Superbaby

So, Emily calls me and says "Guess what your son is doing?". Naturally I know my son is awesome so I prepare myself. She said he was feeding himself by holding his own bottle.

Now, those of you who know us are aware we are fervent breastfeeding advocates, as there is no replacement for the natural food that was meant to be fed to children. Recently though Emily has found that Jackson sleeps better at night if he has a bottle of formula as his evening meal so we've been supplementing breast milk with some formula.

So, I know that every parent thinks their child is super in some way or another, but my boy seems to consistently do new and amazing things every day, or so Emily tells me. I believe her, as I've seen him roll himself over at two weeks, and demonstrate incredible newborn strength by lifting his head and pushing off my chest with his arms and legs several times. I unfortunately have to go with the photograph I am about to post, to see my son do his latest amazing feat, with more to follow I'm sure. So, here you are, my son, superbaby.

Fishing in Japan

I was able to go fishing with my father-in-law recently while he and my mother-in-law visited Emily and I and it was some of the most fun I've had since we got to Japan. We actually went out fishing twice, once with the MWR rec shop on base and once with a professional guide we found in Nagasaki.

The MWR trip was fun, we went up towards Hirado and met with a Japanese fisherman who ferryed us out to a small island where we stayed for about five hours and fished. I caught five ugly cow fish and a decent sunburn. My father caught some sort of barracuda-tuna type fish as well, which was pretty cool looking.

The second trip we went on was made able to happen when we saw a fishing shop on the way home from the Nagasaki Bio Park (Zoo). We stopped in and through some Japanglish, charades, and my awesome translator friend, we booked a trip for a few days later. We arrived at the shop to a warm welcome of coffee and hard-boiled duck eggs. We visited somewhat and headed for the marina.

First we went a bit to the northwest, towards Sasebo harbor, and fished several spots along the way, but having no luck with getting any fish, we decided to go after some squid.

On the way back through the Sakai Channel, which has the strongest current in Japan, we got to see some awesome turbulence. This picture is of tidewaters rushing around a small island which holds a lighthouse. There were dozens if not hundreds of whirlpools, some were small, but some were very capable of swallowing a person. You can wear your lifejacket if you want, but its best to just stay in the boat, because no amount of personal floatation is gonna save you.

We fished for squid the rest of the trip, with my father catching five decent ones. I hooked a couple but wasnt able to land them. I did catch a pufferfish though, ugly thing. We then headed back to the shop where we had Japanese tea and sat around the fire for a while. Hiro-san, our guide, invited Emily and my mother-in-law to come out and go to see some fireworks in his boat, which we accepted and it was amazing.

The picture you've all been waiting for...

Well, we have it. The long sought after, much talked about, and until now, only observed by my lovely wife and I. A picture of Jackson with his eyes open and in a good mood. Now, these were taken with my cellphone, so they aren't awesome, but they turned out pretty well. Emily and I call this his "lucid face" because he'll just sit and stare and look around at stuff and seem interested, almost like he's learning, taking things in. Anyway, here you go.





Absolutely the cutest thing I've ever seen. Thats all for today, hopefully we'll be bringing him home tomorrow, which will be approximately 7:00PM Wednesday home-time.