cora with hair.....

we had fun with Cora and Sophia :) thanks mom for the matching salsa dresses!!!

(doesn't she look like an obese Cabbage Patch Kid?)

Cora learns Sumi-E

Since her typical babysitter wasn't present today at painting class, I wore Cora as I painted sumi-E morning glories.... as you can see, she got bored pretty fast!

BIG news...

Cora's cut her first tooth and it's SHARP! It poked through at 4 months and 13 days and daddy got to feel it before leaving for yet another deployment. Here's miss Cora keeping daddy's chair "betsy" company while he's gone....

two big kids... and Cora...

Greg had Saturday off! We were able to sleep in and relax. Of course the day filled up with little chores we've been meaning to do, but we also snuck away for a visit to Saikai Park. The Saikai bridge is apparently famous and has been destroyed in many a movie (Godzilla for one....). The famous wireless towers are in the background and the whirlpools I've written about before are below. It is located almost halfway between Sasebo and Nagasaki.

This park had loads of fun equipment on which to play, all built literally up the side of a mountain. Our walk turned into quite a workout and we wish we could have included Finn and Bonny in this "playdate." Greg made notes of what he plans to build for our backyard one day!

how big's Cora???

She's SOOOOO big!!!

These are her recent stats at her 4 month check-up:

Weight: 19 lbs 4.4 oz

Length: 27.5 inches

Cora's Baptism

Official photo taken by Admiral's staff...

Pre-baptism in front of ship (note Cora's adorable sailor dress!)The act... she didn't cry until "in the Holy Spirit".... but settled quickly!

Nana and Duke with miss Cora in front of bell stand

Captain Lowell explaining how the bell will have Cora's name stamped inside. Also that the bells are still made by Paul Revere Company and they are not property of the US Navy. Once the ship is put to rest, the bell returns to that company.

family shot on the folksole.

With Chaps Baik

What a special day! We were able to arrange Cora's baptism while Nana and Duke are still here. She was baptized by a base chaplain on the USS Tortuga in the ship's bell :) What a neat tradition. The ceremony took place on the ship's folksole (the front of the ship) at 4 pm. The weather was beautiful. We were surrounded by our Sasebo friends and the ship's captain and XO. The tradition of the ship baptism includes Cora's name and birthdate and baptismal date being etched into the inside of the bell. Her name will join 4 others who have also been baptized in this manner. The most recent one was done in 2006. Cora's the first baby to be baptized on the Tortuga in Japan. We celebrated our special day with a Kobe beef supper at a local Japanese Steakhouse --- it was yummmmmmy! The only thing that would have made this event better would have been YOUR presence!

Nagasaki

The cutest picture of the day.

The Epicenter of the A-bomb.

School children singing in front of Peace statue at park. (There were TONS of school groups on field trips -- they all presented origami cranes to display around the sites)

Fountain at Peace Park

Wireless towers

We (all but Greg) visited Nagasaki yesterday. It was a beautiful day, though a bit sad to see all of the aftermath of this event. The Peace Park, Epicenter of the atomic bomb site and A-bomb museum were all spectacular. We also stopped by the Saikai bridge to see the famous wireless towers from which the signal to bomb Pearl Harbor was sent.

(Cora was a trooper as always.....)