Two months old

This month was filled with discovery.  P discovered his hands and his voice.  He met his paternal grandparents, Memere and Papa.  He traveled on a Shinkansen to Aomori and Tokyo, filing all of the necessary paperwork for his visa and passport.  Finally he discovered that spending time with daddy is fun while mommy is at work. 

At two months P spends most of his day eating and sleeping.  He likes to sleep on his tummy and loves a pacifier or fist to soothe himself to sleep.  He also enjoys sleeping in the ergo or moby carrier. Although he would choose to sleep in someone's arms or on mommy and daddy's chest.   

He has spent lots of time moving his arms and hands and finally coordinated them to bring his fist to his mouth.  He is still perfecting the movement and can be seen punching himself in the nose, cheeks and forehead before his fist makes it to his mouth.  Practice makes perfect. 

P is a very good dinner date. We enjoyed okonomiyaki (savory Japanese pancake made with cabbage and other fixings) while he slept.  Mommy and Memere are good at eating with P in our arms.

Daddy enjoys making P smile and coo.  P says ahh ouu.  Daddy has seen P roll over onto his side and back from his tummy.  He is a proud daddy.

One of P's favorite spots to breastfeed and relax in his chair is under the mobile.  Memere made him a mobile full of colorful circles. He loves to stare up at it.  He is also known to stare up at mommy! 

Japanese friends

Our friends Kiri, Koyuki, Hitoha and Noel visited to see P.  Koyuki is five months old.  It has been fun to watch her grow.  It is especially funny to compare little 8 week P to his chubby girlfriend.  Imagine them meeting later in life when P will be a tall and handsome American boy and Koyuki a petite and pretty Japanese girl. 

purikura

Yesterday we had our first family purikura photo session. Purikura is the Japanese photo booth where you can choose themes and then after the photos are taken you decorate your pictures to make them KAWAII (cute)!! It is very popular with Japanese girls.  Now that rainy season has arrived in Hachinohe, purikura provides a few minutes of inside entertainment. 

Grandparents, Tokyo and a passport

We enjoyed the rest of our visit from Todd's parents.  It was especially nice for P to have lots of cuddles and entertainment from their singing.  He responded with coos and smiles.  It is so fun how he interacts and responds to our voices.
In the above left picture he is alert and ready for his passport picture but by the time we walked to the picture place down the street he was asleep.  We had to tickle his neck to wake him. Once he woke up he looked a little like the above right picture with less cheese.  This picture was taken in the morning when I can get lots of smiles from him.  I am SO in love!!

We rented a car (a FIT!) for the last few days of the grandparent's visit.  It was nice to explore more of the surrounding areas of Hachinohe.  We went to Kabushima, a shrine covered with seagulls and their poop.  P and I stayed in the car.  Then the coast.  It was cool and windy but they enjoyed the beautiful views and walk on the sandy beach.

Saturday afternoon, before our train to Tokyo, we enjoyed lunch at the Hasshoku fish market.  First we shopped for the fish we wanted to eat.  Then we grilled it at a restaurant next door.  Some of us even tried whale meat!  I passed (: I guess it tastes like salty beef.

Here we are ready to board our shinkansen to Tokyo.  We arrived in Tokyo Saturday night.  Todd's parents left for Australia Sunday evening so we got a day together to explore the city.  Parker is a really good traveler. When he is not in the carrier sleeping, he is looking around at the lights.  He enjoyed riding the Tokyo metro with Memere and Papa.

After enjoying a Starbucks fix we went to Yasukuni shrine where there is an outdoor antique/flea market every Sunday. We were in search of kokeshi dolls and special WW2 sake cups. It was a beautiful place to stroll through the vendors under the tree lined walkway.  Later that afternoon P and I helped Memere and Papa find their train to the airport and we bid them sayonara until August. Then I enjoyed some Tokyo shopping while P slept (the joys of traveling with an infant, he sleeps most of the time!)

We stayed near Ikebukuro train station, home of the owls.  On the way to the embassy, Monday morning we had the pleasure of commuting with Tokyo residents.  Whoa, they really pack into the metro cars!! We had a 10 am appointment to apply for P's passport. We got a little taste of American security, metal detectors and bag searches to get into the embassy.  Fortunately, I had all of the correct paperwork and all went smoothly.  P is now officially an American citizen.  

We had a few hours before our train home, so why not go shopping in Shibuya?!

A view from our train, Mt. Iwate.  Almost home.

Shinkansen to Aomori

It has been a busy week. P met his Memere and Papa (Todd's parents), took his first shinkansen ride and got a visa. We traveled to Aomori in order to apply for P's Japanese visa (so he can stay in Japan legally) and explore another Japanese city with his grandparents. 

 He was a good baby on the train.  Very sleepy. 

We were pleasantly surprised to meet our friends Simon, Kiri and Koyuki at the immigration office!  Parker enjoyed meeting sweet Koyuki.  After getting the visa, we enjoyed a delicious scallop set meal for lunch.  Then we walked along the boardwalk taking advantage of the nice sunny weather.  Overall a productive and fun day.