Got Milk?

Got Milk? We do. Lots! Want some?!?! No, really, please take some off our hands!!! We have 13 liters in our fridge! How did this happen?

Well. . .on Wednesday, we have our weekly grocery delivery. How it works, is that the week before you fill out a form with what you want and how many. Sometimes it's hard to predict what you'll want to cook a week in advance, so I normally just get the basics: milk, eggs, yogurt, veggies, etc. Anyway, lately we've been ordering 6 liters of milk (enough to last us until the next delivery the following week). I guess on the order form, I must have made some sort of mistake, because when our groceries were delivered, we had 1 extra box than usual. We usually order about 3 boxes worth of groceries. So, as I'm unpacking the groceries, I'm pulling out our usual 6 liters of milk. Then I grab another box and start unpacking, and I see that that box is full of milk too! I'm thinking, "wait, where's that itemized list of groceries?" Sure enough, I check and it does say 11 liters of milk!!! I guess what happened is that I wrote in the wrong space, and tried to erase it, but didn't erase well enough, obviously!

That's all the milk on the bottom row. 12 liters there, and another liter on the door. (if you're wondering how we have 13 liters when we only "ordered" 11, we had 2 liters left from the previous week, so that's how you get a total of 13 liters) What are we going to do with all that milk? That's roughly the equivalent of 3 gallons! And it all has to be finished within a week and a half!!! HAHAHA!! Too bad the baby can't drink cow milk yet! I've been having cereal for breakfast everyday, but K doesn't like eating cold cereal in the winter. So, it's mainly just me drinking it. I figure that I need to drink AT LEAST 1 liter per day to get rid of all of it before it all expires!

Too bad we just can't return it! Actually I've made a few mistakes in the past. . . or maybe it was their mistake, I dunno, but I've gotten 3 bags of bell peppers. Wait, that's not the funny part. . . the hilarious thing is that I'm allergic to bell peppers! HAHAHA!!! And we also got some fish egg and seaweed mixture, but I just ended up giving it to K's parents since we don't eat that stuff.

*sigh* I guess I have to be a lot more careful when I'm doing the ordering. I'll have to double and triple check next time!

*sigh* As of now there are still 10 liters of milk left. *sigh* I just bought some hot cocoa mix, so that should make the milk go a little quicker. Well, at least I'll have nice, strong bones!!! Milk, better do a body good! I wonder if there's such a thing as drinking too much milk?

Okay, enough blogging, I gotta go and drink more milk. *sigh*

Tissue Terror!

This morning, I left Kaito in the bed with Kei. Thought I'd let the two of them sleep in while I checked some email and surfed the Internet. After a while, it got really quiet, so I just figured that they both fell asleep. Then I hear this scratching noise. I peek in the bedroom, and I see Kaito with a bunch of ripped up tissues all over him! And he's even got some in his mouth! I guess while Kei was sleeping, the little guy discovered the tissue box we keep on the bed and started pulling tissues out one by one! I ran over and pulled the wad of tissue out of his mouth, hoping that he hadn't swallowed any! I guess we'll have to keep the tissue box somewhere else from now on!

Kaito Cracking Up

This video is from last month. K was browsing the files on our memory stick and found it! It's pretty funny. Kaito is in such a laughing mood! It's cute, because he keeps on switching from looking at me (to the side) and looking at the video camera. It's hard to get him laughing on video, because he always gets distracted with the camera and doesn't pay any attention to you. In the video, you can hear me saying, "thank you, mama, and dada." Amazing what this kid will laugh at!

Kaito's First Shot!

Yesterday Kaito went to the doctor's for his first immunization! We're at the doctor's office and I'm holding him on my lap as the doctor is writing stuff down. All of a sudden Kaito starts laughing! Keep in mind that no one is even looking or playing with him. This kid just bursts out laughing! The doctor, nurse and I think it's just hilarious and wonder what he's laughing at. As the doctor goes back to writing stuff, Kaito busts out laughing again! It was so cute! Usually he won't laugh out loud unless someone is playing with him! This kid must have a laugh bug or something. Or maybe he thought the doctor looked really funny.

