25 Weeks!

According to babycenter.com, Baby Schreurs is weighing in around 1.5 pounds. She's growing by the day, and is about 13.5 inches from head to heel!

I feel movement all the time, but especially in the morning and at night before bed. Before I left for Michigan, Joe was able to put his hand on my stomach at the same time every night to feel the baby kick!

I went to the doctor here in Michigan a little over a week ago. It was a time consuming & stressful process, and made me realize how much easier appointments are in Japan! But it was nice to confirm from an American doctor that baby and I are both healthy and right on track for where we should be. The baby's heartbeat was a strong 160 times a minute.

Time is flying! Can't believe we're 25 weeks in... only 15 more to go! :)

April & May Ikebana

freestyle - the colors reminded me of Christmas :)

traditional shoka (stems are in a straight vertical line)

freestyle

another picture of freestyle - LOVED this piece!

80% Sure

We went to the doctor on Friday, expecting to get confirmation of the gender of baby Schreurs. At our last appointment he said, "maybe it's a boy." So we were expecting to walk in and for him to confirm that it is in fact a boy. Instead, he zoomed in on the ultrasound and said, "80% sure it's a GIRL!" We were shocked! I sat up in the chair and yelled, "IT'S A GIRL!?!?!" in my high-pitched voice. So since he's only 80% sure, that means he still has some doubt as to what the gender really is - but for now, we're thinking it's a girl! But more importantly than the gender, the doctor said that both baby and I are very healthy and doing well. He is pleased with the progress, and said that the baby weighs a full pound now. He was surprised that the baby is right on pace for the Japanese average - as usually America's tend to have much larger babies. He is expecting that the weight will greatly increase over the next few months and go above the Japanese average.

I scheduled a doctor appointment for when I'm back in the U.S., so hopefully we'll get a second opinion on the gender. But more importantly, it will be nice to get an American confirmation that everything is normal and the baby is healthy. I love my doctor here, but it will be nice for me to be able to speak to an American doctor to get some questions answered. :)

22 weeks! Still fitting into my usual low-rise jeans, but it won't be long before they won't fit anymore. I ordered quite a few outfits online, and am anxiously awaiting to see them this weekend!

New Car & Weekend Hike!

We are now officially renting a light pink Toyota Vitz! It's one of the smallest cars you can get here, and the cheapest to lease. After not having a car for over a year, we felt that it's time for a change of pace! We may not use it all the time, but after Baby Schreurs arrives, it will be helpful for grocery shopping and traveling.

We tested the car out for our first day trip this past weekend. We went to Kiso Valley, about an hour away from Nagoya, to see two old towns (Magome and Tsumago) and hike the 8-km trail between them. The route runs along the Kiso Valley and are part of the original route that connected Tokyo with Kyoto during the Edo Period.

The trail leads through the countryside and passes right alongside houses and fields with local residents. The beginning of the hike was tough, as it was all uphill. But once we reached the peak, it was all downhill and much more enjoyable. It was nice to get out of the city for a day! It was a beautiful day, and a beautiful hike.

Kiso Valley

Path on the 8-km trail

Tsumago, the town at the end of our hike

Miyajima Island, Hiroshima

We took a day trip from Hiroshima to the island if Miyajima, a short ferry ride from Hiroshima. The island is only 30km around, and situated on the Seto Inland Sea of Japan. The Itsukushima-jinja Shrine together with the Misen forest has been regarded as a sacred area and designated a World Heritage Site. In addition to being one of the most scenic and sacred spots in Japan, it's also one of the most popular tourist attractions.

The most famous attraction on Miyajima is the shrine of Itsukushima-jinja, where the gate at sea is considered to be one of Japan's most beautiful views. During high-tide it looks like the shrine is floating out at sea; during low-tide you can actually walk out to the shrine.

After visiting the shrine, we took the 1.7km cable car ropeway to Mt. Misen, Miyajima's sacred mountain. From the top of the ropeway, you can hike an additional 30-40 minutes to the top of Mt. Misen. It is said that Buddhism was first practiced on Mt. Misen by Kobo Daishi, one of Japan's holiest religious persons.

On the path to the top of Mt. Misen you will find a temple called Reikado Hall, which holds the "Kiezu-no-hi" (The Eternal Flame). The holy fire which Kobo Daishi used as part of his religious training is burning even now after about 1200 years. Legend has it that if you drink tea made from the boiling water in the blackened iron pot which hangs over the fire, all your diseases will be cured. The flame was also used as the pilot light for the "Flame of Peace" of Hiroshima at Peace Memorial Park.

Top of Mt. Misen! Very beautiful 360 degree views. Proud that I was able to tackle the 40-minute hike to the top being 21 weeks pregnant! :)

Hiroshima

Joe and I took a weekend trip to Hiroshima. It took about two and half hours by the high-speed train to get there. It was a meaningful and emotional trip, one that neither of us will ever forget.

