Waiting for Baby

Now that I'm in the clinic where I am scheduled to have baby boy by c-section tomorrow, my "nesting" has turned to the computer and emails, updates, etc.!

We enjoyed a Japanese BBQ in our "backyard" a couple of weekends ago.  See Javon's blog for some pictures.  http://onegreenbicycle.blogspot.jp/2012/05/barbecues-onsens-and-malaysian-curry.html  We also got to enjoy the yummy malaysian curry she shows--thanks to Biren-san!

Other than that, Akihiro has been busy preparing for the opening of a clinic in Saitama-ken--about an hour from our home.  It is kinda a long story how he got this opportunity, but it has been a good learning experience.  He will work there part time in addition to his other various jobs.  He has always dreamed of opening his own clinic when he retires, so this opportunity is teaching him how to do it--at someone else's investment! It opened this week and everything is going smoothly and we are thankful!

I was nervous how Tomoki would do with me going into the clinic, but my prayers were answered today when he did just fine with Grandma Ito putting him down for his nap and saying goodbye at the clinic today.  He's probably doing better than me about the whole separation thing!  C-section is set for between 2 and 3 PM tomorrow, Thursday.  The staff here is so nice and I ate a wonderful meal tonight.  I am thankful that my Japanese is much better than the last time I was here, but know that under stress, my Japanese tends to fail me pretty quickly.

Here's a few pics of the soon to be "big brother" sporting his "safety goggles"--apparently necessary for drinking milk and playing with Papa's remote control helicopter!

 Akihiro wears these when he goes jogging in allergy season--to keep the allergens out of his eyes.

Will post details and hopefully pictures of Baby boy #2 ASAP tomorrow.  Please keep us in your prayers!

A special date set, potty training, etc.

I went to the doctor and we set a date for the c-section--it seems funny to set the birthday of our child!  June 14th it is--unless he decides to surprise us and come early.  He appears to be a big baby--in the 96th percentile according to sonogram.  My belly size would indicate that this could very well be reality--I am running out of clothes that fit decent!  We've decided on a name--a bit of a challenge to pick a Japanese name that can be pronounced fairly easy by the English speaker.  It is fun, though, to pick out the meaning of the kanji and middle name.


The other big news at our house is in the potty training department!  After a week of seemingly no progress and no awareness that he was going pee, Tomoki suddenly started getting it!  Perhaps it was helped by the fact that one day at the park, there was a big group of kindergarten children playing there.  We had to get in line for the swings, etc.  Tomoki did well getting in line and when they said to line up for the toilet, he wanted to go too.  The new accomplishment has been a big boost to his self esteem and he seems extra happy these days.  The smile he gave me when he could do it made me feel happy to my core!


Otherwise, we have our garden planted.  Tomoki loves digging in the dirt, so I really have to watch him so he stays in the area I gave him instead of digging up my vegetables.  He can dig for hours!   His vocabulary and memorization skills continue to amaze me--both in Japanese and English.  He talks to Akihiro 90 percent Japanese and to me in 95 percent English I would say.  He loves it when I agree with him and when I hesitate, he says, "Mama, say, 'That's right!'"


We have been enjoying having Javon Steffen living down the street in the Klaus's house.  She is studying Japanese and seeing about the possibility of long term service here in Japan.  We've really put her to work with moving things out of Shioda church storage, planting garden, etc, but most of all we have appreciated her spiritual encouragement and inspiration.  She has become friends with Tomoki and has got some pretty good shots of him--you can check out some of them on her blog. My favorite is at the bottom of this post--slurping noodles!  http://onegreenbicycle.blogspot.jp/2012/05/golden-week.html
These two have some cute ones too..http://onegreenbicycle.blogspot.jp/2012/05/tokyo-sunday.html
http://onegreenbicycle.blogspot.jp/2012/05/mothers-day-at-hospital.html


We had Javon and our neighbor Imada-san for a make your own sushi party this past week and I got some pictures.

We had Javon and our neighbor Imada-san for a make your own sushi party this past week and I got some pictures.

Spring!

These pictures aren't in the greatest order, but can tell you a little of what has gone on here recently.  We were honored to have Willis and Lois Ehnle stay with us several nights during their stay in Japan.  It was great to just sit and visit with them very comfortably--just like old times!

