Crazy Thanksgiving bus ride

We got on the ITT (military travel agency of sorts) tour bus at 10:30 on Wednesday night for our journey to Tokyo.  At times on the trip I thought to myself, "WHY IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DID I THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO SIGN UP FOR THIS TRIP WHEN I HAVE A ONE YEAR OLD AND A THREE YEAR OLD?  WAS I SMOKING CRACK?"

But I digress.  We made it.  Whew.

The bus stopped every few hours at rest areas.  Which were great opportunities to wake up babies who WERE asleep in their car seats.  Wait.  I'm the only one who was insane enough to bring a baby.  So it was a great opportunity to wake up Gigi who was asleep for a period of time in HER car seat.  No need to pluralize that last sentence.  I ended up holding Gigi the rest of the time and she nursed for most of it.  But how much milk could there be after 6 hours?  So I was a human pacifier that hugged her for most of it.  But whatever works.

We stopped at 8 a.m. at a very nice rest stop in Fuji City.  There was a GORGEOUS view of Mount Fuji.  Absolutely amazing!  Oh and a McDonald's and a Starbucks.  Equally amazing!

We held off purchasing the stuffed "Fuji-chan", but were tempted. 

Gigi was too taken with the view to say "FUJI!".  ☺

More later!!!

Audrey

Oh Audrey, I love you so much!  You were my first little girl and I have tried to do right by you!  I know I expected too much of you when you were young because you were just so brilliant and verbal that I forgot you were a little girl.  You described it best once when you said,

"With me you were like 'No! No! No'"  (Mimes index finger going back with a stern face) and

with Olivia you were like "Uh! Uh! Uh!" (Mimes index finger side to side with a smiling face) and

with Claire you're like "HA! HA! HA!"

And you weren't far off...ever wonder why Claire can be so naughty?  Perhaps because I find antics comical now instead of disciplining them?  ;-)

But you were my first and we had so much fun!  We did so many things in Camp Pendleton!  One of my favorite memories of those years is when we would get on the Coaster (the train) and go down to Solana Beach. We would leave around 10:00 or so and stay for hours down there!  We would make a goal to go in however many shops....usually in the teens!  You were such a fun, fun person to shop with and you still are!  You were very well behaved and would stay right beside me and I would tell you "Just point" and you would.  Then we would go eat at Pizza Port and I was always so proud that I just could order a regular pizza with everything on it and you would just pick off the green peppers or whatever you didn't like....I didn't need to order you plain cheese or just pepperoni.  Then we would go to the beach and play for an hour and then maybe shop some more and then catch the Coaster back around 4:00.  My friends who had more than one kid, which were all of them, could never do anything like that with their crew.  I loved doing stuff like that with you!!!

My best friend from Charlottesville, Miss Amy, Claire's Fairy Godmother, told me a story once that I try to remember every day.  She was taking her daughter, Rachel, to preschool one day.  Can't remember if she was three of four.  And Rae was being a pill.  Not wanting to go in or something.  And Amy (who is one of the VERY BEST Moms I have had the good fortune of being around and have learned SO MUCH from her and am SUCH a better Mom because of her....all of my children should be grateful for the example she set for me and lessons taught to me by Miss Amy) said, "She's acting like such a baby!" and the teacher gently said, "Amy, she still IS a baby."  And Amy said that just shook her.  A year later she would look at pictures of Rachel at that time and see how little she was and how she was just a baby....and Amy would say, "I know next year, I'll look at pictures of Rae from this year and just marvel over how young and little she was and I want to make sure I'm just expecting what I should from her and I need to remember....she's so young."

I look at pictures of you from years past and think of our arguments and absolutely cringe.  You were so little and you're still so little, but look at these pictures!  You have always been so beautiful, but you are growing up so much and becoming a young woman.  I want to be there to help you navigate the crazy emotions of growing up and help you to learn responsibility and grow up, but always remember....you're just 11.  Or next year, 12.  And then 13?  Oh dear.  You're almost a teenager!  I only have seven years left with you before you go to college!  Seven years?!?!?!?!?  That isn't nearly enough time to love you up as much as I love you.  But I'm going to try every day, okay?

