Nara. Take Two

And although Kyoto is one of my favorite cities here in Japan, Nara just happens to be a close second. It's just peaceful and relaxing and so much like being in the country with all the surrounding deer. We went to Nara on the last day my parents visited. It is about an hour train ride but there isn't a huge hurry to do or see a lot in a small time. It was relaxing and didn't involve a ton of walking which we thought would be a good thing the day before a long flight.

 

Kyoto. Take Two

I had already visited Kyoto once before. I thought I had a pretty decent idea of how to tour the area but the truth is a hired private tour guide is probably the way to go. Because Kyoto is such a busy city, the old capital of Japan, and top priority for many sightseeing visitors it is not easy to get around quickly. Especially if one decides to visit the day of one of Kyoto's famous festivals. But we did it anyway and enjoyed the parade and culture along with a few shrines and temples. Kyoto, you are still one of my favorite cities.

An Honest Pregnancy Update

Here I am, 16 weeks pregnant and I've hardly given this baby the attention it deserves here on the blog. I used to write here because I loved to create and make things and then share them for anyone who stumbled across them. Now I write more or less to share with everyone back home in the states some of our daily life and adventures we are experiencing in Japan. But our baby is both something we've created and want to share with everyone plus a very huge part of our daily life.

I've been apprehensive to share much about the pregnancy because at times I wonder, 'does everyone really need to know x, y, z?' And because I am not one to handle criticism and unwanted opinions about such a touchy subject very well. Brandon and I are both believers and we have already been in prayer for God's guidance to be the best parents we can be and will rely on our faith to guide us in this new and exciting journey.

So here is a little bit of our story and the beginning of our little one.

It was our decision to start trying for a family at the beginning of this season, this was no surprise. Since January we discussed it on a regular basis and felt based on travel plans and the off season we would try to have a baby between mid November and January. Once I made it to Japan we prayed about it to make sure we were both ready and to ask God if he wanted this for us then we were ready. On May 2nd, we found out that God was in fact ready for us to be parents. This is the note I used to tell Brandon. He was speechless and yes that is a Japanese pregnancy test.
 

If you remember, my parents came for a two week visit just six days after we found out a baby was on the way. It was obviously very early in the pregnancy but I knew that we had to tell them while they were here in person. I would wake up each morning wondering when I would feel sick and if I would be able to make it traveling and sightseeing with my parents. There was one afternoon where I couldn't get out of bed, I never got sick, I just had zero energy and zero appetite. The next day I felt fine. Back when I remember that I first knew I wanted to have kids, I began praying then each time pregnancy would cross my mind, for no morning sickness - an answered prayer.

Then started my free boob job. Because I'm being 100% honest here this was and is still quite a shock for me. I knew that the ladies became sore, what I didn't realize they would grow. And grow. And grow. And there is one of us who isn't complaining. Slowly but surely my clothes are shrinking. For a few weeks my belly would grow all day and then shrink back up while I was sleeping. Today, the belly is almost always out or at least it only takes until after breakfast for it to show up and I'm becoming quite fond of it.
 
Having a growing body is a challenge for a pregnant woman at least for me it was/is. I know that each and every kilogram I gain is for the best reason in the world. As a woman, and being at the I look like I ate to many cupcakes phase will take a small toll on your self esteem. At the time I was feeling really guilty about feeling bad about gaining some weight so I decided then I would make sure that I would feel as healthy as I could and make sure to get exercise for the both of us. I bought some goggles and a swim cap and started hitting the pool after a gym workout. And I finally started to feel confident and healthy as I continue to grow. Although this past week I have slacked, but know how to simply fix the problem, as soon as I get my doctors approval for $30. I know, ridiculous.

I began eating the same thing for breakfast for about a week, then the following week it would be something different, and this pattern still follows. This week it's frozen waffles. Last week it was Frosted Flakes with fruit on top and the week before it was scrambled eggs and cheese. For lunch my favorite has been tomato + cucumber + avocado salad or sandwich. I also have lots of nights were I want to have a glass of chocolate milk before bed or a handful of M&M's. There haven't been too many cravings. Mostly because I know the things that I would really like are 5,000 miles away so I try not to let my mind wander there and it's been working. Oh and cherries, I have LOVED cherries even at almost $5 a pack. Blame it on the kid, expensive taste already.
 

