Preparing For a Trip to Japan

Going halfway around the world is a big deal. Going with kids, including a two-year old in diapers is an even bigger deal. So when we booked our tickets for our trip to Japan in November, I knew that the planning had to start way in advance.

We used miles to get our plane tickets. Thank goodness we were able to get business class tickets on miles for the dates we wanted. We were also able to use miles for most of our hotel rooms. It was a little challenging navigating the American Express travel site but it all worked out.

Packing is always hard but when I do it right, the rest of the trip goes swimmingly. Here's what I do:

• I prepare outfits for each family member by day, and then I make a stack of clothes for each day. It's a LOT more work to pack this way and it's not the most space-efficient way to pack. BUT it means that every morning, I just have to pull out a pile to have clothes for everyone. Everything else stays put. No piles everywhere to put outfits together. At the end of the day, I put all of the day's dirty clothes in a plastic and the bag goes into the empty space.

• I carefully pack my carry-on bags. For Japan, I opted for a backpack with a lot of pockets and my diaper bag. The backpack holds mostly my things, including reading materials for the plane, my wallet, our itinerary, copies of our passports, etc,

• The diaper bag includes diapers, wipes, extra clothes for me and MJ, snacks, a sippy cup, kid spoons, books and toys.

• CJ has his own backpack, which includes his DS, a magazine, a few books, his homework, some snacks. 

• Even our printed itinerary is carefully researched. For every city we're visiting, I visited fodors.com and found recommendations for the top sights and restaurants. I only have a few must see places on this trip, but it's always good to be prepared with suggestions when the group gets together in the morning and starts to organize the day. Our itinerary also includes all flight and hotel information, important phone numbers, gift requests, and addresses of people to whom we want to send postcards.

It's a lot of planning and I'm working with lists for weeks, but it's worth it!

Bye, Bye, High Chair and Playpen!

Some time in early August, our yaya announced that MJ was no longer using the high chair and playpen. What? How could this be? MJ wasn't even 2 while CJ used the high chair and playpen until he was 3!

The playpen was a great place to put MJ when I was alone with him and I needed to go to the bathroom, if I was cooking and needed him to be safely away from the stove, or if I needed to go upstairs for a few minutes.

The high chair was a great way to keep MJ in his chair during meals, it was easy to clean, and it was a nice, wide surface that MJ could play with.

But yaya was right. MJ wanted to sit at the kitchen island with us. He liked to sit on a bar stool, just like me, Maki and CJ. He also now hated being confined in the playpen. Where he used to play by himself in the playpen, especially after being in the company of others (he liked a little alone time), now he tried hard to pull himself up and out of the playpen.

So on August 11, Maki and I took our last photos of MJ using the playpen and high chair, then we put them away for good. No more baby gear in the house! We gave the highchair to a co-worker and we just tossed the playpen.

I was a little sad about getting rid of these things. It was another sign that my baby was no longer a baby. MJ is my second and my last and I don't have a baby anymore. I have a full on, energetic toddler!

CJ Got His Yellow Belt in Tae Kwon Do

CJ has been taking tae kwon do classes since June and he's now advanced to the third belt. He started at white, then advanced to orange, then advanced to yellow.

In order to advance to the next belt, the students need to:

• Get a red stripe for knowing their kicking combination (there's a different one for each belt)
• Get a blue stripe for knowing their form (there's a different one for each belt)
• Get a yellow stripe for breaking a board (it's a different kick for each belt

In addition, kids need to get a white stripe, which they get when their parents fill out a piece of paper saying they've been good at home, doing their homework, being helpful at home, getting good grades, etc. I love this stripe because it definitely keeps CJ in check. When he's acting up, I say, "I guess you don't want that white stripe very much."

At the end of September, after completing his stripes, CJ took the test to advance to yellow belt. The tests happen every 2-3 months and you can't take a test unless you've achieved all of the stripes. You have to show Master Yun that you know your kicking combination and form, and you can break an actual wooden board.

CJ had a tough time breaking the wooden board to advance to yellow belt. Breaking the board seems to be the toughest part of any belt test.

It's so great to see CJ so excited about tae kwon do. He begs to go to class each week (he goes about 3 times a week: Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday), he practices at home, and he has made good friends in class.

 Here's CJ with his fellow orange belts before the test.

 Here's CJ during the test. He's setting up for his kicking combination.

 Here's CJ breaking the board.

 Here's CJ getting presented with his yellow belt.

 

Master Yun loves to mess around with the kids!

What is MJ Saying These Days?

MJ is clearly relishing his ability to talk and communicate. He was a pretty good signer, which was a godsend when he wanted more of something or he wanted to go outside. Perhaps more importantly, Maki and I think sign language made MJ realize that he could communicate with us and this motivated him to sign and speak.

MJ signed: more, change, mama, dada, please (very popular), bath, music, eat, milk, thank you (very popular), bye bye.

Today, as MJ's verbal skills improve seemingly every day, he's abandoning signing and talking -- a lot.

He calls Grandpa Tak "pa"

He calls Grandma Linda and Grandma Josie "ma"

He calls CJ "ceej"

He calls Goring "yaya"

He knows how and when to use outside, upstairs and downstairs.

Interesting, he never asks for food. He just points at food and says "um." He will ask for "wa" (water).

He's starting to string together words to form simple sentences. CJ gets a little offended because MJ's sentences sound like orders. He likes to say "read books," "sit down" and "come back."

He just loves, loves trucks of all kinds. He likes to say fire truck, dump truck and digger.

He's starting to copy us when we say words slowly or read simple books.

