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Whale Watch 2007/08
August 31, 2007
I figure it's about time to start the belly shots. Tomorrow will be 17 weeks and depending on the angle and time of day, one might suspect something's up. Forgive the expression on my face. I think it must be my "figure out how to take a picture of myself without a tripod" face. I'll try to remember to smile next time!
Posted by Kimberly at 09:41 AM | Comments (0)
Is she asleep?
August 29, 2007
I know I've said it before. It's ironic how many different uncomfortable looking places and positions Mia will fall asleep in when her nice soft bed just won't do. But I thinks she may have topped herself this time. Is she standing? Is she sitting? One thing is for sure, she is definitely sleeping!
Posted by Kimberly at 07:44 AM | Comments (0)
Little soccer star
August 28, 2007
No, not Mia. The other one. He/she. Number 2. I'm starting to wonder if s/he is preparing to be a big soccer star someday. At 16 weeks, it seems too early to expect the tiny baby kicks, but as of last night they were hard enough for Robert to feel from the outside. I've been feeling some of the fluttery early movements since about 10 weeks. But now they've officially turned into unmistakable kicks, jabs, and pokes. We're on our way!
Posted by Kimberly at 09:04 AM | Comments (1)
Phase One
August 26, 2007
The tatami room, phase 1, is complete! The table we ordered was delivered today, so we went shopping and got some floor cushions and found some cherry blossom stems to round out the room. Since the ultimate plan is to keep with cherry blossoms theme, we plan to first get a tea set with cherry blossoms on it, and then when spring rolls around get out there and take some photographs of the real blooms here and have that picture blown up and framed as a wall hanging. We're becoming quite optimistic about our photography skills!
Posted by Kimberly at 09:22 PM | Comments (1)
Mia reading her pickle book
August 23, 2007
Mia loves to "read" her own books. She seems to have a pretty good memory and after she makes us read them to her over and over and over until she has them memorized, she will read them to herself. I have to admit that the first time I noticed her do this I just about jumped out of my chair. What? She's READING now? The child is 2! Then she got to a page with more words and only "read" the words pertaining to the pictures. Ah-ha! I see what she's doing!
Posted by Kimberly at 05:18 PM | Comments (0)
This is the life
August 22, 2007
"Want to watch Puppies!"
"Find markers. Draw Dora and Boots!"
"Need Mia's desk"
"Yes Ma'am!" Whatever you want. Remember back when I used to wish that she could talk so she could tell me what she wanted? I totally blocked out the part where she would be demanding and irrational. She definitely knows her own mind! Today she's figured out how to combine two of her favorite activities into one blissful morning of fun. You mean I can sit here and color WHILE I watch Lady and the Tramp? Excellent.
As a side note, please enjoy the view of our lovely government furniture. That couch, not only BEA-U-TIFUL in it's kelly green glory, is also about as comfortable as a pile of rocks. We're REALLY looking forward to the rest of our shipment and some furniture shopping!
Posted by Kimberly at 10:26 AM | Comments (1)
That's Fan-tastic.
August 21, 2007
So some background. Somewhere along the way, I started saying "That's Fantastic" in a dry, sarcastic tone whenever something exactly opposite of fantastic had occurred.
Example:
"I know you just drove all the way over here specifically for this, but we canceled Storytime this week. Sorry."
Me:
"That's Fan-tastic."
Get it?
Today, Mia sees some little boys running around and she tells me that she NEEDS to get down and play with the boys. "Gotta go chase the boys", she says.
I am thinking about how this child is TWO and how if this continues to escalate for the next decade, how ever will we get through her teenage years? Out of my mouth starts, "That's..." When I hear Mia finish "FAN-TASTIC!"
Hmm, possibly overusing this phrase just a bit?
Posted by Kimberly at 03:21 PM | Comments (0)
Ah... my life is complete
August 20, 2007
I found the mall today. Inside, I found a store that has all sorts of tasteful home decorating and organizing wares for good prices! Floor cushions for the tatami room, rugs, lamps, baskets, shelving, pillows, curtains, coffee tables, and trash cans to sort our 48 different types of garbage into. It's like I hit the jackpot! I know you won't believe the next part, but I didn't buy a thing! I took pictures of everything and we're going to figure out what to get and how to get it home first. It's really hard to decorate from scratch. What do you start with first? So far, it's been a lot of collecting pictures and hopefully we'll be able to mix and match things from all the different stores and have it come together in some sort of uniformity. Now, if we can only finish this project within the next 3 years.
