Takaragaike Park - Kodomo no Rakuen

About 15-20 minutes walk from our apartment, we found a great playground, Kodomo no Rakuen (Children's Paradise). On the weekdays, we can play nearly alone and on the weekends, it's an incredibly popular place with tons of families enjoying themselves and a picnic lunch. Some people even bring along camping tents to provide some shade.

Vanessa especially liked the giant climbing spider's web and the hammock swing. Xavier loved the maze and the "mountain" in the middle of the park. Zoe insists the park had delicious rocks. Toddlers are weird, haha.

Art Class for Kids

Our first weekend in Japan we made our way back to the Kyoto City International Foundation which housed many of the events and clubs we enjoyed back in 2007. They were having a KoKo Kids meeting to do an art project with shrinky dinks.  There were only two families in attendance, so we all got to participate, even the "grown-ups."

Can you guess which project(s) belong to which Rasmussen?

Introducing...

Vanessa Quinn Rasmussen

Born on July 10, 2011 at 8:51 pm

8 lbs. 5 oz. and 19.5 inches

She's a cutie and a beauty. We're all smitten. :)

Xavier's Baptism

Today was Xavier's Baptism at Saint Sebastian Church in Middletown. This event has been in the works for a long while. It's so exciting that we are finally ready to celebrate!!

The day was off to a bit of a rocky start when X-man woke up very early and very fussy. He's been feeling under-the-weather since Christmas. First, he had some sort of cold/congestion/cough. Then, he caught (and shared) a stomach virus and now it looks like he's starting another cold. Poor little guy! Happily, his sweet personality won out and he let us give him a bath and get him ready for his big day.

The most important step in getting ready was choosing which baptism gown to wear. Xavier had the enviable choice between two beautiful, handmade, family heirloom baptism gowns with different histories. He tried on and took pictures in both gowns. I only wish he could have worn them both for the Christening itself!

One choice was the McNichols Family gown. It was handmade from an old wedding dress by Helen McNichols Hayes, my maternal grandfather's younger sister. This baptism gown was worn by several Mc Nichols babies including my Aunt Joan, my mother, several of my first cousins and several first cousins once removed. In the pictures, it is the gown with the long, long see through skirt and tight cuffs on the sleeves.
The other choice was the Le Febure Family gown. It was handmade for my father by Jeanette Grujon - a first cousin of my paternal grandfather. Worn only by my father at his baptism, the gown "escaped" Castro's regime when it was sent by Jeanette to my father in a French diplomatic package from Cuba. While I'm sure my father (single and in his 20's at the time!) probably questioned the utility of sending him a baptism gown, it's really nice to have it today! Key features on this gown are the shorter skirt, more lace details, and the loosely tied sleeves.

Xavier ended up wearing the Le Febure baptism gown - mostly because it fit him so much better. Seven month old babies are a bit older (and larger) than the average baptism recipient so it was nice to have a less snug garment. Another consideration was that Xavier loves standing up so much. The shorter skirt was a huge help keeping him happy and quiet during mass and the baptism itself.

Unknown to us, we learned that January 20th is the Feast of Saint Sebastian in the Catholic Church. To celebrate Sebastian's sainthood, local third grade children performed a play in six (long) acts highlighting many details of his life, miracles, conversions and martyrdom before the mass began. The Knights of Columbus also joined in on the processional in full regalia.

After the regular mass, Godfather/Uncle Charlie and Godmother Emily Smith joined Chris and I in baptizing Xavier. He did very well throughout the sacrament. In fact, when the priest was pouring water on him, he tried craning his head back to see the pitcher!

After the mass and ceremony we held a small reception at our place. Highlights included catering dishes from Illiano's, my favorite non-alcoholic punch (pineapple juice, diet ginger ale, OJ "ice" cubes, and orange sherbet), and a delicious cake from Front Street Bakery - the best bakery ever!

What a lucky little man to have such amazing Godparents, family and friends there to celebrate with him! God Bless Xavier James!

Back to "Japan"

Nihon e ikitai desu. Nihon e ikitai desu. Istu? Ima. Mochiron. Ikimasenka? Ikimashou!

It's been a year since we have set foot in our beloved Japan. And, while we enjoy living stateside now, we do miss LOTS of things about our lives in Kyoto.

Thanks to Pa, this Christmas, we were lucky enough to be able to return to "Japan" for a day.

With grandparents chomping at the bit for an extended babysitting opportunity and two fellow fun-seekers (Charlie and Erin) to share the day with, we headed out on an Asian Adventure in New York City.

Our first stop was Katagiri. Chris says that they are the oldest Japanese grocer in New York City. Sugoi desu ne! We stocked up on lots of Japanese favorites that we hadn't been able to find in the US - (real) Udon and soba noodles, Pocky, Sansai (Kyoto mountain vegetables), Tonkatsu sauce, (good) gyoza sauce, and kabocha, a Japanese pumpkin that my Dad said looked like a calabasa. Yum!! They even had a fridge full of C.C. Lemon!

