Carter is learning to eat!

Our little man is learning to eat on his own and it is very exciting. This is the key skill he needs to learn in order to be able to go home! He has taken some entire bottles on his own and we're trying to work on breastfeeding as well, but that's a lot of work for him. Every time he takes a bottle we want to do cartwheels! Here are some pics from the past few weeks:

Carter's 1st pic, the NICU staff was in the delivery room ready to take him right away, and we were warned he might not be able to cry, so we had tears of joy when he screamed his little head off at birth!

Some cuddle time with mom during a photo therapy session for his jaundice

This has been my favorite of his poses so far, this was his afternoon nap pose on Wednesday! He makes napping look pretty darn good!

Last night (Monday), we gave Carter his bath and got him all situated in a fresh sleeper and swaddle. This is him in his post bath and bottle nappy time!

Carter's Birthday 7/7/10

Monday, July 5th was a nice, normal holiday. It was my mom's last day in town for a visit, and we headed to the Diamondbacks/Cubs game. Then we had dinner and relaxed for the evening. Just before midnight I awoke to discover that my water had broke, and Aaron moved faster than I've seen anyone move. Off to the hospital we go. We tried this magnesium to stop labor so I could get 48 hours of steroid treatments and admitted to ante partum.
But, Carter had other plans. Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning I was complaining of discomfort, but the monitors showed no contractions. When I continued to complain like a crazy person on Weds, they decided to check me and discovered I was 9 cm along. Oops! So, my birth plan and desire for an epidural was out the window and it was go time! Carter was born at 1:48 pm on 7/7, a lucky day. He weighed 4 lbs and 15 oz, which is great for being just 33 weeks along! We, of course, think he's a genius baby nd just can't wait to bring him home from the NICU. Please keep our little guy in your thoughts and prayers!

Aloha November 2009!

Aaron and I headed out for a much-needed beach vacation on November 7th. It was our first trip to Hawaii, and it definitely won't be our last! The Rainbow State is breathtaking! Here is a rainbow pic taken while basking in the sun at Kailua State Beach.

We visited the Pearl Harbor monument while we were here on Oahu, and it was a very moving day.

Then we moved on to more fun and less sad! Here we are with Diamondhead in the background. We did the hike to Diamondhead, with me in a skirt and flip-flops (it clearly wasn't planned for that day). Stunning views!

A scenic view!

On the recommendation of some good friends, the Listons, who lived on Oahu, we tried lots of yummy things like Kona beer, delicious shaved ice, and found a favorite party spot at Dick's! I want Liquid Aloha cups!

Aaron enjoying a tasty mai tai at Dick's. It was heaven in a glass, and counts as a fruit serving with the fresh pineapple:)

We also attempted to do some snorkeling at beautiful Hanauma Bay, but between the rip currents and jellyfish warnings we did more viewing from above than from in the water!

Sayonara Nihon!

Ok, I'm finally going to blog again. I'm making it my goal to get caught up on my 2009 posts in 2010 and then hopefully get back into the swing of things

In April, 2009 it was time to head home to Arizona and say good-bye to all of our dear friends in Japan. We had so much fun in Japan and the year flew by so quickly! Thus began a few weeks of farewell binge drinking. Here are some of my lovely ladies that made Japan a blast! Ana, Danielle, me, Lisa, Karen, and Alli! So off to Rickey's Bar we go!

Note to self: when you start making this face, you really don't need more to drink, probably shouldn't go for karaoke, and are not sober. But, we all know I don't listen to these kinds of ridiculous arguments!

One of the funniest things about living in Japan were the very descriptive picture signs. I've learned that we don't have nearly enough picture signs in the USA!

Now it is time for karaoke with many of our neighbors. Despite my natural tendency to not like to sing because I have the voice of a 5 year old, it turns out that I LOVE karaoke. I'm not sure if we were signing My Humps or some other fabulous song at this point. Good times!

Then we had a more official sayonara party in Nagoya the next night. We began with a churrascaria for some Brazilian tabehodai and nomihodai (all you can eat and most importantly, drink)!

This is my good friend, Mer, who speaks awesome Japanese if I do say so myself and was a real trooper for coming to the nomihodai party to wish me farewell despite being pregnant! That is a true friend!!








After eating and drinking, it was time for more karaoke. As I mentioned, I love karaoke! We even got to sing some NKOTB. Try not to be jealous. Here I am with Lisa and Lorie, two wonderful friends who I hope to see again in the USA!

Takayama & Shirakawago

Last weekend we headed to Takayama and Shirakawago to see a glimpse of old Japan.

Kelso even joined us, and here is our room at the traditional Ryokan Murayama. We slept on futons on the tatami mats, enjoyed a soak in the ofuro, and admired the snow.

As part of our stay, we dined on a traditional Japanese dinner. Snails, baby squid, tofu, shabu shabu, rice, soba noodles, sashimi, and mountain vegetables were on the menu. Luckily, so were wine and beer!

On Saturday morning we got up, enjoyed our traditional breakfast of fish, rice and miso soup (although fish is a bit hard to stomach at 8 am we think), and headed to the morning market. There is a big market in Takayama for food, crafts, flowers etc. Here is a photo of Aaron & Kelso in front of a sake brewery, myself posing as a sarubobo doll, and the Main World Shrine in Takayama.

Then we enjoyed the scenic, curvy drive to Shirakawago. Along the way, we stopped at Mihoro Lake for this nice view:

When we arrived in Shirakawago, we went directly to the viewing point to see the view from the top. Very picturesque!

Shirakawago is a World Heritage site for its gasshō-zukuri, the thatched roof style houses. The roofs are very steep to survive the massive winter snowfalls.

Then we wrapped up our roadtrip by enjoying the various caution signs. This one warns you to watch out for monkeys!

Family trip to Matsumoto-jo

On a beautiful March Sunday, our family headed to the city of Matsumoto, to see Matsumoto-jo, 松本城.

Known as the "Crow Castle" for its black walls and 'wings', it's a national treasure and one of the few remaining, intact castles.

Views of the surrounding mountains and all their snowy splendor!

Spring has sprung, and here's the blossom to prove it! Still debating on whether it's a cherry or plum tree blossom.

Kelso loved coming on the road trip! Here we are in front of the castle and the new blooms.

Valentine's Day in Guam

On Feb 12th Aaron and I headed to Guam for a Valentine's Day weekend celebration. Thank goodness for frequent flier and Marriott points! Guam is a US territory and it had many of the amenities of the US, but mostly Japanese tourists. So, we could eat Taco Bell and still practice our Japanese:)

Our first dinner in Guam was at Tony Roma's. It was heaven. Ribs and Stella, two things we haven't had in a while! We also went to a Ross and K-Mart. Who knew that could be exciting!

Here is the view of Tumon Bay from our room. Beautiful water and it was warm!

My husband looking tough on the beach. We had a great time enjoying the warm weather! We miss AZ winter:)

We also had to be tourists. Here is a monument at the War in the Pacific Memorial Park at Asan Beach.

Posing at Fort Nuestro de la Soledad, apparently discovered by Magellan long ago

On Valentine's Day we spent the day working on Aaron's tan, went out for steak, and then to a Vegas-style show.

We had a very happy dog when we got home, as he hates the kennel here and was bitten while we were gone!