 
 
In the beginning, I continued to drink soda and coffee but I would try and limit myself to one a day. But it was hard and I failed miserably. I also had lunch meat and a hot dog or two but couldn't convince myself that these things would hurt our baby. I also had way to much candy, which led to a toothache, which led to me realizing I was making bad bad choices. Sorry baby, momma is a first timer. I know in my heart that God is protecting this child and that if there is something going to happen to our baby I know that it is His plan and not mine. I would simply ask that while I did those things that he allow them to not hurt our son or daughter. I still feel this way today however you'll be glad to know I have adjusted my habits and try eat and drink things that will help our baby grow but I'm not a drill sergeant either, it's about moderation. Lesson learned.
 
Our doctor visits are every four weeks and each time we visit we get to see the baby. The first visit we got to see the heartbeat. On our second visit we got to hear the heartbeat and this past visit we got to see it's little legs and arms moving. We have a DVD that they add each visits ultrasound and this past visit has been my favorite thing to watch. I thought the first two visits were great but this past one blew me away because it actually looks like a baby at this point. Our doctor speaks very little English but he knows how to say everything looks good, which we LOVE hearing. I think I mentioned before but we are not finding out the gender of our baby. Check out this little sprout! Each week I will read to Brandon what our baby is said to be doing. So this week he or she can hear our voices and it's not weird at all having someone talk into your belly. It has probably heard us laughing a ton at night because we are on this strange Jimmy Fallon kick where we watch video after video until way to late. Other than that we just pray he/she is healthy.
 

8wk/11w6d/15w6d

 
Don't get me started on the amount of toilet paper I've been going through. I think the placement of the bladder in a woman may have been a tiny joke BUT I'll take it because I know it's only going to continue for the next five months. I have to get out of the pool and use the bathroom more times than the old folks, a tad embarrassing.
 
That is our pregnancy through the first 15 weeks. I have been blessed with zero nasty symptoms, a boob job, shrinking clothes, the ability to hold it like no ones business, a tiny baby with super cute little bones and a thankful heart for this wild ride of an experience that is going way to fast already. And I almost forgot a super supportive and excited husband which has made this experience even better.  
 

12w4d/12/5d/13w4d/13w6d/14w2d/15w1d 

All -Star Break 2013

As much as I've tried to establish a regular schedule around here, it just isn't going to happen. Which is what I need to get used to because that is probably how it will be once this baby arrives.

It's the final day of all-star break! We had two entire baseball free days but a week filled with fun.

Wednesday:
The final game before break, I met Brandon at the stadium and we left after the fifth inning. I picked up dinner, Domino's, for our train ride and we headed to Tokyo for the two days off.

Thursday:
We planned to get up early and go to Disney Sea but that didn't happen. We staggered out of bed around 11 and headed over to the Disney resort to grab some lunch, shop, and hang out. Around 3 we decided that we would stick around and go to Disneyland for half price after five, which we thought wasn't until six, so we killed the next two and half hours.

We rode some rides, watched the magical light parade, and grabbed some waffles before the rain came and the park closed.

Friday:
We checked out of our hotel and made our way to DisneySea. I originally thought it was going to be more like sea world inspired by Disney but not so much. It is pretty much like Disneyland but with some water rides and a huge pond in the park where they do all kinds of fun shows that spray water and the characters dance. The ride where you get wet was actually my favorite and we even went back just to watch the people having a good time. We had to skip several rides because I now fall under the expectant mother category but tried to get Brandon do go with out me. He said he would pick the baby over the rides any day so we skipped them. We decided if we were going to catch a train back to the apartment we couldn't stay for the final show so we left a little bit early to head home.

Saturday:
I met Brandon after practice and our translator (who is the BEST by the way and we appreciate so much all that he does for us) took us to Costco to get some groceries for our BBQ we were having on Sunday. Having a car makes that trip SO much easier.

Sunday:
We had a cookout with some of the other Orix baseball families. Our building has a BBQ patio that you can rent out for parties and have access to tables, chairs, and grills. Another group had it booked until six so we crammed our party in from six -eight. Once we found some lighter fluid we were up and running. The guys ran the grill, the girls brought some side dishes, and a good time was had by all, I hope.

Monday:
After practice I met Brandon for an afternoon movie date. For a few seconds before the movie started we accidentally thought we purchased tickets for the Japanese version of the movie.. luckily we didn't. After the movie we headed to the Dr. for a check up on our little baby and I can't believe how big he/she had gotten. My favorite part is the tiny little leg bones. You tell me a 2cm femur is not adorable, cause it is! Doc said everything looks good and to come back in four weeks so until next time I'll just be watching our latest ultrasound on repeat.

