Pajamas to Dresses

What do you do with a girl who never wants to wear anything but pajamas or dresses? As long as we don't have to go anywhere I usually let Emma wear whatever it is that she wants as long as her main areas are covered. The problem is that when we do have to leave I make her put on some pants. Since it is still the winter time and we are short on dresses she is not real happy about this arrangment. The moment we get in the door she is either grabbing one of her two summer playdresses or her pajamas. I realized after watching her do this that I needed to buy her some skirts and dresses so that she could wear them all day long--inside and outside of the house. With the help of a great friend who always keeps an eye on great deals we have been able to collect a few things. I have a feeling that no matter what is in her drawer though she will continue to pull out those pajamas. I guess I can't blame her. I usually want to wear my most comfortable pair of yoga pants when I am at home lounging around. So here's to comfort. There really is nothing better!!

Random moments in February

Why is it that the kids seem to be growing and changing faster than I would like? I wish I could stop time so that I could enjoy all of the little moments that happen during childhood. Since I don't want to forget a single moment I have decided to make a special effort every month to document those random but nevertheless important moments that never quite make it to a full blog post.

a b b y

This month started with our new little screamer. Every time Abby got frustrated at something or someone she would belt out the most annoying scream. Then right afterwards she would put her hands to her mouth as if she knew she had done something wrong. I tried so hard not to laugh because it was so cute. It was a team effort from all of us to nicely tell her not to scream. We all thought we were in big trouble when day after day she continued to have too many screaming moments. Then one day it all stopped. She doesn't scream very much any more and for that we are grateful.

Abby really likes the books by David Shannon called, "No, David," and "David gets into trouble." In one of the books David is told to not pick his nose. The two page spread has this little boy with his finger shoved up his nose. Abby seemed to think it was so funny so she started to stick her finger in her nose all the time and say, "No, David." A while ago while at a church event Abby was picking her nose and some lady came up to Mike and told him that he shouldn't let her pick her nose. This same lady pulled Abby's finger out and Mike just tried to ignore it. Then the lady came by again and did the same thing. To this Mike replied, "We really don't mind the nose picking too much in our house. Since I'm an ENT doctor it is approved in our house." To this I have to add that we don't encourage our children to pick their noses but who can really stop a 1 year old from doing it? Like the screaming this was also short lived. Only occasionally will I find Abby's finger in her nose and rather than saying 'no' I just say, "That's right Abby, No David."


e m m a

This month marked the end of gymanstics for Emma. She has really enjoyed gymnastics for the last six months. Emma really got attached to coach Charlie. She was so good and kind to the kids but still demanded hard work. After six months Emma has been able to do a cartwheel on the cartwheel guidance mat, do a handstand against the wall, swing her legs up onto the bar and kick them over with minor assistance, walk forwards, sideways, and backwards on the beam, do a v sit on the beam, run and jump on the springboard into the foam pit, work on some jumping skills on the trampoline and do log rolls and bridges on the floor. She learned more than gymnastic skills though. She learned to be confident, to try new things, to make friends, to take turns and be patient, and to listen to her coach.

p e t e r

After a month and a half of watching Peter's loose front tooth slowly start shifting towards his other tooth it finally came out--but not without some help. I could hardly stand to look at the crooked tooth as it hung in there. Since one side was loose but the other wasn't it just slowly started hugging his other front tooth. It wasn't the most attractive thing and I'm sure it was such a hassle for Peter to bite down in the front. We all reminded him to keep wiggling it so that it would come out sooner. One night I came home from cub scouts and the first thing I saw when I walked in the door was Peter holding his tooth up for me to see. Apparently he was playing with Mike and Peter hit his mouth with his knees and that's when his mouth started bleeding A LOT...so Mike just yanked on his tooth and out it came. Peter's response to me was, "It didn't even hurt." When I inspected his mouth to see the new hole I realized that the grown up tooth had already poked through his gums. It was definitely time for that tooth to be gone.


a n d r e w

Andrew came home one day this month and couldn't stop telling me how he had done yoga in PE. He was so excited by how cool it was. I told him that I had a yoga video and that we should do it together sometime. One Saturday I got out the video and set up my purple yoga mat for him. Emma couldn't be left out so we laid a blanket next to Andrew so she would have a mat as well. The two of them had so much fun doing yoga togehter. They both did the entire 20 minute video.

