Firetruck

Adam just loved this firetruck ride at Yokota (Air Force Base). He never actually got to play the game, he just hung out, jumped around, and tried to invite other kids to play with him.

Nonscary Pig

Adam and Calum ride a nonscary pig - a wooden one!

Hair

This is the most I can get Lottie's hair to settle down. After a nap, it goes right back up.

Or we can just pin bows all over it!

Grate Dancing

The boys just love to dance on the grates. I don't know why, but it's sure funny.

Japanese Grocery Store

I don't post enough about general life in Japan, so here's a good one. Little televisions with advertisements on the shelves of the grocery stores! Only in Japan.

Sunday Afternoon

Lottie modeling her new bows.

Adam wanted to visit the blue elephant near the train station. At first he was scared, but then he decided the elephant was nice. Then he was concerned about the poor elephant's welfare, since he didn't see the elephant's mommy or daddy.

Profiles in Eating

Adam has a unique way of eating a hamburger that involves eating none of the meat. He only eats the bun, from the middle out.

Oops, he got some meat in that mouthful. Yuck!

Feet

Nani just loves Lottie, like she loved Adam when Adam was a baby. Lottie doesn't grab her tail or pull her ears, and she has tasty, tasty feet. Also, sometimes she pukes, or as Adam told me the other day, "She blows chunks, Lottie." Nani also loves the puke. Yum.

Baby Girls

Lottie has two baby girl friends, Kerri (almost 7 months) and Tate (1 1/2 months). She's right in between the two of them. We posed them in matching outfits at book club one night. Kerri posed, Lottie hung out, and Tate cried. Oh well. Then everyone discovered Lottie's hair was good for pulling.

Shabu Shabu

We left Adam with the babysitter and had a nice meal before the grandparents left. We went to a shabu shabu place, which is like a fondue or a hot pot. You get raw meat and vegetables, then cook them in the hot broth. At this place, you can choose from a variety of broths, instead of just the traditional Japanese kelp broth. We did have the kelp, but also curry, spicy, and sukiyaki (soy). You then are supposed to dip the cooked food in the sauces, or in the raw egg. No one opted for the raw egg dip!

Mount Fuji

With the grandparents in town, we did a little Fuji climbing. We went down at about 4 in the morning and made it back around 9pm. It was not an easy climb, but made much better by the lack of rain and wind. In fact, the weather was great, and we all made it up the hill and back down!

Thomas the Train

All the moms and kids got left behind while the dads and grandparents climbed Mount Fuji, so we went on a trip to Grandberry Mall to ride the Thomas trains. All three boys could ride at the same time! They got to ride Thomas, Percy, and James. The trains even spit out trading cards after each ride.

Water Baby

Lottie is enjoying the baby pool here at the housing area. Gram is letting her float.

Despite the face, she really does love the water. The baby pool water is very warm, hopefully because it's shallow, and not from the pee.

Baseball

We attended a Japanese baseball game - the Tokyo Swallows versus the Yokohama Baystars. It was a late night, but Adam (and the rest of us) had a great time.

Daddy, Bapa, and Adam at the start of the game.

Lottie watches the game too. All the seats in our section were general admission; you get to pick your seat. We were pretty close to the field, just not close to the infield. Not bad for $15.

During a break, the fans all broke out umbrellas and danced and sang. We still don't know. Some sort of Japanese 7th inning stretch (not during the 7th inning)?

The "special" fan section cheered and sang the entire game. They had specific cheers and songs - everyone was together. Very Japanese. The Swallows had a cheer that Adam is still saying, weeks later. Go, go Swallows!

Petting Guinea Pigs

Adam is so fearless!

Sagamihara Park

Adam, Calum, and Jesse pose in front of the monkeys.

Adam and Mommy at the petting zoo.

Gram and Adam feed the bunnies. You can buy carrot sticks for 100 yen to feed the petting zoo animals. Adam is getting over his fear of all things animal by visiting the petting zoo....

Mostly! The goats and sheep are still pretty scary.

But Adam loves the guinea pigs. You can hold one...

pet one...

and feed one.

Gram and Lottie watching the boys play.

Family picture time in front of the lily garden.

Rolling!

No picture or video, but Lottie officially rolled over for the first (second, and third) time today. Once I got out the camera, she was done. She's going textbook, and rolling from her tummy to her back. Go Lottie!

Bathtime

Lottie loves her bath, from the very first time. She gets extremely excited when you start filling her tub and smiles throughout the bath. She (unlike her brother), doesn't even mind water in her face.

Bapa

Bapa and Adam had an especially good time. Adam showed Bapa the versatility of buckets - you can put stuff in them OR use them as hats. They also enjoyed the baby couch. They also spent a lot of time outside, playing with the jungle croquet set. The giraffe croquet wickets needed to be fed, watered, and put to bed. Adam is a great giraffe caregiver.

Gram

Adam and Lottie had lots of fun with Gram. Gram had the magic touch with Lottie - she could always get her to sleep.

Difference

Lottie still likes girls better than boys. Here's her reaction to Bapa....

And now to Gram. Ha.

Bapa actually did get her to laugh a little. Must have been a fluke!