Hana is currently working on getting her past, present and future tense words in order. It is hilarious to have a conversations with her. They go like this...
(Hana's lines in bold)
At 9 pm on the way home from an event...
"Mommy, where going today?"
"We are going home to go to bed, it's late!"
"but, where going today?"
"We are going home, I said."
"Where going day-morrow?"
"We are going home today. Do you mean tomorrow?"
"yes, where going day-morrow?"
"You need to say, 'Where are we going tomorrow.' Hana."
"Yea, "where going day-morrow?"
"You mean tomorrow?"
"yea, day-morrow!"
I have no idea where she got the words today and tomorrow blended but this is so stuck in her vocabulary, after a couple weeks of daily coaching her to just say "tomorrow" she still can't do it! So funny!
Another conversation on almost a daily basis. The word "yesterday" applies to ANYTHING in the past.
"Bible story time!"
"I read this one yesterday."
"No, yesterday we read this one (pointing to the previous story in her Bible), you haven't heard this story in a long time."
"No mommy, I read this one (today's story) yesterday."
"No, we did THIS ONE (yesterday's story) yesterday."
"Yea, and I read THIS ONE (today's story) yesterday."
"Do you mean, you've read this story BEFORE?"
"Yea, I read this one (today's story) yesterday!"
And a conversation I had about our whole week's schedule with her...
"Mommy, where going today?"
"Today you are going to preschool and Mommy is going to speak at chapel."
"Where going day-morrow?"
"Tomorrow, you are going to preschool, and Mommy has a meeting and Daddy has Gos-Kita recording."
"Hana go too?"
"No, Hana has to go to preschool."
"Mommy, where going day-morrow next day?" (I thought it was amazing how she came up with a way to convey day after tomorrow!)
"We are going to go to our church's cafe."
"Hana go too?"
"Yes, Hana go too!"
I didn't realize that kids had such a concept of future events this early in their life. So fun to watch her grow up and learn these concepts, and to see how her language develops!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Mic please...
Follow up to the post about "mic please"! She does almost the same thing every night now, so we caught it on tape. She changes the way she's acting when she notices the camera, but you get the picture!
I'm a horse!
Conversation in the car on the way to eat dinner...
Daddy: I don't know why but suddenly I'm so hungry!
Hana: Hana hungry too!
Daddy: I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!
Hana: Me too!
Daddy: Wow, you can eat a horse?
Hana: Yea, Hana eat a horse too!
Conversation in the car after dinner...
Daddy: Wow Hana you're tummy is so full, look at that!
Hana: YEA Daddy, I'm a horse!!!
Daddy: I don't know why but suddenly I'm so hungry!
Hana: Hana hungry too!
Daddy: I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!
Hana: Me too!
Daddy: Wow, you can eat a horse?
Hana: Yea, Hana eat a horse too!
Conversation in the car after dinner...
Daddy: Wow Hana you're tummy is so full, look at that!
Hana: YEA Daddy, I'm a horse!!!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Microphone Please!
Little miss priss! Oh my goodness she cracked Mommy and Daddy up last night, I would give anything for video of this moment. Every evening after her bath, I plop her down on the counter in the bathroom to blow dry her hair. She always like to open the medicine cabinet door where the mirror is facing her, and sing and play while I'm drying.
Last night, I sat her up there and as I was plugging in the drying she was grinning at her reflection, tilting her head and raising her shoulder, flirting with herself. When she was quite satisfied that she looked good, she threw her hand up over her shoulder in my direction and announced, "Microphone, please." in such a matter of fact, sassy voice I couldn't believe that was coming from a 3 year old! Daddy and I just died laughing. I handed her a brush, and she proceeded to give us a concert while I dried her hair. She never did figure out what was so funny.
Is she the child of a couple of performers, or what!? What a riot!
Last night, I sat her up there and as I was plugging in the drying she was grinning at her reflection, tilting her head and raising her shoulder, flirting with herself. When she was quite satisfied that she looked good, she threw her hand up over her shoulder in my direction and announced, "Microphone, please." in such a matter of fact, sassy voice I couldn't believe that was coming from a 3 year old! Daddy and I just died laughing. I handed her a brush, and she proceeded to give us a concert while I dried her hair. She never did figure out what was so funny.
Is she the child of a couple of performers, or what!? What a riot!
Monday, February 11, 2008
That's ok Mommy!
I mentioned in my recent post that Hana is such an encourager. Well she just amazes me with this. Yesterday at lunch I made one of Hana's (and my) favorite things. It's called koyadofu, it's a kind of tofu. The broth you cook it in is sooooo yummy, and Hana and I both really really love this food. During lunch Hana had two pieces of the tofu, and then she got up to go to the restroom at one point. She sometimes takes her sweet time actually getting to the bathroom and getting BACK to the table. She had eaten quite a lot of rice and salad, so I thought she was probably almost finished with her lunch. I proceeded to eat all of the tofu that was left. Hana eventually returned to her seat, and I was already at the sink washing dishes. At one point she realized all the tofu was gone and she yelled, "HEY, where tofu go?!!! I want more!" I sheepishly confessed that I had eaten it all and I was very sorry (it had sort of occured to me that she might want more, but I thought to myself "nahhhh" and at the last piece). I appologized to her several times and promised to make it again soon. Then a few minutes later I said, "Oh Hana I feel really bad that I ate all the tofu, I'm really sorry!" And she just grinned at me, patted me on the arm and said, "It's okay Mommy! It's okay!" sooooo sweet and if you could just hear her little voice and the way she pronounces "okay", it'll just melt your heart.
