Noritake

My friend Mimi and I have been wanting to make our own plate at Noritake for quite some time. Now that she is moving to Paris next month, we are on a time crunch to fit everything in on our list to do before she leaves. So we headed to Noritake for the adventure of painting a china plate. We were disappointed when we got there and discovered that they don't have patterns to follow except for a couple that weren't really our style - instead, they expect you to be artistic and do all of the hand-painting by yourself! A challenge that neither of us are crafty enough to accomplish!! Considering the price of the painting workshop, we decided we could more easily walk over to the gift shop and buy a nice piece for a less expensive price than it would cost to make our own. So that's what we did! :) I found the cutest little clear & blue glass soy sauce container - with the brown sauce in it, it matches my blue/brown Japanese dishes perfectly.

We also ventured into the museum, and saw quite a few impressive pieces. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Many teacups & saucers

Mt. Fuji signed by Arnold Palmer

Osaka Weekend Trip

We ventured over to Osaka for the weekend for our last "babymoon" trip. It was about a 2.5 hour drive from Nagoya. Our main reason for going was to check out Costco, but decided to take the weekend and also check out the aquarium and Ikea.

First things first - we headed straight to the Hard Rock on Friday night for some good ol' American food. The Hard Rock in Nagoya closed last December, and I desperately miss it! It was the only place to get "good" American food besides Outback in Nagoya. I had my typical grilled chicken sandwich and Joe of course got a burger. Topped it off with their drink "special" for celebrating 40 years, which was a drink for 1200 yen = $15.50.... yeah not so much of a special if you ask me! But they were good nonetheless, and then we ended the evening with their delicious apple cobbler - my favorite!!!

On Saturday we went to the Osaka aquarium. It's known for being one of the largest aquariums in the world and the best in Japan, so we had pretty high expectations. The theme focuses on the Ring of Fire, and the exhibits displayed were exceptional. However, we were somewhat disappointed - despite the large and extensive exhibits, there were not any shows (at least the Nagoya aquarium has a dolphin show!). It was very crowded, and people were pushy, which made the experience even more disappointing. On the plus side, their shark exhibit was fantastic - there was a giant whale shark, a few hammerhead sharks, and tons of manta rays. We also got to see a baby penguin up close and watch him being fed. We were also impressed with the touching area, Joe was able to touch a few sharks and sting rays. I attempted to touch a sting ray, but he wasn't too fond of me and scared me a bit... so no shark touching for me after that! Overall it was a fun experience, and we're glad we went.

After the aquarium we decided to get some fresh air and hike the smallest mountain in Japan. Mt. Tempozan stands next to the aquarium and is right next to the bay. It's summit is 4.53 meters above sea level, and it took all of about 2 minutes to walk over there. ;)

On Sunday we headed over to Costco. It was super crowded and stressful - but we made it fun and managed to find all of our American goods, including: tortilla chips & salsa, variety of cereals, muffins & bagels, tuna, pop, TP, paper towels, laundry detergent, Pampers diapers & wipes, pasta sauce, and snacks: raisins, trail mix, nuts, etc. just to name a few! I also splurged and bought a huge container of blueberries & cherries... which are normally hard to find in Japan and/or ridiculously expensive - but being from Michigan, these are 2 essential summer fruits I need!! We also stocked up on pre-made quick meals (burritos, burgers, crab cakes, etc) for when the baby arrives and American beef since there was a beef scare recently in Japan with the meat containing radiation - so now we don't have to worry about eating contaminated meat for a while. A very expensive but successful trip!! We also bought a few things at Ikea: picture frames, an end table, candles, vases, etc. Joe has some pretty talented packing skills, I don't know how we managed to fit everything into our tiny car.

Preggo Partners & Nagoya Girls

Louise is due exactly 3 weeks before me. I'm just over 32 weeks in this picture, and she is 35 weeks. It's been so nice to compare stories and share concerns with a good friend. We are also going to the same doctor and delivering at the same clinic. We just moved into her building too, so it's great to have a close friend just upstairs. It's been wonderful to go through this pregnancy with a friend, and I'm sure it'll be just as helpful when the babies are here!

