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Mia's Halloween
October 31, 2007
We headed over to a friend's house in a very Americanized neighborhood for some Halloween festivities. Mia loved handing out candy to the trick or treaters as well as going door to door trick or treating herself. We went to every house we found and she was trying to start in on a second round!
We had a potluck picnic while handing out treats and took turns taking the kids around the block so there would always be someone there to hand out goodies. But this was one of the two biggest hotspots of the night and there were hoards of kids. We tried our best to keep up by pooling the candy, but finally we ran out and had to resort to giving away our potluck picnic leftovers! I think word got out that we were giving away chicken chili and another mad rush hit and cleaned us out of that. Onto the chips and dip... that was gone in a flash as well. Finally a neighbor brought us a sign written in Japanese that we assume said something to the effect of "Sorry, but we ran out of candy". When we left, the trick or treaters were still streaming out. Who knows how many there really were!
Posted by Kimberly at 10:34 PM | Comments (1)
Jack 2007
October 30, 2007
Say hello to Jack.
We were worried that we wouldn't be able to find a pumpkin for carving this year. But then a couple weeks ago I went into the grocery store and they had oodles of pumpkins. It seems that the way things work around here is that seasonal items-- or any item for that matter-- come in months early and by the time you consider buying them, they're gone. For example, today I saw candy canes. And last weekend we bought a Christmas tree. But not the point-- yet. The point of this post is that I bought a pumpkin and it's been hanging around the house waiting to be carved ever since. We didn't want to do it any earlier because there's no way it would last in this humidity. So tonight was the night!
Posted by Kimberly at 08:07 PM | Comments (0)
Little World Series Fan
October 29, 2007
As long as Mia's FAVORITE team isn't playing in the World Series, I guess she'll have to side with her Daddy and root for the Red Sox. :)
Posted by Kimberly at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)
Entering a new phase
October 28, 2007
What should we call it? The mischievous phase? The learning how to be a troublemaker and shift the blame phase? Certainly part of it is just more imitation and mimicry. It's a little funny, but at the same time a glimpse into the new headaches of the future. What are we in for?
Story #1: Mia asked me to go upstairs with her. I told her I would go in a second. She decided to get a head start. Just as I was getting to the bottom of the stairs I heard a loud thud so I burst up the first 3 steps so that I could see around the corner. I expected to see her hanging on for dear life or to catch her as she rolled down to meet me. Instead she was standing at the top of the steps with a smirk on her face. As soon as she saw me she yelled, "I scared you!" followed by an evil giggle.
Story #2: Mia was eating a cracker and for no apparent reason decided to open her mouth and start shoving the chewed up food out with her tongue. It's landing all over the floor, a toy or two, her feet, and she just keeps doing it while I'm watching her and asking her why in the world she is doing that... and to stop it! She finally stops-- when she runs out of chewed up mush-- and I said, "Mia, why would you do that? Now we have a big mess to clean up." She runs over to get her Minnie Mouse and starts scolding her. "Minnie don't spit! Sit here." She then puts Minnie in time out. That lasts about 2 1/2 seconds until she takes her over to the scene of the crime, sets her down right in the pile of cracker bits and tells her, "We have to clean!"
Posted by Kimberly at 07:53 AM | Comments (0)
To swim or to drink
October 27, 2007
Mia loves her new sprinkler ball, but she's just not sure if it is a toy, or a water fountain! Whatever it is, she had a blast this afternoon. See how much fun we had.
Posted by Kimberly at 04:34 PM | Comments (0)
Unhappy Halloween Kitty
October 26, 2007
Mia is supposed to be a leopard kitty cat this year for halloween, but it's tough to tell when she won't wear her ears or tail! She let me put a few whiskers on her but promptly rubbed them off. Then she threw a fit about her tail and only wore it for any length of time because I bribed her with promises of trick or treating. The ears, not a chance... We've got a few more opportunities to dress up this season so we'll keep working on her and if we can get the full costume on her for even a fraction of a second, we'll be sure to snap a picture for you!
Posted by Kimberly at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)
Oh, the teething
October 24, 2007
Mia does a lot of things quite well. Teething is not one of them. Since she was 2 months old she would get a horrible diaper rash, enough drool spilling out of her mouth to fill up a swimming pool, and at least every other time catch some sort of illness. We had had a welcome break from the vicious cycle for a few months, but recently it was time to work on the dreaded two year molars. Misery and woe ensued. Then came the croup. Today is the first day she hasn't been completely miserable and has started eating again in a few days. I checked her mouth and found the bottom right molar all the way in and her bottom left just peeking through. So we're halfway there! At least until age 6...
Posted by Kimberly at 03:51 PM | Comments (2)
Ohwa-Tagu-Siam
October 21, 2007
Mia's been fighting off another bout of croup this weekend and the poor girl sounds pathetic after losing her voice. But we still have windows of good spirits (usually when the Motrin kicks in) and Mia was ready to show off her new trick! Just as quickly she was done and it was time to turn the camera off!
Posted by Kimberly at 08:27 AM | Comments (2)
I love stickers!
October 18, 2007
Before we got on the 12 hour plane ride to move here, I went shopping for some new activities to keep Mia occupied during the trip. I saw a huge coloring book that advertised right on the front, "OVER 1500 STICKERS!" Being the genius that I am, I thought, "Wow! She'll love that! It's coloring-- Check! Stickers-- Check! Dora-- Double check!" So la la la I throw the book in the cart and go on my way.
