Xmas Eve Through Boxing Day

December '10 Photos

My December photo album is growing, growing, growing. Here's what I've got so far. 
I'm sure there will be a ton more before the year is out, so check back.

More Totoro!

Mio gets upset when her favourite Movie, Totoro, is finished. Fortunately, she knows how to use the Apple remote to start the movie again.

Mio's Nap Time

Some friends drop by to give Mio a goodnight kiss as she goes down for a nap.

November '10

Photos from November.

Halloween 2010

Mio's first night of trick-or-treating...

Thanks, iChat!

Having Yuko and Mio away for so long has been hard. Fortunately, we've been able to see each other twice a day.  Here's a snapshop of a video chat between my parents, Yuko & Mio, and me.

Yuko's been sending my photos via iChat, so I've been updating the October Picasa slideshow. 

Click the thumbnail below to see the October album, or scroll down to see the slideshow in the previous entry.

October 2010

October 2010

So, Yuko and Mio are now in Japan. We've been video chatting twice a day, and she's already sent me a bunch of photos. 
Here's what I've got so far. I'll continue to post more as Yuko sends them to me.

Looking Back: Air Guitar Mio (Nov. '09)

We came upon this old clip of a 5-month-old Mio playing air quitar.  Enjoy.

September 2010 Photos

As I try to deal with the prospect of going 3 weeks without Yuko and Mio, I look back on September's photos. 

Yuko, please send pics from JPN when you can.
Come home to me soon, my princesses!

August 2010 Photos

August is almost over, and it's time to post another batch of photos.  Basically, we've spent the month settling into our new life in Toronto.  I've been going into school a little bit, and we've been going home on the weekends for soccer and to visit Granny and Granda.


Our neighbourhood in TO has some great parks, and we've been making the most of the summer weather before it starts to cool down.  Mio loves the swings and the splashpad.  The walking path behind our house is great for afternoon strolls, and it takes us right over the subway lines where Mio can watch the trains pass underneath.  It's one of her favourite things to do, and the drivers always treat us with a honk and a wave.

A Couple of Clips

A couple of little video clips of our baby enjoying her new surroundings.

July 2010 Photos

July: house hunting, moving, furniture shopping, swimming, and soccer (with a little family time thrown in).

The Big Move

     Well, we did it.  We packed up, jumped on a plane, and moved to Canada.  Yuko worked VERY hard to get everything ready for the big move. Thanks, baby.
     We've been home for just about a week now, and I think the three of us are pretty much over our jet lag. (Jet lag is even LESS fun when you have a 1 year old.)
     Here are just a few pictures from the first few days in Canada, including the welcome home/welcome to Canada BBQ that my parents hosted in the back yard.

June 2010 Photos

** UPDATE!  New photos added to this album 
June was a month of family holidays for us.
On June 1st, Mio had her FIRST BIRTHDAY!  Our little girl is 1 year old.  
We had a special dinner and a cake at home.  We also had the chance to open some more presents.
We also had two holidays that we invented: 

• Nakadachiuri Day
• FANCY DAY.

If you've never invented your own holiday, I highly recommend it; it can be a lot of fun.
If you want to know more about these awesome holidays, let me know and I can give you details.  Feel free to adopt them for your own family.

Here are some photos from June.  

(At the time of this posting, June isn't quite over, so there will be more photos added soon.)

Birthday Greeting From Granny and Granda

Mio's Granny (Rob's mom) is studying Japanese. Apparently, she's even started to learn how to write hiragana.

We got attachment in an email this morning.

Nice writing, mom!

Mio says "ありがとう！”

THANK YOU!

Mio's B-Day Picnic

Family and friends gathered to help Mio celebrate her first year! Yuko cooked all of the food for ~35 people. Thanks so much, Yuko.

Mio had a great time. At the party, she took her first steps while everyone watched on! It was amazing!

May 2010

On the verge of turning 1 year old, Mio seems to be growing and learning at a more rapid pace. She's understanding more words (like itadakimase, kiss, arigatou, and bye bye), and she is getting more and more adventurous.

At her birthday party, she even took her first steps, much to the enjoyment of everyone watching.

As I type this, she is about to wake up on her first birthday. Happy Birthday, Mio! Thank you for the best year of our lives!

April 2010

We seem to have more video than photos from April. Here are the few photos we've got. I've got a tiny video put together already, and if I get some time, I'll edit some more together to post.

April 2010

March Photos

Lets see... what happened in March?
Well, Mio's top teeth started to come in. She's making good use of them already, and we are loving the chomping sounds she makes when she eats rice cakes.
Also, we received in the mail the stroller pamphlet that was made from Mio's first modeling job. She's also on Aprica's website!
After much deliberation, we finally bought a "mama chari" bicycle so we can easily move about the city. Although Mio doesn't like wearing the helmet at first, she soon settles down and we enjoy our bike rides to places like Kinkakuji, Kodomomiraikan, or Kamogawa River. We're looking forward to cherry blossom season!

Photos below. Watch the slideshow or click on photos to go to the Picasa Albums.

Girls Day

March 3rd is Girls Day in Japan. We celebrated Mio's first Girls Day this past weekend. Just a few of the many, many photos...

February Photos

Here are some photos from February.
Watch the slideshow, or click on a photo to enlarge in Picasa Web Albums.

Januray '10 (Back in Japan)

In early January, we returned from our holiday in Canada. This is what the rest of the month looked like.
Towards the end of the month, Mio stood up for the very first time! (We have a video on YouTube. Add us as a YouTube friend if you'd like to see our home movies.)

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to see the album in Picasa Web albums.

Mio's 1st Xmas pt. 3

Christmas in Canada part three.
Watch the slideshow or click here to go to the Picasa Album.

Mio's First Xmas pt. 2

More from Canada...
Watch the slideshow or click here to go to the Picasa Album.

Mio's First Xmas pt. 1

Since June, our days have been full of firsts. Our winter holiday had many more firsts to add to Mio's growing list:
first flight
first trip to Canada
first snow
first Christmas
and, most importantly, it was first time to meet her family and friends in Canada.

Thank you, everyone, for making this such a wonderful trip for the three of us. Your kindness towards Mio is very heartwarming, and we know that she was very happy to receive your hugs and attention.

I didn't very many photos this winter, but I do have some to share. Here is the first of 4 albums. More to come soon.

Watch the slideshow or click to be taken to the Picasa album