Kellan latest

Kellan is our talker. His Japanese is really good, way better than most of the kids in his class who are close in age. The way he speaks is as distinctive as a full on Southern drawl, and it’s so funny to me that I’m often fighting to keep from laughing out loud and hurting his feelings. Funny though how whining sounds just as bad in any language, and this boy can whine. The way he says, “yada,” the Japanese word for “I don’t like it,” truly turns my stomach.

Jolon does and has always woken up easily and in a great mood, full of energy. Kellan, on the other hand, wakes up cranky. Jan usually picks him up and sets him on the sofa in the main room a good 15 minutes before we really need him to get moving. He gets things done in the morning pretty well---goes to the toilet by himself, can wash his own face (but I like to scrub it), usually brushes his own teeth, etc. but he does everything at his own pace. We’ve been calling him Fletcher lately because he eats so slowly. He takes his time peeling his tangerine, making sure Jan pours the right kind of milk on his cereal, getting his favorite spoon, etc. He’s also in tune enough with the food that he won’t get down from the table just because Jolon does or because he’d rather be playing. The boy eats until he’s full.

He likes to fasten buttons and often practices on Esme’s shirts and sweaters.

Hasn’t worn a diaper during the day since ????? spring? Hasn’t worn a diaper at night since maybe the summer. Seems to have better bladder control than Jolon these days.

Favorite food: rice and “Advantage,” the English cereal
Favortie color: Blue for sure. He pronounces it “ballon.”

Definitely not throwing as many tantrums as a few months ago. He can get quite upset about things, but will also listen to explanations and can snap himself out of whatever emotion he’s experiencing before full on melt-down. He does whine a lot though. A lot.


Loves to talk about how big he is, how strong he is, and how (kakuwii) cool he is. He swoons when we say he does something, “like Jolon.” Now that he’s old enough to really play with Jolon, he’s begun figuring out that he finally has some power in the relationship. When Jolon is mean to him, he’s figured out that despite being smaller and weaker, he can upset Jolon the most by simply walking away, leaving Jolon to play on his own.

The teachers often use Esme as a way to motivate him to keep walking, eat all of his lunch, share the tricycle with his friends, etc. Apparently it works every time. Even at home, he’ll often say he’s doing things (cleaning up his toys, putting on his shoes, washing his face) “For Esme.”

He’s growing up quickly. Just a couple of days ago, he was recovering from a bad cold and fever and after dinner turned to me and said, “Hold me.” I nearly cried. Up until then, he’d always said, “Hold you,” when he meant, “hold me,” and I’d never corrected him because it sounded so cute.