A Fish Out of Water

Rain, rain

Rain, rain, don't go away. Little Shuma wants to play!

Yup, the kid loves rain, and who am I to keep him out of it? Thankfully his grandma sent him a raincoat a few months back, so he can keep dry in style. She sent some adorable rainboots too, but they're still too big so I got him a pair with froggies on them. He loves them and has been wearing them around the house, so was very glad to get to use them for their intended purpose.

Just one problem: he very quickly found a puddle that was deeper than his boots. Mom, you're going to have to send some thigh-high waders next!

 

Dinosaur Suit

Grandma sent this stripey number from Canada, and even though it's meant for the summer Shuma's already wearing it. A long-sleeved onsie and skinny pants add warmth without distracting from the friendly T-Rex.

Here's a closer look. I didn't think I'd get Shuma to stand still, but then he learned how to blow bubbles and all he wanted to do was stand around doing bubbles. I'm really proud of him, but it's kind of boring- when I was blowing bubbles for him at least I had something to do. He's cute to watch though, especially when he takes a break from blowing to say "Bubble" (pronounced "ba-bow" with a long, drawn-out last syllable).

This outfit even offers something for the back view, thanks to his nifty new shoes.

I love dirt

Here's a t-shirt Grandma sent from Canada with a very gender-stereotyped message. It is also true, and also very colourful so I'm not complaining. You could find many similar things in Japan only they'd be navy or brown or some other drab colour and the English would be wrong or just weird. It would probably say "HAPPY TIME WITH DUST EXCITE!!!" with a few additional phrases to fill up any blank spaces ("BOYS JOY LIFE", "GREAT PLAY", "GO GO VEHICLE!!"). So I like this shirt.

Paired with pants sent last fall (they still fit!), a navy onesie (doesn't fit but I refuse to give up on it) and a backpack, full of his most treasured possesions (snacks, a cat puppet).

Beachwear

Here is Shuma modelling his various beach fashions in Thailand earlier this month. First we have a simple look consisting of a Nemo-adorned swim diaper paired with a drawstring hat.

The ripped look is is still going strong, so it wasn't a problem when mom accidentally poked a hole in the too-small diaper (a leftover from last summer).

 

Of course, the only essential item on the beach is a hat; diapers and swimsuits are completely optional.

The feeling of the waves gently lapping at your bits? That's what freedom feels like.

Of course, there's a fine line between enjoying the freedom of the naturist lifestyle and plain old flaunting, so to avoid looking like too much of a show-off Shuma did occasionally wear this modest one-piece. It features a snorkeling otter and slimming side panels.

The same old headgear can get boring though, so for extra sun protection a glamorous oversize sun hat is just the ticket.

The versatile one-piece segues perfectly from beach to work. Here Shuma takes an important business call on his phone.

His coconut phone. It's the latest thing in Thailand.

Resort Wear

This Resort Wear edition of Fashion Show features Shuma on location in Phuket. He wears an outfit that announces "I am on vacation in Thailand!" consisting of a nifty hat, a Thai fisherman's shirt, and beige shorts. Yes they're shorts, but he's wearing them low, though less due to personal style and more to do with a full diaper. Accessories (snazzy sunglasses, sandals and sippy cup) not shown, either because they were losing or stored away in mom's bag. Two bags, actually, giant ones, but I'm used to that; what really bothered me was losing his sunglasses before he even got to use them. But I'm used to losing stuff too.

Anyway, the fisherman's shirt is a type that was ubiquitous in souvenir stalls, often plain for adults and with some kind of elephant-related design for kids. Surprisingly we didn't buy it in Thailand- it was a hand-me-down we got in Tokyo- but I'm glad we brought it because it looked really cool and comfortable on him. I bought another in a larger size but that was the only thing we bought the whole trip (other than a few food-related obligatory souvenirs) and now I regret not getting one for Hideaki. Oh well, we'll just have to go back.

More pictures to come soon!

Overalls

This entire outfit comes from Shuma's gramma. OK, at least half of his clothes come from gramma, and I'm really grateful because I really prefer Canadian clothes for this age. Not that Japan doesn't have great baby clothes, but Shuma is more of a toddler and toddler clothes here are exactly like older kid's clothes: boring (unless you're talking about girl toddlers, in which case there is no shortage of frilly pink princess wear).

