Wagon Hunt

A couple weeks ago, after a trip to Costco, DJ decided we needed to get a cart or flatbed of some sort to bring things up and down from our apartment. We live on the 9th floor, so carrying things from the car, up the elevator, and into our apartment can be quite a challenge! Especially when one of us needs to carry Tessa. So needless to say, DJ dreads Costco trips and the 3 trips up and down the elevator lugging those wonderful boxes upstairs :)
So we thought we had the best idea. We would get a wagon! It would kill 2 birds with 1 stone. It could be a flatbed for Costco trips and we could use it to take Tessa to the park or the beach. Great idea, huh? Well we thought it was until we started to look for one... I guess Japanese kids don't like wagons because they are nowhere to be found! Not even at Toys R' Us. We have searched but can't find one anywhere but Costco (the first place we saw one but thought for sure we could find one cheaper... but not so much). The funny thing is that they sure have a ton of toboggans for sale? I guess they are waiting for it to snow!

But the whole reason I wrote this post was to tell you what I came across while I was hunting for a wagon today...
I went into a store called "Gadget House". There were lots of toys, clothes, and gadgets from the states in the store. Talk about expensive! There was clothes from The Children's Place ($60 for a pair of shorts), Circo brand clothes (Target special back home for $5 a shirt but here it was $30), and Sassy toys ($20). Crazy! I swear they will buy anything just because it is from the states and will spend tons of money for it... especially if there is English on it somewhere. But the funniest thing that I found in the store was...

Can you believe these are for sale? I don't think they know we use them for our groceries and not fashion! And the real topper is that they cost like $15 a bag! So if you want to make a quick buck send me yours and I will sell them on the corner for $10 :) HAHA

DJ Gets the Win!

DJ pitched again last night in Tokyo against the Nippon-Ham Fighters. They were the first place team. DJ did awesome again! He pitched 7 innings. He gave up a 2 run home run in the second inning but the rest of the innings were scoreless. He had 5 strikeouts, 1 walk, 5 hits, and 2 runs. The Hawks won 3-2 giving DJ a 2-0 record. He pitches again next Wednesday on the road against the Seibu Lions. Wish him luck!

The following is a website you could go to to read about the game :)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20090423TDY22305.htm

Our Apartment

Sorry in advanced... this post is spread out because our pictures are too big and I can only upload 4-5 pics at a time so I couldn't do this all in one.

Many people have asked what it is like here and where we live so I decided to show you our apartment and parts of the city so you have a little bit more of an idea where we are. Fukuoka is a really nice city. We live right by the beach. It is a nice combo of beach and city lifestyle. Everyone around us are very friendly and helpful. All of the American players on the Hawks live in the same area. We are able to walk to many places (grocery store, restaurants, stadium, beach). We are lucky! And the best part is that there is a Costco 20 mins away so we can get things from home :)


You can see the ocean when you walk out of the front door!

A view from our balcony

The park across the street.

The view from our other balcony.
In the distance you can see a bridge and the water.

Our Apartment Continued...

Here is the inside of our apartment. It is much nicer than where we lived last year. We really enjoy it.


The Tatami Room (or the Japanese room). We put the big table in there which is probably not supposed to be in there.

The Kitchen

The main room (living room) it is in between the kitchen and the Tatami Room.

Tessa's Room

I had to show you all Tessa's bedroom. DJ had it all decorated for Tessa before we got here. He is such a good Daddy! He wanted her to feel at home so he decorated it special for her!


A hopscotch rug he picked out on his own.

See the cool growth chart hanging on the wall!
And of course all of her awesome clips that Auntie Jenny and Mommy have made her :)

Tessa in her crib

He found letters and hung her name on the wall and found really big stickers of Cinderella (which by the way had to ask me who she was when I got here) and decorated her walls. She loves it!

A Walk Around Fukuoka

Here are some pictures of things around the city!

Here is the beach that we go to. It is a 5 min walk from the apartment. There are a few restaurants to go to and a nice boardwalk to take walks on. Tessa and I go for walks everyday on the beach!

This is our apartment building where we live.