My Nagoya girl friends! We do weekly ikebana class, as well as lunch and numerous outings. Pictured from left to right: Sara from Kentucky, Louise from Scotland, and Anna from Seattle. Unfortunately Mio and Penny aren't in this photo, I'll have to take another one soon. I adore these girls and don't know how I would survive without them! :) This past week we've tried a Vietnamese restaurant, which had delicious fresh food; and an organic vegetarian buffet downtown, which also had quite a variety of fresh & healthy foods.

Ikebana this week: shoka free style. This type of arrangement uses 3 different flowers, all in a single file line.

32 Weeks

32 weeks down, only 8 more to go! This is one of my favorite non-maternity tank tops. I took a picture in the same shirt at 15 weeks and 22 weeks, which you can see on our shutterfly site: http://emilyandjoepictures.shutterfly.com/babyschreurs - it's amazing to see how much I've grown.

I had a doctor's appointment last night, and it went well. The ultrasound video is below, although sorry to disappoint - no 4D this time since she was hiding her face. He measured her head size, which is about spot on for the average. But when he went to measure her femur, he started laughing!! Apparently she is going to have really long legs, currently measuring about a week and half (33 weeks 4 days) ahead of schedule for the average. She is weighing in at around 4.5 pounds, which is above the average but still within normal range. Other than that, he said baby is positioned head down and is doing well - but I am slightly anemic, so I need to eat more iron foods. If I can't get my levels up enough just by diet he is going to put me on an additional supplement.

Chita Peninsula

I went to the beach with some friends on Wednesday. It was a cloudy morning, but turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. Many people always ask me, "How far away is the ocean from Nagoya?" Surprisingly, it only takes about 30-45 minutes to get to the ocean from downtown Nagoya. It just sort of depends on what beach you want to go to as well as traffic. See map below:

We drove all the way south to the end of Chita Peninsula to a more secluded beach. The water was warm, the scenery was beautiful, and it made for a nice relaxing afternoon. I walked up and down the shoreline and found lots of beach glass and broken pottery pieces.

We ended the afternoon by taking a public bath at a hotel. Onsen (hot spring baths) are a central feature of Japanese tourism, and all people I've met here love to use them. They find them relaxing, just as we would using a hot tub or spa in the U.S. I guess I'm just too "American" and private to enjoy taking a public bath like that. But nonetheless, I did enter the bathing area (wearing my swim suit, which is a total 'no-no' in Japan) - but the water was way too hot for me & baby to get in! Everyone tells me that I need to give it a fair try... so who knows, maybe this winter when when we go skiing I'll be more open to trying it.

U.S. Summer Vacation Highlights

Now that I'm back in Japan, adjusted to the time, and moved into our new apartment, I thought that I'd do a summer highlights post from my U.S. visit this summer.

My summer vacation flew by! I thought 7 weeks would be plenty of time to do everything that I wanted to do in the U.S. - but it still managed to go by so fast. 7 weeks in 4 cities: Kalamazoo, Savannah, Tucson, & Seattle. Here are some of my favorite memories from the trip:

Road trip to Savannah with my family to visit Michael & Brittany.

Going to Brookfield Zoo in Chicago with my family.

Seeing family & friends at two baby showers
(Kristin came from NY & Brittany from GA!)

Showing my Japanese friends my hometown
& taking them to Lake Michigan.

Meeting our new nephew and visiting family in Tucson.

Eric & Fran's wedding in Seattle.

A surprise visit from my oldest friend, Stephanie!
She flew in from Vegas. :)

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful vacation! I had a great time traveling all over the U.S. and spending time with all of you. All of my pictures & albums are available to view/download on shutterfly: http://emilyandjoepictures.shutterfly.com/

30 Weeks

Let the countdown begin! I'm 30 weeks, with only 10 to go! I was so happy to return to my Japan doctor yesterday. He did an ultrasound and confirmed that the baby is growing right on track and healthy. He also confirmed that she is in fact A GIRL!!! After being told that it was a boy at 17 weeks, and then a girl only a couple weeks later, it is nice to finally have a definitive answer. Baby Girl Schreurs is weighing in at approximately 3.75lbs and as predicted my doctor is now above the Japanese average for size.

