It's ALL about the Journey

Airi talks

2011-06-29T21:40:00.008+09:00

One day Airi told me that Pooh is saying that he wants a glass of milk. I gave it to her for him. Then I heard that she was saying "Oishi (this is good)." I wondered if it was for him or her.

I wash sheets and hang out our Futons outside because they are wet every morning. I can't tell if it's her sweat or pee. Fortunately it's been nice weather for a while, so we can sleep on cleaned Futons everyday.

Anyway, that's why I try not to give many bottles of water to Airi at night. The other night, I ignored that she said that she needs water. Then she woke up and said, "Wait a moment. Please wait. I will get it for you." It really sounded like me. She was going to the kitchen. But it was dark there, so she gave up and came back to sleep. She learns my words very well.

While I was cooking in the kitchen, Airi came and pulled my pants off. Then she put her face to my butt. I was surprised! Why can she smile there? How can she learn it? I guess that children can learn something from the other parent,too.

Airi and I had dinner. Then she said, "Time to clean." She brought a broom and cleaned under her table and chair. She said, "Let me clean under yours, too." She follows me with this part:D

The next day, I let her dry her butt after I cleaned. She was not wearing diaper. I heard "Huh!" quietly. I found a small puddle and brown thing on the floor.

I like her talk though she is quiet to strangers. It seems she doesn't realize that she speaks two languages. Both are just one language for her.

Airi cuts bananas for snack by herself. Then I was counting cherries for her. She counted with me from one to six in English.

She knows many English words, but conversations in Japanese.

She likes to do many things by herself such as putting on a shirt, a pair of pants, and so on. She enjoys practicing them everyday.

Airi also likes to do same things with her parents. She brings each of us our hats for a walk. She wears sandals just like us. When she takes off her pants, she helps her father to do it,too. I call them "a naked tribe."

Finally she calls me "oka-san." Before she didn't have any words for mother. Now I hear "oka-san" from far away to look for me. I like it very much:)

I sometimes give raisin bread to Airi. She is a miner like me. She gives me back a raisin bread without raisins.

The other day, she found an ant was carrying one raisin which she dropped off. She cheered him up with saying "Oy vey, oy vey."

Now Avram is in Australia. I enjoy my Japanese breakfast. Airi usually has Avram's breakfast, homemade granola. But she knew that J-breakfast is also good. Even fermented soybeans and sour plums. She finished mine all. I had just white rice.

After the breakfast, I had to give her a shower because of the slimy body from the soybeans. It looked like she was in a cobweb.

She made some friends at school. She likes to go there. I like that she learns many words there,too.

Every teacher says Airi talks well and enjoys music and dances.

It's very interesting to watch her growing up everyday. I will let you know more later.

19 months

2011-06-03T09:55:00.006+09:00

Airi enjoys her school three times a week. She doesn't cry when I drop her off anymore. She smiles and says "see you" to me.

She plays with her pooh bear and Avram at home for a long time now. It gives me some time for house work and rest.

She is curious for many things. Especially words. The school helps to improve her speaking.

She has more motivation to talk and learns a lot of words in her life. Her teachers are surprised that Airi knows and says many words in English and Japanese.

We don't teach anything at home. We see many things with her or watch what she's interested in now. We enjoy talking with her and taking her out to show the world. When we say words, she follows them and learns very quickly. It's fun to see that she enjoys words and the world.

Airi wakes up at 6:30 with some farts (sometimes). She says hello to family pics and her pooh.

She eats her homemade granola with yogurt and lots of fruits. She is getting better with using a spoon these days. Then I chase with her to make her brush her teeth and to change her diaper. She enjoys running away from me. Every time she goes out, she chooses her shoes to wear. I leave her at the school around 9:00. She puts things away where they are supposed to be and washes and dries her hands by herself. She says "see you" to me and joins her friends.

She likes working such as cleaning or getting something that someone mentions better than playing with toys. It seems like that she enjoys the conversations. She enjoys understanding what people say. She likes to talk to people and makes more friends now.

She doesn't like that her hands get dirty. She cries when they play with glue or paint colors even though she can eat sticky things by hand. It doesn't make sense to me, but seems like that she thinks it's painful when her hands get those colors. She gets shocked from them.

She likes slides, seesaws, and rocking animals, but doesn't like swings in parks. She likes finding ants, riding Avram's bike, and wearing a rain coat and boots in a rainy day.

When we come home, she sometimes cuts bananas and has it for her snack. She helps me to wash dishes and get stuff from the fridge for cooking.

While I am cooking, she takes care of her pooh bear like her little brother, sister, or friend. She talks to him and shares things with him. I like it. We try to let her meet many people, especially children her age. She is happy with them.

After meals, she calls Appa Avram because she knows who lets her wash her hands, plays with her, gives a bath to her, reads books for her. The pooh joins them, too.

I am very happy that she enjoys being with other people. Now I don't have to carry her all the time everyday.

Airi and her Appa went to bed at 8:30. Time to rest for me. Party time!

Sento = Japanese Bathhouse

2011-05-21T18:47:00.002+09:00

Last week was a little chilly and rainy. I came home from work and after an early dinner, I suggested we take Airi for her first trip to a local public bathhouse. We went to hot spring resorts last year, but have never had a chance to check out our local offerings.

We went down the hill and visited a little place on the side of the road. In typical local bathhouse style, the women went in one door and I went in the other. Once inside, we were separated by about 3 feet. Between us was the woman who worked there and who keeps an eye on everything. I paid for us and then found a locker. The woman working there has a great view of both sides of the sento and the wall separating the men and women was only about 7 feet tall. The roof of the place was high and allowed for lots of echos.

I found a locker and put my clothes in there, all the while answering "yes" as Airi shouted "Appa" from the other side. I went into the bath and washing area on the men's side and Airi and Rie went into the women's side. Airi kept calling me and I kept answering her, but it was hard to make out words because of all the tile that made the sounds bounce around.

I washed up and had a good soak, but the water was hot and I could hear Airi being cautious from the other side. After a nice soak, Rie and I shouted back and forth and agreed to head out.

I dried off and changed back into my clothes before meeting Rie and Airi outside for the short drive home in the rain.

We had a good time and I am looking forward to checking out the two other local Sentos in the area.

Grandpa Al

2011-02-25T09:30:00.002+09:00

When I met Grandpa Al for the first time about five years ago, I was surprised that he was tall and big because many Japanese Grand parents are shorter or smaller than their children and Grand children. I was almost saying "Wow!" to him.
I heard that Grandpa corrected people's English, so I tried not to say "yeah" and tried to say "yes." He sometimes asked us to make sure what we meant "correct?" I like it. I would use it to Avram and Airi.
Avram and I skypped with Grandpa and Grandma Lillian on weekends, especially after his favorite teams' football games. We could imagine how he was like in front of the TV.
Grandpa sometimes read our blogs. His favorite one is this one. It's about that I farted in front of Avram and a bird got crushed by the gas. Avram liked that Grandpa picked the story.

Airi met Grandpa on January 24th, Monday. First she was nervous with him. But Grandpa talked to her and came down from a chair to Airi and sat on the floor with her. He showed sharing food with other people to Airi. Airi didn't get it at first, but after a while she gave her favorite fruits to Grandpa. I can imagine that he was a good teacher.

Avram, Airi, and I visited Lake Worth. We all wanted to spend time with Grandpa and Grandma as much as we can in this trip. It was for Avram and me, but more for Airi.
Airi was getting used to Fox family. She talked to Grandpa. Grandpa sometimes missed her communications to him, but Grandma said, "Al, Airi is talking to you" to Grandpa. Then Airi got his smiles.

At our last visit to Lake Worth for this winter, Airi was very comfortable with Grandpa and Grandma. She went to sleeping Grandpa and talked to him even though he didn't answer.
Airi liked Grandpa's toes. She touched his toes when she walked by him and tried to put his slippers on his feet, but always failed it. Then she made me do it.

On February 16th, Tuesday, Airi and Grandpa were talking and smiling to each other even though they didn't understand each other. They were sitting on rocking chairs next to each other and enjoying the time.

Next morning, Grandpa Al was very sick. Airi knew that Grandpa is not right. She was standing and watching him. I kept calling him "Grandpa, Grandpa!" Airi learned the word then. She also called him "Grandpa" a few times very clearly. It was her first time to say the word. Airi looked scared to see what's going on. She couldn't walk to him on the day.
Even if Airi is a 15 month old baby, she has sense with people's feeling. After a few days, she looked for Grandpa at their house when we visited Lake Worth. She went to Grandpa and Grandma's room, but couldn't find him.

We got nice pictures and videos from this winter. They were very good memories for us.
In Japan, we have pictures of our families on the wall. Airi has looked at them and waved her hand to them every morning since she is one year old.
The pictures and videos will remind us of Grandpa very well. Then Airi will never forget that she had a great time with him.

We Japanese say the person who passed away is alive in our minds. I am sure that he is in Airi's.
I will remember him everyday when Airi eats a lot of food. She follows him with that part very well.

Airi says ... ,

2011-02-04T17:07:00.003+09:00

Airi says some English and Japanese words.

English : open, milk, pooh, apple,banana, shoe, and bird.

She learned some things for the U.S. such as blowing a kiss, high five, and sometimes hugging.

Japanese : まんま、じいじ、きれい、もう１回、行こう、靴下（くっ）

Bowing for before and after eating, bowing for greetings, bowing for please and thank you, opening her palms to ask open, showing her pointer finger to say one more time, cuddling to show she likes it, and so on.

Baby in a bathroom

2011-02-01T20:47:00.005+09:00

Avram and I were talking while we were making Airi sleep for her nap. Then we heard water from somewhere. When we went to the bathroom, Airi was playing with water in the toilet.

She looked happy. We knew that it would happen sometime because her face was saying so, but so sooooooon.

When I go out with Airi without Avram or my friends, I sometimes take her to a bathroom with me. So she knows what people do there.

These days, she knows that I need toilet paper when I sit on the toilet. She is ready to give it to me when we go into the bathroom.

I always laugh because she sometimes sigh after I used the toilet. Sounds like she has done a hard work and is satisfied with it even though I worked then or she expresses my feelings after the work.

Anyway, she is used to washing her hands with soap because of that work, so she takes the soap first when I take her to a sink for washing her hands. She is good at it and likes it. I just hope that she is light to pick up so often.

Here at her great-grand parents' house, she goes to her great grandma, grandpa, uncle, and Avram to be held, so I sometimes rest. I like it and prefer she is used to other people and knows them.

Great Grand Parents

2011-01-31T12:26:00.008+09:00

Airi is visiting her great grand parents.

She loves eating like her great grand father, Al. Great grandpa Al showed sharing food to Airi the other day though she is not good at it especially with her favorite food such as bananas.

This morning, Al was eating breakfast with bananas. Airi saw it and blew a kiss to him for the banana. Sweet great grandpa Al gave some of it to her. She danced for it.

Airi enjoys spending time with great grand mother, Lilian. Great grandma Lilian showed her a music box and matroishka doll. Airi enjoys dancing with the tune of the music box and opening the matroishka many times. They go for a walk together, too.
Airi is happy with them here everyday.

We're having a very precious time with them. Airi will feel their loves evertime she remembers them.

Airi at school

2011-01-15T23:12:00.003+09:00

Airi went to a preschool in my home island Amamioshima.

Parents get notes about their children at school everyday. We hear how Airi was, such as how much and what she ate, how many times she pooped and how they were.

Airi's first day, Dec. 25th,

We left her there when she was playing with other kids. She cried a little bit when she realized that her parents are not there, but she was happy when she saw her food for their snack time.

In the note : Airi was happy until older boys started to run around her. Then she was surprised and cried. After that she was happy to listen to Christmas songs and played well. We went to see that people were making rice cake. She looked curious to see it.

The second day, Dec. 27th,

Airi loves to eat. She knows which room is for eating or playing. When she wants to be happy, she took her teacher to the eating room even if it was not a snack or lunch time.

In the note : After she ate snack, she started to play in the next room. But she missed the eating room, so she cried when I took her to the play room.

She loved a toy which we made with a plastic bottle. She was having fun, but she cried when boys ran around her.

The third day, Dec. 28th,

Airi usually likes people, so she goes to them by herself. But at the school, she needs to get used to especially older wild boys. It was a good opportunity for her. Other kids are sweet to Airi. They are also friendly to Avram and me, too.

In the note :

We were happy that it was a nice day for the last school day in this year. We played outside. Airi was interested in herself in a mirror or glass doors. She waved her hands to herself in the doors and took a walk by herself in the play ground. When she saw babies same as her age from other class, she bowed to them well.

The fourth day, Jan. 7th,

Airi caught a cold, but she was ready for going outside. I took her to the school late. They already finished the snack time. I knew it was not going to be good for Airi. She had not been at school for a while, so she didn't want to leave me in the morning.

In the note : She cried a lot today. Some babies were sick today, so they stayed and played with toys in the room even though older went to play outside. Airi had running nose and often coughed. We kept the room warm.

When I went to pick her up, the teacher told me that Airi brought her bag and jacket to the door and got ready for going home by herself after lunch time. She is smart. She knows what to do next and does it by herself.

The last day, Jan. 8th,

Avram and I wanted to send Airi to the school more, but couldn't because we had to go back to Yokohama. My mother came to take and pick her to the school on the day. She enjoyed watching Airi with other kids.

In the note : She cired a little bit when she realized that her mother is not there, but she stopped crying when she saw her snack. She clapped her hands when she saw it and ate. After she ate enough, she did "Gochisosama (Thank you for the food) by herself." She is always ready for going home after lunch. Today she brought her favorite soft Lego and put it into her bag and was waiting for her mother. She enjoyed especially music with fast rhythm.

Spending time with other people was very good for Airi. Now she talks more and says some words. We can tell she understands meaning of words and what is going on.

Everyday Airi makes Avram and me happy.

Airi speaks.

2010-11-29T10:42:00.004+09:00

Airi loves Avram. She calls him Appa which means Daddy in Korean and Avram answers her.

"Appa." "Airi." "Appa." "Airi." "Appa." ... . They're like a boyfriend and girlfriend. Unfortunately Airi also calls me Appa, but Avram answers for me. We hope that she'll learn the difference eventually.

