Land of the Not Quite Right, Part Deux

In case you didn't get enough... here are a few more.

Old meets new.  A maiko (apprentice Geisha) in a minivan.  

Thirsty at midnight?  Don't bother getting dressed and running to the store. There is literally at least one vending machine on every block.  I mean EVERY block.  Not just busy streets.  We had one two houses down.  You can even get a hot can of coffee or tea.  Want to climb Mt. Fuji and not haul your water?  Don't worry, there are machines there too.  It's Suntory time, anytime!

A traditional Soba lunch

Not sure how to describe this.  These "rockabilly/elvis" wannabes have danced outside Harajuku park every Sunday for the last 40 years or so... taped up boots and all.

Our rental house and sweet ride.  The house was about 1300 sqft, which was pretty large by Japanese standards.  The walls were VERY thin, with little or no insulation.  Every morning I awoke to my neighbor in his bathroom, hacking up a lung.  Lovely.

4 months

This won't be a long update, because I am out of energy after the last post.  Henry had his 4 month check-up on Friday.  It was a very long day at the end of a very long week. All in all, Henry is doing well. He is growing just as he should be and is still very well proportioned (50% all the way around). The Dr. says he has a pretty bad case of eczema, and to just keep doing what I'm doing to determine if something I'm eating makes it worse. It might just be his sensitive skin and nothing else.  He is still spitting up, but is in far less distress when he is nursing, so the Zantac appears to be helping. He was so exhuasted from the checkup and not sleeping well all day that he went to bed at 5:30pm and slept until 7:30am! He had a much better day yesterday as a result of that extra sleep.

He is smiling more and laughing a lot.  He really is such a joy and I can't believe how quickly the time is passing.  He is changing so much, and so quickly.  Just yesterday he started trying to reach for things.  Today, he held on tight to a rattle for a little while.  He loves watching his sister play and kicking his legs on his mat.  He's not too fond of tummy time right now, but sure is trying to turn over from back to front.  His daytime naps are still pretty hit or miss (some are 30 mins, other times it's two hours), but the nights are a dream.  He's done by 6:30pm and usually surfaces again around 7:30am.  I can't complain!  Let's hope it lasts.  

Aubrey loves that Henry is more responsive and has taken to entertaining him with her dolls and xylophone.  I'm sure as soon as he can reach for her toys, the love will be lost!

Land of the Not Quite Right, Part I

As most of you know, we spent some time in Japan a few years back courtesy of the US Navy. I have a lot of memories from our time there. Some good (travel, Aubrey's birth, good friends) and some not (Brian gone most of the time, colicky baby, far from family). Oh how I wish I had been a blogger back then. Did they have blogs back then? Since I hate to journal, it would have been an excellent way to keep an account of our adventures. Interesting that I hate to journal but love this blog business. Must be because I have an audience. Why would I want to just write to myself. But I digress.

The one thing I did do while we lived there was take A LOT of photographs. Of course, they have been sitting in a folder on our hard drive collecting dust. One of my goals for this fall is to put the photos in a book to document our life there. Notice I purposely didn't say "scrapbook." That is another thing I hate to do. A photo documentary. That's much better. I've been pulling out my favorites and I'm starting the daunting task of labeling and editing them. So, I thought it would be fun to share some of them with you.

Japan is an amazing place. There is great beauty everywhere, it just sometimes gets lost in the sea of people and the infrastructure it takes to support such a large population. But it is there. I have been fortunate enough to have traveled quite a bit in my life, but Japan was is in such stark contrast to any place I had been. So much so, that it becomes humerous at times. Thus the title to this post..."Land of the not Quite Right." I wish I could take credit for coming up with that description, but I can't. I only use it because it perfectly discribes how Japan "felt" to me. This is where it becomes apparent that I am not a good writer. I should be able to explain what I mean by how it felt to live there, or what it was that wasn't quite right. But I just want to say "if you have lived there, you know." So, I will attempt to share some photos that might give you a glimpse into the beauty and humor of the place we called home for a while.

Sunset on Enoshima Island

I like to call this one Japanese Bling.  This was taken near Harajuku Park in Tokyo.  On Sundays, the youth of Japan gather to show off their style, and make the old folks roll their eyes.

Prayer tablets (Ema) at Hetsu-no-miya shrine on Enoshima Island

Tsukiji Fish Market - Tokyo

This photo was taken at a cemetery in our neighborhood, Ebina-shi.  I later found out they are called Omizuko.  Apparently these statues represent aborted, miscarried or stillborn infants.  The colorful caps and bibs are donated to console their spirits.

O-Hana-mi in Tokyo: celebrations occur all over Japan each Spring when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.  Essentially, it's a flower viewing party, and an excuse for a picnic... but you're lucky to find a spot in the grass.  It's crowded and can get a little rowdy.  

A rare glimpse at a true Geisha in Kyoto.

Japanese school girls.

Torii (a gate to mark the entrance to a scared precinct) on Lake Ashi near Hakone.  This is part of a national park near Mt. Fuji.  In all my trips to Hakone with visitors, I never once saw Mt. Fuji from here.  Take a look here to see what is hiding behind the clouds 

Literally, a river of wasabi plants.  This was taken on a trip to the Izu Peninsula, one of the few places where large scale cultivation of wasabi can be found. 

Shibuya crossing in Tokyo. Yes, this is a crosswalk, and this was NOT taken at rush hour.  

Clearly the strangest sight in Japan.  A 7 month pregnant gaijin in a Yukata.

More to come soon...