Just in case we didn't have enough authentic groceries in our bags, we hit another Japanese grocer - JAS Mart. This shop was larger, but carried more snacks and non-food items as opposed to fresh foods. I was excited to find so many brands of canned Japanese coffee. Also, they carried the dehumidifying pouches and containers for drawers and closets. Not that I need them in the middle of dry winter, but I got a few anyway for when warmer wetter weather prevails!

Next, on the recommendation of my friend Dan, we went to Ippudo, a New York branch of a popular Japanese ramen chain. Even though we arrived before 5pm, there was still a bit of a wait. This place was SO popular, and rightfully so. Our ramen was **amazing!** Chris and Charlie both got the special and Erin and I both got the Akamaru-modern. Following the traditional custom we all ordered "Kae-dama onegaishimasu!" - a second helping of noodles for our ramen broth. As we were leaving, the lines of hungry diners filled the bar, lobby and poured out onto the street. Clearly, being early was the way to go.

Our final stop was Duet 35 - an authentic Japanese karaoke place near Penn Station. Japanese karaoke is so much cooler than a typical American karaoke bar because instead of putting your name on a long list only to have to then sing in front of a room of strangers, you get your own private room with a big screen TV and microphones for just you and your friends! We met up with a bunch of Charlie's friends there- all of whom were excellent singers. :)



Another fun feature, you can order drinks and snacks to be brought to your room. Chris and I each ordered one Kahlua Milk drink just like we did on most singing occasions with Muraki-mama, Sayaka and Dominikus! Natsukashii desu ne! Plus, the drinks made everyone sing (and hear) better! We stayed for over two hours, until our vocal chords begged us to hop on the next train home.

What a fun and nostalgic day! For the record, not having to take a 15 hour flight to enjoy these Japanese foods and activities is AMAZING! Anyone up for a repeat adventure?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone! Can you tell that Christmas makes us happy? X-mas definitely agreed with X-man. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

As you can imagine, we have a lot to be thankful for this year. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Leyendo con Abuelo

Colorín colorado, este cuento se ha acabado.

Meeting Gareth Eli Milburn Cheslock

Last weekend we had the pleasure of meeting our new nephew/cousin Gareth for the first time. He's a cutie! Instead of having either family drive all the way to CT or MD, we met in Rockville Centre - the "midway point" as defined by free lodging rather than by geography. We had a really fun time playing and visiting with Sara and Gareth... as you can see in these photos. We enjoyed a tasty home-cooked Cuban meal and got to catch up on all sorts of things including a hilarious presentation from Sara's graduation roast. I can't wait to get together again soon.

Two Months Old

It's hard to believe how fast time is flying... Xavier is already nine and a half weeks old. And, he's doing great. At his two month well-baby appointment on Monday he weighed in at 12 pounds even and was 23.5 inches tall.

The doctor said he was doing well with all his milestones. We're most excited about his ability to sleep. In this regard, he's definitely a Le Febure! His record is nine hours and fifteen minutes! We're pretty sure that this was his commentary about our recent purchase of a window AC unit for the bedroom. Of course, this doesn't happen every night, but he will usually sleep for somewhere between 5 and 8 hours. We are so grateful for such a good sleeper!

And, because I'm clearly obsessed with uploading photos... enjoy these!

Caroline & Matt's Wedding

Photos

Latest Installment of Photos

Hi Everyone! Check out these new photos of Xavier from the past three weeks.

Five Weeks Old

It is amazing how much can happen in just one week. Since our last post, Xavier had many exciting firsts.

He had his first bottle.
He met Grandpa Ras and Grandma Barbara for the first time.
He helped Dad celebrate his first Father's Day.
He stopped by the Community Health Center on Main Street to meet my old co-workers.
He met our friends Sarah and Shannon. We're all looking forward to his first trip out west!
He went on his first outing to a restaurant. He slept peacefully through our entire visit to O'Rourke's Diner, as featured on the Food Network's show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
He went to his 1 month well-baby checkup. He now weighs 9 pounds, 14 ounces and he's 23 inches tall!

New Photos!

Hi everyone! I'm turning four weeks old tomorrow, so Mom and Dad posted some photos. Feel free to take a look at them: Pictures. Frankly, I think family portraits are a little dull (as you can see), but there are still some cute shots of me over there.

Three Weeks Together

Eventually, this will be a real post. But for now, here are some new photos!

Introducing...

Xavier James Rasmussen

Born May 22, 2009 at 4:32pm

8 lbs 2 oz, 20 inches

Welcome to the world little man! Eventually, we will have photos up on our personal site; for now, please enjoy some shots on Shutterfly.

150 Years

The year 2008 is a special one for my parents, aunts and uncles. It is the year where the eight of them combine to celebrate 150 years of marriage. (45+38+34+33=150)

Having realized the interesting addition of the year, my mother threw a surprise party. The only hint as to the theme of the celebration, was that she asked her sister and brothers to bring their wedding albums with them.
Everyone had a good time going through the photos and sharing stories about how they first met and started dating. After feasting at a "classic" wedding BBQ, all four couples cut their wedding anniversary cake together. Aww!

Congratulations guys!