Anyway, I'm holding him as he gets his shot, and I can't believe that he didn't even scream! When the doctor stuck him with the needle, he didn't cry. It wasn't until she was injecting the stuff into him that he started to whimper and starts to panic for like 5 seconds. Then he just forgot about it and was back to normal. Wow, my little guy is tougher than I thought! That's my Super Baby!

3 Months Old!

I haven't really been writing much about the baby, so I'll try to update more about what is happening. Time sure has gone by quickly! Kaito is already 3 months old, and there are so many changes!!!

• He's finally outgrown his newborn clothes!
• He's graduated from newborn pampers to small size pampers. (did you know that Japanese newborn Pampers are a lot bigger than the American newborn Pampers? My parents brought some of the American newborn Pampers, and I thought they were so cute, because they were so tiny!!! Interesting though, same brand, but the size is different. I would have thought that Japanese ones would be smaller, since Japanese are generally smaller in size. Hmph, go figure!)
• He can suck his thumb, which makes everything so much easier now that he can calm himself!
• He can reach for things and started to put things in his mouth.
• He can see a lot further now and in more detail! I can smile at him from about 2 yards away and he'll smile back!
• He can roll over from his back to his tummy.
• He has already doubled his birth weight. At birth he was 5.2 lbs. and now at 3 months he is 10.8 lbs.
• He can sleep the whole night! We put him to bed at around 9pm and he'll sleep until 5am- 6am-ish!!! Even though he sleeps the whole night. . . I can't! I still wake up a few times at night, worrying and thinking, "is he okay? why hasn't he woken up? etc." Ahh, I guess I need training to sleep the whole night now!
• And the best thing now is that he can fall asleep all by himself in his crib! Before we would spend a lot of time rocking him and he would only take naps in his bouncy chair, swing, or in someone's arms. Now when I see that he is getting tired (rubbing his eyes, yawning, getting fussy) I just put him in his crib and he'll cry for maybe 10 minutes and then he'll just fall asleep! Things are SOOOO much easier now!

Now I feel like my little boy is growing up so quickly! Before I know it, he'll be going off to college! *sigh*

Our Little Pooper!

Recently Kaito has been having some leaking poop diapers. I wonder if it's because the diapers are getting too small or if his clothes are too small (the crotch is too short, therefor pressing against the diaper, leaving the poop with no where to go but out through the sides) or if the diaper is put on too loose.

2 weeks ago, we had a BIG poopie accident in his bouncy chair. I strapped him into the bouncy chair while I went off to prepare lunch. The whole time, he's cooing and enjoying himself, and I don't even notice that he pooped. That's EVEN after I picked him up and moved him to his play mat. As I'm sitting down, I put my fingers up to my face to scratch my nose, and I get a whiff of something on my fingers. I'm looking at my hands, which don't look wet at all, and I keep on sniffing, trying to figure out what that smell is (thank goodness I'm not licking to see what it is!!!). THEN it FINALLY hits me! It smells like poop. . . but I don't see any poop on my hands. Then I rush over to Kaito, who is playing happily on his play mat, and I notice that he has poop coming out of his diaper and it's on his legs too! How could I not have noticed it when I picked him up before? Then I look at the bouncy chair, and there is a big yellow blob there!!! So, I clean him up and wash the bouncy chair. (I think I was saddest about the bouncy chair getting dirty, which meant that he couldn't use it for the rest of the day until the cover dried. . . we don't have a dryer!). So, I wash it, and by the late afternoon, I was so glad that the cover had dried, so he could sit in the bouncy chair again. So, wouldn't you know it, when I put him in the bouncy chair as I prepare dinner, I hear some noise, and I go and check up on him, and he pooped again in the bouncy chair!!! AND it leaked all over. . . AGAIN! That's twice in 1 day. . . in the same place! I guess he must feel relaxed in that chair!

Anyway, since then, we have changed to bigger diapers (small, rather than newborn) and I cleared out all of his newborn clothes which are getting too small. So, there aren't too many leaky diaper stories to tell. . . or so I thought.

