8 Months Old!?!?

Goodness gracious, Annelise, I can't believe you're already 8 months old! You didn't have a doctor's appointment this month, but I know that you've grown in both height and weight. When I'm nursing you in the middle of the night, I look down at you in my arms and can't believe how big my baby girl has gotten.

This month has been very exciting for us, we started by going to a cherry orchard, cherries are one of your favorite foods. I wish they were easier to eat, but I can't just give you a cherry to gnaw on because of the seed. The next day we went to a Japanese baseball game, which is completely different from an American baseball game. The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles didn't win, but they had fun cheerleaders and mascots, including an eagle-like man, a pickle, and two dwarves. You had fun playing with the noisemakers that we got and Mommy got her first taste of Japanese rest stop food. I had some sort of pastry with ham and egg salad, it wasn't very pretty but it was very very good.

The next week we went on our Guamanian vacation, where you got your fourth tooth and started pulling yourself up on everything that will stand still for a few moments. You adored the beach, you thought that the ocean was the perfect place for splashing and loved licking salt water from your hands and eating sand. During our Guamanian vacation, you got to ride the train for the first time and were pretty good on the way to Tokyo. On the way back, however, you were tired and ready to get home and weren't very well-behaved.

Annelise Marie, you've been growing and growing this month, and it's not all because of Mommy Milk anymore! You love eating apples and grapes, as well as Gerber puffs. Your favorites are the fruit-flavored ones, you've got a sweet tooth like your mommy. You also tasted broccoli and chicken this month, as well as Mommy's ice cream. This will be a surprise to your daddy, but I just couldn't resist your sweet little smile and gave you some when we were in Towada the other day.

Speaking of Towada, we went to Lake Towada last weekend for the fireworks but were rained out. It's a good thing I bought a rain cover for your stroller because without it we would have turned around and headed home. The cover kept out the wind and rain so that you were much warmer and more comfortable than the rest of us.

This weekend is the Tanabata Festival here in Misawa and yesterday we dressed up in our yukata and strolled around town. For me, that meant that I wore a kimono and obi, and for you it meant wearing a cute little onesie-like outfit that I bought at Nishimatsuya (the bunny store). We looked beautiful together and had lots of fun. Sadly, I did not get another potato on a stick because I was full from eating my chicken fried rice.

You're so grown up, Annelise, you crawl all over the place and are now working on walking around by holding on to the furniture or your cage. You haven't gotten very far yet, but I'm sure it will happen soon. Your hair has grown so much in the last month; you're not ready for bows or pigtails yet, but it's better than it was. Your favorite words are mama, dada, and baba. We're not sure what baba refers to, but you say it all the time. Daddy is your favorite person, it's hopeless to get your attention when you're looking at him. Your next favorite person is Elmo, you refuse to talk to Babi or Grandma on the phone when Sesame Street is on and you love watching the Elmo's World DVDs that Daddy bought for you.

The next time I write one of these posts, you'll have been to the doctor again. I can't wait to find out how much you weigh and how tall you are! I already know that the doc will be amazed by how smart you are, your grasping abilities are above-average because of the way we feed you and you use your feet to pick things up and get them to your hands!

Well, my smart little baby, until next month! I love you so much!!

Where America's Day Begins...

We just got back from our vacation to Guam, we had so much fun! This is the first real vacation we've been on since our honeymoon, so we were overdue. We started by taking the bullet train to Tokyo, then another train to the airport. We got to Guam around 2am, but Annelise had spent so much time cooped up on our laps that we were up until almost 4 playing with her. The next day we explored the island a little, we saw an old friend at the BX on the Air Force base, and I ate a DELICIOUS cheeseburger! We stopped at a Spanish fort to take some pics and met two Buddhist monks! On Friday, the sky was pretty overcast so we ate some delicious Mexican food and then went to an aquarium. We love taking Annelise to aquariums, she adores water and fish and this aquarium had a good-sized tunnel to walk through with all kinds of fun sea life. John bought Annelise a stuffed sea turtle that we named Squirt, like the turtle in Finding Nemo. We ended up at one of the public beaches that afternoon, Annelise loved the 80 degree water and was delighted to sit in the sand and splash around. She also tried to eat some sand, and judging by her diapers I didn't do a very good job of keeping the sand out of her mouth. That night we got some delicious steak at Tony Roma's. I know, I'm the idiot American who goes on vacation to a tropical island and eats American food, but I miss American food! I haven't found a decent steak in Misawa and the Homemade 1/2 pound Cheeseburger at Jeff's Pirate's Cove was so good I almost cried.

