TFiJ29: Fountain Fun
Wow! It’s been a dog’s age since my last blog post. Well, you know the routine- life is busy, blah blah blah. Good news- summer break is in two weeks, and then I’ll be off for two solid months! Wooo hooo! I’ll be making up for lost time then, what with all the good material I have for video clips. We’ve really been enjoying our weekends since I started this new job at Togaku. Time is precious, and for the most part we’ve been making good use of it. So look for a flurry of fun clips in the coming months as I strive to get caught up.
To get things started, here is an example of what I’m talking about, a clip entitled “Fountain Fun.” Here in Toyama it’s starting to get real hot and humid. On the way back from Luke’s soccer game this past Saturday (June 27th, 2009), Luke spotted a fountain in a park as we drove past. There were many children playing there. He immediately said, “papa, let’s go!”, and I spun the car quickly around. We were totally unprepared, but it didn’t matter- Luke had no qualms about going in his skivvies, like most of the other kids. We had such a great time. Later that day, I took Luke and Max to another park, one near our home, one with a really big fountain designed for kids to play in. Again, total blast!
TFiJ28: Max’s 2nd birthday photo shoot
Wow, it sure has been a long time since my last post!!!
Chalk the delay up to one busy life these days, what with starting a new job and all. I’ll be getting to that shortly, but first I want to catch up on my video clips. Here is a nice one- short and very very cute! It’s Max on her 2nd birthday (March 7th, 2009), getting her portrait taken at Studio Alice here in Toyama City, the same place we always go on our kids’ birthdays. It’s this little tradition we have going- take a professional photo on the very day of their birthday. We’re starting to build up a nice collection, and it’s great to see the kids growing up year by year.
Anyway, Max was very cute this time. We dressed her up in a “Beauty and the Beast” costume, in the role of “Belle”. The photographers were great- they gave her the real treatment- gown, gloves, wig, earrings, and a nice set. Wow, was she even more beautiful than usual! I really thought that our little baby was not a baby anymore! We had a real fun day.
Cool Max
Hey, check out Max’s new outfit? Cool, eh? She’s a supermodel in the making!
TFiJ09: Max eats a banana
Hey, I know I said that I didn’t have time to do any more new videos due to my need to study, but what do you know- I managed to find a spare 20 minutes to put this one together for you. Max has been eating “hard” food for the past 6 weeks or so, but most of that is processed heavily for babies. We’re trying to introduce “real” food bit by bit, as this clip shows. Here we feed Max a banana, but we’ve also been giving her ground up apples or other fruit. Anyway, no big deal; I just want to show you all Max’s progress. She’s doing real well overall, apart from some chronic sniffles and runny nose that seem to come and go daily.
As always, I would love for you to see a higher quality version of this clip. To do so, just click here.
Max gets a new jumper
In keeping with my new “short and often” approach to blogging, here’s a cute photo of Max wearing a new jumper given to her by Granda Mase (Shinobu’s dad). Yeah, it’s a bit too small, but it still looks good on her!
TFiJ07: Max’s 1st time swimming
Two weekends ago we took little six-month old Max swimming for the first time in her life. The only pool where we could get permission to film was the place where Shinobu works, the Yatsuo-machi B&G Pool. We’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time. Here kids need to be at least six months old before they’re allowed in a public pool. We took Luke swimming the day after he turned six months, and now we’ve done the same for Max. We came prepared: Check out that crazy pink bathing suit! It’s made by Body Glove, a famous brand that makes stuff for swimmers and surfers. Besides being shockingly cool 
, the suit sports a built-in floatation device that helps keep our baby afloat. You can see how well this worked in the video clip below. Overall, Max seemed to have a great time. She wasn’t afraid of the water at all. It looked like she enjoyed floating around. We had a great time, too.
Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Cheers!
Click here if you would like to see a higher quality QuickTime version of this clip.
TFiJ06: Max practices sitting & walking
We have another 3-day weekend here in Japan, so I’m trying to get caught up with some video editing. Here’s another video podcast for you: a simple 4 minute clip of Max learning to sit and walk. She’s now six and a half months old, and her neck is getting strong enough where she can (almost) sit on her own. Shinobu also dusted off Luke’s old baby walker, so we gave Max a spin for the first time. She really seemed to have a good time! So did we. It’s fantastic watching her grow day to day.
You can see the clip by clicking on it below. If you’d like to download a higher quality version to your computer, just click on the “Download” link below. As always, I encourage you to leave a comment as well.
As always you can see a higher quality QuickTime version of this clip if you click here.
iPod Kids
Hey, get a load of this great new photo of Max and Luke. Cool, eh? Shinobu and I have submitted this picture to a local photo contest. We like it a lot- Max is wearing an iPod jumper that we bought online from iPopMyBaby. Luke is kissing her, like he always does. Cute, eh? He he he… or are you gagging with a spoon and rolling your eyes?
Anyway, I thought this photo would bring a smile to your face. I’ll let you all know if it wins anything! (I’m rooting for 3rd prize, a new iPod Shuffle!)
Max featured in school newsletter
Last month, as Shinobu began working again after her maternity leave, little Max-chan became the youngest ever student at the Sugihara Nursury School and was featured in their monthly class newsletter:
Here’s some translation: First of all, the newsletter’s title means “Little Chicky Class News”. At Sugihara Nursury School, which is part of a three-level complex including a kindergarten and elementary school, each classroom is nicknamed after an animal (Luke, by the way, belongs to the “Panda” class).
The upper story reads roughly as follows:
Introducing a New Friend Max Talandis started school on July 2nd. She’ll be five months old soon. She always looks happy. She has started to recognize her teachers’ voices and faces. We we call her, she answers with a smile and a happy sound. Now she can lie on her stomach and roll her body. She does this all the time. She looks very contented when she does this. When she’s hungry, sleepy, or needs changing, she promptly draws our attention with her cries. She drinks milk twice a day, and after that, she takes a deep nap. Max-chan’s smile is so cute!
Cute, eh? We are really happy with the service this school provides. Her teachers, especially Yamazaki-sensei, do a great job with her. Max seems to be doing very well. Her class is quite small- there are only three little girls in total. Her classmates, Miharu (our neighbor’s daughter) and Miyo are taking to her quite nicely, as the 2nd article states:
Cute baby, eh? One day, Max was sitting in her rocking baby chair. Miharu and Miyo walked up to it and began rocking Max to and fro. We guessed they did this because the were imitating us teachers. We were very surprised! We thanked them for being so friendly. Max looked happy!
More later on Max’s adventures at school. I was able to film her second day, and when I get a chance to edit that footage, I’ll be sure to post it here. (Thanks to my co-worker Ryoko for the translations!)
Hello! My name is Gerald Talandis Jr, and I'm the webmaster of this blog. I'm using it as a tool for staying in touch with family in friends around the world. I've been in Japan since 1993 and currently teach English at 
This is my wife, Shinobu. She's originally from 
Luke was born on July 29th, 2001. He is now an elementary school student and loves sports, like his mama. Each week, Luke swims, plays soccer, and goes to a gymnastics class. He is also studying English and dreams of visiting the USA someday and becoming an Olympic swimmer, like his hero Michael Phelps.
Our daughter Max was born on March 7th, 2007. She is currently attending nursery school and is learning to walk, talk, and eat by herself without making a mess. She is growing by leaps and bounds, and loves Micky Mouse, Hello Kitty, and Anpanman.