Today is our daughter, Megumi’s birthday.  She is the happy child in the middle about to whack her cousin with a balloon.

Makoto (the three year old) could drink Apple Juice™ all day long if we let him.  That is why Yumi was very surprised to hear him ask for “tea.”   We like to get him to drink tea or milk when possible and this was our chance!
She made him repeat the “tea” a few times before [...]

Makoto, the three-year-old, was wanting to go to the supermarket (probably thinks he will get a toy Monster Truck).  I had a little bit of work to do on a spreadsheet and told him, “Let me finish up and then we will go.”
Makoto grabbed the mouse and replied, “Makoto finish up.  Click X!  Click X!”
I [...]

Makoto has a sudden affinity for car carriers.  He doesn’t have a ‘real’ car carrier toy (yet) so he makes his own.
Here is his latest Masterpiece:

It is an 18 wheeler (with only 8 wheels, though) and a bridge bridging the gap.  It carries other cars therefore it is a car carrier.

The other day, Makoto ran in between Yumi and I and screamed, 「じゃま！じゃま！」.
I’m sure he picked that up from Yumi. When she is working, washing dishes, or folding clothes, Makoto likes to ‘help.’ Yumi then says,　「じゃま！」
邪魔 【じゃま】 means ‘hindrance’ or ‘intrusion’ or ‘thing in the way.’
So when Makoto ran between us and [...]

This morning, Makoto said, “Megumi is so cute baby.” He is creating new and more complex sentences.

Exciting Scenes from Makoto’s 3rd Birthday Party:

We wanted to surprise Makoto with all the guests in place and party decorations up.
So, Jiji (Grandpa), took him for a drive. Unfortunately, Makoto managed to fall asleep. It took a while, but he finally woke up and got into the party mood.

Today is Makoto’s official birthday–next Sunday will be his official birthday party.
-NOTE: the () indicates a whispered tone
This morning I asked Makoto, “How old are you? (Say, ‘I’m three’)
He answered, “I’m three o’clock.”

Last Friday, we went to Disney World for a convention on foreign language instruction. The convention was in a hotel within Disney World limits, but we didn’t actually get to see Disney or the real Mickey Mouse.
Still, Makoto saw plenty of Mickey Mouse signage and shrubbery art. On the way home, leaving Orlando, [...]

We went to the zoo today. Makoto (the soon-to-be three year old) had a blast and Megumi (the already four month old) enjoyed the scenery from her stroller when the sun wasn’t in her eyes.
Friday, we went to Disney World for a foreign language teaching expo. It was very nice, but with that [...]