 Tomoki helped me make cookies for White Day--the return day of Valentines day here.  On Valentines Day, the girls give to the guys.  Akihiro always gets cookies from the pharmacists at one clinic where he works, so we made cookies for him to give in return.  I had never tried dark chocolate and mint chips, but somebody had brought me some from the US and--ooh, were they yummy!  I was reminded of why I don't make cookies and sweets much--they don't last long--and I am the problem!

 Here's Tomoki and Michitaka-kun, his little cousin.  He is just a little over one year old now and toddling around so cute.

 Here he is building towers with Grandpa Ito's beer cans!  Who needs blocks, anyway!

 We had a great time with  Carol and Michelle and they got one of the greatest views of Mt. Fuji I think I have ever seen.  Here it is from the visitor center.

 Here at Nenba village, they donned kimonos to make for a great shot with Mt. Fuji!

 Tomoki being very patient and sporting his panda backpack from Grandma Ito.  He insisted on carrying it though it was very heavy with his toys!

Koshin came for one week of spring break.  They had a great time together, these little buddies!

While Ehnle's were here, the cherry trees were just beautiful and we had a picnic down by the river near our home with Noriko Mizuno-san and her little girl--friends of the Ehnle's.  There was a lady who saw Tomoki and Noriko's little girl throwing rocks in the river and asked if she could take their picture.  She was really into it and had a nice camera.  I asked her if she liked taking pictures of children and she said she was in a photography club and yes, she loved it!  I have been looking for someone like this!  I asked her if we could hire her to take some pictures of Tomoki at our house or at the park another time--as we didn't really like our studio experience a year and a half ago, and neither Akihiro or I are very good at photography.  She was overjoyed and sent me a CD of some of her shots from that day!  Can't wait to meet her again!

Look at my sticks, Mama!

 Note the beautiful cherry blossoms in the background!

 My Mama's boy!  Sometimes it is a pain, but I keep reminding myself that I'll probably want more attention from him when he gets older and he won't be so snuggly!

We have been battling sickness around here off and on.  I had a cold and thought I was over it, but it came back with a vengeance and now poor Tomoki has it. He's taking an extra long nap now and I can catch up on some computer work while I try to take it easy.

Tomoki and Papa doing exercises--he's counting in Japanese

It's a.......!!!!

Dr. Ito would have liked to get a little better angle to determine the accuracy of my doctor's judgment on the sex of our baby, but it looks like it is a...well, we'll let Tomoki share the news!

Extremes

After a beautiful snow, we headed to Guam for a few days with Akihiro's mom.  It was wonderful to be warm again and do some shopping.  Most people hit up the brand stores, but for me it was the grocery store, Motherhood Maternity, and Kmart!  The grocery store is the most tempting.  I fell for some pop tarts and have already devoured them!  I can't even let myself go down the cereal aisle!  Anyway, here are some pics of recent days/weeks.

 This picture is taken looking from a bridge near our home toward Takao-san mountain.  It was gorgeous!

 We enjoyed getting together with Gen and Eri and Ai and Utaro for sushi!  If you haven't noticed, Tomoki has gotten the hang of "peace" like all the other Japanese!

 We had visitors from the U.S. for a weekend.  This is the only pic I got.  It is Sis. Reiko teaching Derek how to make green tea from powder.  We enjoyed our visitors very much!

 On to Guam...Tomoki liked the beach, but wasn't as sure about the ocean!  The adults, though, had fun doing lots of snorkeling!

 We met up with some friends of ours for Mexican!  It has been a long time since we have been out for Mexican!  For some reason, Japan doesn't have hardly any Mexican food!

Tomoki scooping snow

Tomoki didn't like the snow at first because it covered up the sandbox at the park.  I think he thought it was going to always be snow!  Once he got into shoveling, though, I couldn't hardly get him to stop.  I was cold, and kept asking him if he was "daijobu" (ok) and he said he was ok and that he was working hard!  It is funny to see him scoop snow onto the concrete because that is what they do here in Japan.  Everyone puts the snow onto the road to melt!  There's no other good space!