Babywearing.

Today is the day I find a wrap for my baby doll.

"Baby. Poor baby. Here I help you. Milk. Baby needs milk in the wrap. Shh. Shh."

First, I tried to wrap baby up in a t-shirt. Mama Roo asked if I wanted to put baby in a wrap. "Yeah. Wrap up baby. Go nigh-night." I just woke up, but I am positive baby needs a nap. "I do it. I put her in. Baby in scarf. Baby in wrap. Shhh, shh, baby. Here's milk."

Baby goes to sleep, so I continue my morning with her snoozing in her homemade wrap. Mama Roo does this with me, so I do it with my baby. Puzzles are first. "Nine flowers."

Long enough for me to get dressed, baby sits on the couch. "Wrap on me. You help. Mama, help please. Baby in wrap. Makeup? Mama's makeup. Girls? Watch the girls?" Yes, we can watch the Stella sisters sing "Ho Hey" by the Lumineers. Then, we will go do makeup. Is baby still sleeping? "Baby sleeping. Shh, shh. I hold her here. Nap right here."

We are going to the store to run errands. "Store. I go in cart. Goeshies? I put shoes on. Pink with buckles, I do it. Baby in wrap. She's sleeping." Mama sees that I do not want to leave baby at home today. Most days, baby naps in the big bed while we go out do things. Today, we have the wrap, so she can go everywhere with me! "Button! I push it. You coming? I go push it. I'll wait. Stand back for people. No people. I go in. Door closing. Natse manu ma." I try to repeat what the elevator voice says when the door is closing. Daddy taught me.

The 100 yen store has some good stuff today. Well, nothing useful, but definitely funny. The first is a waist warmer. It just looks like a fuzzy belly band for pregnant women. Maybe you could just wear an extra shirt? Guess not. The next item is to boost your bottom. Literally, if you don't have "enough" going on back there, this is for you. I know these are available in America too. Here, we are shocked to find them in random aisles of the 100 yen store. $1 to get the perfect behind. Any takers? I try to sneak the package into the basket, but Mama is too quick. I get in trouble. "Kami! It is inappropriate for children to pull items off shelves in the store. You can't walk by yourself if you can't behave." I make a pout face as she scoops me up. 

On the way home I push the elevator buttons like usual. This wrap is great. All mommies should have them. I have two hands ready to do all the things I normally do! "Button five. I push it." Mama never has to point. I know which one it is. "Going home for snacks."

At home, I take off my shoes. "Baby is sleeping. Gentle, gentle. I do it. Unbuckle." I make my duck face and watch Mama with the camera. One shoe comes off easy.

The other shoe is harder. Mama shows me where to put my hands every time. Once I get my hands right, I do it. "Put shoes away. Shoes in closet. Close the door. Snack time."

Baby almost falls out, but I catch her. We eat snack, then I help with dinner. Stirring is my job. I am good at it and I make yummy sauce. I beg Mama to let me add the spices. I spill some on the seat. Mama says I'm not ready to do that unsupervised yet. "Appopeat?" I ask Mama to see if I'm in trouble. "Yes, it was appropriate, dear. Thank you for helping. You will become more efficient with practice. We will practice more spices later. You are not in trouble. Keep stirring." Baby is still sleeping. 

I stir until Daddy gets home. "Dinner! I helping! Bus to work. Hi Daddy!"

Katsuman!

Today is the day I see Katsuman for the first time.

Katsuman is the owner and chef of a restaurant near Blue Street in Yokosuka. He speaks little English, is very meticulous, has a heart for children, refuses service to certain Americans and Japanese, has posters of Hawaii all over his walls, plays Hawaiian music, makes delicious food, has no concept of time, and never turns his sign to open. This is what we know about Katsuman.

When we peeked in the door, the lights were out. It seemed, he was prepping his vegetables for the day. Pointing the seats at the bar, he asks us if we wanted to eat using mostly body language. "Hai. Arigato!" Mama calls out and we take off our shoes to go sit down.

"Dinner, dinner! I hungry. Noodles? Soup? I see shapit. I use it, please."

Daddy and I entertain ourselves with chapstick for the long haul. Disregarding us, Katsuman busies himself in the back and along the wall of his kitchen. We watch everything he does. I put chapstick everywhere. Then, I put chapstick on Daddy 12 times. "Shapit, here. Open, please. I use it. I close it. Here, Daddy shapit. No, I hold it. Dinner. I see it. Chicken up high. OOOooo."

