200 Days

Today marks 200 days of Maika being on this earth and being a blessing to us. We are so thankful for everyday that the Lord gives us with her and know that she is in better hands than ours.
Other than a number of "amazing" events for us as parents, the past couple weeks have been mellow. We had Sarah visit last weekend, which we always enjoy. We will miss her when she leaves Japan in April. Erik's work continues to go well, and we are continually thankful for this job that God placed in our laps. Yoko stays busy with Maika, but she does manage to get in at least one ballet class a week. In addition to ballet she attends 3 or 4 exercises classes and takes Maika for walks regularly. She also meets other new mothers a couple of times a month.
Now for the "amazing" events for us.
Maika started solid foods. We feed her rice cereal mixed with a fruit or vegetable in the morning. She is a good eater and already wants to take control of the spoon.

She is now grabbing her feet. At times she seems to be thinking; "How can I get these things into my mouth?"

Sleeping on her belly. We never encouraged it, and she just did it on her own. Who every thought something so simple could be so incredible : )

It only took 6 months and a few days, but Maika finally fell asleep in Erik's arms, and yes, he was able to lay her down without her waking up.

Maika's Recent Activities

As all parents know, a baby not only keeps them busy but also entertained. We are continually amused by Maika's movements, noises and moods. It is a joy to watch her develop and discover the world around her. We try to cherish each day as we know they go by so quickly, and she will soon be off on her own. In this posting we have put up some of Maika's recent activities.
Maika playing with her friend Rody. Rody has been with Maika since she was a new born.

Hanging out in the laundry hamper, no telling how she got in there.

Maika's best pirate impression so far. She even has the sound to go with it.

Maika and Daddy riding the train. Mommy never misses a photo opportunity.

Maika's first snow this past Sunday. She wasn't all that impressed.

Maika showing off her big smile for the camera.

Looking Back at Christmas and New Year's

Christmas was two weeks ago, but better late than never on some pictures and a report. Maika's first Christmas was relaxed and peaceful. We went out for Christmas lunch at one of our favorite cafes. In the afternoon, Yoko's brother and his daughters came over. We had dinner and gave them some presents. Yoko's mom told the girls the Christmas story in a way to keep their attention. After they left, we had our present opening time. Erik had a week off from work for New Year's. Sarah came and stayed with us for part of it. New Year's Day itself was spent at church (we have a New Year's Day service). We didn't do anything overly exciting during the holidays, but we enjoyed the time we had together as a family.
Maika opening her first presents (yes, after she tried to eat the paper)

It's not if the clothes fit; it's if they taste good.

Presents from Maika's Grandma and Grandpapa on the left and her Aunt Sharlene and Uncle Phil on the right

Maika's first ornament from Grandma and a pile of things from Sarah

Sarah gave Maika this giraffe; he has been named Jerome, and Maika regularly tries to eat him

We thought you might enjoy seeing a decent family picture after the last one we posted

Merry Christmas and A Monumental Moment

Merry Christmas from all of us. Today is Christmas Eve and we have just had a nice family day together. Erik took the day off from work so we could have a little longer Christmas celebration. Christmas Day we will have Yoko's brother and his two daughters over. We are glad we can spend Christmas with them. Maika keeps being a good sport for us as we try to capture her showing her Christmas spirit.

Erik was asked to tell the real Christmas story at work as part of the college's Christmas festival. This was an answered prayer as most of the students had no idea about the birth of Jesus. Erik and one of his students, who is a Christan, did a news report skit to tell the Biblical story. Yoko and Maika came to watch, and the next picture was taken by one of Erik's students at the festival.

In winter we have nice sunshine that comes in the apartment, and Maika found a comfy place to catch a few zzzs.

A monumental moment in our lives as parents happend the day before Maika turned 5 months when she rolled over on her own for the first time. She is doing it quite regularly now but has no idea what to do once she gets on her stomach. We think you might get a kick out of one of Maika's less graceful rollovers. Make sure your sound is up; there is a funny sound at the end.

Fall was Beautiful

Fall was beautiful. We didn't get out to enjoy it as much as we would have liked to as we had quite a few things keeping us busy. Maika is a bundle of joy; she laughed for the first time, and we both were there to hear it. She is becoming more verbally expressive with noises that might be found in the jungle.





We are excited as always for the coming of Christmas. We are so grateful for God reaching out to us through Jesus. It is one of our favorite times of year, and we see this year as an opportunity to share the "true" Christmas story. Most people here do not have any idea of Christmas being Jesus' birth. We pray that the Joyous Message of Jesus' birth will touch some hearts around us this year.

On Dec 5th Erik's school had Christmas parties for the kindergarten and elementary school kids. It was a long busy day but a lot of fun. Erik was Santa and had an unexpected visit from Maika.

Sarah visited us, and we asked her to take a family picture. This is the best she could do with the subject matter she had.

The Great Outdoors

We took our first hiking trip as a family to the top of Tsukuba Mountain. It is about a 2 hour drive north of us. The hike was only 4200 meters or 2.6 miles round trip, but it was quite steep, so we got a good work out. Maika did very well in her carrier, but she got quite a few concerned looks and comments from older women. Other than there being a mass of people on the trail, it was a very nice day. In the evening there was an illumination of the fall colors which was pretty.
Maika had a check up a few days ago and is now 62 cm or 24.5 inches and 6.1 kg or 13.5 lbs. Some days she is very needy and wants to be held all the time; other days she is independent and can just hang out by herself. Today is one of those very needy days. Thankfully the Lord gives us the patience necessary for these moments in life.

Hiking Tsukuba Mountain with a unique moment; there are no other people.

Near the top. Can't say this is easy to get used to.

Break time for Maika on the way down.

Keeping warm in the evening.

Hanging out in my birthday suit.

Maika in Her Bumbo

Since baby goats are some of the cutest creatures on this planet, we measure cuteness with the "baby goat cute" scale. As the blessed parents of Maika, we feel that she is "baby goat cute" and of course want to share her cuteness with the world. Maika enjoys sitting in her Bumbo chair, especially in the morning. After waking up, she is quite energetic and ready to be part of everything that is going on around her. Today she helped Erik with the laundry; she sat near by, keeping an eye on what he was doing.
We included Maika's thoughts with some pictures to let you in on her side of the picture.
Why are you always pointing that camera at me?

I am so tiny.

I am so big.

Hello, are you just going to leave me here in the hallway?

When I am tired, my head gets really heavy.

My dad was a cluster of grapes for Halloween at his school, and he thought I would enjoy being in a picture with him.

I got to watch the World Series with my dad. Next time I sure hope St. Louis makes it.