6 weeks old!

Cora's getting more fun by the day...

She's smiling now and mimicking faces and cooing a bit :) Now if only she'd grow some hair for pigtails!!!

Thanks Auntie Allie for the shades :)

Noritake bone china

Ooh, more shopping fun! It was only "window" shopping for us Madea girls today, though. We visited the Noritake factory for their big sale (which reportedly happens quarterly). The place was madness, but definitely fun to poke around. We did not buy, despite the good deals, because we weren't in LOVE with anything and we already have some beautiful inherited china.

Just to compare, my friend Lauri got 5 5-piece place settings of beautiful china for what comes out to be a little over $200. The same pattern at Macy's charges $186 per place setting, WOW!!!

Any orders??? The next sale is in September...

The above pix show the crazy auction that was happening (couldn't figure out their method), as well as a DOG in a china shop!! And there was more than one.... what an odd culture?!?!

Cora-chan

Well, we're alone again.... Greg's gone for "quite" awhile now (our longest separation since moving to Japan) and we're missing him already. Mom and dad return from China on Tuesday, so we'll have company again for a couple of weeks.

Cora seems to be changing daily... we're emailing daddy daily photos to keep him "in the loop." Her eyes are still newborn blue -- we're awaiting the arrival of some brown pigment :) She's definitely engaging more with her eyes and looking at people when they talk to her. She's smiling too (not just gas, I swear!).... Her active-alert phases seem to be longer each day. And, yes, we are blessed with a sleeper --- averaging 8 hours a night without interruption (thank you!!)

Believe-it-or-not, Cora's already fitting the length of size 6 month clothing... this girl inherited her daddy's long legs!

She's pictured above with Sanae, her Japanese tutor, at another Iris garden.

Irises

We're at the end of iris season now -- I am forever impressed by the flowers here in Japan!

My parents left for China 2 days ago, but beforehand we visited Omura park, which is halfway between Sasebo and Nagasaki, for a picnic lunch. This is the same place where we saw (and posted pictures of) cherry blossoms a couple of months back...

These irises fill what used to be the castle moat here in Omura. They are so beautiful! AND TALL!

Greg's home for a bit now and we're having fun hanging out as a family. I love hearing how Cora appears to be changing; I guess since I'm always with her I don't notice it...

Pro baseball in Japan

On Sunday, dad and I went to Fukuoka to see the SoftBank Hawks defeat the Chinuchi Dragons! The Hawks are the closest team to Sasebo. The game was great -- it was originally a birthday present for Greg, but alas, his ship schedule changed and he was not able to go... I know he would have loved it! HOPEFULLY we'll be able to go sometime his ship IS home...

Mom gleefully watched Cora for the whole day.

The Japanese baseball fans are fabulous! The baseball stadium was filled to capacity (35 thousand) and the energy was amazing.... both teams have their own pep bands and cheering sections which have created a special chant for every player. The fans seem to know the chants, as well, and the place was always at a mild roar. One of our favorite perks of the game were the beer girls who walked around with about an 1/8 barrel of beer on their backs and a tapper to serve it... talk about a good workout! There were also sake girls who served up different sakes from milk cartons.

We even went to Hard Rock Cafe before the game and enjoyed nachos! The food at the stadium was mostly bento boxes (a variety of sushi), though we did find some kind of hot dog on stick!?!

a visit to the sake mill...

Last week, we took a trip and tour to the Sachimae Sake Mill, which is located about an hour outside of Sasebo. Knowing that dad is a huge microbrewery fan, I knew he'd get a kick out of this sake mill tour --- very parallel experiences!

Sake is rice wine. The taste depends on the region where made, as every region grows different "flavored" rice. Sake is between 12-19% alcohol. Sake can be enjoyed both warm and cold and is commonly drank with Japanese meals.

The tour was informative and (reportedly) tasty. Being the driver, I didn't partake in the massive sampling.... although I did have some sake ice cream that is made from the mash (leftover rice mixture) and really enjoyed it! This mill is family owned and operated and is 80 years old. They bottle and sell about 12 different types of sake.

Sake is aged for different times, which creates different flavors.

The photos show a sakebayoshi, which is a topiary ball made from cedar leaves. Mills hang this ball outside when sake is produced and once the ball turns from green to brown, the sake is considered aged enough to sell.

Also is a picture of Cora's first tour. She's next to a sake vat that, we were told, if she drank 1/2 liter of sake per day for the rest of her life, she would finish this vat!

Happy Birthday, daddy

Happy 32nd birthday, Greg! We had a nice, but late (thanks ship), celebration at home complete with triple chocolate cake and Sam Adams, yum.....

by the way, first doctor's appointment went well -- in 2.5 week's Cora's already put on over a pound and has grown 1/4 inch. She's now 9 lb 14.1 oz and 21.5 inches long!