Oh Please...

...can I just wear dresses everyday
...can I take off my jeans and put on a skirt when I get home
...can I just not wear a shirt to bed like the boys
...can I just stay in my pajamas all day long
...can I just wear shoes without socks
...can I play the computer when Abby is napping
...can you paint my toenails pink
...can I have some chocolate milk
...can you put raspberry and not strawberry jam on my sandwhich
...can I have a snack even though it is only 9:00am
...can I have another snack because I'm still hungry
...can I stay up with the boys
...can you get me another blanket even though I already have too many
...can you put braids in my hair
...can I have bubbles in my bath
...can you sing me just one more song
...can you read me just one more book
...can you play picnic with me
...can you push me in the empty laundry basket
...can you play Book of Mormon stories on the piano
...can Katie come over and play with me
...can we blow bubbles outside
...can you tickle me
...can I ride Peter's old Diego bike
...can I get a treat at the store--either Starburst or Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
...can I wear my new pink swimming goggles
...can I pretend it's warm outside and wear flip flops
...can you get out all the stuffed animals
...can I have just one more cookie
...can I have a huggie (hugs, hugs, hugs)
...can I have a nose kiss

Cub Scouts . Wolf Den . Troop 494

When I was called to be Andrew's den mom back in January I was excited but a little nervous because let's face it...I didn't know ANYTHING about cub scouts. After being with the wolf den for two months I have really come to love those boys and to love the cub scout program. It hasn't always been easy to make the 40 minute round trip commute to the church at 6:30pm with possibly all four kids in tow, but I know being involved in Andrew's cub scout experience has been a blessing for me and for him. Our wolf den may be small but those boys have the energy of 10 boys combined. In the last two months we have already been on 2 field trips--The Police Station and Historical Ft. Steilacoom. The boys really had a good time at the Police Station seeing the temporary cell rooms and playing on the police vehicles. At Ft. Steilacoom they learned about the military troops that were stationed at Ft. Steilacoom from 1849-1868. They got to see the authentic battle dress and an original rifle. We were all a little surprised at how heavy the rifle truly was. They were intrigued by the model of the fort, the cannons, and the pretend confederate money that they got to take home. Andrew and Noah were so cold standing outside during the demonstration of the battle gear so one of the den moms offered her sons coat for the boys to wear. Both Andrew and Noah, being the skinny boys they are, could both fit into the coat. It was hilarious and they couldn't help but be silly in it.

Aside from our fun field trips we have worked hard on passing off some of the wolf requirements. At our Blue and Gold Dinner last week Andrew finally earned his Wolf Badge, 3 more yellow beads, and a Golden Arrow. I am so proud of Andrew for finishing up his wolf requirements before our crazy move this summer and his birthday in July. Now we can focus on electives and belt loops just for fun. I never thought being involved in cub scouts could be so much fun!

Little Red Bicycle

Last year about this time we tried hard to teach Peter how to ride his bike without training wheels. We quickly realized that we weren't getting very far with him. He just was not ready I guess. We didn't push him but occasionally asked him if he would like our help to learn how to ride his bike. He would usually say, "Not today." Then he would grab his scooter and ride around happily. After realizing that Peter is going to be 7 next month we knew that he had to finally learn how to ride his bike...frustration and all. Mike was so good with Peter and in less than one hour Peter was able to ride down the sidewalk without any help. By day 2 he was biking around the neighborhood. I even followed him in my running shoes around McLeod Circle and he was able to get around without falling. He can almost start all by himself. The best part is that he LOVES riding his little red bicycle. We are just so happy that he finally agreed to let us (really I mean Mike) help him. We are all looking forward to some family bike rides as the weather gets warmer. Hip Hip Hoorah!!!

