"Happy Birthday" video

Birthday Bash!!!

Today we celebrated Noah's first birthday with a fabulous Winnie the Pooh party! Pizza and cake were aplenty and we provided video games and minature golf for the kids, both big and little, "old" and young. ;) It was a wonderful event and Noah received many nice gifts--books, stuffed toys, farm houses, puzzles...he'll be busy for weeks! It was very special for us to be able to share Noah's first birthday with so many of people who have become such an extraordinary part of our lives over the last two years. Quite a few of them have seen us through some pretty life changing events--the pregnancy, Noah's delivery, my "D" diagnosis--so it was really nice for all of them to join us in celebrating such a special occasion.

Despite only having a twenty minute nap this morning, Noah did VERY well. He smiled, laughed, clapped, and waved...he even managed to hold up his index finger to show everyone just how old he was...a "trick" we taught him just before the party. ;) He's incredibly social, so the large gathering of people did little in terms of lessening his happy mood. Derek Ikehara, Chris' boss, became voluntary babysitter extraordinnaire and a godsend for part of the party, allowing Chris and me a few moments to talk, mingle, and be all-round good hosts. Noah seems to like Mr. Derek very much--here he is offering Noah a bottle of water:

Noah also enjoyed the company of Mr. Tim, one of Chris' many co-workers at CTF-72. He's always good for some playtime and a laugh. Here Tim is peering up from "behind bars," which consequently sent Noah into a fit of giggles:

As for the rest of the party attendees, many of them practiced their putting on the minature golf course, while others enjoyed a leisurely chat:

We finally got to the most important part of the afternoon...THE CAKE! :)

In true first birthday fashion, Noah had his own cake to demolish with his own two little hands. Unsure of what to do at first, Noah quickly assessed the situation, figured out that the pretty display piece in front of him was food (and that I wasn't going to interfere with his intent to destroy it!!), and got down to business. In less than a minute, the kid had cake smooshed between all ten fingers, rubbed it down his front, and then smeared it all over his face before eating it. I'll still be cleaning red dye out of his ears in the morning. :)

We have a great video of all of us singing "Happy Birthday" to Noah, which I'll load in another blog.

After a quick "costume" change, we concluded the party with the opening of all his great presents. Noah definitely enjoyed the colorful wrapping paper and bright cards more than the actual gifts (big surprise :) ), but he did a great job at appearing interested in every present that Chris placed in front of him and presenting big smiles as "Thank You's". What a gracious little honoree!

We hope everyone who attended had as much fun as we did. Thanks to everyone for making our little boy's 1st birthday incredibly special!

Love,

Chris, Amanda, and Noah

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOAH!!!

Mommy....what's a dif-tong...I mean..."diphthong?"

Noah turns one today...Happy Birthday, little man!!! Can you believe a year has passed already? Here he is with the Webster's dictionary, already practicing his vocabulary and language skills. If he starts now, he should be reading at the 12th grade level in five years or so. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOAH!!! WE LOVE YOU!

~ Mommy and Daddy

Congratulations!!

We just received word that my father-in-law's second book, Caleb's Wars, has been accepted for publication--Hooray! Congratulations, Dave! :)

Chris and I are so excited about this book--it's a coming of age story of a young African American boy growing up in the rural South during the WWII era. I think very few Americans are aware of the important role African American soldiers and their families played in this war, including their many sacrifices and hardships, both at home and on the battlefield. As if fighting against Germans and Italians wasn't enough, these brave men also had to combat the racism that constantly plagued them within their own military units. And even though their sons and brothers fought and died side by side with white Americans in Europe, African American families still had to endure being treated less then human...even less than than Nazi POWs who were stationed at various internment camps in the U.S. That's what I find so difficult to swallow--these soldiers were risking their lives for our country...families were losing their children for our country...and yet, African Americans were still treated worse than the enemy soldiers who had slayed America's sons on the battlefront.

I had the chance to get a "sneak peak" before the draft was mailed to the publisher...I read it in a total of four hours. :) Just couldn't stop and do anything else until I finished. Hope you all one day do the same!

Congrats again, Dave! I can't wait to have the book in hand and read it again...and again! ;)

~ Amanda

P.S. For those of you who haven't had the chance to read Dave's first book, The Bicycle Man, here's the link to own your own copy:

http://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Man-David-L-Dudley/dp/0618542337/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219112532&sr=1-2

In 2006, it won the International Reading Association’s Book Award for children’s literature.

Tanesashi Coastline

For those of you who only ever pictured Japan as one big concrete jungle...think again. The country claims some of the world's most beautiful coastlines, with miles of spectacular beaches, cliffs, and flora and fauna at its water's edge. Chris, Noah, and I discovered this hidden treasure just yesterday, tucked away between the Hachinohe City Port and the mountain ranges to the south. Visiting there felt like coming home--while parts of it seemed like I had stepped out of an episode of Lost with its tropical feel, the cliffside reminded me very much of my beloved Pacific NW. The three of us hiked for several hours, enjoying the sunshine and the cool breeze floating in off the ocean. We then stopped for dinner at this cute little restaurant that was located just atop one of the highest lookout points, just behind the observatory. Noah, Chris, and I then got to share an ice cream cone...the perfect finish to a perfect afternoon.

Noah loves to bounce!

Since I'm the one behind the camera...this is it.

Checking out the dandelions....

...and the cattails

The Observatory

Chris and Noah take a break and enjoy the crashing waves.

Hurry up, Daddy...I'm really hungry.

He's coming! He's coming!

Are you sure this isn't how you do it?

Little Head Banger

Noah LOVES music and it doesn't matter what genre it falls under--classical, rap, pop, heavy metal, or country (yikes!)--he will stop whatever he's doing to listen and smile. To further encourage this behavior, I've started sitting with him at my keyboard in hopes that he'll become more musically inclined than his mom and dad. Sadly, Chris never really had an interest in playing an instrument and I haven't maintained any sort of discipline over the years at the piano. The hope is that he'll learn to play (and play well) at least one instrument in his life, whatever that may be.

So, here's a video of Noah rockin' out to a little Twisted Sister--it's a little fuzzy, but you can see him "headbang" for a few moments. And, no...I did not teach him that. :)

It's August!

Tick-tock, Noah, tick-tock…it’s 9a.m. here and that kid is still cutting “zzzz”s. Can you believe it?!?! I almost don’t know what to do with myself. :)

Well, as the headline states: It’s August! And HOT! Five more months to go in Misawa...Yippee! I just finished my summer course load and prepping for my final two classes this Fall. Don’t know how I’m going to manage finals with three weeks of the semester spent in HI and GA, but I guess I’ll make do. :) Chris is currently in JAX enjoying some flying time, while me and the munchkin have spent a relaxing, quiet week at home. It’s been nice—Noah is learning to entertain himself a bit more, so I have a few moments here and there for some “pleasure reading.” It’s certainly a nice break from textbooks on topics like strategic planning and finance. The little guy turns 1 on August 22nd, so we’ve also been planning a HUGE Winnie the Pooh birthday party for him. I still can’t figure out where the last year has gone.

Not much going on here right now other than what’s mentioned above. We are still getting pretty moderate earthquakes around here—either that, or I’ve become “seismically sensitive” since the big 7.0 that occurred a few weeks ago and every little shake (although I wouldn’t describe a 5.3, 30 miles away at 1a.m. as “little”) freaks me out now. Funny…I used to think they were cool. Not any more.

Stay tuned for pics of Noah’s big day in the coming weeks…it should be fantabulous!

Cheers!

Amanda