Sunday:

We left by 7 in the morning, had to pick up Liz & Nicole and a few things on our way out of town, got a little lost finding the right toll road in Hachinohe, and then were finally on our way by around 9! The four of us took turns driving, so it wasn’t all that tiring. We made a handful of rest stops along the way to stretch, do diaper changes, and get lunch. Getting into Tokyo was a little confusing with all the different highways, but we made it to the New Sanno (military hotel in downtown Tokyo) by 6 without too many problems! We had dinner at the American restaurant in the hotel and promptly fell asleep.

Monday morning we had a nice breakfast in the hotel restaurant before heading out. We decided to do Tokyo Tower, which is in Roppongi and very close to the New Sanno. We took the subway a couple of blocks and then had a nice walk up to the Tower.

We got some great views of the whole city from the observation deck. It’s not at the top of the tower, just a little ways up. Rhino enjoyed looking out (and down) the windows and got some practice walking around. Liz and Nicole went up to the next deck to see what was up there. Liz got brought one of her Blythe dolls to take photos of around Tokyo and got some shots of her on the tower.

There are other attractions in Tokyo Tower, including a wax museum, trick art gallery, and “space wax” museum (which was sort of just a small gallery of old anime.) We had fun taking photos in the trick art gallery, and the wax museum was full of rock and roll musicians, Alice in Wonderland, Jesus, historical Japanese figures, etc. There was plenty more to do in Tokyo tower: an aquarium, a playground, lots of little shops and restaurants, but the museums and view had taken up most of our morning and this pregnant lady was hungry and tired!

We went for a walk to find the Outback Steakhouse (I know, American food in Japan, but it will be a while until I have it and I can have Japanese food any time!) Matt carried Rhino around and he really seemed to enjoy the trip, then got comfy for a short nap.

Lunch was good and Rhino had a blast playing with everything at the table! It was only about 1, but I was pretty exhausted from lots of walking and Matt was ready to go back to the hotel. Liz and Nicole had doll-related shopping planned in Akihabara and Nokono, which neither of us were really too interested in anyway. They got back after dinner, so Matt and I went for a walk around Shibuya to check out the district and find something to eat. I feel like we didn’t get a whole lot accomplished on Monday, but it sure felt like a very full day!!

We went out and bought an avocado at the Universe, but I’ve never been avocado shopping and when we brought it home it was crunchy, so Rhino didn’t have that. The only other thing in the house I felt good about giving to Rhino was some apples, so I diced part of an apple and steamed it until it was squishy then mashed it coarsely with a fork. I’m not sure if he just really wasn’t in the mood for eating, but he really did not enjoy eating cooked apples!

We went out to brunch at the club the next day and they had raw apple slices available. I cut them into french fry-size pieces and sat with him to see what he’d do. He definitely would pick them up and ravenously shove a slice into his mouth. He’s pretty good at chewing things up, but I was a little worried about how small he’d chew raw apple. It turned out he didn’t really want to swallow any of it anyway. He’d chew a piece up and make a lot of squishy noises, sucking the juice out of each bite, then spit it out. At least he got some yummy apple juice!

A couple days later we went back to the Universe and found these beautiful, gigantic, delicious peaches! They’re really the best peaches I’ve ever had. I diced up a few for Rhino to practice grabbing, but they were way to slippery and he had such a hard time holding on to them. I put a couple slices in the food processor to make some mush, but they were so juicy it turned out extremely liquid. That was perfect for the little dippers we have, though.

He got a couple chunks in his mouth …

… but had more fun playing with and chewing on the dippers. Peaches were quite a success!

Rhino Eats Peaches from Melissa on Vimeo.

We eventually did get a good avocado on base. I gave a couple slices to Rhino, but he mostly just liked playing with them and mashing them up. I did give him some mash on a dipper, and that seemed to go better.

For the last couple days we’ve been using the avocado mash with a some applesauce and he seems to like that a lot better than the plain avocado. He likes to use the spoon, and sometimes he actually does get the food in his mouth with it! The dippers are still fun, but half the time he starts chewing on the wrong end. It’s always a huge mess, of course, but he’s so cute with food all over his face!

I have a sweet potato that we’re going to try out in a few days as well as some bananas. We’re having a good time watching Rhino’s crazy faces as he explores all these new tastes and textures!

About 5 minutes into our first ride, he started dozing off. He falls asleep in the swing and the car, so I guess this isn’t all that different. There’s not really a head rest, though, so it just sort of looked like his head was detached as he slept. I guess it was a calming, smooth ride! I was hoping he would look around more, though.