Airi speak some words these days such as banana, mannma (means food), attsui (hot), oishii (tastes good), and pooh (of course, which is Winnie the Pooh).

She points to what she wants now. For example she likes to turn on/off switches, so she points to them. She also likes tissues to clean her table, so she points to them too.

When I say "hamigaki (brush your teeth), then she shows the gesture and she does it with her toothbrush and wipes.

I ask her if she pooped. Then she pats her tummy. It means time to change her diaper.

The best things she does are giving a hug and blowing a kiss. It's very sweet. It attracts people more and melts them.

She learns many things everyday. It's very interesting to see and talk with her.

She loves outside and people, so I will take her out when she wakes up from her nap.

Vegetarian Restaurants in Waikiki, Hawaii

2010-11-17T22:05:00.003+09:00

We usually enjoy ethnic or vegetarian food when we travel.

We found a good one in Hawaii, too.

RUFFAGE NATURAL FOODS

2443 Kuhio Ave.

Honolulu, HI 96815

Tel : 808-922-2042

Veggie Star Natural Foods

417 Nafua St.

Honolulu, HI 96815

Tel : 808-922-9568

They serve healthy sandwiches, smoothies, and selections of vegetarian & vegan foods.

You would like them :)

Amazing!

2010-11-07T11:11:00.005+09:00

Airi turned one on November 2nd. Last three months, she grew up very much.

In 1o month, she started to walk.

In 11 month, she climbed stairs and pushed her stroller by herself.

When she turned one year old last week, she started doing more things.

First, she brought her changing diaper sheet when she made a gift.

Second, she knows the differences between songs that I sing, so she changes her dances for each songs.

Third, she plays music by her toy and dances on purpose. Music first and then dance.

Fourth, Airi likes that I point a doll's eyes, nose, and mouth. Airi smiles and touches hers.

Fifth, I showed how to hug. Now she does for Avram, me, and the doll.

Sixth, she blows people kisses. It attracts more people better than only smiling.

Seventh, she likes to talk. Sounds like she talks not only words but also sentences with grammar. I can see she understands what I say and does what I said.

Eighth, Airi brushes her teeth with her fingers when I say "let's brush your teeth." She shows me how to do it before I do it for her.

Ninth, Airi eats regular food with us now. Not baby food for people without teeth.

Tenth, she sometimes gets some words from videos or conversations and follows the words.

She's amazing. She grows well everyday:D

A floating gift

2010-10-28T05:47:00.008+09:00

Airi doesn't like to sleep because she doesn't want to miss anything. She gets fussy only when she goes to bed.

She always has nice smiles for everyone. Even if it was a mannequin with out her head or no one in the room, she waves her hands with the smile. The smile attracts many people. They come to talk and touch her. I often think that I should bring a can to collect money.

Avram says, "We can tell people that they can pay us if they want to baby-sit for Airi." I can think about it now.

She follows words and actions when we teach them well, but I have never shown how to work in the bathroom. I wonder when she learns Japanese toilet style. (Look at Avram's profile picture of facebook.) She does it very well and it works very well.

Today I gave her a bath because she sweats a lot. She smells of people after gym. Also her sheets. Anyway she enjoyed the bath time and felt comfortable in the bath tub. I guess it was too good for her. I saw a floating gift in the water. I couldn't say anything from the shock, but I was happy because Airi was happy. I explained how it was like to Avram even though he said I don't have to do it. I want to share everything with him as parents:)

Airi and I are going out for a walk. She's done it, so I don't worry. Now she's ready for making people happy:)

Airi in Hawaii

2010-10-26T12:52:00.003+09:00

We're in Hawaii. It's her first state in the U.S.

She attracts people with her smiles and attitude everywhere. Many people stop walking and say she's cute. Some people say "she's the queen," or "be careful of kidnapping."

Avram and I enjoy raising her. We care what she eats a little bit. I try not to give her too much sugar and salt, but she drinks sea water so much. She loves playing in water, especially in the ocean.

I play with her all day. I think that I take care of her very well, but she farts to my face while sleeping. She's someone's daughter. Sigh.

Airi is Airi everywhere.

24/7

2010-09-27T20:53:00.001+09:00

Airi is almost 11 months old.

She follows me everywhere. Just like her father. I can't go even to the bathroom.

She walks now. I'm busy for following her all day everyday.

Fortunately and unfortunately she is curious about everything, so she never relaxes for eating and sleeping. She doesn't want to miss anything. She keeps moving to figure out everything.

Milk just makes her hyper. She never stops moving for exploring when she gets it. It reminds me of Avram in mountains or the world.

She has some talents now. I can't wait for showing them to people.

Miss Airi

2010-07-21T14:08:00.006+09:00

Airi goes to a swimming class. There are only two people and a teacher there. Yes, only Airi and me:( It's a private lesson for two weeks.

Airi likes water, so I didn't worry about the class at all.

Life guards call Airi "Miss Airi."

At the beginning of the class, Miss Inna introduced three life guards and herself to Miss Airi and me. Then they showed some dances for fun and told us ten rules at the pool such as "Walk like turtles by the pool." They were smiling and nice to Miss Airi, but she was sometimes looking up at strings on a parasol.

They do this every class. I feel sorry for them, so I make Miss Airi dance with them. She pays more attention to them now. Sigh.

Airi is funny. When Inna says "kick your legs," then she just floats like a dead frog. When Inna says "float," then she kicks her legs. So Inna got Airi's signs.

Airi is getting used to Inna. Now she touches Inna's face and sometimes swims with Inna without me, though I am only one meter away.

Airi used to wipe her face when her face got wet, but now she doesn't do it so much. She can think what is next.

Now I can dip her into water. She doesn't scream and cry at all.

After swimming, Airi is full of water. I guess that's why she doesn't take milk much these days.

She eats food more than milk now.

Airi crawls, walks, and swims, so she's lighter and skinnier even though other people don't realize it.

The swim lesson makes her tired and take a nap well, so I got some time to write this.

I guess she's dreaming that she's swimming because she's kicking her legs with smiles.

What Airi likes is... .

2010-07-17T08:21:00.005+09:00

Airi's favorite things are ... ,

1 People She likes to talk to people.

2 Play room She likes to play with other babies.

3 Swimming Even if she drinks some pool water, she still smiles and enjoys staying in the water.

4 Being outside She likes to look at everything.

5 Couches and walls She likes to hold them to walk.

6 Books She listens to us when we read books well and she knows some stories.

7. Songs She thinks that people are talking to her when we read or sing for her.

8 Staying in a carrier She likes to feel us in the carrier.

9 Toys She doesn't play with toys much. She eats every tag on toys.

10 Strollers She stays there for a while, but not a long time.

I am happy that she enjoys contacting with people. She is very happy then.

She is like Avram. She can't stop exploring the world. She always moves like a monkey.

Avram speaks and reads in English. I speak and read in Japanese. Airi says "appa (it means father in Korean where she was born,)" and "up" in English. No Japanese yet:(

She likes real things and real world, so always likes being outside to see or likes to touch real things. We like it!

Someday we will show many animals and insects to her. I hope Avram will show how to touch them, but not me. Especially reptiles.

Airi went to a play room.

2010-07-16T09:45:00.006+09:00

Airi is usually happy with everyone. She smiles to people and makes them happy. She gives her pretty smile even to an orangutan doll at the library and talks to him. The orangutan and she both looked happy.

Airi is happy everywhere if Avram or I are in a same room. Then she is comfortable to play by herself or with other people. But she doesn't like when other people hold her except us. I sometimes take her to my midwife office. While talking to the midwife, a woman holds Airi. Airi is a happy baby, but she suddenly cries loud when the woman holds her. She cries and cries to call me and finally other babies there cry. It sounds like frog harmonies, but it's louder than that. Airi is usually calm and happy, so this is the hardest Airi you can see.

Anyway, Avram and I think we should let her play with other babies more, so I took her to a play room the other day.

There are two women staff there. Every parent can take their children and let them play. You can meet other babies and their parents. It costs $2.50 for a day. You can come and go anytime all day.

Airi looked curious when we got there except while I was writing the registration paper. When one of the staff held her, she started to cry and everyone in the room looked at us. After that I got her and left her in the room. Airi was happy:D

Airi likes other babies. She is interested in them. She always tries to touch them and other babies get nervous and cry. Airi doesn't care it at all, still likes to touch. She was happy there.

When she played by herself, she liked to stand by herself. She used a small jungle gym and stood up by herself and looked around. She loved it.

When she plays with a toy, she usually throws the toy and crawls to get it. She does it again and again. At the play room, she did it.

I didn't feed her there because it should be hard for me. Airi likes to eat food. She is a good eater, but milk... , she likes to sit, stand, and crawl while eating. She uses the whole room to eat milk. Avram and I were talking we should hide everything and put her in an empty room. Otherwise she wouldn't finish milk forever.

The parents in the play room were surprised at Airi because she gave beautiful smiles to them and enjoyed standing and sitting a lot.

Everyday we see Airi grows well. It's very nice for her parents.

She is a big girl, so she will go to get a shot today.

We're a good team.

2010-07-13T11:51:00.004+09:00

Airi works for Avram and me well this morning.

Airi pooped while I was cooking. Avram was happy to work for it. He looked very proud of himself. I was proud that he changed himself so fast:D

If you have a right partner, you can be happy forever. Even though the man and his daughter pass gas when they wake up or turn over. They're like harmony.

Time to cook good food for my daughter.

Team Work?

2010-07-12T14:53:00.006+09:00

Avram and I have worked fine until yesterday.

I was pretty sure that Avram always puts Airi's legs up while I am changing her poop diaper. I asked if it's on purpose to him. He said it's a team work. Then why doesn't he take my part which you can see and smell it?

I told Avram that I heard some parents who changed their babies' poop diapers and others who didn't do it have different relationship when their children turns teenagers. He said he's in the middle. OK... .

I see that Airi is more comfortable with me it's because I am her mother and also I watch and understand her better than other people. Avram tries to spend more time with her now, so I see Airi is comfortable with him and trusts him.

We took Airi to swim last Saturday. Avram always waits and see what Airi wants to do and lets her do it. He respects what she does. I usually show what she can do and make her try. Avram and I are different type of teachers, but I like it. Both ways are important for Airi. We just want Airi to enjoy herself and have confidence whatever she does.

Anyway, I hope that Avram and I can trust and support each other AGAIN when we change her poop diapers. I hope that Airi work for him tonight and we'll work well as a team again.

"She is gorgeous!"

2010-07-09T17:09:00.008+09:00

Airi is eight months old. She is a sweet and happy baby.

Everywhere we went in Australia, everyone who saw Airi said "She's gorgeous!"

Everywhere we go in Japan, people say she's cute and they come to poke Airi's cheeks.

Airi smiles to everyone. Her smiles attract more people.

Airi has four teeth and we see her third top and bottom teeth now. She likes to grind her teeth. The noise makes Avram and me uncomfortable.

Finally she crawls forward to eat her books and toys. She prefers standing and walking to crawling. She enjoys the higher view.

She has many expressions. You can see what she wants now. It's easy to tell when she's sleepy and hungry. She also shows she wants to play with you or she misses you. When she says "please," her eyes are more shiny.

She pulls cups or dishes when she wants more food. When she doesn't want it, she pushes it away. She makes raspberry noise for food she doesn't like to push it away from her mouth. She eats everything, but she makes raspberry for rice these days. It makes me unhappy :(

She is very curious. Even while walking outside, eating, and falling asleep. She is very busy to look around at everything, so it takes time to finish food and to make her sleep. But it's fun to see her expression and to hear her talk then.

One problem is that she doesn't blink at all when she's looking at someone or something. It scares people.

She can pronounce "p" sounds now. She says "appa" or "up." That's good because we call Avram "appa." Appa is father in Korean where Airi was born.

When Airi hears noise, she looks for Avram and me. When she see us, she gives us a big smile:D It always makes us happy.

Now we can't keep anything around her. She can reach everything now. It's good to see that she grows up, but I have to be more careful to watch her.

She is sleeping now. It's time to work for us.

AmerAsian School

2010-06-23T14:27:00.004+09:00

AmerAsian School is a school that students who have American and Asian parents go to. They learn many things about both of their parent's countries. Then they realize that they sometimes learn different things about wars at American schools and Asian schools.

http://www.amerasianschool.com/Index_english.htm

I think every government wants to say they had to fight those wars and they were right. Then they make textbooks for children. Many children believe the textbook because they learn them at school.

When I travel or live in other Asian countries, I see what Japan did to people in those countries. I feel very bad and think Japanese people should see the truth too. If we need, we should apologize.

When I went to see the Pearl Harbour Museum in Hawaii, I was surprised. The thought about the war is different from the thought I learned. I know many families and friends cried and cried when they lost people they love in both countries.

I just can say every war is just sad, very sad. It makes people sad, mad, and unhappy. It should never happen any more.

Airi will learn many things in some other countries. I want her to see from many sides, not only one side of a country. It's hard to tell which country is right or not with wars.

I hope that any war will not happen in the future and our children can create a better world.

Avram's first father's day

2010-06-21T19:30:00.003+09:00

Avram and Airi couldn't see each other for ten days because of his business trip. Avram worried if Airi remembers him, but she saw him on Skype everyday. Every time she saw him, she got excited.

Last Thursday, Airi and I got to his hotel in Australia. When Airi heard the door when Avram opened it, she was looking at it and smiling. Airi was so happy to see her father. Avram almost shed a tear. Airi also almost cried from hunger then. I'm kidding. She gave him beautiful smiles with happiness.

Every morning I hear something from Airi's butt, then from Avram's one. Airi, then Avram. They do it a few times when they wake up. The father and daughter talk with the noises and smells.

We went to Manly Beach on father's day. We took a nice walk. Avram always carries Airi on his belly for a long time. It is her best place to relax and sleep. They feel each other there everyday. I like to see it.

Avram couldn't wake up at midnight even for me when a bear almost attacked our tent, but now he wakes up for Airi. When she fusses, he at least put his hand on her belly and holds a bottle. It's a big progress. I'm impressed and moved. I almost shed a tear:)

Avram loves Airi very much and Airi loves him very much. They are a beautiful father and daughter.