The A-Dome is the ruins of the former Hiroshima Prefecture Industrial Promotional Hall, which was destroyed by the first atomic bomb ever to be used in the history of humankind on August 6, 1945. The atomic bomb was detonated in the air at an altitude of approximately 600 meters almost right over the hall. The explosion by a single bomb claimed the lives of over 200,000 people and the city area of about a 2-km radius. This Hiroshima Peace Memorial is a World Heritage Site. It is a symbol that vows to faithfully see the abolition of nuclear weapons and everlasting world peace.

Bell of Peace. The poem reads:
"We dedicate this bell
As a symbol of Hiroshima Aspiration
Let all nuclear arms and wars be gone,
and the nations live in true peace!
May it ring to all corners of the earth
to meet the ear of every man,
for in it throb and palpitate
the hearts of its peace-loving donors.
So may you, too friends,
step forward, and toll this bell for peace!"

Atomic bomb memorial mound. At 8:15 on the morning of August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb in history was dropped on Hiroshima. Here are laid the ashes of tens of thousands of its victims. Each year around August 6, memorial services are conducted by the Hiroshima Memorial Service Association in addition to other religious groups.

The Children's Peace Monument in Peace Park in Hiroshima. This monument stands in memory of all children who died as a result of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The monument was originally inspired by the death of Sadako Sasaki, who was exposed to the radiation from the atomic bomb at the age of two. Two years later Sadako developed leukemia that ultimately ended her life. At the top of the nine-meter monument, a bronze statue of a young girl lifts a golden crane entrusted with dreams for a peaceful future. The inscription on the stone block under the monument reads: "This is our cry. This is our prayer. For building peace in this world."

Memorial monument for Hiroshima. Directly through the monument you can see the eternal flame and beyond the flame you can see the A-Dome. The monument reads, "Let all the souls here rest in peace. For we shall not repeat the evil." This monument embodies the hope that Hiroshima, devastated on August 6, 1945 by the world's first atomic bombing will stand forever as a city of peace. It expresses the spirit of Hiroshima - enduring grief, transcending hatred, pursuing harmony and prosperity for all, and yearning for genuine, lasting world peace.

I didn't have the heart to take any pictures inside the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. It was an emotional experience to see the images inside the museum - one that we will never ever forget. It was an outside experience one will never learn from American school textbooks... the truth of the history, and how it effected the Japanese people. These images were taken off of the internet.

The Museum collects and displays belongings left by the victims including photos, and other materials that convey the horror of that event. Each of the items displayed embodies the grief, anger, or pain of real people. This is one of the images displayed in the museum, showing how the atomic bomb destroyed the entire city - the only thing that remained was the frame of the now named A-dome.

Thousands upon thousands of people lost their lives that day. Those who managed to survive, fled from the city with their burned and bloodied skin and clothes hanging off them. The poor people who did survive suffered irreparable physical and psychological damage. This exhibit had wax statues of burning people to show the realities of what happened that day - their skin hanging from their bodies, melted and burnt. There were numerous articles in the museum as well - burned lunchboxes, clothing, uniforms, dishes, melted bottles, etc. that were leftover artifacts from the remains of the people that lost their lives that day.

Despite all the horror that happened that day, and the devastation that Japan had to overcome, it's amazing to think that here we are as two American's living in a country that we destroyed only 66 years ago. The prejudice does not appear to exist - only the desire to explain the truth and promote everlasting peace.

Half Way!

I was a full 20 weeks on Tuesday, which means that we're half way there! Baby Schreurs is the size of a banana this week: about 10 inches long from head to heel and weighing about 10.5 ounces. I can't believe it's already been 20 weeks, time has gone by so fast!!

We are looking forward to our next doctor appointment, which is on May 20th. The doctor will confirm the gender at this appointment. :)

Takayama (Part 2)

After lunch we headed over to another section of Takayama called Hida-No-Sato, which is a Hida Folk Village. We visited a large open air museum, which consisted of dozens of traditional houses. These houses were dismantled at their original sites throughout the Hida region and rebuilt here.

There are two sections at the museum. The western section features 12 old houses and a complex of traditional buildings. The eastern section of the village is centered on Omoide Taikenkan, where you can try your hand at making traditional crafts. Here are a few pictures of our favorite homes.

Entrance of the museum. Across the pond is Nishioka's House, from the middle of the 1800's. This house has a typical Gassho-zukuri construction with a steep rafter roof. The word Gassho came from the shape of praying hands, which is similar to the shape of the roof.