Then this morning, at breakfast, she again decided she needed to get up and go to the restroom during the meal. Before she left the table, she pointed to her oatmeal and said, "Don't anybody eat this I'm gone... 'kay?" I just chuckled and promised her oatmeal was safe. I then asked Rocky where he thinks she got that from, we never tell people not to eat our food when we get up from the table? I don't even know where she learned to put together that sentence. It just occured to me while I was writing this post, maybe she was afraid mommy would eat all her oatmeal, since I had eaten all her tofu the day before!
LOL!
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Growing girl...
This morning Hana asked to see video of herself from when she was a baby. I decided to sit beside and watch some too. It seems unreal to me that she was that little. We watched from 3-6 months and also from 12-15 months. It seems like just yesterday that she came, and yet at the same time I can't imagine that there was ever a time she couldn't talk and run around and feed herself and so forth. That time passed OH SO quickly. Especially since we waited so many years for this precious gift to come along. I really want to slow down the clock.
This afternoon she was getting cranky. We are in an in between stage where she doesn't really need a nap some days but other days she does. Today I was thinking she didn't need a nap because last night she had a hard time falling asleep in the evening after having a two hour nap yesterday afternoon. I left for the gym at 8:30 and when I came home a little after 10:00 she was still singing and talking to herself in bed. I went up to re-tuck her in as Daddy had already done his duties, and even after that she was awake and talking and singing for a while. SOOOO, I'm trying to figure out what to do about naps. Most days at preschool she doesn't sleep at all, those days she goes down very well but she can get cranky on those evenings, and will often fall asleep in the car around 5 or 6 if we go somewhere (which messes up bedtime). So should I limit naps and wake her after 30 minutes or so (but waking her up makes her a bear)! When she was getting cranky this afternoon I let her crawl up in my lap for some cuddling and eventually she fell asleep there. It was so sweet to hold her while she slept, I rarely get to do that anymore. With my movements and talking to Rocky she woke up about 30 minutes later. Tonight we are running late for bedtime also, so I am hoping she will have no problem falling asleep.
Speaking of, gotta go get her out of the bath and put her to bed... brb
Anyways, she is just such a sweetheart. She loves to love people. And her babies are really REALLY her babies. I didn't realize how much so until yesterday. We were at our church and one little boy who was there came up and whacked her baby on the head. You would have though he hit Hana for how she screamed. She came running to me crying and I realized her cry was a heart-broken cry, not one of pain. She was REALLY really heart-broken that her baby had been treated so badly. It was funny but at the same time I could see how very tender hearted she really is about the thing she loves.
She is such an encourager too. She often uses the line, "It's ok Mommy!" If she sees I am disappointed or worked up about something. This comes with a pat or a kiss.
Night before last when I came home from being gone somewhere for a little bit, she came running to me and said, "Mommy, I spill juice. I'm sorry!" I thought that was so honest and sweet. I asked her if she told Daddy about it and she said, "yes" and I asked if Daddy cleaned it up and she said "yes". So I asked if she thanked Daddy? She ran to him and said "thank you Daddy!"
When she is in good spirits and not overtired or hungry she is very thoughtful like this. She is not always this way, especially if she is tired.
We are still struggling with picking up toys. I do NOT know what is going to be the breakthrough on that. Tonight she lost her sticker, and I still had to tell her many many times to pick up the remaining toys. Finally I told her whatever is left on the floor I am throwing it away. THAT didn't work, she could care less that I really threw away the toys that were left on the floor (some paper money, a small watering can, and some plastic kitchen veggies). So, that didn't work. Maybe toy time out? If throwing them away didn't work I don't think time out will though, cause she clearly understand that things going in the trash don't come back.
It is fun and exciting but not without it's challenges, that is something to say about parenting!
Not a peep from her bed tonight, I think she is already out. Ok, a 30 minute nap and late bedtime works... noted! LOL
This afternoon she was getting cranky. We are in an in between stage where she doesn't really need a nap some days but other days she does. Today I was thinking she didn't need a nap because last night she had a hard time falling asleep in the evening after having a two hour nap yesterday afternoon. I left for the gym at 8:30 and when I came home a little after 10:00 she was still singing and talking to herself in bed. I went up to re-tuck her in as Daddy had already done his duties, and even after that she was awake and talking and singing for a while. SOOOO, I'm trying to figure out what to do about naps. Most days at preschool she doesn't sleep at all, those days she goes down very well but she can get cranky on those evenings, and will often fall asleep in the car around 5 or 6 if we go somewhere (which messes up bedtime). So should I limit naps and wake her after 30 minutes or so (but waking her up makes her a bear)! When she was getting cranky this afternoon I let her crawl up in my lap for some cuddling and eventually she fell asleep there. It was so sweet to hold her while she slept, I rarely get to do that anymore. With my movements and talking to Rocky she woke up about 30 minutes later. Tonight we are running late for bedtime also, so I am hoping she will have no problem falling asleep.
