Gabriela is four!

Gabriela turned four on the the 19th. This was the first time she has been in The States since her first birthday. We celebrated with Fuller, Lindsay, and Spencer coming over for breakfast. Fuller brought Gabriela a present with skittles. I had cupcakes for her birthday, but she wanted skittles instead! The rule on your birthday is you get to do whatever you want and eat what you want!! Not sure I will be able to have that rule in the future. Gabriela took full advantage of it and ate a lot of junk. We will celebrate with a few of her friends this Sunday, and she is so excited. I regret not having her party sooner because I don't think she realizes she is four. I keep telling her she had a birthday and she responds "no you were tricking me there were no decorations or balloons." We have been in Argentina too long and she is use to big parties:)
At four years old Gabriela makes me laugh everyday. She is back at music preschool and comes home everyday with stories. Thankfully, she remembered her old friends and made new ones fast. Her cousins are her best friends and she loves going to Fullers house. They play so well together. She would love to hold Spencer and run around the house with her. However, Lindsay and I have our concerns about that!! Her daily prayers always include her cousins. She still loves to sing and lately has been making up songs of her own. Her only wish is for a dog. Four years have flown by and we are so thankful for our sweet baby girl!!

Funny Conversation:

Grandpa: "Gabriela I want to take you to the toy store and let you pick out your birthday present."
Gabriela: "Didn't I tell you I wanted a dog."
Grandpa: "Yes but I couldn't find one."
Gabriela: "Grandpa don't you know where a pet store it."

Happy Birthday Nichy

Nichy is 32 today!! We told Gabriela we would celebrate their birthdays together. Nichy won his game tonight and then we came home for singing and cake. A fan gave Nichy his birthday hat and he wore it after the game. The Japanese are known for giving gifts to the players after games. Nichy came home with flowers and lots of goodies!
 Gabriela was so excited and only tested the cake 5 times before he came home. There was one present wrapped, and I told Gabriela it was for her Daddy. When he was getting ready to open it we told Gabriela we tricked her and it was really for her! She was so excited. This birthday celebration was very low key compared to his past birthdays. I told him I felt bad because we usually have big celebrations in Argentina. He was very happy tonight and said "this is all I need."Gabriela will have her birthday in The States this year. She has not been home for her birthday since her first birthday.

Preparing to leave

Gabriela and I are leaving Japan in less than a week! I can't believe it is already time to go. This year was a special year because I felt like I got to spend a lot of time with Gabriela. I will miss our bike ride talks, walking by the lake, going to playrooms, and nature walks. Gabriela has had a free for all in the kitchen. I made her a craft drawer, and she had access to it at all times! Which means she was always making a mess! Almost everyday she painted, mixed paint together, made potion, and made pretend cookie dough. She gets the flower bag and mixes stuff together telling me "I am cooking." We usually had to wait until Daddy was at practice because he can not handle these projects!! When we get back home she will be disappointed about the new rules of making a mess in the kitchen!

We have had the best play dates lately. Gabriela has a new friend name Casey. His Daddy plays for another team in Japan. We went to the aquarium with them and have been hanging out a lot lately. I wish we would of done this all year! I told Gabriela we are going to the United States soon and she asked if Casey would be there. She will really miss him but will be super excited to see her cousins!

Yesterday we started the day with popsicles and a bicycle ride. We took the train to Kyoto and our first stop was Toys R Us. We had no plans for the day, and I told Gabriela she could do whatever she wanted. We walked around Toys R Us for almost two hours looking and playing with toys! The next couple stops were stores with displays to play with. It was so much fun not rushing and just letting Gabriela play. I love living a slow paced life here. When we get back to The States we will have to make a few changes and not be on the go all the time! I cherish these days and memories!

Aquarium

We took Gabriela to the aquarium in Osaka. When we woke up that morning I told her we had a surprise. We gave her clues and kept asking if she knew where we were going. After a lot of clues and seeing pictures of fish she said "were going to the aquarium." Her favorite thing she saw was the sharks. My favorite thing she said was "look its colossal squid!" She learned it from watching Wild Kratts. Now I can feel less guilty for letting her watch t.v.

Japan's Earthquake

March 11 was the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake Japan had last year. Nichy had a game and during the game they stopped for a moment of silence. Gabriela, Jenny, and I went to the Japanese Gardens and Temples in Otsu. There were a lot of people out paying respects to loved ones they lost.
Gabriela loved running around outside. They had two monkeys in a cage and one got really made at Gabriela. Not sure what happened, but it was the first time I saw a monkey growl and show his teeth. We were glad they were caged up. Below is a picture of Gabriela trying to drink the purity water.

The flowers in the background are trees that are over 100 years old!

This is Jenny and I at The Gardens. We have become great friends,  and I cherish our friendship. She is the coaches wife, and they are from Australia. Alan her husband coached for the same team for 26 years and this is their first time out of the country. I couldn't imagine beginning this lifestyle after being with the same team for that long. She is so sweet to Gabriela and I. We are so lucky to have her. and I dread the day I have to say bye.

Valentines Day

Daddy came home from practice with gifts for his girls! He had flowers, bath products, and chocolates. Gabriela was so excited. We spent the day baking Valentine cookies in our fish oven. They turned out good considering we didn't have a real oven. I let Gabriela take them to a few people that live in our apartment complex. We only had one left and it was for Nichy's teammate Josh. Gabriela discovered it was the last one and decided she didn't want to give him one! I reminded her she had already eaten hers and wouldn't be able to eat another one. Later in the day she had a change of heart and gave Josh a cookie!