Day at the Beach

We celebrated "Mommy's Day" by spending a quiet afternoon relaxing at the beach. Of course, it's mostly about Hikaru, so he said that he had lots of fun too. In this video, Hikaru enjoys playing in the sand and scooping up water from the ocean.



One wonderful sight was that of the whales off in the distance. From the shore, the whales appeared like geysers in the ocean. As they came up for breath of air, we could see a glimmer of sunlight off their wet backs, before they descended again into the water.



The beach is the perfect playground. This is a photo of Hikaru trying to do a flip in the sand...



We also enjoyed some bird watching. And this egret seemed so preoccupied looking for lunch that he didn't seem to notice us.



And then there was the beauty of poppies in November. Something you don't see as much now considering that winter is "almost" here.



Hikaru can walk now, so Daddy doesn't usually need to carry him. But in this photo, he said that his legs got tired from walking up the hill.

Chicken Dance!

Today Hikaru performed "on stage" with his classmates at preschool. It was his first time. We went to the end-of-the-year "Oseibo" program thanking the staff for their service during the year. The kids danced to tunes like "Insey Winsey Spider" and the "Chicken Dance".

To view the video, please click on the image below...

Little Tokyo Service Center

If any relatives and friends are wondering about my workplace, and what we do there, here's a short video on YouTube. I work at the Little Tokyo Service Center in downtown LA. Just click below to watch...

Happy Holidays!

Welcome to the second day of winter (and we have snow in the mountains). Happy holidays everyone! Hikaru is two years and three months old today. In this video he sings a popular "winter" tune called "Jingle Bells". To view the video, please click on the image below.



Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2008!

Rain is Coming Down

In this video, Hikaru gets excited about the rain. To view the video, just click on the image below.

Nisei Week Festival

Nisei Week is the annual Japanese American community festival in downtown Los Angeles (Little Tokyo). Today we spent a couple hours wandering among some of the community booths, arts and crafts vendors, and meeting some friends we haven't seen in a while. Some of the cultural displays included a bonsai exhibit and calligraphy, and the "Nebuta" float (that rode in last week's Nisei Week parade). Hikaru enjoyed meeting the Nisei Week mascot, "Aki" the Akita (dog).

Hikaru at Kidspace

In this video, Hikaru has some fun in the play areas of "Kidspace" in Pasadana, CA. He was a little cautious and careful at first, but then he took a dive into it. Hikaru also rode a tricycle for the very first time in his life.

What is Hikaru Reading?

In this short video, Hikaru is absorbed in a book. What is he reading? Click on the image below to find out.



We think Hikaru might be ready to start his "training", but will he go? Please stay tuned for more details in future blog entries.

Hikaru The Hammer (Part 2)

When Hikaru was 16 months old, he first learned how to use the hammer. See Hikaru The Hammer (Part I). The hammer is a very useful tool, especially them mom and dad say "no, no, no" too much.

Hikaru's 22 months old now, and in the video below you can see that he's pretty fast at hammering. So if your computer needs "fixing", Hikaru can probably fix it for you. To view the video, just click anywhere on the image below.

Hiking With Hikaru

On Sunday we went for a short "urban" 3-mile hike with Bernard and Miu-Ying in northeastern Los Angeles at Debs Regional Park. For LA residents, this park borders the 110 freeway going north from downtown to Pasadena near Montecito Heights.

Hikaru had a fun time riding in the "baby backpack", picking up leaves, and scratching in the dirt. Daddy got some exercise carrying an extra few pounds to the top of the hill and back down again.

Well, here goes another home video with Hikaru running around. He's 21 months old now. We also did see some hawks soaring over the hilltops, and hummingbirds humming, but we were too slow in pulling out the camera to capture them. Please click on the image below to view the 3-minute video.

The Puzzle

Things aren't always as "easy" as they look, especially if you're still a 20-month old baby. In this video, Hikaru works out a puzzle. To view the video click please click on the image below.

Hikaru in Chinatownland

Chinatownland is as fun as Disneyland to 20-month old Hikaru. In this video, Hikaru has dim sum, and explores the touristy side of Chinatown, Los Angeles. To view the video, please click on the image below.



This video was edited on a 350 MHz Macintosh G3 with iMovie.

Wah Wah!

Wah-Wah is "water" in Hikaru's language. In this short 3-minute video, he explores some places in search of "wah-wah" and gets quite excited. By the way, this is our first online home video. Hikaru is 20 months old now, and moves so fast that still photos can't quite capture him.

Click on the image below to play the video.

Los Angeles Time Lapse

I see many urban Los Angeles night scenes every day -- especially commuting to and from downtown. The video below is a beautiful time lapse perspective. This was created by 599 Productions and presented on YouTube.