Big Girl Bed

Having an easy child like Abby is such a blessing. She has always been a good eater, a good sleeper, good at taking naps, and pretty much happy to play with or without company. One of the things I've noticed about Abby is how much she enjoys our bedtime routine. Our routine consists of both the girls picking out a book for me to read. Abby sits on my left leg and Emma sits on my right leg as we read together in the glider. After books I tuck Emma into her little bed and I hold Abby in the glider while we take turns picking songs to sing.
These are some of the girl's favorite songs to sing:

Apple Tree Song
Way High in the Sky
Cocount Song
Primary Colors
Jumbo the Elephant
Dinosaur Song
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam
I am a Child of God
Book of Mormon Stories
The Temple Song
Wheels on the Bus
Once there was a Snowman
Popcorn Song

These are their favorite books:

Go Dog Go
If you give a Cat a Cupcake
If you give a Pig a Pancake
If you give a Pig a Party
Marvin K Mooney
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
The Foot Book
Mother Goose
Cat in the Hat
No David books

Luckily Emma is not jealous with the situation of me holding Abby while we sing. I have held each one of my children before the age of 2 and sang songs to them before bed. After we have sung a handful of songs I put Abby in her crib and kiss both the girls goodnight before walking out the door. Over the last week Abby has really struggled with letting me walk out of the room. For the first few nights I just tried tough love and let her cry it out. I wasn't about to go down that road of giving in. After a few days I noticed that she kept pointing to Emma's bed and saying "bed." I finally realized that all she wanted was to sleep in Emma's bed. I had noticed that she liked to climb up onto Emma's bed during the day and pretend to sleep. I am surprised I didn't pick up on the signs before. I guess I could've just ignored it and made her sleep in her crib but knowing that we will not be taking the crib to Japan I knew that I had to make the switch soon anyways. I was curious to see how well she would sleep in a bed. The first night I laid her in Emma's bed I think she was surprised that I was actually going to let her sleep out of her crib. I sang her one song and asked her if she wanted another song. She actually shook her head no and so I kissed her goodnight and walked out. She did not make a peep and she did not get out of that bed. The second night the same thing happened. She did not make a peep and she did not get out of bed. This was too good to be true!! The third night she got out 2 times but then stayed in bed and fell asleep. Emma was such a trooper through it all, laying on the other mattress on the floor. By the fourth night Abby was a pro. Ocassionally she gets out of bed but for the most part she continues to be such an easy child. Now if I could just get her to be interested in the potty again....maybe another time!!!

Spiritual Thoughts

It is not very often that I share my spiritual feelings openly but after having such a spiritual Sunday I figured it would be appropriate to share some of my thoughts from today. If there is one thing that I want my children to remember in this life it would be that I loved them more than anything in the entire world. Today's lesson at church was on Jesus Christ, Our Chosen Leader and Savior. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I have always been so grateful for the knowledge I have of our Savior, Jesus Christ. His ultimate example of sacrifice and love is one that is hard to comprehend. But with study I have been able to start to understand and appreciate all that He has done for us. He is our older brother who, knowing the great sacrifice He would make, volunteered to be our Savior. He chose to come to this earth and take upon himself the sufferings and sins of the world. He did this without hesitation and without pride, wanting all the glory to be to the Father. This gift He has given us ultimately is a gift we must learn to develop and share with others. That gift is the gift of LOVE. He was a perfect man who led a perfect life. We can look to Him as the way we should mold our lives. His attributes are that of the Father. These attributes of love, kindness, meekness, humility, charity, patience, virtue...etc are all things we must continually strive to harness and ones we must practice here on this earth. Only through becoming more like our Savior and ultimately like our Father in Heaven will we truly be prepared to live with our Heavenly Father in the eternities. This life is a gift for us to use our free agency to see what we are really made of.