This first picture is the one I'm going to keep in my mind.  Because you're so incredibly beautiful, but yet you look so young and innocent.  

The rest are beautiful too, my sweet girl!

I love you Audrey!!!!!!

Olivia Suzanne

Olivia learned to spell her middle name recently and she writes it all over her papers at school.  Olivia Suzanne Wagoner.  Olivia Suzanne Wagoner.   Olivia Suzanne Wagoner.  Olivia Suzanne Wagoner.  Olivia Suzanne Wagoner.  Olivia Suzanne Wagoner.  ☺

I got pregnant with Olivia right before Mick left for deployment in January 2003 and found out 6 days after he left.  I was so excited and could hardly sleep the night before I was going to take the pregnancy test and woke up around 5:00 to take it.  I took a picture of the fabulous + sign and e-mailed it to Mick.  As luck would have it, they were having a "MAN OVERBOARD!" drill and had been summoned awake at 3:00, so he checked his e-mail and found out the news almost immediately!

Remember the threat of WMD's?  Well, we took it seriously at the time and I sent Mick a baby name book and we traded names back and forth over e-mail.  I wanted the name picked out before the war started.  The name Olivia quickly made it to the top of the list.  I was a huge Olivia Newton John fan growing up (who wasn't?) and a huge fan of the Olivia the Pig books with Audrey (still am!).  Since our boy name was always Thomas, after Mick, we thought it would be fun to name Olivia after me!  But Susan just isn't a middle name, so we fancied it up and gave her the name Suzanne.  Oh to have a "z" in your name!  How fancy!!!!  ☺

I went in for my "Is a boy or is it a girl?" ultrasound on my birthday.  I had sent Mick the phone number of the ultrasound tech's office just in case he was able to get to a phone.  The hospital in Camp Pendleton didn't have any cell phone coverage.  I told the doctor that he may be calling and if he did, we would like him to announce the sex to both of us at the same time.  If he wasn't able to call in, I had my good friend Heidi Schulz make a beautiful card with a very touching poem and a space at the bottom for the doctor to fill in the word "Girl" or "Boy".

Beginnings

A baby to hold and to love   A creature so tiny, fresh and so new.  There's nothing more important or special that two loving people could ever do.  Who will the baby look like?  Will it be a he or a she?  Part of him, part of her, a creation that is meant to be.  All we could ever want for our baby is very simple and very plain.  It's to be happy and content in life and know our love will never wane. 

The doctor put the thingy (that sounds weird, but you know what I mean) on my stomach and about 4 seconds later said "Well, I know what it is!" and I thought to myself, "Well, it MUST be a boy!  That's how he must have known so quickly!"  And I sat there thinking for the next 45 minutes, "Thomas Arthur Wagoner III...call him Tripp? Or Trey?  Or should we do Thomas James Wagoner II and call him T.J.?  Or Tommy?"

Mick had just left Iraq, or was it Kuwait, that day or the day before and called from the ship, somewhere in the Persian Gulf.  The phones were down and he had trouble getting the call out, but at the end of the exam he was able to get a call out and the doctor quickly announced to both of us "IT'S A GIRL!"   And that's been the story of our pregnancies ever since!  ☺

So without further adieu, here are the solo pictures of my little Olivia Suzanne, with thanks to Laurie from Okidoki Photography!

My Mom and Dad gave me these earrings for my 16th birthday and we thought they looked very nice with her pearl headband.

Our two green eyed Wagoners!

I love you Olivia!!!!!!!

Gigi Wigi (Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum)

Our family chant right now (to the tune of "Let's Go Cyclones! (Clap!Clap!Clap!Clap!Clap!)) is 

Gigi Wigi! Bum! Bum! Bum! Bum! Bum!

