Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone! Things are still going well for the Campoamor family in Japan. Leyton seems to be enjoying school and her teacher, Mari Sensei, had nothing but good things to say about here during our 1 v. 1 parent-teacher meeting. In fact, she even said LC is sharing and playing really well with others. She starts going to school from 9am - 2pm this week. Up until now she has been going from 9-1130am to ease them into it. She seems to like it and talks about school when she gets home.

Ellis is doing well, too. She is starting to get the hang of going to the potty in the potty chair and routinely walks up to us and says, "poop" which is then followed with a "buzz." She usually poops in the potty every morning while watching "buzz" (iPad) but, sometimes she fakes us out and homesteads without taking care of business. She is still very loving and loves to give kisses and hugs. She is also starting to get a little bit of an attitude. She'll throw toys and sometimes push if she doesn't get her way. Her talking is starting to really take off too! In fact we think she knows a few colors and most animal sounds.

We had a chilly day here for Easter. The Easter bunny visited the house and brought LC a new princess bike. The Easter bunny also hid the Easter eggs that we dyed. The girls had a fun time hunting them this morning and playing with their new things before putting on their fancy new Easter dresses and heading to Church. After church and lunch we came home and LC got to try out her bike. She was doing really well with pedaling on her little trike but was having trouble pedaling today. We are pretty certain she'll pick it up in no time. 

Shannon is still staying busy even though she is down a child for a few hours every day. Ellis and her spend their time playing at the park and enjoying each other. Shannon said that Ellis isn't the same without LC around. She walks around the house and parks calling for "sissy." 

Work is going good for me. They are keeping me busy and I am still on track to head back to San Diego for 5 weeks starting 10 May. I have to go back for some training to get all qualified for when I take over as OIC. Ill be in San Diego for a few weeks and then go out to the (navy) island of San Clemente to get tactical. 

Here are some photos from the past few days. Hope everyone had a nice week! Happy Easter.

LC modeling her uniform before school

E loves to have her picture taken.

This is what LC will typically wear to school everyday. 

Sometimes supplemented with the smock. 

Sagamihara park.

They have an awesome tree house that overlooks the entire park. 

Another weekend filled with exploring Sagamihara park.

They even have a zoo there!

With lots of bunnies!

And a petting zoo where you can hold guinea pigs. LC named this guinea pig, Cookie. 

Pony rides, although LC refuses to ride on one. 

Playing with Dad's camera settings.

Crazy kid.

Dying Easter Eggs

LC was really into it this year. 

All done!

Sweet Princess bike.

Easter goodies - new toothbrushes and a My little Pony movie. 

And a Care Bear.

Easter Dresses from Grandma and Grandpa. Off to church.

Trying it out for the first time.

E likes to wear her helmet it LC is. She also likes to explore around the yard. 

Trying it out on the bike path. 

Photos from first day of school and more

I tried to grab a few photos during Leyton's opening ceremonies for school. I did my best with keeping E happy and snapping photos as we went along. At times there were only one parent allowed which was probably good since E wanted to stay on the move. We would go check out the hallways and read books and then come back to see what they were doing in her class. Like Shannon said, I wouldn't have been able to get what they were saying anyways.

It was a bit surreal that our big baby girl, Miss Leyton, started school. I think it hit me the most when she was sitting at her desk with the rest of her classmates. Unreal. Here are some photos I was able to grab during the opening ceremonies:

Here we are at the first table we saw when we got through the gate. We picked up LC's pink ribbon that was placed on her shoulder to identify what class (the Sakura class) she was in. 

Ready to go find her class! 

Here is the rear entrance to the school. This is the playground area where they have equipment and the area where they took class photos. As Shannon stated before, we were severely under dressed. Literally, every Japanese parent was in a suit (all males) and dress and high heels (women). I had dirty jeans and a UK basketball t shirt on. hahaha. Stupid Americans!

Walking down the hall to find her class. 

Found her Class. Shannon is unloading her school supplies as LC checks out her assigned desk. 

Shannon putting away the supplies in LC's cubby.

Her class. I believe one of her teachers is the lady about to squat down. They were all super super nice. 

LC at her desk! 

Other Dad's pacing the hallways.

E and I hanging out. 

Opening ceremonies. Can you see Shannon and LC? 

Principal (male) and someone else (female in kimono) upfront on the stage.

E pacing the hallways and checking things out. 

Puppet show. A lot of singing here. 

The playground area where they checked her in. 

Opening ceremonies complete. Each class left together in a line back to their classrooms. 

Back in the classroom. LC was a little upset because Shannon wouldn't let her peel off a sticker that was on the middle of the table. 

LC's teacher. 

LC's class lining up for their class photo. Parents were also included, which we thought was odd, so Shannon went while I had E.