Posted by Kimberly at 04:05 PM | Comments (1)
Let's make new friends
August 17, 2007
I discovered a new playgroup this week and today we got to meet everyone. Mia was so excited all morning, "Meet new friends? Let's go. Mommy, get your shoes! I carry bag. New friends, Mia coming!"
As it turns out, this group is very nice and I met a lot of great women. Collectively, they seem to have a lot of useful information as well. I got the scoop on lots of different subjects. So now, we're off to take advantage of this wealth of information.
When we were leaving, I asked Mia if she had a good time. "Yeah! Make new friends in the house! And make new friends on the water mountain!" There was a big inflatable waterslide there that I can only assume she was referring to. The stuff they come up with!
Posted by Kimberly at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)
Her Majesty Requests Photo Ops
August 16, 2007
Mia was eating her yogurt last night and suddenly decided that this just must be captured for posterity. "Take picture of Mia eating yogurt!" Well here ya go kiddo!
Posted by Kimberly at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)
Vinnie?
This is for those of you who think the Bolero was too small. The Bistro is here! We're still thinking of a name to go with Moshi the March (Bolero). We're thinking Vinnie the Vivio (Bistro). Any suggestions?
Posted by Kimberly at 12:21 PM | Comments (2)
Mia at Monakids Jungle
August 15, 2007
We found a kid's place today called Monakids Jungle. The kids can climb up ropes and platforms, through tunnels, go down slides and jump in ball pits. Mia had a blast. She was running around like mad for the three solid hours that we were there. I conviced her to take about a 3 minute break for lunch but that's all the longer she could handle.
There was a little girl there about 7 or 8 years old that befriended Mia and "babysat" her the whole time. She would tell all of the other kids to get out of the way if they seemed to be too rough near Mia and she'd always help her up out of the ball pit. It was so sweet! Mia loved her too and brought her over to show me her new friend twice. Unfortunately, the girl only spoke Japanese so I'm not sure how we would ever get to see them again. At least the language barrier didn't stop the girls. Mia gave her a big hug and kiss when we left.
Posted by Kimberly at 07:36 PM | Comments (1)
Sightseeing
August 13, 2007
We wanted to cram in some sightseeing before Robert had to start work (today) and we have found some breathtaking views. We've seen some castle ruins, climbed to the top of a lighthouse, found lots of cliffs, and driven to one of the nearby islands. More to come of course!
Posted by Kimberly at 11:57 PM | Comments (0)
Fish Face
We went to the aquarium over the weekend and it is supposedly one of the best in the world. After seeing it, I wouldn't doubt it. They had some amazing displays. The biggest fish I have ever seen is called a whale shark and they had 3 of them swimming around in this massive tank. Along with huge schools of fish and gigantic sting rays. I have never seen anything close to it. I tried to get some pictures but they didn't come out so you'll have to just use your imagination. Here's Mia showing us "What does a fish say?"
Posted by Kimberly at 10:37 PM | Comments (0)
Woah Woah Kitty
Did I mention yet that Mia ADORES Hello Kitty? She discovered it as soon as the plane landed and it was love at first sight. Woah Woah Kitty this and Woah Woah Kitty that. It is everywhere around here so Mia is in heaven. We decided to decorate her under the stairs toy room in Woah Woah Kitty for her. It's hard to get a good picture around the door, but hopefully this gives you an idea of what she's done with the place.
Posted by Kimberly at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)
The Bolero
Car buying is a little different here than it is in the States. You're expected to pay cash at these used car lots set up specifically for Americans. You don't get to test drive anything and you go back to pick it up a few days later. The Japanese citizens go buy the nice new cars. Those of us trying to find something to get us by for the next 3 years are expected to buy the cheapest car on the lot that still runs. Price ranges from $1000 at a "buy at your own risk" type lot to about $4000 on the high end for something with a one year warranty and all of the insurance and paperwork paid up for the next 2 years.
Luckily, we found a car we loved on our first trip out car shopping. Check out the more Bolero pictures on Flickr.
Posted by Kimberly at 05:50 PM | Comments (0)
Welcome to the new site!
It's been quite a while since the last blog entry, so you may be wondering why. First, we've been pretty busy with the move to Okinawa. I think we're finally getting settled in and have Internet access again so I can finally catch up on the pictures and videos that need to be uploaded. Secondly, I wanted to change the focus of this site from only Mia to a whole family site. This way we can share all of our adventures with you, and the new addition won't feel left out either! Yes, that's right, we're expecting in early February!
So, here it is, the re-launch of kimberlyandrobert.com where you can read about all of our adventures on the sub-tropical island of Okinawa, keep up with Mia's latest endeavors, and stay up to date on new baby news. Enjoy!
Posted by Kimberly at 05:25 PM | Comments (1)