We got a couple surprise packages in the mail this past week! The first was from my friend Aya (from Hiroshima, now living in Saitama). We met back in 2003 when we were both in Chicago, and although we haven’t had many chances to see each other again, we still try to keep in touch. She sent us these super sweet gifts for Mio!

gifts from Aya!

Green tea flavored with cherries from Lupicia. The tin was personalized with Mio’s name and birthdate — adorable!

green tea with fragrance of cherry

How cute is this jinbei for Mio? It’s still a little big for her, but it may be perfect come late summer… 🙂 I can’t wait for her to wear it!

jinbei for Mio

The pattern is cherry blossoms… perfect for my little Mio. ♥

lovely cherry blossom pattern

We also got a package from my cousin Yuko in Arizona! We opened the little package to find these sweet contents…

gift from Yuko

A personalized bib for Mio! Super cute!!!

personalized bib for Mio

I put the bib on Mio to take a picture, and ended up catching her first smile on camera! She’s started showing us some smiles since a couple days ago but they’re still few and far between. So excited that she has finally started smiling for Mommy! 😀

first smile caught on camera!