Speaking of, gotta go get her out of the bath and put her to bed... brb
Anyways, she is just such a sweetheart. She loves to love people. And her babies are really REALLY her babies. I didn't realize how much so until yesterday. We were at our church and one little boy who was there came up and whacked her baby on the head. You would have though he hit Hana for how she screamed. She came running to me crying and I realized her cry was a heart-broken cry, not one of pain. She was REALLY really heart-broken that her baby had been treated so badly. It was funny but at the same time I could see how very tender hearted she really is about the thing she loves.
She is such an encourager too. She often uses the line, "It's ok Mommy!" If she sees I am disappointed or worked up about something. This comes with a pat or a kiss.
Night before last when I came home from being gone somewhere for a little bit, she came running to me and said, "Mommy, I spill juice. I'm sorry!" I thought that was so honest and sweet. I asked her if she told Daddy about it and she said, "yes" and I asked if Daddy cleaned it up and she said "yes". So I asked if she thanked Daddy? She ran to him and said "thank you Daddy!"
When she is in good spirits and not overtired or hungry she is very thoughtful like this. She is not always this way, especially if she is tired.
We are still struggling with picking up toys. I do NOT know what is going to be the breakthrough on that. Tonight she lost her sticker, and I still had to tell her many many times to pick up the remaining toys. Finally I told her whatever is left on the floor I am throwing it away. THAT didn't work, she could care less that I really threw away the toys that were left on the floor (some paper money, a small watering can, and some plastic kitchen veggies). So, that didn't work. Maybe toy time out? If throwing them away didn't work I don't think time out will though, cause she clearly understand that things going in the trash don't come back.
It is fun and exciting but not without it's challenges, that is something to say about parenting!
Not a peep from her bed tonight, I think she is already out. Ok, a 30 minute nap and late bedtime works... noted! LOL
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Pics and fun stuff...
Just thought I'd share some more about our sweet little girl (whose growing like a weed)!!!
Here are some pics to start off with...
Every morning while waiting for Mommy to fix breakfast and the heaters to warm up the room, Hana and Daddy enjoy a little "hold-you cuddle cuddle" time!
This is one of Hana's best buddies Corkey, we do English time together on Saturday mornings twice a month. They LOVE to play together!
Hana REALLY enjoys books these days. She loves to "read" them herself AND have someone read for her.
This is Hana's other best buddy, Mia! She gets soooooooo excited when she's going to get to spend time with Mia. Yesterday on the way home from church we were making plans to go to Mia's house for dinner, and Hana wanted to go IMMEDIATELY. I told her she had to nap or she couldn't go to Mia's house. Then she wanted to take a nap IMMEDIATELY! The minute her eyes popped open from her nap the first thing she said was "Mommy, I take a nap! Let's go to Mia's house!" It was so hard to get her to wait until Mommy and Daddy were ready to go too.
One time recently when she fell asleep in the car with her hat on. I just threw this one in as a cute bonus!
She's growing so fast. She's almost 3 feet tall (35.5 inches to be exact) and weighs almost 30 pounds! I can not believe my baby is that big.
She'll talk your ear off in either language. It is so cute to watch her when she is in a room with Japanese AND Enlgish speakers. She has her designated language for each person and she'll flip back and forth between the two like it's a piece of cake. She even translates for her Grandma these days. If Mommy and Daddy are having a conversation in front of Baba in English, Hana will tell Baba in Japanese what we are talking about! We are to that stage that we have to be careful what we say in front of her cause she is understanding it ALL!
It is a joy to be her Mommy. She's full of hugs and kisses all day long, and loves to help me wash veggies and prepare for dinner! She REALLY loves to take care of her babies which reminds me of one more picture I have to share. I was cleaning up the kitchen the other day and turned around to see this scene in the living room...
I guess she thought her babies needed a little TV time too, they were all enjoying VeggieTales I think!!! Too cute, I just love the way she has her legs crossed and is slumped down in her chair. Looks like a teenager already, OH PLEASE time SLOW DOWN!!!
Here are some pics to start off with...
Every morning while waiting for Mommy to fix breakfast and the heaters to warm up the room, Hana and Daddy enjoy a little "hold-you cuddle cuddle" time!
This is one of Hana's best buddies Corkey, we do English time together on Saturday mornings twice a month. They LOVE to play together!
Hana REALLY enjoys books these days. She loves to "read" them herself AND have someone read for her.
