In case you need a smile....

I can manage some beautiful pictures of my girls... separately.  At first glance it appears my latest attempt at a good picture of the two of them failed -again.  But look closely and you will discover some comedy gems in this batch.

Cute solo picture...

No problem.

Problem is they keep running away from each other.  So... I immobilize them.

I stick them in a tree and give one simple request. 

 "Smile and look at the camera."

And... I give up. 

Tick Tock

We are totally counting down the days until Daddy gets home.  Though I haven't circled the date on a calendar.  If my 10 years as a Navy spouse has taught me anything, it's that cruise dates are ALWAYS subject to change.  But he's coming home soon, just not sure how soon.

The girls and I have been keeping ourselves busy.  Last week Ellis had an interview with Hosen (Leyton's kindergarten) to see if she would be ready to start next semester (in April).  I personally thought she did terrible.  She cried when they took her away for mock classroom time, though most of the kids did, and she came back smiling.  Then she wouldn't sit still for the interview with the teacher and she wouldn't answer the questions the teacher asked her.  Despite all that, they want her to come for a couple of trial days next year, in January and February.  Then they will make the final decision.  I was very surprised that they offered this.  I assumed Hosen would not let her in until she turned three next September.  I think perhaps they are just being polite by giving her a few chances to make the early cut.  The Japanese have interesting customs on politeness, one of which is that's it's rude to come right out and say what you want to say.  Instead, they talk all in circles before finally reaching their point.  So I am not sure if they will actually let her start that early or not.  If they do, I feel sorry for her sensei.  And I know they won't let her in until she is potty trained, so we will have to revisit that again very soon.  I would love for them both to go to school and be able to speak Nihongo to each other.  

As I mentioned last post, Leyton's Japanese is better than I expected.  She will toss out phrases all the time and is getting better and better at answering my quizzes on 'how do you say ____ in Japanese.'  She also randomly turns English words into Japanese.  Japanese words only end in a vowel or 'n'.  She will say words like 'ice creamu' and 'cupu.'  Totally rocking the Japenglish.  

It's true the last true 'Fall' season I had was in 2010, when I had a newborn and therefore don't really recall much of anything other than being so tired.  So really 2009, which is 5 years ago in Memphis, is the last Fall I recall.  But I really thought it would be sooner.  The leaves are just now really starting to be beautiful here.  The cherry blossom groves are a lovely orange and it makes me very happy to walk or drive by and watch the leaves scatter.  Below are a few pictures I tried to take of the girls at the park the weekend before Halloween.  You will notice it's still nice and green.

I tried and failed to get a picture of both girls just looking at the camera, much less both smiling.

Maybe we can try again for another photo this weekend

And last but not least, thank you to all of the Veterans and for the freedoms we enjoy every day.

Happy 4th Birthday Leyton!

We have had an incredibly busy last couple of weeks.  Between school commitments and Halloween celebrations, we are exhausted.  But enough of that, first we must celebrate Leyton Lee turning 4 years old!  Her birthday was a school day and it was also the day her school celebrated all the October birthdays.  Parents were invited to a little program in the 'hall', followed by lunch with the kids.  But first, I had to drop Ellis off at the sitter, which is an hour drive away.  So we had to leave the house at 7am to get back in time for Leyton to be at school at 9.  It was stressful, but we made it.  The birthday kids went on-stage in front of the entire school and parents.  They each gave a speech, and Leyton's blew me away.  She said her name, her birthday, and that she hoped to be a princess when she grows up.  All in Japanese.  She had been coached very well by her teacher and performed better than any other American kid and better than half the Japanese kids (pardon my bragging, but it's true).  I posted a video on Facebook, but I can't get it to load onto here.  If you are really interested, let me know and I will happily email it to you.

Front row, fourth kid over.  Each kid made a hand-print necklace and after their speech, the mother's came on-stage and the children presented the gift to their mom.  Then the mom's had to give a brief speech about how we chose our child's name.  I had a translator.

The school also gave each student a cute plate, handmade card by the child's teacher, and a crown.

Thank you to everyone for all the amazing gifts to help Leyton celebrate.  We didn't have a party for her, but we will celebrate with a special trip over Thanksgiving, when Daddy is home.

Ellis did great with all the early wake-ups and getting dropped off at the sitter and the CDC. 

Next was Halloween week, and again we kept busy.  I have recently started teaching English to two Japanese girls.  They are 10 years old, very sweet, and their English is impressive.  One of the girl's mother is also an English teacher, but she is Japanese and teachers younger children.  She asked if I would come to her house on two evenings and help her with a Halloween party for her students.  My job was basically to speak English to the kids.  She had me ask the children's name and then shake their hand.  The first night, I brought both girls and they had a blast.  The Japanese children were adorable in their costumes.  The Japanese do not traditionally celebrate Halloween, but it is growing more and more popular.  Misa San, the teacher, had 5 of her neighbors let the children come and trick-or-treat for candy.  The second night, I left Ellis with a sitter.  We had to leave right after school, which meant no nap, and then drive an hour, and it was too much for her (and me) two nights in a row.

The first night Ellis was Aurora and Leyton was Hello Kitty

  

CUTE

This is the third year Leyton has worn that same outfit.  For the most part, it still fits.

She was all about the face paint.

Trick or Treat!

This is a funny random picture I took of Ellis while we were doing laundry on base.  She is talking on the TV remote.

For actual Halloween, we invited some of Leyton's school friends and my students to the nearby base for some all-American Trick-or-Treating.  It was crazy.  Another looong day with no nap, eating junk, and I lost one or both kids several times in all the madness.  But I got them both back unharmed, so all is well.

Ellis was Aurora again and Leyton went for Cinderella.  She wore those glasses all night, even in the dark.  That's her friend Hiro, admiring her coolness.

Even though Ellis didn't even carry a trick-or-treating bag, we still have tons of candy.  And we are all sick with colds, thanks to the stress/lack of sleep/baby-sitter-germs.  In fact, there is a lot more that I am leaving out of this blog, but I am just too tired and it's already too overdue, so I am going to make like Elsa and 'let it go'.

Otanjobi Leyton!  And Happy Halloween!