Valentine's in Japan

Valentine's Day is celebrated differently here than in the States. On Valentine's Day, women buy chocolate for the men. On March 14th, the men by chocolate for the women. Children do not have Valentine's parties or exchange Valentines. I guess I was a little down knowing the girls wouldn't be able to celebrate with their friends, but we made a big deal out of it at home :)

Debbie brought the girls back some wonderful Valentine goodies from the states. She is like a grandmother to the girls, as are a few of the other Lockheed Ladies :) I don't know what the girls and I would do without them.

They also received some Valentine goodies from their Grannies, so they haven't really missed out on much.

I always play Cupid for the girls, so we had a great day. Sam and I had a heart box full of goodies for them (stuffed animals, stamps, playdough, dinosaur eggs, lipstick, nightshirts, puzzles, and art supplies). Izzy was up at 7:00 wanting to see her loot, so of course, Gracie and Sophie weren't far behind. Every year I make them pink, cherry-flavored, heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast. They had heart-shaped PB&J sandwiches and mikan for lunch. They played with their Valentines Miss Debbie brought them (Granny sent them some, too), colored, stamped, and had a great day! Of course, both Grannies made sure they had cute clothes for the occasion! I bought them dinosaur eggs (about the size of a chicken egg) that you put in water and wait for it to hatch. Sophie's hatched first, and I heard her squeal, "This is the best day ever!!" Gracie's hatched - I think hers and Sophie's had A LOT OF HELP ;) Izzy, Miss Patient, is still waiting for hers. She got a stuffed panda, and held it up and started telling Sam how Pandas come from China and eat bamboo. She has changed it's diaper about "12 times" (her words) today. I know they are rotten, but it's so nice to see them so happy! I was really moved at the number of times I heard, "Thank you, Mommy!" Sophie even told me tonight, "Mommy, I weally apwiciate the wonduful dinnuh you made." Sam's rubbing off on them - he tells me every night in front of them how much he appreciates what I made (ordered, or scrounged up).

Keiko-san brought Sam a box of chocolates tonight - so sweet!!! I know I keep saying this, but I love our Japanese lessons!!!

And finally, my darling husband brought me flowers tonight! Thanks Honey! I love that he's always bringing me and his three baby girls flowers :)

I'm hesitant to say this, but the girls' behavior has been awesome lately. They are really helping me a lot lately. They pick up their toys (sometimes with A LOT of persuasion), get themselves dressed, brush their teeth, comb their hair, put their dishes in the sink (and "rinse" them if I'm not paying attention), and sorry, but they can take care of most bathroom issues on their own - WOOHOO!!! Of course, all these little accomplishments require some occasional tweaking, in the form of time-out, but they're really making the effort. Letters and sounds have really started clicking with them lately. They are always writing letters and words, asking me how to spell things, and telling me what some word starts with. All they want to do is write, draw, color, and cut. Izzy told me today, "Egg starts with eh, eh!" I asked her what letter says, "Eh?" She told me, "E!!" She can do that with most of her letters now! God is so very, very, very good!

Love you all!
~Michelle