california bound

rolling down the hill ROCKS

autumn leaves at the park

with aiai after yochien

buying carrots for mama all by myself!

on a date with mama to shibuya

rock on

at the yokohama triennale

mmm, khao man gai...

'george', our turkey at thanksgiving

quick update...MIT is close to sitting on her own for longer than 20 seconds. still no teeth.
JG's school x'mas concert was a banging success! what a show! what a rock star! he NAILED it like the pro that he is.
and we are off to california in 2 days!
see most of you then!
and to everyone else - happy christmas, and a very warm and exciting new year to you all!
may 2009 be absolutely fantastic, full of love and joy, adventure, health and happiness. change is a good thing. bring it.
we hope to see many of you in the coming year...come and visit while we are still here!!!

minasan, ake ome, koto yoro.

another month is a lifetime for a baby

oh, hello there

lunchtime at the chie-fishers

festival at the local otorijinja shrine

shichi-go-san: shinto converts celebrate JG's coming of age

grandbob's birthday and JG's shichi-go-san celebration lunch at botanica

MIT in a celebratory mood in her pi xie (maryjanes!) from samma

"and then what happened, grandbob?!"
telling tall tales at oomama's birthday dinner

can you tell? JG getting wacked in the face by his sister

just how big is this boy???

testing out the wares at cainz home, japan's home depot

gorgeous autumn in karuizawa

happy baby girl on her way to pick her bro up at yochien

hallowe'en!!!
dashing F-1 driver drops by local park for some loot!

time just seems to zip by...at this point, i barely remember being pregnant! was i pregnant? but i AM trying. at least, i am trying to try. trying to keep this blog somewhat current for all of you guys to share in the life of the incomparable JG and the electrifying MIT.

it's getting terribly cold, and winter is eerily settling in all around us. this is my least favourite season, and i am dreading the cold. JG got sick, and no matter how hard we tried, it got passed onto me and MIT. only A. is still warding it off. seems like most of tokyo is sniffling and hacking. 'tis the season! other than that, all is happy and good with the chie-fishers.

so little miss MIT will be 5 months old in just a couple weeks. she is getting big and heavy, and my shoulders and back are remembering what it feels like to have a baby in their midst. she is just the happiest, smiliest, giggliest little baby girl anyone could ask for. and man, she looks JUST LIKE JG when he was a baby. it's kinda freaky. she has been teething like mad for the past month, so it has been a drooly and painful few weeks for her, but she has smiled through it all, bless her little heart. she is super talkative, and has discovered that she can blow raspberries, and that she can go from low to high notes, and that she can bring it with the volume. she is still super easygoing, and makes my life so much better because of it. i am lucky lucky. she sleeps well, keeps a good schedule, plays by herself, poops well, and loves everyone. and so very cute, to boot!

JG has been the irreproachable big brother. except for when she is "too loud". he's a busy boy too, with school, and his other activities, like phonics class at K-Space, an international preschool/kindergarten, swimming class, and soccer on saturdays. he digs it all, and for that, we are grateful.

we leave for cali in just under 3 weeks! woo hoo! it will be really super nice to be "back" for the holidays...although, we are also somewhat apprehensive. it's been a long time since we were in america (2.5 years for me, would you believe), and even longer since A. and i were back in SF together - 3 and a half years!!! so, we are really looking forward to going "home", and to seeing all our friends and family, eating lots, tooling around town with our kids, and hitting all our old haunts. hope they are all still around. see you all soon! and happy thanksgiving! gObama!

catching up on the good times

nothing like baby legs

best big brother ever

i am not slouching, i am sitting

ultraman forever


mama's feliz cumpleanos lunch on the terrace at la colina...

she's starting to laugh!

minato irune at three months...
aka squeaky, mr. jefferson (the bald spot, everyone...), biscuit, toasty (reference JG's name list), min, sunshine, and minnie (aunty trisha).

life is crazy, but grand!

oh happy days!

yes, it's me - minato

cozy in my bed with pillow made by aiai, and buji sent by elizabeth

JG's "undoukai" - sports day! GO, UME gumi TEAM!

mama's birthday weekend!
at the ueno zoological park...

with my penguin brothers

the elephant peed a massive waterfall and did a few poop packets

summer time, summer time

woo hoo! sunning my bottom!

JG's drawing won a neighbourhood competition!

LOVING bathtime!

out and about in ginza with my bro and cuz

sunday lunch at the creperie

but you can feel autumn in the air...

cuteness

my first ride on public transport - yamanote line!!!

she smiled at me when she was like 4 and a half weeks old!!
what a babe! ok, so it's kind of lopsided, but it was still the (second) most beautiful grin i have ever encountered. it does really make it all worthwhile, and it makes everything good.
minato is nearly 7 weeks old now, and is really coming online. it's been amazing to watch it all happen again, with a little more foreknowledge in what is involved. although i must say, you do forget it all after 4 and a half years of busyness. especially the first 6 weeks of total intensity - all the crying, the worrying, the fussiness, the exhaustion...but this time, all this on top of keeping up with the very ever-so-busy 4 year old named JG. he is trying his best always though, and it breaks my heart. he showers minato with love and covers her with kisses (you can almost hear her say, "stop it, JG!"), reads her stories, sings to her, pushes her stroller, holds her gently in his lap, and quietly explains things to her ("minato, this is a train. we're in tokyo, which is on earth. see?"). although his life has changed GREATLY, he has been incredibly patient and understanding. so much so that it makes my heart hurt. he has been the center of the universe not just for A. and i, but for everyone in his family - all his grandparents, and all his aunts and uncles for 4 and a half years and boom! all of a sudden, he has his baby sister, AND his little cousin kintaro in his life. he loves them both so much, but it's got to be tough for the little man. i am so incredibly proud of him.

the whole family was here for a few weeks of crazy japanese summer to meet the babies. it was fantastic fun, but madness. minato irune's first 6 weeks of life was a crash course into the world of the chie familydom. she is ready for anything now. it was great to see everyone share their love with her, and for her to know her great big family so early. we are blessed.

so we are all good. things are getting easier, as she comes to terms with the new world around her and figures things out. the little young lady is a miracle baby, sleeping super well at night, and she is doing a great job with putting herself to sleep already. she is a different baby all together now from just a week ago, just like the books say - i just forgot.
a little sleep deprived, quite tired, and desperately wanting to go out for a haircut, a little shopping, dinner with A. and some serious cocktails, but happy happy and terribly in love with little miss irune.