This is the Fukuoka Tower. You can go up to the top and view the whole city. It is a really pretty view. It is right around the corner from our apartment.

This is the Yahoo! Japan Dome where DJ plays. It is attached to a nice hotel and a mall. It is called Hawks Town. It is nice and close to our apartment, about a 10-15 min walk. DJ rides his bike to the field everyday!

Watching Daddy in Action!

Tessa got to watch Daddy play baseball for the first time at his game on Wednesday night. This was the first game of his that he pitched that she has been too. She got to watch him in action from the stands and cheer him on... which she actually did do! She was yelling and talking the entire 3rd and 4th inning. All of the people around us thought it was so funny. I think they watched her more than the game :) DJ did well. He pitched 6.1 innings with 5 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks, and 6 strikeouts! The game ended in a 2-2 tie. (Yes they have ties in baseball over here. The game ends at 12 innings even if it is a tie. It is kinda nice...ha ha) Tessa made it through DJ's innings and actually watched most of the time. The rest of the time she spent staring at all of the lights and people (Little Miss Nosy). We went downstairs once he was done because it was so hot in the dome. Poor girl was bright red and sticky, but she hung in there for Daddy. We had a really good time and can't wait to watch him more. Way to go Daddy! We are very proud of you!

Tessa & Harry the Hawk getting ready for the game.
(Look at her shirt!)

Watching Daddy Pitch

Third Times a Charm!!!

I just wanted to let you all know that we finally solved the bath time drama :) Ha Ha
This time DJ and I both went to pick out a bathtub for Tessa. We had her try them out...again, in the middle of the store! But it was worth it because she picked the best one. It is a Hello Kitty bathtub. She actually enjoys bath time again! She plays and laughs the entire time. We still have a mess to clean up when she is done, but it is because she plays so much the water splashes everywhere. The mess is well worth it!

Splashin' Away

Playing in my bathtub

Nana and Papa

Even though Nana and Papa left a week ago I wanted to post the pictures from their visit. (I hadn't started this yet while they were here so I'm sorry for the delay)

Nana and Papa traveled with Tessa and I to help us get to Japan safely and smoothly. They were so much help... it was great! While they were here we went to a few baseball games, ate at a cool yakiniku restaurant (where you grill your own food... I will take pictures of it next time so you can see it), went to a museum, went on lots of walks, and saw the cherry blossom trees. They also helped us get settled in. We were busy!
We also got to celebrate Papa's birthday at the Hard Rock Cafe. They played a birthday song, sang and danced, and talked on the loud speaker to wish him a Happy Birthday! It was really funny. He also got a neat luggage tag with a picture of the two of them with Tessa in it. It was fun and we were glad we got to celebrate with him. (Too bad I didn't have my camera for that.)
Another cool thing is they got to see Tessa master the skill of rolling over and witness how excited she gets to watch the balloons at the ball game. We sure wish they were still here. Maybe they will get to visit us again! Thanks again for all of your help getting us over here and helping us pack and ship everything leading up to this long trip.

We love you and miss you!
xoxo




Nana and Tessa

Papa and Tessa

Nana helping Tessa drink from her sippie for the first time.

The Easter Bunny Came to Japan!

The Easter Bunny found us all the way over in Japan! We were so surprised :) That Easter Bunny must really be on top of it ... or just really knows how to plan ahead. Ha Ha

Even though they don't celebrate Easter over here we had our own Easter celebration! DJ had a day game that we went to. When we got home from the game the Easter Bunny left a sign on the door and hid Easter surprises everywhere! Daddy helped Tessa find Easter eggs, little books, and her Easter basket. She loved it! She would get excited when she saw the colorful eggs and would pick them up and eat them. It was really fun. After she found everything she sat in her chair and played with the eggs and the other goodies for quite awhile. She really enjoyed her first Easter... so did we :) Daddy was also excited because the Easter Bunny left him a few goodies too!
Of course it would have been nice to celebrate Easter with our families. We sure did miss coloring Easter eggs, the big yummy dinner, and of course the company! But we hope all of you had a great Easter. We were thinking about you all! We miss you!