Okay, this time, it happens on the couch. We've been feeding Kaito only formula recently, because of some oral medication I'm temporarily taking (yeah, I'm okay, don't worry!). It seems that formula is harder for babies to digest, because Kaito would go 1 whole day without pooping (usually he poops 3-4 times a day on breast milk!). If he didn't poop one day, then I knew that the next day, there would be a BIG one coming! So, he's playing on the couch with Kei, and suddenly he starts crying. As Kei goes to check up on him, I hear a shout. . . not from Kaito, but from Kei. Apparently Kaito had a really big poop, which not only got all over his legs, but he also leaked on the couch and pillow! I never saw so much poop come out of him before!. . . and it was so sticky! Yuck! So, I start to panic . . . hmm, what should I do first? Take the diaper off? Wipe his legs off first? Take his clothes off? Take the cover off the changing pad? Get a plastic bag ready? So, I'm frantically trying to take his clothes off and wipe off his legs and feet, which are all poopie because he started kicking as I was taking the diaper off, so he got poop in between his toes!!! And of course Kaito is crying the whole time. Kei had the easy job of cleaning the couch and getting a bath ready to clean our little guy off. After his bath, a new diaper, and a change of clothes, our little guy was all smiles again.

I guess no one likes to poop in their pants. Our little guy may be a pooper, but he's not a "party pooper!"
Hmm, he didn't poop all day. . . so I should get ready for the next BIG one!

Kaito Arthur Yamada is here!!!

Okay, I know it's been a long time since I've last written anything on my blog site (which is why this post is going to be so long!!!). . . but I've got a great excuse! Taking care of a baby doesn't leave much time for anything else! Yes, our adorable little boy was born on May 26. He arrived 2 weeks earlier than expected. During the whole pregnancy, my doctor had been monitoring the amniotic fluid, which had been on the low side during the last 2-3 months. So, I was told to drink lots of water (I was drinking around 3 liters of water per day), relax, and watch my salt intake. My doctor had already told me that if the fluid levels get any lower they will need to induce labor or even have a cesarean. So, I was already expecting the baby to come early. . . but not this early! I went on Friday for a check-up, and the doctor told me that the fluid levels are really low, so I should check-into the hospital so they could monitor me and the baby more closely.

I shared a room with 4 other people, all mothers who had already given birth. Those rooms sure are crowded, with just a curtain to separate the beds and a small private space. Anyway, the room is located near the delivery rooms and the contraction rooms (where you go when you are having contractions, but not quite ready push the baby out yet. Apparently they don't take you into the labor room until you are dilated X centimeters.) So from where I was staying, I could hear women screaming their heads off all night!!! It really made me nervous, especially since I was hooked up to monitors for 3 days! Did I mention epidurals are uncommon here in Japan, and the hospital that I went to doesn't even do them! They believe in natural (ie. painful) delivery! Hence the screaming women!!!

On the 4th day they decide that the baby is okay for now, so they will give me some hormone supplements to help induce labor and shove a "balloon" up "there" to help dilate my cervix. The doctor said that usually it doesn't work the first time on new mothers, so it might take 2 tries (2 days). So, after getting the IV hooked up, K waited with me to see if it would have any effect. After constant checking, the doctor said that I probably won't go into labor today, so K could go to work and they would call him if there were any changes in my condition. Nurses checked on me like every 15 minutes to check the IV and see if my contractions were getting more frequent/stronger. They kept on asking me, "does it hurt?" I just replied "no," and since they were asking me so many times, I finally asked, "should it hurt now? If so, how much should it hurt?" They said that it should hurt, but I didn't really feel any pain at all. So, I was there lying in bed reading my book and talking with the nurses (who I discovered were really friendly and funny!) Oh, I should mention that when I had to go to the bathroom, I had to call the nurse to come and disconnect the monitor so I could go. Each time I called them, they asked, "do you have to pee or poop?" I thought it was a rather odd thing to be asking me, but I'd just say that I had to pee.

