Boppy

The Boppy pillow gets plenty of use at our house!!!

(For those of you who are not familiar with what a Boppy pillow is, I will explain it for you. A Boppy pillow is mainly used for breastfeeding. It is a U-shaped pillow that goes around your waist that helps support your baby while they are nursing.)

Since I have my Chunko, I use the Boppy while I feed him so my arms don't fall off :)
(Sorry no pictures for ya... ha ha)

Brady uses the Boppy pillow when he is doing tummy time or trying to sit up.




Tessa uses it to dive on and cuddle with. She also occasionally uses it for a bed for her toys!





And then there is the way that DJ uses it!!!




What a typical guy :)

We Made It

and are finally getting organized and into a routine! Our bags are unpacked, the place is getting organized (Thanks to all of DJ and my mom's help), and the kids are just about back into their normal sleeping routines. Not bad considering we have only been here a week :)






Our trip over here went really smooth. There are not any funny or crazy stories to tell except to report that the flight was nice and the kids did AWESOME!!! I wish Tessa would have slept a little more but I guess you can't have everything! We managed to make it through both flights without any temper tantrums, only one minor injury (Tessa fell and hit her head climbing over my foot rest...klutz), and only one wet through diaper! Poor Tessa tried to tell us that she needed to be changed and of course we didn't listen. When I went to change her her pants and seat were soaked :( So she looked a little funny with no pants on sitting on a blanket for the majority of the ride (and yes I packed extra clothes but I didn't want them to get wet from her seat). Brady was a champ... all he did was sleep and eat! If only he does the same on the way home !?!?





I truly have the best husband ever!!! Usually when we land in Tokyo we have a very stressful time (as most of you know or have read about), trying to get off the plane with our carry-ons and go through customs, get all of our many bags and transfer them from the international airport to the domestic airport, and recheck in for our domestic flight and go through security and somehow make it to our gate to catch our last flight. But this year, my awesome husband knew how hard it would be with just my mom and I trying to manage the 2 kids and all of our luggage and still do all of the above, so he arranged for someone to meet us off of the plane to help. But to our surprise when we got off of the airplane that 1 person turned into 6 people who carried all of our things, pushed the stroller, took us through the back way of customs, got all of our luggage, personally escorted us to the domestic airport and check us in, took us through security again, and walked us to the lounge for our layover. We didn't have to lift a thing!!! I swear they would have carried my kids for me if I wanted them too :) So our usual stressful time was so so easy and it took no time at all! It was fabulous!

Our layover was 3 or 4 hours, but even though it was so long the time went by faster because we met up with our friends the Falkenborgs (another family from the Hawks) to help pass the time.

Our last flight went well. My mom and I could not keep our eyes open during this one, but of course Tessa was going strong! I think the flight attendant felt bad for us because she gave Tessa a Magna Doodle to play with. She just sat on the floor and entertained herself for the 2 hour flight. It was wonderful. We arrived in Fukuoka at 10pm, which made for a very long day of travel, but we were all so happy to see DJ. I think Tessa was a little surprised to see him in person. He just stared at him for a minute or so in awe and then waved. (In Japan the baggage claim is locked off and no one is allowed in so we have to wait to get our luggage before we could go and see DJ.)

After 3 months of being apart it was so nice to finally all be together as a family again!!!

Family Time

We are trying to get every last minute we can squeeze in with family before we go... and it has been a blast. We have had fun playing, talking, eating and dancing :) What more could you ask for?










Tessa trying to figure out why crazy Auntie Jenny has pants on her head.




Uncle Ryan putting a diaper on Tessa's head :) She loved it and kept asking for more!





In these pictures it looks like everyone is standing in the room doing weird poses, but it is really the family playing a Wii Dancing game called Just Move. It is so fun! You have to follow the dance moves on the screen. We played it for hours the other night... and if you look closely guess who you see standing right front and center. Ha ha!





Of Course Tessa! She was really getting into it :)

My Little Helper

My crazy monkey has become such a good helper. She does new things everyday that just amaze me. Her latest have been helping me cook. She loves to help me every morning pick out her breakfast and get it all ready. She puts her pancakes on her plate, or takes waffles out of the freezer, and she loves loves loves to pick out what fruit she is going to eat. She is even a good helper at dinner as well. She has mastered her job of snapping off the bad ends of asparagus, putting tomatoes in the salad bowl, and spreading things out on a pan. I think we may have a little chef :)








But along with all these wonderful ways she helps me... comes all of the little things she can now get into. She loves to find my lip gloss and toothpaste and squeeze them. She loves to sneak into the refrigerator and sneak the cherry tomatoes. She loves to find the snacks in the diaper bag and eat them! Today I found her sitting in the kitchen eating a Nutri Grain bar that she took out of the diaper bag (which was in the laundry room) and opened all by herself and began to eat it (15mins before dinner). She was so proud of herself. She has also discovered where Mommy hides her treats, and today I found her taking the wrappers off of every See's Candy sucker and licking each one and then throwing them in the trash... lovely!!! And now that I am so busy packing to leave, I find lots off weird things in all the wrong places. Like salad tongs in my closet. And I wonder why I feel like my house is a constant mess... its like finding Easter Eggs that no one found throughout the year. You never know what is going to pop up!






I guess with the good there always comes the bad :)

Our 1st Good-Bye...

It is so bittersweet! We are so so so excited to get over to Japan to see DJ, but we are not looking forward to the many good-byes we have to say before we get there. Not only do we have to say good-bye to our friends and family but we have to say good-bye to all of the fun things we have been doing lately. We have to say good-bye to our weekly fun My Gym class, playing outside in the grass (which is hard to find in Japan), riding around in our fun push toys, playing with our cousins, and going to Grammy and Grampy's "restaurant" for dinner :) We also have to say good-bye to our brand new home with our comfy beds, high counters, big yards, and space to move around in that we will miss so much. We have to say good-bye to the convenience of having a local Target, a place to pick up normal food to eat when we are running short on time, being able to find what you need at the grocery store, and most of all ENGLISH!!! If we didn't have the excitement of seeing DJ, I would have a seriously hard time getting on that airplane. I don't know how DJ does it every year. He has nothing to look forward to seeing when he has to say his good-byes :( He leaves everything behind and has no one waiting for him when he gets there. Poor Guy!

So today we had to say good-bye to Nana and Papa!!! We are going to miss them so much :( It is weird to think that the next time they see the kids they will be so different. I know Tessa will miss getting spoiled and getting balloons all the time. But hopefully the time will go by fast. Today the kids played outside with Nana and Papa for hours. I think they all had a blast :)










Bye Nana and Papa! We will miss you and love you! We can't wait to see you when we get home.
xoxoxo