Child Labor

Lottie and I took Adam to his first (and probably only) modeling job today. We got there in plenty of time, so we walked further up the road and found a nice temple. After a little digging on the internet, I believe it was Yuten-ji Temple, built in 1718, in honor of a famous Buddhist monk. I managed to talk Adam into posing with the torii gates as a warm up for his job.

This temple is famous for its cherry trees. We're a little late for those, but it was nice and peaceful.

Once we got to the studio, we had to wait for the girls to finish up. After a half hour, they were ready for Adam and Carter (the other 3 year old model). How many people does it take to dress a child model?

Lottie says, "Hey, where's MY attention?" There were plenty of assistants ready and willing to play with her too.

Lottie spent a lot of Adam's shoot cuddled up right next to the photographer. Good thing they like kids!

I missed taking pictures of the first outfit, but this was the second. Cute Chuck Taylors.

I never had to help change him - they whisked him away to the lofted area and dressed him.

Adam LOVED all the attention.

They took some shots of the two boys together. Color coordinated! And yes, that IS a tie printed on the tee shirt.

Only three women helping fix his clothes now. Written on the back of that shirt in giant letters? GLASSES.

Chris thinks this look is the return of grunge.

An elephant puppet does a lot to lift a tired baby's spirits at the end of a photo shoot.

Adam enjoys his treats at the train station after the job. He's practicing his best peace sign; trying to be a good Japanese.

Adam had a great time at the photo shoot. At the end, he told me he was ready to do it again! What a fun experience. We are looking forward to seeing the pictures in an actual catalog!

Peanut Butter Jelly Time

Lottie had her first peanut butter and jelly sandwich (part of her brother's sandwich anyway). She attempted to cram the entire section she was offered down her throat, then run away from the dog. Guess she liked it!

Children's Japanese Class

Adam goes to a children's Japanese class on Monday mornings. His nice Japanese teacher, Yukiko san, always teaches them a lot, and puts up with distracted babies and toddlers. Plus, she does crafts! For Boys' Day, or Kodomo-no-hi, (May 5), Japanese display carp (koi) as symbols of success, strength, and perseverance, in the hopes that their boys will have those qualities. So we made our own koinobori pictures. Adam went a little crazy with the glue and koi, and added a couple extra fish to his picture. Up top is Yukiko san, Isabelle, Calum, and Adam. Sitting babies are Tate, Leah, and Lottie.

Yukiko san always teaches them songs. This song is about working vehicles. None of us know any part of it except for the repeating of the vehicle names. Japanese is hard!Adam's favorite Japanese song. They love to march and crawl around.

Yokosuka

On Sunday, we decided to DRIVE to Yokosuka. Chris is terrified to drive in Japan if he hasn't been there before (so we only drive to Camp Zama and Atsugi), so this was a big trip for us. Yokosuka (Naval Base) was having a bazaar. But the big draw for all us military in Japan is that Yokosuka has mainland Japan's only Chili's. For all of us stationed here for over a year or so, being deprived of a generic mid-price restaurant chain somehow seems to become a big deal. So we drove an hour and a half to eat at Chili's.

The best part of the deal was the view. You could see all the ships and sailboats (apparently also enjoying the beautiful day).

Adam and Lottie enjoyed looking at the boats after we ate too.

We also enjoyed the bazaar. They had a lot of stuff that we don't have at our quarterly bazaars, and we helped to stimulate the economy. Plenty.

Corn Soup Tubes

Both Adam and Lottie just love those corn soup flavored corn tubes. You know who else loves them? NANI.

Back away from my corn soup deliciousness, DOG.

Bathtime Fun

Daddy had a great time fixing the kids' hair at bathtime. They thought that pointy hair was the height of hilarity. Look how high Lottie's hair goes!

I'm a Jerk!

Conversation between Chris and a cranky Adam (he's a little sick):

"Adam, are you being a fuss?"

"No, I'm NOT a fuss, I'm a JERK!"

Lottie's Presents

Adam thought that opening Lottie's presents was great fun. In fact, he claimed some of her presents for himself. But only the ones that were tall.