Here is the ultrasound video from my appointment yesterday! You'll see him measure the head, abdomen, and femur. He also points out the spine, heartbeat, and face. He did a 4D face shot at the end - and you can actually see her open and close her eyes and mouth!! Pretty incredible!!



I had a really rough flight back to Japan, so I'm glad to be "home" and getting settled again. My ankles swelled up about half way through the flight - to the point where they were hanging over my tennis shoes... it was disgusting. I had to keep my feet up almost the entire next day to get the swelling down. I also had a couple nosebleeds and a lot of back ache. I've never complained about the 13 hour flight before, but this was a rough one for me!

We are moving to our new apartment today, so hopefully after this weekend we'll be all settled and can start focusing on organizing and getting ready for BGS!

Congratulations Eric & Fran!

Joe and I went to Seattle directly from Tucson to celebrate the marriage of our good friends Eric & Fran. They got married at Snoqualmie Ridge Golf Course, 30 minute from Seattle nestled in the beautiful scenery of the mountains. The sun came out just in time for their outdoor ceremony, which made for a gorgeous Seattle summer day.

The happy couple :)

Joe & Eric

Eric with his groomsmen - after lots of beer in their special mugs!

Congratulations Eric & Fran! We are so happy that we were able to be there to celebrate with you on your special day.

Joe and I had a great time in Seattle - eating at our favorite restaurants, wandering around our favorite areas, shopping, and being with friends. It was very nice to be back in familiar territory. :)

Tucson Trip

Joe and I met in Tucson to meet our new nephew, Koen von Scheliha. He's 5 weeks old, and absolutely adorable! Welcome to the world baby Koen! He's wearing my favorite little fish outfit with plaid shorts. :)

While visiting the fam, we had an opportunity to go to Emma's swimming lessons. She's a little fish! She was very proud to show us her swimming skills. For only being 5 years old, she's an excellent swimmer - she's working on her freestyle and doing a great job.

We were fortunate enough to be able to use their neighbor's pool during our visit as well. Very refreshing considering the temps were 105+! It was too hot to be outside, so we found lots to do inside during our trip - lots of kid games, baking/cooking/eating, shopping, and we even took Emma & Scotty to see Cars 2.

Scotty, Emma, Koen, & Joe in their University of Michigan apparel. Go Blue!

We were lucky to be there for Koen's baptism as well. Here's a family pic after the baptism in Lori & Lloyd's backyard.

Thank you von Scheliha family for your hospitality while we were there visiting - I know it's probably not easy to host guests when you have a new baby around. And thank you Mom & Dad Schreurs for the fabulous meals & treats!!! We had a great time and miss you all already! Looking forward to Christmas this year!

South Haven Baby Shower

My Grandma Allers, Aunt Brenda, Aunt Tammi, & Aunt Sandy held a baby shower for me in South Haven. It was so nice to see so many extended family members and share the joy of being pregnant with them. They bought a Dairy Queen ice cream cake for the occasion - it was delicious!

Me and Grandma Allers :)

I received so many nice baby gifts, including: a baby bouncer, baby clothes, rattles & toys, blankets, as well as a variety of baby care items - diapers & wipes, diaper rash cream, shampoo/conditioner/body wash/lotion, safety kit, etc. A big thank you to everyone for the thoughtful gifts!!!

My cousin Nick & Aubrey's 4 month old baby boy, Kevin. Such a happy guy!

Thank you Grandma, Aunt Brenda, Aunt Tammi, and Aunt Sandy, as well as all the others who helped make my day so special. I had a great time and loved spending time with you! Can't wait for you all to meet the baby in December!