Anthony Turns Four

Anthony turned four today.

Due to a fluke with Fumie's schedule, I made his bento this morning, following simple but detailed instructions that Fumie had left. The result wasn't pretty, but I judged that it probably wouldn't kill him.

Fumie and I both picked him up from preschool, and on the walk back to the car I asked how the bento was. His understated reply was “It was okay; I didn't throw up.” (He used the Japanese ge for “throw up”)

Now, there are a few things you should know about this: we ask how the bento was every day, and his answer is usually something enthusiastic along the lines of “it was tasty,” so the lukewarm “it was okay” is a reflection on my bento-making skills. However, the comment about throwing up is not a back-handed compliment about my bento skills, but a reference to last Friday when he come down with some kind of stomach ailment and spent most of the day throwing up. He was fine today.

After picking him up, we headed for a toy store to let him pick out his own present. After searching for a while, he picked out a big garbage truck and hauled it to the register.

In choosing this garbage truck, he passed up big fire trucks, large airport parking structures, helicopters, and other things that little boys generally go for. But the choice of a garbage truck is not that surprising considering his track record for choosing his own toy.

After hauling it home, he was a bit pooped

But somehow opening it brought back his energy

He played for hours

When we lived in Cupertino, the trash company was Los Altos Garbage, so that's what I see when I see the “Lotos” on the side of the truck.

He'd been looking forward to the cake for a very long time

Fumie taught him about making a wish before blowing out the candles

He wanted to eat directly from the cake. We certainly wouldn't normally allow that, but it's his birthday, so why not?

It was a long day for him, and I have a cold (that I probably got from him), so we'll open other presents tomorrow. His Aunt Natalie and Uncle Alan sent a package that we're really looking forward to. (We haven't told him yet, since he'd never be able to wait.)

One other thing to mention is that yesterday he called me “お父さん” (otousan - dad) for the first time. For the most part, he calls me the English-only “Daddy” whether he's speaking English or Japanese, and sometimes “Papa,” which works fine in either language. Most Japanese kids his age use “papa” or “otousan,” eventually using only the latter as they get older, but for whatever reason he'd never used otousan with me. We were making pancakes and I'd given him the eggs and milk to mix, and he said “ね、ね、お父さん、これでいい？” (“Hey Dad, is this okay?”)

It really warmed my heart.