Airi's Trip to Australia

2010-06-19T08:51:00.003+09:00

Airi was great for the trip to Australia.

She hadn't pooped for four days, so I worried if she will do it in the bus or airplane. After four days, the gift from formula milk in such a small room should be ... . It scared me. But she made it before the bus ride to Narita Airport. I was so happy and was able to love her more and more:)

Airi is curious about everything. She likes looking around at what's going on, what they are, and so on. In the bus, she was playing with my bag by herself and then fell asleep. In the airplane, she had milk during take off and fell asleep until I checked her diaper at 0:00. It was my fault:( Then she was so excited to look around at the lights, TV, and people. She was smiling even to sleeping people. Of course people who see Airi always say "she's a cute baby!" That night, Airi charmed flight attendants. They were very nice to us.

Anyway, she was HIGH from midnight to 5:00 a.m.. Thanks to her, I watched "Alice in Wonderland" with mute four times.

When we got our nice hotel, Airi and I couldn't stay up at all. She has slept since then until now. It's more than four hours. She is in a dream now. Lucky her.

I didn't worry about traveling with Airi by myself because she is a happy and calm baby. I was right. She has been very happy since we left home.

She recognizes her father. She loves to see him in Skype during his business trips. She just wonders why she can't touch her father like usual and why he's flat and cold on the screen. Seeing him soon would be a big surprise for her. She will head rock for the happiness.

It's cloudy here. Airi and I are waiting for Avram and exploring the town soon.

I will try to update about our trip. We'll see :D We could be very busy for fun. Then probably no time for the updates.

Good night. I'm going back to sleep with Airi.

Father Avram

2010-05-26T20:31:00.004+09:00

Airi, Avram, and I have been great. We've been busy having fun with our guests since last March.

Airi grows up very fast. Now she has two teeth, turns over, eats food and so on.

It's fun to see that she's different everyday.

Avram loves Airi very much. He watches her, takes care of her, and entertains her. I'm happy when I hear Airi is laughing with Avram while I am busy at home. He tries to be a good father for Airi. He learns many things with Airi as a parent everyday.

I thought Avram is a boy before, but he's not. He is a wonderful father.

As many people know, Avram had a daily schedule like children such as going to bed at nine. Now a good father Avram follows Airi's schedule to understand her better. They go to bed at eight thirty now. Sigh. ... :) They both like to sleep on their bellies. They both snore and fart.

Airi is like a small Avram now. But it's very peaceful and beautiful to see them together.

Avram has loved Airi since I got pregnant. Now I can see Airi recognizes her father and sees with love.

Cell Phones

2010-01-31T10:59:00.004+09:00

Rie and I are in a new country, and the way these things work, we needed new cell phones. We just wanted basic cell phones for talking and texting, but I got drawn in by the free smart phone. I would have considered the iPhone, but they are tied to SoftBank in Japan. SoftBank does not have good service at Rie's mother's house. Only DoCoMo works down there, so that is where we went for our phones.

Rie and I walked about 30 minutes to our nearest DoCoMo shop and checked out the options. I liked the HT-03A phone, which is free with a two-year contract. In the U.S. it is called the myTouch 3G and its international name is the HTC Magic. It is an Android phone with a touch screen, wi-fi, GPS, Internet, and all sorts of other features and is a Google brand phone.

A few days later, we went back to the DoCoMo shop to get our new phones. The guy helping us did not seem to bright and nothing seemed to be easy. We both wanted the Google phone, but they only had one in stock. The phone comes in black or white. I wanted black, and Rie wanted white. The one in stock was white, so we decided to get Rie's and come back another day for mine.

DoCoMo has a 50+ page magazine with all of their data plans and options in it and we flipped back and forth for a while trying to figure out what we wanted. First, we get to choose how many minutes per month we need. Rie has more friends and family here, so she needs a medium level. Next, the guy explained the Internet usage choices. It is a sliding scale. Internet on the phone costs about $3 per month if you don't use it. The more you use, the more it costs until it plateaus at about $60 per month. We figured we could use it sparingly and not pay too much. We got some papers to sign and the fine print mentioned that the phone receives automatic updates for all of its options. These updates count towards its Internet usage. So, basically, without ever using the Internet, we will reach the maximum price every month.

So, after some more thought, we decided that Rie does not really want Internet. She found a nice pink phone for herself and I decided to take the white Google phone.

Next, the guy mentioned that phones don't come with call waiting or voice mail here. If we want those options, it costs about $5 more per month. We said okay, after which he sold us the extended warranty on the phones. That seemed like a good idea so we got that too.

Eventually, he mentioned that we could put Rie's family on a family plan and have free calls among all of us. That was free, but we did not have Rie's family's phone numbers with us to set it up then.

After 2 1/2 hours and about $30 for Rie's phone, we left with our two new phones.

The next day, Rie went back to add her family to the plan. Unfortunately, the guy forgot to mention that he has to call them to confirm. It was during the day and Rie's brother and mother were at work, so Rie was unable to add them to the plan then.

Two days later, we went back in the evening to add the family members. Also, my voice mail and call waiting were not working. Luckily, we got a different guy this time and he did not look at us like we were stupid every time we did not understand one of their crazy rules, policies or exceptions. He was nice enough to explain to me that the Google phone does not qualify for the reduced price bundle of call waiting and call forwarding. I have to pay about $4 per month for each of these services. An hour later, we were done for the fourth and final time.

There were so many added fees and exceptions and last minute changes, that I have no idea what our phone bill will be. I guess we will find out in a few weeks when it arrives.

In the meantime, I am enjoying my new phone immensely. It has all sorts of useless features like a level and a star chart. I can also surf the Internet and download all sorts of applications and games. It also takes video and pictures. I downloaded an application to read bar codes and search for the product on the Internet. Many advertisements in Japan include 2d bar codes for people who want more information.

Growing up

2010-01-28T09:02:00.004+09:00

Airi is almost three months old. Her neck stays straight for a long time and her cheeks are becoming heavier and heavier. She is so cute and is a peaceful baby.

When our daughter grows up, her parents grow up too. Especially her father.
Now Avram goes to bed around 11:00p.m. and he doesn't complain even if he can't eat at his meal time, so I can sleep late these days. Thanks to his friends in Korea, he learned and remembered that he can do them by himself.

We were kind of homeless when we married, but soon we will have a house, cell phone, and car. We feel like we're adults.

When Avram works, I see my friends from pre-school or high school. Avram has given me a good life since we married. Airi and we've been great in Japan too:)

Can you do that?

2010-01-19T21:43:00.003+09:00

Three years ago, Avram's girl friends showed me that you can slap your boyfriend or husband when they make fun of you.

Two years ago, Avram's father told me that I can tell what I want to eat and don't have to let Avram do what he wants.

Since last year, Wendy has taught what Avram needs to do for me at home. For example, he can let me take a nap when he's at home. Shopping is good for girls and so on.

I guess women in the U.S. have more rights than men:)

Our new rule

2010-01-19T21:02:00.007+09:00

One day I watched a TV show. One comedian was talking about farting.

His wife often farts. It bothers him when he's tired, so he said she must pay $5 for one fart. When she farts, she has to pay $5. She tried not to fart for a few days, but she did eventually. He said she should give $5. After that she gave up to not try to fart. From then she calls him, "Come, come, come and look at this!" She is giving $5 and putting her butt to his face and farts.
Now the comedian saves 100,000 yen from her farts every month.

I told it to Avram. We liked the idea and try it now.
I used to make much money before. I made the most, but now we make almost same. We are good rivals.

When I passed a rose-smell gas, Avram said "It means that you're a part of our family." It made me feel comfortable and happy, but hopefully it won't happen so often.

Yes, I'm back or we are back with Airi and farts.

Goodbye Korea, Hello Japan

2010-01-18T18:28:00.002+09:00

Well, as most of you probably already know, we have up and moved again.

Last Friday was my last day of work in Busan, South Korea. The movers took all of our stuff, we sold the car, and moved to a hotel near the beach. During the taxi ride back to the hotel, I got that warm feeling I remember from my 20s. That feeling of having no home, no car, no job. I love that free feeling, even if it will only last three days this time.

On Saturday, we took Airi on her first airplane ride. It was only about two hours, and except for a minute during the diaper change, she did not cry at all. Even the three hour bus ride to our new hotel did not bother her.

After the agent at the immigration counter stamped my passport, I thanked him in Korean. Rie's funny look reminded me that it is time to break my Korean thanking habit and start up my Japanese thanking habit again.

My new boss met us at the airport and helped us get settled in. He has been a great help and very welcoming. He bought food for us and his wife even baked for us. I think we are going to enjoy our three years here.

Tomorrow, I start my new job in Japan, but it won't be too hard yet. We will spend about three weeks doing paperwork and taking orientation classes before I actually go to my new office. In the mean time, we will look for a place to live and a car to buy.

Our goodbye party

2010-01-15T10:47:00.007+09:00

We met good people and had a great time with them in Busan. Our friends and Avram's coworkers held a party for us before we left Korea.

Chris and Carol are very nice people. They always think of others. We learn how to entertain and how to involve other people to happiness. We like they take their children to many places to show the world. We'll try to do it for Airi.

Wendy told me many things as a mother and wife. She sometimes gave Avram lectures what he can do for me at home. It worked well. I should call her when I need her help.

Kemmeh who loves Airi's cheeks often gave me good advice with baby stuff. She also encouraged me with shopping for Airi. Now Avram sometimes asks me what I need for raising Airi, not for my fashion:(

Gyong Ah,Young Joo, and Kyung helped us a lot. We were very happy that we had good Korean friends. It made our life in Korea much better.

People in the party and some other friends who couldn't come think of us well, so Avram, Airi, and I were always happy in Korea. We were very lucky to have those nice friends and coworkers. We hope we can keep in touch with them wherever we are in the world.

Shinsegae

2010-01-05T19:43:00.002+09:00

We had a bit of a warm day last Saturday and decided to take a walk. I strapped Airi on and we strolled along Gwangan Beach all the way to Shinsegae, the world's largest department store. It was a good two hour walk for all of us. Rie likes Shinsegae because they have a great baby lounge. There is one room full of changing tables, another room for washing up and a third room for breast feeding. Airi ate and I got to play a game in the arcade. After dinner and ice cream and shopping for the adults, we fed and changed Airi again before taking a taxi home. It was a fun Saturday afternoon/evening for all of us.

Airi Turns Two

2010-01-01T15:37:00.002+09:00

Happy New Year!!!

Here in Korea, when you tell how old you are, you count the time in your mother's belly. So, when a baby is born, she is already one. Rather than keeping track of people's individual birthdays, everybody adds a year on New Year's Day. So, Airi was one on November 2nd and just turned two today. Time sure is passing quickly.

By the same reckoning, my Korean age is 40, even though my western age is barely 38.

A book, a baby, and a walk

2009-12-27T19:30:00.002+09:00

Look how great my life is. I can combine three of my favorite things in one. I can put Airi in the baby carrier and let her sleep, but if I stop, she gets fussy, so I have to keep walking. But, if she is sleeping, then she does not want me talking or singing to her. So, I may as well read. And walk. And hold Airi close. How great is that?

Baby Seats

2009-12-27T19:21:00.002+09:00

Last month, when we took Airi home from the hospital for the first time, I spent about an hour getting the car seat just right. It reminded me of another difference between American customs and Korean customs. In the U.S., we start our babies off in a rear-facing car seat. As they get bigger, we move up to front-facing car seats and then booster seats and then regular seat belts in the back seat. Finally, after a decade or more, children can sit in the front seat of a car.

In Korea, the best place for a newborn baby is in her mother's arms, even in a car. Babies can stay in their mother's arms for a few years until they learn to walk. Then, they can stand in the back or front seat and look out the windows. Next, they are old enough to run around the back seat. Eventually, they get tall enough to stick their head out the sun-roof. Finally, they get so big that they have to sit down in a seat. Of course, a seat belt is still pretty restrictive and is still optional.

Lullabies

2009-12-23T09:19:00.006+09:00

Avram sings lullabies for Airi when she's fussy. He sings English songs, but the words are always changed. For example he sings "Poop poop, where are you?" with some camping songs.

He tells Airi, "You're the only one who doesn't run away when I sing a song." How can Airi run away? Even she can't stand up. But it's very interesting that his songs work very well to stop fussy Airi.

After Airi grows up and when she asks her friends about the songs she heard from his father, I'm sure no one knows those songs. But his songs are all funny, so she can make her friends laugh with the songs.

I am looking forward to listening to Avram's lullabies for tonight.

That Warm Loving Feeling

2009-12-20T21:33:00.002+09:00

To celebrate the end of Rie's birthday, we gave Airi a bath. Airi ate lots of milk and then we changed her diaper. Once the water was ready, we took off her clothes and diaper and I carried her to the bathroom. I enjoy that special close feeling of holding my naked baby up to my chest and cradling her in my arms. The warm feeling spread all the way to my belly. After a moment, I realized that the warm feeling was only on my belly. Another moment of reflection brought the realization that the warm feeling was not emotional, it was physical. Airi had peed on me. Thank you my beautiful daughter for the wonderful memories.

"Welcome to our family."

2009-12-18T10:50:00.007+09:00

Airi is a good girl. She already follows her father's bed time schedule. She also follows other things too.

When we hear farts and burps, now we ask who did it. Eventually I have to do them. Then my husband makes a big smile and says, "Welcome to our family!" He looks very happy then. Airi does a good one everyday. It seems like she learned them from one of her parents since she was in my belly.

Airi is growing up fast. She's longer and heavier, so it's hard to lift her up when I hold her. I don't go out for exercise these days, so lifting her is one of my exercises.

She started to smile back at us these days. She smiles after she eats, falls asleep, and stays in our arms. Her smiles make us happy very easily. Especially after not enough sleep.

She seems like that she talks recently. Avram and I often talk and answer to her. It's fun:)

She also started to use her hands when she eats and when she doesn't want us to bother her. It makes it easier to figure out what she wants.

