Look what Mommy did!

Yes that's right....I pierced Despina's ears!!! And it wasn't quite as easy as back in the states. I learned that since you rarely see anyone under the age of 16 with their ear pierced in Japan you can only get it done at the doctor. However, they do sell kits at Claire's so you can do it yourself. Since a friend of mine (Becki) used to work at an ear piercing place....I took matters into my own hands. I bought a kit....and she came over last night and viola....we have two newly pierced earlobes! Despina did great too!!!! And how adorable does she look!?!?!

Palatte Town

Can you see my teeth? They are on the rise!


Palette Town was just like most other malls in Japan....expensive! So instead of shopping, we spent our time eating crepes and in the flowers! There was a huge field of flowers growing between the parking lot and the mall. Most Japanese were picking some flowers to take home with them.

Boat ride

Waiting to board our boat. The yellow building in the backgroud is the Asahi beer company. The yellow is the beer and the white is the foam! The big yellow squiggle is supposed to represnet the power of Japan or something like that :)
Still waiting....
Johanna, Isabella, and Becki enjoying the boat ride!
I'm very sleepy.....
View from the boat....the figure next to the big tall builing is Tokyo Tower.

We then took a boat ride down from Asakusa to Odaiba to do some shopping.

More Temple Pictures

Koi fish

A mini waterfall.
People pay Y100 (just under $1) for a fortune. You shake a can and a stick with kana on it falls out. You then go to the drawer with the corresponding kana and pull out a sheet of paper with your fortunate on it. If it is a good fortune you take it with you...if it is a bad fortune you tie it to a rack and leave it at the temple.

Asakusa ~ Sensoji Temple

Johanna, Becki, and me at the entrance of the temple.
Me at the entrance.
In front of the temple.
Incense burning.
The corridor of shops that leads to the actual temple where people worship.

Our third stop was the Sensoji Temple...one of the most popular to visit in Japan. The Asakusa area is old downtown Tokyo. The area was once leveled by earthquakes, bombs, and fires but is now rebuilt to resemble what it once looked like in the seventh century! It was full of people, shops, and good food.

Imperial Palace

We also went to the Imperial Palace, in downtown Tokyo, which is where the Emporer of Japan and his family live. While the Emporer is no longer the ruler of Japan (he is only a figurehead), him and his family are still a larger part of Japanese history. The gates to the Palace grounds are only open twice a year so we were only able to view it from the outside. It was still a beautiful site to see! I hope to come back again during the New Year when the gates will be open.

Tokyo Tower

Me and Despina on the first observatory deck.
The view
Me at the bottom of the tower...it resembles the Eiffel Tower.
View again.

Since Tim is gone Despina and I (along with two of my friends) decided to take advantage of what the base has to offer. We took an MWR tour of Tokyo on Sunday. Our first stop was at Tokyo Tower which is the 2nd tallest building in Japan (Landmark Tower is the tallest). Unfortunately it wasn't a clear morning so the view wasn't that good.

I'm awake

Now when we get Despina out of her crib she is standing waiting for us!

A new way to play

I crawled....I sat...and now I'm stuck!
It's more fun this way!

Despina has decided that its more fun to play with her excersaucer while she is not sitting in it! She loves to pull herself up on it and they play with the toys :)

Pro-Baseball....Japanese style!

The Stadium
Tim and Despina showing there Baltimore pride! (She had on her O's onesie under her sweater)
The group....each guy picked guy in the mural to be.

Adam "Satan", Tom, Matt, Gary, Greg "Zoolander", John "Tookee", Adam "Smokey", Tim "Dill-Dro", and Jeremiah.

A group from Tim's squadron got together ans went to Yokohama Baystars game! We had a blast! Alghtough it was much less exciting than American baseball (only one run the whole game and it was in the top of the first...and nothing even close to a home run!) Another difference was watching the Pitcher get driven to the mound in a glorified golfcart. Like the rest of Japanese life, there is even an order to how to cheer at a game. Fans take turns and you cheer for the team that is up to bat. However, no one in our group obeyed that lil rule which lead to our group being on the jumbo tv screen a handful of times. One member of our group even won a glove in a dance contest! The food is also a little different....they ofcourse have a few places with hotdogs, french fires, and McDonalds, you'll see most people eating Obento boxes ( a little lunch box that usually contains some sushi, edamame, mochi balls, unigiri (rice balls with fish), and some sort of pickled vegetable).

Playgroup

Despina and D'Marcus

Here is a picture of Despina and one of her pals from one of the playgroups that I take her to. I took a prenatal aerobics class with his mom, Mari, so its nice to see the babies grow up together! Marc-chan (you add chan to end of a kids name in Japanese) is about 2 weeks older than Despina.

Sleepy time

I have turned into my father and started taking pictures of Despina sleeping. I now understand why he did it soooooo much. There is nothing more peaceful than a sleeping baby.

Driving in Nipon (Japan)!

Driving home from Vinawalk mall we passed this park. This is an average park in Japan.
See the 7-11? They are quite popular in Japan. However you won't find any footlongs or slurpies inside! More like, sushi, unigiri (rice ball with fish...yummy!), and all kinds of weird dried seafood.

Happy Mothers Day!

Tim feeding Despina some potatoes at Outback.
I guess it was a long day of shopping for Despina! She fell asleep while holding onto the Gap bag.

For Mothers Day Tim took a break from studying and joined Despina and me for a day out! We went to a local mall and had Outback for lunch. Tim also spoiled me and made me a steak and shrimp dinner. It was a fantastic day!

PlAy TiMe

Yummy yummy in my tummy!

Watashi wa tofu to avocado ga suki desu. (I like tofu and avocado!)

Despina's diet is changing everyday. Since I am making all of her food (which is quite easy) I try to have a lot of variety for her. Lately, she has been trying mangos, tofu, avocado, & kiwi...and so far she loves them all. We tried to have her feed herself the tofu and as you can see she got more on her face than in her mouth! Good thing bath time was next :)

Lets Play Ball!

Even though Despina was feeling under the weather (she has quite the cold and is teething!) she still had to support her team! Of course we need to thank her Nouno and Nouna, Patrick and Katie, for the outfit. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for our cable to air an O's game. We only have one sports channel so it's hard to get the game you want on. Hopefully we will be able to see one soon.