only in Japan...

Mom and I were shopping at our favorite department store here in Sasebo called "Jusco." What a wonderland :) complete with a kimono department, funeral garb department, a zillion toy departments, a food court and, nestled in the middle of the children's department... a break room for moms and babes! This room has a few diaper changing stations, a crib for a nap (? no babysitters, though??), a couch, 4 breastfeeding "cubicles," (that's where C's hanging out above with the pink sign that says "occupied...") and even a baby scale and ruler to check growth... This room is very clean and well-utilized by the patrons of the store. WHAT A GREAT IDEA --- I think I may propose the very same idea to department stores stateside!

Yayyyyyyy Greg!!

We just got the wonderful news that Greg has made Lieutenant Commander :) Congrats, we're so proud of you!

(now get home so we can celebrate!!)

Cora's bling

We finally caved and purchased a native piece of furniture! It's called a step-tonsu and it's unique to the Japanese and Korean cultures. Back in the day, the tonsu was literally used as stairsteps to the second floor of a house, with many drawers for storage below -- a very efficient use of space. Nowadays it's used as furniture... it has 3 pieces and is all in-laid wood with hand carvings on the cabinet doors. In our small house we have no room to display as it is intended; rather, the main piece is our new entertainment center, the steps serve as end tables. The piece is very stunning and will be a very special inheritance to Cora one day!

(don't worry, these aren't Cora's pearls... merely a dress up moment!)

cute Cora!

So everyday daddy is gone, we email him a new picture of miss Cora so he can see how she's growing. It's fun, though a bit challenging to find new photo opportunities :) Sasebo weather is pretty bad --- very humid and hot (and supposedly to get much worse...), so we are really enjoying the air conditioning indoors most days. We ARE looking forward to a visit to the pool on base, though...

Here's a few precious ones...

USS Tortuga at work

CAIRNS, Australia (July 6, 2009) The amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) is pushed away from the pier in Cairns, Australia after an eight-day port visit in the Northeastern Australian town. Tortuga is getting underway for exercise Talisman Saber, a joint bi-lateral exercise with Australian Defense Forces.

Hydrangea Lane

More pretty flowers! Mom, Cora and I took a drive to "hydrangea lane," which is located about 10 km from central Sasebo. Talk about beautiful! There were sooo many pretty colors, shapes and sizes of hydrangeas lining both sides of the road. I felt like we were driving through a tunnel of flowers :) The oddest colors were royal blue and dark purple (think Barney). Some were the size of a dinner plate, no joke! I was surprised to see many different colors on the same bush, as I thought the color depended on the soil pH... how do different colors emerge? I SO wish I had a green thumb! This makes me homesick for the east coast for sure. Our Newport house had tons of hydrangea bushes and I hope they are flourishing for our tenants!

Sumo Baby

Sorry, I can't help it.... but chubby babies are cute, right? I SWEAR all she's getting is breastmilk!

Today was Cora's 2 month appointment. She got wonderful feedback from her doctor. She's 14 lbs (gaining over 5 lbs in 2 months) and 24 inches long. Cora got her first series of shots without much incident. She's forgotten it now, as she lays beside me sound asleep.