Some snapshots and video of the girls from this past week…
Dan playing patty-cake with Mirei the other night…
May M&M Snapshots…
jinbei
Mountain View Obon Festival
On Saturday afternoon, we drove down to go to the Mountain View Obon Festival. We’d always heard about it and had wanted to check it out, but it’s about an hour drive away for us so we hadn’t gone until this year. We originally wanted to attend on Sunday because that’s the day they have the bon-odori, but Dan had an obligation that day, so Saturday was the only time we could go together. We had a wonderful time experiencing Obon together as a family!
Mio has been doing this funny thing where she pretends to sip water, and then afterwards lets out a big burst of breath, like it was really refreshing. I’m not sure where she learned it from… I have a feeling it’s from this beer commercial, which comes on a lot when I’m watching Japanese TV shows. Here it is on video.
Around 6pm, we headed over to the stage area where Jun Daiko was going to have a taiko performance.
Here’s the last half of Jun Daiko’s finale performance of “Inazuma.”
Afterwards, we headed over to downtown Mountain View for a ramen dinner and frozen yogurt for dessert!
I’m really glad that we made the drive down to go to the festival this year! It was memorable, and I think it’s great to give Mio exposure to Japanese culture and traditions so that she can develop an appreciation for her ethnic heritage.
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Happy Kodomo no Hi (ã“ã©ã‚‚ã®æ—¥)! May 5 is Children’s Day in Japan, and so I took some pictures of Mio in her jinbei with the koinobori I bought her for the occasion. I’m continually grateful and feel so blessed that our little girl is so healthy, strong, and full of life!
My Little Japanese Doll.
When I send my mother photos of Mio in her various dresses and outfits, she often comments on how Mio must be like a “living doll” (生ãã¦ã‚‹äººå½¢, ikiteru ningyou in Japanese) that I can play dress-up with. I admit that I have way too much fun picking out what Mio will wear every day, and I probably enjoy it far more than Mio herself does. I’m relishing it while I can, since before I know it, Mio is going to be rejecting my outfit choices for her and wanting to pick her clothes out herself. (And I can already tell you that I will most likely cry when that day comes, just as my mom did when I rejected the K-mart clothing she bought me in favor of Limited Too.)
Mio has a bunch of cute jinbei clothes that she received as gifts as well as hand-me-downs (all in the same size!), so I decided to take advantage of the hot weather we’ve been having this past week and have her wear them while she still can! Welcome to the fashion show of my little Japanese doll, summer edition:
Love the frilled sleeves and the goldfish design…
Bunnies and cherry blossoms… so very appropriate for Mio.
She has recently discovered her toes… 😛
Sweet Surprises in the Mail
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!
Green tea flavored with cherries from Lupicia. The tin was personalized with Mio’s name and birthdate — adorable!
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!
The pattern is cherry blossoms… perfect for my little Mio. ♥
We also got a package from my cousin Yuko in Arizona! We opened the little package to find these sweet contents…
A personalized bib for Mio! Super cute!!!
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! 😀