This is Hana's other best buddy, Mia! She gets soooooooo excited when she's going to get to spend time with Mia. Yesterday on the way home from church we were making plans to go to Mia's house for dinner, and Hana wanted to go IMMEDIATELY. I told her she had to nap or she couldn't go to Mia's house. Then she wanted to take a nap IMMEDIATELY! The minute her eyes popped open from her nap the first thing she said was "Mommy, I take a nap! Let's go to Mia's house!" It was so hard to get her to wait until Mommy and Daddy were ready to go too.
One time recently when she fell asleep in the car with her hat on. I just threw this one in as a cute bonus!
She's growing so fast. She's almost 3 feet tall (35.5 inches to be exact) and weighs almost 30 pounds! I can not believe my baby is that big.
She'll talk your ear off in either language. It is so cute to watch her when she is in a room with Japanese AND Enlgish speakers. She has her designated language for each person and she'll flip back and forth between the two like it's a piece of cake. She even translates for her Grandma these days. If Mommy and Daddy are having a conversation in front of Baba in English, Hana will tell Baba in Japanese what we are talking about! We are to that stage that we have to be careful what we say in front of her cause she is understanding it ALL!
It is a joy to be her Mommy. She's full of hugs and kisses all day long, and loves to help me wash veggies and prepare for dinner! She REALLY loves to take care of her babies which reminds me of one more picture I have to share. I was cleaning up the kitchen the other day and turned around to see this scene in the living room...
I guess she thought her babies needed a little TV time too, they were all enjoying VeggieTales I think!!! Too cute, I just love the way she has her legs crossed and is slumped down in her chair. Looks like a teenager already, OH PLEASE time SLOW DOWN!!!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Before I forget...
I have to write this one down before I forget about it. Then I have to come back later and post a real update, I didn't realize it had been so long.
Anyways, on the way to preschool this morning Hana was asking what I am going to do today. I told her that Daddy and I have to go to a meeting and I was explaining to her who would be there. Lately she doesn't want to go to preschool, but would rather stay with us. She knows the things we do and even has to go with us sometimes and I think she is beginning to wonder why on some days she has to go to preschool and other days she can stay with us (we take her with us one days that our ministry will make it impossible to pick her up ontime from school, on weekends, and on holidays when the school is closed). Most days she protests about going to school. So, then the conversation went like this...
Hana: "Hana go meeting too?"
Mommy: "No, you have to go to preschool today."
Hana: "Hana no sleep?" (do I have to take a nap today)
Mommy: "Yes, today you will take a nap at school today."
Hana: "Hana no take a nap!"
Mommy: "oh, sweety, you have to be at preschool today and you'll need to lay down at nap time"
Hana: "Preschool, no thank you. Hana, Mommy, Daddy meeting together."
Mommy: "Oh Hana, you'll have so much fun at preschool today!"
Hana: "No thank you"
Mommy: "oh sweety, you should decide at the start of your day to have a fun day, and then it will be fun."
At this point she kind of furrowed her brow and I could tell she was deep in thought. We pulled into preschool and made our way to her room. She was silent and seemed to still be deep in thought. Usually once we arrive at preschool she clings to me and often cries when I leave. Today she didn't follow me around the room clinging to my leg as I was putting her things away, and she bounced into the room after putting her shoes away and smiled at me and said, "Mommy, I have fun today!" She hugged and kissed me and ran off to her place at the table where they were they were taking their break for morning milk.
It just made me so proud. She pondered what I said about deciding to have fun, and she took my advice!!! I was just so amazed at her little three year old mind being able to comprehend that and THEN deciding to have a positive attitude! Kids are amazing, or should I say, MY daughter is amazing!
Anyways, on the way to preschool this morning Hana was asking what I am going to do today. I told her that Daddy and I have to go to a meeting and I was explaining to her who would be there. Lately she doesn't want to go to preschool, but would rather stay with us. She knows the things we do and even has to go with us sometimes and I think she is beginning to wonder why on some days she has to go to preschool and other days she can stay with us (we take her with us one days that our ministry will make it impossible to pick her up ontime from school, on weekends, and on holidays when the school is closed). Most days she protests about going to school. So, then the conversation went like this...
Hana: "Hana go meeting too?"
Mommy: "No, you have to go to preschool today."
Hana: "Hana no sleep?" (do I have to take a nap today)
Mommy: "Yes, today you will take a nap at school today."
Hana: "Hana no take a nap!"
Mommy: "oh, sweety, you have to be at preschool today and you'll need to lay down at nap time"
Hana: "Preschool, no thank you. Hana, Mommy, Daddy meeting together."
Mommy: "Oh Hana, you'll have so much fun at preschool today!"
Hana: "No thank you"
Mommy: "oh sweety, you should decide at the start of your day to have a fun day, and then it will be fun."
At this point she kind of furrowed her brow and I could tell she was deep in thought. We pulled into preschool and made our way to her room. She was silent and seemed to still be deep in thought. Usually once we arrive at preschool she clings to me and often cries when I leave. Today she didn't follow me around the room clinging to my leg as I was putting her things away, and she bounced into the room after putting her shoes away and smiled at me and said, "Mommy, I have fun today!" She hugged and kissed me and ran off to her place at the table where they were they were taking their break for morning milk.