LC checking out the emergency escape slide from the top floor of the school. 

Here are some more from the past few weeks or so that I haven't downloaded/shared:

We went on a walk one evening and came across a bunch of lanterns strung through the cherry blossom trees. Made for a nice photo op. 

They like each other... sometimes. 

Silly E.

At one of the many parks we frequent.

Our first week of Yochien

I say 'our' first week because, though Leyton is the only one actually attending school, it has been quite the education for all of us.  An education that, unfortunately, is no where near complete.  But we are trying.  And one day we will all know lots of things that we didn't know before moving to Japan.

First day was rather nuts.  Opening ceremonies for all new kids.  All four of us went, though Ryan spent most of the day keeping Ellis out of trouble.  Not that he really missed much though.  We were there for about 2.5 hours and the only conversation I had that I understood was with the only other American mother there, who was just as lost as I was.

First we went to LC's class, found her seat and put away her supplies.  Prior to class, I had to write her name, in Japanese, on EVERYTHING.  Every crayon, every bag, every cup, every face mask.  Leyton, of course, is 3 years old and can't even read English, so to help her out, all of her things have both her name and a little goldfish sticker.  Each kid has a different sticker to help them find their cubby, chair, etc.

After the classroom, we all lined up and went upstairs to the auditorium.  There was a puppet show, the teachers introduced themselves, everyone sang a song, and then we followed the teacher back down to the classroom.  The teacher went over class 'rules' and then we all went outside and had a class photo taken.

The main thing we learned from Day One is that the Japanese dress up on the first day of school.  ALL of the parents where in suits and dresses.  Except the Americans.

Day 2:  I dress Leyton in her uniform and she and I go to school.  Ryan stayed back with Ellis because he had to fly late and didn't have to be in to work until later.  I had no clue if I would be allowed/expected to stay with her in class.  When we got there, we entered through the wrong entrance.  The teacher nicely showed us which one to use.  Leyton was wearing the wrong uniform.  The teacher nicely showed me which one she should be wearing.  And then she nicely told me to say good-bye and pick Leyton up at 11:25 (she only goes half days for the first two weeks).  Leyton had a meltdown when I came back to get her.  Mostly because she thought DoDo was in her backpack, and he wasn't.  The teacher said she drank four large cups of water and asked if that is normal for her (it is not).

Day 3:  Ellis, LC and I have to get to school by ourselves.  Not a problem.  It is exactly a 5 minute walk from our house.  We drop her off in the correct uniform at the correct door and pick her up on time.  She had another meltdown at pick up because she didn't want to wait in line to say good-bye to her teacher.  There is an envelope in her backpack for tuition.  It is due by the 8th of every month.  This was April 10.

Day 4:  Drop-off is no problem.  I return the tuition envelop, complete with April tuition.  Pick-up is also a breeze, though I was told not to let her wear Crocs because they are unsafe for running.  Roger that.  There were no tears at pick-up.  She waited in line as patiently as a three-year-old can wait, gave her teacher a bow and a 'Sayonara,' and we were on our way home.

Her teacher is Ms. Mari Sano.  I believe the kids call her Mari Sensei.  She can speak English, which is very helpful, but she always starts with Japanese with Leyton, and then translates if needed.  Several of the Japanese mothers have spoken to me as well.  They always apologize for their 'bad English', which is very amusing to me.  I am living in Japan and can't speak Japanese at all, and yet they apologize to me for not speaking perfect English.

This is the full uniform.  A little big so she can wear it all 3 years.

Modeling her mask and her school shoes.  She leaves these in a cubby at school all week.  When I drop her off in the morning, she goes and gets these, puts them on by herself, puts her other shoes in her cubby, and only then is she allowed in the classroom.  On Friday, she brings her shoes home in her shoe bag.  This weekend I will decorate them.  All the other kids have cute designs on theirs.  I will also sew a few things on her jacket and smock, so she can 'fit in.'  And, if possible, I will go and look for another seat cover.  I bought the wrong kind.  Sigh.  

Her summer uniform.  You can't tell from the pictures, but she is wearing knee-high socks.  I think she will switch to white knee-highs in the summer.

This is how I was supposed to dress her the first day, plus a cute pink cap.  Three-year-olds are allowed to wear this to-and-from school the first few months until they get the hang of things.  The older kids wear the formal uniform to school, change themselves into and then out-of this uniform, and go home in the formal one.

No uniform is complete without a DoDo

It's a lot of work, but I know it will be worth it.  One day, she was say something to me, and I will have no idea what she is talking about.  Not because of a speech impairment, but because she knows a language that I do not.  On that day, it will all be worth it. 

Here is another account of Japanese Yochien, if you are interested.  It highlights how amazing it is that I got her into school so quickly:  http://www.education-in-japan.info/sub105.html