Neighbors

I must say that I am proud of the relationship we have with our neighbors.  From what I know of friends that have/do live here in Japan- not many  know or are friendly with the people that they share their floor with. Our floor has 6 apartments on it, and of those we regularly see and talk with 3 of them.  Each family has something different and special that adds to the dynamics of our floor.  It is so nice to know that if I need something there are a number of doors I can knock on- sometimes even in pajamas.  

   Today I spent time talking with all three of these special ladies.  Gabby has a love for each of them and their families just like me.  She knows who lives in each apartment, and can say at least one name of each family member.  Earlier today we knocked on one door to see if her friend was home, he wasn't and she was so sad (and very tired) that she cried and didn't want to come back inside!  

   When we move, whenever it may be I will be sad to leave the people that we have shared this experience of living in Japan with.  Oh, and one thing that I think we all have in common besides living on the same floor is a love of food!  Each person knows how to cook something yummy and different and we all love to smell (and sometimes are even lucky enough to taste) what others are cooking!

Creative

I have been feeling bursts of creativity the past few weeks.  Not only do the bursts come, I actually have done something with them a few times.  It all started after Gabby's birthday and making thank you cards for all the generous gifts she received. I love to make cards, but don't often do it- this time I did and they turned out pretty cute.  I took a sweet picture of Gabby in her new dress. The photo shoot wasn't ideal, she was a bit tired and you can see if you look closely that she is eating string cheese!  

Creative satisfaction number two came when I made chocolate covered strawberries for a bake sale.  I have made them a number of times, but this time I added white chocolate 'stripes' and they came out fantastic.  It helps that I started with amazingly perfect Japanese strawberries, how they are so sweet and pretty in the middle of February I have no clue.  

This past week I got the sudden urge to do something creative, that took me to the hobby mart (not all that great, this is the first time I have ever left with something I was actually looking for).  FELT.  Felt is great to work with, so much fun.  I am not great at drawing anything, so just going at a piece of felt with some scissors is what I did. Stitching them by hand together and using little baby clips, my final product was a bunch of really cute little hair clips.  I have given a few away already but have many more to make and pass out!  This little obsession has kept me up as late as midnight for three nights in a row!  

I hope this creativity stays in me, especially with spring right around the corner.  It feels so good to make something and be proud of it. 

Two days

A lot can happen in just two days.  Yesterday we drove Clay to the ship and said goodbye to him for a few months, the ship is headed out on a "regularly scheduled deployment." It wasn't even 7am as we headed back into our tower for home and Gabby already was talking about Daddy.  He has left before and it is always hard, but this time just seemed like it might be even harder.  Each afternoon when Clay walks in the door Gabby lights up and gets excited.  She can be sound asleep and hears him come home only to perk right up and is ready to play.  Pictures will be a daily part of our routine, kissing them and talking about where dad is and how much we love him. Singing songs about Dad will be as well, we have changed the words to Elmo's world theme song so it is Gabby's world, and when we get to the part about who we love- Gabby always says she loves her "daddy."

Day two was a day filled with new excitement and fun.  We started parent child swim lessons.  The class consists of two boys who are both two, their parents and then us.  The pool is olympic sized and amazing. I have taken Gabby there once before just for fun, and at first she was a bit scared but then had a blast.  Today she was anxious to get in, and out of the three kids there was the only one who wasn't clinging to Mom, and didn't want to get out. It was a very fun time, and will help fill up our weeks. Another benefit, she was tuckered out from all the splashing.  Nap time was instant once we got home and had some milk, then at 6:45pm she was sound asleep for the night!  

Gabby Jean is ONE year old!

Our little girl is getting big  Gabby turned one year old, and in every way is growing out of being a baby and into being a kid!  She opened presents, her face showing the most excitement and joy you can imagine. Went to the Dr for her 12 month checkup.... she weighs in at 21 lbs, ranking in the 50% range, 31 inches tall which her dad has told everyone is in the 95%.  He's hoping she is tall and sometimes she shows the possibility of being a lefty (good for baseball in his dreams).  We celebrated with our neighbors and friends at a small party.  Waking up to snow that day meant Clay had to BBQ in his fur hooded parka on the balcony.  Having my baby turn one is amazing, I even got a little teary with her while she was laying on me starting to take her nap.  One thing that also happened with her turning one is attitude! This little girl has quite a bit of personality inside of her and always has, but the feisty little attitude is a bit new! Oh and another milestone we hit is 1 year of her nursing.  She nurses more than she needs to, but thats okay. I just remember how hard the first two months were and saying to my mom that I didn't think I was going to be able to do this whole thing for 6 months let alone an entire year!  We did it and even have lasted through her first 5 teeth coming in!

  

I figured I should write down everything she can do now and put it in her baby book so this is what I have so far:

  Walking like a pro, well she has been for a few months.  She even runs away with a grin directed at me.

American Sign Language signs she uses;

more, milk, drink, please, all done, ball, baby, eat, story, bath, play, friend.

Words she says that I can understand;

mom, dad, baby, ball, more, milk, Nene (grandma), Baba (grandpa), book, read, bird, cat, dog, eat, water, hi, bye bye, elmo, apple, banana, cheese, ice, up, noodle, night night, eye, teeth.  This list is getting hard b/c I feel like so many words I say she can repeat, seriously!

Animal sounds she can make;

cat, dog, pig (she moves her nose like she is oinking), cow (says boooo), owl, duck, chicken, sheep.  We are working on these, she did them with no help the other day but that isn't always the case.