The funniest thing is that she is surprised at hearing farts, burps, and hiccups by herself when she is falling asleep and unfortunately she wakes up. Then I have to start everything again such as breastfeeding, walking in the room and changing diapers:(

She likes that I hold her and walk in the living room. She sometimes checks by opening her eyes if I really work for her. She sometimes opens one of her eyes, sometimes opens half of her eyes to watch me. When I am cheating, she starts to warn and cry.

She's curious about many things around her in our place, so she's excited walking around in the living room. Me? I am tired of walking in the small room hundreds times in a day. It's very BOOOOOORING, so I look at her face. Then I get sick from watching one thing too close for a long time. When my eyes are closed eyes, then Airi's eyes become so too:D

Some of her clothes and her bath tub are already small for her. It's very nice to see that she's growing so well. Watch them in our videos. Enjoy!

That Special Time of the Year

2009-12-12T19:06:00.002+09:00

We are now in that special time of the year, after I have had my birthday and before Rie has had hers. I am 16 days older than her and today is the exact half-way point between when I was born and when she finally got around to being born.

We have been sharing the stories about what our parents went through when we were born. My mother sat outside a classroom and took meticulous notes on the timing of her contractions while my father took a final exam on the other side of the door. Rie's mother got curious on the due date, so she crossed her small island and took a ferry to the town with a hospital on the next island. She went to the mid-wife's house and asked if it was time. The mid-wife checked and said "Yes, come on in." Rie was born a short while later.

I especially like this time of year because I can tell Rie things like "You may not understand now, but you will when you are my age" and "Respect your elders." I also get to tell her about the things that happened in my lifetime, but before she was born. Wings released their first album. The West German Chancellor received the Nobel Peace Prize. The Golden Gate Bridge had a blackout. Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan. "Diamonds are Forever" opened in the U.S. The Waltons came to T.V. and "A Clockwork Orange" opened.

The world has changed a lot in my lifetime. More so than it has in Rie's lifetime.

Rie Wants Steak

2009-12-12T18:55:00.004+09:00

Rie has been wanting steak for a few days now. We had time this afternoon to walk over to one of our local Outback Steak Houses. When we go for a walk, I wear the baby carrier and Airi rides up front. She pretty much sleeps the entire time we are out of the house, especially if she is in the carrier.

I was able to enjoy my hot soup at lunch. Airi slept through it all.

Our big girl　ベイビーベイビー

2009-12-05T10:41:00.012+09:00

I'm happy that Avram makes Airi's video everyday and that our families in the world can see her in the videos all the time.

My sister, Chikako, told me that my mother talks to Airi in the videos. It sometimes scares her because my mother looks like she doesn't know if it's a video.

I told it to my mother. She laughed and said she's all right.

When I told about it to my sister-in-law, Asako, she told me everyone in her family talks to Airi in the videos more. I think everyone enjoys Airi's growing up.

Airi has two cousins, my brother's daughter Yuki and his son Konan.

Konan, 5 years old, said he has a baby toy. I asked if he will give it to Airi. He said he can let her use it. He has many things to do for Airi. He always talks to Airi on a phone. He's so excited when he hears Airi's cry. He says he can make a funny face to make Airi happy when she cries.

Yuki, 7 years old, said she wants to read books for Airi, but she can't speak English. She was surprised when I told her Airi can understand Japanese too. Then she said Airi was born in Korea, it means Airi is a Korean baby and she must speak Korean or English. Yuki is thinking that she can teach Japanese to Airi and that Airi can teach her Korean or English. Yuki says they can make friends in the world. That would be great:)

Airi is becoming fussy these days.

We change thousands of diapers. I breastfeed , but she still cries. She wants us to hold her and walk around the room. During daytime or in the evening, Avram can take his turn for it. But at midnight I have to do it by myself. I come and go in a small room hundreds of times. Fortunately and unfortunately she's becoming heavier for it day by day.

She seems like she's dreaming these days. She smiles more often. She turned over last night, which I didn't see. She sucks her hand. She has tears when she cries.

Even though her fussy time is sometimes not easy, as parents, it's great to see that she's growing up.

You will see her growing up in new videos soon today too.

"Where is my milk?"　ミルクはどこ？

2009-12-03T08:17:00.008+09:00

Airi cried for two reasons before. First is for pooping and second is for milk.

A few days ago, she started to cry for a third reason. It's for holding. These days she needs holding to fall asleep. It's a great time with her even though she's getting heavier.

Airi had a doctor's visit yesterday. Everything is good with her. She was sleeping during a shot, as usual. She gained 1kg and is 2.5cm longer than last month.

I was surprised that one month has passed so fast though it was very long to wait for her coming the last nine months.

Airi likes staying in Avram's arms, but it's funny to see she sometimes looks for milk there. She sniffs Avram's chest and tries to eat milk from his nipples. It's like an adventure in jungles, treasures in bush. Unfortunately she can't find them. Then she looks very disappointed.

I give Airi only breast milk, but it sometimes makes me tired from not enough sleep. I hope Avram can help for it. I mean I hope he can breastfeed though he needs to shave the hair on his chest first.

Airi is growing day by day. It's not only her body but also some other functions. For example, her eyes started to follow us and she has more smiles these days. Everything she does makes us very happy.

I feel sorry for Avram because he can't stay with Airi during daytime. But we're always at home for him:)

アイリの泣く理由は２つ、うんちとミルク。

２、３日前から３つ目の理由で泣くようになった。それは「抱っこ」。どんどん重くなるわが子だけど、抱っこをするのは幸せ。

昨日は１ヶ月検診。無事に成長をしていて、注射でも泣かずにずっと眠ってる。先月より体重が１キロ増えて、２．５ｃｍ身長が高くなっていた。

妊娠中はアイリと会える日があんなに待ち長かったのに、今は時の過ぎるのが本当に速い。

アイリはお父さんの腕の中がとても好き。すごくリラックスしている。でも、おかしいのは時々ミルクがほしいときにお父さんのおっぱいを探すこと。残念なことにそこは毛があったり、ペッタンコだったりでミルクにはたどり着けない。まるでジャングルの中の宝探しみたい。そんなとき、アイリはがっかりしたような顔をしている。

今は完全母乳育児。夜も２時間ごとに起きるから本当に疲れる。アブラムが母乳をあげられたら大助かりなのにと思う。そうなると胸毛を剃らなきゃいけなくなるけど。

アイリは体格以外も日々成長。目でものを追ったり、微笑返しをするようになった。その成長を見るとうれしくなる。

仕事で昼間のアイリを見られないアブラムはかわいそうだけど、いつでも２人で帰りを待ってる。

A fun Saturday run

2009-11-28T20:49:00.004+09:00

After my marathon last month, I wondered if I could run 30 miles. Today I found out.

I got a nice late start and ran and ran and ran. I was pretty confident that I could complete the run. I had an easy course planned along the rivers. I also had a new, bigger hip belt with two big bottles for Gatorade. It also has a pocket for lots of snacks and money. The weather was cool, so even though the bag was heavy, my shorts, long pants, and t-shirt kept me from getting any chafing from the bag.

I have just started researching Ultra marathons (anything over 26.2 miles), but one thing I have learned so far is that it is important to take in lots of calories during the day. My computer says I burned well over 4,000 calories today. One of my main goals today was to see if I could eat Clif bars along the way and not get an upset stomach. No problems there, so I am happy.

One of the tips for long distance running I have read is the importance of taking walking breaks, especially for beginners. I took a five-minute walking break every hour. I think this probably helped, but I was still pretty tired and sore by the end. I am not sure if I just need more training, or something else, but I would like to get to the point where I can run an easy marathon and not feel sore at the end.

It was a great day. The only bummer was the one-hour train ride home. That is when my legs started to tighten up.

I wonder if I will manage a Sunday run.

A trip to the flower shop

2009-11-27T17:39:00.003+09:00

We visited Rie's friend at her flower shop today. It was a relatively warm day, but still chilly enough to bundle Airi up.

The Day before Airi

2009-11-27T17:28:00.003+09:00

The day before Airi was born, our friend Young Joo and her boyfriend took 201 pictures of us. You can see a few of them here.

Without Avram　お父さんはお留守

2009-11-23T13:41:00.013+09:00

Avram started to work from today. Airi and I stayed at home.

I didn't know the word "fussy," but I hear sometimes people use the word for babies. Actually, Airi is not so fussy even only two of us are here. She eats, poops, and sleeps. She just does them.
She sleeps, sleeps, and sleeps in the morning.

If you want to see Airi opens her eyes or she is active, you should come or call from 4:00am to 6:00am.

I usually don't do things I should do such as ironing, washing laundries, and showering the day before. I could do them in my pace. Avram sometimes asked me why I don't iron shirts the night before the day.
It's because I had a lot of time before he left for work. As Avram does know, we used to go to bed before nine and wake up around five. I could iron, make breakfast and lunch, and so on. But now I have to think of Airi. I have to do housework very quickly before she wakes up. I guess my family and friends have never seen I look like I am in a rush. Fortunately, Airi sleeps well during the daytime. She doesn't wake up even if our washing machine is so loud and a timer rings loudly. She's comfortable and calm at home.

I'm very happy to see her everyday.

Avram can see how much I worked at home by the bunch of diapers in the trash cans.

It's time to take a nap with her.

今日からアブラムが仕事に戻って、私とアイリは２人でお留守番。

今までFussyなんて単語は知らなかったけど、赤ちゃんを表す言葉でよく使われる。どうやら「ぐずる」っていう意味があるらしい。でも、アイリは寝てばかりいるから今のところその言葉はあてはまらなさそう。

寝てばかりのアイリだから、もしも目を開けたアイリを見たい人は朝の４時から６時に来てくれると見られます。

今まで家事を早め早めにやるなんてことはなくて自分のペースでしてたから、時々アブラムにどうして前もってやっておかないのと聞かれたことがあったけど、今はアイリがいるから、彼女が寝ている隙にすべてをすまさなきゃならない。幸いにも洗濯機やタイマーのうるさい音でもアイリは熟睡。いつも穏やかな顔して寝てる。その顔を見てると幸せを痛感。

アブラムはゴミ箱にたまったオムツの山で私が今日どれくらい働いたか察しがつく。

さて、アイリとお昼寝の時間。おやすみなさい。

Vacation Time

2009-11-22T16:48:00.005+09:00

For the past two years, I have been saving up my sick leave at work for Airi. Now that she is here, I had a good excuse to use up three weeks of leave.

I have spent the past three weeks, washing dishes, hanging laundry, changing diapers, preparing bottles, feeding Airi, bathing Airi, shopping, cleaning spit-up, taking out trash, and helping around the house.

Tomorrow, I go back to work and will finally get a chance to relax. :)

Good Hygiene

2009-11-22T16:38:00.003+09:00

Rie's sister, Chikako, attends a junior college on their home island of Amami-Oshima. Chikako's school had a school festival this weekend and Chikako's group wanted to make curry to sell. But, nobody wants to eat food made by dirty people, so it is customary in Japan for all of the students to bring in a stool sample for testing before the big day. Rie remembers doing this in high school as well. Rie says they check for the kind of worms that can lay eggs under your fingernails.

Unfortunately, Chikako was constipated and was unable to participate with her group in their fundraising activity.

Now, I am worried about those rice balls she made a few years ago.

Our new life with Airi　アイリとの新しい生活

2009-11-21T12:45:00.007+09:00

Three weeks ago, only Avram and I were at home. Now we have Airi here. This is wonderful.

Avram and I compared who changed Airi's diapers the most, but now we do it too many times. We can't count it.

Airi is a good girl. It's easy to take care of her. She cries only when she poops. Other times she is just sleeping or calm.

Now Avram and Airi are taking a nap. I am having lunch by myself. I like this quiet time three of us together.

Our life here is very peaceful.

３週間前まではアブラムと私だけの生活。今は振り向くとアイリがそこにいる。すごく幸せ。

アブラムとどちらが多くオムツを換えたか競争してたけど、今はもうあまりに頻繁だから数えられない。

アイリは世話のしやすいお利口さん。ウンチの時以外は穏やかに過ごしているか寝ている。

今、アブラムとアイリはお昼ね中。私は一人で昼ごはん。この３人の静かな時間が好きだな。

すごく安らかな生活。

My happy delivery :D 　幸せ出産

2009-11-20T17:50:00.008+09:00

We say delivery is like a giving birth to a watermelon in Japan. Watermelon was not enough. I felt a big and hard log was coming out.

Avram and I wanted to have natural delivery, so I said the doctor I don't need an epidural. But the log gave me so much pain. I was not sure I could stand it until the end.

I didn't scream, scratch, and break Avram's hands. I couldn't say anything from the pain. I had no energy for them. I just stood the labor quietly.

At the end of my delivery, the doctor saw I was having a lot of pain and recommended to have an epidural not only for killing the pain but also for c-section in case. I liked his suggestion. Thanks to the doctor, I got a good excuse to use an epidural.

The doctor said he will send some nurses for the epidural, but they didn't come. The pain was getting worse and worse. I said "Why don't they come? He said they will come soon. How long do I have to wait? Why don't they give me epidural now? Then it would be useless."
I was not going to use an epidural, but I complained about getting the treatment too slowly at the end of my delivery.

When I got the epidural, I could be in heaven. I was surprised at the effect of the epidural. It was like magic. I felt like I could have a few more babies then. I thanked the doctor even though he kept saying the baby has a big head like her mother every time we visited. He was right. Airi's head was round, but I made it. I delivered her safely:) Avram, Airi, and I worked together for the first time on Nov.2nd.

Now I respect every mother and thank many people who support us. I thank my husband Avram a lot.

Airi is a beautiful girl. She often smiles these days except when she poops. I guess pooping is like labor for her, so I understand how she feels then. She can cry and complain then. It's our pleasure to help her for it.