After the 3rd bottle of hormones through the IV, things were finally starting to change. Contractions were finally getting a little uncomfortable (but not painful to everyone's surprise). When the contractions were getting stronger, they brought me a portable toilet to use, since walking down to the hall alone to use the bathroom would be dangerous. (and of course they kept on asking me if I had to pee or poop!) The doctor comes in again to check my condition, and I tell her that I have to pee, but before I do, she wants to check how much I am dilated. As she's putting on her gloves, I keep on telling her, can you please hurry up, I have to pee! As she's hurrying up, I feel some moisture "down there" and I'm thinking, great, I just peed in my pants! Then the doctor says, "wait let me check if your water broke or if it's just pee" She checks and confirms that my water did just break. Then they call some of the other nurses, and finally let me go to the bathroom. So, I sat there on the port-a-pottie and tried to do my business. But, no matter how strong my urge to pee, it just wouldn't come out. The nurse was talking to me from outside the curtain and asking if I was okay. I said, "I really got to pee, but it won't come out. NO, wait, I have to poop!" Then the nurse said, "NO!!!" Then me, "No, it's okay, I really have to poop!" The nurse, "NO, don't poop! Don't push! That's the baby coming!" Then me, "NO, it's not, I just have to poop!" The nurse rushes in and tells me not to push and that the baby is coming. (oh, so that's why they kept on asking if I had to pee or poop! Apparently when the baby is coming, it feels like you have the urge to poop!) So, I get back on the bed and a bunch of other nurses and doctors rush in to check on me. They confirm that I am dilated enough and get a stretcher to take me into the labor room. (this is just a matter of a few minutes after my water has broke!) Then I hear the doctor say, "go and call her husband, but he probably won't make it in time!"

In the delivery room, there are about 3 nurses on hand, a midwife (to deliver the baby) and the doctor to do the cutting and sewing up. There were also a few other interns watching from behind the scenes, so it was a bit crowded. When they finish prepping me, we wait for the next contraction, and then the midwife says, "ikinde!" I'm thinking, wait, what does that word mean? Does she want me to push, or don't push? So, I'm all confused and say, "what does that mean? Push?" Then they look all confused, and then the midwife just shows me the pushing expression, and I finally get it. After the first set of contractions are over, they start saying other stuff to me, and then suddenly my doctor starts speaking to me in English!!! I was so shocked, that I said, "Wait, you speak English? After all these months, you're just NOW speaking English to me?!?!" Then everyone in the delivery room breaks out in laughter and then one of the nurses says, "wait, why are we talking about this now? Are you feeling okay?" After only about 20 minutes in the delivery room and pushing 4 times, then the doctor tells me that the baby is almost out and that she's going to "cut" me (episiotomy). I remembered her saying that they only do natural birth at this hospital so I figure that it will hurt. I ask, "is it going to hurt?" She replies, "No, I already gave you a shot." I didn't feel a thing. Then I say, " Wait, I thought you didn't give pain medication during labor." I'm thinking that she just said that to make me feel better. Then she said, "no, I did, really. Ask all the nurses." She even holds up the syringe to show me and the nurse pokes me in different spots and asks, "see, can you feel that? Doesn't it feel different?"

I have to admit that it did feel different, so I give the doctor the green light to go ahead and cut. After the cut, and a few more pushes (at this point, I'm holding the nurses hand, since K isn't there yet!) the midwife says, "okay, look down, the baby is coming out!" I look down, and yup, they pull the baby out!

There are congratulations all around, and as they're cleaning my baby up, the nurses are telling me, "wow, you had a really quick delivery! You're lucky!" I was actually really proud of myself (for not having the epidural) and told them, "yeah, it really didn't hurt as much as I thought it would" (Honestly, it really didn't hurt that much, but I think I'm the exception. Then one of the nurses says, "See! And you were saying that you wanted to change hospitals to one that did epidurals!" Then we all laugh, and everyone is in a good mood.

After all the work is done, K finally arrives and is rushed into the delivery room where he meets his son for the first time and baby Kaito Arthur Yamada's first baby pictures are taken.