It just made me so proud. She pondered what I said about deciding to have fun, and she took my advice!!! I was just so amazed at her little three year old mind being able to comprehend that and THEN deciding to have a positive attitude! Kids are amazing, or should I say, MY daughter is amazing!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Hair wash...
When I (Mommy) was a little girl, my mother had a hair salon. I LOVED for her to wash my hair in the sinks at the salon with the shower head in that big sink with the little place for your neck to lay. When I got a bit older Mom closed her shop and started a different business. She still gave me perms and so forth at home, and those times she would lay me up on the kitchen counter, hold my head over the sink and wash my hair. She'd also do this when I was really sick (which was often with my asthma) if I couldn't take a bath but needed a hair washing. I LOVED having my mom wash my hair and it was always so special to me.
On our recent trip to Aomori it was REALLY cold. In Japan there is no central heating, and so bathrooms are pretty cold places in the house here. Plus they had only a shower stall, and it wasn't the biggest thing so it was pretty cold and cramped to try to give Hana a shower. So since she didn't really need one everyday, I would just wash her hair in the sink. She LOVED it just as much as I did when I was a little girl.
There is something so special and intimate about someone washing your hair. I remember it being especially sweet to have my Mommy hovering over me holding my head and washing my hair. And the water running down my head tickled sometimes so it was often an experience that caused me to laugh too.
Hana love it too! She just loved looking up at me and would grab my face and say "Mommy, yubs you!" She would also giggle when it tickled! She jumps at the chance to have me wash her hair in the sink now.
These moments are the things I dreamed of doing for my babies and never knew if I would get these opportunities when we were deep in the despair of infertility! HOW VERY EXTRA PRECIOUS it is when I finally get to experience all of these things!
Here are some pictures of our little make-shift hair salon in the kitchen where we stayed in Aomori!!! Enjoy...
On our recent trip to Aomori it was REALLY cold. In Japan there is no central heating, and so bathrooms are pretty cold places in the house here. Plus they had only a shower stall, and it wasn't the biggest thing so it was pretty cold and cramped to try to give Hana a shower. So since she didn't really need one everyday, I would just wash her hair in the sink. She LOVED it just as much as I did when I was a little girl.
There is something so special and intimate about someone washing your hair. I remember it being especially sweet to have my Mommy hovering over me holding my head and washing my hair. And the water running down my head tickled sometimes so it was often an experience that caused me to laugh too.
Hana love it too! She just loved looking up at me and would grab my face and say "Mommy, yubs you!" She would also giggle when it tickled! She jumps at the chance to have me wash her hair in the sink now.
These moments are the things I dreamed of doing for my babies and never knew if I would get these opportunities when we were deep in the despair of infertility! HOW VERY EXTRA PRECIOUS it is when I finally get to experience all of these things!
Here are some pictures of our little make-shift hair salon in the kitchen where we stayed in Aomori!!! Enjoy...
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Hana 3 yrs with Maggie
First of all, Daddy was shooting pics with the camera side ways and he forgot to put it back to normal for video. Anyways, this was just cute cause she was pretending to have Maggie be the baby Jesus! So sweet!!!
Cowboy Hana
This is one is specially for Bam, cause Hana has decided she is a cowboy! I don't know why she is whispering in this video, but she sure did LOVE this little rocking horse. Makes me want to make one for her!!! She's so precious, isn't she!?
Playing at the airport
At the play area in the airport she was "taking a spicy bath"!? and it had ice cubes in it! What a nut!
Hana eating ice cream
It's not often that she eats sweets but she was so bored in the airport she went for some ice cream and she was so cute eating it that I had to take some video!
Monday, November 19, 2007
The Apple story
Every night before bedtime for the past year or more, we have read a story from Hana's little children's Bible. We've been all the way through the Bible twice, and just recently started over again at the beginning of Genesis. Hana LOVES this part of her bedtime routine and will not allow it to be passed over for anything.
She loves Bible time and the newest part of her bedtime routine which she calls "stickers". I started a reward system where she gets a sticker for 5 things she had to do each day. Make her bed, use manners at the table, pick up toy, dress herself, and speak kindly to Mommy and Daddy. These were all areas we were battling over everyday and I got tired of having to use force to make her do them, and hearing constant whinning regarding most of these issues. So we implemented the sticker system, for every category she did well in, she gets a sticker at the end of the day and that includes doing each of them joyfully WITHOUT whinning!!! It has worked like a charm. Mid-day, if I am having trouble getting her cooperation, all I have to do is mention the loss of a sticker, and she straightens up right away. And a major incident of disobedience can result in the loss of all stickers for the day, which she learned she doesn't like at all the first time she lost all her stickers for disobeying. It has been such a relief to have a tool that motivates her to do things, instead of forcing her to do things unwillingly which was all that I could do before. Incidentally she also gets 5 yen for each sticker she earns, she saves them in a little piggy bank, and will take 10% to church each Sunday and the rest can be used to buy a toy now and again on a shopping trip.