日本では出産はスイカを生むようなものだというけれど、スイカなんてものじゃなかった。大きな硬い丸太がころころ転がり出てくる感じ。

アブラムも私も自然出産がしたくて麻酔は要りませんっていっちゃたけど、あまりの痛さに本当に乗り切れるのか自信がなくなってきた。

私は泣き叫びもしなかったし、アブラムの手を壊すぐらい強く握りもしなかった。それより痛くてもう声が出せし、力が出なくて静かに出産に耐えた。

出産が終盤に入ってきた頃、ドクターが「麻酔はいらないって言ってるけど、万が一のことがあったら帝王切開に切り替えるから、今麻酔をうっておいたほうがいいと思うけど。」

先生、うまいこと言うねぇ。「万が一」って言葉に心がいともたやすく折れて、あんなに拒んできた麻酔を受けることにした。

「じゃ、看護士さんに来てもらうから。」と先生は去っていった。痛みはひどくなるのに看護士さんは一向に来ない。「先生、すぐ来てもらうって言ったのにぃ。なんで来ないの？あとどれくらい待てばいいの？今うたなきゃ役に立たないじゃない。」麻酔を受けるつもりはなかったのに、その痛さに声にならない文句が出る。

麻酔を受けるとそこはもう天国！その効き目はまるで魔法。あと数人は今出産できるよって感じ。先生が毎回「お母さんに似て頭の大きな子だから・・・。」って言って失礼だと思ってきたけど、でも、先生のおかげで幸せな出産ができたからすごく感謝。先生の言うとおり、アイリの頭は少し大きめだったけど、アイリとママの初めての共同作業で安産だったから本当に幸せ。

今は本当にすべてのお母さんがすごいなぁと思うし、祝福してくれたすべての人に感謝。そして何よりずっと私を支えてくれたアブラムに感謝。

アイリは本当にかわいい娘。最近、うんちを踏ん張る以外のときは微笑を返してくれる。ウンチの生みの苦しみはどうやら彼女にとっては産みの苦しみみたいだから理解できる。だから、ウンウンうなって文句を言ってても喜んでお世話をするよ。

Family Time

2009-11-16T19:40:00.003+09:00

I took the past two weeks off from work. The three of us have been hanging out at home and getting to know each other. There has been lots of diaper changes and feedings at all hours of the day and night. Airi and Rie are both recovering well from their big introduction. Rie is up and moving around well. Airi's head is more round than cone-shaped now and she is one beautiful baby.

Happy 2-Week Birthday, Airi

2009-11-16T19:16:00.006+09:00

Well, I guess birthdays and anniversaries are a good time to look back and reflect on where we have come from and where we are headed. Today is the two-week anniversary of Airi's birth and all sorts of memories of her first days are coming back to me as I sit and reminisce.

I remember two weeks ago today, when we headed to Jeil Women's Hospital in Haeundae Beach to wait for Airi to arrive. We checked into our private room and waited until Rie said it was time to go down to the delivery room.

After a bunch more hours, Rie announced that the wait was over and it was time to call in the professionals. The doctor agreed and the nurse transformed the bed into a birthing table. When it was time, I held Rie's hand and looked into her eyes. I was telling her how great she was doing and that we were almost there, when our eye-to-eye contact was blocked. One of the nurses had jumped up onto the head of the bed and was facing backwards. She was straddling Rie's head with one knee next to each ear. When the doctor said "Push", Rie pushed, and so did the nurse who was pushing on Rie's belly.

After a bit, the top of Airi's head was visible and after some more pushing, not much more had come out, so the doctor ordered a rest break. We all just waited for a few minutes in silence. It was a bit jarring to go from all of the activity and hubbub to nothing. I almost expected some elevator music to start up. Music for waiting. Once we were all recovered, and ready for some more, Rie and the nurse pushed and the doctor pulled.

At 8:26 pm on November 2nd, Airi was born.

She was 2.8 kg and 45.5 cm long. Airi was also a lovely shade of blue. After a few seconds of crying, she started turning red. The nurse held her up in front of Rie and counted off fingers and toes and other bits. I got to cut the umbilical cord, while Rie and Airi had some quiet time together.

Airi was whisked away for her inaugural bath and the doctor finished up with Rie. A bit after 9pm, we were all reunited and Airi lay down for her first meal.

Airi (愛理) CJ Fox

2009-11-03T10:30:00.002+09:00

Avram's lullaby for me.

2009-10-29T11:25:00.008+09:00

As I already told you, it sounds interesting to listen to "Hush, little baby" for me because the father buys too many things for his baby. I wonder if the baby believes her father when he tells her it was just a lullaby when she becomes a teenager.

I like the song which Avram made for my staying at the hospital. You can sing it with same music as "Hush, little baby."

Hush, if you can't eat Korean food, I'm gonna buy you a rice ball.
If that has some kimchee smell inside, I'm gonna try to take it out.
If you can't drink Tenjang-chigae, I'm gonna take the smell away... .

I hope he'll sing for me when I'm in labor.
It could help me to forget the pain.

I liked Korean food. I still like some very much, but I sometimes can't eat, even smell it after the morning sickness. Hopefully I can eat it again after the delivery.

Don't make me laugh

2009-10-29T10:46:00.007+09:00

Many Japanese people think it should be romantic to marry to an American man because we learn many things about the U.S. by movies. People imagine the lives of American romance movies. For example, a boyfriend or husband calls their girlfriend or wife "honey," and she calls him "darling." In weekends, the man brings breakfast to their bed and feeds her. People think the life should be very sweet. But when you live with your partner, you don't have to call them "honey" or "darling" if you're always close to each other in your place.

In our case, we usually don't have to call our names because we're always together. We just talk. Avram says it sounds like I'm upset with him when I sometimes call his name. It happens to me, too.

The other day, Avram heard the sound of fart.(I'm sorry I always write about this, but this often happens around us though I don't know why.) I didn't! He didn't! Then I don't know who did. It could be Mameko. Anyway Avram thought it was me and asked me if I did it. I said no. He smiled. I could tell he's thinking I did, but I didn't. I said somehow the sound is familiar to him, so it must be his mishearing. Then he suddenly put his hands on my arms, looked at my eyes and said softly , "RIE, you burp and you fart... ." He kept saying something, but it was too funny he called my name and saying as if he's saying romantic words. I couldn't stop laughing and looking at his beautiful eyes, so I didn't hear his words until the end.

Every time he calls my name, tries to be serious to say some words, looks at my eyes very well, and pretends to be romantic, he makes me laugh a lot. I'm sorry, Avram. I can't be a good actress. I have no idea when we can be a couple like in American romance movies.

He calls me "Oi!" ( "hey" in Japanese) when he can't find me in a public place. Unfortunately it works better than my name. Then I can find him easily. He is smiling:D I wonder how many women look at him if he says "Oi!" in Japan. I should get used to hear he calls my name.

I will try to look at Avram like a romantic couple when he tries to be romantic before we have a baby. We'll see:)

Week 37 and 3days

2009-10-29T10:29:00.009+09:00

It's so easy to gain my weight in the last month. My belly is getting bigger and bigger so quickly. I feel sorry for my belly skin.

Now I can understand how Sumo wrestlers' lives are.

These days I use and write the word "belly," so sometimes I get confused when I spell berries. I sometimes write bluebelly. It sounds very strange to see it.

Anyway, Mameko and I have been very well.
I do Yoga and go walking everyday. While Avram works hard, I work hard for Farmville in Facebook. It's my pleasure to support Avram, but harvesting his trees is so annoying:( It's a beautiful farm, but it's so so so annoying when trees are ready to harvest.
His character and I have to work harder than Avram. I feel sorry for his character because he must walk to harvest here and there all day.

Time to do Yoga. I'm looking forward to seeing Mameko at doctor's visit tomorrow:D

What shall we talk about?

2009-10-26T08:32:00.009+09:00

My parents sometimes wonder and talk what they will talk between them after my younger sister leaves home. Fortunately they try to have the same hobby or common things which they both enjoy together. It's farming so far. They like to grow organic vegetables for their children and grandchildren.

A few days ago, Avram and I were taking a nice walk in Haeundae Beach. We talked about the solution of farts. I said I remember how the smell is like when I hear the sound of farts. He said it doesn't smell when I hear the sound, it means I can use my imagination to change the smell to any kinds of flavors. Maybe it's true, but it's not so easy. I said people should put some aroma oils on their butts, then I could smell it. Avram said probably dish washing soap is better for it. Even though he didn't finish his words, I got what he meant. I asked him if he meant we can see colorful bubbles from the person. He was smiling.

We Japanese say we understand each other from the silence. We don't need words to express feelings. It means we understand the other one well. It's sometimes true and it sometimes doesn't work. I guess it's working between Avram and me so far, but I wonder if we will still talk about these topics even though our children grow up. I just can imagine our children could join us to Avram's wonderland.

When we turn to our parents' age, I wonder what we will be talking about. I hope we still enjoy traveling all over the world and talk about it with our families.

Recovery Complete

2009-10-25T20:47:00.003+09:00

After the marathon last weekend, I was a bit sore. I wanted to start running again on Wednesday, but I was too busy at work. I did not get a chance to run until Saturday. I went for a great 13 mile run. The middle few miles were along a path that was new for me. During the run, I realized that the marathon training program I did for 16 weeks really was just a way for me to get in good enough shape to do what I want to. What I really want to do is explore as much of the city and surrounding areas as I can by running.

So, now my new goal is to maintain my current fitness and see how long my long runs can become. Also, I will start bringing my bus pass so that my 4 hour runs can be one way. I should be able to see lots more new areas that way. I have also been eying the nearby mountains as possible destinations.

I don't know what Mameko will do to my schedule, but I will try to keep in shape until she is ready to be pushed in a running stroller.

Ethnic

2009-10-24T11:17:00.002+09:00

Rie's latest thoughts on being Asian in America and Japanese in Asia reminds me of something I found confusing in American super markets.

When we are looking for Japanese food, we go to the ethnic aisle and we can find all sorts of food from around the world, including from Japan.

When we are looking for hair care products, we go to the appropriate aisle, but the people pictured on products labeled "Ethnic" don't look anything like Rie.

How can Rie be ethnic on aisle 3, but not ethnic on aisle 10?
Does she lose her ethnicity somewhere around aisle 6?
Do they make this announcement after we leave? "Clean up on aisle 6."

Asians

2009-10-24T11:02:00.007+09:00

I can see cultures, customs, food, thought, ideas, and so many things came from China through Korea to Japan. Even medical care and giving names to babies.

I guess that's why people think I'm Asian when I'm in the U.S.. People don't see me as Japanese. In Asian countries, we say China, Korea, Japan, and other countries in Asia are all different. But when we are in western countries, we often can understand the basis of people's thought. We can see similar sense of feelings.

Yes, thinking of baby names is not so easy for us. Sounds like for my other Asian friends too. But the name is our first gift for our baby, so it's very important and fun to work for it. Don't worry I always ask Avram what he thinks.

Time to think and talk about her name.

Talk to you later,
Rie

Baby Names

2009-10-24T10:37:00.004+09:00

You may think that naming a baby is pretty straight-forward. If you are not Japanese, you might even be right. I think many Americans give a name to their baby because it sounds nice, or it is the name of their favorite singer, or because it is their name, or because it is another family member's name. Sometimes, they might look up its origin and what the name means, but that is usually an after-thought.

Rie, on the other hand, is taking our role in naming our child very seriously. In Japan, you don't worry about the sound so much as the meaning. Rie has been looking for good characters from the Japanese writing system that they borrowed from the Chinese. But, it is not enough to just find good meanings. It is also important to count the number of strokes each character takes, how many strokes of the pen each name takes, and even how many strokes the last letter of the family name and the first letter of the given name total. It all seems very exhausting to me, but luckily Rie has the energy and skill to name a baby.

Here is a picture of one page from the notebook Rie uses to do her work:

Test Results

2009-10-22T21:19:00.002+09:00

Last week, Rie had some tests done at the doctor's office. She had an x-ray, an ekg, and a blood test, just to see if everything is going okay near the end of the pregnancy.

We got the test results today - sort of.

Rie received a text message on her cell phone today. It said "Your late pregnency test is Normal. Have good time.>>(jeil woman hospital)"

Such a great husband!

2009-10-19T08:32:00.008+09:00

Avram had looked forward to the marathon for four months. He did the training very well.

Yesterday we went to the stadium for the marathon at 5:30 am even though it started at 8:00 a.m. I wondered why we need to leave so early. It was for our baby Mameko and me:)

We got to the stadium around 6:00am and got the best spot to follow and see his run. He brought a down jacket, gloves, warm hat, and ear cover. He told me I should bring my winter shoes, but I forgot. I wore summer sandals instead. It was colder than I thought. I needed those things to warm Mameko and myself. He said "See, I told you. You don't listen to me and don't write down what I say." That's the word that I usually say to him. Does it mean we don't listen to each other everyday? Anyway he was right. I needed the things he brought for us all day yesterday. Thanks to him, I could enjoy cheering him and making a video of his run outside in the morning.

We have two Korean university students we help with their English practice. Avram is good at letting people have confidence and motivation. He listens to people and encourages them well. Those students are comfortable in the English class and now they try to talk in English more and more. I always wish I could have been like him when I was a teacher. Those two students enjoy the class very much. I like to see their smiles in the class.

I like the reasons why Avram runs, how he enjoys himself, and how he thinks of others. I learned hiking, backpacking, and biking. I have learned how to enjoy the life and how to create it everyday. It's fun to share many things with him.

I can tell marriage to a foreigner is not the problem. Everything depends on the person. If you have a good communication and think of the other, it could work for making each other happy.

My family loves Avram. They know he's great. One problem is they think that I tricked such a wonderful man into the marriage. I can't tell whose fault it was. He chose me too:D

Dear Milo,
Is this just his trick?

That's "Wow!"

2009-10-18T20:52:00.005+09:00

I have seen some "Wow!" things in Korea. For example driving at red lights, going on sidewalk by scooter, and pushing people away without "Excuse me." This morning I had an other very unusual experience.

I went to a women's bathroom. Fortunately it was very early morning, so only I was in the bathroom. I went in a toilet. Then I heard some people. I was surprised those Ajumas(elderly women)'s voice was very low like men's. More people came, but their voice were low too. While they were talking in toilets, I was wondering if they are women. I was not comfortable to hear them in the bathroom. Also the scent of something pervaded the air after a while. When I went out the toilet, one man came out from the other toilet and more men came out from others. There were six rooms in the bathroom. Except mine, men were in other bathrooms. I felt relieved they tried not to go up and see if mine is empty.

