Countdown to Emiko: Part Two

Luckily for us, Mayumi has turned 1 1/2 JUST IN TIME for her baby sister to arrive...allowing her to attend the nursery at church (and give us a big break). Here she is, not so proudly displaying her nursery artwork (we could NOT get her to look up). Please note her leopard-print miniskirt (courtesy of Heba).

We also want to spend as much one-on-one time with Mayumi as humanly possible before she looses her number-one star status in our household. Thus--trips to the local farm to indulge her in her absolute most favorite thing: animals.



Christmas time in Reston (a nearby town) is quite fun. A huge tree, skating rink, and gingerbread village COMPLETE with train are just some of the features. We went over there weekly last year. This was our first 'holiday season' visit. You can't really tell but we are standing in front of the candy village and train. I ask you: have you seen a cuter Mayumi in your LIFE? The darling hat is straight from Bolivia and courtesy of one of my fabulous students (thank you Jamie!).

And what blog post would be complete without a random yumi muvi? Here's Mayumi dancing...not as vigorously as she is known to do, but definitely getting down.

In case anyone is wondering, I am just 8 days away from my due date...yay! I think I am ready for her--ready to switch from anticipation into reality. Still going to the gym, still feeling great. This probably means she's NOT coming out for a bit yet. I felt fabulous until the day before Mayumi was born so if that is any indication of how it will be this time...we may still be in for a wait.

Countdown to Emiko: Part One

We've been trying to get caught up and 'ahead' on a lot of things as Emiko's arrival approaches. One of those things was a day at the zoo which, as you can see here, really exhausted Mayumi.

We've cleaned up the yard, raked up the leaves, and jumped in them.

We went to IKEA and, amoung other things, purchased the most adorable pink table and chair set. This has allowed us to introduce Mayumi to crayons--her new FAVORITE activity.

Along with the cute table/chair combo, we FINALLY splurged on a new dresser (at least two of the drawers of our now old dresser were unoperational). Here is Nate doing a fabulous job comprehending the IKEA assemblage instructions (only half of which were included and he STILL managed it). Mayumi loves to help out her daddy.

And finally-we are trying to make our house a little more fun for the ever-adventurous Mayumi. This means trips to the thrift shop for used toys.

Bah-bees

I feel a little like Nancy Drew.

For weeks (months!) now, Mayumi has been talking about 'bah-bees.' I knew it had to mean something as she said it distinctly and frequently. Only recently, however, she has been saying 'bah-bees' and 'Kids Club' (where she plays when I work out at the gym) together. "Bah-bees, kids club!" Over and over. So often (at least 20 times during dinner the other night) that Nate asked me to go into the Kids Club and do a little sleuthing. I felt equal to the task.

We thought it MUST mean 'barbies' but that idea was shot down when I found that they have no barbies at Kids Club. Not to be defeated, I went back in today and asked a few of the ladies who worked there to brainstorm with me. Amoung the possibilities (puppies, babies) was bubbles. Hmmmm, bubbles. I formulated a plan.

This evening, after Nate returned, I set a bottle of bubbles out on the counter within plain sight (but while Mayumi was out of the room). After some time Mayumi entered the kitchen, spied the bubbles, and shouted 'BAH-BEES!!!' :-) Nice work, Nancy.

As always, I am in a New York state of mind

My mother and I share a love of New York City. She is one of the few people I enjoy going to the theatre with, as she is willing to analyze the shows, the actors, the music, etc. with for hours afterwards.

Thanks to the help of my darling husband, I was able to travel sans Mayumi to New York several weeks ago and meet my mother (who also made many sacrifices to make the weekend possible). We saw TWO shows: Memphis (a musical) and A Steady Rain (play). Here's a little bit about both:

We scored front-row 'student rush' tickets to this show of which we knew NOTHING about. This is where we must thank Sally Atkinson, my old and dear roommate), for guiding us. I'll let you all do your own research on this show, but I'd like to inlcude two links here--links to one of the main songs in the show. The first features the leading man singing his song outside the theatre in New York's 'Shubert Alley' as a promotion for the show opening. The second features Bon Jovi singing the same song (Bon Jovi's fellow band member wrote the music for Memphis).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUwdQ_gwGH8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3dmUNi5QL8&feature=fvw

Our second show was the much-anticipated A Steady Rain, starring Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman. Here I am, looking extremely glamorous, sitting out for the student rush tickets that morning. (Thank you to Amber for the use of her chairs AND for letting us stay in her flat).

I have to say that A Steady Rain is pretty grim...downright gritty, actually. And unlike other performances I've LOVED that portray a gritty life, I didn't walk out of this enlightened, inspired, or better informed. I certainly wouldn't say it was a 'disapointment,' and any true theatre fan (or lover of D. Craig and/or H. Jackman) SHOULD see it. But be prepared to be exposed to the seamy side of life.


And yes, there WAS a steady rain that night...as you can see from this photo!

Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible!!!

Halloween Cuteness

Alas, we haven't any record of our costumes on the Big Night. Nate dressed as a Gulfi Arab, I as a belly dancer, and Mayumi as a bunny rabbit (wearing her cousin Allie's old costume meant for someone 3-6 months). It really is a shame we don't have a picture (yet) of her in that costume because the leg cuffs of the costume only came down to just below her knees. Ha! We had some fun the week before carving pumpkins:

As we've enjoyed lots of warm Fall weather, Mayumi and I spent a great deal of time outside a week or so ago--much of it with our good friends Brittany and Juliette. Here we are at Clemyjontri Park in McLean.

The Farm at Frying Pan Park is another one of our favorite destinations. Mayumi CANNOT get enough of animals. She'd have climbed right into the pig pen if she could have managed it.

Sadly, Mayumi caught some nasty chest cold last week. We barely left the house (boring!) and spent lots of time cuddling (fabulous). Here are a couple of clips showing just how lackluster our little fireball was.