Fire!

The other week I looked out over our backyard and saw a fire raging in the yard next door! I ran down the stairs, yelled to Nate, and called 911. Nate grabbed our hose and valiently started spraying water on the fire, which was nudging up against our fence. He kept spraying like a champ until he heard a deep voice on the other side of the fence: "Thank you Sir, we'll take it from here." The Fire Department had arrived.

Herndon hosts concerts each Friday night during the spring/summer. We took the girls last week to 2U, a U2 tribute band. Mayumi LOVED it; danced, sang, and refused to leave when we figured it was time for bed.

Pretties

Have I mentioned how much I love Emiko?

The Quest for Quiet

Anyone who has tried to sit through an hour of church with a toddler understands--engaging activities are a must. Once again my friend Stephanie rose to the challenge and helped me create a "Quiet Book"--one for me, and one each for both of my sisters (and their kids).

I presented them in person when in Arizona and my sister Monique nicely took some pictures of her book.


Left-hand side is "The Garden of Eden." The 'leaves' have velcro on the back and attach/detach to/from the tree (and can be stored in the pocket below, disguised as a bush). The 'petals' can be taken off the flower-shaped buttons. The right-hand side is the 'Family' page. The pocket labeled 'family' has many photographs of the extended family.

The left-hand size is 'Noah's Ark,' with foam animals attached to blue ribbons that can be placed in the pocket (disguised as the body of the boat). The right-hand side is 'Jonah' and, as you can see, there is a little Jonah that goes inside the whale (and the mouth zips shut).

On the left is the right inside of the cover. I attached a little pocket I removed from an old jumpsuit of Mayumi's (this pocket features a little turtle, Monique and Leah's favorite animal). The right-hand side is 'Joseph and the coat of many colors.' The coat opens up and ties shut.

The left-hand side is the 'Tithing' page. I should mention that pattern for many of the shapes/images in the book were drawn by Nate. The piggy bank is one of those images. The left-hand side is the inside of the cover. I attached the buckles of the old jumpsuit for just one more little activity.

This photo did not load properly. Sigh. Well, the left-hand side are a bunch of funky belts with fun buckles. Simply an 'activity page.' The right-hand size is the 'Helping Hands' page; there's a beaded bracelet around the wrist of the hand, and three images--a bar of soap with suds (I attached pink and white beads for texture), a bed with a 'blanket' that can be removed and attached via velcro, and building blocks (from which letters that spell the name/s of the kids in that family attached to ribbons hang). It is really too complicated to explain clearly--unfortunately this picture just didn't work out.

Thank you to Stephanie for designing the book and guiding me along each step! Thank you to my mother for helping fund the books. Thank you to Nate to gave endless validation and moral support!

Arizona Cuties

My sister Lindsay and her photographic/photoshop skills get the credit for the following pictures. See her blog (link to the right) for photos of ALL the cousins (I didn't want to totally steal her blog post so am only posting the ones of my girls).

In front of the Phoeniz Zoo--all the cousins and the grandparents. Check out Emiko in her 'sausage suit.' We bundle her up like that when it is time for her to nap.

I guess love of furry creatures is generally universally among small children. Yumi, and her cousins Lily and Allie, brushing a goat at the petting zoo.



We like to call Emiko 'Emi the Good' because she is, well, so GOOD.

Yumi REALLY liked this frog.

We visited the pool many times during our visit to Arizona (imagine--a pool open in April!!).

Sweet Home Arizona

My younger sister Lindsay moved to Arizona a year and a half ago, and has generously hosted all of our family members multiple times. As we did last year at this same time, we gathered at her home over Easter weekend and let the little girl cousins go wild. Nate had my camera (he has been abroad) so I took the video camera and took many little clips of the Cutes. I do not yet have the loads of pictures everyone else in my family took, so I'll provide those, and a few more video clips (including the easter egg hunt), in a future post.

Here is Mayumi with her cousin, of almost identical age, Lily. Lily is a sweet tempered little darling.

Emi was a HUGE hit. I personally have never met a better-tempered, easier baby, and I think everyone in my family agrees with me on this point. Lindsay's girls Allie and Lily sure did love her.

Lindsay graciously took us to the Phoeniz Zoo, which ROCKS. Here, Yumi saw giraffes (her favorite) for the very first time. That clip is, unfortunately, too long to load. Sad. This clip features us all in the Monkey Village. You can hear Mayumi saying her word for monkey ('eee eee ooo ooo ah ah ah') and 'Baby Noah' (from the Baby Einstein series--her word for animals).

spring

Long time, no post! Enjoy this cute video clips and pictures. The last few pictures are of the surprise birthday party Nate planned and threw for me. Believe it or not, we ate ALL of that baklava.

Seedlings

Sisters

Anyway, sorry for the more-than-usual poor format of this post. I am leaving for the airport in mere minutes for a trip to Arizona--yay! Check in soon for many cute pictures of the five cute cousins!!

Uh-oh nose

Emiko is growing so quickly! She can hold up her head, has the same freakishly strong legs as her sister (she can hold her own weight), smiles whenever she sees her mommy, and coos adorably. At her most recent doctor's visit, she weighed in at 10lbs 6ozs. No light weight, this one.

Mayumi is always fidgeting with Emiko; inserting her pacifier, stealing her blanket, trying to insert a sippy cup into her mouth, sitting on her, and kissing her.

