4 Months!

Leyla is now 4 months old! She entertains us daily with her smiles, giggles and occasional deep belly laughs. She loves to blow raspberries and she thinks she's funny (and she is!) Her favorite thing to do is to watch anything and everything that Connor does with the greatest of awe. She's also quite taken with her own feet. We can't believe what an easy baby she's continued to be- we didn't know babies could really be like this!!! She's sweet and chill and calm and easy going (not to mention cute!) and we really hope she stays this way ;) She has been such a gift.

Here's a bunch of pictures I took yesterday and today. As you will see I was kinda camera happy this weekend!


We've got another thumb sucker on our hands! (not that that's much of a surprise!) I'm a-okay with thumb sucking because in our experience with Connor: thumb sucking= good sleeping. And I'm a fan of that for sure. I love how she holds her thumb in with her other hand, don't want to risk it falling out!

Showcasing her little chicken legs (recall how she prefers her legs to be on the outside of her clothes basically defeating the purpose of wearing any but that's ok).

I could kiss her one million times a day (and probably do!)

I snuck in for the sleeping picture. Sleep sacks rock!

Playing "hide from the monster" with Connor. Connor says there are monsters in our new home (apparently there were monsters in CT too but those were silly monsters, here there are scary monsters- and they eat babies!) So we have to "protect" Leyla from them...

I see this picture and I think how crazy lucky they are to have each other. From monsters to whatever, I know he will always look out for her!

Andrew assembled her exersaucer thing this weekend. Connor was happy to show her how everything works.

Love those little legs dangling!

Connor's 1st Day of School in Tokyo

Connor has been so excited to get to school. For the last week we've been walking by it, talking about, and peeking in the windows (it's been closed for the holidays). On Tuesday we stopped in to drop off some forms and we got to take a tour of Connor's classroom. Class was in session so we were invited to stay for awhile so that Connor could meet some of his classmates and familiarize himself with the scene. He was a fan! We stayed for about an hour, and only when bribed with a trip to the playground would he leave. Here he was this morning, all ready!

And what will Leyla and I be doing while he's in school today? See below. Our air shipment of 18 boxes arrived yesterday afternoon. Throwing things away here in Tokyo is somewhat of a process so I asked the movers to take everything out of the boxes and set it on the floor. That way they were able to take the empty boxes and all the wrapping papers away with them. But what we're now left with is a scene straight out of "Hoarders." Definitely have my work cut out for me today! We'll get our sea shipment in another couple weeks- that will include our furniture and the rest of our stuff. Everything here now is rental stuff.

Had to include this one taken this morning. Girlfriend is always so freaking happy! Here she is, just after waking up. She hadn't even eaten yet. Although a really happy baby too, Connor would wake up and NEED. TO. BE. FED. NOW. Leyla's never in as much of a hurry!

Sweet baby girl!

Random pics from this past week

In front of our new home! Being in a city again we had to bite the bullet and get a double stroller.

Where Leyla rides.

Snug as a bug!

Out for a walk in Arisugawa park, about 2 mins from our apartment.

So pretty.

The lake in the park. There's a playground in the park too.

Taken on my phone so not terribly clear but you can see Mt. Fuji in the distance. Took the picture from Andrew's co-worker's apt.

We took a field trip to the Babiesrus and mall in Odiaba (about 25 mins outside of Tokyo) over the weekend. There's definitely a lot more English items available at Babiesrus than the last time we lived here. I found everything I needed and even ran into a girl that was in my same childbirth class when I was pregnant with Connor! Leyla caused quite a scene at the store. The Japanese love caucasian babies and I guess they don't see them that often. She literally drew a crowd! People were touching her cheeks, holding her hand, taking pictures, etc. I thought one elderly woman was literally going to have a heart attack. For a little bit I thought we were going to have to leave. I guess that's the closest I'll ever get to being a celebrity!

Outside the mall in Odiaba. The Statue of Liberty here made me laugh (the Japanese really love to copy all things American!) This is how the Japanese pose in pictures.

Lately Leyla's been protesting the wearing of pants. She kicks out of any pair you put on her (even her one-piece pj's). She'll fuss until she gets herself free and then she giggles and stretches out her legs. Here she is pulling down on the toy on her bouncy seat with her toes (it plays music when you pull down on it) Crazy little lady...

She prefers the freedom of dresses, ha.

Her smile seriously kills me!

Milestones!

Yesterday Leyla rolled over for the first time! Way to go baby girl!

And... Connor's officially in a big boy bed! I have been in zero hurry to move him into a big boy bed since he was still doing so well in his crib. My thoughts on the matter- keep the crib going as long as you possibly can ;) When we arrived in Tokyo we arranged to have both a twin bed and a crib set up in his room. The first night he wanted to sleep in the crib and from then on he's wanted to be in the bog boy bed every night. Thankfully the transition has pretty much been a non-event. He goes down for naps and bedtime just fine, and I really enjoy reading with him at night in the bed because it allows for more snuggling ;) He's had to be returned to his bed twice for getting up too early in the morning (around 5am- not cool) but both times he's gone back to sleep in his own room. Fingers crossed that continues!

