This weekend was a long weekend with us having Monday off. When I say us, I mean Layla and I – Tamie had to work and she took Julia to the daycare provided by her office. It made the long weekend especially long, but we made the best of it.
Saturday I got to take care of Layla while Julia went to her regular daycare for the day. We played a few games at home (she beat me a number of times at Candyland) before we ended up going to a local department store where she could ride her Thomas the Tank Engine for a mere 200 yens. While there, we picked her up a pair of rollerblades – a boxed set that included a helmet as well knee, wrist and elbow pads – all for the low price of 3500 yen. Sweet deal!
After grabbing some juice, we took the blades home and she got to try them out. She wasn’t too happy when I put the knee pads on as they were too tight. It was only after I found the real knee pads that I realized she had elbow pads strapped to her legs. Whoops. Once she was all padded up, she made her way slowly down the hall while holding onto me. Her stability on rollerblades was anything but stable but she seemed to be having fun.
She did fall a few times the first time, but give the girl credit – she popped back up and continued to try. She’s made significant progress in just two days since we bought them. She’s now able to walk around the room with blades on, even starting to push a bit with her feet. It’s amazing – it took me a month to do what she’s done in less than an hour. Oh, to be a kid again.
After she got her fill of rollerblading up and down our small hallway, I took Layla for a bike ride. As she was unlocking her bike, she asked, “Can we go for a long bike ride this time?” I nodded and said she could go as far and for as long as she wanted. 15 minutes later, she was ready to go home. Instead we went to a coffee shop and had some juice and milkshakes.
We picked Julia up around 16:00 from her daycare – on the way we noticed there was a huge crowd waiting for whichever act was performing onstage in Vina Walk. Judging by the size of the crowd, it must have been someone famous. After getting the little one, we joined the crowd to see who it was. 10 minutes passed before a single girl came onstage and started belting out tunes on her piano. Julia got impatient though and I thought it best we leave.
Before heading home, I wanted to get some Corona – I knew Tamie wanted to make nachos for dinner and what goes better with nachos than some Mexican cervezas? I picked up 4, hung them on the stroller and asked Layla if she wanted to find a good dessert, which she immediately said yes to. She lead me to the sweets section of the department store and she looked over various kinds of cakes and things. She decided on some flavoured cheesecakes, so we got a box of 6. As the lady was wrapping them up, Julia started making a fuss. I tried calming her down which only made her fuss more… so I picked her up… and CRASH! So much for the beer hanging on the back of the stroller…
Luckily, three of the four beer survived. Before I had time to even check the status, there were more Japanese staff there cleaning things up and ensuring Layla didn’t go near the broken bottle. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but the level of service here is second-to-none and this was another shining example. Sure, our stroller smells like beer now, but that might actually be a step up from what it used to smell like… yah, we need a new stroller.
That night, Tamie came home to a dark room with two sleeping kids and one sleepy father. After we’d gotten home, Layla watched a bit of her new favourite show before going to take a nap. Julia made a bit of a fuss before crashing on me. They both slept for hours before Tamie got back.
Sunday, I got to take care of both girls while Tamie worked. This time, we went to the park for a couple of hours. The sun was unbearably hot again, but that didn’t stop Layla. She’s always ready to have fun at the park and she did, as always, but unlike most times this was a day of accomplishment.
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Layla has conquered most of the playground equipment at the park, save for the monkey bars which she’s too small for, the rock-climbing wall which she hasn’t really tried, and the rope-block bridge. Today, she was determined to beat the bridge and much to her own surprise, she did! Once she figured out the technique (with a little help from coach Dad and Julia), she was able to do it consistently. She was so proud, almost as proud as I was.
After a full day at the park, we went home where I suggested Layla take a short nap because we were planning on meeting her Mom after Tamie got off work. Layla stubbornly refused and watched her TV show quietly. I played with Julia for a while as Layla fought to stay awake. An hour later, luckily both girls were still ok and we were off to Hon-Atsugi to meet Tamie for dinner. We had okonomiyaki at a local restaurant while Julia slept on a pillow on the floor beside us. All in all, a decent day.
Today was the last day of the three day weekend. Tamie took Julia to her office where daycare is being provided on these weekend working days so it was just Layla and I. Layla didn’t really want to do anything I suggested until I mentioned the Kids Fantasy Land on top of Daiei. Then her eyes lit up and her heart skipped a beat. I knew I’d found the right idea for the day.
After a semi-quick lunch at McDonalds, we ventured over to the kids park. The fantasy land is a giant indoor area with many blow-up bouncy slides and things, plus other goodies that Layla digs. She drive cars, plays in sandboxes and ball pits, and generally runs around having fun. Today was no exception – two hours of mayhem tuckered the poor girl out.
We left the fantasy land at 15:45, exactly one hour before Layla’s dance class was to begin. As soon as we stepped outside, Layla’s energy level dropped to nearly zero. The adrenaline she must have been running on finally ran out and she looked zonked. I took her to the grocery store to get her something to drink and an ice cream to give her a bit of a boost, and that did the trick. We headed home to eat it while we waited for the dance class.
At 16:30, we headed to the dance studio. I was worried Layla was going to fall asleep but she soldiered through it. On the way, she was walking so slowly and when I asked her what was up, she answered, “I can’t walk fast because I’m sooo tired.” Thank goodness she perked up when we got to the dance class. She was one of three students, and she was the only one to make it all the way through the 45 minute lesson without needing a rest. She was definitely having a good time with the dance teacher and I know now we made the right choice in letting her sign up for the class.
Once the class was over, I took the kid to her favourite restaurant for dinner before we came back home to meet Tamie and Julia. Layla, as tired as she was, wanted to practice rollerblading and did so. She only stopped to watch her TV show before taking a bath and going to bed.
I didn’t have a camera this fine day because I didn’t need to bring the backpack that’s been stuck to my back every weekend since Layla was born. Without a baby (or young kid) I had no need to take diapers, clothes, snacks or anything other than my wallet, keys and phone. What a great weight off my shoulders, both literally and figuratively, that is. Next week, I’ll try to bring a camera along, even without the backpack.
And so, that’s the end of this week’s tale. It was a long weekend and it was definitely a good one. Here’s hoping the next one is just as good.
Gallery Links below:
Saturday
Sunday
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