Father's Day - Now Times Three

This Father's Day was a special one. It was my first with all three kids, the first at which Kuri could talk, and the first for which Mimi decided to make as many cards, crafts, and packages for me as is humanly possible.

Later that night, after watching the Warriors somehow lose the championship, I got nostalgic and started looking through photos of the past several months. Already, in this short time, there have been a lot of changes.

The biggest have come, of course, with our little Mariko. Now nearly four months in, Mariko is no longer an infant, she's a full-fledged baby. She's smiling, giggling, getting used to the bottle, and always entertaining Mimi and Kuri. She's also become her Papa's little girl. With Sumie coming off maternity leave and my job winding down, I've been transitioning into the stay-at-home dad role again. About a month ago, you could find Marichan and me playing together at home each day. Of course I loved Mimi and Christopher dearly the first year of each of their lives, but they were both completely devoted to Mama. It wasn't really until they were each at least a year old that I really began connecting with them. But with Mari, she's actually taken to me. After a week, Sumie could really see we'd bonded. Mari would look for me, talk with me, and even giggle on cue. It was fantastic.

Mari has been the first of our kids who can just sit back and relax with me...

...and the first to give me a huge smile at every diaper change.

She's curious...

...inquisitive...

...and, like her brother and sister, can only take 30 seconds of tummy time.

Perhaps this is why the tummy time pillow tends to end up on Mimi's head.

When Sumie went back to work, there was about 2 weeks during which I'd stay home with Marichan before she switched to daycare. The reason for the wait was that she was taking Kuri's place. He's staying home with me throughout the summer to work on speaking, reading, and using the potty. With Mimi having graduated from kindergarten...

 ...Mimi and Kuri have had lots of opportunities to play together.

They ride their bikes in the back yard and up at the school.

They go on adventures to mysterious old train tunnels...

...and bravely venture through them together.

And, of course, they read...

..and read.

Now that Mimi can read on her own, she's taken to reading to the entire family.

Even Mama.

Naturally, all our time isn't spent entirely in tunnels and books. There's a little TV time in there, too. In addition to the Japanese shows the kids watch, Mimi has become addicted to the new Voltron show on Netflix. It's actually quite good. A huge improvement over the original. But there was one problem when we first started watching it. Mimi wasn't quite sure how the five lions made Voltron. Luckily, I just happened to have 5 colorful lions sitting in a cubby above the TV.

And when they all got together, they just just happened to form Voltron. Lucky, that.

Now that she has a little extra time, Mimi's upped the number of activities she has. She's still doing gymnastics once a week, but now tennis lessons are in there as well.

She's small, and hitting it over the net is still pretty tough...

 ...but she absolutely loves it when she connects for a winner (which, at this point, is anything over the net.)

Of course, the unstructured activities continue, with searching for lady bugs and rolly-pollies being a top choice.

There have been several major events since the last post. With Japanese school on Saturdays and Sumie on call every 4th or 5th week, it can be hard to fit them in, but we do our best. The most critical was pulling off Mimi's 6th birthday at our house. 10 kids, plenty of parents, way more food than we needed, games, and lots and lots of sugar. Sumie came up with an "Ice Cream!" theme and devised a station where the kids could make their own sundaes. She even baked cupcakes in ice cream cones for Mimi's cake. Sadly, very few pictures of any of this survive due to parents flying back and forth and kids mainlining sugar.

We had a potato sack race...

...which Mimi was actually able to win!

 Lots of cupcakes and hugs...

 ...and plenty of presents.

Even Marichan wore a special birthday dress.

Later that week, on Mimi's actual birthday, we braved taking all three kids to a genuinely nice restaurant for a celebratory dinner. We all made it home, none of the other guests ended up with pasta on their heads, and we were never overtly asked to leave, so we'll call that a win.

Another major event was the sports day, or undokai,  for Mimi's Japanese school. Unfortunately, Sumie was on call, so I loaded all three kids into the Pilot around 7:30am and we made our way to San Francisco.

Mimi competed in several different events, including a sprint. She didn't quite win, but was definitely giving it her all.

She also performed a dance right before the lunch break. Though she'd missed one of the practice days, she remembered all the words and moves.

Marichan, Kuri and I were camped out on the field along with all the other parents. We had a 3 foot by 5 foot rectangle on the grass in which I had to pack two kids, a stroller, lunch, drinks, diaper bag, and myself. Sadly, I forgot my chair. This would result in consequences later.

