Happy Valentine's Day 2013

Just  a little love from our sweeties in time for Valentine's day. xoxo

A third FIRST birthday

our little sunshine baby is one today. one blur of a year with this little sweetie in our arms. it feels quite impossible that a year has already gone by, yet here is this little mister all full of life and charms and personality...feeding himself with gusto, scurrying across the room on his own two feet with a mission to accomplish, chattering away at us and gestering with purpose. we're just smitten, every last one of us. i can't wait to see this year unfold as he discovers his awesomeness and unlocks the magic of the world around him. xoxo

after enjoying his first cupcake - which admittedly, his little girlfriend norah (whose birthday is just after his) ate most of after he turned up his nose at the sticky frosting.

teaching his brother how to unwrap presents. poor pete had to wait two hours for baby curtis to wake up! such torture!

he does love him. :)

having a go at the wrapping

loves the new truck - and knew just what to do with it. i love boys

the rollipop game was a huge hit with everyone!

working together watching daddy set up the game

happy birthday breakfast for our big boy! we love you curtis!

megahira

today we had a ball sledding together at megahira, its about 1.5 hours from our home up in the snowy mountains. they must have had a warmer week as there wasn't any fresh powder and it was a bit icy - there was actually a mix of snow/sleet/rain coming down most of the day but we had a lovely time introducing betsy to sledding and watching the littles in action. we went with our friends and enjoyed the time away from the to-do lists to laugh and move and play together.

10 months big!

my sweetie pie baby curtis is 10 months old. goodness how this year has flown by. this picture brings tears to my eyes as my tiny newborn snuggle bunny is swept away by time and is barreling into the toddler stage. but this picture also swells my heart with waves of incredible joy. he brings so much happiness to my days. watching him learn and move. he is into everything his big brother and big sister are working on and squeals with delight when they let him join along. he's quick as lighting on his hands and knees and moves pretty swiftly along the edge of the furniture as well. he'll be walking in no time of course. this little tiny sweet child has grown oh so much in these ten months and i've loved every single minute spent snuggled up together, nurturing him with "momma milk" as the big kids call it. and soon we'll be planning a birthday celebration. oh little man, we love you so much. thanks for all the fun and joy you add to our days! and heavens, thanks for your tolerance and flexibility - we've drug you through so many times of transition. getting ready to move. a long visit to family. flying across the ocean. changing 40 time zones. you are such a patient baby. thank you!!

sandankyo gorge

last weekend i had the pleasure of another photography adventure with my friend and pro photographer, danielle. it was a crisp sunday and reid and curtis joined me while the big kids stayed home and played with our awesome sitter all day. we left at 0815 and didn't return home until dinner...two hour car trip each way and loads of gorgeous hiking filling up the day between.  this gorge was massive and beautiful. although a storm earlier in the week had wiped the trees pretty well clean of the bright autumn leaves, it was still breathtaking and those little bits of color that lingered on a few trees made it just magical. i was thankful for a day out walking in nature with my awesome hubby and little one, new friends and my new hobby (even got to use my new tripod, thanks mom!). we are blessed to live in such an extraordinary place.

fall photo session

i've recently begun dabbling with a bit of photography. i had the good fortune of getting to know a pro photographer at our japanese preschool's bus stop - and have been taking some classes of hers to get to know my camera a little better. i've got a long way to go, loads of practice and heaps of learning and tons of editing to practice...but i do so love it. i did a photo session for one of my doula clients last week and while waiting for the professional shots that danielle took of our family to be edited, i got antsy wanting to make christmas cards and decided to take the kids out to a heap of leaves in our front yard and just snap away. it was after school and betsy had skipped her nap so they weren't quite their funny little selves as i was hoping, but there are some beautiful shots of my sweet babes all three together and i'm quite pleased to have these memories. i do need to be sure to get the three of them together in more shots as we travel around japan. poor curtis is always tucked into a backpack for a nap with a big bonnet on his head - i always try to turn sideways so the backpack is visible as proof that he too was there. enjoy! oh - and poor betsy, by the time it was her turn for solo photos, she was falling apart (day two of no nap)...so i will try again with her in a few days.

Miyajima Island

last saturday our family hopped on the train and headed to miyajima to see the famous "floating" torii gate anditsukushima shrine and take in the beauty of autumn on the island. there has been a torii on miyajima since 1168k but the one currently there was built in 1875. a torii is considered a gateway for a holy place. in japan the torii typyically marks the transition into a shinto shrine area, although they exist at other religious shines as well.   later we hiked up some of mt. misen to the cable way but the kids fell apart about this time and there was a long wait so we decided to come back another time.  before leaving, we were sure to watch the famous maple leaf cookies (momiji-manju)being made and purchased some to enjoy later. they are delicious cookies filled traditionally with the sweet bean paste (very common in desserts here) but some also had chocolate or cream filling. we bought a pack with several options. the kids enjoyed watching the machines make them assembly-line style.  we definitely ask a lot of our small children and of course some days are better than others. our kids are really enjoying all the transit options here (drive to the train station, train to city, ferry to island, etc) but sometimes aren't as excited in walking around and taking in the sights. other days they do great. i am proud of our family for heading out on our adventures and making the most of it, even if sometimes we all fall apart a little. thanks for my husband for his willingness to take the trek, be me co-human-pack-animal as we shoulder the weight of our sweet littles and all the necessary clothing changes/sippy cups/etc to make the most of our time in japan.

after the train ride we had a few block walk to the ferry terminal. many of the cities have underground tunnels for pedestrian transit to major areas in the city. i love this conept. i also love that we traveled stroller-free that day. reid wore the hiking backpack and i wore the ergo carrier. all three kids took turns riding. :)

samurai pete while waiting to board the ferry

another ferry going the opposite direction of ours. the kids loved the boat ride!

taking in the view

lots of walking, people watching and beautiful scenery once we got to miyajima island. betsy and this boy chased each other for awhile. his parents loved the blonde haired blue eyed sassy girl trying to tickle their son. they had their video camera out for the whole ordeal. these two were super cute.

there are tame deer all along the walk way that is crowded with people. they will eat paper tickets out of your hand and attempt to steal your lunch. they are quite docile and just wander around on a whim investigating all the people on their island. once we told betsy that was the end where the deer poops came out, she backed off a bit. so funny.

watching the water traffic

i can't lie. everywhere i go, i love to people watch. BUT people watching in japan is the best - i just LOVE to take in the fashion here. my most favorite thing. i loved their semi-matching attire.

no she is not taking a picture of the deer with her phone, she is taking pictures of my kids. once the kids were done with that deer and moved on she was following us on foot trying for the perfect shot. :)

the torii is just huge - at low tide, you can walk out to it. we will definitely be going back for that opportunity. they call it a "floating" torii because it has the appearance of floating on the water, but it is actually sitting on the sea floor and is just anchored by its own weight.

another beautiful torii gate

peter was feeling extra disagreeable this trip, poor thing and was not interested in participating in the family photo. another reason to go back.

one of my favorite things on miyajima was the brilliant autumn leaves. its been so long since i enjoyed fall weather and this has been a beautiful season in japan!

betsy takes her turn at hiking while pete rides on momma's back. he's getting quite heavy, but it was better than having to stop and pick him up from a heap on the floor every 2 steps. makes me stronger, right?

little sassy bug hamming it up for all the japanese onlookers. that blonde hair and those blue eyes turn heads everywhere we go. :) she's a little super star.