4.26.2001


top: hana chan has really gotten into thomas the train lately (grandma june bought her the set you see on the floor, and since then, hana has become a true addict!) bottom: hana likes small shoes (refer to the entry on 04.10.01), but she also likes big shoes too! what you see here is a daily ritual!

4.17.2001




koichan (hana's mommy) was cutting a piece of apple tonight, when hanachan suddenly got up and ran to her bedroom...we then heard some rustling, followed by her return at similar speeds...and what was this all about? she brought back her plastic toy knife!

another neat thing hanachan does these days is say "choudai" ("please give me that") and "arigatou" (thank you) when she wants, then gets, something (usually food). she also yells, "mat'te mat'te" as she runs ("wait...wait"). above, more shots of hana in her beloved park labrea, plus a bonus shot of pretty koichan!

4.15.2001



it was like a broken record: hana picked up the 6 or 7 easter eggs...we took them out of her basket and replaced them in the garden...hana picked up the 6 or 7 easter eggs...we took them out of her basket and replaced them in the garden...hana picked up the 6 or 7 easter eggs...we took them out of her basket and replaced them in the garden... let's just say: HANA LOVES EASTER!!!

4.14.2001





hana went with her folks and grandpa henry to the park labrea kids' easter egg hunt today! it was really neat, with easter bunnies and candy everywhere. the bottom shot is hana and her mommy's rendition of the blues brothers.

4.12.2001

hana is forming a new gang called the "pink berets." made up of all the park labrea 1.5 year olds, the group's mission is to thwart the ever-present threat of neatly organized bookshelves, linen closets, kitchen cabinets, and toy baskets!

btw, what is that scary thing to the left?!?! babies shouldn't take baths with waterfront bums!!!

4.10.2001


top: another picture of hana playing her favorite game of late: run away from the big, bad mommy! bottom: hana trying to put on her hopelessly small infant shoes while saying, "chiisai...chiisai" ("small" in japanese). note the baby doll she carries on her back all day.

4.9.2001


hana is really, really attached to her mommy, kozue, and sometimes daddy gets jealous. to remedy the situation, we play this game where mommy pretends to be the big bad ookami (wolf) and approaches hana while growling and showing her teeth. only then does hana flee to the comfortable safety of daddy's arms. here are a couple of shots of a half-laughing, half-scared hana.

4.8.2001


we took hana to the "hanamatsuri" festival in jtown today, but since she had been napping late, we missed the whole thing! no matter, because all hana really wants to do is run, run, run (bottom photo). we did go into the japanese american national museum and saw the horrible henry sugimoto exhibit. we also came across an old black and white photo that bore a striking resemblance to hanachan, so we snapped the top photo as a memento.

4.6.2001


an update on hana's recent new words: fork, spoon, o-uma (horse), ushi (cow), kaeru (frog), wani (alligator), ki & tree (same meaning). she has also renewed her avid interest in the andrea boccelli/ sarah brightman version of the opera hit, "time to say goodbye." she has literally watched this performance on video about a hundred times already. above, hana and papa admire themselves in the mirror and, uh, let's just say that hana had another "big hair day" today!






hana is mapping out her world at a rapid pace these days. for instance, as can be seen in the middle shot, we play this game where we ask her in rapid succession where different people are ("where is...grandpa? where is...papa? where is...mama?" etc.) what's cute is that when we ask about anybody except mama and papa, she just smiles and points toward the door! and this includes her auntie akemi ("aki") and uncle david...in seattle.

we bought her a little elmo chair at kaybee toys today so she won't sit so close to the tv and get goggle-eyes like her papa...she loves it, but we need to watch her carefully because she tries to use it as a stepping stool!

4.2.2001





hana and her folks went hiking today in fern dell. we learned that hana loves the trip downhill, but prefers to be carried in papa's baby backpack on the way up. she ate lunch up on the trail, then zoomed down in record time. she also got her first introduction to pollywogs, as can be seen in the middle picture. notice the funky effect in the second and third pix from the bottom: hana has a twin standing in the distance!