Kianah's pearls

Last month, when we were visiting the grandparents in Shizuoka, Shunsuke's grandma gave Kianah a set of real pearls. Shunsuke thought, she was too young.....and I thought "what a smart idea" (I am thinking about the three sets I have that have a permanent home in my top drawer). So I told Kianah that maybe she shouldn't wear them to school and just on weekends. So, it is actually quite funny because weekends are often spent in sweat suits or lounge wear, but Kianah consistently wears her pearls. However, they are being worn and loved........another example of how wisdom comes with old age.

Here is a photo of Sunday morning breakfast with Kianah in her pj's, wearing her pearls!

One of my favourite days

I remember my Aunt Connie saying to me once, "Its important to start some traditions of your own at Christmas". Now, as time has passed I realize it happens without even knowing it. This is one of our family traditions that is infused with traditions from my childhood as well.
As a child I LOVED the day all the Christmas decorations came out! Our house was transformed into this magical place........
I still love this day, and love even more seeing how my own kids are just as delighted as I used to be. So every year we choose one day to decorate, and officially begin the Christmas season.
It ALWAYS starts off with Christmas music my parents played as I was growing up (Kenny and Dolly) and there just can be no substitution! You can imagine the frantic search yesterday when I opened the CD case and it was .....missing! With some frantic searching and some tense moments, it was located just in time:) Then the lights, the tree, and all the fun festive toys that come along.....Then we follow up with a mini family Christmas party. This year we had cheese fondue and crab legs...and maybe a little wine! Tysei entertained us all with his "Christmas shows" and singing carols while playing the piano. It was once again, the perfect kick-off to Christmas!

Our tree has shrunk in size, but we brought any special decorations with us from Canada. It is sun fun to unwrap them one at a time and tell the story behind it...

Tysei Preschool

Look says Tysei, my sandwich looks like a puzzle!


Funny 3's! I think this might quite possibly be my favorite age! I remember really enjoying the 3's with Kianah too. It is so funny to hear how how their little brain works. Here are a few funny stories from the last few weeks:
-I showed Tysei a photo of my bare belly when I was 9 months pregnant with him. I said "That's Tysei in there". He looked at me and said "Oh, you ate Tysei?"

-Grandma in Canada was talking to Tysei on Skype and said "Tysei I went to your cottage today". Tysei asked "Oh, did you see us there?"

- Tysei went for a haircut last weekend with Shunsuke. When he got back I said "Ah, Tysei you got your hair cut". He said "Yeah, I went to the dentist, and she cut my hair". (I think the chair and apron confused him??)

He keeps us all laughing.....

Kianah 2nd Grade

Here is a snap shot from Kianah's exhibition. After each unit her class inquires into they present their work to the school. Kianah was inquiring into her strengths and weaknesses using the multiple intelligences, higher order thinking and DeBono's hat theory.

Thanksgiving 2010

We hosted Thanksgiving here last weekend for about 20 friends and their kids. We roasted a 2olb turkey and had an eclectic mix of side dishes. Some of our North American guests were happy to have turkey again, but for many others it was their first Thanksgiving ever. We did our best to provide all the traditional foods (turkey, stuffing, cranberry, mashed potatoes,veggies, apple pie and eggnog), but a true international flare was added.
We had grilled kangaroo for appetizers, Iraqi kabobs, greek potatoes, and Philippine spring rolls...oh can't forget the ice wine from Canada!!






Okay, so its been awhile again......
Man, life is so busy!

Halloween

Halloween came and went again this year. We had our big party at school. Our plans were to head to Tokyo to stay with friends and go trick-or-treating together, but Tysei got sick with an ear infection. We had 5 days off, so we headed to the grandparents to get spoiled for a few days!!