Thanksgiving x 3

Living in a foreign country over the holidays definitely has its disadvantages. We miss our family, the food isn't quite the same, the culture is so different, and it makes being away from home seem even further away. But, on the other hand, being far away also has some perks. We feel very fortunate that we've made such awesome friends here in Nagoya. And because of that, we had 3 Thanksgiving dinners!

Thanksgiving Dinner #1: at the Hilton, for all Boeing employees and their families. This event made me realize how many foreigners are living here in Nagoya for Boeing - WOW! Over 100 people were at this event!

All dressed up and ready for the party!

Family pic, she wasn't very cooperative.

Thanksgiving Dinner #2: Mike & Sally's home. This wonderful couple just moved to Japan from South Carolina with their three kiddos. They are some of the nicest people we have ever met, and we're glad they are here!

Attempt at another family picture.
She was slightly more cooperative this time.

Thanksgiving Dinner #3: Marian & Brian's home. This incredibly family hosted a huge Thanksgiving feast for 40+ people. Luckily they have quite a spacious apartment to accommodate everyone, and even better that it was right here in our building. We got to meet people from all over the world at this party, and for many of them it was their very first Thanksgiving. We (Americans) were able to show them what Thanksgiving is all about: family, food, and fun! Each family brought a dish to pass, so there was a huge variety of food, and plenty of turkey for everyone. We all drank wine, played games, and had a great time.

One of the food tables.

(There were several!)

Elodie slept the entire night, so we were
able to have some nice adult time. :)

Joe said it best in one of his Facebook posts: "With so much to be thankful for this year it is way too hard to put it all in a Facebook post. However, thanks be to my wonderful wife and daughter! When Family is not near you bring those friends around you together in gatherings like those over the past few nights and make a new Family. Thanks be to this tremendous experience/journey we are on in Japan and the wonderful friends from all over the world who continue to enrich our lives forever."

Joe and I have so much to be thankful for this year, especially for this happy & healthy little girl!

Miss You Grandma S!

A few days after my mom left, Joe's mom arrived to see the baby and visit with us for a few weeks. We feel so fortunate that both grandmas were able to meet Elodie at such a young age and spend some quality time with us.

We are very appreciative of everything Grandma S did to help us while she was here. She not only helped take care of Elodie, but also cleaned, went grocery shopping, cooked fantastic dinners & baked lots of cookies. Thank you for all of your help Grandma! :)

The theme of her trip here was: cuisine. We took her to a variety of restaurants, including: Japanese, Taiwanese, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Turkish & Moroccan. It was fun to get out for a variety of meals and show her our favorite restaurants in Nagoya.

Here are a few photo highlights from her trip.

Tea ceremony & lunch with friends.

Hanging out with grandma!

Napping with Grandma.

Formal tea ceremony at a nearby garden and tea house.

Family time :)

Birthday celebration, and delicious chocolate cake!

We miss you, Grandma! And can't wait to see you in a few weeks over the holidays.

Happy Halloween!

Our friends Robert & Yumi hosted a Halloween Happy Hour in our apartment building, as a way for all of us new parents to dress up and have fun with our friends before everyone headed out to the bars for a crazy night.

Joe and I wanted to do a theme for our costumes, but were really restricted on what we could do. Mainly because of lack of time to prepare, and the overall difficulty of finding a costume in a foreign country that doesn't really celebrate Halloween. But we managed to find Santa costumes and decided to dress up as a Santa family.

Mr. & Mrs. Clause and our Santa baby :)

Even Grandma participated!

We had a great time at the happy hour party. Good drinks & food, and a fun time with friends. Here are a few other costumes from the party....

Alice in Wonderland & The Mad Hatter

Mario and his lovely bee

Bo Peep and her sheep

Jellyfish & squid

PEACE!

On actual Halloween Day, we attended a birthday party for our friend Morgan who turned 1 year old! Elodie dressed up as a ballerina for the occasion.

Happy 1st birthday Morgan!

Beautiful ballerina :)

Love this picture of her!

On the go...

Elodie and I have been on the go! I decided to slowly try and get my life back and include Elodie in all of my weekly activities.

Walking around at a festival downtown.
She loves the baby bjorn!

Hanging out at Ikebana class with Penny & Sara.

My freestyle arrangement.

Lounging with her future boyfriend Ethan at Moroccan restaurant Casablanca. She slept right through the belly dancing show, but Ethan sure enjoyed it!

We also joined a mom & baby exercise class. Here is a picture of all the babies in the class. It's a pretty neat setup. The babies lay on the blanket in the center of the room, and the moms form a circle around the blanket to be near their baby. We exercise when we can, and hold/rock/bounce the baby on the giant exercise ball when they're fussy, and change & feed them as necessary. It's a very laid back and fun environment!

Japanese Antiques

It's been just about forever since I've done a non-baby related blog post. It's amazing how instantly a baby changes your life... for the better. :) Anyway, now that I have a second of peace and quiet, I decided to write about our recent antique purchases.

Through the expat community, we learned about an antique dealer who has a huge warehouse full of old goodies. So one weekend before Elodie was born, we went out there to browse through his items. Here's what we found:

An old Chinese scroll. It's has a navy blue floral background with some gold highlights. The painting is of black/gray bamboo and red/pink cherry blossoms. I instantly fell in love with it!