Anyway, I especially like the overalls. These are his first Oshkosh B'Gosh overalls, and after trying several other types I can see why they're so popular. I'm not into brand names and designer labels, but these are very well made, good fit, and they stay on. If gramma doesn't send more I will just have to buy a bunch on my next visit. (They have Oshkosh here too but believe it or not they don't have overalls for baby boys, at least not at the ones I've been to. Girl overalls, with a skirt instead of pants? Tonnes. Those are big here for some reason.) But enough about overalls, what I really want to show you is this:

Look at that hair. Still no haircut, and it may just never happen because look at that hair! Yes, he does get mistaken for a girl occasionally, but it doesn't seem to offend him. Besides, if I need to cut his hair in a particular way to signal to the world that he's a boy then there's something wrong. I mean, he's wearing overalls!

Time of chocolates

Here's a cute little romper adorned with an Engrish phrase and what appear to be Smarties. But it turns out they're not Smarties at all. When Hideaki asked why Shuma's outfit said "Time of chocolates" I said it was because of all the Smarties and he asked "What are Smarties?". Can you imagine? He's never heard of them, and they don't seem to exist here. Even after explaining what they are he wasn't convinced, and thought the candy depicted on the romper must be M&M's. Which is pretty dumb, because then they'd all be stamped with a little "m". Instead some of them have little smiley faces, which doesn't seem to match any known candy. Very mysterious.

Shuma couldn't care less, since he has yet to taste chocolate. He still thinks that bananas are the best thing ever.

This last picture, if only it were in focus, would be my favourite as it seems to show a fun-loving, slightly mischevious side of him. Or maybe it shows something else, and will some day end up on Born This Way.

Frog Legs

I found the perfect way to get Shuma to hold still for a Fashion Show picture: stick him in one of the fold-down baby seats found in public restroom stalls. OK, there must be a name for those. Or maybe not, as I don't remember seeing them in Canada- maybe it's a Japan thing? If so that's a shame, because they sure are handy. And not just for taking pictures.

The focal point of this outfit is these frog legwarmers, and the froggy theme continues to his shoes. Which is totally accidental, because Shuma does not have a closet full of shoes featuring different animals that he can match to each outfit.

He was all dressed up for lunch with a friend at Sizzler, which I think is an American chain and I get the impression that it's not really a place people dress up for in its native land. But in Japan a salad bar is a rare and wonderful thing, especially for a toddler learning to eat. I never know what to expect: one day he'll eat everything we feed him, the next he won't want anything but cucumbers. Or pears, or spaghetti, or whatever little food fad he's following at the time. Of course when he decides he loves a particular food I'm happy to feed him just that- as long as he's eating, right? And as soon as he notices I've stocked up on it, he'll suddenly stop liking it. Is every toddler like this?

So at the salad bar he gamely tried a few different things before he noticed the edamame on my plate, which I knew to be one of his favourite foods and was trying to hide, in hopes that he'd eat a variety of food. So I had to give in and give him some, and that was it- he didn't eat a single other thing. Just piles and piles of edamame.

All that bean-eating is hard work, so he had a little nap while the grown-ups had dessert. Hmm, maybe if I indulged his edamame habit more often he'd turn into a regular napper...

Motorcycle top

This outfit doesn't look very fancy, but that is the most expensive top I've ever bought for Shuma. We're not talking about designer prices or anything, but when you're used to buying baby clothes at discount retailers (not to mention all the clothes we've received as gifts) it's a big deal to pay full price at Baby Gap. The pants are hand-me-downs though, so I guess they cancel eachother out.

We just couldn't resist the top when we saw it, because it's got motorcycles on it. Or rather, his father the ex-motorcycle racer couldn't resist it.

Ha, dream on kid. That's as close as you're ever going to get to a motorcycle if I can help it.

 

 

Panda legs

Normally I'm thrilled when Shuma takes an unexpected nap. He doesn't nap well or regularly, so when it happens I get to do stuff that I usually don't get to do. Or at least get to do in peace.

But yesterday he fell asleep at the jidoukan (children's centre) while we ate lunch after a playgroup session. I was tempted to try to get him into his carrier as gently as possible and head for the nearest cafe so I could do a little reading and relaxing, but I was sure he'd wake up at some point and spoil my plans. So I put him in the centre's crib (thank goodness they have one) and miracle of miracles, he stayed asleep. And there we were, Shuma fast asleep and leaving me free in the one place I had nothing to do.

Well, not completely. I got to chat with some other moms without being interrupted every fifteen seconds by a baby needing my attention. And I got to take these pictures.

If I'd known I'd get to take pictures I would have chosen a more exciting outfit (he has loads of nifty clothes that I've been trying to get him to model). But the legwarmers are pretty neat, with their stripes, pandas, and descriptive lettering. Just in case you weren't sure what kind of creature that is.