Our New Address

For those that have asked...
Opus Arisugawa Terrace #107
5-4-1 Minamiazabu, Minato-ku
Tokyo 106-0047
JAPAN

The face of jet lag Day 2. I left Connor alone in the living room while I went to get Leyla in her pajamas and came out to find him passed out on the floor like this. Jet lag is rough!

We're Here!

We've arrived in Tokyo safe and sound. The kids were unbelievably good on the plane. Andrew and I said we give them a 9.8 out of 10 for their performance, not bad! Connor saw the whole thing as a great big adventure so he was just so excited about everything. And Leyla was her normal chill self. Both kids slept for a decent portion of the flight. And were well behaved when awake. Yesterday (should) have been the worst of the jet lag for us and we successfully pushed through it. It felt counterintuitive to be begging Connor to stay up "just a little bit longer" when he was absolutely pleading with us to let him go to bed. He was a trooper.

Andrew did a phenomenal job planning our move here, everything went so smoothly. From having people waiting for us at the airport just to help us get our bags to our car (we brought so much stuff with us on the plane) to having temporary furniture and appliances waiting for us at our apartment, he really thought of everything. Our apt. is great, the location is spot on and I think we're going to be really happy here! I was most sad just to leave our house in CT, but now that we're here I think this is going to be another great experience for us. It still feels a bit like home here, its certainly surreal to be back!

Since we've lived here before we were able to really hit the ground running on Day 1. Yesterday we had a totally normal day- Starbucks for coffee (and I haven't had coffee that great since the last time I had coffee in Japan!), playground, grocery store, out for lunch, home for naps, etc. I swear I walked more in one day yesterday than I have since Leyla was born. Hopefully this will be just what I need to get the rest of this baby weight off!! I should be able to finish the last of the unpacking (of the stuff we brought with us on the plane) today. We'll hopefully receive our stuff we had the movers send by air soon (we got to send 500 lbs of stuff by air, the rest will come in another month or so by sea).

I documented our travels via my iphone, here's the pics!

Bye bye house. We were too rushed getting ourselves out of the house and loaded into the car to be sad. The saddest day for sure was the day the movers came.

Bye bye Frosty in our front yard! It's weird to think that when we're back the snow will have melted, spring will have come and gone and summer will be in full effect!

Hello party bus that came to pick us up. It kinda felt like something you'd rent for a bachelorette party or something. We packed this thing full.

Checking in at the airport. To the people in front of us this lady was probably saying- "Now raise your right hand and solemnly swear not to kill the Americans behind you that are about to bring a toddler and a baby aboard your 14 flight..."

I think this is the right flight.

Wait you mean this flight is 14 freaking hours??

Good thing its open bar ;)

Connor spent a good part of the flight playing games and watching movies on my ipad.

And Leyla spent a good potion asleep like this in the bassinet that folded down in front of our seats. I think it was really nice and cozy in there for her!

Thank goodness for big seats for when both kids wanted to sit with me.

What? You should have seen me when I went to sleep, I put a mask over my eyes as well. Andrew said he felt like he was sitting next to a ninja.



This is how much stuff we brought with us on the plane. Plus two strollers, two carry on bags, my pump bag and Andrew's briefcase. Now that's a lot of stuff! Here are the Japanese men helping us debating (for quite a while) how best to take the stuff to our car.

Well hello super high tech toilets, oh how I've missed your warm embrace!

Day 1: Checking out Connor's new neighborhood playground!

I love how when something is broken in Tokyo (like this see-saw) they really go out of their way to make sure you are well aware!

Leyla liked the playground too.

Later that afternoon, the face of jet lag. She just could not take being awake for even a minute longer!

So that's it. Konnichiwa Tokyo! It feels strangely nice to be back. And how appropriate that I never changed the domain name of my blog, perhaps it was meant to be all along...

And Just Like That...

Here we go again! Being our eighth move in as many years we're no strangers to this process. But for whatever reason this one has been particularly hard for us. Just three days after Christmas (two days after the blizzard) the movers came. I admit, tears were shed (by me). And poor Connor had to watch the movers take away all the new toys he got for his birthday and Christmas. He said "Mommy why are the men taking away all my new toys?!" I told him it was so they would be there waiting for us when we get to Tokyo. He said "oh ok, that's a great idea!" Love his spirit ;)

I know I haven't written much about the details of the move (honestly I've really been in a bit of denial right up to the end, ha). So I've created a brief FAQ's ;)

Why are you moving back to Tokyo??
Andrew's been offered a super exciting job opportunity (YAY)... but it's based out of Tokyo (NAY). Andrew's basically been in this new role for several months now and it's been tough. He gets home from work around 7:30pm and is on the phone around 8pm with the Tokyo team (its their morning time), sometimes until midnight or later. The 3 hours of commuting each day doesn't help. Then there's the frequent trips back and forth to Tokyo. All of this will go away once we move to Tokyo and he'll be able to be around a ton more. So that's definitely the upside!
We debated this for a really long time but in the end, decided this was the best decision for the family (and a new adventure!) So what the heck, we're going to go for it again.