Tuesday:
We finished all-star break tonight with Outback for dinner. I'm exhausted from going, going, going, but have loved being busy and spending time with Brandon before we finish off the last 12ish weeks of the season. Where has the time gone? I'm getting pretty antsy about going home. Things like seeing my puppy again, family time, visiting my sister's new house, cuddling friends new babies, driving, and all that fun stuff. Until then, it's Japanese living.

Awaji Island

Its such a wonderful thing to be able to capture memories through photos but then actually writing what they mean and what happened adds a whole new meaning. This isn't exactly day one, but where I wanted to start with recapping my parents visit. It was early on in their trip after what began with a few rainy days. I don't know where or how but they suggested we head over to an island for the day to check out some gardens and other attractions. I was on board trying something new because I knew our week ahead held some repeat things that I had already seen but knew my parents would enjoy as well.

 

The morning of we hopped on a train, then took a 15 minute ferry, saw one of the longest suspension bridges, grabbed some maps from information and set out. I had done little research the night before and had very little idea of where on the island we were going and what we were going to try and see. Mistake #1.  

 

Our first sight to see happened to be right across the street from where the ferry drops off. It was this giant rock. Cool. Mom had mentioned next that the other three sights were all within a close distance so we headed down the road walking. We came upon a little beach and then directly across from that, a shrine that happened to have a festival of sorts going on. While some of us were intently studying our whereabouts on a map, ahem dad, others were eager to go see what the music and cheering was all about, me!  I didn't care what the map said I was checking it out and dragging them along with me. I really can't explain what took place so I will let the video show you.

 

After that, whatever you call it, we continued on to our next destination. After a little bit of walking we came across an intersection and all three of us were having trouble locating our 'your are here' point on a map. I had brought our wifi internet with us that day, and it was not of much use at all. Them a nice man on a bike asked us if we needed help. Of course we did. So we showed him our map and he too couldn't locate our spot but suggested we weren't far off the map. He told us we had a 2km (1.2 miles) walk or so, we thanked him still not quite sure if we should keep walking or redirect our plans for the day. So we walked and the sun beat down on us, but we walked. Along the way we stopped at a little bike café. I was whining and needed to stop, take a break, get a drink, and figure out exactly where we were going. They also had a cute puppy out front that I pet and gave me a little dog fix for a while. The owner was super nice and we were the only ones in there. We, just to make sure, asked him if we were headed in the right direction as well. Map laid out on the table, he too told us we were just off the map, but close. We gathered our things, and a rocky road brownie for the road and continued our walk. And then we saw the sign for the park we were headed to - a botanical museum/garden gallery.

 

Let me tell you, we all agreed it was worth the walk. The landscaping and flowers were some of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

 

We paid a few extra dollars (again worth it) for a greenhouse exhibit they had going on for Mother's Day. It too was filled with perfectly pruned flowers, everything you could think of and tons of roses! I do believe my mom said, I think this is probably what heaven will be like, and I hope she is right because I'm going and it was gorgeous.

 

Since it was one of the warmer days while my parents were here, we stopped to have a seat and grab a snack at another little café within the park. We all had ice cream treats as we laughed about our latest discovery that made us feel more silly and like tourist than ever.

 

My mom laid it out perfectly. Imagine you are in downtown St. Louis with a map of the Six Flags Amusement park, and you stop to ask someone where you are on that map. Our map, was actually a map of the park we were trying to get to, not a map of the entire island. Yes you can laugh now and call us big dummies but we had a good laugh and a great day.

 

After ice cream we finished our day at the 100 tier garden which sat up on a hill behind the Westin hotel with a gorgeous view. It was like an optical illusion with lots of stairs.

 

Needless to say after our long walk and tackling all those stairs, some of us were worn out! We went to the hotel and took a cab back to the ferry instead of walking. Best move of the day. One ferry and a train later we were back home for dinner.

 

And because I loved my last video so much I've decided that I'll keep making them.

 

 

 

I'm back.... a recap of sorts.

Well this seems foreign to me. Not Japan, but sitting to document the adventures from the last three weeks. I truthfully don't know where to begin so this is going to be pretty short until I get back in my writing groove. Which based on the number of photos I have to edit could be a while.

My parents came for a visit. They were here for two weeks. They arrived on May 8th and left on May 23rd. We went sightseeing, my mom cooked us lots of great food, my dad was on dish duty the entire time and they got to see Brandon pitch two different games. It was a packed awesome fun two weeks of having company.

On the 24th I packed a suitcase for the first time since I got here and headed to Tokyo for five days. I had McDonalds (twice), Hooters, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and Subway...it was awesome! I also got to meet up with one of my sisters good friends who is living in Tokyo which was also fun. 