Katsuman starts rolling food in flour and paste. I am reaching for the plates.

Mama Roo and Daddy Bear can barely restrain me as I watch our chef delicately place each serving onto a plate. Two men joined the end of the bar soon after we were seated, so there are extra plates. "Kami's plate? Dinner? Salad. I see it. OOOO!"

Dinner comes with soup, rice, a bowl of sesame seeds, and amazing sauce that goes over everything. Mama loves the ginger salad dressing. Katsuman does everything for you. He shows you how to grind the seeds, put the sauce in, coat your salad in dressing, and drizzle the sauce in the right places. I have my very own bowl of rice. Then, Katsuman brings me my own banana. Mama thinks he got it from his house. She says he lives upstairs.

I eat everything, tempura veggies, battered chicken (katsu), battered pork (tonkatsu), little rolled appetizers, salad, rice, soup, and tea. My favorite is soup! "Noodles? No noodle soup. Yum soup. More tea. More soup. Daddy helping."

Kanazawa Zoo.

Today is the day we go to the zoo.

Kanazawa Zoo is in Yokohama. Walk, train, bus is how we will get there. "Backpack. Kami's backpack. Daddy's backpack. I walking. Ooo doggie. Woof woof." The neighborhood on the way is small and very residential. Many houses we pass have gardens and small outdoor spaces. We have noticed they are privy to onions, squash, flowers, and bonsai trees. Mama says smile on the bus. Nope.

One main reason Mama wants to go to Kanazawa Zoo is for the roller slides outside of the zoo. She loves roller slides. Daddy hasn't seen these ones yet. Last time, we came with Victoria. "Toria, wee wee. Slides go fast. Down. I walking." Today, we are not going down the slides. The line is a mile long! Why are there so many people here today???

We trek on to the animals. "Animals! Elephant, zebra, tiger, rawr. Tiger!" Daddy says he doesn't know which kinds of animals there will be. It will be a surprise. There are fish flags everywhere. Daddy is obviously impressed. This is Golden Week. Golden week is the most popular time for Japanese to travel. Basically, all the trains, buses, zoos, theme parks, and hotels are packed right now. It is the equivalent headache as driving from Seattle to Spokane on Labor Day weekend. Now, we know.

Right inside the entrance, there are lots of colors and characters to capture my attention. "I out. I walking maseff. Look, Mama. Daddy, see it? I see it."
I see a big wheel with a big horn sheep in the middle. They are celebrating their 30 year anniversary. This is too many colors.

I move on to the animals playing in a band. "Look! Look. I see it." Now, I see puppets. Oma could make these. "Cute. Little animals. Cute."

Finally, Daddy says it's time to see some real animals. He lures me out with promises of giraffes. The map says this way!

"Giraffe! Stretch up high. Big giraffe." It looks just like my book. Mama wants to see baby kangaroos. They are called joeys. We walk over and they are too hot. Nobody is moving around. We keep walking. "I walk maseff. Stairs!"

The sign says lounge? Where? In the dirt behind it? Mama and Daddy giggle. "Rocks, stairs. I go down. I see it. Look." Mama scoops me up and we keep walking instead. Elephants are next. I make elephant noises by bringing my hand up to my mouth like a trunk. When I do it, I spit a little, just like Daddy.

We find Suzy Goose! Suzy Goose is in my book. "Roooankkkk, roooank. It's Suzy Goose. I on it. On Suzy Goose. Roooannk."

"Monkey! Monkeys. EEEEeee. Oooo." I sit on Daddy. "I up high!"

"Water. Noise. Waterfall. I coming. I go fast. OOOO! Waterfall."

"I climb. I see it. Okapi. Okapi. There it goes! OOOOooo! Wa-wa, please."

 Mr. Giraffe comes around again when it's time to leave. I like him and the elephants best this time. They are easy to see. "Daddy up, please. I up high. Stretch giraffe up high. I see it."

On our way out, there is a line to hug a pink cartoon. Mama tries to find out who it is, but she can't. I don't want a hug.

The souvenir store is a vending machine. Of course it is!

 Snack time for Daddy and I while Mama repacks everything so we can carry it to the train. Daddy and I talk about the animals we saw. He makes all the noises. He is good at them. I try to do the monkey, elephant, and mountain goats. I am mostly successful.

The train will take us to dinner. Maybe Katsuman?