We went out again to go pay a bill off-base. We aren’t sure exactly how far it is, but from our house to the gate took us probably around 30 minutes. I was pleased that the whole time Rhino stayed awake and alert and held on to his little safety bar and kept turning his head to look at things. He didn’t make a peep the whole time, so I’m guessing he doesn’t mind the rides!

Matt was planning on riding to work every day, but just got put on nights. For now he works 3pm to midnight and isn’t going to ride in the dark, which I think is best. We’re still going to try to get daily rides in as a family, though. We hadn’t biked since before I was pregnant and we’re kind of out of shape and sore and looking forward to getting out more!

Rhino has fallen asleep in his swing before, but never hunched over like this! Matt and I thought it was too hilarious!

Rhino is sweet and usually in a great mood, but he sure does have his moments! I know not everyone wants to listen to a screeching baby, but this video is pretty silly and he gets over it in the end (he’s such a bipolar little fellow!) Here’s Rhino giving me a piece of his mind from his swing!

This one is real similar to the first one, but I think even cuter! He does this pretty much whenever he’s in the swing, now!

Falling Asleep in Swing from Melissa on Vimeo.

]]> http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/07/25/rhin-in-the-swing/feed/ 0 http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/07/13/backyard-camp-out/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=backyard-camp-out http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/07/13/backyard-camp-out/#comments Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:57:46 +0000 Melissa http://melandmatt.net/mel/2008/07/13/backyard-camp-out/ We have finally had nice weekend weather and decided to do our backyard camp out with Rhino! We had fun playing in the sun shade while it was still light out. Matt also took him to the playground near our house and he played in the grass out back. We didn’t put the rain fly on our tent up so we could see the sky and trees when we slept. It was warm enough and Rhino slept well. We don’t have sleep pads yet and Matt and I woke up a little sore. Someday those will help! Rhino woke up with the sun at 4:15, but after looking around in bewilderment he fell back to sleep for another two hours. Without blinds and curtains, I suppose we’ll be waking up early on our camping trips with him! Well, I took a lot of photos of him hanging out in the sun shade, but no nighttime photos.

]]> http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/07/13/backyard-camp-out/feed/ 1 http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/06/24/rhino-what-a-kid/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rhino-what-a-kid http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/06/24/rhino-what-a-kid/#comments Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:09:14 +0000 Melissa http://melandmatt.net/mel/2008/06/24/ryan-what-a-kid/ Here is Rhino in a wonderful green tank top from the Bunny Store.

It’s athletic-style and on the front it has 92 and “WHAT A KID”. The back is the best. In the circle up top it says “Vigor”, then “Freely As You Please” and then the vertical words are FACE, NAIVE, and MIND.

And here are a few videos of Rhino today. Nothing too spectacular, just his cuteness.

Rhino on Tummy with Mirror from Melissa on Vimeo.

Rhino in Bumbo with Wooden Ring from Melissa on Vimeo.

Rhino Hanging Out with Mommy on Sofa from Melissa on Vimeo.

]]> http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/06/24/rhino-what-a-kid/feed/ 0 http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/06/23/kicky-bamboo/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kicky-bamboo http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/06/23/kicky-bamboo/#comments Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:14:48 +0000 Melissa http://melandmatt.net/mel/2008/06/23/kicky-bamboo/ About a month ago we ordered a few things for Rhino (mainly, an awesome new car seat — in black, not in purple flowers! — because he has about 1 pound to go before he won’t be able to use his infant seat) and they finally arrived today! I’m a little intimidated thinking about installing the car seat, but it will be great when it’s in!

Anyhow, he also got these beautiful bamboo coveralls by Kicky Pants that I think are my favorite thing ever. First of all, they are just adorable. Look!

And they are the most amazingly soft things I’ve ever felt! I’m so jealous and want a pair of my own! He has bamboo pants, also. I never want to put any other material against his sweet skin! And, oh my, there is the cutest little drop-down behind window! Haha. Well, they’re bamboo and that’s really cool. We are pretty much just a cotton family, but I think we might branch out.

Bamboo is an eco-friendly, sustainable crop that grows wild without the aid of fertilizers or pesticides.

Naturally soft, light and silky with no spurs or rough patches, so it does not require synthetic or chemical processing.

Bamboo fabric is naturally antibacterial, antifungal and antistatic.

Has a natural wicking ability that will help keep baby warm, dry and odor free.

Bamboo absorbs water 3-4 times better than cotton, keeping skin comfortable, rather than sticky, in summer weather.

