Xander the Mechanic

Dad has caught Xander many times trying to get under the couch and dad's man chair. Because of all this, dad has nicknamed Xander Mechanic.

He starts off close.

Then he goes in with a roll. Completely ignoring all the rest of his play area.

He snuggles in tight.

And falls asleep.

It's a comfy couch. Even if I'm not laying on it.

Thanksgiving

We had big plans for Thanksgiving this year. My friends and I had talked about doing a Thanksgiving with all of Zoe's playmates and just buying a pre-made dinner from the on base club. It was a brilliant plan. No work needed, no cooking needed, no dishes to clean for hours, they prep and cook everything! But then one husband volunteered his house to host all the geo-bachelors in his unit. Another lady decided to put on a lunch with her Japanese students and have us come too. Well....the remaining two families wanted a quieter dinner. So we ended up going to one of the base's clubs. And it was awesome. It was quiet, very few people, and the food was yummy.

Zoe got all dressed up. And then decided she wanted to wear her boots. The tempurature was somewhere in the 70s and not snow boot weather. Not even raining that day. But oh well.

Snow boots are fun, even when it's not snowing.

Slippery when not wet.

Apparently, she was the only one who had her picture taken today.

Dad's Birthday!!

Dad trying to eat his cookie cake with Xander interfering.

Persistent Xander.

Zoe eating her share of the cookie cake.

Family Picture! (Finally!!! We have none.)

Random Japan

A day at the park with the family.

This lady decided that she wanted to turn right from the far left lane. So she did what any other Okinawan would do- she pulled over to the right lane and blocked all other traffic to do so. Remember we drive on the other side of the road here.
Wasabi pizza. It was yummy! Just those blobs of green are wasabi.
Japanese Ice Parf. Ya, who knows where they got that name but it was yummy! Complete with the Japanese add corn flakes. But this one was sugared cornflakes, a rarity.
The sign in front of the monkey cage at the zoo.
Japanese daycare taking the kids out to play. It's more amazing to know that those well behaved kids are American.
Xander shopping at the 100 yen store.
The Japanese have strange names for their cars.

Brother, Sister and Cousins

During our last trip to Los Anegles, Xander met the rest of his family. During this trip Zoe thought it would be fun to tackle Xander EVERY morning when she first saw him.

"I'm not touching him!"

The two of them playing ride the horsey. I don't think Xander had any say in it.

Zoe 21 months, Xander 3 months, and cousin Andrea 8 months.

All the cousins, Adian 5 years, Liam 3 years, Zoe, Andrea, and Xander.
Liam is pretending to be angelic, the other kids are not buying it.

Xanders 100 Day Photos

Xander with an Okinawa Sanshin, a snakeskin guitar! Of note any photo taken at this studio having anything to do with Disney (outfit or doll or statue) has a special fee, which I am sure they give directly to Disney for the licensing.
Xander the Sumo. Oddly enough he weighs more than Zoe did when she was 100 days old, but he is taller so the rolls aren't as prominent.
Xander sitting and laughing. He got a big kick out of the ladies trying to make him smile.

Xander the Samuri. Thats supposed to be a peach behind him.
Xander the Samuri with the Samuri armor.
Xander as an Eisai drummer. The Eisai drummers are big deal here on Okinawa, with street parades and big festivals.

Zoe's Evil Eyes

Zoe started mimicking me, first with her eyebrows moving up and down, then I gave her this look peering from the side of my eyes watching her to see if she was eating her food. That evolved into this. It is awesome and freaky at the same time. We like how she gets all serious for those few seconds before bursting out laughing.

So Fresh and So Clean

Zoe has recently taken to really enjoying brushing her teeth. So much so that she asks to brush her teeth, usually by saying teeth and brushing them with her finger.
Now after every bath we dry off and brush our teeth and comb our hair.

Lots of hair and lots of curls.

Post nap with hair back to normal and bracelets a plenty.

This is why we don't have nice things....

Zoe VS The Fountain

This is the fountain at the Okinawa aquarium. Zoe really liked the fish, but was obviously more entertained by the fountain.

Fairy Cute Zoe

We know it's August. But we are in Japan. And that means we only have a limited time to buy the good stuff for holidays. That means it's Halloween in August. At least it wasn't Christmas in July.

Yesterday, Zoe got together with her best friends for breakfast. Really, it was an excuse for the moms to eat pancakes but we'll blame the babies.


Chocolate banana pancakes, half order.


Mixed berry pancakes, half order.

All done. Yummy!!

After eating Zoe kept playing hookie from daycare and went shopping with her girls.


The girls tried out the new Barbie convertable. Zoe refused to let anyone else drive.


Alivia decided there were other things more important to play with. And Sonya decided if she couldn't have the wheel then the hood was good enough.

It was a tough day hanging out with the girls.


So what did Zoe buy?


A green fairy dress! She pulled out the frog eyes headband all on her own.


Complete with pretty wings.


We currently have sparkles all over the house. But it's worth it, she's super cute.