Come on, ride the train!

Man, Master D is crazy about trains. He has never actually been on one, unless subways count, but he cannot get enough of locomotives.

Master D turned 2 in September and became the proud owner of a train table. He has his own room here, but it suffered from lack of use because it harbors his own bed ["No!"], books ["In Mommy's bed!"], and his clothes and diapers ["Bad!"]. About a week before his birthday, I finally hit the Craigslist jackpot that rewarded me for months of pushing the refresh button on the baby + kids For Sale page. A Thomas train table, in a neighboring town, for $100. I was prepared to pay at least twice that for a nice set, but this one had it all - even the battery-operated engines that drag the trains around the tracks all by themselves. It has tons of track, so we could make a bunch of different designs, but it takes so long to build one that actually stands up to a toddler that the tracks might as well be permanent. It came with 20 trains, and a really cute table that looks great in Master D's room.

The good news is that it keeps Master D busy for a long time - sometimes long enough for me to get dressed in peace, and his poor bedroom is less lonely. The bad news is that it has not diminished his enthusiasm for other train tables, which means we still can't get in and out of Barnes and Noble in less than an hour.

A Multi-Cultural Birthday Celebration

It's been about four months since Master X and I have appeared on the TKM blog. I've certainly grown delinquent in my postings, although I can hardly blame the first trimester, since we all know what pregnant Mamas N, J and now H have been up to... baking, knitting, decorating, moving across the pond and across the country. I can say that I've been trying to get this story of mine completed before baby #2 arrives in December, which has taken every ounce of my (not so) creative energy when Master X is napping or sleeping or with his sitter, which he isn't when we're away at the beach.

That being said, I've decided to jump back in the ring, even though my post seems to have lines in it. I can't say we'll be as frequent as some, but Master X and I will do our best... he'll try to take long naps and I'll try to work on the brain waves part. And what better subject for our first return post than Master X's second birthday? (It was three days ago, but still...)

Two... can you believe it? Master X is the oldest of our playgroup friends, and therefore the first to reach this milestone. I found his first birthday to be extremely emotional for me, as it seemed only months ago that I'd given birth and I was completely awed by the toothy, crawling creature that had once been my infant. I have to say that I found two to be much the same way, in that it was equally as awe-inspiring to see him looking so much more like a kid than a baby, as he worked the room, opened presents and refused to eat anything but the orange carrot cake that his Vivi (my mother) decorated to look like a lion.

When he awoke at 6am on his birthday morning, happily singing the "Hello" song from Music Together, my first thought was, "I can't believe I've kept him alive for two years!" It was more of a throwback to the absolutely exhilarating and terrifying first days of his life when I realized that they were actually letting me leave the hospital with him than anything macabre. I know I'm a very competent mother. Still, toddlers are into everything and have no fear, as we are all too aware! Master X puts himself in peril umpteen times a day and it's my responsibility to keep him safe and unharmed. So I counted as Mister B and I listened to the singing... seven hundred and thirty days.

Master X is blessed to have a family that absolutely, unconditionally adores him. In addition to his aforementioned Vivi, beloved Auntie C and Uncle G, and grandfather from New Jersey, Master X had the privilege of visitors from very far away... his Nana from Tacoma, his eighty-eight year old Great-Grandma (GG) from Bainbridge Island, and Mister B's cousin Yayoi, all the way from Okinawa. GG is also Okinawan, although she has lived in the United States for approximately sixty years. It was a long trek for GG, since it is growing increasingly difficult for her to move around, but it was important to her to see her favorite grandson's child another time while she still felt well enough to make the trip. We were very pleased to have her here, since she is a gracious woman with many stories to tell... and because she loves Mister B and Master X very much.

Master X's birthday was full of activities, including a trip to the weekly farmer's market, where he dragged his significantly older Japanese cousin around like he owned her, and to the beach, where he played in the water with his aunt and uncle. Mister B took him to 'Crab Town,' where he saw the hermit crabs and then to see the bright orange kayak that was his Father's Day gift.

His official party - everything orange- began in the evening, and though everyone else feasted on homemade pizza, Master X insisted on carrying an orange bowl of tortilla chips around the house. His favorite part of the day was most certainly gift time, where he received everything from a water table and remote-control car to a kimono, complete with matching socks and flip-flops, and a golden boar full of sake, purchased in Okinawa to commemorate the fact that he was born in the auspicious year of the golden pig.

The mostly orange birthday celebration culminated in the cake, where Master X sang, "Happy Birthday to Me," and ate two pieces before settling for licking icing from the "2" candle. After that, he ran around for a bit on a sugar high and crashed into bed only an hour late, with his best friend Bunny and his entourage, ready to work his way to three.

Mister B and I collapsed into bed a few hours later, feeling blessed to have both an amazing, happy, healthy child and a very diverse family that will travel all sorts of hours to celebrate with us.