The Dora Dance

keeping busy

 Baby shower for Casie (middle) and Theo, who was being held by Darcie.

 The day our friends, the Okanos, came to visit.  We had so much fun playing, we forgot to take many pictures.  We always enjoy lunch at Chili's with them.  Serina handed down some cool wooden toy vegetables.

 Vegan cooking (my new hobby) is especially fun when it requires shopping at Moritown Mall for snazzy new cookware, beans, seeds, seaweed, miso paste, and veggies.

Watching Dora!

The A Report

Just a quick update while I have a few minutes. We survived the typhoon fine (just lots of rain) and had clear, cooler weather for a few days after.

Ariel has lost interest in the bottle. She found one and got excited, so I gave it to her. But it took her about 30 minutes to drink it because she kept playing around.

She knows when Jeff calls because when the phone rings she says a special "ouuu" with pursed lips.

Her toilet training so far includes always changing diapers in the bathroom and letting her try the toilet. When we flush the toilet, she says "bye-bye" to the poo-poo, then respectfully bows and tries to kiss the toilet seat.

She has a spontaneous Woody Woodpecker laugh.

One night while reading a "Cat in the Fiddle" book, she had me point out the dog, flowers, dish, spoon, and cat. The cardboard book has a cutout shape of a cat head on every page(to fit the cat's fluffy head) and when we point to "cat hole" over and over again, she laughed hysterically.

She is always drawn to a beer bottle or cold draft beer (not that I drink a lot.) I think she likes the foam and thinks it might be juice.

Typhoon Ma-on

Just got a message from US Embassy Tokyo about Typhoon Ma-on. It's heading to the islands of Shikoku and Honshu (the big island.) It sounds like it's headed more toward Osaka area (southwest of us.) The message says we should tell friends & family our whereabouts. So here we are: home at Yokota Air Base, which is a bit west of Tokyo (city) and fairly far north of the coast. Ariel & I plan to stay in the house all day tomorrow if it looks bad.

We've had heavy rain off and on today, but not much wind.

hair-do

Ariel recently discovered that smearing food in her hair is fun. It all started with some cooling fruit at a deployed family dinner. Here she is at home with veggies and banana:

catching up

We've been so busy with going-away parties, seeing friends off at the passenger terminal, meeting new friends, having friend over, going swimming.  So I've been a bit lazy about blogging.  Here are some random pictures.  Yes, that's my bra she's wearing while coloring in her new Thomas the Tank Engine coloring book from Grandma Alice.

Today we have a typhoon headed our way.  But we are so far inland, we probably won't feel more than a big rainstorm.  I am on guard regarding natural disasters.  Ariel & I were in the base hotel babysitting her little friend when another earthquake shook everything in the room.  Everything was okay.  We're used to them, but it's always a little unnerving.

driving at the commissary

 My neighbor Amanda took these photos at their going-away party.  Kids were playing in the sprinkler, and someone gave Ariel this umbrella.

the swim

Before

(We live near a big indoor pool.)



After

We swam a long time.  Ariel isn't afraid and loves the water.  She can wear a life vest and hang off the side herself, making up tricks (pullups, leg stretches & kicks.)

in the hotel

Resting and cooling off after a day of sightseeing.  She's learning her numbers on the Leapfrog phone.

Let's sing a song!

Ariel: More! (signing and emphatically saying "more")

Me: "More singing?"

Ariel: "Yup" (yes)
And the cycle repeats:  Sing, More, Yup.
We sing whatever we can think of, but some favorites are ABC song, Muffin Man, Mulberry Bush, and Old MacDonald.

Chichibu and Nagatoro

Last week we took the train into the mountains to Chichibu National Forest.



We spent the night in Chichibu City, which is famous for an ornate night festival in December.



Then we took the train to nearby Nagatoro - a sightseeing area with riverboat rides, mountain vistas, and shaved ice.  We rode this boat down a shallow river and looked at rock formations.  We also waded in the river to cool off!



Kakigori (shaved ice) in many flavors.  Green tea (matcha) with sweet red bean (azuki) is a classic flavor combo.



Then we walked a ways uphill to catch this ropeway up Mount Hodo-san.



walking around the plum orchard on Hodo-san

The air was cooler up here!  We went near sunset, so there were only a few people.

Sweet Ariel



"Welcome to Nagatoro's Mt. Hodo-san"

Independence Day

We watched fireworks with Noah & family!

big slide, no problem

We went to a birthday party at this playground.  All the other kids Ariel's age (the brave ones, anyway) climbed up this enclosed structure.  Some went down the slide (an adult was at the top to help.)  Ariel came down the slide several times, and was always smiling at the bottom.



farewell, friends

Two of our neighbor families flew away to their new assignments.  Ariel & I saw them off at the passenger terminal.

Shannon, Mindy, and Ariel



Rhonda and Matt

Our cul-de-sac won't be the same without you!

the cup

I'm proud (and a little sad) to report that Ariel has gone 2 full days with no b-o-t-t-l-e.  She's been drinking all her milk, juice, and water from her straw cups and open cups.  The day I took these photos, she held the cup and drank milk with little or no mess.  She also likes drinkable yogurt when we're out and about in Japan.



We'll indulge her and Jeff in a few bottles when he visits next month.



a visit to Baby Theo

Mike with Buster, Vader, and Jack

 Radiant new mama, Casie, and little Theo.  "Theodore" means "gift from God."

(We know that from our cat, Teddy.)
Theo was born in the USA when Casie evacuated after the earthquake.  We are glad to have them back.

Ariel trudged around their house in big slippers.

Congratulations Casie and family!

Socks the dog

 This dog lives outside an antique store on base.  His name is Socks.  I think he's named after a dog in a Japanese movie, because he doesn't have sock markings, but he looks like the dog in the movie.

Ariel & I like to visit him.  I try to keep her out of the antique store, though.