Probably their idea is practical, but it's very uncomfortable for me. When I went outside, a young woman came in. She saw many men were in the bathroom. She wondered if it's women's side and checked the sign. She seemed like she doubted I'm a woman. I wonder if it means Korean women go to men's bathroom if they were empty even if other men are there. Can those men finish working then?

Another Fun Marathon

2009-10-18T18:46:00.005+09:00

Today was the culmination of my 16 week training schedule. It was a cool, sunny, and windy day. Great for running. Me and a few thousand other people lined up at 8 am to wait for the starting gun. There were lots of announcements in Korean for me to ignore. At one point, everybody stopped milling around and got in single file lines. They all gave shoulder rubs to the person in front. Then they turned around and returned the favor. That was something uniquely Korean to me.

After a lot of talking and many rounds of less and less enthusiastic applause, the balloons were released, the cannon boomed, and the shredded paper was blown into the air. We were off.

My goal for this race was to go slow enough to enjoy the whole thing and not be too sore afterward. Unfortunately, that is difficult to do when the crowd is cheering, the racers are zooming by, and the weather is so lovely. I wanted to keep my pace at almost 10 minutes per mile, but I was well under 9 minutes per mile for the first hour or so.

The course looped back and forth upon itself a few times and criss-crossed the city. Much of it was also along the river or out among the rice fields. It was very pleasant. I checked my watch frequently and tried to slow down, but did not have much success.

After a bit over an hour, I passed Rie on the side of the road and stopped to say hello. After a quick, out and back, I passed her again in the same spot and stole a kiss at the turn of a mile. Now I was only two hours from the end and still feeling good.

Unfortunately, the drink stations on this run were about 30 minutes apart. That was a bit spread out for me and I often found myself thirsty. However the sponge stations were frequent enough for me to keep the concentrated salt from my drying sweat from burning my eyes.

About an hour into the run, the man running with a big blue balloon that said "4:00" on it passed me by. He was setting a 4 hour pace for the run and many people were trying to keep up with him. Since, my target time was 4:15, I was happy to see him go by. I lost track of him in the distance and concentrated on slowing down. A while later, I spotted the balloon about 1/2 mile ahead. He stayed there for the better part of two hours.

Keeping the 4 hour group in sight started to play with my mind and I ended up having delusions of adequacy. I thought "If I can keep them in sight to mile 20, I can slowly reel them in the final 6 miles and finish in under 4 hours." Even though I did no speed work in my training, I figured a strong kick at the end could see me through.

By mile 20, the 4 hour balloon had disappeared in the twists and turns of the city, and I was suffering from the fast start. They say that the marathon is three races: two 10 mile races and a final 10km run. I enjoyed the first 10 mile run. I got tired on the second 10 mile run. During the 10km run, my legs started to get pretty heavy. I slowed down a lot and was eager for the end. I was paying for not sticking to my race plan. Also, it turns out that my strong final kick was last seen in my final cross-country race in 1986.

I finished in a disappointing 4:08. I was hoping for a much slower and more comfortable 4:15. In some of my previous races, I tried to go faster, but for this one I was trying out the theory of "Value Running." The theory here is that I spent a lot of time and effort training for this 26.2 mile race, I didn't want it to end too quickly. But, it did.

I did my final half-lap in the Gyeongju stadium, got my finisher's medal, and enjoyed some snacks.

I tried to stretch well, but there is still some soreness in my legs. I probably won't ride my bike to work tomorrow.

A Fun Weekend

2009-10-18T18:31:00.002+09:00

Yesterday, Rie and I headed up to Gyeongju. This was my third visit and Rie's fourth. Gyeongju is famous for its history, museums, temples, and resort areas.

We got up there after lunch and checked out the parking and reception areas for the marathon. The stadium was busy with some sort of Lions Club festival/competition, but there were a few signs up for the marathon.

From there, we headed to our Pension up in the hills. Rie's friend just opened the EuroVille Pension. It is located at the end of a dirt road and well within earshot of many roosters. We stayed in the England Villa and had a great room. There was a picnic bench and BBQ out front and a kitchen in the front room. The bathroom was big enough to have a big plastic lounge chair in it, for those who need to rest in the middle of a shower or bath.

After a buffet dinner at a nearby hotel, we turned in for the night and slept soundly for a few hours. At 5 am we woke up and went to my marathon. After that, we came home and Rie napped for a while.

Tomorrow, it is back to work for me and Rie can relax some more.

All's well with the baby

2009-10-18T18:26:00.003+09:00

We had two successful visits to the doctor in the past two weeks. The videos don't seem to work on my computer, so no new pictures. But, that is fine, because the last two videos were short and you could not really see much.

Rie had some blood tests and other extra tests this week. We did not get any phone calls, so I guess all is good there.

We spent an extra 30 minutes with the doctor on Friday and asked all sorts of questions about the delivery and post-delivery. I can cut the cord if I want, the hospital will provide night-gowns for Rie, and I have to bring a blanket for myself to use when I sleep on the couch.

Our next visit is in two weeks. That will be week 37 and the beginning of the normal window for delivery.

One week to race day

2009-10-11T18:49:00.003+09:00

One week from today I will be enjoying the Gyeongju Marathon. We have reservations at a nice Pension and will drive up there on Saturday.

Today, my race packet came in the mail. It included a really nice long-sleeve shirt, a timing chip, my numbered bib, a race booklet and a 10% off coupon for an asics product. Not the best swag bag ever, but the race was not that expensive and the shirt is one of the best I have ever gotten. There is absolutely no advertising on the back.

The race booklet had pictures of all the international stars who will be competing in the elite category and a map of the course. The course seems to follow the river mostly, so it should be fairly flat. I should have no trouble finishing in well under the 5 hour limit. Also, the course passes near the Start/Finish line twice, so Rie should get to see me a few times during the race. It looks like it finishes with a half-lap around the municipal stadium, so there should be a good crowd and lots of energy at the finish.

I am still bummed about only running 11 miles this weekend, but my training schedule got me to an enjoyable 23 mile run two weeks ago, so I may as well follow it until the end next Sunday.

Avram gets excited.

2009-10-11T18:31:00.004+09:00

Avram is always calm. He thinks of our families first. It makes me very happy.

This season, he's a little bit busy for watching college football and U.S. soccer. Then you can see he gets excited.

He sits in front of the computer and doesn't look at me at all. When his team gets points, he turns to look at me and smile with saying "Yeah!" When his team is losing the game, he gets shocked and put his face to the floor and hits it. It looks like he sees the last of the world. It's fun to see that Avram.

I'm nice as a wife even if he doesn't listen to me at all during the game. I waited for him for a few hours until the games finished today. I pretended I'm reading a book though I don't like to read.

I guess playing or pretending to be a nice wife or husband makes the life happier and easier. It has worked for us so far:)

P.S. I don't mean we tell lies to each other. Thank you.

Sorry, Avram.

2009-10-11T14:57:00.009+09:00

Thanks to our families and friends, we have many baby things now. Today I washed brand new clothes, which we bought for our baby this summer.

Now no place to dry Avram's laundry.

Sorry, Avram. Maybe you're not my first person today:D

Love,

your wife

"When you were born,"

2009-10-06T07:27:00.008+09:00

When the due date, November 17th is coming closer, our parents and grandparents tell us how we were born, what happened then, and how they were. It is great to hear that.

Japanese people don't talk about it so much. The reason why they don't tell it to their children depends on the person. Especially my mother doesn't talk about herself. But now she starts to tell me about my father and her. Finally I learn about my parents. They had a good story how they fell in love.

I like to hear how our parents felt when they had us, how Avram was born, what kind of boy he was, and so on.

I will tell about it and how Avram and I feel when we have the baby to our daughter. Then she will know how much her families love her.

Mameko vs/& Avram

2009-10-03T19:39:00.016+09:00

Avram was fixing the computer with a screwdriver in the living room when I came in yesterday. When he saw me, he tired to shoot his bellybutton screwdriver missile to my belly. Of course, he was joking because he loves me:D But, Mameko was upset with her father's tries, so she tried to kick and punch him hard. Her hard work was a little painful for me.

Avram said she's not attacking him. He said she was trying to catch the screwdriver for their communication. According to him, he knows it because he's her father. I don't know if it's their communication or fight, but either way only I DO get hurt from it. That's not fair :(
If it's true he's having a nice communication with his daughter, why does he have that way to his wife?

We both have nice big bellies now, we sometimes have the contest. Avram is trying to catch me, but he can't beat me anymore. He's losing his weight from his big runs. He lost nine pounds in a few months. Our weights are getting closer, but hopefully I won't get to his weight.

In Japan, pregnant women's weight control is very strict. I am not so serious about it, but I try not to eat too much for Mameko and me.

P.S. I'm not carrying a watermelon.

Mameko is very active, especially when she hears her father:)

21st Century Heartbeat Music Therapy

2009-10-01T07:39:00.010+09:00

We got a CD in the baby class. It's an original recording of classic nursery songs set to a real human heartbeat. According to the CD jacket, it's proven by research to calm babies and stop crying.

One night, we listened to it. We could hear the heartbeat in the songs. When we listened to Mary Had A Little Lamb, Avram said it should be "Mary had a pink i-phone, pink i-phone, pink i-phone" these days. It makes sense. Times have changed. Those songs could change too, but I like original one.

Though I like original songs, I wonder if the father in Hush Little Baby spoils the baby too much.
The father buys many things everytime his baby cries. When does the baby learn patience?

I learned one thing from this CD quickly. It is that this CD works for Avram very well. It already worked. He would fall asleep earlier than our baby and wouldn't wake up for her at midnight.
Now we have to talk about the day schedule and who stays up with the baby every night.

Marathon Training Update

2009-09-27T18:18:00.002+09:00

Despite two crossings of the International Date Line and several weekends of family visits, I have been able to maintain my marathon training program. It is now only 3 weeks until the big day.

Yesterday was the day I had been looking forward to the most since I started my 16 week training program. It was my longest training run - 20 miles. For me, I enjoy the long training runs a lot. The next three weeks are the taper. I will run less and less up until the 18th of October. Then I will run a marathon.

When I participate in a marathon race, I enjoy the camaraderie with the other runners, the right to run in the middle of the street and stop traffic, the atmosphere of people who care about their health, the enthusiasm of the crowds, the excitement of the start and finish lines, the dedication of the race volunteers, the t-shirt, and the fact that a 4+ hour run can be fully catered.

But, as much as I enjoy the marathon race, the 3 and 1/2 hour solo training runs are the highlight of the whole 16 week process for me. I get to explore new areas on my own and ask for directions from people who wonder how I got way out there and where I am headed. I also get to focus on one outdoor activity for an entire morning with no distractions.

Yesterday's run took me along the coast from our house, up a river that cut across the city, over a gap in the mountains and down to the city of Yangsan. It was a great run and even the hour long subway ride home was not too bad.

My schedule called for a 20 mile run, but the route I planned was 21 miles. A few wrong turns in the hills, and it ended up being 23 miles to the train station. I thought about running another 4 miles and making it the longest run of my life, but I was getting a little hot and thirsty by then. I am now in my taper for the marathon, but I am hoping that my enthusiasm carries over into November and I can try for a 30 mile run by myself. We'll see what Mameko has to say about that.

In the picture below, you can see how I spent 3 hours and 45 minutes yesterday morning.

Avram's bellybutton attacks

2009-09-27T17:26:00.005+09:00

Do husbands and wives learn about each other until we die?

One day he asked me to play the game of "rock-paper-scissors." I said OK.
He did it under my big belly, so I couldn't see his hand! He cheated!! He did again and again. We couldn't decide anything with rock-paper-scissors then.

Today I was lying down on a futon. Avram was standing by me with a pen in his hand. He had a wicked smile. He suddenly stuck the pen in his bellybutton and swelled his belly, then pushed the pen into his bellybutton and shot it to me! It hit me many times. Unfortunately I can't move so quickly now, so it was hard to attack him back.

He seemed nice before we married. He didn't tell me that he uses belly language. I would learn about him more in my life.

Baby class

2009-09-27T11:42:00.005+09:00

We went to a Baby class last Thursday.
We learned how to hold a baby, how to change a diaper, and so on.

The instructor asked how to hold the baby. When I saw Avram, he was picking the doll's toe and hanging it in the air:(

When the instructor asked what we should do when the baby cries, Avram was ready to pass the doll away to someone with smiling. Sigh... .

Avram was disappointed when he heard babies often wake up and cry at midnight. He said I can take care of the baby at night and he will during daytime. After the class we went to the library and he borrowed about twenty books. I asked why he needs so many books. He answered he reads while he's taking care of the baby and while I'm taking a nap. I said babies don't read leadership, economy, and SF stuff yet. He said we don't have to read only children's books. That's true, but I can't believe those books are for our baby.

In father's class, the instructor asked fathers what they want to teach to their children. One father said love and background of his family. Avram was saying speaking, walking, and exercising. Then I said "Answer seriously." He answered different things.
After the class I asked him if he doesn't want to tell our baby about our background, the differences, and so on. He said no. It's because motor skills are first and then learning, thinking, and e.t.c.. That's true motor skills helps to develop brains. He has a point.

He can't wait for taking our baby out, especially for his running. He thinks the baby could help his running. He thinks the baby could give him a towel or a bottle of water when he needs just like a god with a thousand hands.
Now he is thinking about his birthday hike with our new born baby though she should be only twenty days old. I won't let him do that in winter yet!

Please don't worry about our parenting. Even though Avram was having fun in the class, he listened to the instructor well and answered right. We got three prizes for three quizzes.
In those twenty books, some are about taking care of babies. He's looking forward to seeing his baby and taking care of her.

I'm happy that he has a good sleeping and nap schedule for our baby. Even now he's taking a nap because he's tired from his twenty mile run yesterday:)

Father and daughter

2009-09-19T07:37:00.004+09:00

Finally Avram and I are together again. We are very happy now:)

Avram sees and feels my bigger belly now. He sees Mameko's moving and can touch it.
When Mameko moves big, Avram asks me how I can do that and he tries. He says, "Look at me, look at me!" and shows his belly. He does belly dance and it makes me laugh. I say "It's not your baby. You can see it next morning." He says,"You're right. I can't keep it for many months like you do." That's disgusting, Avram! I imagined that!!

