Tonight’s line up – literally. Wow – a lot of puns for one little sentence. 🙂

I thought I would take a really cool artsy photo of Thomas’ reading choices before bed tonight. I tried stacking them in a cool way to get the best light and a great angle but he kept dismantling my pile and lining them up. Not only did he line them up but they all had to be facing the right way. This was the result.

Tonight we read Harold and the Purple Crayon for about the 50th time. And the reason I know we’ve read it so often is that he read it along with me – word for word. I know he can’t read yet but his memory is amazing. Everytime I would stop reading Thomas would finish the sentence. It’s a little scary how much he manages to store in that little head.

McMenamins is a uniquely Northwest experience. Sure, the food is largely the same no matter which McMenamin’s restaurant you visit, but the burgers are good, the atmosphere is relaxed (and kid friendly) and the decor is inspiring. Just love these lights and even the website is funky. I would show more but I need to save something for the remaining 300+ photos this year. 🙂

Two photo Saturday – I couldn’t decide between the photo that tells the story and the one that provides a pop of colour.

This bike was Thomas’ main Christmas gift this year. Growing up in Australia, you would go outside on Christmas day and kids would be riding their new bikes or trying out their new rollerskates or other brand new gifts from Santa in the warm summer weather. Unfortunately the northern hemisphere doesn’t allow the same freedom. Rain and cold mean that full enjoyment of these types of gifts has to wait until the rain (or worse, snow) stops.

We have had few days like that since Xmas thanks to above average rainfall. Whe you live in the northwesr, above average equates to a hell of a lot of rain. But today the rain let up, the sun came out for a few minutes and Thomas was even feeling better – so the bike came out.

At first he was tentative but after seeing daddy on his bike, Thomas finally worked up the courage and actually enjoyed Kei pushing him – for about 5 minutes anyway. Which is 5 minutes longer than anytime he has spent on the bike since he got it just over a month ago. And, yes, you are seeing correctly. This bike has no pedals. It is supposed to help with balance so a child can learn to ride without training wheels. The idea is that he pushes himself along with his feet. When they touch the ground properly it may be easier.

And on to photo #2 for today… I think this could be a gap commercial. 🙂

Another Xmas present that hasn’t seen too much love, but I have to admit that it’s a little too big. I am anticipating lots of fun colourful photos in this hat next winter…

The TIVO Saga
This little package arrived today and, barring any major technical malfunction, is not leaving this house! This is TIVO #4 to enter the Ishida house – the saga… 

Tivo #1: Purchased just before we decided to re-evaluate our cable service (most cable set-ups now come with DVR). Ended up downgrading altogether and the TIVO went back.

Tivo #2: 2 years later – Bought on a whim during a visit to CompUSA. Also during a time when we were talking about house renovations. Decided we didn’t really need it and took it back unopened and unconnected – although it did sit in the unopened box in the living room for a few days.

Tivo #3: Last week – Kei suprises me by walking through the door with a TIVO after stopping in at Best Buy. This time it looks like it’s going to work out. The stars are aligned. We connect the box, subscribed to the service, set up our season pass recordings and play around with pausing live TV. The machine shuts down. Oh, must have pushed the wrong button by accident. Next morning – machine shuts down again, then again. This time no one is near the remote. Investigations reveal a problem with the machine’s hard drive. After deleting our preferences Kei takes it back to the store for a refund. The taste of viewing convenience is still on our tongues.

Tivo #4: Today – The wonderful DHL driver delivers a brand new TIVO (from TIVO this time). It didn’t quite arrive in time for Survivor or Lost but it’s here. Now it sits in the middle of the floor taunting me until Kei gets home. I probably could set it up myself but Kei is just so good at it. 🙂

So now I sit and wait for TIVO to change my life. At least I’ve heard that’s what happens… I’ll keep you posted.

Not quite back to his normal self but feeling better. Thomas was even laughing and much more cooperative than he has been lately. When Thomas is sick it affects his whole personality. He is clingy, grouchy and generally difficult to be around – Much like his father when HE’s sick. 🙂

Glad to see things are looking up. Back to daycare today. It’s now after 4pm and no phone call to pick him up so I have my fingers crossed.

Still Sick. Thomas was pretty good for most of the day on Wednesday but went suddenly quiet, just sitting in his chair and asking Kei to leave him alone. Then he threw up – good times! This photo was taken after we gave him a quick shower. He soon fell asleep in this position and I think Kei enjoyed the cuddle time before we put him to bed.

I feel like Thomas has just been sick with one thing after another for the last three weeks. I am ready for this phase to be over.

Kei just bought a couple of new games for the Wii so this has been a common sight the last few days. I really enjoyed playing the Wii at first but get bored with it quickly.

The latest game is called Trauma Center (or something like that) and you actually perform “operations”. It takes skill and patience – patience that has been used up looking after Thomas lately so I can’t waste any on this game. 🙂