2014/2015 Trip to Japan - Part 3, Two Weeks With Mama

Leaving Japan was very hard for me. Even when you and mama went to Toronto for a few days I kind of went crazy. When you are not there the house is so quiet, feels so big. It’s very lonely. I thought it would be nice to have two weeks of time to do things, sleep in and do things on my own. But it wasn’t like that. Jetlag lasted a week and after that I was just missing you guys so much. Meanwhile, in Japan…

Mama was feeling a little bit better, but I know she still needed some help taking care of you. Grandma helped a lot making sure you had all your favorite foods. Every morning you had pancakes, yogurt and strawberries. You’re a lucky boy in Japan. Everyone wants to take care of you.

 Mama made some plans to see her friend and take you to Børnelund again. This time you remembered the place and had even more fun. It was great to see you have fun.

The best feeling though was seeing you with Grandma and Grandpa and the whole family. You became used to seeing a lot of people and you also became used to Grandma’s house. You never relaxed in the living room (well, a little bit when you were walking a cartoon). You walked around so much, playing with toys, looking for new places and babbling the whole time. It was great.

It was also difficult sometimes too. Mama was feeling sick most of the time in Japan, so her energy was low. You also were not sleeping in a normal pattern after I left. You went to sleep a bit later than normal and woke up around 1am almost every night. It was difficult for mama to rest and everyone could hear your crying. We don’t know why your sleeping pattern changed so much. Maybe a growth spurt?

There is one more part of this story, the trip home. But that is for the next blog post.

2014/2015 Trip to Japan - Part 2, Two Weeks With Mama and Papa

This trip to Japan was wonderful for so many reasons. First, of course yo had a chance to meet so many relatives. Grand parents, Great-Grandma, Aunts, Uncles and lots of cousins. I was so happy to see you meet them. I think Grandpa was especially happy to see you. He played with you a lot.

The boss sitting with the boss.

Grandpa chair for two cousins.

Grat Grandma's house.

Koharu checking out your hair.

Another reason this trip was wonderful was because it was the first time I could spend so much time with you. Usually, at home, I see you for a short time in the morning and then a couple hours at night after I come home from work. At that time I am a little tired and you are playing so we just have a little bit of time together. This trip though we were together all day! We had a couple daddy/son walks. We went to Mr. Donuts. We went for a walk in the park. It was great to spend more time with you. 

One of the best times we had was at the hot sling in Arima. The whole family went and it was such a fun time. We had a big room with tatami on the floor and you ran around so much. We also slept on futons on the floor, so it was a new experience for you. You rolled around so much sleeping in so many different positions. I was a little surprised, but you really seemed to enjoy the hot spring. You didn’t cry at all.

Dinner at the Arima hot spring resort.

One of six sleeping positions for you at the onsen.

Onsen time!

Another really fun time was going to Børnelund in Umeda. This is a giant indoor play space for kids. There are so many areas for all ages. You seemed to really have fun playing with all the toys in the toddler area and also the ball pit. It was great to see you smile.

Play time at Børnelund!

Lots of balls!

We went to a lot of places and did a lot of things. Of course, you also got the flu, so the last days I was there were tough for you. Mama got sick too, but you are both strong, so you could get better quickly.

I have been home for 3 days and I miss you both so much. Still 2 more weeks without you.

2014/2015 Trip to Japan - Part 1, Getting to Japan

Part 1 - Getting to Japan

This was your second trip to Japan, but we were under no illusion that this would somehow be easier. In fact, since you had gained weight and mobility, we thought this journey would be quite a bit more difficult. 

We were correct.

To be fair to you, the trip started with us waking you up way earlier than your normal wake up time. We got you out of bed before 4am, as the first leg of the trip had us leaving Portland for Hawaii at 7am. We had finished most of the packing the night before and just had to put a few last things in our bags before we hopped in the car and drove (with Ben’s help) to the airport. We had quite a few bags.

Bags on the famous PDX carpet.

You were still tired and in and out of sleep, but of course with so much going on, you couldn’t really rest. You tried to sleep on the plane, and you actually managed to take a couple of very short naps!

One of the few, short naps you took on the planes.

We had to change planes in Hawaii, getting off the Alaska Airlines flight in favor of the larger, more comfortable Japan Airlines flight. The change in weather was great and the warm, pleasant air felt good, if only for an hour or so. The plane was full but we had great seats with a very nice baby bassinet attached to the bulkhead. The flight attendant meticulously attached the bed to the wall and made up the bed with linens. Of course, you did not even sit in this, let alone use it to sleep. 

Our ride to Japan!

Complete with this great baby bed...that you didn't use.

The flight to Osaka was tough as you were very uncomfortable and cried quite a bit. Mama tried so hard to make you comfortable and stood and held you for a long part of the flight.

In between crying, you napped.

Finally, papa gave you his seat.

When we finally arrived at Kansai airport, you were exhausted and I think you were very happy to get into the car seat and finally sleep on the drive to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We were happy as well.