Just so you all know, if the pictures are too small to see click on them and they will get bigger :)


Our little Easter Bunny!

Our Funny Bunny

Looking at her Easter basket

I wonder what's inside?

I'm just gonna eat it!

6 Months Old

Our Baby Girl just celebrated her half birthday on April 9th. We can't believe that it has already been 6 months. We are loving being parents! Tess is getting more fun everyday. We are so lucky!

Tessa is just hanging out

Don't I look cool?

Staring out the window

Going out for a walk

Hero of the Game...

Now that the season has officially started, today was the first game that DJ pitched. He did awesome!!! Unfortunately, they were on the road in a city called Sendai, so we couldn't actually be there to see it but we watched it on TV. DJ threw 7 innings and had 6 or 7 strikeouts, 1 hit, and no runs. He got the win! They won 7-0 which was awesome considering they lost to the same team the night before 6-0. He did so well that he was named the "Hero of the Game" which is like the MVP back home. We are so proud of him! What a great way to start the season :)

Sorry I had to take pictures of the TV! (I know I'm a dork) The pictures are of DJ pitching, Tessa watching Daddy on TV, and DJ's interview for being The Hero of the Game :)

Bath Time

She loves it!
She has room to kick and splash!!!
Crazy Americans!!!
Our shower room

I just had to share with you all our bath time drama...
Ever since we got here we have had a really hard time giving Tessa her bath. The problems we are having is where to give her her bath, what to give it in, and the water temperature. You see the showers here are different then they are at home. The shower is its own little room. It has a removable shower head so you can stand or sit and then a bathtub next to the shower area. The bathtub is really nice but way too deep to do it in. The shower floor is too low and she ends up really mad because she gets too cold, not to mention the person giving her the bath ends up soaked! The other problem is that the bathtub we have is way too small for Tess. She is sitting out of the water and can't play or splash which is her favorite part. She has also figured out how to push her way out of it which has almost ended in a couple accidents! The other part is that the water temperature changes every 5 seconds from freezing to scalding hot. So we are either going to turn her blue or burn her. NOT FUN! So what we have been doing is giving her her bath in her small tub in the sink. Disaster... water goes everywhere and Tess can reach the faucet which changes the water temp :( So today my big adventure was to go to Babies R' Us and get a new tub. This is an adventure on its own. Let's just say the minute we get in the store I had 5 Japanese women stalking me trying to watch Tessa's every move. They finally left us alone when I decided to try and pick out a tub. Now picture the two of us, Americans, in the middle of the store trying out the tubs. I put Tessa in each one to see if she fit. People would walk by and stare at us, but I just played dumb. She tried out all of the tubs and I got the one that I thought would be best. She loved it... until bath time came. She HATED it!!! In the store she sat so well in it (with her clothes on). She was laughing and playing. It was great! Now take her clothes off and add water and the poor girl was doing the backstroke during her bath time. Let's just say I am off to Babies' R Us tomorrow to try to return the tub and buy tub #3. Hopefully the third ones a charm :)

Daddy's Surprise!

DJ surprised both of us the other night when he showed us his new baseball glove. If you look at the glove closely in the pictures you can see Tessa's name! I guess here all of the Japanese players put their kids names in their baseball gloves. This year DJ got to do the same thing. I'm sure Tessa will love it when she gets older. She is so lucky... I never got my name put in his glove :) Ha Ha

Konnichiwa

I had to share these pictures. Before we left for Japan Tessa and I went to go say goodbye to Sonja and John Burns and we took these pictures. I am sure you are looking at these outfits thinking...what in the world did you dress your kids in? Well, last year when I was out here I bought these cool Japanese outfits for the two of them to take pictures in. They were too funny and I could imagine the look on Sonja's face when I gave it to her (which was priceless by the way). So we finally took our Japanese pictures. Just in time to prepare Tessa for life in Japan!!!

Rollin' Over

Going...
Going...
Gone!!!!
Did you guys see that? Check me out!!!

Tess has mastered the skill of rolling over...FINALLY!!!