Garbage Police!!!

Just when you thought it was safe to take out the trash. . . you get caught by the garbage police!!! That's just what happened to us the other day! Here, we have to separate our trash into basically 4 categories: raw garbage (food waste), plastics, newspaper/magazine/boxes, and recyclable cans and bottles. And there is a separate trash day for each. There isn't a dumpster, so you have to bring your trash out the morning of. . . not even the night before. We do actually separate our garbage, like good Yokohama citizens, but I guess one day, we packaged our paper-recyclables incorrectly and it was left behind. (Usually we just fill a box up with our paper recyclables, and they've taken them before.) But this time we had the box taped shut, so I guess the garbage people didn't take it. That's when the garbage police came! (Each apartment is supposed to take turns each week to keep the garbage area clean, etc. Although I really doubt people actually do it! BUT, I guess I was wrong!)

When we got home, the box was sitting near our mailbox with a letter attached which read (roughly translated) something like this:

Dear **san,
Today was the paper recycle day, and this box was left behind. We (the members of the apartment committee) opened it up and found out that it belonged to you. Sorry to cause you so much trouble.
From, apartment #000 (the apartment in charge of garbage duty this week)

We were kind of upset/surprised/shocked that they actually opened up the "trash" and decided that it was ours! Usually I don't put anything with our name or address in the trash so I'm thinking how they determined that it was ours. (could have been because it was one of our moving boxes or it could have been the English magazines inside) I guess some people must have seen us throwing it away. I guess we shouldn't be upset since it was our trash, but we were just wondering why the garbage people didn't take it. So, now we have to keep the box in our apartment for another 2 weeks until the next recycle day!

Beware of strong winds!!!

Yesterday it was such a nice day that I decided to hang the laundry outside to dry. Nope, we don't have a dryer, so we hang all our clothes to dry. It's quite common not to have a dryer in Japan, and during the summer, you can see everyone hanging their laundry, futons, blankets, etc. over the balcony to air. Anyway, I had our laundry and a blanket out on the balcony to dry. We went out for only a short period of time (probably gone for about 40 minutes) and when we came back, I noticed that the futon was folded over, almost falling off the rail and a few shirts were missing from the laundry rack!!! Yikes what had happened while we were gone? We flew into action and grabbed the blanket and brought the laundry in. But what happened to my t-shirts? I looked over the balcony and noticed that they had fallen down to the balcony of the apartment on the first floor (we live on the top, 4th floor)!!! I'll have to go and retrieve them later on today. We were just thankful that it was our t-shirts and not underwear!!! I don't know if I'd want to retrieve those from the neighbour!!! *on another note, there was one incident where a pair of shorts from next door flew onto our balcony!*

Golden Week Vacation

This year for Golden Week, we didn't go anywhere too far. The highways are so crowded that we hate going anywhere during the long holidays! Who wants to sit in traffic for hours? (plus, I don't think my bladder would be able to handle sitting in the car for long periods of time!) However, we didn't exactly stay home during the vacation either. We went around locally, trying not to use the highways if possible.

We went to the Aburatsubo Aquarium along the Miura Peninsula, which is about a 45 minute drive from our house. It's a really nice drive, and the area has a country-side feel to it. Not exactly the touristy spot, but beautiful none-the-less. The aquarium was really small, and we couldn't believe that they actually charge 1,700 yen (roughly $17) for entrance to this tiny place! We had a coupon, so it came out to 1500 yen per person plus 500 yen for parking. This place is nothing like the size of the Monterrey Bay Aquarium!!! but, it was nice anyway, mainly a good place to take small kids who don't have a long attention span, since you can go through the whole aquarium in a few hours. There was even a dolphin and sea lion show, with a cute monkey act squeezed between performances.

