Moving In

Monday morning our borrowed furniture was picked up and all of our household goods were delivered.  I had put Noah on the waiting list that day for daycare and they called and said that they had an opening.  This worked out great...he spent the day with his friends and playing...and mom and dad had the whole house set up by the time the daycare reservation ran out.  I walked across the street to pick up Noah and brought him home to our house full of "our" things...and the way home he talked and talked about what he did during the day!  At home...he ran around screaming and checking everything out...especially his outdoor toys.  Our bedroom and the baby room were still a mess until Thursday...but even Monday evening Zack had 90% of our pictures and wall hangings hung already.  We had a few items that had minor damage and we will get money back from the Navy for those damages.  We got so much accomplished, which was a good thing because we both woke up sick on Tuesday morning with sore throats.  I was able to buy the van and start the paperwork that day.  Noah and I walked down the street to the office and showed our proof of insurance and they man we bought the van from had to show all of his paperwork.  The title was then transferred over to us along with the Japanese inspections.  We then payed someone to drive to Yokohoma(this is the main city in our prefecture...sorta like the capital of a U.S. state).  I gave them the correct amount of Yen to pay for all the fees, registration, road tax and all sorts of other things.  They then got the plates for the van and drove to the Yokosuka city hall to turn in the temporary plates that used to be on the van.  And then drove it back to our home.  Just about everyone who has a vehicle here has done it the same way...it's much easier to pay someone 25-50 USD to do all the running around!  And then on Wednesday I had to go back to the Navy office to show them proof of all of that and then got the base and road tax stickers for the van window.  And Zack and I were both feeling miserable...by Wednesday night he was much better and I was sicker than ever.  This is pretty much the case with us always...Zack's body is able to fight it off almost immediately and I feel miserable days and days after he's back to normal.  Noah and I ended up go the ER Thursday morning and I was given antibiotics for a sinus infection and the Dr. said that it was starting to go down into my bronchial tubes as well.  A double dose of antibiotics on the first day and that afternoon I was up and going again...but a bit cloudy and sluggish!  I even got groceries to fill our empty refrigerator and cabinets...this means that I drove to the hospital and back in the morning and then to the commissary and back in the afternoon. 



Noah loves his new home and runs around all day...especially the yard.  He enjoys his bedroom with all his toys and having his own bathroom with his green stool, where he can stand and wash his hands with his special kid soap.  At daycare they teach the kids how to wash their hands...so Noah is all about it now!  He is starting to really listen now and follow directions...such as go upstairs and get your bink and blanket for quiet time.  He climbs the steps and as long as he didn't get distracted along the way returns with the items.  He still gets those hardheaded times...not sure if this the terrible two's starting early or if his genes are to blame...probably a bit of both!  I talk to him about using his ears to listen and he points to his ears.  So when he has those moments and I tell him he's not listening...he stops and pulls out his ear...like he needs his ear to be bigger in order for him to hear me!  I answer..yes, you are not using your ears to listen to mommy.  This almost always makes him stop to reconsider what he's supposed to be doing.  He's also getting back into doing his household tasks...he puts the wet laundry into the dryer, takes the dry clothes out into a basket...then pushes the basket into the living room for me...and this pregnant mommy only has to bed over to pick up the basket once so the clothes can be folded!  He enjoys it and I appreciate it!  He's into vacuuming, mopping, sweeping, dusting, washing dishes...the whole lot!  Today we met our neighbors one and two doors down and the kids from three doors down.  They were outside swimming and invited Noah over to play.  And the mystery why none are outside is that....they are all girls...and screamed when a small rolly polly type bug went across the concrete...(we got our yard sprayed on Tuesday for bugs)!  Haha!  But you know Noah and just ate up the attention from 5 girls..helping him in and out of the pools, putting water on his belly, holding his hand...!  Many of them are also GW families so that works out well for us ladies(one family isn't and I guess he's the go to guy when you need a man's help!)this was the perfect place for us...great families!!  Many neighborhood invites will be in our future!  God has taken care of us once again...how Great and Wonderful He is!

Noah's First Japanese Word

We went out to a great Chinese restaurant with some friends tonight.  It's on the top of my restaurant list because of the great food, great staff that know enough English, English menus, large enough to push a stroller into and above all because it super kid friendly(meaning they give Noah kid sized utensils, a high chair, and he can walk around the restaurant and visit everyone!)  This was our second time visiting and each time everyone including the customers have been super friendly.  I think we'll be regulars!  We ordered and thanked the waitress in Japanese...arigato.  The waitress took the menus from Noah's hand and replied back...gato!  This past week when others would say arigato around him he would reply back thank you...but this was the first time he used the word himself!  We were all stunned and the waitress was also surprised.  He said it a few times during the visit and each time was in context.  We arrived on July 6th and it's July 31st...less than one month for Noah to learn a Japanese word.  He's just soaking in everything around him...another reminder that we need to provide him with a lot of experiences while we are here!

