A pink Marvin

Many of you may remember watching Bugs Bunny as a kid. Maybe it was even a weekly Saturday ritual for you – eating sugary cereal and zoning out on hour after hour of cartoons. Ok, maybe it was just me. However, if you happened to have been a regular watcher of the Bugs Bunny Hour, you may remember getting pretty jazzed when you got to see one of the rather elusive Marvin the Martian cartoons. You know, the little guy with the massive space helmet who always said: “You have made me very, very angry”. Well, I know how much you miss the little guy, so may I present to you, Marvin, the next generation:



All it took was one bike ride, and she ceased fighting the helmet, or “ ’at” as she calls it. Now she even asks for a ‘wriiide’, and is happy to wear the massive pink casing. No one tell her that it gives her an uncanny resemblance to a rather psycho-alien creature.

It’s pretty much summer here in Ottawa, so we’ve been engrossed in all things summery, like bike rides, ice cream and trips to the park. We have even made our first cottage trip of the season, where Kiyomi learned the true wonders of a Canadian summer – Victoria long weekend at the lake. Not only did she get to walk up and down the dock looking for fish, she also got to drive the boat. Of course, she was physically incapable of moving anything but her little finger because in typical Canadian tradition, it was cold. The girl was bundled up in about three layers, plus a life jacket. I think she was able to move her arms though, so Colin gave her her first driving lesson.

We’re also into full ultimate season, and Kiyomi has been an awesome side-line supporter. Ok, so she’s really barely acknowledged us, and we’ve been relieved that there have been other spectators willing to entertain her so she doesn’t go wondering onto neighbouring fields or try to join us on field. That said, she’s certainly learning what to do with a disc, and might be able to sub by the end of the season… Ok, maybe next year… Given that I seem to have done something rather unpleasant to my knee, I may be on the sidelines full time for the next little while.

We also had a visit from aunty Miyo and cousin Mika, which was the highlight of Kiyomi’s month. Big kids are still her favourite toy, so to have one in the house 24/7 is like a dream come true. The girls colluded and conspired, giggled and gabbed, screeched and scrammed. Aya and Kenji’s cat is still a little traumatized by the scream train that paraded through the house, quite uninvited by Nikoli. Mika spent a little time trying to decipher what exactly was going through Kiyomi’s mind and why she couldn’t just “say it”. However, as a great big cousin, Mika was patient and made sure Kiyomi toed the line when necessary. Kiyomi proved beyond any doubt that her vocal range is well above what her height might indicate. I didn’t realize such young vocal chords could reach to that rather piercing level.

We’ve also spent a lot of time at the local parks. It’s fun to see Kiyomi explore further and further. Although, I have to say that her daredevil comfort range is well beyond mine. I’m convinced she’s a little thrill junky. From the beginning, she seemed to be fearless at the playground. Willing to go higher and higher on the swing, happy to climb ladders on the older-kid structures, never deterred by the height or steepness of any slide. Well, as she gets more and more comfortable, it’s nothing but high thrill escapades. No toddler play structure for this one – she makes a bee line for the climbing holds, rock walls and steep ladders. Sound like anyone we know? I swear, if she starts climbing limestone buildings, there’s no hope.

Her latest obsession, however, is ‘isshis’ (aka fish). It seems she believes that fish can lurk anywhere – a sewer grate, a puddle, the map pocket in the car, under the porch stairs. Her world is populated by fish everywhere. Of course, this obsession is helped along by Kohji putting a plastic fish under the air intake grate and Laura and Sue taking her on a fishing hunt to a nearby pond. Before you ask, no, we have no intentions of getting her a fish tank.

A lot of changes in the next few weeks. I head back to work in two weeks, so Kiyomi and I will both be facing a new daily routine. I’m not eager to get back, but I can’t say I’m dreading it either. I do know that I’m going to miss her like crazy, and we can expect to face all those lovely challenges which plague all two working parent families. Sigh…

I’ve got a couple parting shots tonight. Couldn’t resist. Fair warning, they definitely fall under the sickeningly cutesy category. Good night from Ottawa.