Thumb-sucking Has Been Zapped?!

A couple of weeks ago, I took Koji for his second trip to the dentist, the first having been six months ago. For some reason this time, the hygienist was so concerned about his thumb sucking. She suggested that we make a puppet out of a sock and put that on his hand before he goes to bed so that when he tries to suck his thumb in the middle of the night, it's a no go.

He didn't like that idea, and I felt like I had to think of something else on the spot. Having just read about a similar idea in a magazine, and knowing that when it comes to technology, Koji is his father's son, I said, "Koji, how about if I give you a remote control that helps you stop sucking your thumb? You're going to take it in your bed and hold it in your hand, and if your thumb starts to go in your mouth, then you push the buttons and they'll help you stop.".

If that sounds like a dumb load of hogwash to you, that makes two of us. But for some reason, he thought it was a great idea. So that night, he asked me to give him the new remote. Thankfully I was able to unearth a random remote to a heater that we never use.

I put him to bed with it that night, and for the most part, I haven't seen him sucking his thumb since. He even said to me yesterday, "Mama, I just remembered that I don't suck my thumb anymore!" (I didn't see what happened, maybe his thumb started drifting towards his mouth?) and I said, "I know, isn't it great that your remote worked!" as if I knew it all along... If I sound casual about this, don't be mistaken. If this is for real, then what I feel is an enormous sense of relief that's been a long time coming. Glory to God, because I don't think I can take credit!

PS I've taken my time about it, but at long last, I've put up some pics of our trip to VA last month. Take a look!

Andrea Made This...

...little hat for Izumi and I love it! I hope she can wear it next winter too. Thank you, Andrea, you are so thoughtful and generous!

Second Time's A Charm

It goes without saying that I would rather have Ai back than enjoy the brief diversion of the leisure described below. However, I feel like I have to say so anyway, mostly to reassure myself, and perhaps you.

In any case, now that I'm not pregnant, I'm eligible for participation in "extreme sports" like snowboarding. I was delighted to hit the slopes last month in Virginia, but thought that was likely the beginning and end of any boarding for this season. How pleased I was when Seth (far left; Rich and Aogu joined too)proposed venturing to a nearby hill to take advantage of the last snow!

Please, loyal Midwesterners, don't be offended by this statement of the obvious: the Midwest is generally horrible place to try and go snowboarding. Nevertheless, hitting Alpine Valley was infinitely better than not boarding at all! Here's an illustration for context: we went up to the top of the longest run and Aogu put his poles up in his armpits and hunched over for his descent. He reached the bottom of the lift ten seconds later.

Still, I would recommend Alpine Valley to those who want to get out there on skis or a snowboard, but don't have the time or money for a trip to Colorado or Nagano (yes, I'm bragging about where I learned to balance on a board: you know, that place in Japan where the Winter Olympics were held ten years ago?). I was pleased to be a little more sure of myself on this outing, thanks to the practice of a few weeks prior. I wasn't pleased that something about the angle of my hat made my chin look enormous in most of the photos....but I digress utterly; the point is, Aogu, Rich, Seth and I had a great time. When we have another chance, I hope more of you can join in too!

Homemade is Best!

Here's Izumi eating a graham cracker that I made. If you want to try them for yourself, the
recipe is here. Let me know what you think! Oh, and I didn't say so on the recipe, but I definitely recommend using a food processor to mix the dough~