(Claire is the funniest when she says it...which is constantly.)

Here's the solo pictures of our little one (now 13 month) old. Thanks again to Laurie at Okidoki Photography!

A little drool coming down (always)

Love her little wispy curls!

And her milky white skin!

 Gigi is our first Daddy's girl.  The other girls liked him, of course, but Gigi LUVS Daddy!  This pays dividends in the middle of the night sometimes!  ;-)

 Also please notice her diaper sticking out of her dress because in the chaos of getting everyone ready I couldn't find her diaper cover and decided not to stress and went out the door.  When we got home, I realized it was under the dress, still on the little plastic thingys....and you can see it hanging down here.  I'm such a fancy Mommy!

I love you Gigi!!!!!!!!!

Claire Bear

I'm sitting at the kitchen table with Claire Bear and she asked "Can I have some chocolate milk?" and I respond with "Please most wonderful Mommy" and she says "Pwease mowst wundafull Mommy" and my heart melts....even though I asked her to say it. 

She's the loudest, spunkiest, most adaptable kid of ours.  And have I mentioned funny?  And don't forget naughty.  But of course I adore her!  And so do the other girls.  Gigi just thinks she is the silliest, funniest person in the world.  Once I said, when Gigi burst into giggles after Claire walked into the room, "Who needs television when you have a sister named Claire?" and Mick responded with, "Or a three ring circus."  ☺

Here's the solo photos of our little bear that were taken the first of October.  Thank you Laurie at Okidoki Photography!

Hooray for Claire Bear!!!

Olivia's Pumpkin Math

This was the first time I was able to volunteer for one of the girls' "pumpkin math" events and it was a lot of fun!  Mick has gone to Audrey's a few times, but I hadn't had the honor!

Can't you just feel the excitement?!?!?  ;-)

Gigi and I came dressed for the part.  Olivia was too self conscious to dress up, but she wasn't embarrassed by me and Gigi!

She was very proud of her little sheep sister!

The only picture of my little lamb in her costume since she was sickie-pie on Halloween!  :(

My two even girls (#2 and #4)!  ☺ Can't figure out why neither Audrey nor Olivia were embarrassed by my sheep costume.  I guess they're used to me! 

There were all kinds of activities to do with measuring and estimating.  How big around the pumpkin was, how many lines it had, how many seeds it had....who knew you could make learning fun?  ;-)

Mrs. Wilson says that Olivia is a superstar every day!  I believe it!  

Okay, I think I might be caught up on blogging.  I'm ready for Tokyo!!!!!!!!!

My bus rider

Claire just ROCKS yochien every day!  It's funny that out of my three school going kids, Claire is the one who rides a bus.  (Olivia is soooooo jealous while Audrey, who was a bus rider kindergarten - 2nd grade, doesn't mind.)

On her way to the big country of Japan this morning!  

Way to go Claire!!!!!!

Olivia's Veterans' Day Program

The first grade had a Veterans' Day Program and it was really cute!  Lots of songs and every child had a speaking part in their presentation.  

They first led us in the Star Spangled Banner.  There was even a color guard from the high school's Junior ROTC!  (But I spared you the longer video which had the color guard in it.  You're welcome!)

And then they had all of the veterans come up and they sang a song that said, "If you love your country thank a Vet!"  It was very sweet!

Mick is in the back left.  Olivia has moved down a row.  Each class had a different presentation and the class that was speaking had the front row. 

 Olivia's class' presentation was about Veterans' Day and out of ALL of the kids (in ALL of the classes), she was the only one who had a solo part (actually two!) and she spoke SO clear and slow and was positively awesome!  And I'm not just saying that because I'm her Mom....seriously....other kids came up and told me so as well!  See for yourself!

 A Happy Belated Veterans' Day to 

all of you fabulous Veterans out there!!!!!

Gigi's favorite foods

Gigi is a funny little kid and loves to eat!  Having NO time leads me to a convenience foods that she usually eats with relish!