Japanese old kiri wood "kodansu" tansu chest. It's in excellent condition with some usual wear from age and usage. It's from 1900 during the Japanese late Meiji or Taisho period. When we made this purchase we officially decided that we won't be going home in just suitcases anymore. We'll have to make a shipment back to the U.S. when we leave.

Vintage Japanese kokeshi dolls. I believe he told us they are from around 1950. Today kokeshi dolls are handmade from wood, usually shaped with a simple trunk and enlarged head. The head has simple lines painted on it to define the face. The body typically has a floral design and lacks arms and legs. These dolls have similar features to the modern dolls, but have kimono fabric for the trunk instead of plain wood showing; and have small heads instead of the over sized modern ones.

We Miss Grandma!

We were fortunate enough to have my mom here for 4 weeks! Elodie loved hanging out with Grandma, and I enjoyed all the extra help. :)

Thanks Mom for all of your help - going to the grocery store every couple of days, making dinner, baking cookies, cleaning our apartment, doing laundry, taking pictures, taking care of Elodie so that I could sleep, & rocking/walking/soothing/singing/bathing baby Elodie. You made our first couple of weeks at home fun and successful!!

Singing & dancing with Grandma

Reading books with Grandma

Taking naps with Grandma

Rocking & relaxing with Grandma

Walking around with Grandma

We love you & miss you Grandma!

Heart Specialist

Thank you to everyone for keeping Elodie in your prayers. We went to the pediatric heart specialist last week to have a series of tests done. The doctor diagnosed her with "ventricular septal defect, muscular type" - which means she has a small hole in her heart between the right and left ventricle, which is why there is a murmur sound. He said that it's only 1mm in size, so very small and that we shouldn't worry. He expects it to close on its own within the next year or two as he said the reason for the hole is "delayed closure." He also said it's quite common in babies, and should completely repair itself on its own. So overall, I guess it's good news! Not exactly what we wanted to hear, we would obviously have rather heard that it's nothing, but better than being a serious problem that needs correction!!! So we go back for another appointment in one year.

Also, below is Elodie's hospital picture. You can see all of the babies born in September at my doctor's office on this link: http://www.kato-clinic.jp/sanka/baby.html

1 MONTH!

Happy 1 month to our sweet baby girl! ♥

We went to the doctor for her one month check-up last week. She is happy and healthy and growing everyday. She has gained about 2 pounds in the last couple of weeks - so she now weighs a good 8.5lbs! She has also gained about 2 inches in length and is now 21.25 inches long. She is starting to outgrow her newborn clothes - but yet can't quite fit into the 0-3 month sizes yet... but it won't be too much longer before they fit!

We also have slightly negative news to report. While at her doctor's appointment, Dr. Kato listened to her heart and believes he heard a slight heart murmur. He has referred us to a pediatric heart specialist, where we will go on Thursday to have an ultrasound and find out further information. So keep little baby Elodie in your prayers!

Here are a few of her one month pictures. A big thank you to Nicole who gave us these wonderful stickers for each month of her first year!! I also recently updated shutterfly, so you can see many more pictures on our site: http://emilyandjoepictures.shutterfly.com/

2 Weeks!

I can't believe Elodie is already over 2 weeks old! 18 days to be exact. Time goes by so fast, and she is growing and changing every single day. She had her week check-up at the doctor's office last week (11 days old), and they were impressed that she has gained all of her weight back and is above her birth weight! As of the 19th, she weighed about 6.5 lbs. :) We go back to the doctor in 3 weeks, so hopefully she will continue to do well, gain weight, and grow.

We are still trying to get into some sort of routine. Joe is trying to balance being a Dad with work and school, which is pretty difficult for him. Elodie's days are spent pretty much just sleeping and eating. And I've been tired, but hanging in there. It's been really great to have my mom here to help out. She's successfully made numerous trips to the grocery store for us, and loves to hang out with Elodie in the morning while Joe goes to work and I sleep in.

Overall, we love being parents, and have been blessed with a very happy baby! :)

Hanging out with Grandma!

Playing with Daddy :)

Sleeping beauty

Trying to smile!

First Outing - Starbucks!

This is the time of year that I would often indulge in a seasonal favorite from Starbucks - the Pumpkin Spiced Latte. Unfortunately, this drink is not available in Japan. :(

However, I am pleased to announce that this fall Starbucks Japan has launched the Apple Crumble Frappuccino and Apple Crumble Latte as an autumn seasonal drink. Finally, something comforting and delicious from home!

Since getting pregnant & now having baby Elodie, I've been trying very hard to limit my caffeine intake. But every once in a while, I just have to splurge --- and this past week was one of those times. I tried the Apple Crumble Latte and LOVED every sip. It was sweet, comforting, and delicious... and I can't wait to have another one. The drink itself had a great apple flavor, and was topped off with whipped cream, apple caramel sauce, and crumbled cookies. YUM!!

This was Elodie's first outing, 2 days after getting home from the hospital (1 week old). She enjoyed her stroller ride to Starbucks - it put her right to sleep. She was such a good baby while we were there too, and slept the entire time. Coming from Seattle, it just seemed like Starbucks was the right choice for her first place to visit! ;)