A School Activity

Theo had a school activity last December 17 but Mommy D wasn't able to bring her camera at that time. Recently, however, we were able to obtain some photos from the mother of one of Theo's classmates, Taigai-kun, and we are posting them here for posterity.






The two photos above were taken this morning just after Theo woke up. As you can see, he's an expert in goofing around! Hehehe...

Happy 4th Birthday, Theo!

December 26, 2008 was Theo's 4th Birthday! Although it was just another working day for me, I decided to take half the day off so that Mommy D and I can bring him to Toy Kingdom near Tokyo Dome in Suidobashi.

Theo really enjoyed that afternoon because there were just too many toys for him to play with and there weren't many children around because it was a working day. We spent around 2 1/2 hours there, after which, we braved the cold wind and enjoyed the illumination in the shopping area for a few minutes before having dinner at a family restaurant nearby. We arrived home relatively late, and Theo was already asleep on the train on our way back.

To mark this occasion, we took lots of photos and we're sharing some of them here.


This was the birthday card sent to him by his Lola Nalik in the U.S. What follows are some photos taken at Toy Kingdom.













After a few hours, he became hungry and asked for some ice cream. We then asked him to pose in front of the entrance and he gamely obliged.

At home, he imitates the moves of some of these characters. Mommy D and I think that they're quite popular among the kids in his school. Hmmm....looking back, this sounds familiar.



These are just a few of the colorful illuminations in the shopping area around Tokyo Dome. It was very, very cold that night, however. The wind chill was probably less than 4 degrees, and so we couldn't stay outdoors for a long time. Besides, Theo was already hungry so we had dinner before going home.

Emperor's Birthday

December 23 is a national holiday in Japan because it's the emperor's birthday (unfortunately, December 25 is just another working day even if it's our Savior's birthday, so we hardly felt the Christmas spirit here).

On this day, we decided to go to the Marunouchi area where the "Lightopia" is being held. That is, the streets are all lined with colorful lights, which attract tourists and the locals alike. We also had our early Christmas dinner there at an Indian restaurant, Indian food being Mommy D's favorite.

At Tokyo Station, on our way to the site.

Walking towards the Marunouchi South Exit of Tokyo Station...


Theo couldn't get enough of the colorful lights that were blended in with the plants.

Mommy D and Theo pose near the Maharaja, the Indian restaurant where we had dinner.

In front of a giant Christmas tree...

The colorful lights stretched as far as the eyes can see but we didn't get to see all of them because it was getting late, and Theo still had class the following day. (Can you imagine still having class on December 24? That's probably only in Japan!)

Sunday Photos

Last Sunday, Mommy D and I met some old friends from the University of Tsukuba for lunch and some family time together. Being mothers themselves, these friends of ours also brought their lovely daughters along. In this photo, Theo is seen together with Emina (Yamada) and Eri (Takasu).


After lunch, Fujimori-san, the person who organized our get-together, brought us to the Gohan (Rice) Museum at Yurakucho, where the kids had a really enjoyable time, not only with playing with the onscreen game but also tasting some rice dishes. Overall, it was a really fun, enjoyable, and memorable time for us, esp. for Theo.

This Sunday afternoon, we passed by Ueno Park on our way to Ameyoko where Mommy D bought something from Body Shop. Theo loves wide open spaces, and whenever he is in one, he unleashes his boundless energies.

This eventually leaves him hungry, so we dropped by McDonald's for his favorite french fries before heading home. This photo was taken after he has had his fill.


Almost every evening, we try to read a book to Theo (the books courtesy of his Lola Nalik, Mama Tippi, and some that we picked up from flea markets), and when we read to him, he sits on our lap. So when Mommy D took out her Mickey Mouse stuffed toy this morning, he also placed him on his lap and "read" to him one of his favorite picture books about trains. This book, however, is in Japanese and, unfortunately, Mickey wasn't very interested, although he pretended to be.

Winter at Roppongi Hills

December is the official start of the cold winter season, and it's also when the thick jackets come out from deep within the trunk. It's also when shopping areas put on their dazzling lights, and no where else is this more evident than in Ropponggi Hills, the shopping area of the well-heeled. While definitely not in that category, we still went there this afternoon to show Theo the beautiful lights.

It was still a bit early when we arrived, so Theo spent some time running around with his inflatable toy dog in front of the Docomo posters.

It was dusk by around 4:30 p.m. The tree illumination begins at 5 p.m., and by that time, the place would look something like this (see photo below).

He was so enthralled by the site of the "flaming" trees that by the time we went home and neared our apartment, he asked me why the trees in our neighborhood aren't as illuminated.

There was also a brightly lit fountain there; however, this was not Theo's concern. Just like most kids his age, he found it more interesting to jump over the stairs. I caught him at mid-flight on this one.

This fountain looks more splendid from a different angle. Theo is in the foreground.

Before we went home, Theo was goofing around on the wooden platform. Despite the cold and chilly air, he didn't want to wear his jacket. He wasn't even wearing winter underwear when we went there. Mommy D and I are sometimes amazed at how well he handles the cold weather.

Before going to Roppongi Hills, we passed by a flea market in Kanda. There was a band performing, and Theo, being a music lover, just couldn't help but watch the performance.

He probably liked the band's heavy metal music because he decided to sit down with his inflatable toy dog and watch for a while.