Fried Turkey

20.7 pound turkey, Cajun seasoning, 5 gallons peanut oil. 

Post-micturition convulsion syndrome

We're now pretty sure that this is what Ren has. I get it too sometimes so it's really no big surprise. Aya was the first to notice it pointing out how he would shiver saying, "See he just wet his diaper!" I like that there is such a wonderful medical word for the pee shivers. Aya didn't seem to have any good Japanese equivalent of the word handy. How could that be?

It seems Ren is going through an intellectual boom. He has started doing a lot of the things we've been trying to get him to do like sign and use spoken words in addition to his usual long-winded babble. One of his favorite signs is "Milk", as in the kind that come from Aya. He will come up to me while we're playing and Aya is sleeping and do this sign and get mad when I apologize for not having what he wants. I wonder if he expects me to get Aya or thinks I can do it and just don't want to? Another sign he is fond of is "Hot". He says this pretty well as he signs when he sees things being fried or feels them a little warm. He will call something hot long after it has cooled like he's remembering "this was Hot!". He will also make attempts at the sign for "Fish" as if to say, "look there's one in the book!".

And today he was using the magnet sketch board to draw! I wonder what he will be doing by the time we go back to Japan for the holidays. here I am already longing for the cold Kansai jet lag high.

Pictured here: Ren and my brothers nose.

Election Day

 

Last Year

Ren looked like this.

At Shaker Village Today

 

Pancakes

We had Ricotta Cheese Pancakes for Breakfast today.
A: 1 cup Flour, 1 tbsp. Sugar, 1 tsp. Salt, 1 tsp. Baking Powder
B: 4 Eggs, 15oz. Ricotta Cheese, 3/4 cup milk, 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
Mix A and B and fry.

Mystery Sign

This is a picture of Ren signing that he's done. It looks like he's clapping. This is to imitate Aya and I when we finish eating and say,"Gochiso sama deshita". The problem is that it's similar to when he's asking for "more" of something. We've been helping him shape his hands the right way to make it easier to figure out, but he still has a way to go.



This sign on the other hand, where he claps his head with both hands as if to say, "oh no", is a complete mystery. He uses it as though it were a sign we taught him and does it to say... something, we just have no idea what it is. He looks at us like "why don't you get it?!".

Gyoza night

We celebrated the first day of Nov. with a couple rounds of Gyoza.
It's my turn to make them next time, with lots of garlic.

Slicked back and ready to go

More from Halloween. This is the Clark Kent freshly changed into Superman outfit with hair slicked back Ren. The Incredible thing about the Incredibles picture is that he's walking. At 14 mos. he is still like a little Frankenstein and can get across the room but rarely tries.

Halloween '06

We Took Ren around the neighborhood as Superman. He seemed to pick up on the patten of knock on door, say trick or treat, get stuff. The first place we went to he was not happy with someone coming out of their house to say hi but by the third house he was holding his hands out to receive the candy. At the fourth place there were about three grandmothers that passed him around with coos. Thanks to my friends Brent and Sara we spent zero time and energy figuring out what to do for a Halloween costume. This was a hand me down from Colton. We also got an Incredibles outfit that looks pretty dashing on Ren.