On Saturday, John went scuba diving and Annelise and I slept late. That afternoon we did some more exploring, and we did the same on Sunday. Sunday morning John went diving again and Annelise and I walked down to the Denny's for breakfast. The kid is so used to Japanese people fawning all over her that I think she was a little disappointed by her reception on Guam. People thought she was cute, but they had better things to do than play with her. That afternoon we took some pictures at the place where Ferdinand Magellan landed on Guam in 1512, I felt very historical. Monday morning we planned on driving to the Southern tip of the island and going to a resort, but Annelise was having a bad morning and we ended up just hanging around the room. That night, we went to dinner at Rhonda and Popeye's house, it was so nice to spend some time with old friends. It made me feel like we're in the 'real' Air Force, we've been around long enough to go to dinner with people we used to be stationed with. (p.s., we just found out that some of our old neighbors from Cannon are moving here, that makes me feel even more grown up! People always talk about how small the Air Force is and how you meet up with people you used to be stationed with and now it's happening. With John's career field, we're very likely to switch types of bases with each move so I had given up hope on being stationed with people I actually know.)

Tuesday morning we went back to the AF base to do a little more shopping and mail our souvenirs home so we wouldn't have to cart them with us on the planes and trains. We went to the beach on the navy base that afternoon and had a wonderful time. I bought a floatie for Annelise, which she did not like very much because it impeded her splashing abilities, and we spent some time in the deeper water so Annelise could actually swim with the fishies while John snorkeled a bit. Then we sat on the beach, on the beautiful sand, in the crystal-clear water, and just enjoyed some time together as a family.

We had a wonderful vacation, even if Annelise misbehaved on the train rides back. She spent the first night in Guam in a 'fort' that we made by blocking off the space between the two beds with pillows and a suitcase, but then we bought a pack-n-play for her to sleep in the rest of the week. It would have cost us almost $200 to rent a crib from the hotel so instead we bought an $80 pack-n-play and I didn't have to worry about how clean the sheets and mattress were. We ate some delicious food, including pancakes that were the size of dinner plates and almost an inch thick. When you go to Jan Z's for breakfast, you only order one pancake. They have delicious tropical tea on the island, it's mango-flavored and doesn't need any sugar. I looked up the brand they serve at the Mexican restaurant and I can't afford it, it's $9 for 6 bags!

Annelise is now crawling like a champ and pulling up on anything that stands still. She also got her fourth tooth on the train ride to Tokyo and now gives the sweetest baby kisses ever. We took lots of pictures while we were on Guam, we even figured out how to use the timer so that we have a few (crooked) family pictures. Check ajminear.shutterfly.com for the pics, hope you enjoy them!

Seven Months Old!!

Annelise Marie, we've had a lot of fun this month! You've grown and changed quite a bit, and your personality is so vibrant.

We started the month with a doctor's visit. You are happy and healthy and the doc was impressed that you can sit on your own. You now (almost a month later) weigh about 17 pounds and are 27 inches tall. I can't believe that you've doubled your birthweight and grown half a foot! You had to get two shots this time, you were supposed to get three but the clinic was out of the third one. You don't have to go back to the doc until you're 9 months old and other than the shot we're still waiting on, you don't have any more immunizations until you're a year old! I am very grateful for that, you're always so quiet and sad when you get shots.

We spent plenty of time with friends this month and made new friends, as well. You got to play on LYNX's piano and you're such a ham that you would bang your fingers on the keys and then turn and look at us to make sure we saw how cute you were being. We took Lisa and Yazmin to the kimono shop and I found an obi with butterflies on it, I'm going to use it to make a wall hanging of some sort for your room when you're older.

We went to Shipwreck Beach twice this month, you like being outside but are not fond of the SPF 70 sunscreen that I slather all over you. It doesn't help much, you've still picked up some color even though I reapply it every two hours. We also went canoeing on Lake Ogawara last weekend. You liked sitting on my lap and watching the world move by, but you did not like wearing a life jacket. I guess you'll just have to get used to it, though, because Daddy and I like going out on the lake.