Bamboo stays 2-3 degrees cooler in hot weather & warmer in cold.

Very gentle and soothing next to baby’s skin.

]]> http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/06/23/kicky-bamboo/feed/ 0 http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/06/07/revisiting-oirase-gorge/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=revisiting-oirase-gorge http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/06/07/revisiting-oirase-gorge/#comments Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:22:47 +0000 Melissa http://melandmatt.net/mel/2008/06/07/revisiting-oirase-gorge/ We went back to finish our hike of the gorge. We had gone a few weekends ago, and only made it about 4.5 miles into the gorge before turning around. The hike is about 9 miles to the lake, but an 18 miles hike was just too much for the 3 of us for the day. So today we parked at the lake and worked our way backwards. We didn’t quite make it as far as we had wanted — only about 3 miles in, a 6 mile walk total. We did see some gorgeous waterfalls, though! It was raining, but we were pretty protected from all the tree cover. Hardly anything made it down to us. Rhino’s new backpack carrier has a snazzy little rain hood, so he was just fine. (Yeah, we got a new one. The other one was really uncomfortable for us and left nasty marks on Rhino. We sprung for a nicer one that we should get plenty of use out of.) I think everything was even prettier this second time around while it was all wet and shimmery. The trail was a little muddy, but that can be fun, too! Matt and I were still recovering from being sick (Matt’s has been lingering, then I think he got me sick again!) so I was glad to have a short day. We did see Lake Towada, but didn’t explore around it. We’ll drive back just to hike around the lake someday soon. Here are some photos from our second trip:

]]> http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/06/07/revisiting-oirase-gorge/feed/ 5 http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/05/24/oirase-gorge-hike/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=oirase-gorge-hike http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/05/24/oirase-gorge-hike/#comments Sat, 24 May 2008 14:51:15 +0000 Melissa http://melandmatt.net/mel/2008/05/24/oirase-gorge-hike/ Saturday we went out towards Lake Towadako. It’s about an hour and a half drive from us. We got a little lost in the beginning (my bad directions off the internet!), so it took us a bit longer. The drive out that way was nice and we passed by all sorts of little farms, rice paddies, and saw some pretty hills. Oirase Gorge leads to the lake and is about 14 kilometers. There is a path along the river and the road, which we decided to hike. We got about half-way and decided to turn around. Rhino got a little tired and cranky in his carrier and it was very humid. I think we did pretty well, though. In about 3-1/2 hours we did a total of almost 9 miles. We plan on going back on Thursday to finish up what we didn’t see and hopefully get to hang out some at the lake, too. Here are some photos of our hike.

]]> http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/05/24/oirase-gorge-hike/feed/ 5 http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/05/23/the-bunny-store/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-bunny-store http://littleraindrops.com/blog/2008/05/23/the-bunny-store/#comments Fri, 23 May 2008 11:38:03 +0000 Melissa http://melandmatt.net/mel/2008/05/23/the-bunny-store/

We went exploring around Misawa just a little bit today. We stopped by a baby store, “The Bunny Store” (not its real name, but theres’ a big bunny on it), which is like a Japanese Babies ‘R Us. They had so many cute things (and most were very fairly priced!) and tons of clothes! One thing Matt and I have found pretty amusing is all the English on clothing. Little of it makes much sense and we are sure that the people wearing it has no idea what it says. There were a whole bunch of kiddy t-shirts with really funny “Engrish” on it. We found some cute Japanese-style baby clothing and picked up two little outfits for Rhino as well as an adorable one-piece monkey pajama thing (with a tail and a hood with a monkey face!) I know, he’ll probably hate us when he’s older, but it’s just too adorable (but he needs to grow into it still.) We went to lunch at Coco’s, which is an “Italian” restaurant here in town. It was nice, but not really all that Italian. ;-p Matt had some pork, rice, and curry dish. I had what seemed like a bun-less cheeseburger covered in tomato sauce. Pretty tasty. We had a delicious citrus parfait with clear gelatin, all sorts of fruit, and some crunchy thing and ice cream in it. I’d go back just for the dessert! A lot of the restaurants we’ve been in are upstairs, above another store or a parking lot. Matt likes sitting in all the upstairs restaurants, looking out over the streets.

And here’s a video of Rhino in his cute new outfit!

Rhino in Japanese Outfit from Melissa on Vimeo.

EDIT: I was looking around for the actual name of the bunny store (apparently, “Nishimatsuya”) and found another Misawa mommy’s blog. She has a post here about the store and “Engrish” and even a photo of some of the shirts found at Ni-shi.

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