Happy 3rd Birthday Miyako-chan

Our sweet Miyako-chan turned three years old this week. My, how time flies. We had a great birthday with her, starting with a party then heading to the park for lunch with some friends. Then we came home, put on UNDERWEAR, and opened presents from mama, daddy, Nana, Opah, Grandma and Papaw. We had so much fun celebrating Miyako.

Her party was a huge success! We did a "Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" theme birthday party, and had people come in costumes. Miyako was Woodstock and the "K Man" was "Snoopy." Even Mama and Daddy had Charlie Brown T-shirts to support the theme. The only problem is both kids got hot in their costumes so we did not keep them on too long. Lots of friends came to help us celebrate. We had a craft time with foam pumpkins and stickers. We played Pin the Tale on Snoopy, naturally. We ate a pumpkin cake and pumpkin cupcakes! We opened presents. It was so much fun and we felt so blessed to spend the morning with friends. We have truly been blessed with such good friends here in Tokyo and are so very grateful.

From the party, we went to our local park to enjoy a bento lunch with two friends and play at the park. Miyako's best little girlfriend came along with us and she and Miyako had a ball playing together. Miyako even wanted to sleep with her present last night. So sweet. We came home, and put on UNDERWEAR! Remember, at age three, Miyako was going to wear underwear after her birthday party. And she did. We went to the mall next door to hear a concert and she had an accident, but we remained calm, took her home and she simply put on a new pair of underwear. I found that she would go wee wee a little bit in her underwear, stop, and run to the bathroom on the first day, but baby steps is all I was really looking for. The fact that she kept trying and did not go back to diapers encouraged me.

After dinner, which was leftover yakisoba (not a great home cooked meal by mama for her birthday, but she will not remember) we opened presents from family and she loved them all. We got her a Thomas the Train track set and when she saw "Thomas" on the box, she screamed "THOMAS!" Needless to say she was really excited. We had noticed lately that she enjoyed playing with train tracks when we went to friends' homes who had lots of trains, so we thought this would be a good gift, and we were right. I am sure though she will not be happy with it when the K Man is old enough to play with it. :) Sharing is not her favorite thing. She got callico critters from Nana and Opah, and she immediately had to take them out of the box. Grandma and Papaw sent her a V-Tech camera. It is high tech, and for our little photographer, she LOVES it.

It was a fun memorable day. It was so cute - Miyako did not even eat much breakfast because she said she was excited for her party. When we prayed last night, she was thankful for her party. She asked if she would have another one the next day. She also asked if she would be two years old the next day and wear diapers. NO! I have completed the first real day of potty training. We did great in the morning but had an accident at lunch time. We also went to the park behind our building and had a small accident there. But, she kept wearing underwear and did not go back to diapers, so we will keep pursuing this until it is finished. I think running a marathon is easier than potty training, but that is just an opinion. She really is doing GREAT, but it is very exhausting.

As for her third year stats, she is 34 pounds (15kg) and 36 inches (90-91 cm). Last year she was 82.5 cm. tall (32.4 inches) and 12.8 kilos (28 pounds). She is in the 75th percentile for weight and about 40th for height on US growth charts. She loves Charlie Brown, the Letter Factory DVD's, dancing, singing (Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes is a favorite), Anpanman, Disney, and dance parties. We love dance parties. I will say "Hands in the air" and she will scream "Hands in the air" and put her hands up. It is hilarious! She has a gift with music and you can tell she has an ear for it. You will find her tapping her foot to the beat of a song. It really is quite amazing for a three year old. She wants a big dog (because she is a big girl) with a pink tongue and a big girl piano, both of which we told her she cannot get until we have a house in America. She loves going to Robot Park and Midtown Park in Roppongi. She wants to take daddy to all kinds of parks. When we pass stations on the train while traveling, she will tell me what parks or play areas are at the stops. It is amazing to me what she remembers. She is very clever, if I do say so myself. She enjoys the nursery at church and BSF. She is demanding and can be whiny a lot, but she is three so that is to be expected. She talks constantly, and quotes Charlie Brown A LOT! She is picking up more Japanese. I can tell in sports class she seems to understand the teacher a lot better now than what she did when we started in April. However, she still does not speak it in sentences. She simply says words. That is ok though - she will go to yochien in April and I think her speaking of Japanese will develop quickly. At bed time, she wants to sing Christmas songs - we sing the same three songs every night - "Hark the Herald," "Away in a Manger" and "Santa Clause is Coming to Town." I could go on and on, but these are things that come to my head as I type.

Miyako-chan, you are a very sweet girl. Mama and Daddy love you so so very much. Happy third birthday dear. May you know the love of Christ all your days and follow Him with all your heart.