Next Time You're in Japan...

On an island where most babies are Asian or Islander and the majority of tourists are from Japan, Babykins' pale skin, light blond hair, and blue eyes stand out as a major novelty.  We've gotten used to strangers stopping us to ohh and ahh over Babykins, squealing in delight when she beams a smile.  For her part, Babykins has perfected the "smile and shy", where she gives her admirer a big smile, then turns her head to the side, pretending to be shy.  When they laugh and proclaim her cute, she turns her head back and rewards them with another smile.  Meanwhile, Hubbykins and I have learned to build in an extra 15 minutes of "Babykins Adoration Time" to any trip.

What still amazes me, though, is the number of tourists who want to take Babykins picture.  Now, I'll admit that Hubbykins and I have taken north of 1,000 pictures since Babykins was born 9 months ago.  But we're her parents.  I can just imagine the tourists back home showing off pictures of their trip to Hawaii, then coming to the picture of Babykins and saying, "And here is the cutest baby I've ever seen."  A bit odd.

But what's even stranger is the paparazzi-like quality this phenomenon has taken on.  In the beginning, it was just the occasional tourist walking up to me and asking if it was ok to take Babykins' picture.  Then the other day as Babykins and I waited to cross the street, I noticed a tourist on one of the tour trolleys taking Babykins picture as they drove by.  It reached epic proportions, though, at the farmer's market last week.

Babykins and I were waiting at a veggie stand when I noticed a woman surreptitiously pull out her phone and snap a picture.  I looked up and realized that all of her companions had also pulled out cameras and phones to take Babykins's picture.  At this point, a tourist standing next to us asked to take a picture, and by the time we finally got away, at least 15 people had snapped shots - most of them discreetly using a phone and trying to look casual.

I appreciate that Babykins is the cutest baby ever, but this is getting out of hand.  I'm starting to get a sneaking suspicion that one day we'll take a trip to Japan and see Babykins' picture on every billboard advertisement in Tokyo.