond in Ueno Park. It's a real vessel this time, and a futuristic one at that.

Andrea and Theo savor the feel of the bare, hard metal on their backs as the cool, soft breeze caresses their faces.

After a few hours of walking around, Theo and Andrea take a breather in front of "Condomania"! Andrea covers her mouth as if saying, "Oooops!"

Theo reacts as Andrea teases him from behind.

After a long, fun day in Odaiba, the friends finally head home, holding each others' hand, as Andrea looks back to where a memorable day had just been spent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


These are just additional photos of Theo and two of his classmates, which Mommy D took during the week. In the first shot, Theo is seen goofing around with Taigai-kun, and in the second photo below it, it was Souta-kun's turn to do his thing. With these cute and funny kids, it must be fun being their kindergarten teacher!

The Disc Jockey - 2

Obviously, the photo below must be from the blog entry entitled The Disc Jockey, which was posted about two years ago -- on June 18, 2006. Theo was roughly a year and half old at that time.


Here's how our "disc jockey" looks now. It's still the same cute kid with those kissable cheeks, only bigger.



We have recently purchased a bath robe for him, and he seems to enjoy wearing it. This photo below was taken a few evenings ago after his bath.


We passed by Ueno Park this afternoon on our way home and Theo is seen here wearing the nice jumper that his Lola Nalik from the U.S. sent him many years ago when he was still a toddler. It has finally fit him, and with the t-shirt that he received from his Lola Cosette many years back, he appears very boyish in the shot below. He is using that stick in his hand to mess around with the poor, little insects in the soil.


This was taken at a higher level in Ueno Park overlooking the shopping area below. In the background is Yodobashi Camera, one of our favorite stores because of its point card system. Almost all of Theo's toys were bought from the Akihabara branch of Yodobashi Camera.


This was Theo's first time to touch a live rabbit, and he really couldn't get enough of it. Luckily, the owner gave him a few minutes to stroke it, except that the rabbit kept running away and he had to chase it around. Minutes after the rabbit and its owner left, he kept saying "Tanoshikatta!", which roughly means "It was fun!"


It's almost two months now since Theo started going to school, and by this time, he speaks more Japanese than English at home. Actually, if you don't tell him to speak English, he'll be speaking in Japanese the whole day. While his mother speaks to him in Japanese sometimes, I only speak to him in English, or sometimes in our dialect. These are what he needs when we return home.

School Snaps

Theo smiles awkwardly as Mommy D takes this snap just after school.


Taigai-kun, Theo, and Futaba-kun goof off when Mommy D asked them to pose. Almost everyday, these three walk home together from school.

Mommy D took this shot one morning on the way to school. It somehow typifies his excitement of going to school where he gets to play with his friends and learn a few things.

A slight chaos breaks as Theo and his classmates rush to take their shoes from their respective racks after the school day ends. Can you spot where Theo is?

This is not a photo taken in school nor somewhere near school but one taken at a shopping street near Kanda station. Judging from Theo's pose, it's quite obvious why we couldn't help but include this photo in this blog post.


These photos were taken yesterday after an activity in school. Theo shows you what Mommy D does best at home. In lieu of yesterday's activity, Theo won't have class on Monday (tomorrow).

At Meiji Shrine

Speaking about convenience, our apartment is just 5-8 minutes away from one of the stations of Chiyoda Line, and one of the tourist attractions along this line is the famous Meiji Shrine. Yesterday afternoon, while Mommy D did some shopping, Theo and I decided to take the 23-minute ride to this shrine and snap some photos. This time, instead of using a digital camera, I used a film camera instead.

Theo strikes a pose as we were about to enter the shrine.



It's quite a long walk from the entrance to the main shrine itself. By the time we reached the latter, Theo was already a bit tired.

A few seconds after this photo was taken, one of the guards told me that sitting on the steps is prohibited.



There was a traditional Japanese wedding in progress, and I couldn't help but take this shot.


Certainly, after a few hours of walking around and posing, it's time for some soft ice cream. Hmmm....(slurp)...

We Learned It All in Kindergarten

When Mommy D showed me this photo of our little Theo (with a small bump on his head) holding hands with his friend Souta-kun, I was immediately reminded of this piece by Robert Fulghum:

We Learned It All in Kindergarten

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain; it was right there in the sandbox on the playground.

These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt someone. Wash your hands before lunch. Learn some and think some, and draw and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.

Take a nap in the afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up, and nobody really knows why.

Think of what a better world this would be if we all had milk and cookies about one o'clock in the afternoon and lay down with our blankets for a nap. Imagine if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations always to put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into this world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

A few more snapshots:


Theo prepares to enter school. He has just removed his shoes and is ready to put them in his box.




Theo proudly shows the letter H, which he had just written.


This is a typical example of what's inside Theo's lunch box, courtesy of Mommy D. Hmmm....yummy...


This photo was taken just this afternoon somewhere in Akihabara. Theo danced in the middle of the street without any inhibitions. Wherever and whenever he hears loud disco music, his body immediately moves to the beat, and he becomes one with the music. Recall that while he was still in Mommy D's womb, we made him listen to classical music almost everyday.


There was a park nearby, and this is what he does best: play!