Yesterday the 30th we spent our day off going to see Iron Man 3 in 3D at noon which is really crazy because I'm usually barely finished with breakfast at noon. 

So you can see our schedule has been a little off but today for the first time in weeks, things feel normal here again. Laundry is in the wash. I had to spend some time dusting and putting away lots of junk that has accumulated in a corner. I'm planning whats for dinner, going to fit in a work out, and probably pick up some groceries. Boring day to day stuff. Truth is though, I missed it. I love having company and I loved going on a little getaway but like most people, a routine works for me. 

For now, some photo highlights from my phone because I'm not ready to tackle the 800 on my camera!

Nara

We spent our off day Wednesday visiting the beautiful little city of Nara and doing a little early birthday celebrating. Today is my 26th birthday, well in Japan it's already here. I'm taking this opportunity to celebrate for a full 48 hours because I don't know if this will ever happen again.

Anyways before I head off to find something to do, I'm thinking that footbath was super nice, I wanted to share a little of our day with you.

It was a little over an hour by train to get to Nara. It was a nice day out but we could see the chance of rain in the clouds. Luckily for us we only had one little sprinkle and then the sun came back out. We didn't pack our rain gear so that was lucky.

Nara is famous for the wild deer. For 150 Yen, about $1.50, you can buy some wafers to feed them. They will come up to you and follow you once they know you have food. They are all over the park, on the way up to the shrines and around the temples. It is hard to resist just feeding them once so we made sure to do it a few times. The deer will bow to you when they know you will feed them but they also might bite, but it doesn't hurt too bad. Ask Brandon he got bit three times. They must know he is a hunter. One crazy deer decided to lift up my dress from behind but thankfully I was covered. I couldn't stop laughing. I put together this short video to help eliminate a post with eight billion pictures. It was awesome I don't know how else to describe it.

 

 

Here are some of the other gorgeous sights of Nara.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After sightseeing we went to Hard Rock for birthday dinner and did a little birthday shopping. I didn't mind celebrating a little early because Brandon is out of town until Monday night. I'll be doing dinner or something easy going with the some friends later on today! Hope you all have a great weekend.

Full Fan Experience

I could kick myself because I don't sit and write things as close to when they happen and then the details get lost in the hustle and bustle of the week. For instance, last Sunday at Brandon's game I had a very interesting and blog worthy post to write. In fact as the game was playing out, I was writing the post in my head because I knew those were memories I wanted to capture. It would probably be easier to video blog this one but I'm not and it's a little lengthy so hang on.

 

Sunday: I mentioned before game days are a little hectic and this week I wanted to make sure I left the TV on the right channel. I made my train, even a little early, collected my ticket and made my way to my seat. I usually don't go to the games unless Brandon is pitching so I have only had less than a handful of times where I have had to locate my seat but I'm getting better. When I arrived at what my ticket said my seat was it was already occupied. Back home I would have sat in an empty seat close by but I didn't want to run into a Japanese person who woke up on the wrong side of the bed ready to chew an American's head off so the attendant helped me and moved the guy out of my seat. He apologized, several times, "Saw re!" Roll your 'r' go on and try it.

 

It was an aisle seat so him and his three friends were in and out in front of me several times, all with the sorrys and samisens. While they were gone, only one of his pals stayed behind so the seat between us was empty except for the guys jacket and his cheer sticks. The buffaloes were up to bat and this is the time when the cheer sticks get used the most. So no need to be wasting perfectly good cheering instruments, I stole them. His buddy then started laughing and put his finger to his mouth meaning, I'll keep your secret.

 

 

When he returned, he looked confused for a second and then quickly realized I was as thief. I tried to return them and he threw up his hands pushing them back on me. Okay fine... I'll keep them for now.

 

Then he asked if I liked the Orix Buffaloes and I explained that I was married to the pitcher. When I say explained I mean got out my phone and used the three Japanese apps I had to get the point across. Their eyes lit up and then they asked if they could have their picture taken with  me. Sure, sorry guys but you just had your picture taken with a normal, nobody, American girl. Jokes on you. Then the questions started, which I couldn't understand so we spent the entirety of the game, both using modern technology to try and communicate with each other. There was so much misunderstanding but understanding at the same time.

 

Then they start getting food out of their cooler and without any hesitation offered me their snacks. Skeptical me couldn't just try it I had to ask what it was and then we had more difficulty translating. It had hit me earlier that week that it was time to start fully embracing the fact that we live in Japan, food and all and this would be my first true opportunity to test that out.