Well, back to the Bible story time. From the time the New Testament was about to end a couple weeks ago, she KNEW that we were going to start over from the beginning again and she knew which story was coming. She started asking for the apple story everyday, and she was soooooooooooooo excited when we finally got to it three days ago. She was enthrawled by this story all of the sudden. She has also requested that we re-read it everyday since, and I am gladly complying since this story is a basical Biblical truth that I want her to grasp well.
And grasp it well is exactly what she is doing. The first night we read it she kept asking which tree that God told Adam and Even not to eat from. The second night she went on and on about that tree being a no-no and was shocked when Adam and Eve disobeyed. When I read the part about them being kicked out of the garden she said, "They need spanking! This a spanking?" And I said that yes God kicking them out of the garden is kind of like a spanking. Then she asked if the snake has a belly button (since he has to crawl on his belly from now on!) LOL
Then tonight, she really wanted to know WHY God told them they couldn't eat from that one tree. And why did they eat from it. When we read about Adam and Eve leaving the garden tonight she said, "Mommy, NO stickers today!" I told her that she was right, they had done something very wrong and wouldn't be getting any stickers that day.
It just amazes me, at 3 years old she clearly understands right and wrong and consequences that come with disobeying. But what's more, she really wants to understand WHY God wouldn't let them eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I can't wait till she can understand the deep meaning behind this story, and not just that God disciplined Adam and Eve but that He showed them mercy and love also.
Raising kids is such a blast!!!!!
She loves Bible time and the newest part of her bedtime routine which she calls "stickers". I started a reward system where she gets a sticker for 5 things she had to do each day. Make her bed, use manners at the table, pick up toy, dress herself, and speak kindly to Mommy and Daddy. These were all areas we were battling over everyday and I got tired of having to use force to make her do them, and hearing constant whinning regarding most of these issues. So we implemented the sticker system, for every category she did well in, she gets a sticker at the end of the day and that includes doing each of them joyfully WITHOUT whinning!!! It has worked like a charm. Mid-day, if I am having trouble getting her cooperation, all I have to do is mention the loss of a sticker, and she straightens up right away. And a major incident of disobedience can result in the loss of all stickers for the day, which she learned she doesn't like at all the first time she lost all her stickers for disobeying. It has been such a relief to have a tool that motivates her to do things, instead of forcing her to do things unwillingly which was all that I could do before. Incidentally she also gets 5 yen for each sticker she earns, she saves them in a little piggy bank, and will take 10% to church each Sunday and the rest can be used to buy a toy now and again on a shopping trip.
Well, back to the Bible story time. From the time the New Testament was about to end a couple weeks ago, she KNEW that we were going to start over from the beginning again and she knew which story was coming. She started asking for the apple story everyday, and she was soooooooooooooo excited when we finally got to it three days ago. She was enthrawled by this story all of the sudden. She has also requested that we re-read it everyday since, and I am gladly complying since this story is a basical Biblical truth that I want her to grasp well.
And grasp it well is exactly what she is doing. The first night we read it she kept asking which tree that God told Adam and Even not to eat from. The second night she went on and on about that tree being a no-no and was shocked when Adam and Eve disobeyed. When I read the part about them being kicked out of the garden she said, "They need spanking! This a spanking?" And I said that yes God kicking them out of the garden is kind of like a spanking. Then she asked if the snake has a belly button (since he has to crawl on his belly from now on!) LOL
Then tonight, she really wanted to know WHY God told them they couldn't eat from that one tree. And why did they eat from it. When we read about Adam and Eve leaving the garden tonight she said, "Mommy, NO stickers today!" I told her that she was right, they had done something very wrong and wouldn't be getting any stickers that day.
It just amazes me, at 3 years old she clearly understands right and wrong and consequences that come with disobeying. But what's more, she really wants to understand WHY God wouldn't let them eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I can't wait till she can understand the deep meaning behind this story, and not just that God disciplined Adam and Eve but that He showed them mercy and love also.
Raising kids is such a blast!!!!!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Me too!!!
While driving along in the car the other day...
Daddy: "ugh, I've got a pimple right here"
Mommy: "I've got one right here too, it's so annoying!"
Hana (from the back seat): "ME TOO!!!"
Sometime last week...
Mommy: "My bra itches right here..."
Hana: "ME TOO!!!"
There have been plenty more funny ones involving Hana saying "me too" but I just can't remember them all. She's so funny!
Daddy: "ugh, I've got a pimple right here"
Mommy: "I've got one right here too, it's so annoying!"
Hana (from the back seat): "ME TOO!!!"
Sometime last week...
Mommy: "My bra itches right here..."
Hana: "ME TOO!!!"
There have been plenty more funny ones involving Hana saying "me too" but I just can't remember them all. She's so funny!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Hana's Sports Day Video
I wasn't able to put much time into it, but at least here are some clips from the sports day at Hana's preschool recently...
Sunday, October 21, 2007
recent cute stuff...
She just keeps getting more and more adorable all the time! Just wanted to share some recent pictures, and maybe I'll have time for some video uploads today too.