Wakayama's House, from the middle of the 1700's. This is an old Japanese style house with a steep rafter roof. The ground floor was built by carpenters and the upper floors were constructed by the village people. It took the village people 4 days to make the thatched roof, which is said to last for 40-60 years.

Inside the house you could climb up to the top floor to see the roof of Yakamaya's House. Very impressive how they weaved the straw to create such an elaborate roof.

All of the homes had fire places, which were always lit. The smoke was very important for preserving the homes - the smoke protects it from harmful insects, keeps the straw and ropes tight, and gives the house moderate moisture.

Michikami's House, from the early 1800's. This is the style of a farmer's house from the northernmost area of Hida. When you look at the sides of this house you notice that it is different from others - the bottom of the roof was cut off. This is because people tried to get more sunlight into the house for the silkworm nursery on the upper floor.

We're standing on the third floor to see the roof of Michikami's House.

After visiting Hida-no-sato, we drove about 15 minutes outside of town to see the Garyu Cherry Tree, one of the largest cherry blossom trees in Japan. It's a state-designated natural monument. Garyu Cherry Tree literally means "The Lying-Dragon Cherry Tree," because the shape of the tree resembles a dragon lying on the ground. It's more than 1,100 years old, with branches 30 meters long and 20 meters high. It was spectacular! We missed the peak of it's bloom, but are so lucky to see it blooming at all.

After a fun filled afternoon, we went back into the city to have one more taste of Hida beef before we headed back to Nagoya. We choose a place called Suzuya, where you can grill your own beef over charcoal at the table. It had a great atmosphere, simple and clean interior with minimal decorations, a very true Japanese style. Food was pricey, but good!

Takayama (Part 1)

I have been itching to take a few day trips, especially now that on a time-crunch before I leave for Michigan, the summer heat arrives, and the baby is here. So we headed out to a city called Takayama on Saturday.

Takayama is a historic and traditional town filled with old style inns, shops, shrines, galleries/museums, and sake breweries. It's nestled in the mountains, so provides some beautiful scenery too. It's one of the few places in Japan that has retained it's traditional charm throughout the years.

After visiting the morning market, we headed to a National Historic Site called Takayama Jinya. It was a branch office of the Edo Bakufu (government) from 1692 to 1868. It is designated as a National Historic Site and is the only existing building of its kind in Japan. I particularly loved this building because it actually showed how people used to live. Many of the castles/temples/historic places in Japan are either reconstructed, empty, or converted into museums. This building had actual artifacts and represented a historic way of life. Here are a few pictures below of Takayama Jinya.

entrance of Takayama Jinya

conference room(s)

kitchen

bathroom

torture and interrogation room

Next we headed to old town, a district of three main streets lined with traditional shops, restaurants, museums, and sake breweries. Takayama is famous for it's sake breweries. The shops are easily recognized by the spheres of cedar fronds outside of the entrance. Most of the breweries are open to the public for tours in January & February, but the rest of the year you can go in and sample the different sakes and make purchases.

sake brewery

Joe sampling sake with a nice Japanese
man assisting him read the labels

To finish the morning, we headed to the Takayama Festival Float Exhibition Hall. Here we learned that the Takayama Festival is one of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan - the focus of the festival is the magnificent floats which are pulled through the streets of the town. There are two festivals each year, one in April and one in October. This festival began 350 years ago, and most of the floats date back from the 17th Century. They are decorated with complicated wood carvings, detailed metal work, and gold lacquer. We hope to be able to make it to the actual float festival to see these wonderful pieces of art in action!

5 of the floats on display at the exhibit

For lunch we ate at an amazing Hida beef local restaurant called Sukeharu. We have never had Hida beef before, and many compare (and prefer) it to Kobe beef. Joe ordered the mincemeat cotlet set, and I ordered the hamburg set.Verdict is: WE LOVED IT!

the restaurant

Hida beef hamburg set

We had an incredible afternoon as well... saw one of the oldest cherry blossom trees in Japan, and went to a folk village to see old farmhouses - will post more about the second part of our day later.

Butterflies... & Finally Movement!

I am well into my 19th week and still feeling great! Baby is making his way through the produce department, as he's approximately the size of a mango this week. :)

I started to feel "butterflies" around week 16, which I can really only describe as flutters or almost like bubbles. I continue to feel them here and there throughout the day... and this week I finally felt some movement!

I still have the symptoms of acne and sensitive gums that often bleed when I brush my teeth. I've also been starting to experience slight lower backache and a stuffy nose (especially in the morning!). But I really can't complain, since I've been feeling energized and healthy.

It feels like I'm growing by the minute! We've been taking weekly pictures to watch my belly grow... it's fun to see how much bigger I am each week. The album is on our shutterfly account if you want to see the baby grow: http://emilyandjoepictures.shutterfly.com/babyschreurs