He sometimes pokes my coming out belly button. I say, "Don't do that, otherwise I will get stomachache." He says, "Why? It's the window to talk to my daughter." Then he starts to talk to his daughter.
"Your mom is listening to us. Let's talk later when she's not here." and asks me "Why are you always with her? Don't bother father and daughter's conversation."
What a cute father he is!

The doctor said the place of placenta, umbilical cord, and Mameko are all fine. It means her head is bottom now. Last night Avram was saying, "You know a badminton shuttle. The round part is heavy. That's why it's always bottom." He meant our baby has a big head like me.
Fortunately she kicks her father when he's rude to her and me. I love it!! I guess Mameko and I can practice soccer to beat her father. We'll be a perfect team:D

"Take turns to visit me."

2009-09-19T06:55:00.011+09:00

My 5 year old nephew Konan visited his grand parents in Amamioshima without his parents this summer. His grandpa Shinya helped him to make a boat, swim, and walk in the river. Konan loves fish, so Shinya took him to show Konan's favorite tropical fish by a half submarine and to an aquarium. They also saw some fish when they were swimming in the beach near our house.

Konan was a mama's boy. But he did men's stuff with his grandpa, so he's proud of himself as a man and thank his grandpa now. After Amamioshima, Konan likes to do or play with his father or his boy friends.

My mother and His other grandfather Shohei( his mother's father) often call and visit their grandchildren. When they call him, Konan says "Time to talk to other grand parent." and makes them change the person who talks on the phone.
When my mother and the other grandpa Shohei say, "I'm visiting you to see your sports day." He says "No, you can't. It's not your turn. Next is Grandpa Shinya's/Grandma Chako's turn. Take turn to visit us. Otherwise you might fight each other."

This time, my mother gives up to go to see his sports festival because it's Grandpa Shinya's turn to visit them.

Now Konan likes to talk man to man. He always asks my mother if his grandpa is there to talk with him. My mother is happy and sad about it.

Konan says it's Avram and our daughter Mameko's turn to visit him next time. He can't wait for talking with them. It's fun to see his growth very much.

Baby Growth

2009-09-18T06:18:00.003+09:00

Our baby is less than 32 weeks old, but as you can see from the picture below, her head is already well over 34 weeks old. 34 weeks and 5 days according to the notations at the bottom left. Dr. Young stressed several times that her head is not too big, it is just round, so that the normal measurements of cranial diameter are not as accurate as with a pointy headed baby. Most of Rie's family have big heads, so Rie had to kick me to stop me from laughing in the doctor's office.

We did not get any good pictures of the nose, but on the video you can tell that her nose seems to represent her Jewish heritage well.

As for overall body weight and length, Mameko is perfectly normal in the Asian baby measurement system, and a little small for a European baby. Since she is half American, half Japanese, and going to be born in Korea, I figure she is two-thirds Asian, so no worries there.

Visiting hours

2009-09-17T17:36:00.002+09:00

We just got back from our latest visit to the doctor. I enjoyed the anticipation in the car of driving someplace to see our loved one. As usual, our visit was closely monitored and we were not allowed to touch or pass any items back and forth. We had to wait our turn to go into the visiting room and were only given a short amount of time before the people in charge told us to leave. But, Mameko seems to be doing well. She is now more than 31 weeks into her 40 week sentence and we are looking forward to her release in mid-November.

We managed to get a copy of the security camera video. It is your standard black and white surveillance video with no sound, but if you pay close attention, you can make out a big round face and a nice nose.

Rie in Japan

2009-09-07T05:08:00.005+09:00

Rie has been having a fun month in Amami Oshima with her family.

Below is the island at the end of the river in the ocean near her mother's village.

Next is the more and more pregnant Rie. Behind her is the river and behind the first hill on the right is the village.

Rie's mother, step-father, and sister at the river.

Walking from the village to the ocean along the river.

"How to save money" Yuki's tip

2009-08-17T13:15:00.004+09:00

This morning, I was talking to Yuki and Konan. Konan asked me what our house in Busan is like. I told him it's nice, but we used to live in a small apartment in Virginia. Then Yuki asked why we lived in a small place. I told her we didn't have enough money then. Of course I was joking. Yuki said she can rend me some money and showed her piggy bank. She keeps Japanese coins and one dollar bill which Avram gave her last January. I said "Thank you. I will save some money for our baby from now. But this is for you. Next time when I need it, please lend me." Yuki said she will.

Konan looked sad when Yuki and I were talking and said he didn't have enough money. He almost started crying. He was cute and I laughed at his words. Konan was upset and said, "I'm not kidding! I'm serious! Don't laugh!" Konan called Yuki to his room and asked how he can make some money. Yuki gave some tips about it. "You don't have to use all the money every time when you get. Save some into your piggy bank. Then you will see more money next time when you open the piggy bank and will be happy:)" Konan said he'll try, but I doubt it.

Three of us studied after talking about money. They do every morning during summer vacation. I gave them English practice notebooks. They loved them. Especially Konan practice counting numbers in English and writing them.

We talked to Avram on the phone this morning. I feel sorry to Avram because it's hard to understand them for him, but they enjoy talking to him very much and can't stop it.

After that they started helping their mother. Yuki washed dishes with me and Konan vacuumed rooms. I realized I could be more lazy if I train my husband and children with house work. It could help our children to be independent.

In the afternoon, we watched a Japanese cartoon by Hayao Miyazaki. Then they played outside and swam. They help their parents and also have a lot of fun. I can see how to raise children this summer and it's fun.

"We miss Avram!" and "Hello" to Mameko

2009-08-15T22:51:00.010+09:00

My 7 year old niece Yuki and 5 year old nephew Konan were happy I came back to Japan, but they both asked where Avram is. I told them he's in the U.S.. Konan said "That's not fun! He might come later. Let's go to pick him up to the airport again." My family is disappointed that he couldn't come back with me.

Yuki and Konan touched my belly and talked to the baby. "Hello, I'm Konan." "Hi, Mameko. I'm Yuki. We're your cousins. Do you know that?" Then Yuki read a book for our baby and Konan.

Konan often comes to feel Mameko move inside me. I'm glad the two of them are so excited about their cousin.

Today Mameko was active to say good bye to her father Avram at the airport and to talk to her cousins. I guess she feels what's going on.

Mameko, my family and I all miss Avram in Japan.

Culture Shock in Japan

2009-08-15T22:35:00.007+09:00

I hadn't been in Japan for seven months. I already got culture shock when I got to the Fukuoka airport today.

First bus drivers are so nice to people in the bus and drive very very safely.

Second when I used the bathroom, the toilet spoke. It says "If you touch the panel or if you open the door, it flushes automatically." Japanese women feel embarrassed to make noise when they pee, so the toilet plays sound of river to drown out the noise.

Third I missed Japanese food. I had tempura-soba for lunch. I was surprised at not red color food, not strong smell and not spicy food.

Fourth Japan Air Line lets people who need some help such as elderly people, handicapped people, children who travel by themselves, and pregnant women get rides first. I got the service today. A man led me to the airplane and made the way for me. He said "Excuse me, let us go please." I was a first person to get a ride. Then the flight attendant gave me a small magazine and a toy for my baby. That was an interesting experience in my country. I wonder what kind of experience Avram will have in his country for the next one month.

Nose Up Roller

2009-08-13T11:32:00.004+09:00

The Dollar Store in Japan is called Daiso. Most of their cheap stuff comes from Korea, so it makes sense that Daiso opened some shops in Korea as well, even if most of their products are written in Japanese.

In the case of the Nose Up Roller pictured here, they were obviously aiming for an international audience. The name of the product is written in Japanese, English, French, Chinese, Korean, and Arabic.

I have not yet used it to "make my nose look better during the break time use." Nor have I tried to "enjoy your nose massage stimulating your skin." But, I plan to shortly.

We had two house-guests from Japan last weekend. They noticed our new matching pair of Nose Up Rollers and wondered why we need them. They said our noses are already good.

I did not really have a good explanation.

Urban Bike Repair

2009-08-13T11:28:00.002+09:00

Every month or two, the bike shop truck parks downstairs. He has a full range of children's bikes, as well as repair facilities for bigger bikes. It looks like a great job to me.

Week 26 and all is well

2009-08-13T10:50:00.004+09:00

We had another good visit to the doctor today. Rie drank some sweet orange liquid and then gave blood for the diabetes test. After that, the doctor made another baby video for us. All looks good.

Our family counselor Yuki

2009-08-01T08:19:00.008+09:00

My mother loves to talk with her grandchildren on the phone. She enjoys the conversations much more than before these days because my niece and nephew talk a lot.

My seven year old niece,Yuki is our family counselor. When we have some problems in our family, we ask her what we can do. My mother often asks Yuki about her second daughter.

My 23 year-old younger sister Chikako always sleeps late. The other day my mother complained she doesn't help with the house work when she's at home, so I said "Ask Yuki to wake her up. " My mother called Yuki, "Please talk to Chikako and tell her she should help her mother." Yuki said ok. She talked to Chikako.

Yuki : "Chika-nechan, you should help your mother. Wake up now and help her. Let's make your day schedule! What time do you want to go to bed and wake up everyday? I usually go to bed around eight and wake up at six. Let's do it!"

Chikako : "No way! I go to school during daytime and then work at night. I come home late everyday. I can't do it."

Yuki : "I see. Then you can't do that. Let me talk to my grandma. I will talk it to her for you."

Yuki : "Grandma, she can't do that because she works hard. If you get tired from your house work, please work for ten minutes and have ten minutes rest. It could help you."

She is funny. She seems like she has thought deeply all the time and her words are like lessons for us, especially to Chikako. They are like just friends or Yuki is Chikako's senior.

Yuki wonders many things. Why her friends can be mean to their friends, why they are sometimes nice to her but sometimes are not, or why bears hibernate during the winter, but how about people etc... . Then she says, "Let's look it up in books!"

She also likes to ask about words from news on TV to her parents. Her parents have to explain all of her questions. My sister-in-law says it's sometimes very difficult to give her answers.

My mother and her husband talked after they talked with Yuki on the phone. "Yuki would be like Rie. She could fix our problems and control our family well."

I was a quiet girl. I mean I have been a quiet person. I didn't talk so much like Yuki, but I am good at working for making our family be closer.
I told my mother they need the one who works for the family in each generation. She agreed and she's happy about it.

The Baby Looks Good

2009-07-27T20:11:00.002+09:00

We went to a different doctor today for a Level II ultrasound. I was not permitted into the exam room, but according to Rie, everything looks good. The doctor counted toes and fingers and organs and other parts that Rie did not know the names of. The doctor also said that to the limits of the test, the heart looks fine.

Our next appointment is in two weeks with our regular doctor to test Rie's blood sugar.

Other than that, Rie is gaining weight and eating more than me. :)

Japanese poop

2009-07-23T16:49:00.002+09:00

Rie seems to make a big deal about bodily functions, but as you can see from the video below, the Japanese seem very comfortable with such discussion.

Our baby is as long as his... ?!

2009-07-22T08:24:00.012+09:00

We take a walk every evening. It's a good time to talk about many things together.

Yesterday I was telling Avram that our baby's height is 30cm this week. Then he said, "Oh, it's as long as my poop in the morning!" I asked him who compares your baby with your poop. He said he just wanted to show his sympathy with me. According to him, he thought he could show it because both of them come out from your belly. Sigh.

After the walk, I was reading a magazine. I told him the baby is 600g. Then I saw his smile, so I said "Don't compare our baby with yours." He looked sad because he couldn't try to say... .

When we were going to bed, he asked me if we need a baby bed. I said our American futon is probably soft for the baby. Then he said he has a good idea for it. He said we can buy a plastic case to store for our baby. He thinks it's the best size and easy to carry. Avram, Avram:(

We are thinking we will give our baby a Japanese name with Chinese characters. Avram said it should be easy for his family such as geisha, ninja, sushi, fuji, and so on. No way! She might be able to be popular in the U.S., but she couldn't have any friends in Japan.

We are happy if the baby was a boy or a girl, but we asked the doctor which the baby is because we have to think of his/her name. The doctor said we should buy pink stuff. It means it's probably a girl. I'm happy to hear that, but according to Avram's smart brother's comment in our blog, we should think about having a boy baby. Brothers!

I wonder how long people can try not to pass a gas to other people. Unfortunately I did it when we were having a nice walk in a private beach in Jeju.(It was my first and last one in official.) Avram heard something and made a big smile. I could tell he was happy to hear that. Then he said it was his first time to see a bird put his wing to his nose holes and fell down from the sky. I said don't say silly to him, but after a while we walked, we saw a dead bird crushed to the beach. A lot of feathers were around there.
Of course, Avram was happy he could prove his word. Then I wonder how many birds he hit in his life.

Now we have many things to think about our baby, but I guess I have to consider about my husband first better.

Our Muddy 3rd Anniversary

2009-07-21T19:43:00.003+09:00

For Anniversary numbers 1 and 2, we dressed up nice and went to a fancy restaurant. Usually, Rie wears a beautiful Kimono and all the old men in the restaurant tell me how lucky I am. But, it seems that wearing a very tight belt for a few hours would not be comfortable for Rie's pregnant belly. So this year, we had to find something to do that did not involve dressing-up.

We took a bus 2 and 1/2 hours southwest from Seoul to the small town of Boryeong for their famous Mud Festival. I had a great time playing in the mud. After checking out all the sites, we rented a beach umbrella so that Rie could nap while I swam and ran on the beach.

Before I played in the mud, I had my arms and head painted with red mud. Then I slid down the mud slide to the beach.

A group of Koreans played traditional music with drums. Someone shoved a little cymbal in my hand and and I somehow became part of the show.

Playing the music was fun, but the wall of camera men with zoom lenses in my face was a bit disconcerting.

I enjoyed the mud bath/shower as well.

My re-re-re-re dedication to Running for 2009

2009-07-18T14:28:00.002+09:00

I have been running off and on all year, but finally found a race to enter to help keep me motivated for my training. On October 18, I will be participating in the Gyeongju Marathon. It should be a bit more challenging than my last two because the course is hillier and the time limit is shorter. I will not be trying to run the race fast. In fact, I will be trying to go slow enough to enjoy the whole thing. I am putting lots of time and effort into the training, I don't want the race to be over too quickly.