On a recent trip to Osaka, while walking through the train station to change trains, she spotted this Panda bear and just had to go and see her. I was amazed because she usually HATE statues and such. She had no fear of this and even wanted to ride on top of it. It was hard to get her to leave the Panda behind.
Recently we had a charity concert for the agency that brought Hana to us. I dressed Hana up in this sweet little red dress, and her friend Mia was all dressed up too. They had a great time playing together, climbing up and down the steps in the back seating area. Such fun to have a little buddy like Mia!
This VERY VERY precious man, Mr. Tsujioka is our favorite stork in the whole world! When Hana was 9 days old, on August 31, 2004 Mr. Tsujioka personally brought Hana by plane to us. He is the director of Chisana Inochi o Mamoru Kai (Organization for protecting tiny lives, or in English it is known as Pro-Life Japan). We were so glad to get to see him again and we even had him in our home for one night following the charity concert! There will be pictures, and video over on the ministry blog of the charity concert and Mr. Tsujioka's wonderful presentation at the concert. So check it out.
TWINS!!!!!??????
In Japan there are lots of yummy variations of bread available at the bread shop. One of Hana's favorite Japanese cartoon characters is Anpan Man (a little bread roll with bean paste in the middle). The other day when choosing breads for our lunch she discovered this little guy who looks a lot like Anpan Man but is really Chocopan Man. (Pan means bread in Japanese, by the way). She just had to have him, even though I was pretty sure she wouldn't eat him. But we got it anyways, she took a few small bites, but mostly she just enjoyed playing with it! LOL
Videos coming soon!
On a recent trip to Osaka, while walking through the train station to change trains, she spotted this Panda bear and just had to go and see her. I was amazed because she usually HATE statues and such. She had no fear of this and even wanted to ride on top of it. It was hard to get her to leave the Panda behind.
Recently we had a charity concert for the agency that brought Hana to us. I dressed Hana up in this sweet little red dress, and her friend Mia was all dressed up too. They had a great time playing together, climbing up and down the steps in the back seating area. Such fun to have a little buddy like Mia!
This VERY VERY precious man, Mr. Tsujioka is our favorite stork in the whole world! When Hana was 9 days old, on August 31, 2004 Mr. Tsujioka personally brought Hana by plane to us. He is the director of Chisana Inochi o Mamoru Kai (Organization for protecting tiny lives, or in English it is known as Pro-Life Japan). We were so glad to get to see him again and we even had him in our home for one night following the charity concert! There will be pictures, and video over on the ministry blog of the charity concert and Mr. Tsujioka's wonderful presentation at the concert. So check it out.
TWINS!!!!!??????
In Japan there are lots of yummy variations of bread available at the bread shop. One of Hana's favorite Japanese cartoon characters is Anpan Man (a little bread roll with bean paste in the middle). The other day when choosing breads for our lunch she discovered this little guy who looks a lot like Anpan Man but is really Chocopan Man. (Pan means bread in Japanese, by the way). She just had to have him, even though I was pretty sure she wouldn't eat him. But we got it anyways, she took a few small bites, but mostly she just enjoyed playing with it! LOL
Videos coming soon!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Today I saw Hana do several things that really caught my attention and REALLY show how much she is growing up. On the walk back home from preschool I decided to stop off at a park very near our house and let her play a little bit. We haven't had a chance to play at this park for months. The last time we were there to play, there were several things she couldn't do that she could do OR taught herself to do (right in front of my eyes) today! It was amazing to watch.
First of all there is a tall perpendicular ladder that she couldn't climb without some help last time. Today, the first time up she asked for a little help. The second time up, I barely gave her an extra little push on the last rung, and the third time up she just shimmied her way right to the top without even thinking about it! The first couple time she was figuring out where to put her hands and how best to pull herself up and she figured it out quick.
The next thing I noticed was that the taller longer slide didn't intimidate her at all and she zoomed right down it and landed on her feet! Until now, she's always layed down on the way down and then slid off the bottom at the end and landed on her little tush! Today she was popping right up on her feet when she hit the ground. I was impressed again.
Then finally, on the shorter slide she has always wanted to climb up it the opposite direction. It has been impossible until now to go even three or four steps up it. But today she was sooooooo determined. I was over checking my cell phone and I kept hearing her giggle and scuffling around a lot. I turned to see her trying to make her way up the slide from the bottom and falling over backwards as the slope got too steep! And she was laughing at herself about it. I went over to help her, and tried to support her bottom while she climbed, but she pushed my hand away and say "I do it!" So I just stood back and watched. She learned how not to fall over backwards, but she kept making it a little farther up and then falling and sliding all the way to the bottom on her tummy, only to giggle and then get up and try again. She'd make it a little farther up and then fall and slide, over and over again. Sweat started breaking out on her forhead and she was even breathing hard, but she was so determined. Once she made it all the way to the top and just had one tiny step to go and she fell again and slid all the way to the bottom. I just kept telling her how good she was doing and to keep trying. All the while she would laugh when she fell and then get a REALLY determined look on her face and start up again.
