So We're on Vacation...

We left Japan mid-June and we are now just less than a week from returning home. I would do a real post, but my parent's computer really seem to get along to well with my computer. In the meantime please enjoy this sweet little face in the Sacred Grove.

At Our House Lately: In the Dining Room

Clara has picked up a nasty habit of being a picky eater. And if she doesn't want it in her mouth, she usually thinks it will make for a great facial. Avocados being the preferred facial right now. It's weird because she used to love them.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter ice cream

Good to the last drop.

Best part of this photo: after I took it Ellie asked to see the picture. I showed it to her and she said, "Oh my hair. It's funny." And the chocolate all over your mouth is...normal?...

At Our House Lately: In the Tatami Room

Our Japanese tatami mat room is our toy room. And we put carpet over it to protect the mats.

Here's some play we've been up to lately.

Don't let these angelic faces fool you.

They are first rate mischief makers.

"Cutting" food and making silly sandwiches.

Baby Onesies Gift

So I saw this really cool idea for a baby gift, and I had to replicate it. And now I'm so proud of how it turned out I have to show it off. Lucky for me, there are two sisters in our branch expecting babies in the next month, one boy and one girl. So I went to town!
The general idea is to make a onesie with the number of months old that the baby is for each month for a year so you can take a picture of them each month to show their growth and show off how ridiculously adorable your baby is.  I did months 0-12.
If you want to do it, this is what you'll need.
A bunch of onesies from sizes 0-12 months. Here was my basic break down:
size 0-3: month #0, 1, 2
size 3-6: month #3, 4, 5
size 6-9: month #6, 7, 8
size 12: month #9, 10, 11, 12

acrylic paint. I picked up small tubes at our 100Yen shop, including a pearlized white to make some pretty pastel-ish colors for the girl set. I mixed my own purple and orange through a little trial and error
number stencil
palette
brushes
something round, I used a glass vase because it was the right size (about 3 inch diameter) and I wanted it to be see through so I could be sure to center the number.

* Before you start, be sure to put a bit of cardboard inside the onesie to keep paint from leaking through the back side.

Center the number you are doing on the onesie. Hold the stencil in place and dab on your paint.

Remove stencil and voila!

Apply paint to the rim of your vase (or whatever you choose to you).

Carefully center it over the number and...

...press it firmly in place. Then remove to reveal your circle.

If it is a little to splotchy, feel free to fill it in with a very fine brush.

Repeat. Just as a note, when doing the double digit numbers it is best to wait until the first number is dry to apply the second number

Here are the girl onesies. You can't tell, but they are a little shimmery because my white was pearlized

Here are the boy onesies.

 

I really loved how this gift turned out. I like it so much that I'm making my own for the next time I have a baby! Honestly, it's probably a bit pricier than I would normally do for a gift because you have to buy so many onesies, but if you are doing several gifts, the breakdown isn't too bad. Usually onesies come in a pack of 4 or 5 (I swear it used to be six), so for mine I bought 6 packs of onesies. 

Also, the paint is permanent and it won't bleed onto other things. It will look slightly faded after washing, but in a worn in tee-shirt kind of way.

A Little Ballerina

Eleanor had her first ballet class last Friday. She woke up that morning bright and early, a little too early really, which explains the minor meltdown she had during the last five minutes of class. But I digress...

She wanted a pink tutu for class. I didn't have any pink tulle, but I did have some shiny, stretchy pink stuff, so voila! A pink tutu-dance skirt. She I showed it to her she said, "It's too small." Meaning it's not poofy, like her white tutu, or the tutus she's seen on the Nutcracker. But then I reminded her that we were fresh out of pink tulle, and then she was cool with it.

Class was fun. Her teacher is a sweet Japanese lady who is really great with a class full of two to three year olds.  Mostly Ellie liked watching herself in the mirror. Little narcissist.

She had a little meltdown at the end when another little girl tried to get into my bag. She freaked out. It was kind of funny really.

Now she likes to practice plies and chairs at home. It's adorable.

Kurihama Flower World

Last week we took the train down to Kurihama Flower World.  I think we hit it  between peak blooming times, but it was still beautiful.  And there is an awesome park with a giant Godzilla.  So it was worth every ichi-yen.

Actually, the park is free, so that's even better.

These first few fields were full of poppies.  I really wanted to make Ellie lay down in the them and say, "Poppies, poppies will make them sleep.  Sleeeeep."

There was a huge line of the koi wind sock-things that they put out for Children's Day.

Ellie making some Japanese friends, who taught her how to blow dandelions.

On the roller slide. She loved it!

GODZILLA!!!

Kurihama Harbor

We enjoyed two servings of Lavender ice cream (one at the start of our excursion, and one at the end).  It was quite tasty! We also rode the little "train" they had, which was probably the highlight for Ellie, who loves trains more than her Uncle Philip did as a little boy (he would always say he wanted to be a train engine-antor).

10 Months

WHAT!?! 10 months, that can't be right...

Clara is a doll. She's a super speedy crawler, and pulls herself up stand on anything she can.  She recently started experimenting with free standing, but has had mixed results.

She has two teeth on bottom and two on top with two more trying to poke through.

She loves food of all kinds, except beets, but who can blame her since they were from a can and I have no idea how to make beets. Her favorite food seems to be anything off the floor...

She still thinks that Eleanor is the funniest person in the world, with Dad running a close second.

She loves her pacifier, and things that make noise, particularly pulling pans off of shelves.

I love her sweet cheeks.