As I have gone through different trials in my life I have pondered the question many others also ask themselves: "Why is this happening to me?" or "Why would such a bad thing happen to a good person." The answer to this question is hard to answer in the trial. Only after the trials of our faith are we able to see what it is we are to learn from our experiences here on earth--both good and bad. When we go through trials, we are humbled. When we are humbled, we are teachable. When we are teachable, we grow and become more like our Father in Heaven. All things in life are for our learning and growth. I take this as a positive thing. Some things are just put in our way to help us learn something that we may not be able to learn any other way.

Knowing is only half the battle though. It is one thing to know such things and another to actually live it. I guess that is why in our church we are always counseled to do certain things that will act as a shield and protection to us. Some of those basic things are reading the scriptures and praying. One thing from today's lesson that really touched me was this statement: "Satan and his followers are also on the earth, but as spirits. They have not forgotten who we are, and they are around us daily, tempting us and enticing us to do things that are not pleasing to our Heavenly Father." Little by little, piece by piece, if we are not careful we will become subject to the power of Satan. He knows our weaknesses and he knows that if we are vulnerable he will be able to bring us down. I realized that even the little things such as complaining about someone or something is part of those little things. Each time we let ourselves step off the path we are allowing Satan to grab a piece of our goodness. How much more important it is then to always control our thoughts and our actions, to truly love our neighbors, and to always be striving to serve our fellowman. When we are doing the Lord's work we will have the strength to overcome any weakness.

I am grateful for my Savior and for His example of long suffering and diligence. I am grateful for the love He has for me and for all of his children here on this earth. I know He lives and that He wants us to be happy. I know that the only way to true happiness is through living the gospel of Jesus Christ--for Jesus is the only way back to the Father. I want my children to know that my testimony is strong and it will not waiver. I am grateful for eternal families. I am comforted to know that I will be with my family forever as long as I choose to live worthily to do so.

Valentines Day

This isn't really one of those holidays that Mike and I go all out for. We try and do nice things for each other along the way. However, the kids love putting together Valentines cards for their friends at school. Even Emma got excited and so I bought her some princess valentines cards. She wrote her name on one of her valentines all by herself. This is a huge accomplishment for her. She is kind of a perfectionist (don't know where she gets that from...hee hee) and so after trying hard to write her name in the litte space provided on each card she finally gave up and was happy to complete just the one card. The boys were like speed demons writing their names on each card. Andrew had a list of the kids in his class but Peter didn't. Peter reassured me that he knew who all the kids in his class were. He proceeded to write a card to each of his friends in his class. When we finally did get the list a couple of days later I realized that he had gotten everyone on his list but one. Pretty good for a first grader. It was cute to see how he spelled his friend's names. This year we filled the bags with their personalized valentines card and some chocolate and then topped it with a Happy Valentines Day greeting. This was an idea I got from Becky Higgins. She has the most wonderful ideas when it comes to making things homemade. The boys had so much fun stapling the greetings at the top of their bag. Andrew even got to use his brand new mini football stapler he got from box top day at school. This year I decided to try and visit their classrooms during their parties at school. It was so much fun to see them having fun giving valentines to their friends. The best part, however, was seeing their excitement to see me and the girls there. They were proud to show off their sisters and were not shy to give me hugs in front of their friends!

Mom's Cookies

I really do make chocolate chip cookies all too often. For me it's all about a spoonful of cookie dough and then one or two warm cookies with a tall glass of cold milk. My kids also love my cookies and ask for them all the time. After getting home from the gym today and feeling rather spunky and impulsive I decided to just let the girls enjoy some of my homemade chocolate chip cookies BEFORE lunch. They have been so good about playing at the nursery at the gym and letting me get a complete workout finished. Emma is never a problem but Abby can sometimes get a little sad to see me go. Luckily for me she has attached herself to two of the ladies in there. I know it helps to have Emma with her as well. I am so grateful to my two girls who put up with all of my exercising. Between swapping with a friend twice a week and going to the gym twice a week they have lots of opportunities to play with kids their age but that also means that is time I am away from them. That being said, I know exercise makes me a better mom. It helps me to get my ME time so that I can focus on PLAY time with them. Oh and those chocolate chip cookies make me pretty happy too. I guess I will just have to keep making them!!

