Saturday in Tokyo

Today was a relaxing day for us here in Tokyo. We relaxed for most of the day, and enjoyed a nice surprise with a delivery of delicious cherries from the Higuchi family of Yamagata Prefecture. Yamagata is famous for its fruit, and particularly its cherries. They're big, incredibly sweet, and a wonderful treat! The Higuchis also also sent us a couple of cute outfits for Rhianna--Thanks, Higuchis!!!

We went to the Suitengu Shrine near where we lived to celebrate Rhianna's first month (a tradition in Japan)

We also went out for a little shopping today, and Rhianna got a chance to try out her new wheels.

One Month Old (Part 2)

Shinako, her mother, and Rhianna went to the hospital today for Shinako and Rhianna's one-month check-up. Both Shinako and Rhianna are very healthy and doing fine. In this month, Rhianna has grown from 20.9 inches (53.3 cm) in length to 21.6 inches (54.8 cm). Her weight has increased from 6.53 pounds(2960 g) to 8.75 pounds(3970 g). Rhianna's next exam will be in September.

Im including some new pictures and videos, including one that might be a little difficult to see clearly of Rhianna drooling all over her dad. One of her new developments recently is a very active salivary gland, as you will see.



Some of the pictures Im including are of our recent outing to the Toyosu mall, near to where we live. Rhianna likes to be out and be carried, and it was fun going out together as a family. We ate at an outdoor rib place on that day, but we have yet to find the courage to go out to eat at an indoor restaurant. Who knows, maybe this weekend??!!!

One Month Old

Rhianna turns one month old today. It's really hard to believe that a full month has passed by, and in a sense, it also feels like an eternity since she was born. I suppose that's normal for new parents though. Lots of new experiences and unique memories compacted into a short period of time.
Anyway, today Rhianna will be going for her one month exam. She seems very health and happy, so we're expecting a good report.
For now, here are some pictures! More pictures and videos soon!




Video

Week of June 11th

It's getting warmer and warmer in Tokyo as we wait for the rainy season to start. Usually the rainy season starts at the beginning of June or end of May, and lasts for about a month. Then the weather gets much more hot and humid, and lasts through summer. It rained one or two days this week, but mostly we've had comfortably warm/hot weather.

This week was a pleasant one for Rhianna and Shinachan, as Shinachan's mother came over most days to help, and her parents came over together on Friday to have dinner with them while I was out at a business dinner. Shinachan's friend, Haruko, and her daughter also came over on one morning and gave Rhianna a cute gift of wooden food toys (they dont taste as good as they look).

Im including several videos of Rhianna relaxing...mostly sleeping!






Videos

New Stroller

We went to Babys R Us this weekend and got a new stroller (http://www.aprica.jp/hm/html/products/babycar/_index.html) for Rhianna (paid for by Shinachan's parents--thank you!). She won't be able to use it until she's a month old, but it should be comfortable for her to ride in, light and easy to push. I'm including a bunch of new pictures from the weekend. More soon!

Doing Fine

It has been a few days since I updated the blog, so we want to update everyone on our (completely Rhianna-based) activities over the past few days. As I mentioned in the last posting, Rhianna and Shinako came home from the hospital this past Saturday. Shinako has really recovered well, and seems to have most of her energy back. Rhianna has been sleeping as well as can be expected at night, and recently has been staying awake for longer and longer periods during the day.

We went on our first walk around the neighborhood not long after she came home the other day. My parents gave us a carrier (bijorn?) that lets us strap her around our necks like a papoose and go wherever we want. We havent purchased a stroller yet, so this is a pretty convenient way to carry Rhianna around. It adjusts to her current needs (a flat carrier), and can be readjusted to hold her in a sitting up position when she's able to do that later on. Ive included some pictures of our stroll around the neighborhood.

Shinako's mother has come by most days this week to help with various things, and Shinako's brother's wife, Ayumi, her son, Yuga, came by once this week as well.

We got a very thoughtful package in the mail this weekend from Great Aunt Lois and Great Uncle Andy from Chicago--it included a cute little dress and hat, and a beautiful needlework from Great Aunt Lois that reads: Rhianna, A Gift of Love, 5-27-07. Thanks a lot Uncle Andy and Aunt Lois!! It will be put in a place of honor in our home.

Also, Im including a picture showing you how much Rhianna loves to take a bath. You can see that it's clearly one of her favorite activities!



We also want to thank both of our families and friends from around the world (China, Japan, U.S., England, Canada, Egypt, and others) for their support and thoughtful messages. Please keep the support and messages coming--we'll keep the pictures coming!

More soon!