We felt our first two earthquakes this month, they feel like you're driving over railroad tracks even though you're standing still. When we felt the first one, you looked at me with this confused look on your face, you wondered how we were moving without actually moving!

I had two spouses' events again this month, but this time you stayed home with Daddy for both of them. I left bottles of pumped milk so you wouldn't go hungry and you actually drank some of it the first night. You also fell asleep in Daddy's arms, you haven't done that since you were only a few days old. The second night, you decided that you didn't want a bottle and went to bed without dinner, but then I accidentally woke you up when I was putting a heavier blanket on you (it was very cold that night) so you didn't go hungry.

Your intelligence is sometimes overwhelming, Annelise. First, you taught yourself how to play peekaboo, now you imitate the elephant sound on your jumperoo. I get a big smile on my face every time I hear you chattering with your animals, and you also like to hear your voice echo when we go up and down the stairs. You are a very smart child, sweet girl, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

The most exciting thing we've done this month is started you on solid foods. We bypassed the pureed baby foods and jumped directly in to feeding you table food. You're so independent that I'm not sure how you would have handled me spoon-feeding you anyway. So far you've tried bananas, apples, watermelon, avocados, carrots, cherries, pineapple, and little bits of bread that I tear off of my food. You're not fond of avocados or apples, and your favorite is definitely cherries. We're going cherry-picking next Friday, I'm going to make sure we take lots of pictures!

There are so many things to look forward to in this next month. You are very close to crawling now, you can get your baby belly off the floor and move your arms or your legs, but not both your arms AND your legs. You've got a pretty cute scooch going on right now, you look like a little inchworm. You are also working on your top teeth, although I'm not sure how long it will be before they appear. You're more drooly and are chewing on your hands all the time, so I know it will happen soon!

I don't know who you look like anymore, some days you look like me and some days you look like Daddy. We even have a picture where you look like your Grandaddy! (He's pretty proud of that.) All I do know is that you're so beautiful it hurts and that everyone who sees you is charmed by your beautiful blue eyes and sweet, sweet smile. You're quite chatty and love talking to your grandmothers on the phone, I just have to keep your hands out of the way because you're really good at hanging up on people. You also like telling Daddy all about your day when he gets home from work. We greet him at the door every day and you're always so excited to see him and talking to him, he loved celebrating Father's Day with you and getting the card that you 'signed'.

Well kiddo, I guess that's it for another month. I know this month is going to be lots of fun and full of adventures, but could we keep the poosplosions to a minimum?

Shipwreck Beach

Today we made the trip to Shipwreck Beach, which is about an hour from Misawa. We parked in this little driveway that was definitely not a parking lot, but it's really close to the shipwrecks. Then we walked down this little gravel road to get to the beach and the shipwrecks. I wish I knew the story behind the wrecks, there were four ships on the beach.

We set up our picnic lunch, using the picnic basket that we got from my aunts at one of our wedding showers. I had Annelise all dressed up to take pictures, but this beach wasn't quite right for that. The other beach we went to was a little more beachy, this place kinda reminded me of Galveston.

After we ate our lunch, we went hunting for sea glass. This beach is on the bay, not the ocean, we have access to the Pacific Ocean, Lake Ogawara, Lake Towada, and Mutsu Bay all within one hour of Misawa. Shipwreck Beach is known for the wrecks, but it's also known as a great place to find sea glass.

This is the glass we found today, that's a lot of glass for only about 1.5 hours of looking. We also didn't go all that far down the beach. Next time we'll park at another place and explore the other end of the beach. On our way back to the car, John took a pic of Annelise and me in front of this gigantic pile of shells. We don't really know where these shells came from, there were no shells like this on the beach. We don't know if this is just where they put all of the shells from the restaurants or if someone is in charge of combing the beaches for shells or if they somehow got them from the bay, but it's A LOT of shells. And they smelled. There were birds on top of the pile of shells and I worried that they would trigger an avalance of some sort.

