Hooray, Hooray...I'm 1 today!

The day has finally come! Tesshin is 1! This morning, I laid back in bed and listened to Tesshin babble and play with his toys in his crib. I wasn't quite ready to get up yet and then Tessho gets up and sings him Happy Birthday. I felt so guilty - what a lazy mom. He had no clue that it was his birthday, he doesn't even know what a birthday is, and he obviously wasn't expecting any gifts - such innocence *sigh*. It won't be long til he starts demanding what flavor cake he wants, what type of party theme he wants his birthday party to be. Ugghh....I can wait for that. Anyway, Tessho and I quickly got ready for work and then started taking pictures with Tesshin. I had baked cupcakes for his daycare the night before. I saved one so we could put his "#1" candle on it and sing Happy Birthday. (All of Tessho's friends should know where this story is going). Yes, the Greatest Dad in the World ate it the night before. I had a tiny runt cupcake (made with the last scrapings of the bowl) and had to use that for his birthday song. So sad. Tesshin refused to wear his birthday hat but eventually gave up trying to take it off, long enough for us to take a couple of pictures.

My first birthday cake

Although our weekend was a whirlwind of events, we were still able have a birthday cake for Tesshin. His grandma and grandpa were also able to join in the festivities so that was nice. I was going to let him dig into his own piece of cake but he got fussy. He must've been tired from being dragged everywhere during the day. I'll always remember his first birthday and how he was so tired, he didn't stay awake to eat his first piece of cake. He fell asleep while I was giving him a bath - poor thing!
We also want to thank everyone for their love and support. We'll definitely let you know when we reschedule Tesshin's first birthday party.

Sad News

Uncle Gil passed away this morning. Even though we knew he was ill and his time with us was short, it's hard think that from now on whenever we go to Marysville, we won't be greeted by his smile and we'll no longer hear his great stories or words of wisdom. For those of you who don't know Uncle Gil, he was a prominent member of the Marysville Buddhist Church, college professor of Fine Arts at Yuba College and more importantly, very close to Tessho's family. Tessho can recall stories of playing around in Uncle Gil's yard after church on Sundays. He has fond memories of learning how to swim in his pool. He vividly remembers watching Uncle Gil make pottery using the pottery wheel. I had the pleasure of meeting Uncle Gil in 1999. This was my first trip to a small town called Marysville. Tessho has always been so proud of his hometown and also of all his friends and "family" up there. I loved Uncle Gil and Aunty Lucy from the first moment I met them. They welcomed me with open arms and treated me like a member of the family. They made the long trip down to San Diego to attend our wedding. They met Tesshin last year at the 100th anniversary celebration. It saddens me that Tesshin will not be able to listen to all of his great stories. We were able to see him just before he passed. We saw him this past Friday and even yesterday, before we flew home. He was looking real good on Friday. He sat and had lunch with us. He held Tesshin a couple of times. We're definitely glad to have those memories. We love you Uncle Gil. We'll miss you immensely.

Obon - Gathering of Joy

While we were up north this weekend we were able to attend Marysville Buddhist Church's Obon service and festival. Obon is an annual Japanese Buddhist festival to celebrate our ancestors who have passed. Most people who live in Japan will go back to their hometown during Obon and visit their family gravesite - clean their headstones and surrounding area, offer flowers and incense and celebrate with dancing. This was Tesshin's first Obon so we thought it would be nice to go back to Marysville, where Tessho is from. We were able to see a lot of his old friends. I haven't been to an Obon in so long I had forgotten most of the dances. I better bust out my Obon CD and relearn the steps. We had their Chicken teriyaki dinner. It was good. I won't say if it's better than San Diego Buddhist Temple's chicken teriyaki. I'll just say that it's just as good. Tessho's cousin sent over a happi coat from Japan so we dressed Tesshin in that for the festival.

2 week countdown

Time flies! Time flies! Time flies! I hear myself saying that a lot lately. But it's totally true. I can't believe Tesshin is turning 1 in exactly two weeks! One year ago this date, I was having my baby shower at work. It's unbelievable that my little 5lb 4oz bundle of joy is a walking (assisted), babbling, happy and healthy little boy. My tiny little baby, who liked to be swaddled, now sits up in his crib every morning and patiently waits for us to wake up and pick him up. It wasn't long ago that we took him to a couple of hearing specialists. We were worried that he couldn't hear because he wouldn't respond to various sounds and noises. Now, he's so freakin' nosey, he'll turn around at any little sound he hears. It makes me happy whenever he hears my voice or Tessho's voice when we go pick him up at daycare. He'll immediately stop what he's doing, turn to our direction, greets us with a big smile and crawls over to us. He's Speed Racer when it comes to crawling. He'll crawl pretty quickly when he sees me but he's lighting speed when it comes to his dad. It's cute to watch his butt swing from side to side when he crawls. He always wants to eat what we're eating. If we're eating at the kitchen table he'll stare at us - back and forth. Then he'll watch the food go into our mouths and smile, hoping that we'll give him some. If we eat in the living room, he'll cruise along the table going back from my plate to Tessho's plate, literally trying to pull food out of our mouths. It's crazy...where did he learn all of these skills?! How does he know that my McDonald's stawberry sundae is better than his pureed Vegetable Turkey Dinner? This little person who NEVER put anything in his mouth is now a mobile vacuum cleaner. His little finger can grasp the tiniest things, even a single grain of uncooked rice. He gives us high 5's and give me sweet wet kisses whenever I ask. I am truly lucky to have this amazing little boy whom I love with all of my heart. I am also lucky to have Tessho. He is the greatest father and husband. I can't wait for him to turn 1. What a great milestone!