 

Their first snack was chicken...with a bone in it. Lord help me, I already tired the raw egg, now I'm supposed to each chicken with a bone in it. So, as I promised myself, I picked the smallest piece of chicken and bit straight into it. They quickly began apologizing as the look on my face must have given away that I didn't particularly care for it. There were no napkins and I didn't have anything to dispose of it with so I took a huge drink of water and swallowed it, whole. Their next snack I immediately recognized. They told me chicken but I could see that it was cooked skin. It was chicken skins and I gave myself a free pass that time because I had just eaten a chicken bone y'all.

 

I think I needed to get the chicken bone thought out of my mind so I reached into my purse and got out a bag of pita chips my mom had sent in an AWESOME care package a few weeks back. My new found friend asked, "cookie?" "Chip," I said. We had lots of one word conversation but chip didn't mean anything to them. As kind as they had been to offer me their food, I returned the favor. I guess they liked them, I don't know? They then asked me if I made them. I told them my mom sent them from back home. Then they thought my mom lived here too and more phone translation came in. I kept my chocolate covered pretzels for the train ride home I was not even about sharing those. Sorry guys.

 

The game was passing pretty quickly and each time Brandon did something well his new fans started cheering super loud. They told me that they are his new fans and they will always support him. I believe the exact translation on his phone said, " Tell your master that we always are in support of him," or something close.

 

I had seen them play a game of rock paper scissors which I had assumed they were trying to figure out who was going to buy their next round of beers. When they returned they had actually went to get the celebratory seventh inning stretch balloons and before I knew it he was handing them out to all of us, including me.

 

Let me just say a few things, I had been wanting to buy my own set of cheer sticks because my hands were getting a little stingy the first few games from clapping but I just hadn't. The fact that I got to use a pair was kind of a highlight for me. I felt like a true Japanese baseball fan with them. However, the balloon tradition I was FINE not participating in. But, when my new super kind friends showed up with a balloon for me, I knew that I was not going to be able to get out of this one.

 

They even gave a balloon to the cutest little Japanese kid that kept climbing up the stairs towards us. It was so cute. Japanese = friendliest people ever.

 

Not only was I blowing up a giant sperm shaped balloon they were laughing at me because I couldn't blow it up the whole way. I know, shocker, me lacking hot air.  They cheered me on saying, "one more time," about six times and at this point I think everyone around us was laughing.

 

 

 

There I did it. I can officially say I've participated and hope that it is the last time. Or maybe secretly I loved it and want to do it again every game, but probably not. :)

 

And then they got out more food. I still tried my hardest to ask first before I tried but at this point the translation was not getting me anywhere and I just caved to trying something new again knowing I could always just swallow it whole like before. The one guy told me all the food he brought his mother prepared and sent with them which I thought was pretty cool.

 

 

I opted for the bean looking item. It tasted pretty good. Still not sure what it was. I tried it and I liked it and that was probably enough for me that day. There was another suspicious looking piece that I wanted to try, the square pieces in picture, but I didn't want to ruin a good thing.

 

 

We had to take several more photos them telling me I made their day and they will, "always have memory of day." I tried to return the set of cheer sticks that I stole but they refused telling me to keep them so that I had a memory of that day.

 

It was quite the fan experience and I love that I got to sit by such supportive, friendly, and fun fans and I'm super excited that I finally have my OWN cheer sticks. 



Herb Gardens and Ropeway

Brandon's off days are quickly becoming my favorite day of the week. We spent the day visiting the Herb Gardens and a quick ride on the ropeway up the mountain. The view was excellent! We purchased one way tickets so that we could walk/hike down and enjoy some of the gardens and outdoors.

 

 

At the top there is a gift shop and the most adorable little snack shop that serves a delicious piece of cake and drinks. I opted for the Honey Chai and cake while my better half had ice cream.

 

 

 

Together we experienced our first Japanese footbath and we loved it. It was so relaxing and we had a great view. Our feet felt so good after the ten minute soak. It was worth the one dollar towel fee we incurred. While we were soaking, I told Brandon I felt like we were on our honeymoon and he sweetly responded we still are. He patiently waited for me as I had to capture the perfect shot of so many flowers. He is too good to me.

 

Isn't this little guy cute?  They were all over, big and small. I expect you all to make one for your gardens and front porch.

 

Once we were finished with the gardens, we still had half the mountain to descend so we followed our map and enjoyed a quiet hike with one another taking silly photos and enjoying our surroundings. We are loving the self timer lately. I think we have both missed the country a little, it was good to see Brandon back where he is most comfortable, the woods. Sometimes we chatted while we walked and sometimes we just walked in silence together enjoying each others company. 

 

 

We love making these new memories here in Japan.

We thank you for letting us share them with you.