We also visited the Tama Zoo, which is another local spot, about 40 minutes away. We were just surfing the Internet looking for local places to go to, and I thought of the Tama Zoo. I've heard other people saying that they take their kids there, so I thought we'd check it out. We looked at the web page and found out that May 4th and 5th are free entrance days!! Yeah!!! We were lucky that the next day just happened to be May 5th, so we couldn't pass up this opportunity!!! We arrived at 8:30am (doors open at 9am) and it was already crowded! Obviously we weren't the only ones who knew about the free day!!! The main attraction of the day was the Lion Bus. It's a mini safari (costs extra) where you get on a bus and drive through the lion enclosure for about 7 minutes. (by the way, the bus is actually painted to look like a zebra, not a lion). There are a few strips of meat hanging on the side of the bus so the lions actually come up to the bus and you can be face-to-face with the lion! Definitely exciting and worth the extra 350 yen! The usual cost of admission is 600 yen for adults, and can you believe that kids 12 and under are free? It is definitely worth the money and we'll be going back when our kid is big enough. The only setback is that parking costs a whopping 1400 yen!!! That's more than double the regular admission price!!!

Okay, it's been a while, since my last entry. A lot has happened since then. Hmm, let's see. . .. I stopped working at the end of March, so I'm officially a housewife again. (the baby is due in about 6 weeks, then I'll be a mommy!) Here's a list of what I (we've) been doing.

Preparations for baby:
- finally cleaned up the tatami room, which will become the baby's room
- bought a dresser and toy shelf at Ikea, and also got new curtains for the window
- washed all the baby clothes and organized it in the dresser
- bought all the baby supplies (bottles, sterilizer, shampoo, binkies, etc.)
- today we're going to buy the baby crib

Me:
-reading a lot! I'm trying to read the whole Alphabet series by Sue Grafton. Currently reading "P is for Peril." I'm not reading them in order, just in the order that I find them at the library.
- also reading the Alex Cross detective series by James Patterson.
- got Mario Kart for the Wii, which comes with a steering wheel attachment. You pretty much hold the controller horizontally and pretend that you're driving a car. It's fun but hard to control. Just takes practice I guess. Yesterday was the first time we played, and K beat me at every race. (I'll have to practice during the day while he is at work!)
- got my visa renewed to 3 years, so now I can stay in Japan without having to do anything. . . for 3 years at least!
- drinking a lot of water to keep my fluid levels up. . . and not to mention going to the bathroom every 15 minutes! I've been drinking about 3 liters of water per day!
- was watching Heroes online, but now they've all been taken off the website I was watching them from. . .darn!

Golden Week is coming up. It's one of the busiest vacations in Japan. This year the national holidays are spread out during 2 weeks, so it's a day off next week and 2 days off the following week. We don't have any plans, probably just do stuff locally. Maybe invite some friends over.

Too much snacking!!!

Okay, at my last appointment, I was told by the doctor that I gained too much weight in 1 month. Apparently, I gained about 3kg (about 6-7 pounds) in 1 month, which is considered to be too much. (I'm still convinced that the scales at the hospital were a bit off. . . but I weighed myself at home, and it was the same, so I guess it's accurate.) The doctor told me that I should try to maintain my current weight until the next appointment (which is 1 month!). So, he told me not to snack too much and not to eat too many sweets. The nurse asked me if I was eating a lot of sweets, and I couldn't help but smile and nod my head. I guess all those donuts, ice cream, and chocolates have started to add up. . . to a total of 3kgs!!! So, now I'm trying to snack healthier. More fruits and veggies for me, and less donuts. . . I haven't cut ice cream or chocolate from my diet, since that's just wrong. . . just eating smaller portions of both. So, yeah, I feel like they're asking me to diet. "Is that okay for the baby," I'm thinking? If I maintain the same weight, is the baby getting enough nutrients from me? Or is it going to live off of my fat storage?

The doctors in Japan said that pregnant women should gain 10kgs (about 22 pounds) during pregnancy, but according to the internet (American web sites) and other reliable sources, the weight varies anywhere between 25lbs. - 30lbs. or more. So, which one is correct? Do doctors in America ever tell their patients not to eat too much during pregnancy? I think one reason why Japanese doctors are so strict, is because natural birth is the norm here, and epidurals are uncommon. (the hospital that I go to doesn't do epidurals at all!) So, the doctor was telling me that if I gain too much weight, it will make the birth more difficult, and it will be harder for me to take the weight off after the baby is born.

