Hazel on her birthday.  We kept it simple with just mom, dad, and brother to sing to her and watch her eat her strawberry-banana cake (ok, fine, it was a muffin).  She opened a few gifts from the grandparents (thanks Nana & Pops and Grandma & Grandpa!) and had a great time.

We celebrated this weekend with beach trips, cafes, more singing, and pictures.  She is just a little ball of joy and it doesn’t take much to thrill her.  We love you, baby girl!

This little love is ONE year old!  This year has just flown by.  It has been such a sweet privilege to be her mama.  

At one, Hazel loves clapping, waving, and saying “hi” to everyone she sees.  She loves hair, especially Max’s.  She loves crawling, playing on the playground with the big kids, the beach, soft and snuggly things, swings, and eating.  She eats everything – fruit, fish, veggies, bread… there aren’t too many things she won’t devour.  

She has been struggling with a cold the past week or two, but it hasn’t stopped her from being her usual fierce and joyful self.  She does, however, heartily dislike having her nose wiped.

She is usually an excellent sleeper as long as she has her soft woolly blanket and typically sleeps around 11 hours at night with 3 hours of naps during the day.  She has somewhere around 8 teeth, crawls super duper fast, stands really well, and has taken just a few steps here and there.  She mostly just says “hi” (all. the. time.) but also occasionally says “mamamama” and “dadada.”

You brighten our days and keep us on our toes, Hazel!  You are happy, beautiful, strong, and just a touch mischievous.  You are perfectly created and dearly loved.  Happy first birthday, Hazel!

Resurrection Sunday!  My favorite day of the year!  He is risen!!!

We opened our last “resurrection egg” in the morning to discover it was empty, just like the tomb!  The top picture is literally the best I could get before heading to church.  Proof that a good camera is absolutely zero guarantee you will get good pictures!

After Easter service, we came home for a quick nap for Hazel, run for Ben, and egg hunt for Max.  I just hid his resurrection eggs (a 12 day Easter advent with little things that tell the crucifixion and resurrection story).  He was thrilled to discover each one.  Poor guy doesn’t know what he’s missing.  He’s gonna be so mad when he figures out other kids get candy and money.  

After he found his eggs, he wanted to hide them for me to find, so we took turns doing that until it was time to head back for church for Easter luncheon.  I was honored to be asked to take the pictures for our church (only because I was walking around with a big camera, but it was still fun!).  It was a nice day to spend with our calvary chapel family remembering the cost of our salvation and celebrating our Savior.  

Our last morning in Tokyo, we squeezed in a stop at Blue Bottle Coffee, Ben’s favorite coffee in the world.  He fell in love with their freshly roasted beans when we lived in Monterey.  Back then, they only had San Francisco and Berkley breweries, but they’ve since expanded to New York, D.C. (after we left), and now Tokyo!  What a treat!  

I tried to make it to one last museum and another garden, but in the interest of not missing our flight, we had to head back to the station.  

Tokyo was so fun!  It was crowded, but so clean, orderly, and calm for so many people.  The subways and trains were intense, but so clearly labeled.  I highly recommend a visit to Tokyo!  For now, we are happy to be home and I’m happy to no longer be sharing a bed with Hazel!!

On Odaiba we had a quick bite and headed to Legoland, Max’s most-anticipated destination.  He enjoyed himself thoroughly, and Hazel found a pit of Duplos to hang in.  Unfortunately, she also tried to eat a few and came home with a cold.  

Apparently, it is totally socially acceptable to sleep while your kids play, because we saw sleeping parents all over the place.  No judgement here!  (You can catch one sleeping dad in the background of the last picture, and one goofy dad in the one before that.)  

On Saturday, we took a water bus (aka, fancy ferry) to Odaiba Island.  Max enjoyed the ride and we all enjoyed the sunshine.  The building with the golden flame is Asahi Breweries. It is rumored that it was supposed to be vertical, but the government made them lay it on its side, either because it looked too much like poo, or because it would be too likely to topple in a hurricane.  

After some shrines, a museum, and gardens, we met up with Ben and headed to Shibuya Station.  We crossed the intersection at Shibuya crossing, said to be the busiest in the world.  I believe it!  Apparently some 2500 people cross at the same time in some instances.  There weren’t quite that many crossing with us, but it was still pretty intense.  We also paid a visit to the statue of Hachiko, the dog who famously waited for his owner at the station every day long after his owner’s death.  Max fell asleep on the subway, so he was a little cranky.