Amazingly, all the kids did really well. Kuri was manageable, Mari was a sweetheart, and Mimi had a blast. The only friction came from Mimi's new backpack that she got at the end. As I packed up, Kuri insisted that the backpack was his. He started pulling, and pulling, and pulling...

 ...and continued pulling, then screaming, for the three blocks back to where I had parked the Pilot. Despite the unpleasantness, and a scream from Kuri that perhaps permanently damaged my right eardrum, we'd made it back to the car. Now all we had to do was pile in and drive home in time for a nap. Now, where's that key? No, seriously, where's the key? You have got to be kidding me. This. Is. Not. Happening. WHERE THE F**** IS THE F***ING KEY!

The key to the Pilot, as you've probably already guessed, was never found. It's probably buried somewhere near our little camp, which you see pictured above, having slipped out of the pocket of my shorts. Had I remembered my chair, this probably wouldn't have happened. Sumie had to make an emergency run to pick us all up, drive back home, and then back to the city.

I had walked the kids back to the car at 12:00. We finally arrive home, for the final time, around 5:00. I texted Sumie this pic above to let her know we survived. Mari was amazing. She never complained. Actually, all the kids were troopers (despite Kuri's one meltdown). I was quite proud of them, but rather annoyed at myself.

Later that night, after Sumie had made it home and the kids were in bed, I decided to take a drive out Lucas Valley Road in the Porsche. I'd just gotten new tires that I hadn't tried out, and I needed to clear out my head. I had a brisk and very enjoyable run and was on my way home, with about two miles to go, poking along at 40mph in a 45, when a bobcat on crack bounded across the road causing a tremendous "thunk" from the very middle of my front bumper. I barely had time to move my foot to the brake. The car was OK, as was I, but the bobcat, well, the score stands: Porsche 1, Bobcat 0. When I arrived home I told my wife what happened. She just looked at me and said, "You've had quite the day. You've graduated from incompetent father to murderer."

The following weekend, with lost keys and reckless wildlife banished from memory, we made our way up to Tomales Bay for a picnic on Chicken Ranch Beach. It's a great little getaway. Only about 30 minutes from our house, the beach is relatively tucked away. The bay water is warm (for the north bay) and the beach is shallow, so kids can really get out and explore.

For some reason, Mimi kept striking poses.

The picture below sums up the day perfectly. Mimi, in the background, with a massive water cannon looking mischievous, Kuri off in his own world of sand, and Mari and Sumie kicking back in beach chairs (which I made sure to remember this time).

A few weekends later I took a rare day for myself. Friday night, after a fresh oil change for the Porsche, I taped up the fog lights (having noticed one was cracked), and cleaned out the car for racing.

Saturday morning I left the house far too early for a man with children and headed out to Stockton. There I met two of my friends from college for a day of autocross out on the empty parking lot. I'd always wanted to give it a go, and it was an absolute blast.

And yes, I was slow. I could chalk it up to the car being one of the oldest and least powerful ones there (though there were older cars that were significantly faster than me), but I'll just be honest. I have a lot to learn before I can really begin to wring the performance this little old Targa has to offer. I'm looking forward to the next session and hopefully continuing to improve my times. I'm not, however, looking forward to another massive sunscreen cleanup that will assuredly be needed following my next return home from the autocross course. Curse this pale body.

This last weekend, Father's Day, was an absolute godsend. We kept things simple, with breakfast at home, lunch out, and plenty of cupcakes. Despite all the ups and downs of being a parent, Sunday reminded me just how special it can be, and just how lucky I am that these three kids call me Papa.

The day ended bittersweet. I'm tremendously lucky in that I have a fantastic and supportive father-in-law (Sumie's Dad) who has always been there for us, as well as a wonderful stepfather in my mom's husband Randy, who is Grandpa to the three kids. But still, thinking back on how special this father's day had been, I wish I could've shared just a bit of it with my own dad. Just a chance to say "thanks" for helping to make what I experienced that day possible.

Captain Domestic's Monthly Reprieve

Like most families in the last few remaining weekends before the holidays, we spent our Saturday shopping.

The day began with Mimi and Kuri waking up normal time, which meant both Sumie and I had to be up as well. At what age do kids learn the concept of sleeping in on weekends?

After gymnastics and Kuri's morning nap, we headed to the east bay to buy bedding (Sumie's entire family will be staying with us over the holidays) and to take our yearly family pictures - this time with the grandparents.

