Effie Walking.

Effie has been walking for about a week now and I have tried so many times to get it on video, I finally did today. It is from behind, but it is the only way I could get it. When she sees the camera, she stops walking and crawls over to me because all she wants to do is play with the camera. So I figured a video from behind is better than nothing.

Effie Burps The Baby Doll...

Yesterday I taught Effie how to "burp" her baby doll. So when I say "Sweet Baby Love", she burps her baby doll. The next thing I need to teach her is that babies get burped on their backs and not their heads!

All Grown Up?

This is A MUST SEE!! Gabe captured this video of Effie feeding herself..it is hilarious!

Effie Fixes Her Own Hair

This is a cute video of Effie putting bows in her hair. She wears a bow almost everyday, so by now she really knows where they go.

Fun With Mommy and Daddy

This is a fun game we like to play with Effie, and obviously she likes it too!

Effie LOVES to slide!

Gabe took Effie on the slide in my brothers back yard and she loved it! She couldn't get enough of it. Here are a few cute pictures and a cute video.

W.W.II Submarine Memorial

Gabe, Effie, and I went to Seal Beach where there is a memorial for over 50 subs that went down in W.W.II. It is a very peaceful memorial. It is right on a busy street outside the naval base but you can feel so much peace while you are on the grounds remembering all of the brave sailors that went down with the subs.

After we went to the memorial, we went to Shoreline Village and walked on the boardwalk. We got ice cream, took Effie on a little ride, looked at the boats, and tried on some silly hats at the hat shop. As you can see, Effie is not a big fan of hats!

Thank You Dr. Nanjandiah for Helping Effie!!

We are so blessed that Effie got such wonderful care while we tried to figure out what is wrong with her. Her GI specialist, Dr. Nanjandiah, and her pediatric surgeon, Dr. Lau have been wonderful to us and Effie. We can't thank them enough for taking such good care of our baby girl. I don't have a picture of Dr. Lau and Effie, but I do have a picture of Dr. Nanjandiah and Effie. I wish I could say Effie is "fixed", but I can't...I can say though, that she is doing so much better! We now know how to manage this problem that she has.

Happy Birthday Auntie Julia!

Julia had a birthday on January 4th and my Mom made a traditional southern fried chicken dinner. It was so very yummy! That dinner is a lot of work for my Mom and she does it every year for Julia. Thanks Mom!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

My Mom hosted our traditional Japanese style New Years Eve feast. It was strange to have the feast without my Dad. We really missed him and Amy and can't wait to see them in a few months. We hope 2009 is a good year and wish all of our friends and family a very Happy New Year!

Chelsea, Eric, Julia
Julia and Frank

Jim and Shannon

Christopher and Chelsea
Grammy making tempura.
Effie, before she started chowing down.

A Fun Place Called "The Sea Lab"

On December 27th, we went to this place in Redondo Beach called The Sea Lab. It is a sea life animal rescue facility. It is a really neat place, you are able to touch and hold most of the animals and you really learn a lot. All the kids - and adults - had a really great time!
Julia, Jesse, Eric, Chelsea.

Auntie Chelsea
Jesse (That big round creature in the water is a sea snail)
Auntie Kim, Jace, and a starfish.
Mommy, Effie, and a starfish.
Daddy picking up a starfish.
Effie and Jesse (They both LOVE playing together!)
Mommy and Effie looking at the sea bass.
Effie and Auntie Shannon.
R.J., Eric, Jace, and Auntie Julia.
Effie and Daddy looking at the sea horses.

These are baby sea horses.