Bankart Grandparents

We had to say goodbye today to Grandma and Grandpa Bankart (their exact names are yet to be determined by Ashlyn). We enjoyed their visit and are thankful they were willing to come all the way out here to see us! Have a safe flight home and we miss you already! Kisses from Ashlyn.

Cherry Blossom Festival on NAF Atsugi

On base today, we had the annual Cherry Blossom Festival - a friendship day between the Americans and Japanese locals. Kinda like an air show without the planes flying (static displays only). Go VAQ-136 Gauntlets!! [notice the "Bozo" on the plane above Bozo]

In Kyoto

Touring around Kyoto, the old capitol of Japan. Lots of temples, shrines, and near-blossoming cherry trees, after a 2-hour bullet train ride (Shinkansen).

7 months old

Can't believe how big our baby is getting! She is now sitting by herself and is getting very chatty. We were down in Kyoto when she turned 7 months old. We ate at a wonderful sukiyaki restaurant, where she is plopped down on the pillow on the floor, watching us eat!

Spring Dress

This was right after the modeling fair. She charmed several of the agencies, so we'll see if anything comes of it, but it was at least fun just to be there and get her picture taken (head shots).

Me and Mom

She sits!

We've been practicing this sitting thing - she's getting it, but is still a bit wobbly :)

Resting

After some good tummy-time, she decided she needed a little rest, so this is where I found her, complete with her thumb in her mouth.

Happy Clover Leaf

You gotta love the Japanese - they want to be Westerners so badly that they have started adopting our holidays. This card I found for St. Patrick's Day demonstrates perfectly their worthy yet not quite accureate attempt: "Happy Clover Leaf"

Baby Bjorn

Just testing out the Baby Bjorn to wear around the house while vacuuming or for quick grocery store trips. Can't wear it too long or it will start hurting your back (that's what the Ergo is for). Ashlyn loves being able to look out and see what's going on.

New Bath-time Fun

We bought a new bath chair in town that allows Ashlyn to sit up while taking a bath and she gets to kick her feet too! Now she can do more playing during her bath time.

Water Bottle

I let Ashlyn have my water bottle to play with and as you can see, she loved it!

Bath Time!

Thanks Gates' family for the robe - it makes walking downstairs through the frigid house without clothes on a lot more pleasant!!

Strike a Pose

We are starting to gather some pictures to submit with our packet for the modeling fair coming up in 2 weeks. Here are a few that we chose. Think she'd make us some money? (It's really all just about the experience of getting to do that here, not the money!)

Doll Festival

March 3rd is "Doll Festival" day (also known as "Girls' Day"), a day where parents celebrate their daughters by displaying dolls of the emperor, empress and their court. They also make dolls ("hina" in Japanese) out of paper. The sweet couple that I met the other week who so graciously offered me the spinach, invited Ashlyn and I back to their house for today's festivities. Not knowing exactly what to expect, we headed over there, along with Rachel, another gal from the squadron. The couple was so sweet and hosptiable, proudly showing off their heirloom dolls (the cloth ones on the left are 120 years old, passed down through the generations). We were offered traditional festival foods, such as sakura-mochi, which is mochi (sweet rice paste) folded over bean curd paste and wrapped in a cherry leaf - actually quite delicious, then grapefruit that was made into a gelatin and served in the grapefruit rind, and of course green tea! The other traditional decoration is handmade dolls/figurines that hang from a red string - we made one!! This is definitely a day to remember.

Weekend in Tokyo

We spent the weekend exploring a small corner of the big city. Ashlyn did wonderfully during the travels and she especially loves the train (which is a good thing because there were a lot of them and there will be a lot more in her future). One stop on Sunday was a soba noodle house, complete with tatami mats and short tables where you sit on the floor after you take off your shoes (pretty typical here). We propped A up in the corner to escape being in the carrier all morning.

Here are some more pics of the weekend:

Like Mother Like Daughter

This is an outfit I used to wear at 6 months - must be weird for you mom, to see her in something you used to put on me; do we look alike?