Indoor outdoor summer fun

Dear Maya,

It's been a full week of summer fun with you!

We started last Sunday night with a celebration of the one-year anniversary of moving to our house and living with Uncle Matt and Auntie Rhi. Daddy made sukiyaki with all the yummy ingredients we got at the Asian supermarket the day before. You tried to help in the kitchen as you've been doing a lot lately.

We spent a beautiful day at the park this week. For some reason you love to play with mulch from the playground and sand from the beach volleyball court. You wouldn't stop throwing sand in the air, so mommy gave up and took some fun pictures. It took a hosing down and a bath to get you clean once we got home.

We also had a little downtime midweek, and mommy worked on culling some of your summer clothes and organizing your warmer clothes. You participated in this clean-out by running around with a pair of too-big rain boots on over your pajamas and an eye mask around your neck. A typical morning at our house.

Then the highlight of our week--your first trip to the fair! First we went to livestock area and saw pigs, goats, birds, rabbits, horses and cows. You were too timid to touch any of them until we passed one last stall on our way to the next area. You and this little beauty locked eyes for a bit and you touched it on your own.

After that we had some ice cream, watched some dogs in a pool jumping competition, saw all kinds of historical and agricultural booths, and finally enjoyed what may have been mommy and daddy's favorite part of the day if not yours--the rides! We took you on a couple car rides and, of course, the merry-go-round!

Well, mommy's feeling a little under the weather so I'd better get some sleep. Love you!

Obon festival, family, friends

Dear Maya,

We've been lucky to see Grandma and Poppa Stan a lot this summer, but last weekend was the shortest visit yet. Aunt Bobbie had spent some time with them in North Carolina so they had to bring her back for college. They rested here and had a few meals with us, but were back on the road within 12 hours!

This week we celebrated the Japanese festival Obon, during which spirits of our ancestors are celebrated. You wore your new adorable two-piece Japanese outfit, but you were not one bit pleased with the sash so we went without it. You loved the Japanese food we had for dinner, though--rice balls, savory egg custard and miso zucchini. And the best part? Since it was a very hot and humid day, we all loved the shaved ice with green tea, sweet beans and condensed milk that daddy made. Yum!

Later in the week we went to have a play date with your friend Wyatt and his adorable little cousin Emma. You had such a fun time playing in the pool and sprinklers that you barely had any lunch. You made up for that with cookies afterwards when we went inside, though. Thanks for having us over, Charlotte!

This week your new skills won our hearts over even more. Whenever we're in a store, you want to help push the shopping cart instead of riding in it. And when we bring home groceries, you love to put them in the fridge (no matter how heavy or whether or not they go in there). When it's time for daddy to go to work in the morning, you very clearly enunciate "Bye" while waving to him, except the other day when you didn't want him to go so you pushed his legs and guided him to sit back down with you. You're such a sweetheart!

Well, mommy seems to have caught a cold so I'm going to go rest while you're napping. Love you!

Maya's Words with Friends

Dear Maya,

Since we got back from Niagara Falls we've been pretty busy as a family--working, grocery shopping, working, helping family and friends, working a little more...you get the picture. One extra special highlight of our week was yesterday when mommy's dear friend Clare visited from England. We spent a very rainy day with her mostly indoors, but we had a wonderful time. Mommy is so happy you were so friendly and loving to her. It was so good to see her and hopefully it won't be long until the next time!

In the midst of our active week, you've been pretty busy yourself. All of the sudden you seem to be saying a new word or phrase every few days. It started when you melted mommy's heart last weekend by very convincingly repeating my intonation of "I love you" several times. Since then you've said it back to us many times each day, sometimes sounding more like "I know yo" or "I yogo" but we're so proud nonetheless. One night at bedtime you even said it and then gave mommy an unprompted long kiss on the cheek. Swoon!

When we ask you where our noses are, you still say "Nnnnooo" and grab them. Starting this week, when we ask you where our eyes are, you very clearly say "eye" while sometimes touching our eyes, but more often grabbing our cheeks just below the eyes. We're okay with that since you're not poking us in the eyes.

And, finally, it appears you have something to call your loving parents instead of just yelling or pointing in our direction! It seems you've been using the word "baba" for your daddy, a far cry from what he wishes to be called ("toh-chan") and originating who knows where. For mommy, you've been saying "mama" and "mom" here and there, but I didn't think you were associating it with me. Then tonight, while looking at a photo I asked you "where is mama" and you pointed to my picture and said "mom" very clearly. Hooray!!!

Well, time for mommy and daddy to veg out with a DVD. It's been a long, full, tiring week with you as always, but we wouldn't trade it for a minute! Love you!!!

We survived Niagara Falls!

Dear Maya,

This week we went to Niagara Falls to see our friends from Japan who were there on a whirlwind tour!

We left Tuesday evening and arrived at about 1am. You slept in the car but when we tried to put you in the baby bed at the hotel you screamed your head off. So, for the first time in over a year, we had to work to get you to sleep. Mommy drove around with you for over an hour and then you and I slept in the car.

Hmm...what are these spinny silver things???

Maybe nobody will notice if I just slip through them to investigate...

Rats! They caught me!

The next morning we got up and ready to go see Rumiko and Kanon. They were staying on the Canada side but since you don't have a passport, they walked over the Rainbow Bridge to meet us on the New York side. When they arrived we went to see the beautiful waterfalls, then sat in the grass and had some snacks and exchanged gifts. You got some great Japanese children's books, baby chopsticks, an adorable Japanese outfit and more! Rumiko and Kanon were so happy to meet you and you took quite a liking to them, too!

We walked around some more, then went back to the hotel to chat for a while in the air conditioning. Later we hit some shopping outlets and went out for a nice late lunch. In the early evening we headed back to the falls again and then said goodbye to Rumiko and Kanon. When we finally got back to our room that night, you were thrilled to sit and watch the Olympics on TV while devouring your leftovers. Naked, of course! Thankfully you slept very, very well that night--from 9pm to 8am!

The next morning we went to see some more of the waterfalls. This time the mist soaked us pretty well, but it was a hot day so it felt good. You stayed in the stroller for much of our sightseeing both days because the railings meant to keep people from falling into the water didn't exactly look toddler-proof. Mommy says 'We survived Niagara Falls' for that reason as well as for how little sleep we all got that first night. But, we survived, and have lots of fun memories of our trip. Maybe we'll go back someday (when you're a bit older)! 

Love you!

Hope to see you again soon, Rumiko and Kanon! Enjoy the rest of your tour!!!