She hasn't mastered the spoon yet, but I like to let her have a go at it as often as possible.  I think it's one of the cutest stages when they are shoving food in their mouth with one hand while holding the spoon in the other.  

And an extra bowl, just for fun.   Because rice krispies are too delicious for just one bowl.

Aunt Judy and Aunt Mary Frances sent us some Halloween goodies and so Gigi wouldn't feel left out, sent her some baby cherry puffs.  

She still loves these as well as "Mum Mums", which are some baby rice rusk thingy. 

When I first introduced her to the "hot dog", she thought it was manna from heaven.  She wanted it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Then her care provider introduced her to the "ramen noodle" and that 20 cent meal has her clamoring for it and not much else.   Mick took this to show you her slurping ability.  ☺

Then she got introduced to ravioli.  And wow.  WHAT GOODNESS!

Just so you know Gigi....it was Daddy who wanted to take this picture of your Ravioli Unibrow!

But her go to, fill me up, food is cottage cheese. 

And that's about all she eats.  Except for when she gets out of my drawers and I can get some pots and pans out and cook.  ☺

Audrey came over while I was doing this blog entry and wanted me to point out that she took this picture.  And the one of the cottage cheese eating.  ☺

We love you little baby girl!!!! 

Claire's Yochien's Halloween Party

I'm trying to get caught up on my "big" posts because we're going to Tokyo on Wednesday for Thanksgiving!

As promised, here is a slew of pictures from Claire's cute Halloween party at Kawashimo Yochien!

All of the kids could dress up or if they didn't have a costume, then the Yochien supplied one for them.  Gigi wanted to dress up in the clown costume that Grandma sent over for her.  :)

Claire's Snow White costume is being kept safe from the crafts until party time under her smock!

Then we went upstairs for the party and as it was for the Sports Day program, Claire didn't sing any of the songs, but she sure liked waving at me!!!!!!  ☺

This is Ryu's beautiful Mom, Miki, and her sweet little girl Kiera. 

Maybe Kiera and Gigi will be BFF's in Kawashimo in a few years like Ryu and Claire! ☺

They had lots of cute little games.  They would pick a few children's names out of a hat to let them participate.  Claire was picked for the first game that was, from what I could tell, a chance to throw (fabric) rotten tomatoes at a house.  ☺

Explaining the game to us....the house is on the left. 

I ran over and told Claire what the object of the game was and what she was to do.  She looked a bit overwhelmed....well, after she stopped waving, she looked overwhelmed.  She loves the wave!

She was very thoughtful but launched her tomatoes well and was proud to get her prize!

And then Sensei Ai told us a story. 

I'm sure it was a very cute plot.  ☺

And then they did a little gambling game, which pumpkin is the candy under?

Gigi crawled over to this woman and stared at her for a while.  It was so funny to me because she's usually like white on rice to me and then when she does venture away from me, she doesn't stay in one place for long!

And then the final game was one where every kid could play.  The big brothers and sisters did this one in the obstacle course at Sports Day, so it must be a fairly common Japanese game.

You have to bite the candy (actually, I think this is a donut) off of the string without using your hands.  ☺

It was a really sweet party!  After we left they changed back into their uniform and I don't think I've shared with you a picture of Claire's "winter" uniform.  She came home this day with a sweet little cover for her hat that she wore through Halloween.  "Did you make that?" I asked her and she said, "Sensei Ai made it for me."

Sensei Ai made the bag too!  Such treasures!  Claire is SO FUNNY in that she has to take her "gumbrella" to school every day, even when there's not a cloud in the sky.  She, with the help of her fabulous Sensei, keeps track of everything really well though and helps me in the morning when I pack her backpack.  "I need my red hat!  Where's my shoes?  I need my towel!"  (They don't have paper towels there so the kids bring a little towel with a hook on it and hang it up by the sink so they can dry their hands after washing them.)

Loving Yochien.........not only is she getting a great cultural experience, they are teaching her responsibility as well!