One month to go!!!

We just had our 36 week OB appointment yesterday, so I thought I'd fill you in a bit. The mid-wife was able to discern that the baby's head is down, so that was a big relief!

Besides dreaming of giving birth to a cyclops and having a few irrational outbursts of tears, all the other signs and symptoms of the 3rd trimester that I'm experiencing are quite normal and I will just try to stay cool and stop running around quite so much over the next few weeks. (Actually, I think that the strange dreams and hormonal roller coaster are very "normal" as well!!)

I guess we had our last "pre-baby" camping trip last weekend when we went up to any old Japanese ammunition depot (now turned U.S. military recreation facility) and camped with some friends from the Lighthouse. We'll set our sights on some more outdoor adventures in the fall, when it's cooler and I am not "great with child!!"

I'm kind of hoping that we'll get one more Tokyo adventure in before the baby comes, but the terrible hot and humid weather is a big factor in how spunky I feel - so we'll see.

We seem to have all - or most - of the baby gear that we need...but I need the "nesting" thing to set in soon so that I can have a shiny, clean house when the baby arrives!

Happy 4th of July weekend to all of you!

The "almost-surprise" baby shower!

On Wednesday of last week, I accidentally found out about a baby shower that our friends were having for us on Saturday. The friend who leaked the secret felt very, very, very bad...but it ended up being funny and less stressful for everyone in the end!

Anyway, Josh and I were very blessed to be joined by lady friends from our Lighthouse Bible study, my women's Bible study, and spouses of guys in his office. Josh escaped most of the girly bits, but did get to enjoy helping me open gifts for our baby and that was nice.

We had a delicious lunch followed by games, gift opening and cake. The food and fellowship were wonderful and it was soooo nice to be cared for so well!

I probably need to explain the game pictures...in the first one we had two teams and had to pass a pacifier using a chop stick that we held in our teeth...how's that for Asian flare?!?!

For the second game everyone had to tear off a piece of toilet paper that they thought would match the circumference of my belly and then they all had to measure me to see who was the winner!

We are certainly thankful for everyone's kindness and generosity and thoroughly enjoyed the special afternoon with everyone!

Ajisai

Ajisai is the Japanese word for hydrangea. Hydrangea are a symbol of the Japanese rainy season and are usually in full bloom from mid-June through early July. These flowers have been included in poetry and depicted in artwork since the Nara period of Japanese history, as early as 710. Apparently, hydrangeas were originally cultivated in Japan and then spread through China to Europe in the early 17th century.
I decided to give Josh a vacation from my flower finding exploits, so my friend Ashlee and I (and her baby Kaylee!) took a little mid-day venture to nearby Hakkeijima to enjoy the blooms and a walk by the sea. It was a warm day, but at least it wasn't raining! (NOTE: We decided not to follow the Japanese summer dress code - which seems to include long pants, several layered shirts, a hat, and an umbrella...yeah, sunscreen hasn't really caught on here yet and people are concerned about catching a cold in the air-conditioned trains!)
A quick botanical/chemistry lesson, if you didn't already know this...the color of hydrangea blooms is based on the pH of the soil where they are planted. The flowers are more blue when the soil is more acidic and more pink when the soil is more alkaline. Cool, huh?!? (Hopefully this wins me points with my chemist father-in-law!!)

Oh, yeah...the sign we're standing next to says "ajisai." (I know this thanks to Ashlee, who knows a zillion times more Japanese than I do!!)

TODD School Farewell

Over the past several weeks, I have started to turn over my English conversation classes to other teachers. I've enjoyed having another small window into the culture and building relationships with children has been great, but I've also found the lessons very tiring and stressful - so I'm kind of relieved to be finished with that for a time.

The children were a joy to be around, but I felt so limited as a "teacher" since our communication was so basic. It was a great learning experience for me, nonetheless, and hopefully they gained a bit from me as well.

I will hopefully continue to work with my two students at the Nat'l Defense Academy, even after the baby is born. I really enjoy the one on one lessons much more and the librarian and professor that I work with are interesting and fun!

Kurihama Flower World

We've recently discovered a number of parks and open space areas that are close to our house and it's been really great! (especially with the cool spring days that we've had) Unfortunately, most of the parks include very long hills...but there's something about pretty flowers that can convince me to do almost anything! (they also usually end with great panoramic views of the surrounding bay and/or countryside!)

Even though I can't read Japanese...I am still drawn to the posters that line the train stations and advertise local flower gardens and outdoor events. This was the case last weekend since I kept seeing these posters that showed fields of poppies and I was determined to find them! A few tips from friends helped us figure out where to go and we ended up with a lovely little adventure to Kurihama Flower World.









We were greeted with fields of poppies that were in full bloom. (Apparently this happens each year from mid-May to the beginning of June) The gardens are also in full bloom again in the fall when they have fields full of cosmos...guess we'll be back sometime in September!

Oh, yeah...there was a pretty cool playground at the top too!

On Sunday we enjoyed a bike ride to the end of our peninsula - an area called Kannonzaki. We were able to ride all along the water and find lots more green space too!