When do you move?
The movers came this past Tuesday and now we fly out tomorrow morning.

How long will you be there for?
We're thinking 2-3 years, just like before. But who knows!

What about your house?
We're keeping the house. A property management company will watch over it while we're gone. The kids and I plan to spend the majority of the summers here at home (Tokyo summers are super hot and humid and a lot of expats get the heck out of Dodge during that time if they can). Andrew will hopefully be able to work out of the NY office then as well as do some back and forth. We'll also be home for Christmas every year!

But I thought the whole point of buying a house was so you could settle down and not move so much anymore?
So did I. Sigh.

Where in Tokyo will you live?
The neighborhood is called Hiroo. Our first time living in Tokyo we had the right apartment in the wrong neighborhood. Comparing it to NYC, it was like living in the Financial District. There weren't many restaurants, parks or playgrounds nearby. I always said that if I had the chance to do it over (never thinking there would actually be that chance of course) I would live in Hiroo. Hiroo is like the Upper East Side of NYC, its the most family friendly. There's a big park with a small lake, several playgrounds, and lots of restaurants. It's where the best international grocery store is located (which I'd have to take a cab to before), and the pre-school where Connor will attend. All are a short walk from our new apartment. Andrew picked out the apartment during his last trip there.

Do any of your old Tokyo friends still live there?
Sadly, all of my closest friends have returned to their homes in the US. This will probably be one of the sadder things initially for me when we move back. The good news- one of Andrew's co-workers and his wife (who we really like) relocated there (from CT) a year ago. They have a son Connor's age and just had a daughter in December. I'm looking forward to already having a friend there when we arrive!

What about Connor's school?
Taking him out of the school that he (and I) both love so much was really sad. I don't think Connor really gets that he's not going back there anymore. When we talk about Tokyo he says he's excited to go to a new school and to make new friends but he always asks if EJ, Sam and Cole (friends at his current school) will be there too. Connor will go to an international pre-school. He'll probably pick up some Japanese!

How are you going to handle that 14 hour flight with two little kids?!
Nervous about that. Luckily we had a great trial run flight down to Florida a couple weeks ago. While I'm not thinking its going to be easy by any means, I do think we're in the sweet spot with their ages. Leyla is too little to cause too many problems and Connor gets that he needs to stay in his seat. We'll come armed with plenty of things to keep him entertained. I think the hardest was flying with him when he was 1-2 because all he wanted to do was climb out of his seat and walk around.

Why do you think it will be better the second time around?
Since we've lived there before I feel like we're so much more "in the know" this time around. I feel like we can really hit the ground running. I already know that Andrew's hours are going to be much, much better than last time. Having him at home to help in the mornings (he'll be able to walk Connor to school on school days!) and around for dinner and at night is going to be so wonderful! Like I said we're also living in the right neighborhood this time and everything is going to be really convenient. It took me a long time to meet friends the first time (really until I became pregnant with Connor and joined a Tokyo pregnancy group and then had a baby group). This time I'll have the whole pre-school network (which is how I made most of my new friends here in New Canaan too). I'll also join the Women's Group through the Tokyo American Club again. It's also really helpful that we have a home base in the US now. That was really tough before- living out of a suitcase weeks at a time and traveling from NY to MD to CLE to MI and everywhere in between visiting all our family and friends. Now (hopefully) people can come to us! Or at the very least we can rest at home in between visits. Lastly, the Tokyo American Club, which closed for renovations the last year we were there will be reopening this month. It looks really, really awesome. I never thought I'd see the completed renovations but now we'll actually be there when it opens!

Wow. I don't know many wives that would sign up for this not once but twice. Does Andrew understand and thoroughly appreciate your sheer awesomeness?
Ok. This is Andrew typing now. I think it's best I answer this question. In short yes, I do appreciate her awesomeness. I am in sheer awe about the sacrifice she is making, and I wonder if I will ever be able to make this up to her. I can only hope that in the end, we will look back at this and say that it was one of the best decisions we ever made.

Can we come visit?
Yes!! We love visitors, and visitors LOVE Japan. Other than our Moms (who only came when bribed with a grandchild) in the three years we were there the Emalas (and Ashley twice), the Schirners, Jackie, Dana and Larisa were our only visitors. Almost all of them have traveled pretty extensively and agree that their visit to Tokyo was one of their very favorite trips! I do think I'm a pretty awesome tour guide, ha. Rob and Kate and Co, Trish and Seph and the Schirners have already said they'll come visit this time around and we plan to hold them to it ;) Ash, the third times a charm!

Contact Info?
Not sure of our address yet. Our home phone number will stay the same through the magic of Vonage (203-801-0463). Our cell phones will NOT be the same, we'll get some crazy new Japanese numbers. So best way to reach us is on the home phone or via email (I'll get my email on my cell phone too). We're having our mail forwarded to us so if you send us something by snail mail it should reach us eventually too!

Sayonara United States of Awesomeness, we'll see you in June!