Bowling

Erik loves to bowl. Every day he wakes up and says, "bowling ball?" and "Jack's ball". When we drive by the bowling alley he yells, "Bowling!" from the backseat of the car. We thought you might enjoy the video of Erik bowling. :)

The Lights at Showa Park

At Christmas time Showa Park has a huge light celebration. We had a great time looking at all of the displays. Erik liked to look at all of the lights and especially liked to wear his "Pooh gloves". 

Erik is a Big Boy

Erik is getting so big. For real. We thought you might enjoy this video of him going down the slide all by himself. Maybe it is time to have a new baby, because apparently Erik is all grown up now. :)

9 years of Wedded Bliss!

Husband earned many points on our anniversary! He arranged for a Japanese friend to make reservations at a fancy Japanese restaurant called Kurouchaya. If anyone knows TJ, you know that it was a big effort for him to arrange things in advance and not leave it to the last minute. The restaurant was so cool! We took off our shoes in the lobby and in house slippers we were led through an old looking big house to our private room. Our room overlooked a water wheel and plenty of Japanese maple trees. Dinner was extravagant. It seemed like a 17 course meal- just take a look at the pictures. The best was the "river" fish that we cooked, whole, on a stick. After a lesson from the waitress on how to eat the fish, TJ and I dove in and tried it! Oishi! (Yummy for those who are lacking in Japanese.) We had a great night and are still amazed that we have been married for 9 years already.

1st Haircut

So, if you know TJ, you know that he likes his hair short. What I didn't expect is that he wanted to take Erik to the barber so soon. He really doesn't have any hair yet. There were a couple of strands that were longer than the others- but who could tell? Really? Anyway, husband took the baby for his first "trim". I thought you might enjoy. :)

Kyoto

Well friends, TJ finally came home! Yeah! We decided to take a trip to Kyoto to celebrate and initiate him back into the world of sippy cups, diapers, and no napping. Out time was spent visiting Nijo castle, gawking at the Golden Pavillion, hanging out at some huge temple that we still don't know the name of in the Gion district, going up to the top of the Kyoto tower, shopping at the huge 11-story mall that was attached to the train station, and spending an evening with a maiko (apprentice geisha). Cool, cool, and more cool. :) The Shinkansen (bullet train) was everything we thought it would be, namely fast. Overall, it was a fabulous trip and we are so happy to have Daddy home.

Stairs

So, I know the diaper is a little much, but I swear he was playing in the pool. Anyways, Erik has decided that he is brave enough to go down stairs by himself. And no, that is not how he got the gash in his forehead. That is just the eternal bruise/cut/bump that will be present until he is five. The other picture was just too cute to not include!

Papa Joyner

Erik and I had a great time visiting with Papa Joyner in Mission Viejo. Papa let Erik turn on all the fans in his house, he taught the boy how to turn the water faucet on, he put on a concert for us with his friend Vic, and he even took us to the beach to let Erik feel the ocean on his toes. We had a great time and even now Erik will smile and say "papa" when he hears Papa Joyner's voice.

Tuckered out!

Aren't they always cute when they are sleeping? We wore Erik out that day and by dinner he decided he was going to pass out. :)

(Notice T-dog, Erik is finger feeding himself. Yeah- I know- he needs a fork and spoon. One thing at a time.)

For the love of dogs

My son loves dogs. Appropriately, "dog" was one of his first words. Achilles (Aunt Elizabeth's beautiful greyhound) graciously puts up with Erik throwing himself at him constantly. Even old Senor has come around. I am not quite sure Senor likes Erik to try to take a nap on him, and he will avoid Erik for the most part. But when the baby is sleeping, Senor will quietly protect him. If Erik only knew! :)

Poor baby Erik

My poor son is mistreated and abused. Whenever he doesn't get his way, he can turn on the tears and the bottom lip will come out. You would think that I beat him with a stick. I can't tell if he is more like TJ, or if he really does take after me.

Music man

So, our baby loves music. He can't quite figure out the harmonica yet, but give him time. Do you think if we just keep giving him instruments to play with, one day he will be able to play? I think our next purchase is going to be an ukelele.

Happy Birthday!

I know it was a little early, but we had Erik's birthday party last weekend. He seemed a little surprised when we all started singing "Happy Birthday". (Thanks Mugga for playing the piano!) With the Davises and the Martyniaks in attendance we celebrated Erik turning the big #1. So it seems like Erik inherited a little of his father's compulsion to keep clean and did not quite like to touch his cupcake. Oh well, I am sure there could be worse things other than having a preference to stay clean. :)

The Fam in Enoshima

The Joyner-Davis clan (sans one member- sorry Dan) decided to take a trip to Yokosuka Navy Base and Enoshima. We arrived on a rainy day, but the Chili's we ate more than made up for the rain. Luckily for us, the next day was beautiful! We spent the day in beach traffic, and then made it to the Enoshima Aquarium. The staff at the aquarium gave us inquisitive looks when we all stepped up for the family picture, but that didn't stop TJ from putting his arms around Tracey and myself like we were his wives! :) After the aquarium, a quick jaunt to the beach was in order. It was going great until a big wave took out our camera. Thanks for the pictures T-dog. :) All in all, it was a successful outing in Japan!

Friends

Only good friends would climb into your crib to keep you company! Can you imagine how much fun it is to watch four little boys chase each other and play peek-a-boo? I hope that when they are much older they are still friends.

Chores

Don't we all set out to have children just so we will have someone to do the chores for us? Luckily for us, Erik loves to do chores. Vacuuming, sweeping, laundry, dishes- you name it, he will try to help. Let us all remember this moment for when he is a teenager and allergic to chores. :)

Did I tell you Erik likes to get into things? I mean physically get into things. We can't keep him out of baskets, suitcases, or cupboards. What do you think that means? What job can you get that lets you crawl into small spaces? A magician's assistant? A burglar? A spelunker?