I think I'm still in denial about my weight gain. Up until now, I've only gained a total of about 5kgs or about 11 pounds. I have less than 3 months to go, and I've only gained half the weight I'm supposed to. Doesn't that seem a bit odd? I feel like I'm not eating enough and not gaining enough weight. But, I guess that's about right. If I gain the proper 1.5kg a month (3lbs) then I guess I should be the correct weight. So until then, it will be more oranges and pineapple and less donuts and sweets from now on!

Baby boy or girl?

I think I forgot to mention the sex of our baby. At our last ultrasound (Feb. 2) the doctor said that she was 80% sure that it was going to be a boy (there was a white-ish ball between the legs!). At the previous ultrasound because of the way the baby was angled, she couldn't tell the sex, but it seems like this last time she was pretty sure. . . at least 80% sure. She said that sometimes they think it's going to be a boy and it ends up being a girl. I guess nothing is for sure. My mom also told me that I was supposed to be a boy! In Japan, they do an ultrasound at each appointment, which is exciting, because we can see the baby developing at the different stages. The doctor pointed out the developing eyes, and we could see the brain, heart beating, and even the bones in it's hands! Each time, they take measurements of the arms, legs, head and tell us approximately how heavy the baby is. From our last appointment it was 455grams (not sure how heavy that is, but you can imagine it being about 8 ounces I think. I'm just imagining an 8 ounce Outback prime rib in my tummy!)

So, now we can focus on boy's names! However, we can never agree on one! We're leaning towards a Japanese name that sounds good in English too. Actually we may have finally agreed on one that K picked out. I just have to let it grow on me. OR see if I can think of something better.

If you're having a baby. . .

Our Shopping trip home was great! We received a lot of gifts from the baby shower (thanks to everyone) and were able to buy everything else that we needed. Our main goal was to get a stroller while we were at home. After shopping around in Japan and checking out the prices of strollers, we definitely wanted to get one in CA! In Japan, the average price of a stroller is around $500, and it's not even that good!

We searched many baby shops in the bay area: Baby's R Us (San Jose and Fremont locations), Target, Burlington Coat Factory (they actually have a big stroller selection!), Lullaby Lane (San Bruno) and various baby shops at the Great Mall, Stanford, and Valley Fair. I'd have to say that after shopping at so many places, things start to look the same. . . but some stores definitely stood out from the rest (both good and bad). Okay, so here's my opinion.

Baby's R Us - good all around shop for clothing, accessories, and all those baby toys that you'll be needing, but they do lack in service. You're not really supposed to open up the baby carriers (even though everyone else does, so the boxes are all torn!). They do have a good selection of your average strollers: single, double, umbrella folding, etc. all under $250. However, there isn't really anyone there to show you how to fold/operate the strollers, so you're on your own! We ended up getting a lot of our baby supplies here since it is a one stop shopping area and they have pretty much anything you would need.

Burlington Coat Factory - Yes, they actually have a baby section and a good selection of strollers, however, the selection is the same as Baby's R Us. I don't recommend shopping here (Great Mall location) because everything was really messy and unorganized! Things were on the floor and/or poorly organized on shelves. (I don't know about you, but if a store is messy, I don't even want to shop there!) AND there isn't anyone to help you with the strollers either! They do have a good selection of baby furniture though.

Target - Small baby section. They only have a few strollers, which are put up on shelves and hooked together, so you can't take them down to look at them at all! I don't recommend getting a stroller there! No stroller assistance either!

