Final Countdown

We are in our final few days in Tokyo. In under two weeks our adventure here will be complete. The movers have finished packing us out and I am ready to go now! We still have Internet and cable, so if it weren't for the kids this could be a rather relaxing time for me. Not a lot of responsibilities for me right now. The kids make the difference. Justin, once excited about the move, is now not so thrilled. How dare they put his toys on the truck! He keeps asking where a certain toy is and then letting us know that he does not want it to go on the slow boat to Namibia. A little late for that now. With so little in the house it would seem sensible to find things out of the house to do. Whenever we are out, Justin is anxious to get back home to Harris Tower. When I had someone watch Tiny for a few hours, Justin was frantic. He did not like having his brother gone. He was relieved when I "found" him again. We have gone over and over that mommies come back and that everyone in the Weber family will go on the big airplane together. He gets it somewhat. He can tell people all about what we are doing and is excited about seeing family and friends. The reality of seeing his things disappear is a bit unsettling for him though. Just wait until further reality hits him. 1. There is NOT snow at Grandma and Papa's house right now. There was when we left in February, and he seems to think it should still be there. 2. Our house in Namibia will not look anything like the duplo model he built.

We will miss the produce vendors who come each week. They think Justin is so cute (obviously don't live with him) and shower him with free extras--oranges, bananas, peaches, grapes...

Tiny will miss Eli, his baby buddy and brother of Justin's friend, Lucas. Justin has made a lot of friends here. I hope that he is able to make some new ones when we get settled in Africa. They won't live as close as they do here! We won't have such a great playground to play on either, though we will have a yard and a pool. Ryan is just getting to the point where he gets excited when he sees the swing. He likes to swing with Justin. Note the cicadas making all the background noise in the video!

We finally made it to the Meiji Shrine. It isn't very far, so it was something that got put off for one reason or another. Justin's favorite part was the gravel. Our least favorite part was temperature heat index above 100. Ugh! On our way back home we stopped for lunch--at Wendy's. Justin was happy with his frosty, ketchup, and fries. Tiny was content to chew on a straw. Rob and I were just glad to have a cool place to sit that would accommodate us and our two rather lively children.

Guess what Tiny has been enjoying lately? That's right, he loves the swing. Justin likes to make sure I know that Tiny is just a baby and can't go fast like he can. Justin constantly reminds me that even though Ryan is getting bigger, he is still just a tiny baby. Justin, on the other hand, is medium. When he can't do something by himself, he is "too medium" and not too small or too little or any of the more common things children tend to say. Luckily, Justin agrees that Ryan is big enough to swing so everyone is happy.

Justin and Ryan seem to like each other. They can already crack each other up and seem to like to be on top of each other, hitting at each other, squealing at each other... Justin gets so mad when Tiny kicks him or pulls his hair. He doesn't seem to find it fair that Ryan doesn't get punished for actions that are off limits to Justin. To protest, he will often go into baby mode. He will lie on his back and say, "Goo Goo! Ga Ga! I'm a baby!" That lasts until it is no longer convenient to be a baby. Lucky me.

Since we are moving early in September, we are not bothering to work on the whole toilet training thing with Justin yet. What's the point? Leaving here and then traveling to various homes and hotels across the US before a hellish day (as in about 24 hours) of flying to our new home in Namibia. We will worry about it there. Well, Justin has started showing interest in poopies. He wants to see his, the baby's, anyone's. He will rate them in terms of color and size. He will tell me he is having one and that he doesn't want to sit on the toilet. Once he is finished he does want to sit on the toilet so I don't have to put on a clean diaper. Doesn't work that way though. Sometimes he requests to sit on the toilet. Yesterday he said he needed to sit on the toilet and he actually had to pee. He was so excited. Great. We will probably be missing our toilet training window of opportunity and our child will be a freak and need therapy. Just one of many ways I will screw him up for life. Good thing I have a second child to try to get it right--or at least better. :)

Justin came home from school on Friday looking just exhausted. He fell asleep almost immediately, and when he woke up he asked for water. He had a temp of just over 103. He drank and drank and continued to run a fever unless he was on motrin. He didn't have much of an appetite and was extremely needy, but nothing else seemed to be wrong. It just made for a long weekend. Sunday afternoon he seemed better, but since he didn't sleep well, I am keeping him home from school today. I am very disappointed. He had a slight fever again this morning, but is acting pretty normal. He is tired of being cooped up and is quite obnoxious.

Meanwhile, Tiny's two top teeth finally broke through last week. I swear they were the slowest teeth in the history of baby teeth. He had a HORRIBLE night last night and I had no idea why. Surprise! This morning I looked in his mouth and it looks like he is getting FOUR more. Two more on top and two more on bottom. It is going to be a very, very long week I fear. He hasn't been nursing well and I end up smelling like sour milk as my clothes get soaked with milk he is crying for and then rejecting. Ah, motherhood.

Guess I better tend to the whiners. Not that I can do anything to soothe them right now, but at least I won't feel as guilty if I am trying.

Playing Outdoors

Now that spring seems to be here to stay, I have been spending a lot of time outside with the boys. The nearby playground is a favorite spot. Justin has really learned to maneuver the playground equipment well since we have been back in Japan. He owes a lot of that to his dad. I hate seeing him climb because that can mean falls! There have been some, but thus far nothing major. See how brave I am letting him go into the treehouse?
Justin really enjoys having other kids out on the playground with him. He has a lot of fun with Sammy, who is about Justin's age. I hope that in Namibia we are able to find some kids for Justin to socialize with. It is good to see him having so much fun doing such simple things.

Sammy's dad was out on the playground the other day and took some pictures. I think this one really captures my Justin. The poor little kid always looks a little bit neglected. I swear he doesn't stay clean and groomed for more than five seconds! Sometimes I take advantage of this and don't put forth much effort. The other day when I told Justin that I needed him to come over so I could comb his hair, he told me that he didn't need to be handsome because he wasn't going to church, he was going to the play park! True indeed, but it would be nice if he didn't look like he was in charge of his own grooming.

Tiny is still a pretty mellow guy. Once he starts crawling I don't know if he will be as content to just sit in the stroller. He loves watching Justin. I admit, Justin is entertaining!

Justin is intrigued by the big kid swings. I should point out that I do NOT push him high, or really very much at all. He is not ready for that and I don't want him to land on his head. He likes to swing with me or in the baby swings though. He can never get as high as he would like.

Tiny still likes things on his head when he sleeps. Don't cover up those arms and legs too much or he gets upset though. What a strange little kid. People look at me like I am a bit weird when I throw a burp rag or lovey over his face when he is screaming. It often means he is tired and needs his face covered. Sometimes he instantly stops crying.

One day when Tiny was asleep, I decided to help Justin with a "big boy" puzzle. Good, quiet activity, right? Not when he gets excited about getting pieces to fit. Needless to say, his enthusiastic cheering woke up the baby. :(