When Cousins Come a' Calling

Last week, my sister brought down her brood from Oregon for a summer visit. Mimi and Kuri had been anticipating their arrival for weeks. Alder and Brynn are roughly the same ages as Mimi and Kuri, so they'd both have playmates. They also knew we'd be doing some fun stuff given we'd have visitors!

At first I thought the cousins would pair off by age, with Mimi and Alder running to the backyard and Kuri and Brynn running through the house. How wrong I was. Boys will be boys and that means cars and trains...

...and video games.

Mari was a little shy at first, so she just hung out with Grandma.

But she quite quickly warmed up to Brynn over some goldfish.

Soon they were exploring all her toys...

...talking on the phone...

...and giggling together.

 Of course, Mimi clicked with Brynn as well. They're both a bit silly.

There were also plenty of instances of everyone playing together, gender roles be damned.

And times for playing alone!

The trampoline even got some of the adults into the action.

The first night, Grandpa came out and joined us all for dinner. 

The kids decided he made a good jungle gym.

The evening closed with some group artwork. As you can see, the little ones are still attempting to learn how to smile on cue.

The next day at breakfast the girls found they all had matching dresses. The boys were more than happy with just their donuts.

After breakfast, we corralled all the kids and set them down for a picture before heading out to the Academy of Sciences. It's great when you have a season pass.

They kids were fascinated by the albino alligator..

...the butterfly art...

...the fish...

...the real butterflies...

...and more fish.

Mimi and Alder, upon exiting the museum, even tried to climb a tree.

Later that day, everyone was pretty exhausted. Julie and my mom went down for a nap, along with Mari, so I took the four oldest cousins down to the creek to try to catch some fish.

Kuri and Brynn were intrepid explorers.

Eventually all the kids joined in the hunt!

 

After the creek, the kids all decided that they needed to have hill-roll races.

We had only two nights and three days together - far too few given we only see them once or twice a year - but they were wonderfully memorable. So thankful these kids are getting to know each other, despite the distance.

Cousins on the Loose

On Monday evening, Mimi, Sumie, and I received my sister and her son Alder, who is a mere month Mimi's junior.  Though they've only me each other a few times, they're already best buds.  On Monday Mimi was jumping up and down on the couch, pointing out the window, and chanting "Alder, Alder!"  They were both a little shy upon seeing each other again, but soon warmed up.  By the time we all sat down to dinner they were inseparable.  Here's the two of them posing for a Baby Gap ad. 

Tuesday found us at the Bay Area Discovery Museum.  Across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, this is a wonderful, and relatively reasonably price, museum that helps children discover the art, nature, landscape, and even commerce of the Bay Area.  Here Mimi is exploring a re-creation of Northern California's creeks and streams, complete with ragged rubber fish. 

The museum consists of 8 buildings filled with exhibits, but like most toddlers, Mimi and Alder weren't all that impressed by the doings of adults.   Save the massive Brio train set that ensnared Alder at the end of our stay, the preferred exhibit of the day was a muddy puddle at the end of a cement tunnel.  I suppose if I had been wearing boots and were only 3 feet tall, it would've been my favorite as well. 

The two cousins would fight over toys from time to time, but could usually reach a happy conclusion before any adult intervention was needed.  They even shared story-time together. 

 On Thursday, having spent Monday and Tuesday with Grandma and Grandpa and Wednesday visiting friends, we made the journey up to Sacramento to see Great Grandma.  Here's Mimi listening to a few rhymes from Great Grandma's big book of poetry. 

 The two also attempted a duet at Great Grandma's piano.  They'd tried this at home earlier with little success.  Despite Mimi's rather frenetic page turning, they never really came close to a tune.  Had a lot of fun, though. 

On Thursday night Mimi and I dropped Alder and Julie off with my Mom, who would take them to the airport on Friday.  It was sad to see them go.  Mimi went through at least 30 "bye-byes" by the time she'd been strapped into her car seat for the ride home.  They haven't known each other very long, but I have a feeling Mimi and Alder will be friends for life.  Hopefully that will give them sufficient time to work on their piano playing. 

More Sharing; More Obstinance

On Sunday Mimi received a visit from her cousins, Shuhei and Asuka, and their parents, Shu and Kayo.  It was a bit of a surprise visit - they were coming by with a giant load of persimmons for us - and I was a bit apprehensive about how Mimi would behave.  She'd refused her nap that day and, as we've seen in these pages previously, she hasn't always been a sweetheart when it comes to sharing. 

Mimi, though, had other plans.  I think she just wanted to play.  So, when Shuhei and Asuka began rummaging through her Star Wars bath toys, sitting in her rocking chair, and drawing at her new table, she let it slide and joined in.  In the past, Mimi would play, but she liked to be on her own.  And when it came to her own toys, she was very protective.  The toy she wanted to play with was always whatever toy the other child had.  By the end of playtime, she'd have a "hoarder's pile" of toys she'd pilfered from other toddlers.  But this time - and I have no idea what sparked the change - Mimi's play was different.  Not only was she sharing, she was collaborating. 

Here's Mimi and Asuka at Mimi's table.  Notice that there are papers and crayons still on Asuka's side.  Amazing!

Shuhei and Asuka then took turns pushing Mimi in her rocking chair.  She loved it!  More importantly, she didn't hoard the chair once they were done.  She simply ran off and let Shuhei use her chair for a while, without complaint!

Mimi even got into the spirit of sharing.  Shuei had received two new Transformers robots from his uncle and one of these two was always in his hands.  That meant he was interested in them and, as Mimi was quick to notice, one was always in reach.  Mimi couldn't resist.  Shuhei, much to his credit, deigned to let Mimi play with his new toys, though he did look a little concerned from time to time.  And Mimi, amazingly, learned that it could be fun to give things back to their original owner.  In fact, she loved it.  Now if only I could get her to feel that way about letting her father work on his computer. 