That's right, all of the white things in the background are shells. Anyone want some shells from Japan? We had lots of fun today and I can't wait to pick up some wire and such to make jewelry with my sea glass. We got blue, green and clear glass, and apparently you can also find red and purple glass, although those colors are very rare. I think I'll need to see some samples so I know what to look for. The darkest blue piece I found looked like a rock until I licked the dirt off of it. Yeah, I know that's gross; I felt like Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs or Kirsten Gum from Cash and Treasures (now called Treasure Hunter Kirsten Gum). So anyways, I'd like to go back to Shipwreck Beach with more time and a slightly warmer day so that I can search more thoroughly for darker glass. Until then, I'll have some fun with what we brought home today. And, let's face it, I've got more than enough crafty projects to keep me busy.

Annelise's first food

We gave Annelise her first food tonight, she had some bananas. Many of you know that I have issues with textures, because of that I find pureed baby foods to be very icky. In order to avoid those kinds of foods as much as possible, we're going the baby-led weaning route. We'll offer her food from our plates and let her figure out textures and flavors and decide what she does and doesn't like. Because she's still fully breastfed, it's ok that she's not actually eating much. Annelise probably didn't get any actual banana into her stomach tonight, but she enjoyed playing with it and tasting it. We're going to take it slowly so that she can get used to different kinds of foods and so we can monitor her for any possible food sensitivities or allergies. We've got an independent little girl, so she's more than happy to do this stuff herself, it would probably be a fight to be able to feed her purees from a spoon. Feeding Annelise this way not only ensures we know exactly what she's eating and saves us from spending a ton of money on baby food, it is also going to expand what we eat. I want her to try as many foods as possible, so there will be a lot more fruits and veggies around the house from now on!

Anyways, I took some videos and spliced them together. The resulting movie is too big for me to send through Yahoo, so I decided to post it here. Hope y'all enjoy!

It's a Wonderful World

I love to read, you all know that. I have stacks and stacks of books and am always looking for more. I read my favorites over and over again, I've lost count of how many times I've read the Harry Potter books and the Chronicles of Narnia.

When we lived in Clovis, a friend introduced me to paperbackswap.com. PBS is an awesome site where you can post books you no longer want and earn credits when you mail them to others. You then use those credits to request books that you want and they are mailed to you by someone else. There is no exchange of money and since all books are mailed via media mail, your personal outlay of $2-$3 per book is well worth it. I LOVE PBS and have used the site to fill in my favorite series. Currently, I'm getting rid of a few series that I'm bored with and am using my credits to get some books that John wants and to explore a couple of new series.

One of the best things about PBS is that you can still use it if you live at an APO or FPO, which is not the case for many websites. Stores that only use UPS or FedEx to ship will not mail things to us. We are also limited by weight requirements and a few other requirements. I love that I can still get my books through PBS and I take full advantage of the service.

Since we moved to Japan, my access to English-language books is limited. There's a library on base, but I like owning books and sometimes I put a book down in the middle of the story and don't pick it up for weeks because I get busy. Libraries don't like it when you keep their books for a month... There's also a small bookstore at the Base Exchange, they stock a lot of popular authors, but you can never be sure that they will have the exact book that you want. My last option for buying books is the base thrift shop, which is a crapshoot. The stock there depends on what others are getting rid of, so I seldom find something I want to read at the TS.

My PBS buddies have kept me sane, I can usually find the books I want on the site and wait anxiously for them to arrive (sometimes it takes 6 weeks for media mail to get here). Getting mail is like having a birthday, it's a wonderful little surprise and I love going to the post office and finding out that a new book has arrived. I started noticing the sweet little notes in my books not long after we moved here, notes thanking us for John's service. Those little notes make me smile, they remind me that although we're sacrificing a lot by living so far from our families, we are appreciated. There is a woman on PBS who has told me that if there are ever books on her list that I want, she will mail them to me without me having to use my credits. This week, I received a message on PBS from a woman who is mailing me a book and also wants to send us a care package. Then this morning I woke up to find a message that someone had given me 10 book credits, just to say 'thank you' for John being in the Air Force.

I am so very lucky to have a wonderful family and friends, but the PaperBackSwap community is an unexpected blessing. I cried a little this morning when I got the message about the credits, it warms my heart knowing that people appreciate what we do. I have more to say, but Annelise just woke up from her nap. That's the way I roll now...