My friends Alyson and Kathleen, who see him every few weeks, say that MJ's verbal skills seem to be increasing by leaps and bounds. I know that this is the age when communication skills really blossom and it's been so fun to watch and help MJ learn to communicate with us using language.

We Made It To St. Louis and Saw the Arch!

Many years ago, my mom bought "Wonders of the World: 100 Great Man-Made Treasures of Civilization." She bought copies for me and my brother and thus began a quest to see as many man-made wonders as possible.

Brother Alex went on two round-the-world trips and has seen nearly 70 wonders, including Potola Palace in Tibet and Machu Picchu in Peru. Mom retired from United and has seen 50 wonders. Me, I've seen a paltry 20 wonders and I consider myself well traveled!

The St. Louis Arch was the last US wonder that mom had not seen. So when I had the opportunity to do a sales presentation in St. Louis, I jumped at the chance. Alex was scheduled to come with as my Creative Director. Orbitz was good to us and I was able to get mom and CJ relatively inexpensive tickets. We just got lucky that CJ didn't have school on Friday because of a teacher workday.


So last Friday and Saturday, we got to visit the St. Louis Arch. It's big, really pretty, and really impressive. We saw it during the evening and during the morning. CJ, Alex and I took the little ride to the top of the Arch, but mom declined because of her claustrophobia and she was afraid the stairs.

We visited the museum, which had a terrific exhibit on the Lewis and Clark expedition. And we visited the museum store, of course!

We didn't get to try toasted ravioli, so maybe next time!

A Summer of Sleepovers

CJ took this photo during this sleepover at the
Natural History Museum

It's been a big summer for sleepovers for CJ. Before this summer, he had only had 1 sleepover at his friend Liam's house and that was last summer, not counting a few nights here and there at Grandma and Grandpa's house in VA.

This summer, CJ went on a 4-day trip to Pittsburgh and Johnston with my in-laws.  I was a little worried about this trip since CJ was going to be away 3 nights, the longest time away from us AND he was going to be out of state. Grandma and Grandpa said he handled the trip like a champ. He was well behaved, he ate well, he was very entertaining to Maki's great aunt, and he didn't seem to miss home too much.

He also went to a friend's birthday party sleepover that started with hitting balls on a driving range, miniature golf, watching Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and then sleeping with 21 other boys in one room! I know, talk about brave parents.

CJ and his buddy slept under the left fin of
Phoenix the Whale

Last Friday night, CJ attended a sleepover at the Natural History Museum in DC with one his buddies and his buddy's dad. The program started at 7:30pm and ended at midnight but the boys were apparently up past 1am. They heard some lectures, they went on an adventure hunt, they watched an IMAX movie, and they slept under Phoenix the whale. Is this kid lucky or what?

He's also spent a bunch of time with my in-laws during the weeks he didn't have summer camp at the beginning of the summer, before all the camps started.

It's very quiet in the house when CJ is not around. Yes, we have MJ, but he's a lot more subdued when CJ is not around. We joke that MJ gets some "only child" time when CJ has a sleepover. I miss CJ terribly but I know it's super good for him to be away from us.

When CJ is away, we call him every evening. Sometimes, he talks our ears off. Other nights, he just wants to say good night and be on his way.

What's MJ Up To These Days?

It's been an incredible couple of months for MJ and for the rest of us. My friend Alyson, who sees him every few weeks, says it's amazing how much MJ changes during that time and I agree. Here are some of the things he's now doing.

He likes to eat on his own. Whenever he can, MJ prefers to feed himself, using a spoon to eat yogurt, applesauce or cereal, or using his fingers to eat pasta, fruit, bread, crackers, etc. It's hilarious when he jams 3-4 blueberries into his mouth, or a handful of pasta. He usually ends up using his whole hand to shove all of the food into his mouth.


He's not only walking, he's running, going up and down stairs on his own (by holding onto the wall, of course), and taking the 1 step in and our of house on his own, without holding on or having to stoop down.

He's still signing, but he's now preferring to talk. He can say soooo much, including: mama, dada, ceej, yaya, froo (fruit), co (cold), wa (water), fire truck, ca (cow), do (dog), meow (cat), ca (car), truck, key, pho (phone), sit, piwo (pillow), fyower (flower), mi (milk), pa (grandpa), ma (grandma), sandy (short for alexander), one, two, bre (bread), blue (usually referring to blue's clues), up, da (down), outsi (outside), dri dri (drive, drive), shz (shoes).

He can get into his car seat on his own, which saves my back.

He seems to understand nearly everything I tell him, including conditional statements, like, "if you put on your hat, I will let you go outside." I said this tonight and he reached for the hat after initially refusing to wear the hat.

He's definitely blossoming into full toddlerhood. His favorite word is a vehement NO and when he's not happy, he proves to us time and time again just how loud he can be.

He loves music. He will bounce up and down on his legs, and shake his head when we have music on. And when I exercise to Everybody Dance, he sits contentedly on the couch and watches me.

He loves his ladybud pillow pet. Santa gave him a mini pillow pet and he just loves it. He won't take a nap or go to sleep at night without it. He calls her BA, which is short for ladybug. He carries BA around all over the house.  I got a back-up BA just in case we have a BA disaster, although we try very hard to NEVER let BA outside the house.

TimehopeAbe tells me that a year ago today, I posted this on Facebook: "It's been an incredible month for baby MJ milestones. In the last few weeks, he started pulling himself up and down, he is starting to hold his bottle, he is cruising a few steps while holding on to furniture and he's signing "more" and "milk." So fun.