Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Sakura Tuesday Update

On Tuesday, the cherry blossoms are still just about 20 percent open. Adam is excited to pose by the base of the cherry tree - yes, that tree trunk and the manhole cover are so scenic. He's been well-trained to spot the sakura.






The trees still look bare, pinkish, but bare.



But if you look close, there are some blooms!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

New Friends

After playing with some kids at the church youth fundraising dinner tonight:

"Mom, why did Brown Shirt and White Shirt have to go home?"
"You mean your friends?"
"Yes."
"Do you know your friends' names?"
"No."

What good friends!

Sakura Status

We are getting as sakura (cherry blossom) crazy as the Japanese. Both Chris and I have obsessively checked the cherry trees for weeks, looking for those beautiful blossoms. The Japanese have forecast the first blooms to open on March 21, but we didn't see any until March 25. Here are the first blooms in our housing area. We're hoping the full bloom holds off until Chris gets back. Check back for updates!
We are getting as sakura (cherry blossom) crazy as the Japanese. Both Chris and I have obsessively checked the cherry trees for weeks, looking for those beautiful blossoms. The Japanese have forecast the first blooms to open on March 21, but we didn't see any until March 25. Here are the first blooms in our housing area. We're hoping the full bloom holds off until Chris gets back. Check back for updated sakura pictures!

Oodles of Poodles


I know you can only see three poodles in this cart, but, according to Chris, there were actually SIX dogs in there. They are all wearing their designer doggie jackets, like all good Japanese dogs. Japanese dogs wear clothes all year long - even in the summer, they have t-shirts, little skirts (for those girlie dogs), and overalls. Lottie was amazed and delighted; she loves dogs. Apparently, the owner also had another poodle in her jacket too!

Atsugi Cherry Blossom Festival

Chris had to leave for Charlottesville for a quick trip on Saturday, but we managed a quick trip over to Atsugi before he had to catch the airport shuttle. Atsugi was having their annual Cherry Blossom Festival. This is one of Adam's favorites, since they open their flight line and let everyone see the aircraft up close and personal. They also open the base up to the Japanese. Some Japanese are huge military aircraft fans - they were lined up for about a mile (not an exaggeration!) waiting to get in, and that was before it even opened! Here they are, patiently waiting in line. Notice that one man has a cool flight jacket with patches from the different, uh, units? His is pretty basic, but a few had jackets that were completely covered. Luckily, we went in the back gate, and didn't have to wait in line.


Lottie and Adam were excited to sit in the helicopter. (I know nothing about the various aircraft, so you'll have to appreciate my generic terms of helicopter and airplane. That is why I married someone who joined the Army.)


Posing in front of another helicopter. Adam is so excited that he is jumping - can you see his feet are off the ground?


This helicopter had great pictures on it - a samari warrior on the tail (?) and Mount Fuji.


Back by popular demand, Adam got to "fire" the machine gun again.


Even Lottie got to fire the gun. She was a much more delicate shooter though.


Excited dancing in front of another cool painted plane.


The kids had a great time, even though it was FREEZING for cherry blossom time. I thought about staying for the bands, but the cold made our decision for us. We were able to see all the planes and helicopters in about fifteen minutes (as opposed to the hour it took last year when we went in the afternoon). Adam was okay with leaving (shocking, I know), since he was promised a Guamanian party with a bouncer afterwards. Those people from Guam sure know how to throw a party, plus they loaded me up with FIVE plates full of food to take home. Since it's just me and the kids this week, this means I don't have to cook for at least a few days!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

First Steps

I was trying to take some video of Lottie's amazing new balancing ability, and she surprised me by taking her first (non-running) steps! Before this, she was just running into my arms. See how pleased with herself she is!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Feeding the Baby

Adam has named Lottie's baby doll. After saying she was named Sponge, he then decided she really looked like a Baby Gracie (yet another of his friends - he's still not a creative namer). He then decided that Baby Gracie was hungry. So he breast fed her.

Church Clothes




Saturday, March 21, 2009

Second Child

On Saturday we had a shower for one of my Atsugi (Navy) friends, Crystal. We're both big Buffy fans, and know all the latest pop culture scoop. She's soon to join the ranks of the multi-child household. Good luck, Crystal! Maryl, Allison, and Lisa threw her the cutest cowboy party, since she's from Texas.