I have to constantly remind Mayumi that "Emi is not a toy." Fortunately, she does have her own dolly to 'baby.' Thank you Grandma Mimi! This baby goes where Mayumi goes. My favorite is when she tries to put a pacifier into the doll's mouth, holds it close and rocks it, and 'shush shushes' it. She does all this with a concerned look on her face (knitted brow) and adorably pursed lips (she cannot make an 'sh' or 'ch' sound without seriously pouting her lips).

We have to watch this little Mayumi very closely. For example: Nate picked up these little sticky fake gems to affix to Valentine's Day cards. We had fun with them and only a few remained after our craft project. Somehow Mayumi got a hold of one and next thing we know she's saying 'uh-oh nose' and rubbing at her nose, sticking her finger up inside repeatedly. We expected the worse and, sure enough, Nate spotted it up there with the aid of a flashlight. He got out the pliers. Fortunately she sneezed it out before he performed surgery on her. Whew.

Blizzard '10

I am certain that there are thousands of blog posts with the same title, but that is exactly what it was: a blizzard. Or blizzardS, I should say. For those of you outside of the Eastern Seaboard, you may need a bit of an update: we had three '10-year storms' in Virginia within one month of each other, making this the worst Virginian winter in (statistically speaking) 1,000 years (the math brought to you by Nate). Our back deck is still covered in two feet of snow, and that is after more or less 1 full week of sunshine and melting.

We were blessed to have a houseguest during the second of these three storms. Old roommate and dear friend of eight years Amber Henrie made it down on the last bus from NYC. It was already snowing heavily when she arrived, and didn't stop for several days. She deserves the credit for many of the following photos.

Nate spent hours...hours and hours...shoveling. He had to borrow a shovel since someone stole ours (can you believe it? The nerve). You can see his handiwork here. Can you believe this snowpile in our front yard?

Yumi did her best to keep as warm as possible, but it was hard to keep the snow off her incredibly long lashes (you'll have to enlarge the picture to see what I mean).

The Federal Government was closed for four full days--meaning Nate was stuck at home. He got a little stir crazy, as you will see through the following series of pictures and video clips. Enjoy!

Our master bedroom window.

Amber couldn't be outdone, so she went next:

If you are one of Mayumi's grandmothers, you should skip the next video:

And finally, to top it off, I take the plunge. You'll hear Mayumi in the background...enough to make your heart bleed. She really loves me.

This picture is worse than the Peter DeFazio picture (inside family joke...). You'll have to blow it up to get the full effect, but I won't be offended if you don't. Again, I have to credit Amber for this heinous but most excellent photograph.

Two Months of Darlingness

Happy two month birthday Emiko!! You are an angel, a dream come true. Who knew that an infant could be so EASY!? We love your big smiles and patience when your big sister mauls you. We love how you graciously accept the many 'gifts' Mayumi piles on top of you.

We are impressed with how strong you are; you are already holding your head up, are comfortable on your stomach, and rolling over (if unintentionally).

Thanks for joining our family--we love you!!

Now--a sneak preview. As the few followers of this blog undoubtedly already know, we had a HUGE storm this weekend, receiving over 28 inches of snow! Crazily enough, another is headed our way this moment, with another 12 inches predicted. I'll be posting fun pictures and unbelievable video clips in the next day or two. But for now...a sneak preview! Here is Mayumi sitting on snowbank (created by Nate's expert shoveling) in our front yard.

Sisters

Mayumi and Emiko being cute.

Emi the Angel

Emi does not do much yet except for be sweet and darling. Here she is, doing what she does best.

Mayumi really cannot leave Emiko alone. Here is poor Emi, minding her own business, covered in Yumi's 'presents.'

Ever hear of a 'baby straight-jacket'? Well--this is it.

Emi the Cute.

The Quilt Extravaganza

My mother once was quite a seamstress, but at some point in my childhood she retired her sewing machine and called it quits. That's why we were all surprised when she first presented me with a quilt made from some of my old t-shirts, then next to my sister a quilt made of her old sports t-shirts. Mine is pictured below:
And then I got the idea--a quilt made of onesies--onesies of the then only four grand daughters.


My dear dear friend Stephanie is a quilt master. She guided me every step of the way. Under her tutelage, I put together a 'practice quilt' to gain skills, experience, and confidence (pictured below). After some time, my sisters Monique and Lindsay sent me their quilt quadrants (made from 16 patches of onesies) and (from Monique) the embroidered centerpiece featuing each girl's name and birth date.

Following Stephanie's instructions, I put it all together. It took hours. Hours and hours. I think at least 100 hrs. But it was so much fun--and seeing my mother open it on Christmas day (via webcam) was worth ALL the effort.

Us girls knew she'd love it for many different reasons. First of all--the fact that it is a huge nod to her efforts creating quilts for us. Secondly, the fact that it is made from the onesies from her beloved grandbabies. Thirdly--we used the sewing machines that she gave us. Fourthly--we worked together very closely--many phone calls, emails, etc....and any mother loves it when her kids collaborate--right?

So that's the story! Thanks to my mother for being such a great mom, my sisters for their efforts, to Stephanie for teaching me, and Nate for being so supportive (and fixing the sewing machine a few times).

Mother and child

Emiko was blessed this last Sunday at church. Thank you to Nate for taking some photos and Lindsay for touching them up.

I know this picture is a bit out of focus, but I love the hazy, candid look of it. Nate is holding both the girls and Mayumi is doing what she does MOST of the time with Emi--hugging her.