Talk Talk

This is what I get all day long! In the first video, Adam sings his version of Happy Birthday. In his version, it's his birthday, not Lottie's. Also, it's "Happy Birthday FOR I'S!" We've informed his that it should be "Happy Birthday TO ME," but he insists on singing it like he's taunting someone wearing glasses.

The second video is just more babble.

Birthday Celebration

We didn't have a big party for Lottie's birthday (maybe a joint party with her brother in May?), but we did open some presents and, of course, eat some cupcakes. Adam enjoyed Lottie's toys as much, if not more, than she did.

Waffle cone cupcakes, with homemade icing (my first try), made to look like ice cream sundaes.

Lottie thought it was delicious. At least the icing.

Kerri and Jesse came over to celebrate and eat some cupcakes too. Kerri also loved the icing!

Time for a bath!

Last of the Cherry Blossoms

On Wednesday, I took a final picture of the last of the cherry blossoms stubbornly hanging on for dear life. The leaves are hogging all the space. By the end of the weekend, that will be it until next year (here in Tokyo anyway).

Kayleigh Shayne

Adam and Lottie are happy to welcome their newest cousin, Kayleigh Shayne. She was born on April 14, weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces, measuring 21 inches. Look at all that hair - must run in the family!

Birthday Baby

I can't believe that this little thing came out into the world a year ago, and turned into this big girl!

Happy Birthday, sweet one.

Easter Party

Instead of Mom having to cook a nice Easter brunch, we were invited to the Guamanians' Easter Party. There was, as always, a load of food. Best of all, they had another Easter egg hunt. Adam and Lottie had a great time hunting eggs and special Japanese treats.

Adam was the king of the Japanese treats. They are corn soup flavored corn tubes. Sounds weird, but they are tasty.

Opening their eggs. They didn't find the golden egg, but Lottie won $10 for finding the LEAST number of eggs - two!

Adam and Lottie had a great time hanging out with all the other kids. They didn't take naps, and passed out for the night an hour earlier than normal. What a special day.

Easter Morning

Before Mass, we all snuck downstairs to see if the Easter Bunny had visited. Adam was very excited to see the baskets!

Adam inspecting his new Easter toys. He got a contruction vehicle and a Thomas train (the breakdown car). Lottie got an Ugly Doll and a baby train. Everyone got treats and books.

Lottie is a pro at hunting for eggs.

Adam is a pro at eating chocolate eggs. Look at that face!

The aftermath!

More Easter Egg Hunts

Saturday, we headed to the Zama Easter Egg Hunt. It was a zoo, as usual, and Adam and Lottie didn't find many eggs, but they had a good time anyway.

The weather was beautiful, and everyone had a great time outside.

Lottie enjoys putting eggs into her basket.

Adam can hunt for eggs all by himself.

Adam is still scared of the Easter Bunny, and Lottie decided that he was "a scare" too.

On Sunday, we also went to the commissary's Easter egg hunt. It was less crowded and better run. We didn't take any pictures, but everyone was still dressed up from church, and looked great. Adam and Lottie got lots of eggs, and Adam won an M & M's candy dispenser. Yay!

Grandberry Mall

Chris had Friday off, so we took Adam back to Grandberry Mall (he'd been begging to go visit Thomas for months!). First we stopped at the dog store to see the puppies. Lottie and Adam could have watched the puppies run around all day. I took a picture of a particularly awesome doggie outfit - a halter top and denim miniskirt with matching brooch. There was even a doggie dressing area.

Plus a doggie toilet - a patch of Astroturf. That would confuse Nani.

Then we went to ride the Thomas trains. Lottie is old enough to ride now, but she still needs some help hanging on. Adam is a great big brother and always rides behind her and holds on to her. She is making choo choo noises as she rides!

Our last stop (besides the boring stop at the Gap Outlet where we scored some boots for next year for Lottie for 100 yen!) was the Lego store. Adam and Lottie loved playing with all the Duplo blocks.