In Toddler We Trust

So I did a little research on the web the other day. They say the average age of a US coin is about thirty years. Sometimes, if I am good, Mommy or Daddy will give me some coins to put in my cat-bank. Why be normal? A piggy bank would have been a bit too pedestrian. The penny you see in the picture has an entirely different story.

I found it in my bedroom in the corporate housing where we are staying. I like it when I find neat shiny things like coins. If you look closely at the picture, the minting year is 2002. That suggests the penny should be in existence until about 2032. This will not be the case because I accelerated the aging process. You see, I ate it. Even after Daddy just asked me to not put it in my mouth. It just went down and it was gone. Daddy called Uncle Misha (the Emergency Room Physician) to see what we should do. He assured us that most times it would simply pass and we would just have to monitor the, erm, output.

Well - Daddy found it tonight. The penny was in the bottom of the potty after a careful poo-poo dissection with the blue silicone spatula (also supplied by corporate housing). I am not even sure it was in tonight's delivery. We've been dissecting poo all week so it may have come out earlier and we missed it. All I know is it looks worse for wear, all nicked up and considerably shinier than when it started. Who knows, maybe its lifetime will be extended. I overheard Mommy thinking of making a necklace out of it for me to wear. I can hear it now, "ask me about my penny."

Resuming some semblance of normalcy

We've been in Southern California for a little bit of time now. We are still living in the corporate housing provided by Amgen, but Mommy and Daddy are very happy to announce they have opened escrow on a house up in Newbury Park. We have also not traveled for the past two weeks so life is turning into some semblance of normalcy. Mommy signed me up for a combination T-ball and soccer camp at the local park. Lucky for me Aiden, from my preschool is also enrolled. It is always good fun to have a familiar face in the crowd and someone with which to share a "funny."

I have never played T-ball before, but I do know how to throw a ball. Check out the aggressive posture and comfortable grip I have on the ball. It is going to be a good summer and I am glad that life is ticking along. Life still feels a bit unsettled at the moment, but is getting better all the time. We even found some very good Indian food in Woodland Hills with Daddy's friend Joe and his wife Rosa Marie over the weekend. It's a bit of a drive, but not horribly so; well worth the effort. Restaurant recommendations are always welcome for the Amagasus.

Southern California Amagasus

Sorry I haven't written in a while. We've been very busy. So busy you will not believe it. Daddy had been living down in Westlake Village (near Los Angeles) for a month before Mommy and I got there. That said, he was home three of the four weekends he was away. He also managed to fit in a business trip to Boston during that time too. Crazy Daddy.

Mommy, Daddy, Zadie and I all drove down together in two Priuses last weekend and are now living in the corporate housing too. I have a feeling we won't be there long because we are also looking for a new house to buy. I have a new daycare - it's called Little Dreamers in Thousand Oaks. This is me in front of their sign on my first day. It is not a small home-based one like I have been attending in the bay area, but more of a pre-K, institutional type with classrooms and multiple teachers. I do miss Hua and Yang Duo and my other buddies, but am meeting new friends. It is both exciting and exhausting - I am sleeping very hard every night.

Daddy has a new job. That's the reason we moved to Southern California. He's now working for Amgen, the World's largest biotechnology company. He's still a drug discovery scientist and seems to be enjoying his new position there. This is a picture of him in front of his new company's sign on his first day.

Mommy got lucky and gets to keep her same job despite being relocated down in Southern California. The big change here is Mommy grew up in the Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village area so it is sort of like a salmon returning home from the ocean, or not. Grandma Martha and Pop pop Bob live here too, so I hope we'll be seeing lots more of them.

Lots of changes for sure. Wish us well, we will miss the SF bay area and the friends we've made over the years.

Just another January day in California

Yes, it is 70 degrees outside again. It has been this way for about a week and is expected to extend a few more days. Sorry to the readers in the less temperate areas of the country (and Canada too). We've been taking advantage of the high pressure weather system and spending lots of time outside (Yay for the long weekend too). We went down to Shoreline park alongside the bay to burn some calories on the bike and see some of the wetland birdies. I saw a great blue heron, snowy egrets, white pelicans, Canadian geese, sandpipers, yellow-eyed ducks, avocets and the usual mallards and seagulls. We are fortunate to live so close by to this wetland resource.

I'm still riding my balance bike, but getting so fast Daddy has to wear in-line skates to keep up. He also had to raise my seat another inch so I wouldn't drag my toes on the pavement and wear out my shoes.

I had my jacket on in the picture because it was still cool in the morning, by the time we were finishing the ride I was only in a t-shirt. Anyway, it sure beats shoveling snow or defrosting car windows (like I would know).

Congratulations to Barack Obama! The president-elect will take office this Tuesday. He will be the 44th president of the United States and the first African-American man to do so. Congrats to the young senator from Illinois, we just know "change has come to America".

Quick, make like an otter

On Sunday, we took a trip back down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Our dear neighbors, the Fujiis, had given us a pack of tickets to see the fishes and sharks and things. It didn't take long for us to find some other friendly sea creatures as well. Including this guy, a toddler-sized otter sculpture. Daddy was intent on taking pictures, so I tried to imitate Mr. Otter in the hopes he wouldn't see me. I guess he caught me goofing off.