Driving in Japan

I'm obsessed with the Japanese "Baby in Car" signs. They are like the "Baby on Board" signs that were popular in the US in the '80s, but, like everything in Japan, funnier, or at the very least, cuter. This one has a baby with a scarf - he looks like he's flying.

Everyone knows that you drive on the wrong side here in Japan, but what really makes it difficult to drive and nagivate is all the stuff all around. The Japanese almost never bury any of their wiring, so everything is hanging everywhere. Like this small intersection. It's really hard, for me anyway, to focus on the important things, like lights and signs. I haven't yet (and probably never will) get used to this!

Swing

There is only one baby swing (that I know of) in our entire housing area. This is a housing area that has at least ten playgrounds, but only ONE baby swing. So Lottie hasn't gotten much chance to swing, but she loves it!



Adam has upgraded to a big boy swing.

Pictures of Two

It's hard to get good pictures of two babies. Usually Lottie looks great, but Adam is picking his nose...

or Adam looks cute and Lottie is cross-eyed.

This one is cute, but they aren't looking the same direction.


Now they are celebrating Happy Thomas Day, a made-up holiday when you wave Thomases around and pose for pictures.


Happy Thomas Day, everyone!




Friday, March 13, 2009

Eating Again


They just keep stuffing their faces! This time, Adam was chowing down on corn soup flavored puffs, and Lottie insisted on helping herself. Adam wasn't too happy about it, but there was no way to protect all the puffs. When they were all gone, he put the bowl on his head and declared himself, "Corn Soup Boy" while Lottie made this face because she was having a hard time keeping that much food in her cheeks.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Potato Snacks

Adam and Lottie are fond of many Japanese snacks. But these are their absolute favorite. Lottie even likes these better than her baby crack (cinnamon Teddy Grams). The Japanese are ingenious about getting veggies in all kinds of things, and actually making them taste good. These are puffed potato with pumpkin, two types of leafy greens, carrots, onion, and tomato.

Lottie thinks they are so good, she double fists it.

How many can she get in her mouth at one time?


Holding as many as fit in one baby hand. They really are very good!

Messy

Lottie is a big fan of messy eating. She loves to rub food on her face, in her eyes, and on her hair. This was after a particularly yummy meal of yogurt.

She wasn't scheduled for a hair washing, but had to get one anyway!

Who Needs Toys?


Who needs toys when you have mostly empty cabinets to play in?



It almost looks like she is walking on her own, but she's still cruising.

Adam had to try it out too.


Mirror


We both love to cram food in our faces. Those Japanese snacks sure are delicious.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Super Readers


Adam and Lottie love to spend time pulling down all the books on the bookshelf. Sometimes they even read them.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Trade In

Adam keeps telling me that he wants to trade Lottie for Baby Tate (Calum's little sister). He's pretty definite that he wants to trade, even when I explain what that would mean. Yes, he wants Lottie to go live with Calum, and he wants Tate to live with us. Tate would even get to share trains with him, while Lottie would NOT. After further questioning today, I figured out why he wants a trade-in. He's willing to trade Lottie for Baby Tate (8 months) or Baby Scottie (6 months), but not Baby Kerri (14 months). I'm pretty sure it's because he'd like a baby sister who does NOT cruise the room and steal his toys. All trade-ins must be little and -most important - stationary!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Mountains


Yesterday, the mountains looked like a Japanese painting. Now we see where that comes from. I cropped and doctored this photo up a little bit, but Chris did actually take this picture from the school parking lot. I wish they looked like this all the time.

Going Home to Get Grandma

Grandpa left yesterday, and Adam did NOT take it well. That and the disappearance of the snow was enough to send a baby over the edge. Grandpa told him that he had to go back to NJ to get Grandma so they could come back in April, which is acceptable (although he has no concept of how long 2 months is...). We did manage to get some funny pictures with Grandpa before he left.

We ended up having to make some sugar cookies to make up for all the bad stuff that happened that morning. It's a hard life for a baby.

Funny Face


Adam's potty training is going very well. We haven't had any accidents in quite a few days (of course, I've now doomed myself to an accident today). He's even figured out how to hold his poop, which was his biggest problem. This is what he was doing when he was sitting on the potty last night. Crazy boy!