Mika has an official US government number! July 25, 2009

Mika received her official Social Security card today! This was the last government document we were waiting for. Everything's done now. Yea!!

A family outing to Araha Beach July 19, 2009

We decided to take advantage of the nice Okinawa weather before it gets too hot and enjoy a day at the beach. This was Mika's first visit to an Okinawa beach and she loved it. She especially enjoyed playing in the sand and had fun splashing in the East China Sea. We used to take Max to this SAME beach when he was 8 years old and we lived here several years ago. It felt wonderful to go back again and have Mika with us!

Happy 4th of July 2009!

This was Mika's first 4th of July holiday, and we were excited to show her all the festivities on base! We went to the AmericaFest on Kadena Air Base and she enjoyed playing games and seeing all the big airplanes. At the end of the evening we watched the fireworks and she loved them. She's definitely used to seeing fireworks and kept pointing at the sky and saying a phrase in Mandarin. It was a very long day and she fell asleep in the car on the way home. We had a wonderful time.

We finished decorating Mika's room today and she really likes it.

Max and Mika at the end of a long day.

July 1, 2009 playtime with my friends

Our friends Miki and Ipei came to visit from Tokyo! Her family lives on Okinawa. Ipei is two months older than Mika, and they enjoyed playing together. It was very interesting to watch them communicate.....Mika speaks english and Mandarin and Ipei speaks Japanese! They somehow managed just fine and had lots of fun. Yori was with us too and we all had a great time.

This was the first time for Miki and Ipei to meet Mika, so they brought her a present from Tokyo. It's a summer Yukata to wear to the festival season that will begin soon.

the name is now official....lets hope she likes it. June 27, 2009

Mika received her US Certificate of Citizenship today! Her name change is now official.

2 month "gotcha day" anniversary! June 28, 2009

It's so hard to believe, but eight weeks has passed since Mika joined our family. The days are flying by so quickly, and she amazes us with her laughter and affection everyday. We celebrated the day by going to an indoor play park called "Mona Kid Jungle." We actually visited this park with Max when he was 8 years old and we lived on Okinawa then. I'm going to try to find a photo of that visit to add to the website! Max is a wonderful big brother, and it's really great to see him so happy and enjoying having a little sister.
We had a wonderful day and have lots to be thankful for.

Mommy, Max and Mika enjoying the indoor playground.

Getting ready to slide!

Ready, set, aim at Daddy!










































Playing a Taiko drum at the arcade.















Taking a "bottle break" to rest.



















I tried to bake a cake....and watch Mika at the same time. It wasn't pretty, but it tasted good!

Mika's always happy at dinnertime.

She doesn't quite have the fork figured out yet!

Mika wanted to help Daddy cleanup after dinner. She loves to help, and she'll say "Mika do it!"

She ran to her room and got the stool by herself.

Mika is wearing a traditional Japanese summer Yukata.

It was a long day, and we had lots of fun. (Daddy's taking the photo)

Mika sings her ABC's....almost.

We've been teaching Mika her ABC's for about 4 weeks now, and she almost has them memorized. She always stops before she gets all the way thru, and sometimes starts singing another song all together. She's so cute, and is always very proud of herself!

Max and Mika play Star Wars Wii.....well, sort of!

Mika adores her big brother and was copying his movements as he was playing the Wii game. She's VERY smart!!