If you ever do get to visit this part of Northern California, I'd suggest you go and take a look too. They have an outer bay exhibit with an acrylic window that spans 54'x15' tall and it holds back 1.2 million gallons of sea water. Quite impressive; it is also the occasional home to juvenile great white sharks who eventually get released back to the wild (where they should be). We also ate at a nice restaurant where we were seated in an alcove which jutted out over the water. Ocean views on three sides! Couldn't have asked for anything more appropriate on a perfect day.

Christmas holiday

Hi everyone, I just wanted to drop a line to let you know I had a great Christmas vacation in Southern California. We spent a week with Gramma and Pop-pop in Westlake Village. We also got to visit Mommy's college girlfriend along with her family in Manhattan Beach. And my cousin Jacob three times! He lives with his family up in Ventura, just a short drive away.

Daddy also got to see his friend Joe from Roche days. Daddy was actually in Thousand Oaks for a job interview with Amgen (where Joe currently works) the week prior to Christmas, so it was ironic we were here again on family vacation. Small world for those drug discovery scientists.

As for Christmas, we set out a plate of cookies and a small milk for Santa. We didn't have any carrots so we substituted celery for the reindeer. Both Santa and his team must have been hungry, because it was all gone in the morning. Further evidence of their visit was the mountain of presents under the tree (I must've been a very good boy all year long). [Thank you everyone for the generous gifts.]

Pop-pop also got a surprise 70th birthday party. His daughter even made the trip out from Tennessee for the gathering. Jacob's Mommy and Daddy hosted the party with yummy food and a big cake. I hope we can see them again soon.

We are back in Northern California and Daddy promises to post more pictures of the trip. Happy 2009.

Boys love fire trucks

Yes, choo-choo's probably remain at the top of my list of things I like to see. In fact I have cajoled Daddy into driving home from daycare along the tracks in the hopes of seeing the evening commuters. Hurrah! Fire trucks, especially when they are in the parking lot or have sirens blaring, run a close second. They are big, they are shiny, they are red. I like them, a lot.

There is some amount of fantasy involved with the trains and trucks I see. Could it be that I want to be an engineer or fireman when I grow up? Could be. Daddy says he is a Scientist, but I don't quite know what vehicles Scientists drive. I know both Mommy and Daddy drive Prius hybrid cars, but they are not nearly as endearing (at least to this little boy) as a big bad diesels.

I'll take the truck and the train anyday.

Reluctant lion

Halloween, it's the time of year when I get dressed up as a lion and go door-to-door to get treats. It is a small sacrifice to pay for the rather large haul in chocolate. Granted some of our neighbors are progressive and hand out useful items like pencils, notebooks and small stuffed animals, but for the most part I get a bunch of candy. Mommy had to help me carry the bag this year because it got too heavy for this little lion.

I remember what chocolate is from last year. It is brown, sweet and gives me great pleasure when I eat it. I try not to get it all over the couch when it melts on my paws. Mama and Papa are pretty tolerant of my antics.

Some housekeeping notes. I moved out of my crib and into a big-boy bed shortly after my birthday. The hope was so I would be able to help myself to the potty in the night if I had to. That hasn't happened yet, so I am still wearing a diaper overnight. Soon though I hope to be free from the Huggies trap.

Hooky with grandpa Tetsu

Last Thursday I got to play a little hooky from work. Hooky is when you aren't really sick, but you get to stay away from school or daycare. Grandpa Tetsu came to visit us in California on a short layover to Japan. We got to eat some yummy food, take a walk on the Pacifica Pier and eventually made our way down to the beach at Linda Mar. I like sand. I like water. When they come together with waves and grandpa it makes for a fun day. Fun, that is, until you fall into the cold, cold Pacific and get sand everywhere. Luckily for us it was nearly eighty degrees outside and once I got all of my wet clothes off - everything was fine again if just a little bit nudie.

Our shoes in the second picture demonstrate Daddy's more artsy side of photography. The shoes are certainly inappropriate footwear for a day at the beach. But all lined up in the sand, they represent three generations of Amagasus on a stolen beach day in October.

I hope everyone is well. If you haven't already noticed Mommy has started a blog too; it's the top link in the sidebar and is dedicated to everyday musings about me. I hope you enjoy it and visit me at both websites.

Time to fly

I uploaded this photograph, but had yet to publish it until now because I was having trouble finding the words to go with it.

My vocabulary is growing everyday and I have been inventing words like "No-K" which is personal shorthand for "No, okay." Daddy thinks it is funny. Mommy, being a professional writer, is not so sure. Being three years old is different than being two. Independence is a big thing and doing tasks helps establish my individuality. That's how I see it.

Halloween is just around the corner. I remember it from last year because it was the first time I was allowed to taste chocolate. I like chocolate. Grandpa Tetsu will also be visiting next week on a stopover to Japan; it will be good to see him again.