Finally she made it all the way up, and we both cheered. She ran over and took the long slide back down, scurried around the little play set and headed back up that slide AGAIN! This time she fell a few times, but she made it up more quickly. She slide down the other side and came back for more. After countless times of this, she had mastered making it to the top without even slipping!
I pray she keeps that dedicated determined spirit and thrives on it! It was so fun to watch her do that.
Then this evening while I was making dinner we had one of her favorite CD's going and she went over and sat down at her little piano (I call it her "Linus" piano, like the character from Charlie Brown has). Anyways, she started playing along with the CD and she was pushing down notes with the rhythm of the tune of the songs. She stayed on the same note, she wasn't actually playing the tune but she was keeping the rhythm of the tune. I was pretty impressed. We have to seriously think about piano lessons soon...
WOW, I can't believe she is growing up so fast! Where did my BABY go???
First of all there is a tall perpendicular ladder that she couldn't climb without some help last time. Today, the first time up she asked for a little help. The second time up, I barely gave her an extra little push on the last rung, and the third time up she just shimmied her way right to the top without even thinking about it! The first couple time she was figuring out where to put her hands and how best to pull herself up and she figured it out quick.
The next thing I noticed was that the taller longer slide didn't intimidate her at all and she zoomed right down it and landed on her feet! Until now, she's always layed down on the way down and then slid off the bottom at the end and landed on her little tush! Today she was popping right up on her feet when she hit the ground. I was impressed again.
Then finally, on the shorter slide she has always wanted to climb up it the opposite direction. It has been impossible until now to go even three or four steps up it. But today she was sooooooo determined. I was over checking my cell phone and I kept hearing her giggle and scuffling around a lot. I turned to see her trying to make her way up the slide from the bottom and falling over backwards as the slope got too steep! And she was laughing at herself about it. I went over to help her, and tried to support her bottom while she climbed, but she pushed my hand away and say "I do it!" So I just stood back and watched. She learned how not to fall over backwards, but she kept making it a little farther up and then falling and sliding all the way to the bottom on her tummy, only to giggle and then get up and try again. She'd make it a little farther up and then fall and slide, over and over again. Sweat started breaking out on her forhead and she was even breathing hard, but she was so determined. Once she made it all the way to the top and just had one tiny step to go and she fell again and slid all the way to the bottom. I just kept telling her how good she was doing and to keep trying. All the while she would laugh when she fell and then get a REALLY determined look on her face and start up again.
Finally she made it all the way up, and we both cheered. She ran over and took the long slide back down, scurried around the little play set and headed back up that slide AGAIN! This time she fell a few times, but she made it up more quickly. She slide down the other side and came back for more. After countless times of this, she had mastered making it to the top without even slipping!
I pray she keeps that dedicated determined spirit and thrives on it! It was so fun to watch her do that.
Then this evening while I was making dinner we had one of her favorite CD's going and she went over and sat down at her little piano (I call it her "Linus" piano, like the character from Charlie Brown has). Anyways, she started playing along with the CD and she was pushing down notes with the rhythm of the tune of the songs. She stayed on the same note, she wasn't actually playing the tune but she was keeping the rhythm of the tune. I was pretty impressed. We have to seriously think about piano lessons soon...
WOW, I can't believe she is growing up so fast! Where did my BABY go???
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Sports Day 2007
Today was the big day! Hana and all her classmates at preschool have been preparing for today for many weeks now. Today was "Sports Day" or "Undokai" in Japanese. This is a BIG deal in Japan! A REALLY big deal! And it was so neat to go and watch them perform for us all the things they've been practicing. We were even able to participate in some of the games, and we had such a fun day.
Hana was such a good girl! I worried that since we were there she would insists on staying with us, and each time we got to be with her she might not like being seperated again. But she did AWESOME! And she totally loved being in front of the crowd, which I wasn't sure how she would handle. You'll see in the pictures, she was a little ham! She had a huge grin on her face almost constantly when her class was in front of us all. I will hopefully have video up soon. I need to upload and edit the live action video. We took our video camera today instead of a camera and I only took video, then I took still photos off the video this evening. The sad part is, there was a huge smudge on our lens and we couldn't see it in the glare of the sun. Plus our battery ran out right before lunch, so I couldn't catch the ending. But I think we got some great shots to remember this fun day by. Luckily in some of the shots the dirty lens is not that noticable.
Enjoy these pics...
Hana was such a good girl! I worried that since we were there she would insists on staying with us, and each time we got to be with her she might not like being seperated again. But she did AWESOME! And she totally loved being in front of the crowd, which I wasn't sure how she would handle. You'll see in the pictures, she was a little ham! She had a huge grin on her face almost constantly when her class was in front of us all. I will hopefully have video up soon. I need to upload and edit the live action video. We took our video camera today instead of a camera and I only took video, then I took still photos off the video this evening. The sad part is, there was a huge smudge on our lens and we couldn't see it in the glare of the sun. Plus our battery ran out right before lunch, so I couldn't catch the ending. But I think we got some great shots to remember this fun day by. Luckily in some of the shots the dirty lens is not that noticable.
Enjoy these pics...
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