Hi Everyone!

We’re back in Japan! We arrived already on Monday, 12 January 2004 but only now have we found some time to sit down and type something. We were in Finland on winter holiday for about a month. It was nice to be back there for a visit but still there wasn’t enough time to everything and see everyone we wanted. The first week we were in Helsinki because Aylwin had a course to attend. Then, we spent the remainder of the time in Tampere.

In Helsinki, we visited Mirja and Sanna where we all ate very nice pie made by Mirja. Then we had dinner at Paolo’s. No it’s not some fancy Italian restaurant… but it’s close enough. It was Sofia’s godfather Paolo, who’s a very close friend. Reko really enjoyed the oven baked spaghetti (sorry Paolo, we don’t remember the proper Italian name) and even asked his Mommy if we could have it in Japan also. Well, of course we can. Paolo, when are you coming for a visit?

We also had dinner at Julia’s (Aylwin’s best friend in Finland). Although Aylwin’s Tom Kha Kai wasn’t exactly a success, we still enjoyed the dinner and visit. We learned of some wonderful news that Julia and Tapani are getting married in September! It’ll be in Australia and Aylwin’s planning to attend. Let’s see if we can all go…

In Tampere, the time went by very quickly. First, there was Sofia’s six-month check-up. We thought she’d be uncomfortable and frightened but she actually behaved surprisingly well. Anneli, the nurse performing the check-up, informed us that Sofia’s motor skills were two months advanced for her age. The real surprise though was when Sofia had her shot. She didn’t even cry when the needle was in. And Dad captured the astonished look on Mom’s face. The second shot was too much though and Sofia did cry. Dad captured that too.

On Christmas eve, we went to Mummi’s and Ukko-Pekka’s (Petra’s parents’) summer cottage

in Kuru which is about an hour’s drive North of Tampere. When we arrived we had traditional rice porridge and it was the first time we saw little Sofia eat so much. I suppose she was just so happy to finally be able to eat what the adults were eating. In the evening, Santa Claus came and handed out the Christmas presents. After that, it was time to have pictures taken with Santa and we were all surprised that Sofia didn’t cry at all when she sat on Santa’s lap. Except for Mommy and Daddy, she usually cries if anyone holds her.

To be continued…