Lullaby Lane - http://www.lullabylane.com/ I really liked this store. It's a small place compared to Baby's R Us (and a bit far all the way in San Bruno), but they have a lot of good quality items. I'd describe it as a baby boutique, and I think they get the type of customers who are willing to spend a little more on their babies. They have a great selection of high-end, overseas brand strollers (ones that you won't find at Baby's R Us). Of course they are also more expensive! But if you're looking for a jogging stroller, or a stroller with suspension, big tires, etc. This is the place to go! This shop has stroller experts who show you how to fold\operate all the strollers. We described what type of stroller we wanted (umbrella folding, suspension, adjustable handle bar, able to hold a baby car seat, and food tray.) The salesperson was able to quickly show us which strollers fit our requirements. This is where we got our stroller! We were deciding between the Graco Cleo (this is the ONLY store that had it!), Maclaren (I forget the model), and the Peg Perego Pliko P3 (Italian brand). After practicing opening/closing the strollers and looking at over all design and practicality and not to mention weight, we decided upon the Pliko P3 in navy blue. They even assembled the stroller for us for free! Talk about service! They even have an outlet shop next door that sells furniture, bedding, and strollers which are last year's models for cheaper. We could have gotten last year's Pliko P3 for about $50 cheaper, but they didn't have the color we wanted, since stock is limited to what is on hand and sometimes you have to get the display model. I later found out that this shop is family owned, which would explain the great service! I would definitely recommend this shop to anyone that is expecting a baby or already has a little one at home!

Okay, so the bottom line is: For the small stuff, you're better off getting it at Baby's R Us. For the bigger items: stroller, car seat, baby carrier, etc. you're better off shopping at Lullaby Lane. But of course, after visiting both stores, I would take note of what items you want and check the prices on Amazon. The baby carriers and strollers are generally cheaper online and sometimes include free shipping. Just make sure you go to a shop and test everything out before you decide to buy online!

Going Home!!!

Just 1 more week until we head for home! Just a short trip of course. Main reason is to visit family and friends, and another reason is to shop for baby stuff. Baby things here in Japan are so expensive! Can you believe that the average price of a stroller is around $500? And it's not even that great for the price!!!

Anyway, aside from baby stuff, we're also looking forward to eating! I've already made my list of restaurants to go to and things to eat. Take a look at my list and let me know if I've left anything out! Good Chinese food, dim-sum, AJ's tendon noodles, Mexican food, donuts, Taco bell, pearl tea, pizza, Pho, hmm, anything else? Of course there are probably a lot of new restaurants that have opened up since I've last been at home, so recommendations are welcome!

First Snow!

It's been snowing all morning! (unfortunately, it's turned to rain now in the afternoon.) The first real snow of the season here in Yokohama! It must have snowed at least 2 inches. At lunch time, all the students were outside having snowball fights! Sort of wanted to go and join them, but didn't have any gloves, and in my condition, that probably wouldn't be the best thing to do.

It's really nice living in a place that snows. Not so much that you have to shovel the driveway everyday, but just a little bit, enough to make the ground white and enough to build a small snowman or have the occasional snowball fight or two. It doesn't snow that much in Yokohama, so I don't think I'll be able to build any snowmen or Snoopy out on the balcony, like I did in Germany. *sigh* Maybe just a mini-snowman . . . if the snow doesn't all melt by the time I get home! I better hurry up and go!

Wiiiiiiiiiii!

We just got a new tv!!! We ended up getting it on the internet, since it was about $400 cheaper than in the stores, however, you have to do the set-up yourself. The tv arrived on Friday night, and we were busy setting things up, which was mainly attaching the tv to the stand. The tv definilty looks bigger at home than it did at the store! We were so excited to start watching tv, but then we realized that it didn't come with a cable to connect to the antenna, so we couldn't watch tv after all, and it was too late to run to the electronic shop! BUT, we were able to set up my Wii!!!!

The Wii certainly is fun! At first we only had one controller, so we had to take turns playing the one game that we had, Mario Party. Mario Party is a bunch of mini games all in one, which includes a board game that you can play with other players or with the computer. The mini games are fun, since there's a shooting one, bowling, boating, etc. And some silly ones like who can shake the soda can faster, etc. Then the next day, we bought another controller and 2 more games. We found out that at Tsutaya (local video/cd rental shop) they sell used video games for about half price! So, we got Super Paper Mario and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. For the Zelda game you actually have to move your hand like you're using a sword, etc. Paper Mario is like the Super Mario series, except that you can switch from 2D to 3D.