The Young-ins of the Neighborhood

We have been here in Japan for a few days short of a month and it's been a quick month...always running around trying to accomplish all sorts of things.  Zack passed his driving test on Thursday and we have found a van that we like.  The cars here are recycled from one military family to another...so each car has a new owner on average every three years.  And it's actually difficult if not impossible to find a vehicle made before 2003ish.  Ours is a 1999 Nissan Presage...Nissan only makes it in four Asian countries. We only want to buy one vehicle while we are here...so we went with a van to hold all of our baby beans...and before you ask...yes we have a number in our heads but we'll be taking it one baby bean at a time...assessing our financial "stuff" and our sanity each time!  We will be completing the paperwork and giving him the check on Monday or Tuesday.  There are many hoops to jump through with the Navy, the U.S. and the government of Japan...it's not like just driving to the license branch...it's a whole series of steps and visiting the same office multiple times.  We are all looking forward to just being able to get in the van and drive to where we need to go on base and not have to mess with bus times.  It's impractical to drive much off base...it's much easier to take the train.  Zack should be able to get off tomorrow in order to help me supervise our household goods shipment delivery and hopefully be able to run down the street to take care of some of the van stuff....so that we can drive it as soon as possible.  And so that this stuff is done before he flies out to the ship.

We have been buying items for the house off and on all week...such as finishing the kids' bathroom upstairs.  It's green and Noah loves it...especially his green stool so that he can reach up and wash his hands in the sink.  We've also gotten a few items for Noah's room...like a hamper.  This fits right in with his OCD tendencies...we help him take off his clothes and he dumps them right into the hamper...then off comes the diaper and he runs into his bathroom...waiting for us to open the diaper genie.  He places his diaper inside and then turns to throw in his bath toys into the tub while we run the water.  He's all about having a specific spot for everything to fit into.  Just the other day...he was playing with empty diaper boxes and I was on the computer.  A few minutes later he comes running in upset and pointing.  I follow him and he's all upset because he has used the large box as a garage for his tractor, bus, and small car...however his large dump truck wouldn't fit into the box and this was just unacceptable!  We did have a small diaper box in the next room and he calmed down after I showed him that he could park the dump truck in this "garage".  Zack came home and was pretty impressed when I told him that Noah did that all on his own...and now when we pick up toys before bath...his trucks all have to go into their garages!  Noah also absolutely loves to be outside...he'd live outside if he could.  He takes his inside trucks outside for now (his wagon and tricycle will come on Monday)...we've bought him chalk, and I fill a small round container up with water and he splashes around.  We were out this morning when it was gray and lightly raining.  He took off into the yard yelling and running in circles...I could see our neighbor's curtains and blinds swish to one side a few times during the two hours we were outside.  We are at the end of a long row of townhouses and we have only seen maybe five kids outside in the yard.  We are shaking up the neighborhood using our yard...and then letting our child run around outside in a shirt and diaper when it's lightly raining!  What bad parents we are!  It's warm with a warm breeze...what perfect weather to play in the rain!  The only downside is that we have ants and have pretty much exhausted the on base resources for killing them...baits, spray, and now ant spikes.  We also have small black mosquito looking things that love Zack's blood!  He is allergic to them and his bites swell up like hive spots.  Noah has a few spots and I have none.  We have noticed that our neighbors all have bug spray on their outdoor window ledge...another reason it was nice to be out in the light rain...the bugs we're all taking cover!  Today we ordered Noah a sandbox, water table, and a small pool...it will probably take a month or so to get here...but I know we'll be outside using them everyday....and he'll be excited!  Although I'm sure that we'll see more curtains swishing as they look out their windows at us!   We'll have to dump the water out everyday so that the mosquitoes don't mistake it as an oasis...but there is no way to keep that boy indoors!  And if we did...we'd only be punishing ourselves.  We have a yard and patio to create a paradise for him now...so why not?!  While we haven't seen many of the families that live around us...we think we can safely say that we are the youngest kids on the block.  Everyone is pretty much at least ten or so years older...not really surprising because we find we fit into that age group better than our own...(we will be 23 and 24 year old parents of two driving a van)!  Again we can't help but wonder how we got this home...it must have been God's intervention...because it defies all earthy constraints...jaws actually drop when we answer questions about where we got housing.
Yesterday we went to an on base bazaar, where vendors come and sell their items...most are Japanese nationals selling "Japanese Stuff"...but some are spouses selling items from their home business.  We bought many items for Noah, Bean, Zack, and the house.  When we have our house set up I will take pictures of our home and then these items displayed.  My favorite is a Japanese silk wall hanging of an outdoor scene in historic Kyoto...I believe they are called Obi.  We got a wooden hand-crafted Japanese doll for Noah-a samurai and then a birthday one for Bean.  A wooden scroll featuring old architecture and cherry blossom trees...and then Zack got a hand blown glass ball...and then we got a bow holder for Bean from a spouse home business.  We are looking forward to displaying these in our home!  Also yesterday we planted four greenery plants in our flower bed.  The options are severely limited on base.  I do not have a green thumb even though I love plants and flowers.  We will be planting more...IF those plants are still alive after Zack gets back! LOL