Bring on the cold

That's right, Old Man Winter. We're ready for you. Hurry it up, will ya?

Giggles

Henry has really been giving out the laughs lately.  Of course, it's pretty difficult to catch the good ones of film.  This is the best I could do.  Enjoy.

Smile for the camera

... or not.

Dairy Free... Are You Kidding Me?????

Well, some of you may know that Henry hasn't been himself lately.  About three weeks ago, I noticed that his normally dry skin was getting MUCH worse.  I thought maybe I was bathing him too much, so I cut back on that.  Nothing really changed, in fact, it kept getting worse.  At the same time, he started sleeping less during the day and waking up pretty grumpy.  Nursing has been frustrating too.  He is clearly uncomfortable and has been screaming through most feedings.  Once I stop nursing him and he gets some burps out, he's OK and pretty happy... but I know he sometimes doesn't get enough to eat.  When that happens, his nap will be short and now I'm trying to feed a tired and uncomfortable baby.  He has also been spitting up A LOT more than normal.  By the end of the day I'm beat and so is he.  Thank goodness the nights are still going well or I would have lost it a lot sooner.  I have talked to the nurses a few times, but last night, I just lost it after a very long day with a clearly uncomfortable child.  So, I took him to the Dr. today to hopefully get some answers.

With one look at his skin, the Dr. agreed he has eczema... a very clear case of a reaction to something.  That combined with his eating issues (most likely reflux due to inflamed tissues) led her to believe it's an allergic reaction to something he's getting from my breastmilk.  The most common allergy is cow's milk.  Then, of course, there's nuts and strawberries.  The only way to really know what is causing this is to cut things out of my diet.  I could pick one thing and wait one or two weeks to see the reaction, or just go cold turkey on everything so that he hopefully gets to feeling better, and then reintroduce things to figure it out.  I'm opting for the later.  I'm not too upset about strawberries.  That's easy, I'll just eat other fruits that I love.  Even dropping nuts doesn't bother me too much.  It will be a little more of a challenge since a lot of things have hidden nuts, but I won't miss my peanut butter too much.  But dairy???  What am I going to do without CHEESE!!!!!!  Glorious cheese.  I can live without yogurt, milk with cereal and even ice cream... but cheese?  So sad.  

I just returned from the grocery where I went on a dairy free shopping spree.  It took me FOREVER since I had to read labels.  Did you know Raisin Bran has milk? We now have a fridge with Soymilk, something I have never had an urge to try.  For good reason I now know.  It tastes like water with flour, which is in fact what it is.  Anyway, I really don't mind doing this one bit if it will help Henry.  He really is a pretty happy boy most of the time, which is why I know something is wrong.  It may take a while to figure it out, but he's worth it, don't you think?  That smile melts my heart.

Don't feel sorry for me, it's a choice.  I'm not at all ready to give up breastfeeding.  It really is a minor sacrifice.  I have a whole new appreciation for people with severe allergies, like our nephew.  I just pray that I can figure out the cause so he isn't so uncomfortable.  

Weekend 'o fun

I don't seem to have anything witty or exciting to share, but we did have a great weekend, and that counts for something, don't you think?  The last few weeks have been really busy for Brian, so it was nice to have him around and more relaxed this weekend.  We had two great dinners with friends, found a sand table for Aubrey at Goodwill (score!) and Henry gave his first little laugh.  The simple pleasures.  

Lock up your daughters! (Notice the bumbo seat.  He's man enough to sport pink. What a catch!)

Who do you think is having more fun?

This costume is a hand me down (thanks Kathryn) that is supposed to be for Henry.  Aubrey insisted it wouldn't be too small for her.  Her smile says "see mommy, I told you it would fit."

Trouble

Hanging out with daddy

Big girl this, big girl that

You may have sensed a theme with regards to Aubrey over the last few months.  Yes, she is becoming a big girl.  It started with the big girl bed, then came big girl panties, then big girl school.  Now, we have reached a whole new milestone.  The big girl bike!  

Brian returned from scavenging the other day with a bike for Aubrey.  It's a little beat up and didn't have training wheels, but for $7, who can complain.  After a trip to the sports store for the training wheels, Aubrey jumped right on and started peddling.  She didn't get very far.  It's more like a stationary trainer.  The training wheels don't quite fit the bike properly, so the back wheel sits a little off the ground and just spins in the air.  Aubrey doesn't seem to care too much.  She is awfully proud of her new bike.  Just ask her... she'll tell you all about it. 

As for me, I'm a little tired of all this big girl talk.  She's not even 3 yet.  This will go on forever.... big girl clothes, big girl cars, big girl boyfriends, big girl trouble.  Enough already.

School Days

Well, it's not really school... or even pre-school... but don't tell Aubrey that.  She thinks she goes to "big boy school and big girl school."  She is attending a mother's day out program again this year, this time at our church.  I knew she would be sad to leave her old program, so I talked up how she was getting older and was too big for her old school.  She was a little crushed on the first day when I pulled into the church parking lot.  I believe her words were (and they must be said with a severely whiney voice) "NO MOMMY.  This is church.  I want to go to big school!"  I'm sure it must be confusing for her, especially since the 2 year old class meets in the same room where she has sunday school.  By the second day, she seemed fine with her new school.  It helped that she was greeted by the school pet, which I'm horrified to say is a rat!  I think she thought it was a bunny. 

A rushed photo on her first day.  It sure is a lot of work to get her there so I can have a break.

Henry is all smiles.  I think he enjoys the extra attention when big sis isn't around.

Happy Baby