I was a very proud, and quite surprised, Papa last night.  Mimi's been wonderfully giggly and cute this past week, even more than normal, but she's also been tremendously obstinate.  Every infectious giggle or heart-wrenching little smile has been balanced by manic tantrums and brazen refusals.  She's been particularly challenging in two venues: clothing and sleeping. 

First, clothing.  Observe Mimi in the beautiful hat she insisted I place upon her head.

Mimi managed to rip this hat off, despite it being tied firmly to her head, in a scant 1.7 seconds.  It's been a similar story with jackets, onesies, shirts, sweaters, and socks.  She'll demand a specific piece of clothing and then, once it's on, flail about screaming bloody murder and gouging out her eyes until it's removed.  I know she's a toddler, but c'mon.  If I did this just once, my wife would have me committed.

Sleep has been the other challenge.  Just a week ago, when nap- or bed-time came around all I had to do was give Mimi her bottle, let her drink it down, say, "Ne-ne" (Shall we sleep?"), pick her up, and lay her down in her crib.  She'd even rest her head on my shoulder and pat me on the back when I'd say, "Cuddle, cuddle." 

Today, things are different.  I do think she's teething, but there must be something else going on as well.  Two nights ago Mimi channeled Mike Tyson and went to work on my face with her hands, my gut with her legs, and my forehead with her own.  It wasn't pretty.  We weren't able to get her down until 11:00 that night. 

Naps are even worse.  Yesterday she rejected the entire concept of napping.  This doesn't make for a happy Papa, especially when he has a cold.  But it didn't stop there.  Mimi had another surprise for me.  She'd decided to take her napping rebellion up a notch by combining it with her disdain for clothing.  I had put Mimi in her crib wearing a shirt, sweater, pants, and socks.  Here's what I found wailing at me a scant 30 minutes later. 

Despite the rebellion, Mimi's come a long way since we've moved to San Francisco.  With each day I see more and more of her personality poking through the growing pains.  And I like what I'm seeing.

Thanksgiving and an Exceedingly Lazy Saturday

The past several weeks have been, to say the least, busy.  Between my sister and her family coming last weekend, a surprise visit from Sumie's mother, Thanksgiving, and Sumie being on call, downtime has been a very precious, and very scant, commodity.  Perhaps that's why, despite the sunshine and it being unseasonably warm, we've yet to leave the house this Saturday.

Last Thursday was my first time to have Thanksgiving back at home for 10 years.  I'd missed it.  My mother's side of the family had always made a rather grand production of Turkey Day and the tradition has continued.  It has also grown.  With the expanding family, it's no longer just my mother's siblings and my cousins.  Chatting with my step-brother, we both remarked that it was now nearly impossible to point out the exact familial relationships.  There was no, "That's your cousin, so-and-so," or "Say hello to your great uncle what's-his-name."  We were all simply on a first name basis.  I suppose that's what happens when the dinner party reaches 50+.

The event was held in "The Cabana," the neighborhood recreation hall that is part of the community pool.  My mother and her husband Randy had helped to upgrade the building years back and, with all the improvements and the growing Thanksgiving attendance, shifted Thanksgiving from the home to the hall while I was back in NYC.  I still don't know how my Mom and Randy pulled off cooking for over 50 people, but they did it.  And in fantastic fashion. 

Mimi enjoyed the food.  I think she even got a bit of a "Turkey High." 

She finished off early, though, and then demanded her bottle.  Here she is sucking down some milk while mowing the tile.  Sumie, who had been on call, sneaked in shortly after this picture was taken.  I wish that I could have gotten Mimi's reaction.  For Mimi, Mama showing up was definitely the highlight of the day.

There were three highlights for me this Thanksgiving.  First off, it was wonderful to finally connect with my cousins again, after so many years on the east coast.  I'm not sure why it had been so hard to do so before, but this familiar family gathering - a shared experience for all of us going back even further than we can remember - made it happen.  Secondly, this was Mimi's first Thanksgiving with my side of the family.  And she did pretty much the same thing I would've done at her age in the past: play with cousins, eat a little, and make a mess. 

Lastly, there was nothing more entertaining that evening than watching Mimi, along with the rest of the little-girl-cousins, play horseshoes with her great Uncle George. 

Mimi was particularly adept at the game - partially because she owns it, partially because she'd been practicing, but mostly because she cheated.  Mimi found that setting horseshoes down was far more accurate than throwing them.  Here she is celebrating her victory. 

She was so excited, in fact, that she had to run over and tell her Mama all about it.  I wonder if there's a professional horseshoe league.  Ah, I see that there is.  The NHPA (National Horseshoe Pitchers Association).  Thank you, Google.  (Oh, by the way, "Google" is one of Mimi's new words.  I doubt that would've happened ten years ago). 

By the time we got home from Thanksgiving we were exhausted.  But there was no rest for the wicked.  Friday was still a work day for Sumie and I, refusing to brave Black Friday with a manic toddler, despite the deals, became captain domestic and tackled the laundry, shopping, and cleaning. 

And so it is that we find ourselves on this sunny Saturday refusing to go outside, or even get off the couch.  Sumie is contemplating a run to Ikea this afternoon, but I'm not sure if it will happen.  Shifting my reading from the bed to the living room this morning has already taken a lot out of me.  And then Sumie asked me to take her phone into the kitchen to charge it.  That resulted in at least 20 full yards of walking. 

No matter what we do this afternoon, we've all earned a little rest.  So, as soon as I sign off, I'm going back to my book and back to bed.  Sometimes, despite the sunshine and the shopping, that's what Saturdays are all about.