My normal running route at home takes me by morning fish markets, a beach, and lots of retired people out for their morning walk. On weekends, I see beach aerobics and street-side eateries. Last weekend, I ran with a man from my neighborhood for a little while. He is an avid marathoner and told me about the hilly terrain in Gyeongju.

Up here in Seoul, it has been pretty rainy, so my river-side runs have been a bit muddy, but still lots of fun.

I am finally getting fit enough to run for 60+ minutes at a time. I know from past experience, that I don't really start to enjoy my runs until after the first 50 minutes. Today's run was 70 minutes, so I am finally getting some good, enjoyable running time in.

Two Weeks in Seoul

2009-07-18T14:24:00.002+09:00

I have another two-week class in Seoul, so we are up here for a few weeks of hotel TV and great food. Rie has been enjoying the quiet days while I am in class. In the evenings we take the 20 minute stroll to Itaewon and eat way too much. We have had Moroccan, Greek, Japanese, American, Indian, Thai, and Vietnamese food so far.

Jeju Island - Day 4

2009-07-18T14:12:00.002+09:00

After a bit more bus confusion on Monday morning, we ended up about a mile from the Chocolate Museum. We walked up through the countryside to the museum and learned all about the history and manufacture of chocolate. Amazingly, the gift shop applied the entire price of entry to the purchase of a box of chocolates. Seemed like a good deal to me.

For lunch, we wanted to go to a nearby beach. We took a taxi there, but it was a pretty depressing beach with no food, so we went back into town and then took a bus to the Jungmun Resort. Rie had been looking forward to the Teddy Bear Museum at the resort for quite a while. It was a good museum. They dressed up teddy bears like famous figures from history. They also had a tiny, little bear and others from over 100 years ago.

Near the resort beach, we saw some sad penguins and sea lions in very small cages.

On the way back to the airport, we took a taxi over the central mountain of Jeju - Halla Mountain. The taxi driver wanted to charge us much less money to go around the mountain. As we negotiated, he seemed upset about the windy roads and high altitude, but once we agreed on an exorbitant price of nearly $20, he transformed into an eager and conscientious tour guide.

Halla Mountain is the highest mountain in South Korea and nearly 2,000 meters high. The winding road topped out at 1,100 meters with a good view of the top. We stopped there and walked on a boardwalk over the mountain swamp before heading down the other side to the airport.

A short flight back to Busan and a rush-hour taxi ride got us home in time for a bit of relaxation before bed.

The Amazing Anniversary-Month Trip to Jeju Island - Day 3

2009-07-18T13:53:00.003+09:00

Okay, so we are a bit busy and I have not finished telling all about our fun long weekend in Jeju. Also, the picture page will have to wait another week or so.

Anyway, on Day 3 (Sunday, July 5), I went for another great run from our beach-side hotel in far-eastern Jeju Island. After my shower, we took a very slow hike to the top of Seongsan Ilchubong (Sunrise Peak). We could see the hill from our room and from the top, not surprisingly, we could see our hotel. The hike had lots of steps, but we took lots of breaks. At the top, we could look down into the grass-covered crater. We also had good views of Udo Island, the coast of Jeju, and the hills in the center of the island.

After a bus ride, we arrived in the town of Seogwipo on the southern coast. One of the city's famous waterfalls falls almost directly into the ocean. We went down to the sea-side cliffs and hiked down to the bottom of Jeongbang waterfall. It was a nice, peaceful place for our picnic lunch. We took turns watching the water fall and the old women dive for seafood.

A short taxi ride and a little stroll brought us to the Cheonjiyeon waterfall. It was a nice place to relax and we spent a while there reading and people watching. After taking one wrong bus, we got on the bus heading west and looked for a place to spend the night. My well-developed budget travel skills proved themselves use useful yet again. As the bus detoured off the main road and through a tiny village, I spotted a beautiful beach. We quickly hopped off the bus and walked around Hwasun Beach. I only saw a few small hotels and lots of local people enjoying the nice weekend.

We found a three story building that was mostly restaurant, but had two big rooms on the top floor. We rented a very nice suite with a view of the ocean and coastline. For dinner, we went down to the beach and sat under one of the tents. A man who worked there asked what we want to eat and we pointed at the chicken and potatoes our neighbors were enjoying. As we waited for our food, we watched kids play in the beach-side pool while old men drank and gambled. We also had a great view of the sunset over the big crater mountain nearby. Eventually, the sunset and the people in the restaurant wondered if we were hungry. We ordered chicken and potatoes again and after a two hour wait, we ate some delicious food. The whole restaurant was under one tent and the kitchen was open, so we had a good view of the process. After an enjoyable twilight stroll through the surrounding village we headed back to our room with a view.

Mameko - July 11, 2009

2009-07-11T15:05:00.005+09:00

We had our monthly visit to the doctor today. We had lots of fun looking at the ultrasound and counting fingers and toes and nose holes. As you can see from the video below, the doctor spent a long time looking at the baby's heart. He was not quite sure if there is a hole in the heart between two of the chambers. We will go to a specialist in two weeks and get a Level II ultrasound. This will let us see much more detail and determine if the baby has a ventricular septal defect. It sounds like most VSDs clear up on their own, so we are not too concerned right now.

At the end, we asked the doctor if we should buy pink clothes or blue clothes. The doctor laughed again, but we are pretty sure he said to buy pink. Just after the 7:00 mark of the video, he measures the femur length and it appears that there is nothing between the leg with the femur he is measuring and the other leg below.

In the evenings, I can feel the baby hitting the other side of Rie's belly. I am trying to teach her Morse Code, but not making much progress.

Fun Fun Fun: Day 2

2009-07-04T19:45:00.004+09:00

This morning we woke up as the sun came up over the ocean. I put on my running shoes and headed out the door. The other end of the bay looked inviting. I ran along the shore road and passed a long beach. At the other end of the bay, I found some luxury houses with big windows overlooking the ocean. I also ran by a UN World Heritage Site. That place was special for the women divers. The women go dive down for a minute or two and come up with delicious sea urchins. A few hundred years ago, the women wore white shirts and the men were forbidden to look. About 60 years ago, more than 30,000 women were employed in the skin diving industry. Now, only a few thousand still practice the art, and the vast majority of them are over 50 and many are over 70 years old. After visiting all of the interesting places I could find, my run ended up being nearly an hour long. It was a good start to the day.

After a shower and some breakfast, Rie and I took the bus to Manjang-gul. Manjang-gul is a really long lava tube. Over 100,000 years ago, hot lava flowed along the ground. The outer edges cooled first and the molten interior continued to flow. Once the inside flowed out, a tunnel was left. It is about 10 miles long and is about the size of a subway tunnel. A half-mile long section is open to the public and we walked the end of the public section. At the end we saw the tallest known lava column in the world - over 20 feet tall. It was formed when lava flowed along a tunnel above ours and then broke through the floor and poured down. Pretty impressive.

After the lava tunnel, we visited a maze built out of living cedar trees. We wandered through the maze and eventually made it to the end and rang the bell to tell the world of our accomplishment.

A short bus ride later, we were at the ferry port and took the 15 minute ride to Udo (Cow Island). The mongols brought horses to Jeju and Udo over 700 years ago, but the island is named after a cow because some people think its shape resembles a cow. We climbed part-way up the grassy caldera at one end of the island. We also stopped by a rock tunnel over the sea and then went and sat at the beach for a while. Most of the beaches we have seen have black lava sand, but this one was made up of big grains of white shell.

We got back to Jeju Island around 5 pm and relaxed before having a great fish dinner. I like eating in the more rural restaurants in Korea because the offer so many fresh vegetables as side dishes. We polished off a bunch of spinach, cucumbers, bean sprouts, and fish cakes. I had a bit of raw fish and Rie had a nicely grilled fish.

After our evening stroll, we bought a few things from the woman with the abacus and are now back in the room, looking forward to tomorrow's excitement.

Wedding Aniversary Month Weekend Get-Away: Day 1

2009-07-03T20:33:00.004+09:00

Today is a US Federal holiday, so we slept in until 5:30 am. After a lazy morning, we started packing at about 7:45 and at 8 am we took a taxi to the airport. A quick one hour flight took us to Jeju Island in far southern Korea. Jeju is popular for Korean honeymoons and summer vacations. Jeju is an oval shaped island about 50 miles long and 30 miles wide. It has many nice beaches, a big mountain in the middle, and a laid back atmosphere. We landed at Jeju City Airport and ate a good fish lunch before getting on a bus and heading east.

The bus quickly left the city and Rie and I both began to relax as we watched the emerald waters slide by the bus. As we passed through the rural areas, we saw many small fields bordered by low walls constructed of black volcanic rock. Jeju was formed by powerful volcanoes and has many lava tubes and calderas. We also saw many university students riding bicycles around the island. I think the four day circuit of the island by bicycle is one of the most popular bike routes in Korea.

After about 90 minutes, we arrived at the eastern edge of the island. We got off the bus in the small village of Songsan and walked uphill to the base of Iichulbong "Sunrise Peak". From the base of the formidable looking lava hill, we saw a large bay. A few minutes of walking along the bay brought us to the perfect little weekend hide-away. We took a room on the second floor of a small hotel right on the black-sand beach. We have two balconies and a view of the bay, the ocean, the the Sunrise Peak. The room has a TV, a small kitchen, and a computer with Internet access. It even comes with a complementary can of bug spray. All this for only a bit over $40 per night. Pretty cool.

After an afternoon rest period, we struck out for a stroll. We crossed the main drag and discovered that we are in the middle of a long spit of land. The side opposite the ocean is full of calm, clear water and looks great for sea kayaking. We went over a small hill, passed by some horses and found the ferry terminal to Udo Island. Udo Island is only a few miles off shore. We may check it out another day.

On the walk back to the hotel, we found a small restaurant that looked promising. We took our shoes off and sat at the low table. Nobody at the restaurant could communicate in English, but they only had a few things on the menu. We ordered the first thing on the menu, which is also what the waitress appeared to be suggesting. The usual over-abundance of side dishes soon arrived and we started the evening's session of over-eating. The cabbage pancake was pretty spicy, but the noodles were soothing. We also had rice, potato salad, spinach, kim-chi, dried fish, and a bunch of other side dishes as well. The first main dish was a nice white fish with very salty skin. The other main dish was thick slices of pork. After the waiter placed the cutting board of cooked pork on the table, he slid on a pair of plastic gloves, pulled apart some pickled cabbage, wrapped the cabbage around a piece of pork and placed the whole thing in my mouth. He repeated the procedure for Rie and we both expressed our gratitude. Besides being hand-fed, the experience was unusual because the waiter communicated through grunts and hand signals. Usually, people just keep speaking Korean at us. He did not even try.

After placing the first bite into our mouths, he made another morsel for us with pork, sauce, and raw garlic wrapped in seaweed. This one he placed on the dish in front of us and encouraged us to eat it with the chopsticks. We were still chewing the first bite, but if we had finished, I wonder if he would have fed us again?

On the stroll back to the hotel, we had a choice of picking up a few things at K-Mart or King-Mart. We had already purchased water earlier at K-Mart, so we tried the similarly diminutive King-Mart. We picked out some more water and a few oranges and a popped-corn snack. Usually, when we go shopping, the clerk adds up our purchases and shows us the result on the calculator or register. We can understand typed numbers much quicker than spoken numbers. The old woman at the store added it all up and showed us the total on her adding machine. Unfortunately for me, her adding machine was an abacus. I never got very good reading those, but Rie has some abacus-reading skills and we were able to make our purchase.

Now, we are back in our hotel room and I am listening to the sound of the ocean right outside the window, but taking breaks from typing to feel Mamejiro protesting the big dinner with quick jabs to the inside of Rie's belly.

Our babies are crawling.

2009-06-26T06:55:00.011+09:00

My belly is getting bigger. It's week 19 now. I'm not sure if it's our baby or not, but I feel a worm crawling in my belly. I said that to Avram. He said he feels same way. Ah, I'm pretty sure that it's digesting in his case.

A few weeks ago, Avram's work organized a big party. They invited people from a church, Busan International Women's Association(BIWA),an orphanage and so on. They had a band, American food, and some games. Everyone had fun there.

I saw a bounce house and a bounce slide. They were for their children and kids from the orphanage. Women from BIWA took care of the kids from the orphanage. Those women were watching the kids when they were playing on the playground equipment. Only I was watching my husband in those play houses.

The kids enjoyed climbing on Avram. I enjoyed he was having fun with kids or more than the kids. He is good at enjoying himself. I just wonder if he takes care of our baby before he starts to play for himself. We have to talk a lot about it:)

Bloodletting and Jang Gi

2009-06-13T16:21:00.002+09:00

Last week we went up to Daegu for five days. I had a sort of emergency responder life saving class. We learned about splints and IVs and checking people for wounds and applying tourniquets and calling for help. The practical portion of the final exam consisted of two parts: giving my friend an IV and getting one from him. My partner was a man from my office in Busan, Mr. O. O is not a pseudonym, it is his entire last name. I stuck the needle into Mr. O's arm first and managed not to cause too much pain or blood splatter. Next, it was his turn. I have rolly veins, so he missed on the first stick. On his second attempt, he made me bleed and passed the exam.

We had long lunches all week, so Mr. O and I wandered down to the riverside everyday. I saw some Korean Chess boards and asked how to play. Mr. O explained it and it sounded fun. We went to a little shop and I spent about $1.25 on a set of Jang Gi pieces. We went back to the park and I quickly lost my first game. The red pieces are almost the same as in Japanese Chess, so they were no problem. The green pieces however, were written in a different script and all look alike to my untrained eye. I kept losing my pieces to when I failed to recognize they were in danger.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I lost a few more games at lunch. On Thursday, I lost the first game very quickly, but finally managed to eke out a victory in our second match. The third and final match of that day, I did very well. The longer we played in the park, the more old men (both drunk and sober) gathered around. They were not at all shy about giving me advice and letting me know when I was about to do something stupid. As I explained to Mr. O, during the last game, my team was very strong. I think everyone got a kick out of watching the foreigner learn their game in the park.