Dream Come True

It has always been my dream to go back to the place where I grew up. I didn't really grow up in the United States and to some people it might sound wierd to hear me say that I am from Japan. Having lived there for 10 years (1 year when I was 2 years old and then another 9 from 9-18 years old) I really grew to love and admire the Japanese people and their culture. Their home became my home and I am the person I am today because of my experiences living there. When Mike joined the military and ventured off to be a doctor I knew that there might be a small possibility that we would be able to live in Japan someday. Over the last 7 months we have been working with the Navy and Army Consultants to see about the possibility of living over there. Since there are no Army ENT spots in Japan we would have to swap with a Navy ENT. The chance of getting everything to work out was slim and we weren't holding our breath....but the possibility was still there. Today we just found out that the swap will happen and Mike will be reporting to his new job as a Staff Head and Neck Surgeon at the Hospital on the Navy Base in Yokosuka, Japan in August for a 2 year assignment. Now begins the long process of paperwork and such to get us situated and ready to move overseas. We are all so excited. We have been prepping the kids for a couple of months about the possiblity of going to Japan. They are so excited even though they don't really understand what this kind of move will bring. There are so many things we are looking forward to with our move. I think the kids are the most excited about Tokyo Disneyland and riding the Shinkansen (bullet trains). Here are some things I just can't wait to do:

-relearn Japanese so I can speak almost fluently by the time we leave Japan
-visit my old apartments and show the kids where I lived and played
-visit my old school (ASIJ) and visit with some old teachers
-take the kids to the LDS Tokyo Temple in Hiroo and attend my old church ward
-visit Shibuya crossing and see Hatchiko which is a popular meeting place and 15 mintues from where I used to live
-play with the kids in the most amazing multi level arcades
-take the kids to Tokyo Disneyland, Disney by the Sea and Universal Studios Japan
-buy and dress the girls in traditional Japanese kimonos
-visit and climb Mt. Fuji
-eat yummy crepes (they really are the best there)
-go to the Sapporo Ice Festival in February
-go to the best Cherry Blossom Festival in the world in the spring
-ride on the shinkansen
-take pictures of Japanese life
-take the kids to a sumo match
-take the kids to Tokyo Summerland, Toshimaen Water park and all the other crazy and fun amusements parks near Tokyo
-eat lots and lots of gyoza
-visit some Japanese heritage places such as Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nara, the shrines and temples at Nikko, Iwami Silver Mines, Yakushima Island, Himeji-jo Castle, the Great Buddha in Kamakura, the Imperial Palace, and many other places I am sure to find and want to visit.
-ride up to the top of Tokyo Tower
-eat Moti's Butter Chicken and Nann at the most fabulous Indian Restaurant in Roppongi
-eat at many of the great international restaurants in Tokyo
-stay at a traditional Japanese Inn and give the kids the experience of the onsens
-go to Harajuku and visit Kiddie Land (the coolest toy store from my childhood)
-ride bikes at Yoyogi Koen Park (10 mintues from my old apartments)
-run at the track at Yoyogi Koen with an old running group and my long time friend and coach
-run with the HS girls cross country team at either Yokohama or Kinnick and attend one of the meets at Tama Hills (ah the memories of running up gut hill during cross country season)
-live in the community and get to know my Japanese neighbors
-eat authentic Japanese food and learn to like some things I didn't like as a kid
-travel to Beijing, China where Mike lived for 3 years as a kid

Of course we would love to take the time while we are over in Asia to visit other places such as Hawaii, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. Who knows how much we will be able to see while we are over in Asia but I'm sure no matter what we do it will be amazing. I am so excited to show my kids what a different part of our world is like. Their eyes will be opened to different cultures, different foods, different smells, and very tiny living quarters. I am confident that the kids will adjust well to a different culture and I will feel like I am back home in a way. It will be GREAT!!!

Just for laughs I have added some pictures of Mike and I visiting Japan in 1998 and some of my old High School photos.