The sale on bedding was fantastic, but the scheduling at the picture studio was abysmal.  Though we had an appointment, there was still over an hour wait. "We're running on baby time" was the explanation. To me, that's a creative way of saying "We overbooked so you'd have to stay here and shop."  Despite the wait and the hungry kids, the pictures came out well, thanks to a photographer who is far better at getting my kids to cheer up than I am.

Here's a shot of Kuri and Mimi.  Kuri, of course, has his ever-present burp-cloth in hand.

And here's Kuri all on his own. He's smiling, but note the droopy eyelashes at the corners of his eyes. Tears had been streaming down just a few second before. I wish I could turn my day around so quickly.

And lastly, here's Mimi.  She was all smiles. Kuri, however, despite his tears, wanted to be a part of each picture.  Note the little red arm creeping in from the left!

As a man who embodies the antithesis of being photogenic, Mimi's comfort in front of the camera amazes me. Here she is at Old Navy. I think she was the highlight of the display.

After photos it was time to eat. On the way to the restaurant, Mimi snatched Sumie's phone and began taking pictures.  Here's a shot of Mama...

an action shot of Kuri in his car seat...

...and Mimi's greatest work: Self Portrait Number 27.

She goes through film like a real photographer.  I later deleted 87 photos from the phone.

After dinner we had one last stop to make. Mimi and Kuri, despite the late hour, handled themselves wonderfully.  I was a proud papa.

The long day ended with a bath for Kuri...

...and a quick trip to bed for both children and parents alike.  Sunday was to be another busy day, but only Papa had to wake up early.

As a result of the past few years, starting with my year long stint as a stay-at-home dad, I've acquired the moniker of "Captain Domestic."  I cook, fold laundry, handle the finances, take the kids out on my own on call weeks, change diapers, wake everyone up in the morning and tuck them in at night. If that weren't enough, I work in education, designing learning materials for kids.  Yes, I think I've earned my title.

Still, there are times when this domestic gentleman needs to cut his apron strings and rejoin the ranks of the hairy chested and grunting species to which he belongs. As readers of this blog may have guessed, I'm not a typical guy's guy.  I'm not into sports, I'm not a gym rat, and I don't play poker.  I do, however, love - nay, adore - cars.

On the first Sunday of every month, there's is a "Cars and Coffee" gathering a few miles away from my home. It's chance for locals to take out their classic, unique, or tuned cars and commune with like minded souls. 8:00am is a bit early for me on a Sunday, but having missed the last one, I had to make it.  I'd hoped to bring Mimi with me, but (sadly?) she was till asleep when I left.

I arrived about 8:15, a little late but still part of the early crowd.

These are very informal events, but every time there are some astounding cars. My humble little 911sc Targa was flanked by a beautiful Ferarri f355 spyder (one of my favorites) on the right...

and by an even more beautiful Ferrari coupe on the left.

As usual, Porsches were well represented. I drooled over a 1989 factory Turbo Slantnose...

...and a gorgeous 356 cabriolet (perhaps my favorite Porsche).

My little car wasn't even the stand-out white Porsche. That honor was taken by this beautiful Carrera RS tribute.

Though my little 911 is very humble, thankfully, showing off is not what these events are about. They're simply a chance to talk shop and to share a love of cars. People show up with six-figure garage queens to tuned Subarus to work-in progress Datsun wagons and BMW 2002s. And that's what makes it so special. There's no real criteria for the car you bring other than that you think it special and want to share it with others. Like many other cars there, my car isn't perfect (far from it), but that's somewhat a reflection of it being well-loved. You can't really bond with a perfect car on the road. You'll always be too afraid of what might happen. Similarly, you won't be able to discuss the innumerable improvements you have yet to do with other car nuts!

Perhaps it's wrong to start at such an early age, but I've been attempting to instill a love of cars in Kuri. Each morning, after I pick Kuri up from his restful night's sleep, we head over to the "Plaque of Emblems" on the wall by his crib. This was created by my grandfather for my father when he was a boy, and hung in my room when I was young as well. It's a collection of emblems that were prizes in Wheaties boxes in the 1950s.  Kuri already has his favorites.  He particularly likes Ferrari, Bentley, and Jaguar. I cannot argue with him there.

Over the past 30+ years, I've seen examples of almost all these marques in the flesh, but one had still escaped me. I'd never seen an Allard.  Well, this Sunday, just two spaces down from my own little car, I saw my first.

As the years go by, I'm looking forward to bringing Mimi and Kuri along with me. It might not fully rub off on them, but I'd love them there beside me.  Even if it makes me a little more domestic during man-time.

P.S. Many thanks to Paige Gaines for the photos of the cars (including mine) I "borrowed" for this post.