Fast forward to today. We STILL have copious amounts of stickers left, even after decorating the coffee table, couch, walls etc them. She has decided to start in on herself. I think it's quite becoming. Everyone will be doing it soon.
Posted by Kimberly at 09:50 AM | Comments (0)
Sunset from the road
October 14, 2007
When we first landed here in Okinawa, we drove by this crazy looking restaurant up in a tree on the way in from the airport. We have been meaning to drive back down there to check it out but never made the time. Last night we thought we'd go ahead and do it since they say they have a terrace with a great view of the sunset. So we headed down with what we though was plenty of time, forgetting to account for the traffic jam into Naha on Saturday night. So we ended up watching what we could of the sunset through from the road while stuck in traffic. Oh well, I guess we'll try again some other day!
Posted by Kimberly at 11:04 AM | Comments (1)
Splashing around at Kurashiki Dam
October 12, 2007
Playgroup was at Kurashiki Dam today. The depth is perfect for the kids to wade in and Mia had a great time. One of the perks of living in this subtropical climate is that swimming season never ends!
Check out the photos on Flickr to see how much fun we had today!
Posted by Kimberly at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)
23 weeks
It's actually only 22 weeks and 6 days today, but I figured since I was wearing the same shirt in a previous picture, it would be a good comparison to 6 weeks ago.
The 17 week photo for comparison.
Posted by Kimberly at 09:56 AM | Comments (0)
Give me five
October 08, 2007
Give me five.
Way up high.
Way down low....
YOU'RE TOO SLOW!
Posted by Kimberly at 09:32 PM | Comments (0)
Yoshihachi
October 06, 2007
We found a new restaurant for dinner tonight, and I think we're going to go back every day. It was delicious! Mia ate all of my sushi, and half of her kids' meal. I don't think I've mentioned kid's meals before. They really know how to do it here. First, they almost always give a little bit of a few different entrees because they know toddlers rarely want to eat what you planned to feed them at the time. This way they have lots of choices. It's usually pretty well balanced, and they make an effort to package it up in a cute dish or something that makes it taste just that much better.
I mentioned she loved my sushi too. She was enjoying it so much I wanted to get it on video. Right about the time we started filming though it looks like she got a bite of wasabi with the fish! She quickly recovered though and as soon as we shut off the camera she yelled, "Mia needs more SUSHI!"
And Mia, always the flirt, made quite an impression on a little boy at the next table. They were talking all through dinner, then when he was done he came over to give her a big hug. You can see him smitten in the background here:
Posted by Kimberly at 09:46 PM | Comments (1)
Mostly unpacked
Since the rest of our shipment finally arrived, we're almost completely unpacked and "officially" moved in. A few things got here in not quite new condition, so for example, Mia's room isn't really ready to go since her dresser is missing the shelves. But here are a few pictures of rooms that have at least seen some improvement, and there will of course be more as we go. Also, I included some of Mia's crafty Halloween decorating!
Posted by Kimberly at 05:41 PM | Comments (0)
Halloween Cocok's toes
October 04, 2007
I decided to go for the holiday theme this month. Bats, haunted town with lights in the windows, glittery stars, and scary trees. These people can paint anything!
Posted by Kimberly at 02:30 PM | Comments (0)
What could have been...
Today started out with so much promise. Robert had the day off after being on call last night so we scheduled a "spa day" this morning. I got re-cocok-toed, and he got a massage. The beauty of living in such a kid-friendly place is that they have this whole children's area set up with toys, books, and a TV/DVD player for Mia to keep herself occupied. I was hoping that since we scheduled this for her happy morning hours that she'd be ok and she did great. As a reward for such fabulous behavior, we headed out for a pizza lunch. As we were finishing up, she stood up to go and there was something brown oozing out of her shorts and covering her entire back. That is NOT what I think it is... Oh but it was. So back to that family-friendly society statement... The one exception to this is that they never seem to have changing tables in any of the restrooms here. And this place was no exception. We headed out to the car and she was such a mess that we had no choice but to lay out an old towel we (THANKFULLY) had in the car and strip her down right there in the parking lot. The looks on the faces of the couple that walked by just in time to see a screaming toddler standing there in the middle of the parking lot, smeared in her own feces was just priceless. Not that I can blame them. The whole scene was just horrifying. We used every last wipe we had, then took the naked child home and threw her straight into the bathtub.
So now that this crisis is over we can take a minute to catch our breath. Wrong. I notice the entry is covered in ants. Why? And why are they pouring out of my bag in droves? Well I can tell you why. When we first moved here, I packed a bag of toys for Mia one day when Julie had to babysit during one of our orientation meetings. I threw some snacks in for good measure, including a box of raisins. At some point, I threw the bag in the car and left it there as her stash of car toys that would always be handy and accessible if we needed them. Forgot about the raisins. Apparently ants can smell raisins from down the street and take it upon themselves to climb into any car that happens to have a box laying around. Yesterday, said box peeked out of the bag and Mia saw them. She asked for them and thinking NOTHING OF IT, I handed her the box. She didn't say anything, but did hand the box back to me fairly quickly, "Mommy here, you hold raisins." I am still completely clueless at this point so I take them from her and throw them in my regular bag which I carry around for the rest of the day, bring home and set down on the floor in the entryway. This is where it sat until the ants got greedy and decided to leave the raisin box, my bag, and explore the brand new house they just won access to. And this is where I found them today. FAN-TASTIC.
Posted by Kimberly at 02:24 PM | Comments (3)