The T.L.F.

Hey Rafe!

Guess what?

We've made it more than a week in Japan!

That's how I feel too, buddy.  

Both kids picked up impressive colds this week somewhere along the way (because having to adjust to a new time zone when you can actually breathe at night is just too easy!).  I guess it's a pretty common occurrence, talking to some of the other moms on base.  So, we've been staying in the warm and trying to get as much sleep as possible.  And honestly, there are few people I'd rather be cooped up with more than Vivi and Rafe.  

Vivien is so entertaining. She likes to wear all the pajamas she owns in the course of a day.  She likes to try on Rafe's clothes too (she's wearing his sweats in the picture below).  Recently she's taken to tying the silkies around her head like do-rags ("I make a pig tail").  

  She's always loved to arrange her stuffed "amials," but I thought this pose was especially elegant, with the ankles crossed and all:

We took Drew to see Frozen at the theater on base this week.  Vivi is pretty enchanted with it.  She likes to run back and forth through the kitchen singing "Let it Go" over and over.  She's even fashioned herself a Broadway Glamour Gown like "Elfa's".  

She will look at me out of the blue and say "I'm the queen."  Today she asked me to make her a crown.  I thought she looked a little like Max in her crown and pajamas.  

She also came up to me today and said "Momma.  Come run the pine trails of the forest!" and then ran away.  She's been watching "Cocohontas" on the iPad when she hasn't felt well enough to play.  And, all you have to do is start singing the song from the Barbie 12 Dancing Princesses and she starts spinning away, pausing every so often to talk to Genevieve.  In her sweet little voice.  She's F.U.N.

Rafe is cruising.  I had not been watching the diaper stores closely enough and we had to make an emergency trip to the commissary in the stroller.  When we got back I just let them loose while I put away all the purchases.  He took off after his sister as fast as his little legs would go!

 He's quite a favorite of the waitresses at the restaurant on base.  And how could they not love him?  His smile is irresistible! 

So, it will be nice to have a little more space, and especially separate bedrooms again (so maybe Rafe will remember how to sleep longer than 5 hours in a row by himself), but the TLF really hasn't been too bad so far.  I mean, when can you do 3 loads of laundry at once for free?  And I've never had such a magical refrigerator:

 It opens from both sides.  Which has actually been highly convenient. 

And I would love to be taking advantage of having an American oven until we move into a Japanese house, but I have none of my baking equipment, and I don't really want to have to move a big bag of flour and sugar etc. in a couple weeks.  So, we just make sure we cook all our quesadillas and tuna melts in the oven while we've got one.