We spent a Sunday afternoon at Lake Accotink Park with my girlfriends that I used to attend Japanese Saturday school with, and all of our kids! We’ve known each other since we were first grade and attended nine years of HoshÅ«kÅ together, and now we’re all moms with children. It was great catching up, although it was a little difficult at times with five little ones running around!
Mirei and Lilly going down the slide together.
Mio REALLY wanted to ride the carousel, and she finally got to after we played at the playground for a while.
Mirei got to ride the carousel, too!
Can’t believe we’re all mommies now! This is the “messy” photo of us trying to get the kids to pose before taking a group photo.
Group photo with Marie and Erri and all of our babies! The kids look so enthused…
Mio was exhausted and fell asleep on the way home…
Mirei playing in the backyard later that afternoon…
Patriotic Mio waving the American flag, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance
Here are some unrelated but cute videos we took of Mirei recently, too!
Mirei waving from the window when I came back from work
Mirei giggling hysterically over grapes. I love how she finds humor on the simplest of things sometimes. 🙂
Dan wanted to fly a kite with Mio, so we recently purchased a delta kite that is great for beginners to fly. Mio was really excited to see a kite in flight for the first time, so we flew it in the backyard on Friday evening. There wasn’t enough wind to really pick the kite up very high, but it was still a really fun experience for Mio!
Below are some videos I took of Dan and Mio’s attempts to fly the kite…
We’ll have to try again another day when we have more wind! 🙂
It’s been getting pretty hot recently, so the other day, we invited Mio’s friend Junna over so the two of them could cool down and have fun in the wading pool we pulled out in our backyard.
Junna-chan and Mio are only 2 months apart!
Mio loves the water!
Splashing away!
Water flying up! Junna-chan was not a fan of Mio’s enthusiastic splashing…
Lately, Mio likes to lie down like this in the pool… and in the bathtub, too!
Junna-chan taking a break on the swing in our backyard.
Mio can play for hours out in the pool! She has her Daddy’s fair skin, though, so we’ve been making sure to liberally the sunscreen. 😉 We’ve also got Mio signed up for toddler swim class lessons at the local rec center starting next weekend, so that should be fun too!
It’s been getting pretty chilly lately that I find myself dragging my feet to go outdoors, but Mio doesn’t seem to mind the cold temperatures and enjoys every chance to get out! There’s a Japanese saying, 「åä¾›ã¯é¢¨ã®åã€(kodomo wa kaze no ko) which literally translates to “Children are children of the wind.” It means that kids are openâ€air creatures, and that they are happy to be outdoors regardless of what the weather is like. Mio is definitely a living example!
Below are some pictures I snapped the other day on a brisk autumn afternoon in the backyard…
My Dad joined us for a short time! A rare photo of Mio with her ojiichan.
I love the brilliant red leaves on the Japanese maple tree in the backyard.
Mio loves picking up the leaves and saying “bappa” (her way of saying “happa” which is Japanese for leaf/leaves)
Eating senbei and pumpkin bread for an afternoon snack.