Half a Year Already

Man, they're not lying when they tell you that time flies once you have a baby. I can't believe that Annelise turns six months old today.

Annelise Marie, when we tell you that you're a genius baby, when I sing 'Who's the smartest little girl in the whole wide world?', I'm not exaggerating by much. You have had a VERY busy month, growing and changing and learning every day. You are just as curious (nosy) as the day you were born, always looking around and taking in everything that you hear and see. You are very verbal and make sure that you are heard and that we are listening to what you have to say. You're getting closer to saying that magic word, Mama, I'm going to cry when it actually happens. We practice every day and I know that once you start, I'm never going to hear the end of it.

I am amazed when I look at pictures of you in the hospital just after you were born. You're just not the same baby anymore. You were so tiny then, now you have adorable rolls of fat on your arms and legs and you've gotten so tall that we had to move your jumperoo to the next height. Your bald spot is finally filling in, that's a huge relief to me. You still have a mullet, it's going to take the rest of your hair a long time to grow as long and as thick as that little patch on the back of your head. Your blue eyes and huge smile charm everyone we meet and my favorite part of you is your adorable baby belly. That's Daddy's favorite part, too, he loves smooching on you and tickling you and making you laugh. Your laugh is the sweetest sound in the world and your cry is so sad and pathetic that it breaks my heart.

You've become so adept at rolling around that we had to buy a play yard for the living room. Our house isn't set up for baby gates so you spend a big part of your day in the 'cage'. You love it there and sometimes one of us will crawl in with you to play. Between rolling and spinning and a little bit of scooting, you can get just about anywhere.

Over the last couple of weeks, you have gotten your first two teeth. They came through quickly, with only a couple of days' span between seeing one and it popping through and then another couple of days' span before the other one was through, too. They're not all the way in yet, but they sure are sharp. Your little 'puppy teeth' can leave quite a mark if you get ahold of my hand and I have to keep a close watch on you when you're eating.

You had your first bottle last week, I pumped and pumped to make a measly few ounces so I could leave you with Daddy during my OSC meeting. We had to do some experimenting to find a bottle that you liked, but we figured it out. You're not a huge fan of it, but you did take about half an ounce the night that I was out. Then something happened and the milk went sour, it may have been too long since I pumped it, but at least we know what to do now. I'm so grateful that I got that couple of hours out of the house on my own, I'm a much better mommy when I can get a little time to myself every once in a while.

Last week, we went to a play group at the Misawa International Center. We'll be going back twice a month, I like most of the people there and it gives you a chance to interact with other children. A little Japanese girl grabbed a toy from you this time, you grabbed it back later. And then, when I least expected it, you sat on your own! I didn't get very good pictures because I didn't want to move away from you out of fear that you would fall over, but I got some within the next few days. You're doing better and better, especially when you have a toy to play with. I still stay very close by, you tip over after 10-15 seconds, but I'm sure that it won't be long before you're off doing things like this on your own.

We've spent lots of time with friends this month, including two trips to the kimono shop and several cookouts. We went to lunch with some friends a week ago and one of the ladies working at the restaurant held you while Daddy and I ate. Aunt Lusa was worried when I told her about it, but you loved every second of it. Then later that day we met our neighbor across the street and she hugged you and loved on you and talked to you in Japanese about all sorts of things. I have no idea what she was talking about, but you seemed to enjoy yourself.

Yesterday was Memorial Day and since Daddy had the day off of work, we drove out to the beach. We slathered on the sunscreen and headed out, it didn't take very long to get there and was well worth the effort. The water was very cold, which you didn't like very much, but the sand is so dark that it's almost black and you liked squishing your fingers and toes in it. Some of our friends came along and brought their dog, you liked looking at Kona and watching her play fetch. She even licked your hand once, she left plenty of slobber and sand on your fingers. We plan on checking out the other beaches in the area, no swimming is allowed at the beach we went to this time because of the riptide. I've got some adorable swimsuits for you, I can't wait until it's warm enough to put you in them!

The next month is going to be lots of fun, baby girl, I can't wait to see what you learn next! We're also going to start letting you munch on some big-kid food, we'll see how that works out...